The Boy Allies At Jutland or The Greatest Naval Battle of History By Ensign ROBERT L. DRAKE AUTHOR OF "The Boy Allies Under the Sea" "The Boy Allies In the Baltic" "The Boy Allies on the North Sea Patrol" "The Boy Allies Under Two Flags" "The Boy Allies with the Flying Squadron" "The Boy Allies with the Terror of the Seas" 1917 CHAPTER I H.M.S. "QUEEN MARY" A great, long, gray shape moved swiftly through the waters of the Thames. Smoke, pouring from three different points in the middle of this great shape, ascended, straight in the air some distance, then, caught by the wind, drifted westward. It was growing dark. Several hours before, this ocean greyhound--one of Great Britain's monster sea-fighters--had up-anchored and left her dock--where she had been undergoing slight repairs--heading eastward down the river. Men lined the rails of the monster ship. These were her crew--or some of her crew, to be exact--for the others were engaged in duties that prevented them from waving to the crowds that thronged the shore--as did the men on deck. Sharp orders carried across the water to the ears of those on shore. The officers were issuing commands. Men left the rail and disappeared from the view of the spectators as they hurried to perform their duties. Came several sharp blasts of the vessel's siren; a moment later her speed increased and as she slid easily through the waters of the river, a cheer went up from both shores. The crowd strained its eyes. Far down the river now the giant battleship was disappearing from the sight of the men and women who lined the banks. In vain, a few moments later, did many eyes try to pierce the darkness. The battleship was lost to sight. The vessel that had thus passed down the Thames was H. M. S. _Queen Mary_, one of the most formidable of England's sea fighters. It was with such ships as the _Queen Mary_, supported by smaller and less powerful craft, that Great Britain, for almost two years of the great war, had maintained her supremacy of the seas. This great ship was new in service, having been completed only a few years before the outbreak of the war. She was constructed at a cost of $10,000,000. She was 720 feet long, of 27,000 tons burden and had a complement of almost 1,000 men. For fighting purposes she was equipped with all that was modern. In her forward turret she carried a battery of six 16-inch guns. Aft, the turret was similarly equipped. Also the _Queen Mary_ mounted other big guns and rapid firers. She was equipped with an even half-dozen 12-inch torpedo tubes. She was one of the biggest ships of war that roved the seas.