The officers of the _Aurora_, aware of their danger, seemed utterly powerless to avert it. It was a terrible moment. A few seconds later the torpedo struck, the cruiser rose as if she had ridden over a volcano, and then, as she gradually settled down, the dark sea rolled over as gallant a crew as ever sailed beneath the White Ensign. Immediately afterwards the _Navarin_ exchanged rapid signals with a number of ships which were approaching with all speed from the direction of Hastings, and the captains of the three remaining British vessels saw that they had fallen into a trap. The _Narcissus_ had been drawn between two fires. Both her funnels had been shot away, two of her broadside guns were useless, and she had sustained damage to her engines; nevertheless, her captain, with the dogged perseverance of a British sailor, continued the desperate combat. With the first flush of dawn the fog had lifted, but there was scarcely sufficient wind to spread out the British ensign, which still waved with lazy defiance. On one side of her was the ponderous _Navarin_, from the turret of which shells were projected with monotonous regularity, while on the other the British cruiser was attacked vigorously by the _Najezdnik_. The _Narcissus_, however, quickly showed the Russians what she could do against such overwhelming odds, for presently she sent a shot from one of her 20-ton guns right under the turret of the _Navarin_, causing a most disastrous explosion on board that vessel, while, at the same time, her 6-inch breechloaders pounded away at her second antagonist, and sank a torpedo boat manoeuvring near. Both the _Galatea_ and the _Hannibal_ were in an equally serious predicament. The enemy's torpedo boats swarmed around them, while the cruisers _Opricnik_, _Admiral Korniloff_, _Rynda_, and several other vessels, kept up a hot, incessant fire, which was returned energetically by the British vessels. The sight was magnificent, appalling! In the spreading dawn, the great ships manoeuvring smartly, each strove to obtain points of vantage, and vied with each other in their awful work of destruction. The activity of the British torpedo boats, darting here and there, showed that those who manned them were utterly reckless of their lives. As they sped about, it was indeed marvellous how they escaped destruction, for the Russians had more than double the number of boats, and their speed was quite equal to our own. Nevertheless the British boats followed up their successes by other brilliant deeds of daring, for one of them, with a sudden dash, took the _Rynda_ off her guard, and sent a torpedo at her with awful result, while a few moments later two terrific explosions sounded almost simultaneously above the thunder of the guns, and it was then seen that the unprotected cruiser _Asia_, and the last remaining transport the _Krasnaya Gorka_, were both sinking. It was a ghastly spectacle.