Wheeling round almost at right angles to her previous course, and in the face of the point-blank fire and dazzling flashes of the enemy's guns; with a target before her little more than 300 feet long and racing through the darkness at nearly thirty miles an hour; with the practical certainty, if she missed this, of being herself rammed by the next in the line; regardless of the odds, the _Swift_ hurled herself at the first visible German destroyer. So instant had been the decision of the _Swift's_ commander, that it might almost have been called automatic--the natural response not only of a lifetime's schooling, but of all the centuries behind this of British admiralty. Hit or miss, it was a sporting chance, the chance of a lifetime, and he took it. Alas, it was a miss, but such a narrow one that he himself cut through without disaster, swung round to port, torpedoed another of the six, and then picked up and chased a third. Meanwhile the _Broke_, following the _Swift_, had put her helm over almost at the same moment; had successfully torpedoed one of the enemy line, literally plastering her with 4-inch shells; and was now making to ram another--possibly the one that the _Swift_ had missed. This she did, splitting her at full speed, burying her bows in her and crushing her down; and there then ensued such a fight as had scarcely been {218} witnessed since the days of steam. With a gun out of action and part of her bridge already carried away before she had rammed; with her helmsman bleeding from several wounds but sticking to his wheel as long as he was conscious; with the remaining enemy destroyers pouring their shells into her, and German sailors swarming into her forecastle--the _Broke_ raked her prey with everything that could be fired from a 4-inch gun to an automatic pistol. By now, however, several Germans had gained their footing on deck, where Midshipman Gyles had been working the forward guns; and, for a few seconds, half blind with blood, and almost alone, he met the rush. Then a huge German seized his pistol-wrist and tried to wrench the weapon away from him, only to be struck at and thwarted by Petty-Officer Woodfield and finally cutlassed by Able Seaman Ingelson. With cutlasses and pistols the decks were then cleared, and a couple of hiding Germans made prisoners, and half a minute later the _Broke_ freed herself from the German destroyer. With the _Swift_ still chasing the enemy that she had marked down, and with two others put out of action, the _Broke_ now turned her attention to the remainder and attempted to ram yet one more. In this she failed--she had been struck in the boiler-room and was becoming difficult to manoeuvre--but loosed a torpedo at the destroyer nearest to her, and was successful in hitting her.