Three hours after passing North Ronaldshay the six cruisers and their two destroyers drew in towards the Pentland Skerries from the east. The sound of shots from the Firth and from behind Stroma told that the co-operating division of the fleet was already at work. And presently through the Firth came racing, at top speed, two German torpedo boats, with eight British destroyers firing furiously at them, astern of them. The chase was over in a minute. Finding themselves surrounded and their escape cut off, with the much faster British destroyers astern of them and the Armoured Cruiser Squadron ahead of them, the two German boats turned and ran ashore close under John o’ Groats House, where their crews blew them up and surrendered. The Firth was cleared, and the co-operating squadron joined hands with the main force. A fresh detachment of two cruisers was sent off to steam direct for Aberdeen, and attack the German cruiser off that place, in case she had not already retired. If she had gone, the two cruisers were to move direct on Lerwick. But the arrival, two hours later, of the two cruisers which had been sent to look after the German ship at Wick, with the news that she had hurriedly left about the time when the _Bremen_ was sighted, no doubt alarmed by the _Bremen’s_ wireless signals, suggested that there was little chance of catching the enemy at Aberdeen. The seven armoured cruisers and the ten big destroyers now steamed well out into the North Sea, going full speed to get upon the German line of retreat from Lerwick, before moving up along it on the Shetlands. For six hours they kept generally eastwards, and at 10 p.m. were extended over a front of about 100 miles, with six miles’ interval between each cruiser and destroyer. Two of the very fastest turbine destroyers, which could do 30 knots at sea, formed the north-eastern extremity of the line, to the east of the Bressay Bank. These skilful tactics were rewarded with a measure of success. The wireless signals of the _Bremen_ had alarmed the German squadron at Lerwick, about 1 p.m. on Thursday. Its division of fast cruisers put to sea without a moment’s delay. The older cruisers, _Irene_ and _Grief_, however, were coaling, and were delayed two hours in getting to sea, while the two gun-boats _Eber_ and _Panther_ had not got steam up, and had to be left to co-operate with the garrison. Two torpedo boats were also detached for the purpose of assisting the German land force, which had thrown up two batteries and mounted two 5-in. howitzers and two 4-in. guns to protect the mine-fields laid in the entrances to the harbour. The Germans knew every point and feature in the island group, as the British Admiralty had permitted them to use it for their manœuvres in 1904.