nine o'clock
But now they were not only standing up to the British , but were giving them a bad thrashing . Each lad realized , of course , that the British were out-numbered and that the weight of guns was in favor of the enemy ; but in spite of this they felt that the enemy should be defeated . They cast occasional glances to the west , hoping to catch sight of the main British fleet , which should be drawing near now . But at nine o'clock there was no smoke on the horizon . The loss of the _ Invincible _ had been a hard blow to the British . As the others retreated now the Germans pressed them closely . A shot struck the _ Marlborough _ in the forward turret , exploding her guns there and killing the gun crews .