nearly midnight
The ships which had been battering each other so heartily separated as if by mutual consent , and the French and German admirals steamed to the south-westward to join their allies and sweep the Strait of Dover clear of those who had for so many hundred years considered -- yes , and kept it -- as their own sea-freehold . At the same time private signals were flashed through the air to the _ Flying Fishes _ to retire on Calais , replenish their ammunition and motive power , which they had been using so lavishly , and return at daybreak . Thus what was left of Dover , its furiously impotent soldiery , and its sorely stricken inhabitants , had a respite at least until day dawned and showed them the extent of the ruin that had been wrought . It was nearly midnight when the three fleets joined , and just about eight bells the clouds parted and dissolved under the impact of a stiff nor ' - easter , which had been gathering strength for the last two hours . The war smoke drifted away , and the moon shone down clearly on the now white-crested battlefield . By its light and their own searchlights the French and German admirals , steaming as they thought to join hands with their victorious friends , saw the strangest and most exasperating sight that their eyes had ever beheld . The advancing force was a curiously composed one .