Those who were able to do so gathered their valuables and took refuge on the merchant ships in the harbor and thanked heaven when they bore them away.

Many others fled from the city, but the majority stayed, grimly determined to be in at the death and accept whatever fate was in store for them.
The distance between Hong Kong and Manila is 630 miles, and it needed only a little figuring on the part of the inhabitants to decide that the dreaded squadron would be due on the following Saturday evening or early the next morning, which would be the first of May.

The self-confidence of Admiral Montojo and his officers was almost sublime.

All they asked was a fair chance at the "American pigs." They hoped that nothing would occur to prevent the coming of the fleet, for the Spaniards would never cease to mourn if the golden opportunity were allowed to slip from their grasp.

They were not disappointed in that respect.
It is proper to give at this point the respective strength of the American and Spanish fleets.