neither "Cease firing!" screamed the C.O. "He's spitohered." fectly calm water, But when men are worked up to the killing frenzy, as our men were, it takes more than a single word to halt them; and the for'ard gun fired two more rounds before the order reached the gunlayer's brain, As was afterwards reckoned by the gunner's mate, it took thirty-five rounds to complete the enemy's destruction. That amount of shell was fired, but no doubt a good many rounds missed completely. Indeed, at one time, the U-boat was almost invisible on account of the thrown up columns of spray and water about her, showing that certain projectiles had fallen short of their mark. But something like a score must have secured direct hits, and this average was anything but bad when it is borne in mind how small the offered target was. If the 12-pounder 12-owt. gun had not been as accurate 88 & rifle, the percentage of misses must have been much higher. But such calculations hardly enter into the story. What does really matter is that whilst still poring over the compass, intent on keeping the compass-point I had my self chosen as a course, fixed accurately on the lubber's line, I was aroused from my concentration by a sudden ourseful cheer from the gun--nothing more. layer of the after gun. Fritz was sinking. There was not the smallest doubt of it, for no submarine ever invented dives stern first, and that was what our adversary was doing. His bow was lifting with ourious steadiness out of the sea, his after part was disappearing from view. "Stop her!" said the C.O., and I obediently rang the engine-room bell. Very quickly the horrid vibration died away; the engine, with a gusty sigh, came to rest, and the ensuing sensation of calm was almost unearthly. One moment there had been ear-splitting clamour enough to waken the dead at the bottom of the sea; the next there was nothing to be heard but an occasional creak from aloft, the dull flap of a sail, the soft gurgle of water overside. There was an acrid scent of burnt oordite over all, but the noxious fumes from the engine - room soon overpowered that odour. Fritz did not sink like a flash: he took his time about it. When he did disappear he slid beneath the surface rather than plunged, and there was surprisingly little confusion in the water as he vanished. Just a few swirls and foamy streaks I had often promised myself the privilege of taking a photograph of a sinking submarine at the precise moment of her finishing; but it was not until this U-boat vanished that I remembered that my camera was safely stowed away in my berth-absolutely forgotten in the rush of events. A photo but my own negligence put it out of the question. conscious in the main of feel graph of this sinking would have been very interesting, ing somewhat sick: that toovivid imagination of mine had conjured up an impression of the interior of the German submarine. I pictured it a shambles, a horrid inferno of mangled men, who, wounded and helpless, were unable to make any effort to save themselves as the devouring water raced in through the many gaps our shells had made. And it was net the least use to repeat: "They deserved all they got-they didn't worry whether any one was in the way of their mouldies when they fired them." Even now that conjured-up vision troubles me. There were other things to consider besides photographs, though. We had in the first place our own casualties to reckon with; and we had, further, to rescue such survivors of the prize as remained alive. This latter work fell to the lot of the "Abandon Ship" boat. Our ceasing fire had evidently given the C.P.O. in charge the impression that we had been victorious, for the smoke had hardly cleared away from our gun-muzzles before he had his crew pulling like Trojans towards the spot where the U-boat had disappeared. It is difficult to describe in detail the atmosphere aboard Brig X after the engagement terminated. Some men were cheering still, as if they would never leave off; others were calm and reposeful, with white set faces and very bright eyes. In the main there was a suggestion of boastfulness about everybody's attitude, and there was a tremendous amount of talk. Each man was trying to tell how the action had impressed him, and no one was listening to a word any one else said! The after gun-layer was explaining to the C.O. that his shooting had unquestionably resulted in the submarine's finish; and suddenly -quite without any relevance -he started on a Gunnery Sehool lecture to his sightsetter about some trivial point of drill that had been neglected. For myself, I was The C.O. was simply unmoved; he was the most matter-of-fact man possible to meet. The first thing he did after the submarine sank was to unscrew the cooking-handle of the after gun in order to assure himself that the nut retaining the striker in place had not come unscrewed, so that, in the event of it being necessary to open fire again, there need be no fear of a premature discharge owing to the point of the striker projecting and striking the firing-tube as the gun's breech was closed! Once satisfied of this, he gave orders for the guns to be rapidly sponged out and housed. "Look alive about it, too," he ordered. "We haven't any proof that that man is the only one about-and they've taken to hunting in pairs." This necessary work was done very quickly; the guns were dropped and the camouflage coverings replaced; extra hands were ordered from the deck; and long before the "Abandon Ship" beat came alongside, the brig was reduced to the semblance of an Italian coaster once more. Down below, however, it was different. The majority of the men had been in action for the first time, and they were very full of it all. The babel of talk that came from the mess-decks was incredible; it was amazing that so comparatively few men could make so much noise. Except in the immediate neighbourhood of our peky little wardroom, that is: near there a sort of whispering rasp was in the speakers' voices, -their concession to the fact that our wounded lay within. By virtue of certain facts it fell to my lot to act as surgeon in-ordinary to the ship. In early youth the writer had been earmarked for the medical profession, and had studied accordingly. Later, his ac quaintaneeship with the disciples of healing had been considerable; and as rough and ready surgery had always appealed, he was not quite so left-handed as he might have been. An inquisitive mind helped not a little; but my first thought on surveying our wounded was one of selfdisgust in that I had not taken greater advantage of the opportunities that had offered in the past to equip myself more completely. I felt that I would willingly have given years of life to be qualified and a sense of helplessness grew. two However, the job had to be tackled, and tackled it was. It was anything but pleasant. There were three men who came into the category of "seriously wounded," others with minor injuries, and another who was more scared than hurt. There was not even a sick-berth steward to help; but the coxswain volunteered, and rendered signal assistance. One man was really suffering excruciatingly; be entreated me to put him out of his misery ence for all. Throwing overboard was the remedy he suggested; but a heroie injeotion of morphia made his outlook more hopeful. The least seriously wounded of the lot made most outory: he had been hit by a splinter in the middle of the hand, and to hear him one would have imagined he was disembowelled at least. He had quite lost control of himself, and sympathy only made him worse. But the exereise of a smattering of Prussianism had a better effect. Threats of various kinds, chiefly concerned with the stoppage of grog, were made; and ultimately dark hints of irons and the chain-locker brought the man to his senses. It is better not to enter too closely into details of the rough surgery that was practised: it would probably arouse mirth amongst qualified readers. Somehow, the blood-flows were stopped, the wounds were bathed and rendered antiseptic, certain stitches were put in; but the most seriously wounded a shell fragment-or, as was later proved, several fragments-had struck him in the back, and the internal havoo was terrible. The only thing to de meantime was to stop the hæmorrhage and keep the patient under morphia: as the ship's stock of the latter was small, other sufferers, who clamoured for its administration, were compelled to do without. On being told the reason for this deprivation, they behaved extremely well, and stuek it out without much complaining. was really in bad case: sedden elothes, and indesoribably dirty. Unshaven, tousled of hair, it seemed impossible to associate them with a Navy that had always held a reputation for smartness. They were very frightened, too; and I rather incline to the opinion that the C.P.O. in the boat had regaled them with lurid stories of the fate reserved for men of their kidney once they were grasped by the long arm of the British Navy. Our C.P.O. strenuously denied that any such stories had been told, but he was a careful and comprehensive liar when handling stores and such matters, and the leopard does not onange his spots in a hurry. In any case, our prisoners were trembling with something more than cold; and the C.O. told me, in discussing the matter afterwards, that when they came aboard and lined up on the deck, they east apprehensive glances at our spars, which seemed admirably adapted for summary executions. Not that it was anything like heroic work down there in our bilge-feul wardroom. The apartment was too small for much moving about; our oranky dining - table had to serve as operating-table; and in the middle of the whole messy business, the unimaginative A.B. who acted as our mess servant, and who had served ammunition to the forward gun without a quiver during all the engagement, wanted to set the table for breakfast! He was so much a creature of routine as all that: breakfast had to be ready at a certain hour, and the fact that the galley was overboard and that the wardroom had been turned into an improvised sick - bay did not alter his view-point in the least. It was evident that they were all suffering more or less from shell-shock: "looked like a lot of gibbering idiots," the C.O. said. had to be C.O. said. Only one could speak English: he was the navigating warrant officer; but he was suffering more than any of the others from the effects of the ordeal they had just passed through, and to obtain any coherent infermation from him was an impossibility. As none of us was able to speak a word of German, we were at something of a deadlook. What we chiefly wanted to know was whether Whilst I was engaged below, the "Abandon Ship" boat returned, bringing four survivors from the submarine. They were a pitiful-looking orowd enough,-shivering in their the sunken submarine had been cruising lone - handed, or in company; but spite of much questioning, the warrant-offieer could not satisfy us. He merely stared at us with glassy eyes; and at any extraordinary sound, such as the thud-thud of the rudder or the dropping of a spanner on the plating of the engine room, he started violently, and it was possible to see agony show in his face. Be sure we, as a whole, were very jubilant at our success. We had justified our existence, and we had ridded the Mediterranean of one of its pests. Our camouflage had been ultimately successful: exactly how successful we did not then know, for lack of evidence from those we had hoodwinked. As ultimately turned out, however, information from the navigating warrant-officer Only one of the four acted being forthcoming at a later up to the accredited idea. He date, the commander of the was disposed to be arrogant U-boat had been very susand uppish; he laughed when picious. He had secured inhe was questioned; and his formation-from what source manner was so unbefitting his W&8 never discovered - that condition, that the remark made by the C.P.O. to the effect that he should be required to sing the Hymn of Hate as a solo, with his fellows in distress to join in the chorus, was to some extent justified, I think, We had but the most indifferent accommodation for prisoners of war-practically every inch of the interior of the brig was crowded to bursting-point, and the damages in the mess-deck still further oramped our space; but we had to confine these survivors somehow, since the law of humanity forbade us tying spare shot to their heels and flinging them overboard. No doubt they deserved such treatment, but we had nothing to do with their deserts. Eventually a small unwholesome store-room up in the bows was cleared out, and inte this apartment, unlighted and peculiarly noisome on account of the bilgewater, they were established. sailing "Q" boats were being equipped at our Base, and he was determined to make sure of our real character before committing himself to a closequarter action. Hence his torpedo and his long-range fire. We gathered that the opinion aboard the sunken submarine was that no "Q" boat could stand the treatment that had been served to us without exposing her identity; and that when we did open fire, the panic and confusion aboard the enemy craft was so complete as to paralyse the orew. The commander was killed at our second salvo, and the engines were also so badly damaged that manoeuvring was out of the question. Since our prisoners were now helpless, they ceased to be enemies, and a rough meal was served to them; they were also given a tot of much-diluted grog apiece. This seemed to hearten them considerably; they lost something of their |