so small that it could usually elude all but the sharpest
eyes, had darted for a few seconds above the surface and
had then just as suddenly disappeared. Almost directly
ahead lay the Welshman, a splendid British merchant
ship; the periscope was so close that a torpedo would
almost inevitably have hit this vessel in the engine-room.
The haste with which the German had withdrawn his
periscope, after taking a hurried glance around, was
easily explained; for his lens had revealed not only this
tempting bait, but the destroyer Fanning close aboard
and bearing down on him. Under these circumstances it
was not surprising that no torpedo was fired; it was
clearly military wisdom to beat a quick retreat rather
than attempt to attack the merchantman. Lieut. Walter
S. Henry, who was the officer of the deck, acted with the
most commendable despatch. It is not the simplest
thing, even when the submarine is so obviously located
as this one apparently was, to reach the spot accurately.
The destroyer has to make a wide and rapid turn, and there is every danger, in making this manœuvre, that the location will be missed. Subsequent events disclosed that the Fanning was turned with the utmost accuracy. As the ship darted by the spot at which the periscope had been sighted, a depth charge went over the stern, and exploded so violently that the main generator of the Fanning herself was temporarily disabled. Meanwhile the Nicholson had dashed through the convoy, made a rapid detour to the left, and dropped another depth charge a short distance ahead of the Fanning.
The disturbances made on the water by these "ash cans" gradually subsided; to all outward appearances the submarine had escaped unharmed. The Fanning and the Nicholson completed their circles and came back to the danger spot, the officers and crew eagerly scanning the surface for the usual oil patch and air bubbles, even hoping for a few pieces of wreckage those splintered remnants of the submarine's wooden deck that almost invariably indicated a considerable amount of damage. But none of these evidences of success, or half-success, rose to the surface; for ten or fifteen minutes everything was as quiet as the grave. Then something happened which occurred only a few times in this strange war. The stern of a submarine appeared out of the water, tilted at
