Danger! and Other Stories | Page 5

shipping about, mostly fishing-boats and small
coasting craft, with one large steamer hull-down to the west, and a
torpedo destroyer between us and the land. It could not harm us, and
yet I thought it as well that there should be no word of our presence, so
I filled my tanks again and went down to ten feet. I was pleased to find
that we got under in one hundred and fifty seconds. The life of one's
boat may depend on this when a swift craft comes suddenly upon you.
We were now within a few hours of our cruising ground, so I
determined to snatch a rest, leaving Vornal in charge. When he woke

me at ten o'clock we were running on the surface, and had reached the
Essex coast off the Maplin Sands. With that charming frankness which
is one of their characteristics, our friends of England had informed us
by their Press that they had put a cordon of torpedo-boats across the
Straits of Dover to prevent the passage of submarines, which is about
as sensible as to lay a wooden plank across a stream to keep the eels
from passing. I knew that Stephan, whose station lay at the western end
of the Solent, would have no difficulty in reaching it. My own cruising
ground was to be at the mouth of the Thames, and here I was at the
very spot with my tiny Iota, my eighteen torpedoes, my quick-firing
gun, and, above all, a brain that knew what should be done and how to
do it.
When I resumed my place in the conning-tower I saw in the periscope
(for we had dived) that a lightship was within a few hundred yards of
us upon the port bow. Two men were sitting on her bulwarks, but
neither of them cast an eye upon the little rod that clove the water so
close to them. It was an ideal day for submarine action, with enough
ripple upon the surface to make us difficult to detect, and yet smooth
enough to give me a clear view. Each of my three periscopes had an
angle of sixty degrees so that between them I commanded a complete
semi-circle of the horizon. Two British cruisers were steaming north
from the Thames within half a mile of me. I could easily have cut them
off and attacked them had I allowed myself to be diverted from my
great plan. Farther south a destroyer was passing westwards to
Sheerness. A dozen small steamers were moving about. None of these
were worthy of my notice. Great countries are not provisioned by small
steamers. I kept the engines running at the lowest pace which would
hold our position under water, and, moving slowly across the estuary, I
waited for what must assuredly come.
I had not long to wait. Shortly after one o'clock I perceived in the
periscope a cloud of smoke to the south. Half an hour later a large
steamer raised her hull, making for the mouth of the Thames. I ordered
Vornal to stand by the starboard torpedo-tube, having the other also
loaded in case of a miss. Then I advanced slowly, for though the
steamer was going very swiftly we could easily cut her off. Presently I

laid the Iota in a position near which she must pass, and would very
gladly have lain to, but could not for fear of rising to the surface. I
therefore steered out in the direction from which she was coming. She
was a very large ship, fifteen thousand tons at the least, painted black
above and red below, with two cream-coloured funnels. She lay so low
in the water that it was clear she had a full cargo. At her bows were a
cluster of men, some of them looking, I dare say, for the first time at
the mother country. How little could they have guessed the welcome
that was awaiting them!
On she came with the great plumes of smoke floating from her funnels,
and two white waves foaming from her cut-water. She was within a
quarter of a mile. My moment had arrived. I signalled full speed ahead
and steered straight for her course. My timing was exact. At a hundred
yards I gave the signal, and heard the clank and swish of the discharge.
At the same instant I put the helm hard down and flew off at an angle.
There was a terrific lurch, which came from the distant explosion. For a
moment we were almost upon our side. Then, after staggering and
trembling, the Iota came on an even keel. I stopped the engines,
brought her to the surface, and opened the conning-tower, while all my
excited crew came crowding to the hatch to know what had happened.