Danger! and Other Stories | Page 9

with the
reflection, however, that no food was passing me on its way to London.
That was what I was there for, after all. If I could do it without
spending my torpedoes, all the better. Up to date I had fired ten of them
and sunk nine steamers, so I had not wasted my weapons. That night I
came back to the Kent coast and lay upon the bottom in shallow water
near Dungeness.
We were all trimmed and ready at the first break of day, for I expected
to catch some ships which had tried to make the Thames in the
darkness and had miscalculated their time. Sure enough, there was a
great steamer coming up Channel and flying the American flag. It was
all the same to me what flag she flew so long as she was engaged in
conveying contraband of war to the British Isles. There were no
torpedo-boats about at the moment, so I ran out on the surface and fired
a shot across her bows. She seemed inclined to go on so I put a second
one just above her water-line on her port bow. She stopped then and a
very angry man began to gesticulate from the bridge. I ran the Iota
almost alongside.
"Are you the captain?" I asked.
"What the--" I won't attempt to reproduce his language.
"You have food-stuffs on board?" I said.
"It's an American ship, you blind beetle!" he cried. "Can't you see the
flag? It's the Vermondia, of Boston."
"Sorry, Captain," I answered. "I have really no time for words. Those
shots of mine will bring the torpedo-boats, and I dare say at this very
moment your wireless is making trouble for me. Get your people into
the boats."
I had to show him I was not bluffing, so I drew off and began putting
shells into him just on the water-line. When I had knocked six holes in
it he was very busy on his boats. I fired twenty shots altogether, and no

torpedo was needed, for she was lying over with a terrible list to port,
and presently came right on to her side. There she lay for two or three
minutes before she foundered. There were eight boats crammed with
people lying round her when she went down. I believe everybody was
saved, but I could not wait to inquire. From all quarters the poor old
panting, useless war-vessels were hurrying. I filled my tanks, ran her
bows under, and came up fifteen miles to the south. Of course, I knew
there would be a big row afterwards--as there was--but that did not help
the starving crowds round the London bakers, who only saved their
skins, poor devils, by explaining to the mob that they had nothing to
bake.
By this time I was becoming rather anxious, as you can imagine, to
know what was going on in the world and what England was thinking
about it all. I ran alongside a fishing-boat, therefore, and ordered them
to give up their papers. Unfortunately they had none, except a rag of an
evening paper, which was full of nothing but betting news. In a second
attempt I came alongside a small yachting party from Eastbourne, who
were frightened to death at our sudden appearance out of the depths.
From them we were lucky enough to get the London Courier of that
very morning.
It was interesting reading--so interesting that I had to announce it all to
the crew. Of course, you know the British style of headline, which
gives you all the news at a glance. It seemed to me that the whole paper
was headlines, it was in such a state of excitement. Hardly a word about
me and my flotilla. We were on the second page. The first one began
something like this:--
CAPTURE OF BLANKENBERG!
* * * * *
DESTRUCTION OF ENEMY'S FLEET
* * * * *
BURNING OF TOWN

* * * * *
TRAWLERS DESTROY MINE FIELD LOSS OF TWO
BATTLESHIPS
* * * * *
IS IT THE END?
Of course, what I had foreseen had occurred. The town was actually
occupied by the British. And they thought it was the end! We would
see about that.
On the round-the-corner page, at the back of the glorious resonant
leaders, there was a little column which read like this:--
HOSTILE SUBMARINES
Several of the enemy's submarines are at sea, and have inflicted some
appreciable damage upon our merchant ships. The danger-spots upon
Monday and the greater part of Tuesday appear to have been the mouth
of the Thames and the western entrance to the Solent. On Monday,
between the Nore and Margate, there were sunk five large steamers, the
Adela, Moldavia, Cusco, Cormorant, and Maid of Athens, particulars of