Commander Lawless V.C.

was calm, with not a breath of wind stirring, and the sea was ruffled by long, undulating furrows that pursued their way acr

round-swell. Upon the bridge Lieutenant-Commander Lawless stood smoking a pipe, and near him Sub-Lieutenant Trent reclined against the searchli

taking the pipe from his mouth and knocking it against the h

then it would be balmy

g hard through the mist at a vague, shapeless something which might

f us on the starbo

the destroyer overhauled it, assumed the shape and appearance of a

," said Lawless, pick

h the fog was split by a yellow streak of fire

and obliterated the steamer as completely as though a curtain had been lowered. Although invisible, the vessel's engines could still be heard and, guided by the sound, the Knat was kept on her trail, Lawless waiting only for the fog to lift i

ves eat puddi

rs' wives

murmured, and then, raising his vo

y! Where away?"

r port

ship i

destroy

see the decks thronged with anxious passengers a

are you?"

ghted an enemy submarine and ope

ine! How

s. She was using

spectacles?" answered Lawless wrathfully.

," answered the skip

r! You opened fire o

something better to do than take pot shots at passenge

He was, therefore, a trifle "nervy" and apt to suspect every indistinguishable floating object he met of being a submarine. Possibly, seen dimly through the fog, the Knat looked something like a submarine awash and the captain of the Cotswold had been

he captain of the Cotswold heard them, might have produced a re

e go

?" inquir

id

to make a note of it in the log. 'Sev

give that skipper the biggest shaking up he's ever had. If I don't get

nds exc

aving Trent in charge of the bridge, he

intervals, for nearly a quarter of an hour. Presently Lawless emerged upon the after-deck, follow

mounting the bridge aga

tent incubator?"

agination. That, m

ght your ideas were

report you for

follow the drift of this

uitable fluid, such as sea-water, it will float just below the surface. Secondly," continued Lawless, in the manner of one giving a lecture, "I would call your attention to a cylindrical object which, viewed at close range, somewhat resembles a drain-pipe. Neverthele

d and waited f

ouring an amiable lunatic. "And what do you do now? Make it

mpatiently. "Can't you see? This is the means I've d

t with dynamite and exp

ghted, will be submerged and show only the pipe in a vertical position above the surface. Furthermore, the worthy Bates having fashioned the top thereof in the

s that as soon as the fog lifts and the skipper spots your barrel he'll pot it with his quick-firer. Then we shall

to hit that barrel in a month of Sundays, esp

shoulders, but made

we'll proceed to drop the bean in the soup. Stand by the telegraph, for i

ng out was, to put it mildly, risky, and no one but the feckless Lieutenant would have contemplated such a thing, much less have attempted to put it into execution. But no fear of possibl

rn towering, dim and shadowy, above him. Then, taking the wheel from the hands o

he said in a h

o which the other end of the line was fastened, against the Cotswold's stern-post in such a manner that it would fall over one of the iron supports extending from beneath the counter to the rudder-post. There was, of course, the

" the bos'n repo

ern," the Knat backed away into the

"when the skipper spots that in his wake he'll have about fifty

or several days past in this particular portion of the North Sea. Lawless, so far, had not had any luck; a fact

ll," he said to Trent. "Ca

wakened by a bridge-messenger, who told him the fog

we picked up a little wh

d, catching sight of the steamer d

Trent. "Oh, to see the old man's face when the

taken us about four miles out of our cour

young people, if you're not careful," retorted L

ning the water into cat's paws. Presently Trent, who had been watching the

cket," he said in a tone

g at the vessel ahead for such a lo

you make of h

ot the C

she steaming w

ered Lawless, and rang

ound so as to present only her bows to the enemy and her machine-guns were hammering away as fast as they could be loaded. The duel lasted nearly ten minutes, the Knat trying to man?uvre into such a position that she could torpedo her adversary, the latter doing her utmost to frustrate this design. And all this time the two vesse

to avoid the fast approaching engine of death. But the man?uvre had been carried out too late; the torpedo struck her just underneath the stern and there was a terrific explosion. The steamer heele

ed to the spot where she had disappeared. But so swift had been the steamer's fate that not more than ha

Hull, and Lawless, having handed over his prisoners and writte

rtain hostelry much favoured by naval and merchant service officer

low making ou

anded into a

r skipper before the day's out. And if I don't p

urse, did not recognise Lawless when he and Trent entered because, on the occasion of their exchanging courtesies, it had been too dark and fo

my stern than I am from that piano yonder. Well, I started steering a zig-zag course, at the same time opening f

ng round, the narrator of this thrilling episode behe

kipper!" cried Lawless, a

said the other, his face

ered the Lieutenant. "But surely you re

the blackguard

of yours, it's such a good one that I really haven't the heart to spoil it;

the devil you're driving at?" inquired

on't accept

see you in

aid of a barrel and a tin cylinder. He was interrupted several times by bursts of uproarious mirth from the

he

unk an enemy submarine at all?

f snuff that you never even saw one from

ng, when we put in here, the bos'n found a length of rope with a piece of lead attached, fastened to the vessel's stern. How the deuce it got there we couldn't make out, but now, thanks to this gentleman, we know. What's more, it must have been that rope and the old barr

on the unobtrusive gentleman with t

ficers of the submarine are now on their way to Donnington Hall a

te a "chit" wherein he assigned to the skipper of t