e
bottom and then set our bombs for ten fathoms. Suddenly I hear a cry
from the boat behind us. One of the crew reaches out, grabs the collar
of a man who has just dropped a depth bomb over the stern and yanks him
unceremoniously into the cockpit. At a glance I see what has happened.

"The engineer has stalled his motor--just as the bomb was let go. It
sinks slowly, and there is a slight momentum left in the
submarine-chaser. We hold our breath and watch in suspense, expecting
any second to see our comrades hurled into the air among a mushroom of
water and splinters.

"There is no way to help them. Suddenly there is a muffled roar, a
column of water rises to what seems a hundred feet, and falls back,
drenching every one who is near it. But our comrades are unhurt. The
momentum of their boat has carried them just far enough to save them
from being blown to atoms. That is the second narrow escape for our
little squadron in this chase after a single submarine.

"But our work is done. There is no doubt now about the fate of the
U-boat. It is not necessary for one of the depth bombs actually to come
in contact with the submerged craft to destroy it. When under water, a
submarine's rigidity is multiplied. Its elasticity is next to nothing.
An explosion as powerful as that of a depth bomb near it, is almost
certain to cripple it if not destroy it. It is the same principle as
that which kills fish in a pond when dynamite is exploded beneath the
surface of the water. The shock is sufficient to kill the men in the
U-boat, and so we glide along homeward, secure in the knowledge that
even if our gunfire did not finish the enemy, the bombs have done the
work. On the surface, we notice swarms of dead fish."

THE HAWK-EYED AEROPLANE.

The last wrinkle developed for submarine hunting was the aeroplane. Like
a fish-hawk it can see its prey beneath the water by flying high in air.
Another step just a bit in advance of aeroplane scouting for submarines
is the use of a small dirigible for the same purpose. But the cleverest
development of the aeroplane-submarine idea involved the use of
seaplanes for the purpose of launching submarine torpedoes at enemy
ships.

Here's how this is practiced. As most folks know, the seaplane differs
from the land-flying craft in that it rides on floats instead of wheels.
These floats permit the seaplane to come to rest on the waves, and to
launch itself again. Between these floats, which resemble a