.

Up to the middle of March, 1915, all the ships which had become
victims of German submarines had been of the slower coasting variety.
There had been numerous unconfirmed reports that the faster
transatlantic ships had been chased, but no credence had been given to
them. On the 27th of March, 1915, however, when the _Arabic_ arrived
at Liverpool it was reported by those on board that she had given a
submarine a lively chase and had gotten away safely. At about nine
o'clock the evening before the submarine was sighted off Holyhead. She
was only 200 yards ahead, and while her commander jockeyed for a
position from which he could successfully launch a torpedo, the
commander of the _Arabic_ gave the order "Full speed ahead." His
passengers lined the rail of the ship to watch the maneuvers. Soon the
steamship had up a speed of 18 knots, which was a bit too fast for the
submarine, and she fell to the rearward. Her chance for launching a
torpedo was gone, but she brought her deck guns into action, firing
two shots which went wild. The _Arabic_ proceeded to port unmolested.

At times even the cost of shell fire was figured by the commanders of
German submarines, and pistol and rifles were used instead. This was
done in the case of the _Delmira_ on the 26th of March, 1915. This
steamship was sunk off Boulogne. Ten minutes were given by the crew of
the submarine to the crew of the steamship for them to get off. The
submarine had come up off the bow of the _Delmira_, and men standing
on the deck of the former had fired shots toward the bridge of the
latter to make her captain bring her to a stop. The latter ordered his
engines started again at full speed, with the intention of ramming the
enemy, but his Chinese stokers refused to obey the order, and his ship
did not move. The crew of the steamship got into their small boats,
and for an hour and a half these were towed by the submarine so that
their row to shore would not be so long. Though torpedoed, the
_Delmira_ did not sink, and was last seen in a burning condition off
the French coast near Cape de la Hogue.

The sinking of the steamship _Falaba_, which is mentioned, though not
narrated in full, in another chapter, was the last act of German
submarines during the month of March, 1915. This ship on the 29th of
March, 1915, was overtaken by a German submarine in St. George's
Channel. She was engaged in the African trade, voyaging between the
African ports and Liverpool. On h