r the gander--just tit for tat, this game."

"That," said Sir William, "is rather a novel point of view. It's not
exactly one that is taken by the bulk of people ashore."

The figure beside the helmsman crinkled up his eyes as he stared ahead
and gave a low-voiced order to the helmsman. "Oh?" he said. "I don't
know much about what people ashore think, except that they're all
rattled over this so-called Submarine menace. Anyone that's scared is
apt to cling to one point of view."

"That is so," replied the Scientist. "But I chose to come out with you
to-day for these experiments on the principle of setting a thief to
catch a thief."

"That's sound," said the Submarine expert. "Because, you know, in the
Navy we all look at life from different points of view, according to
our jobs. No, thanks, I won't smoke till we get outside. Now, those
fellows"--the speaker jerked his head astern to the great grey
Battleships--"those big-ship wallahs--they're only just beginning to
take Us seriously. I put in my big-ship time at the beginning of the
war--we do a year in a big ship, you know, for our sins--and the
fellows in the Mess used to jeer at Us. They talked about their
rams...." He laughed. "Rams!" he repeated. "They called us pirates.
P'raps we were, but we didn't carry bathrooms in those early boats--nor
yet manicure sets.... Port ten! ... Ease to five--steady!"

The speaker was silent for a moment, musing. "I don't know that I
altogether blame 'em." He turned to his First Lieutenant, a youth some
years his junior with preposterously long eyelashes. "'Member the
manoeuvres before the War?" The other laughed and nodded. "I
torpedoed my revered parent's Battleship," continued the speaker, "at
two hundred yards in broad daylight and a flat calm." He chuckled.
"Lor' bless me! It's like a fairy tale, lookin' back on it after two
years of war."

"Haven't they rather altered their tune since, though?" asked the
visitor.

"A bit, yes. They don't quite know how to take us nowadays. We come
in from patrol and tie up alongside them to give the men the run of the
canteen; they ask us to dinner and give cinema shows for the sailors,
bless 'em. We're beginning to feel quite the giddy heroes when we find
ourselves among the Battle-fleet."

"Cold feet," interposed the First Lieutenant. "That's what's behind it
all. We're It...."

Sir William laughed. "Well," he said, "what about those craft yonder?
There