hting ship,
and as soon as the Huns saw the shape we were in, they began to close,
firing as they came. But even then they were careful to choose a
direction of approach on which the after gun could not be brought to
bear. With the foremost tubes out of action, and no crew to serve them
in any case, there was nothing for me to do but sit tight and wait for
orders. So I just chucked my head-gear, which was no longer of use with
the voice-pipes gone, and settled back in my seat to watch the show and
wait till I was wanted. There was really nothing to stay there for, but
it was my 'Action Station,' and I knew it was the place I would be
looked for if I was needed. On the score of cover, one place is as good
an another--in a destroyer, anyhow.

"It must have been the fact that the after gun was the only one still
in action that brought the captain back from the bridge. There was
really nothing to keep him on the bridge, anyway. He seemed to be making
a sort of general round, trying to see what shape things were in and
bucking everybody up. He was as cool and cheery as if it was an ordinary
target practice, with no Hun cruisers closing in to blow us out of the
water. I saw him clapping some of the after gun's crew on the back, and
when he came along to the foremost tubes, not noticing probably that I
was the only one left there, he sung out: 'Stick it, lads; we're not
done yet.' Those were his exact words. I remember grinning to myself at
being called 'lads.'

"But we _were_ done, even then. The Huns were inside of a mile by now,
and firing for the water-line, evidently trying to put us down just as
quickly as they could.

"All their misses were 'shorts.' I don't remember a single 'over.' They
were still taking no unnecessary chances. As soon as they were close
enough to see that our torpedo tubes were probably jammed to port, they
altered course and crossed our bows and steamed past the other side,
where there was no chance of our slipping over a mouldie at them.

"We were already settling rapidly, with a heavy list to port, and as
soon as the captain saw she was finished, he gave the order: 'Abandon
ship. Every man for himself!' Those were the last words I heard him
speak. He went below just after that to see about ditching the secret
books, I believe, and when I saw him again it was just before she sank,
and he was pacing the quarterdeck and talking quietly with the First
Lieutenant.

"As our only boat had been smas