--fortunately,
there are few of them left save under neutral flags--was the U-boat's
favourite prey.

"About eight o'clock their search was rewarded. The two British sailors
heard a number of shots, and presently understood the U-boat skipper to
declare that he had just put down a small Norwegian steamer with
shell-fire. As they were still full up with the stores looted from the
_Hilda Bronson_, no attempt was made to take off anything from the
sinking Norwegian. All morning the pirate continued cruising on the
surface, diving only once. Great attention was given to surroundings,
stops being made about once an hour to heave the lead. In this they
displayed good sense beyond a doubt, for it is worth a lot to a
submarine to know whether it can dive straight on to the bottom without
encountering a pressure strong enough to crush it in.

"About noon another helpless victim--this time a British merchant
steamer--was sighted, and the imprisoned sailors counted nine shots
before tremendous consternation and confusion spread through the
submarine as fire was opened on her by some ship coming up from the same
direction as the merchantman bore, and she dived with all possible
dispatch. This was where the _Flash_ began to take a hand in the game.

"Now the fact that this particular Fritz ought easily to have sighted us
at twice the distance at which we opened with our foremost 12-pounder
bears out exactly what I said about the traits the Hun and the tiger
have in common. They are both 'foul-feeders,' and begin to see so red,
once the blood-lust of prospective satiation is upon them, that they are
half blinded to everything else. If this fellow hadn't been so absorbed
in doing that little steamer to death he need never have let us get
within a range that would have permitted more than a swift shot or two
at his disappearing conning-tower. It was his sheer 'blood-drunkenness'
that gave us our chance.

"It was a day of very low visibility--not over a mile and a half, or two
miles at the outside--and I was out on a bit of an escort stunt of small
importance. The first intimation I had that anything out of the usual
run was afoot came in the form of sharp gun-fire on my starboard beam.
It sounded fairly close at hand, and though no ship was visible, there
was just a hint of luminosity in the mist-curtain to indicate the
direction of the gun-flashes. The helm was immediately put hard-a-port
and the telegraphs at Full Speed, and off