peared over the sky-line for
manoeuvres it was practising--always practising; trying its men and
stuff and throwing out what could not take the strain. That is why,
when war came, only a few names had to be changed, and those chiefly
for the sake of the body, not of the spirit. And the Seniors who hold
the key to our plans and know what will be done if things happen, and
what lines wear thin in the many chains, they are of one fibre and
speech with the Juniors and the lower deck and all the rest who come
out of the undemonstrative households ashore. "Here is the situation
as it exists now," say the Seniors. "This is what we do to meet it.
Look and count and measure and judge for yourself, and then you will
know."

It is a safe offer. The civilian only sees that the sea is a vast
place, divided between wisdom and chance. He only knows that the
uttermost oceans have been swept clear, and the trade-routes purged,
one by one, even as our armies were being convoyed along them; that
there was no island nor key left unsearched on any waters that might
hide an enemy's craft between the Arctic Circle and the Horn. He only
knows that less than a day's run to the eastward of where he stands,
the enemy's fleets have been held for a year and four months, in order
that civilisation may go about its business on all our waters.

TALES OF "THE TRADE"

(1916)

"THE TRADE"

They bear, in place of classic names,
Letters and numbers on their skin.
They play their grisly blindfold games
In little boxes made of tin.
Sometimes they stalk the Zeppelin,
Sometimes they learn where mines are laid
Or where the Baltic ice is thin.
That is the custom of "The Trade."

Few prize-courts sit upon their claims.
They seldom tow their targets in.
They follow certain secret aims
Down under, far from strife or din.
When they are ready to begin
No flag is flown, no fuss is made
More than the shearing of a pin.
That is the custom of "The Trade."

The Scout's quadruple funnel flames
A mark from Sweden to the Swin,
The Cruiser's thundrous screw proclaims
Her comings out and goings in:
But only whiffs of paraffin
Or creamy rings that fizz and fade
Show where the one-eyed Death has been.
That is the custom of "The Trade."

Their feats, their fortunes and their fames
Are hidden from their nearest kin;