ting the component units of the greatest armada
that the world has yet seen, the class to which she belonged were "some
boats". The exigencies of the hitherto unprecedented method of
carrying out the naval side of the Great War had demanded the creation
of large flotillas of small motor-driven hornets. In the initial
stages the want was temporarily supplied through the patriotism of
owners of private motor-boats. These craft, good in their way, were
handicapped by a lack of uniformity. Nevertheless they served as an
excellent training-school until the Admiralty with remarkable celerity
produced the novel type of craft to which the _Capella_ belonged.

The _Capella_ carried a large crew in proportion to her size--four
officers and twenty-four men. Her skipper was Stanley Syllenger, who
held the rank of Lieutenant-Commander, R.N.R. He was a big, bluff man
of about thirty-five, a strict disciplinarian, and a stickler for duty.
He could be very outspoken when he wanted, which was fairly frequently,
but withal he was of a thoroughly good-natured disposition.

There were two Sub-lieutenants, R.N.R. The senior was John Barry, a
very mild type of young officer. He usually spoke in a very soft
voice, except when occasion warranted, when he could bellow in a way
that would take a stranger entirely by surprise. It seemed incredible
that such a bull voice could belong to such a dapper little man as John
Barry.

The other Sub was Noel Fox--a tall, deep-chested fellow of twenty,
boisterous, and full of spirits. In five crowded years he had gained a
good knowledge of three oceans, and a nodding acquaintance with the
remaining two. Beginning his career on board a five-masted sailing
ship, he had served in tramps, "intermediates", and mail steamers until
the outbreak of the war, when he found himself appointed to an armed
liner that abruptly terminated her existence by trying conclusions with
a German mine.

Captain Syllenger and Sub-lieutenant Barry were pacing the diminutive
quarter-deck of the _Capella_ as she lay alongside the quay. The
skipper had heard officially that morning of the appointment of two
temporary midshipmen to the craft under his command. "Hanged if I can
understand it, Barry!" he exclaimed in his outspoken manner. "What's
the idea of turning the _Capella_ into a nursery, I should like to
know! These youngsters are somebody's pigeons, I suppose. The usual
yarn. Influence up topsides does the tri