ravelling in the opposite direction to that which she
really was. Two-funnelled ships became single-funnelled, when viewed
from a distance or in a dim light, by the simple expedient of painting
one funnel black and the other light grey. Liners with tiers of
passenger decks had the latter obscured by contrasts of colouring which
were really masterpieces of deceptive art. In fact so deceptive became
almost every ship in the dim light of dawn and dusk that collisions were
often narrowly averted.

It frequently occurred that paint alone was not sufficient to disguise a
ship, and woodwork and canvas were resorted to. Big guns were made of
drain-pipes and shields of the wood from packing-cases. Cargo boats were
given the appearance of cruisers, and cruisers reduced to the appearance
of cargo boats. In this way hostile submarines were induced to attack
ships, thinking them unarmed and helpless, when in reality they were
small floating forts. But at this point simple camouflage ceases and the
famous _Mystery Ship_ begins. Before closing this chapter, however, it
must be pointed out that camouflage only came into being when the German
U-boats commenced their ruthless submarine warfare.

CHAPTER VII

MYSTERY SHIPS

THE "Q" boat, or mystery ship, has been surrounded by so much secrecy
that to most people its very being is an unknown quantity. Yet it is to
these curious vessels of all sizes and types that the destruction of
many hostile submarines was due, and the dangerous work performed by
their intrepid crews equalled anything described in sea romance.

The mystery ship was not a specially constructed war vessel, such as a
destroyer or cruiser, but merely a merchantman converted into a
powerfully armed patrol ship, camouflaged to give the appearance of
genuine innocence, but with masked batteries, hulls stuffed with wood to
render them almost unsinkable, hidden torpedo tubes, picked gunners, a
roving commission and a daring commander and crew. Their work was
performed on the broad highways of the sea, and they hunted singly or in
pairs, often fighting against overwhelming odds with certain death as
the price of failure.

[Illustration: INNOCENT LOOKING BUT DEADLY, H.M.S. "HYDERABAD"

The famous "Mystery Ship," powerfully built to resemble a helpless
merchantman. Sitting almost flat on the surface of the sea the torpedoes
from U-boats ran harmlessly beneath her keel.

_Thornycroft & Co., Ltd._]

[Illustration