ea rolled up on us. The ocean was smooth enough, but the swell was
still on--a long swell of the kind that does not sputter, but walk right
up and announce their arrival by arriving. This long blue swell rolled
up to our bow.

We were doing thirty knots and at thirty knots a little ship doesn't
need a masthead sea to get action. We went into it head first. It came
right on over our bow, over our foc'sle head, over the forward gun. The
shield to the forward gun stood probably six feet above the foc'sle
deck. That wave rolled right over the gun-shield.

There was a C. P. O. standing quite close to the shield. He grabbed a
vertical rod on the outside of the shield, and just managed to hook in
the fingers of one hand. The sea, all white and solid, rolled over the
gun and the shield. The C. P. O. was swept off his feet, but he was a
stubborn one and hung on. Behind him was the officer in charge of the
firing. When he saw that sea rolling up there was nothing near but the
C. P. O., so he grabbed the C. P. O. with both hands around the waist.
He too was swept off his feet, but he hung on--to the C. P. O. They both
floated flat out on the white roller, and the white roller went smash-o!
up against the chart house.

The chart house was just under the bridge, and the glass windows had
been taken out from the bridge railing so that they would not be smashed
by the concussion of the forward gun. We were leaning out of these open
spaces, just getting ready to laugh at the people below when, swabbo! up
the side of the chart house and through the open spaces and into our
open mouths came the wash of the sea.

Another wave followed that one, but not quite so high. As soon as it
passed the forward gun was trained and fired. We had been making great
leaps ahead all this time--the range now was under 9,000 yards. The
foretop reported it short.

The U-boat was still there. We still expected her to send one our way.
But nothing doing for us. She sent another shell toward the steamer. The
steamer had quit firing. No use. The U-boat had simply taken position
beyond range of the steamer's guns and leisurely as she pleased was
shelling her. Our third shell landed close to the sub. And then down she
went and wasted no time at it. Before we could train and fire again she
was gone.

The sub, as we learned later, had landed fifteen shells into the steamer
and wounded nine of her people, of whom three were of the bluejacket gun
crew.

One y