rance never gives up the fight. The French motto
here, as everywhere else, was "to the bitter end." On the
twenty-fourth of January the _Petrel_ and the _Marie-Rose_ started on
the final trip. Will they arrive in time? Probably not. In the
mountains that surround San Giovanni rifle shots and the rattle of
mitrailleuses were heard; the road to Alessio was deserted, the beach
seemed deserted, Medua harbor was covered with wreckage of all sorts,
rendering navigation impossible. However, the tiny craft entered the
harbor and approached the shore. Finally they saw some Serbs there.
The news was as disturbing as possible. The Austrians were only a few
kilometers off. There was fighting on the outskirts of the town. The
last able-bodied Serbs struggled manfully to hold off the Austrian
advance guard, which pressed them hard. Not a minute was to be lost if
a last salvage was to be made.

After a brief consultation, the two young commanders decided to take
off everyone in their old boats, aided by a huge lighter which they
took in tow. A grave responsibility if the weather did not hold; but
the man who risks nothing will gain nothing.

They worked with feverish haste. The hope of not being abandoned gave
wings to the weak. By four o'clock in the afternoon everything was
practically ready ... four "seventy-fives," ten artillery caissons,
two radio outfits, a thousand new rifles, hundreds of cases of shells,
cartridges and grenades and likewise large quantities of harness were
loaded on the trawlers. All the men who were in the town, its
outskirts or on the beach were assembled and embarked on the boats.
Not one was left behind. This time, safe from the rifles in the
distant mountains, everyone was saved.

At four-fifty in the afternoon [writes Ensign Auge] our
little boats cleared the harbor for the last time and made
the open sea. Suddenly we see a trail of foam hastening on
us with a mad rush. It started three or four hundred meters
off on our right. There is a lightning flash and we see the
torpedo cross our bows, too low, fortunately. A submarine
has tried to attack us but has missed. We describe a great
circle in order to avoid a second attack. Fortunately night
falls to end the chase, and we make for the Italian coast.
Although the sea is smooth, the third boat is lurching
terribly. About midnight I hear terrible cries from this
boat. It is dark as pitch and im