r may not be further vitiated by smoke or
fumes. A German submarine in any case smells perpetually of
coffee and cabbage. Two little cabins of the size of a decent
clothes-chest take the deck and engine-room officers, four of
them. Another box cabin is reserved for the commander--when he
has time to occupy it.

At daybreak the commander comes on deck in coat and trousers of
black leather lined with wool, a protection against oil, cold,
and sea-water. The crew at their stations await the command to
cast off.

"Machines clear," calls a voice from the control-station and
"Clear ship," snaps the order from the bridge. Then "Cast-off!"
The cables slap on to the landing-stage, the engines begin to
purr, and U-47 slides away into open water.

A few cable-lengths away another submarine appears homeward
bound. She is the U-20 returning from a long cruise in which she
succeeded in sinking a ship bound with a cargo of frozen mutton
for England.

"Good luck, old sheep-butcher," sings the commander of U-47 as
the sister-ship passes within hail.

The seas are heavier now, and U-47 rolls unpleasantly as she
makes the light-ship and answers the last salute from a friendly
hand. The two officers on the bridge turn once to look at the
light-ship already astern, then their eyes look seaward. It is
rough, stormy weather. If the egg-shell goes ahead two or three
days without a stop, the officers in charge will get no sleep for
just that long. If it gets any rougher they will be tied to the
bridge-rails to avoid being swept overboard. If they are hungry,
plates of soup will be brought to them on the bridge, and the
North Sea will attend to its salting for them.

Frequently this "meal" is interrupted by some announcement from the
watch, such as: "Smoke on the horizon off the port bow." Then--so we
are told:

The commander drops his plate, shouts a short, crisp command,
and an electric alarm whirs inside the egg-shell. The ship buzzes
like a hive. Then water begins to gurgle into the ballast-tanks,
and U-47 sinks until only her periscope shows.

"The steamship is a Dutchman, sir," calls the watch officer. The
commander inspects her with the aid of a periscope. She has no
wireless and is bound for the Continent. So he can come up and is
glad, because m