t, Miss Prete of Hamburg, on Aug.
16.

Before that I had been steadily on duty with my boat, and I had to leave
again the next day after my marriage. But both my bride and I wanted the
ceremony to take place at the appointed time, and it did, although
within twenty-four hours thereafter I had to go away on a venture that
gave a good chance of making my new wife a widow. But she was as firm as
I was that my first duty was to answer the call of our country, and she
waved me away from the dock with good-luck wishes.

I set out from a North Sea port on one of the arms of the Kiel Canal and
set my course in a southwesterly direction. The name of the port I
cannot state officially, but it has been guessed at; nor am I permitted
to say definitely just when we started, but it was not many days before
the morning of Sept. 22 when I fell in with my quarry.

When I started from home the fact was kept quiet and a heavy sea helped
to keep the secret, but when the action began the sun was bright and the
water smooth--not the most favorable conditions for submarine work.

I had sighted several ships during my passage, but they were not what I
was seeking. English torpedo boats came within my reach, but I felt
there was bigger game further on, so on I went. I traveled on the
surface except when we sighted vessels, and then I submerged, not even
showing my periscope, except when it was necessary to take bearings. It
was ten minutes after 6 on the morning of last Tuesday when I caught
sight of one of the big cruisers of the enemy.

I was then eighteen sea miles northwest of the Hook of Holland. I had
then traveled considerably more than 200 miles from my base. My boat was
one of an old type, but she had been built on honor, and she was
behaving beautifully. I had been going ahead partly submerged, with
about five feet of my periscope showing. Almost immediately I caught
sight of the first cruiser and two others. I submerged completely and
laid my course so as to bring up in the centre of the trio, which held a
sort of triangular formation. I could see their gray-black sides riding
high over the water.

When I first sighted them they were near enough for torpedo work, but I
wanted to make my aim sure, so I went down and in on them. I had taken
the position of the three ships before submerging, and I succeeded in
getting another flash through my periscope before I began action. I soon
reached what I regarded as a good shooting point.