[The officer is not permitted to give this distance, but it is
understood to have been considerably less than a mile, although the
German torpedoes have an effective range of four miles.]

[Illustration: CAPT. KARL VON MULLER
Of the German Cruiser Emden
(_Photo (C) by American Press Assn._)]

[Illustration: GEN. JOSEPH JOFFRE
The French Commander-in-Chief.
(_Photo from International News Service._)]

Then I loosed one of my torpedoes at the middle ship. I was then about
twelve feet under water, and got the shot off in good shape, my men
handling the boat as if she had been a skiff. I climbed to the surface
to get a sight through my tube of the effect, and discovered that the
shot had gone straight and true, striking the ship, which I later
learned was the Aboukir, under one of her magazines, which in exploding
helped the torpedo's work of destruction.

There was a fountain of water, a burst of smoke, a flash of fire, and
part of the cruiser rose in the air. Then I heard a roar and felt
reverberations sent through the water by the detonation. She had been
broken apart, and sank in a few minutes. The Aboukir had been stricken
in a vital spot and by an unseen force; that made the blow all the
greater.

Her crew were brave, and even with death staring them in the face kept
to their posts, ready to handle their useless guns, for I submerged at
once. But I had stayed on top long enough to see the other cruisers,
which I learned were the Cressy and the Hogue, turn and steam full speed
to their dying sister, whose plight they could not understand, unless it
had been due to an accident.

The ships came on a mission of inquiry and rescue, for many of the
Aboukir's crew were now in the water, the order having been given, "Each
man for himself."

But soon the other two English cruisers learned what had brought about
the destruction so suddenly.

As I reached my torpedo depth I sent a second charge at the nearest of
the oncoming vessels, which was the Hogue. The English were playing my
game, for I had scarcely to move out of my position, which was a great
aid, since it helped to keep me from detection.

On board my little boat the spirit of the German Navy was to be seen in
its best form. With enthusiasm every man held himself in check and gave
attention to the work in hand.

The attack on the Hogue went true. But this time I did not have the
advantageous aid of having the torpedo detonate under the magazine, so
f