was acute, came the sinking of the _Arabic_, on August 19,
1915, with the death of two Americans and thirty-odd British citizens
out of 391 persons aboard. The attack took place near Fastnet Light,
not far distant from the spot where the _Lusitania_ was sunk. Like the
latter ship the _Arabic_ was struck without warning, two torpedoes
penetrating her side. She was a vessel of 15,801 tons and, although in
service for a number of years, was rated as one of the first-class
Atlantic liners. Previous to the attack she had been chased on several
occasions by undersea craft, but had always managed to elude them.

The outcry that followed this event in the United States gave the
situation as regarded Germany a graver aspect than before. She had
been warned that this country would hold her to strict accountability
for the lives of its citizens. Berlin, asked if a submarine sank the
vessel, followed by immediate disclaimers of any belligerent intent.
It was alleged that a German submarine had been in the act of
attacking another British vessel when the _Arabic_ hove into view and
attempted to ram the submarine. In defense the latter's captain sank
the liner, Berlin explained.

This theory was not in the least acceptable to the United States.
Captain Finch of the _Arabic_ and other persons aboard had seen the
attack on the second ship, and the _Arabic_ attempted to flee but was
overhauled and torpedoed. The facts were attested to by such a number
of persons that there could be little doubt of their correctness. But
despite this and Germany's oft-repeated assurances of respect for
American lives, nothing of a positive character was done by the United
States. Negotiations dragged out to a wearisome length and the
submarines continued to take their almost daily toll from neutrals and
belligerents alike.

The British submarine _E-7_ was sunk by a Turkish land battery in the
Sea of Marmora on September 4, 1915, thirty-two men being lost. She
was the first undersea boat of the Allies to meet that fate in the
Dardanelles operations.

The combination of care and luck that had kept British transports
inviolate for more than a year, which ended with the sinking of the
_Royal Edward_, was to be reversed during the coming months when
German submarines inflicted heavy losses on this class of ships. The
Mediterranean proved to be the grave of several thousand men lost in
this manner. The _Ramazan_, of 3,477 tons, bringing native troops from