H. Irving Hancock

“ His has not been the life of the brave fighting man, who willingly grants the foe an equal chance. He has murdered and pillaged. This fellow can never, as long as he lives, escape the accusations of his own lost soul.”
“It is a lie!” foamed Sparnheim. “A lie, a lie, a lie, I tell you! What I have done, I have done as a loyal and patriotic German. What I have done was for my country and my sovereign!”
“To be sure,” Dave agreed, “but you can never shift your part of the burden from yourself. Your life will be one of misery.” ”

“ Dave glanced swiftly at his chum before he replied for both:
“Sir, we’d go anywhere, perform any duty, under any flag, and under any conditions, at the request of our own Government,” Darrin answered. “We do not belong to ourselves, but to the United States, and, through our Government, to any nation on earth to which our Government should wish to transfer us. At the same time, our choice would naturally be for service in our own American Navy.” ”

“ They could now, through the night glass, make out a German sailor who stood forward on the submarine’s hull, a lookout, doubtless scanning the dark lines of the destroyer rushing to the rescue. It must be that lookout’s business to try to judge the distance of the destroyer, that the submersible might remain on the surface long enough to wreak all possible havoc on the lifeboats. Then, at the last moment, the submarine would submerge, that its commander, crew and craft might survive to assassinate ships’ companies on another day! ”

“ Darrin came along just in time to take hold of one of her arms.
“Come, madam,” he urged, soothingly, “do not foul your hands by touching such a beast.”
“I wish I could have him hanged—the murderer!” cried the woman, passionately.
“I am more cruel than you, then, madam,” Dave continued, as he led her away step by step, “for I would have the wretch live a long life. No matter how long he lives his ears must be filled with the shrieks of dying women and children. He must hear the cries of the drowning and the moans of the wounded. ”

“ Perhaps it was his intention to surrender.
“Full speed ahead!” roared Darrin, and Ensign Tupper rang in the signal.
The hull of the submarine was hardly more than awash when five or six shots from the “Logan” struck it at about the same time.
Veering around to the southward the “Logan” prepared to circle the dying enemy. The German craft filled and sank, and Darrin presently gazed overboard at the oil-topped waters through which he was passing.
“A wonderful job! I wonder that you had the nerve to risk it,” muttered Dalzell. ”

“ Dave went on, thoughtfully. “Of course I knew that it spelled ‘death’ for many of the fighters, but it also means the destruction of so much property, the ruining of so much material that the world needs for its comfort! The world will be hard up, for a century to come, on account of the waste of useful materials caused by this war’s destructiveness.”
“But may the ‘Grigsby’ do her share of that destructive work!” said Lieutenant Fernald, fervently. “The property that we destroy belongs to those who would set the world back a thousand years!” ”

“ Instead of sinking, the submarine continued on over—and turned turtle. Her dripping hull glistened in the forenoon sun!
It was too much for the tensed nerves of the American sailor men.
“Hurrah!” they let loose. “Hurrah! Hur—”
“Stop that cheering!” rose Darrin’s heaviest tones over the tumult. “The enemy are dying.”
“They’re only Huns!” answered a voice from below.
But the cheering died away and Dave’s voice carried far as he answered:
“I know they’re only Huns, and a bad lot, but they fought us well. We’ll cheer for the victory later, but not for the fate of men who are dying there.” ”

“ At this moment he read the signal for destroyers to maneuver at judgment. Dave promptly gave orders that sent the “Logan” scooting further away from the transport fleet, out on its port flank.
“Ahead, and zigzag,” Darrin ordered sharply. “All the zigzag that full speed will allow.”
Her turbines turning at better than trial speed limit, the “Logan” roared on her way like an angry bulldog with the speed of a grayhound. ”

“ I feel it,” said Dave without taking his eyes from observation of the sea.
“So do I. Queer how a fellow can sense danger when he neither can hear, see, feel nor smell it,” said Mr. Curtin.
“Submarine hunting is hard on the nerves, but it’s worth while,” returned Dave. “I think that must be what makes life on a destroyer so attractive to us. It is the real sporting game. I—What’s that?”
“Yes, it’s——”
“Sh-h-h!” Dave suddenly stiffened, bringing his glasses quickly to his eyes. “Bow watch there, did you hail?” he demanded in a low, sharp voice. ”

“ Dave nodded thoughtfully.
“War breeds savage ideas, doesn’t it?” demanded Danny Grin, with a shrug of his shoulders.
“Not breeds, but brings out,” answered Darrin.
They were nearing the coast now. Destroyers, patrol boats, drifters and mine-sweeping craft sighted the “Logan” and her prize, and the shrill whistles of these hunters of the sea testified to their joy over the capture.
Then the destroyer and her prize entered the port. Darrin brought his craft to anchorage, while the captured submarine was anchored not far away. ”

“ Work and danger are the corner-stones of successful war, and the eyes of the young naval officers shone as they saw the fullness of their new opportunity to serve.
“I shall be glad to receive my final orders, sir, at any hour, night or day,” Dave Darrin announced, as he rose.
“And I shall be, also, sir,” Dalzell promptly added.
“A week’s rest, anyway, will make you both keener and better fitted for the big job you’ve ahead of you. Gentlemen, my heartiest congratulations for your work during the last few weeks. You will do even better on your next cruise. ”

“ Dave Darrin glanced at the American naval commander, who sent him an encouraging nod.
“We know, then, gentlemen,” began Dave, “just how many American destroyers are to act as escort to the troopship fleet that is bringing the One Hundred and Seventeenth Division across. We know, also, just how many destroyers under our flag can be taken from patrol duty to safeguard the troopship fleet. We know the length of the sailing line of the troopship fleet; we know the speed of our destroyers. ”

“ Dave turned to look at that wreck of a human being as it struck the water. He knew there was no life in the man, so gave no order for recovering the body.
Down below sailors sprang to lift the dead man, who had dropped there, on to a stretcher. They carried him below, to be buried later.
Beatty did not delay his firing an instant. This time the shell struck at the base of the enemy’s tower. A fragment of the exploding shell must have hit one of the German gun-crew, for a man fell on his face and rolled overboard. ”

“ Dave rejoined, quickly. “There are thousands of men at sea on ships who may not see their wives again unless we chaps do our duty all the time. There are scores of women on the sea whose husbands will never see them again if we sleep or lag. The men of the destroyer fleet have no right to think of their own pleasure or convenience. I’m ready for sea, and I pray for a busy and successful cruise against the enemy!” ”

“ Constant inspection is the only way to be certain that one is up to fighting mark. Inspection is not enough when made only by commander and executive officer. ‘Inspection’ should be engraved on the brain of every watch and division officer.”
Dave glanced at the chronometer in the chart-room on his way to the bridge, and knew that the first streaks of dawn should appear in the east in fifteen minutes. Sending the relieving officer back to his station amidships, Darrin resumed his bridge vigil. ”

“ Men had stood their watch by the guns all night long.
Boom! boom! From ahead came the sound of rapid firing. The commanders of the three leading destroyers were seasoned men experienced in their work, and were not likely to be shooting at mere shadows.
“At the best, it’s snap-shooting,” Dan uttered, almost disgustedly. “We cannot do our marksmanship justice when we are contending with a skulking enemy and seldom have anything more to aim at than a periscope that’s up from four to seven seconds, or the wake caused by the conning tower of a submarine running near the surface.” ”

“ At port and starboard, amidships, there were men on watch, as also at the stern. Members of gun-crews lounged close to their stations, to which additional men could be summoned in a flash. Aft, also, two men stood by the device from which it might be necessary, at any instant, to drop a depth bomb.
Trained down to the last point of condition by constant work, these officers and men of the torpedo boat destroyer made one think of hard, lean hunting dogs, which, in human guise, they really were. Not only had toil brought this about but sleep was something of a luxury aboard the “Logan.” ”

“ It has long been known to the British, and to us, that German spies have abounded in Great Britain and that they obtained a good deal of information that we would rather German submarine commanders did not possess. So, Mr. von-Bechtold-Matthews, it will be my disagreeable duty to hand you over with the charge that you have been serving as a spy. Dalzell and I will be obliged to testify against you. I much fear that a British court-martial will condemn you to be shot.”
“What infamous lie is this that you are threatening to utter against me?” demanded the German officer, leaping to his feet. ”

“ Darrin called back. He then retraced his steps, making for the bridge, where Dan and Ensign Peters stood, both of them attired like merchantmen officers.
“What do you think of her?” demanded Danny Grin, as his chum took stand beside him.
“You told me it was going to be a humorous adventure,” Dave suggested. “I haven’t yet discovered where the laugh comes in.”
“Oh, we can’t laugh,” quoth Danny Grin, “until we find something to laugh at.”
“Of course,” Dave pursued, his eyes twinkling, “the ‘Prince’ is a good deal of a joke in herself.” ”

“ Such a craft, however, hated and at all times hunted, carries crews trained to swift work. Soon after the “Logan’s” second three-inch gun had fired without registering a hit, a five-inch gun of the submarine was brought into action. Overhead whizzed a shell that just missed the “Logan’s” wireless aerials. A second shot, aimed at the destroyer’s water line, passed hardly more than four feet to starboard.
“Get him!” roared Dave Darrin. “Gunners have their wits about ’em!”
Dan Dalzell took the door curtains with him as he leaped out and ran for the bridge. ”

“ So Darrin completed his toilet, then hailed a messenger and learned where the wardroom was situated on this ship of mystery.
Stepping into the room ahead of time, Dave found only one young ensign, who saluted him.
“This is some strange craft,” observed Darrin.
“Yes, sir,” assented Ensign Stark.
“But suited to her mission, I dare say.”
“Oh, yes, sir; hardly a doubt of that,” smiled the junior officer, but he added no hint of information as to the “Prince’s” mission, and Darrin was much too good an officer to press his question. ”

“ Dan Dalzell, as executive officer, came in breezily, saluting briskly and giving his cheery report as to the results of his inspection:
“All secure, sir.”
Dave was on the bridge, with Lieutenant Briggs, when Ensign Phelps came to report that he had been unable to find any of the looked-for bottles in Jordan’s duffle-bag or other effects, or, for that matter, anywhere else.
“Very good, Mr. Phelps. Thank you. I recommend that, until your watch is called, you get all the sleep you can. To-morrow there may be no sleep for any of us.” ”

“ Dave advised laughingly, “and don’t allow your head to be enlarged, either on your own account or your ship’s. The best we can claim, Danny-boy, is that we were very fortunate. As officers and men we’re no better than are to be found all through the Navy.”
“There’s one question I’d like to ask you before I trot,” Dan insisted, with one of his famous grins.
“What is it?”
“It may have some bearing on future fight engagements,” Dalzell continued, his grin slowly fading.
“When will you find time to tell me what the question is?” Darrin asked smiling. ”

“ Dave nodded.
“Then I would like to ask the lieutenant-commander, sir, if I would have done better to have reported my suspicions last night?”
“It is impossible to answer that question for every case that might arise,” Dave told him. “Navy men, whether enlisted or commissioned, dislike tale-bearers. In war-time, however, and under peculiar conditions where extreme peril always lurks, and where the act of a spy may destroy a ship’s company in a twinkling of an eye, it is usually permissible to report even vague suspicions. ”

“ Though hoping against hope, Fernald telephoned the engine room, urging the engineer to try to get a little more speed from the engines. The chief engineer officer, himself in charge below, did his best. Billows of black smoke hung over the water astern. Bit by bit the straining engines provided more, and then a little more speed.
If it were but daylight! Men stood by the “Grigsby’s” guns, ready to fire at the word—to sight by guess, should the lieutenant-commander on the bridge call for it. Dave might have thrown on the searchlight. ”

“ No real Norwegian skipper would have been likely to take such a chance, as it would only have invited the destruction of his craft.
Dawn came quickly now. With the first streaks Dan ran up the signal and sailed daringly in. The submarine, which lay ahead, had ceased firing. The doomed ship took the plunge and vanished, but in three boats and on six rafts a frightened lot of men and women were seeking to get away from Death.
“Lie to and abandon ship!” signalled the German commander, as soon as the presence of the “Prince” was made out. ”

“ Nor did he stir enough to wake until an orderly, sent from the bridge, entered and shook his right arm.
“Beg pardon, sir,” said the sailor. “The officer of the deck wants to know if you wish to be called now.”
“In another hour,” said Darrin, drowsily, and dozed off again.
Which message was received with high glee by the two conspirators for Dave’s comfort when they received the news on the bridge.
“Only one drawback to it, Curtin,” said Beatty. “When the ‘Old Man’ finally wakes he’ll imagine he can stand watch for twenty-four hours without more sleep.” ”

“ One moment the hat-waving was visible; then as suddenly it ceased, and the spar decks were nearly bare of men, for mess-call had sounded for breakfast. The only soldier who fails to answer mess call is a sick or a dead one.
“Follow second destroyer on port line,” came the signal from the leading destroyer to the “Logan.” “After taking position meet any emergency according to best judgment.”
So the “Logan” raced along to the north of the fleet, then made a swift, curving sweep and moved into the assigned position. ”

“ Dave confided to Dan, who now reappeared on the bridge after a short rest, “I shall feel easier. The nearer we draw to land the more help is likely to be afloat near us.”
Just then a boom came over the water. A gun of one of the foremost trio of destroyers had spoken. Swiftly the signals came back.
Dave gave the order to have all hands sounded to quarters.
“Gentlemen,” said the young commander after the crew had reached the deck, “this morning’s work will undoubtedly be the real test. Within twenty minutes we’ll be in the thick of a real fight!” ”