CHAPTER XIII
A BATTLE TRY-OUT FOR SOULS
Men had stood their watch by the guns all night long.
Boom! boom! From ahead came the sound of rapid firing. The commanders ofthe three leading destroyers were seasoned men experienced in theirwork, and were not likely to be shooting at mere shadows.
"At the best, it's snap-shooting," Dan uttered, almost disgustedly. "Wecannot do our marksmanship justice when we are contending with askulking enemy and seldom have anything more to aim at than a periscopethat's up from four to seven seconds, or the wake caused by the conningtower of a submarine running near the surface."
"Occasional hits, however, show that a good deal can be accomplished bysnap shooting when real gunners do it," rejoined Dave.
At this moment he read the signal for destroyers to maneuver atjudgment. Dave promptly gave orders that sent the "Logan" scootingfurther away from the transport fleet, out on its port flank.
"Ahead, and zigzag," Darrin ordered sharply. "All the zigzag that fullspeed 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.
Despite the speed, the zigzagging course kept Dave opposite thetroopship he had been guarding through the night.
Just astern of the "Logan" a periscope flashed up for a few seconds. Agun was trained and fired, but the periscope had been withdrawn by thetime the shell got there. A tell-tale light streak appeared on thesurface of the sea astern of the destroyer, one of whose signalmen waveda warning that was superfluous, for the troopship at which the torpedohad been aimed had already started off on a zigzag course, and escapedby a matter of feet.
From the head of the squadron came back the signalled order:
"All troopships zigzag!"
"Looks like a crazy marine waltz!" reflected Danny Grin as he caught asecond's glimpse of this strange maneuver.
Darrin did not turn to see what had become of the submersible at whichone of the "Logan's" shells had been fired. The enemy was undoubtedlyunharmed and under control, and there would be another destroyer on thespot in a jiffy. Dave believed that they were not yet in the thick ofthe Hun trap and he kept a sharp lookout ahead.
"Second destroyer astern of us just signalled a hit," Dan utteredpresently, in a tone of glee.
"Must be the one that we tried for," was Darrin's comment.
In the meantime, both the British authorities and the American Admiralat the base port were being constantly informed, through radio messages,of just what was now taking place on this part of the sea.
"Assistance already on the way; watch for it," came back the reply fromthe admirals.
"Humph! There's no vessel that sails that can reach us in season if itdidn't start from port a few hours ago," was Dalzell's puzzled comment.
Not very long after that the leading ships of the fleet knew that theywere in the thick of the enemy ambush. The courses of several torpedoeswere observed, but, thanks to the zigzagging of the vessels, notransport or escort had yet been hit.
"Signal coming, sir, to commanding officer of the 'Logan,'" reported thesignalman on the destroyer's bridge.
"'Logan' will drop out of line and hunt enemy submarines on commandingofficer's judgment," Dave Darrin read.
"That's because of our record yesterday," Dan Dalzell chuckled. "We arelooked upon as the star performers of the flotilla."
"We'll do our best to be the stars again to-day," Dave confided to hischum after he had given his orders.
With a rush and roar the destroyer headed northward, nor did Darrin comeabout until he was something like fifteen hundred yards away from thetroopship line.
"Submarines usually try for hits at from six hundred to a thousandyards," he explained to Dalzell, as the racing craft hurried on her way."A German commander, with his eyes on the transports, might not think toturn his periscope in the opposite direction at a time like this."
"But his sound-detecting device will tell him where we are," Dan hinted.
"Not with all the gun-fire and the noise of so many hurrying craft,"Dave answered. "Wait and see."
Phelps was sent to join the two seamen forward. From that position hecould see any torpedo trail that started between the "Logan's" positionand the transport fleet. Within less than five minutes Phelps detected awhite line of seething foam, and Dave steered his ship straight to thespot where the Hun craft was believed to be.
"Fire as fast as you can, Mr. Phelps," was the order Darrin transmitted.
So closely had Phelps got the range that the "Logan" drove straight tothe torpedo's source. There the long, vague outline of a submersible wasbarely discernible under the deep blue of the sea.
"Over her!" Darrin ordered.
At their station the depth bomb men stood at alert, awaiting the word atwhich the bomb would be released by the touch of a finger.
As the destroyer swept over the submersible's hull Dave shouted:
"Let go bomb!"
It was then that the finger touch was applied. Over the stern slippedthe amazing mechanism which contained a steel shell. It was adjusted togo off automatically at a depth of thirty feet. Nothing within a hundredfeet of the point of its explosion could escape being shattered.
Bump! came a heavy explosion. The "Logan" herself shook and plunged as acolumn of water shot up astern.
Instantly Dave ordered the ship about, for the dropping of another bomb,in case the first had failed.
No need, though, for the spreading of oil on the surface of the watershowed how effective a hit had been made.
"Now, for more of the pests!" uttered Dalzell, gleefully. "We must beatour record of yesterday."
Darrin did not reply. Outwardly calm, but with muscles set and everynerve tensed to the tingling point, he stood almost on tip-toe, graspingthe forward rail, peering ahead and to either side.
But at least one German captain had caught him, so far out of line, for,from the starboard watch, forward, came the brisk warning:
"Torpedo, sir, on the starboard bow!"
In the same instant Dave had seen it. The trail was racing to meet the"Logan" well forward.
Not risking even the delay of a shouted order, Darrin reached for thelever of the bridge telegraph and set the jingle bells in the engineroom a-clatter. His quick order threw the propellers into reverse andthen full speed astern. At the same time he swung the bow around.
Had he tried to zigzag it is doubtful if he could have escaped. Had hegone straight ahead the torpedo would have hit him just below thewaterline.
As it was, the missile of destruction passed by a scant dozen feet fromthe "Logan's" bow.
This was the single instant of safety for which Darrin had worked. Now,he ordered speed ahead, and swung around, sailing straight to the spotwhere he believed the enemy to be.
By the time he was at that spot nothing was to be seen of the underseaboat. Submerging to greater depth the wily Hun had glided away tosafety.
"Now, what does that German fellow mean by holding down our record inthat fashion?" Dan demanded, wrathfully. "He's no sportsman, not to takea chance."
"He may get us yet," was Darrin's quiet answer.
It was Lieutenant Curtin who first discovered a number of small specksaway over in the eastern sky.
"They're not clouds," said Dave, eyeing the specks through his glass,"but at the distance I can't make out what they are."
"If they can't turn over submarines to us, I hardly care what they are,"muttered Dan Dalzell to himself.
With the fleet dashing forward, and the specks moving nearer, it was notlong before watchful eyes behind glasses discovered just what the speckswere.
"Now, we'll see something interesting," quoth Darrin.
"They're coming to take our glory, instead of adding to it," Daninsisted.
"What do you care who puts the Huns on old Ocean's bed, as long as theyarrive there?" Dave asked, coolly.
"Will they put any Huns there
?" Dalzell inquired, doubtfully.
"If they don't, we can still sail in and help ourselves to the best wecan find," laughed Dave.
Dave Darrin and the German Submarines Page 14
