Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1917-09-27
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Ing toward them, for there was 8
faint and almost imperceptib1e whir-
ring, as of high-speed machinery.
Mixed with the throb of the screws
there came the sound of their suction.
At times the seas, breaking over the
periscope, obscured his vision. Some
times, too, the cruiser shifted outside
her arc; then the periscope motor
started anew, and slowly she would
| swing back, growing more discernible.
Below, the men. who understood
In suppressed excitement
"Wen have to try her at a mile,
Clouts," said Donald to the lookout.
| He carried only three torpedoes. He
would have liked TO close in and make
sure Of his prey, but shot at almost
the extreme range seemed preferable
to hazarding the vessel and the lives
Of his crew.
AYE, siri'' answered Sam Clouts.
Clouts was a man of about forty
years, hook-nosed, with bland, humor-
Gus blue eyes, and square jaw under
|
duty he was perpetually playing q
mouth-organ, and Donald could not
help smiling to see his hand stealing
generously toward his pocket even
now
The German could hardly have been
more than a mile away when she sud-
denly changed her course to westward.
Donald had been approaching her head
on, with the object of maneuvering,
when within striking distance, to send
a torpedo amidships. The new course
of the vessel was a bitter disappoint-
ment to him.
| Donald realized that she was near
ing the Shetlands and endeavoring to
make the passage between mainland
and Fair island. That was the most
hazardous part of her joruney. Once
! beyond the straits, she would be free
in the open Atlantic.
He gave the order to rise. The
tanks were blown, the rudders and
diving planes adjusted; the F55 be-
gan to mount upward. A green trans
lucency appeared. The electric lights
went out. The matches were opened.
A gust of fresh air drove the stale
atmosphere away. The petrol motors
took up the task of the electric ones.
| Donald ordered full speed. The YES
sci drove high through the waves,
achieving u knots.
A shadow edged the misty horizon.
1t was Sumburgh head, the extreme
southerly point of the Shetlands. Here
the cruiser was due to turn.
Smoke to port, sir!" said Clouts.
The German had evidently seen it
at the same time, for her speed began
to diminish. This meant that she was
steering cautiously to gain the shelter
Of Sumburgh, behind which she might
| lie unobserved for observation.
If 1t was an English battle cruiser
| that was approaching, the ship would
| be hard put to 1t to escape It
was not likely that the oncOming ship
| had sighted her smoke through the in
creasing haze.
Donald drove hard for the main
channel. He knew that he could catch
| the German now, and he was ready to
take chances of discovery. Meanwhile,
| inch by inch, the stranger came up out
Of the sea.
At first Donald believed she was a
British battle cruiser. This hope was
soon dispelled, however, when her fun
nels showed three black stacks, ringed
with white, the color Of the Claude
line, and the heavy hull, built for
| freight, not speed.
His heart began to thump heavily.
For the Beotia was one of the Claude
lines ships, and the approaching YES
sci looked very much like the overdue
| Beotia.
And Ida was aboard her, and al
ready we'll within range Of the enc
my's guns! The two ships had sighted
| each other. Donald saw the Beotia
| diminish to a thread line as she turned
| and ran, PROV on, toward the Orkneys.
a squirt of flame broke from the Ger
| mans bow. A coil Of cloud followed
| it. A few seconds later the boom of
| the discharge echoed across the water,
| and pillar Of spray shot up near the
Beotia's bow. The battleship turned
| toward her prey.
And DOnald's chance had come.
The Beotia had no intention Of sur
| rendering. The German, following
| her, perceived the lurking danger, and
at once his guns were trained on the
| submarine.
The F55 dipped at the bow. A shell
hooted over her, and q second, falling
shorter, deluged the submersible with
water. But the F55 was stern down
and sinking. Her periscope shot
| through the waves, the only target,
md In the coming tower Donald tat
With his eyes fast on the mirror.
Ten feet below the surface the F55
plunged on toward the monarch of the
| sea.
| The sound Of the guns was vastly
| ouder under the waves. A single shot,
sent home, would smash through the
| hin plates as If they were of paper.
| But Donald knew that it was the su-
| 9reme moment when danger must be
| gnored. He seemed to sense the ship,
! he crew, as a single entity, devoted
| to a single purpose. He aimed his
|