The Washington times., 1917-03-02
REVENGE
By Christopher Morley

THE gigantic merchant submarine Undine after weeks
in Baltimore slipped quietly from her berth at twi-
light and off on her return voyage to Bremen Her
had right be proud They had done what had been
impossible They had euded warships Of England
had safely carried Of chemicals to profitable market
and all Baltimore had feted them.
1t to avoid the English cruisers at the three
mile limit The Unlne dped capes, and the little ribbon
of foam traced by her periscope passed upobserved
The Atlantic voyage uonotonous Except when vessels
sighted the submarine kept the surface An undersea
boat waowng in the long is not comfortable
speedy vehicle However, the en Injured to the routine
of their craft They had phonogaph plenty Of
and tobacco They looked with pleasure to the
husastc reception that awaited them at Bremen Captain
Schmidt dreamed of nothing less than the Iron Cross
only he could have torpedod something e thOught he might
have been of it.
the Undne neared the south of Ireland all the
steamship lanes Captain shmdt task became
cksh Wrapped in oskns he stood in the urching tower
alert to possible danger Twenty times in day he
had dive avoid detection by the hurryng English de-
royers whose smoke trails laced against the leaden sky
He dared not go north Of Ireland for fear OF mnes SO hard to
from the low eeboard Of submarine
to swim through under the teeming Channel.
By stroke of luck fog gathering and Captain
Schmidt thought he could probably for while
He edgng close toward Cape Clear he had heard by
wireless that morning that the U17 somewhere of Bany
Bay and would keep a lookout for him.
After lunch, the fog thicker and thicker. There.are
awkward submarine along the floor where St.
Georges Channel and great food of the estuary
the from the southwest Captain Schmidt wanted
to the surface long possible Practically all his
deck the big whale backed hull slid through
swell which cung long steaming Of mist
Every mans stranng into the fog Every
for the slightest sound Their safe return the Father
land depended their vigilance Despite his confident words
reporters Captain Schmidt knew if English
ship him she would strike him down like a rat and not
wait to find whether he merchant vessel not
At DUSK feeling way Head Kinsale
thick pick up the Fastnet light but he knew his
position fairly well.
A mufled drumming in the fog the crash of a
speeding British destroyer bursting through fog
bank bunderd almost onto him. He had already given the
order sbmeg but that takes ninety seconds at the best
Captain held his
hull swing and unmask her As he ducked
the coming sxnch shell burst just beyond the
Undnes port flank AS she dove underwater shell made
her shver another explosion
eddes of foam "Dive, Gottes wlen' roared Captain
Schmidt to his lieutenant at the control station Like
fish the the gloom that
spot she would find bottom in fifty fathoms
apparently of the diving rudders had
aged the vicious underwater shell Of the destroyer At
twenty fhoms the officer the dial tried to right her and
check the plunge But the delicate mechanism would obey
she dropped like frightened trout Thirty fahoms
thirty five
Fearful of damaging his craft the bottom, Captain
Schmidt urged her forward full speed He knew from the
what kind of bottom, and what Depth this
place But thing he had not counted upon.
With sickening lurch the submarine coided with
and terrible obstacle The at the forward port had
barely before the Undine crumpd in
sardine broken flooded obterated
of the Irish Sea. Her snued out in
strangng gasp The innocent merchant submarine
lay a twisted wreck, forty fathoms down.
Captain forgotten the corpse of the Lusitana