Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1917-11-21

| The frail little craft hummed noisiIr
as her petrol motors edrove the twin
screws through the water. The F55
one OF the older type of submarine.
was making ten knots through a diff
cult sea. Within her $50 feet by IL
she heid an amazing potentiality for
destruction.
Above the coming tower rose the
| single periscOpe for the captain or
lookout man-now almost useless.
should the F55 submerge herself. on
account OF the washing seas. Within
| the tower were the observation port,
uepth meter, and tubes connecting
with the engine room and torpedo
station. The platform quivered inces-
sanity as the periscope motor under
meath throbbed, and the vibration of
the engines made the entire vessel
| SILVER.
In the few days that he had been
at sea the sense of responsibility for
his ship and the lives of his men had
weighed on Donald heavily. Now, en-
tering the coming tower, and taking
seemed to assume a dual personality.
| One part of him bent itself automat-
| ically to its task. The other was
| thinking over the events of the past
few days, and bordering on their sig
nifcance.
On the day following his visit to
Baltimore, Donald had telegraphed re-
| 70
had been received of the Beotia, and
he had been unable to obtain any in
formation concerning her from any Of
the port officials. He had finally gone
aboard at Newport News in a very
| disappointed frame Of mind, hopeless
of meeting Ida Kennedy until after
the war.
| The CHANGER of his surviving it Gid
not appear to him to be brilliant ones.
| A last message from the mother ship
informed him to keep his course
toward the Shetlands. He was in
structed that a battle cruiser had
slipped out of the Kiel canal and
was lurking somewhere among the
Norwegian fjords, with a view to
evading the blockade, making for the
Atlantic, and harassing shipping there.
The inference from this statement
was an obvious one, for the American
fleets patrol joined the British in this
| longitude.
"Smoke to starboard, sir"
Sam Clouts the lookout, was speak
| ing, and instantly the two parts of
Donald's personality fused. Ida Ken
nedy was forgotten. Upon the hori-
zon, through his glasses, Donald could
see a tiny spiral of curling smoke.
He flung over the surface steering
wheel and headed the F55 straight for
| the stranger From that distance he
tunnels of the ship, the submarine was
| invisible, owing to the curvature of
| the earth.
| Relinquishing the wheel to Clouts,
| he watched the stranger. Gradually
| the smoke thickened; then there came
| into view two tunnels, and a hull half
invisible among the chopping waves.
1t was impossible to mistake the on
coming ship. She was battle cruiser
of the Bluecher class, and she could
only be escaping westward to harry
commerce along the Atlantic trade
route. With her fast heels and II
inch guns, she could match any unit
af1oat except those of the home squad
| ron.
Donalds luck was with him after
all.
She was proceeding west-nor'west,
evidently purposing to round the Shet-
lands and so gain the shelter of the
open seas. It was a daring maneuver,
and she would certainly be sighted by
the British destroyer flotilla. Still,
though she could hardly outsteam
these fast little craft, she might beat
them off and escape before either the
British or the American blockading
vessels could come upon the scene.
Donald spoke a sharp command into
the tube of the diving station. The
hatch was damned down. The hori-
zontal rudders at the bow were de.
fected. the water rushed into the div
ing tanks, and the F55 began to dip.
The surface running light slanted sea-
ward as the bow went under, and
slowly regained poise as the stern fol-
lowed, bringing the F55 back to an
even keel. The hum of the petrol mo-
tors ceased, the huh was filed with
the roar of the inrushing water; then
the electric motors took up their
steady throbbing.
give meters!" announced the man
at the depth Indicator. "Six meters
Seven-half!
paoet sinks a German cruiser