Emmons County record., 1918-05-23
And Donald's chance had come.

me beOtio hau no intention or sur
rendering. The German, following
her, perceived the lurking danger and
ut once his guns were trained on the
submarine.
The Foo dipped at the bow. A shell
hooted over her, and u second, failing
shorter deluged the subinersibie with
water. Bus the F55 was stern down
and sinking. Her periscope shot
through the waves, the only taTge:,
and Ia the coming tower Donald sar
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
louder under the waves. A single shot,
sent home, would smash through the
thin plates as If they were of paper.
But Donald knew that It was the su.
preme moment when danger must be
Ignored. lie seemed to sense the ship,
the crew, MS single entity, devoted
to single purpose. He aimed his
bow directly into his enemy's port
flank. Sc was less than mile away.
At that distance II seemed a miracle
that her shells failed to strike home.
Down in the torpedo room three
men bore torpedo from the rack and
placed 1t in the sings. They swung
1t forward into the breech of the tube.
One man mt the pump rapidly filled the
breech chamber with the compressed
air that was to send the missile upon
Its course.
Donald, in the coming tower, still
held the cruiser within the mirror. He
saw the smoke coil from her guns. he
heard their dull reverberation, and
knew that at any moment the blinded
F55 might be sent staggering to her
: death through the wake Of her wash.
But he was animated by the single
minded purpose which inspired all and
made the steel and human mechanism
bolt forged for. DEATH
Clouts, ut the wheel, did not allow
the little craft to deyiate a hairs
breadth from her course.
"Stand by"
The hiss of the oxygen apparatus
dominated all other sounds. At her
1c-hlot SlJttu lie iIliSSlc leIt lIt
launching tube with heavy thud, and
the ship quivered as she shook herself
free.
And Donald knew that his shot had
, gone home.
The whir grew less, but all listened
, until the end of the mile-long journey.
, On board the enemy ship everyone
could see the air bubbles that came up
from the speeding missile and it's
, white, fonming wake. There was no
: time to maneuver the giant ship. They
prnyed-they could do no more-that
the torpedo might not have been shot
true; that it might deviate from its
!. imminent path.
It came on inexornbly. The firing
| became wilder. The gunners, alb
sOrbed as they were in their task,
, seemed permeated with the contagious
terror caused by that white, ripping
pencil line that was extending toward
their ship.
The missile struck the battle cruiser
! nmidships, blowing out section Of
, her hull, a single water-tght compart-
ment. The cruiser hardly staggered
from the blow.
The torpedo had struck gancing,
, and missed the full force of its deliv-
i cry. The wound was in itself too
small TO sink or even badly cripple the
, great ship; triumph of shipbuilding,
> and calculated to withstand just such
IN impact
, Unfortunately for her, the maximum
of the shock was received beneath the
powder room, adjacent to the ummu-
milton chamber, whose doors were
: open at that moment for the removal
of the 12-inch shells by the ammunl-
ZION hoist.
5 The shock was followed by an inf.
i mite suspense. Perhaps it lasted for
two seconds. The cruiser drove
through the waves like some sea mon.
stcr that had received deadly thrust
unScuthed.
Then, with detonation that was
heard from Sumburgh to Sutherland,
she went sky-high in tumbing ruin.
Donald, within the coming tower, saw
n blur frost the mirror OF the peri.
scope.
Another second passed. Then the
F55 went recling under the terrific
. force of the explosion. She spun
round under the waves and thrilled as
if she herself faced disruption.
The bilge-pumps cleared her diving
tanks. She rose, nose upward, scent
ing the air; her stern followed. and
, she lay awash in the water once more.
: The matches We're removed.
Nor vestige Of the cruiser was to
l be seen. She had sunk in less than
! three minutes.
D But hard by, not tilree-quarters Of
), n mile to port, pillar Of smoke, lit
t up by flame. curled out Of the Beotia's
matches. Deeming her the submarines
4 decoy, the cruisers gunners had rid
3 died her with shells from the two r.
: inch guns ut the bow.
She seemed to stugger through the
3 smoke that wreathed her. She was