The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-04-02


The experience was hardly calcula-
tad to arouse human kindness in the
submarine commanders breast, yet in
.plain view on the surface he cruised
over to the now-stopped tramp, told
her of her danger, and afterwards IN
.udlged in a furious diatribe, wherein
he cuttingly summed up the tramp
ancestry, described her personal atri-
butes, and finally prophes1ed an IN
candescent end for her and all ABOARD
her, after which he sank to the sea
he'd and allowed the speeches. crew
to take the careless cargo ship on us
proper way. The realization OF the
thrill came when the submarine
crew understood that if their skipper
had not been exceedingly smart Win
that ensign the tramp's gun would
have made colander of her plates
and sent those who were bent on de-
Tending her to the bottom without
hope of escape.
A Narrow Shave
A thrill of quite a different kind
was experienced in certain boat
working in the shallow waters off the
Belgian coast-among the m1nef1elds
AT times she found herself in deep
water, at others in shallow, anu al
all times and seasons there were pass
ing. Hun craft, only too eager TO enc
her venturesome existence. On one oc-
CASTOR she was compelled to rise
swiftly to avoid running her nose In
to a mudbank, and as her coming
tower was above the surface, her com
mander thought he would fill MS
lungs and boat with fresh air, as wei
as have a. look round.
As he emerged he glanced aft, anc
the blood froze in his veins when M
saw, lying on the flat deck OF th'
submarines after part, huge rount
object with things jutting out at Var1
Gus angles. The object was mine
The submarine had risen exactly un
derneath it and brought 1t to the toI
with her. The position was fraugh
with the gravest danger, for a lurci
made by the boat would have brough
one of those projecting horns int
aharp contact with the hull plating
and-pouff! boat, crew, and min
would have gone to glory in SHOVE
of splinters.
And the boat could not submerg
tust then, although a Hun seaplan
had already spotted her, and wa
working over at full speed to bonn
her because there wasn't enough wa
ter underkeel to hide her. So, wit
his breath held, and his finger UP
nressed together, that command stoo
on his coming tower top and sent nj
boat ahead softly, keeping one eye o
the mine and the other on the ap
preaching seaplane. The latter ore'
overhead and Immediately dropped
bomb, whose explosion sent up a gre9
wave which Tapped thunderously owe
the E-boat's whaleback-and washe
thatd readful mine clean off into dee
water and safety.
Thereafter that submarine perform
ed a hasty dive into the first dee
water and sat on the bottom Will
her soul-thrilled commander got bac
his breath.
Two Brilliant F'eats
Thrills in plenty are to be found
l that section of THE Navy Iraoe'
TxS61ch cruises the North Atlantt
Here there must be lot OF n1gf
rruiaine. and as the Western Ocean
today as full of shipping as it eve
was, and as all ships move in TT
blackness without lights, one ca
scarcely blame the keenest-eyed lool
out for failing to see the low-lyir
shane of a submarine, or being III
aware o fits presence till he feels
slight bump, till he hears the shr1
scream of tortured steel as the b
ships PROV cuts through the E-boat
plating, and sends her, a steel tom
to the bottom of the ocean for a
time. Small wonder, then, that OF
submariners keep excellent lookou
when their very lives depend upon
Often they bring their frail st