last string of orders.) Six hundred, and he doesn't see us! Fire!"

The dummy left; the second in command cocked one ear and looked
relieved. Up we rose; the wet air and spray spattered through the
hatch; the destroyer swung off to retrieve the dummy.

"Careless brutes destroyers are," said one officer. "That fellow
nearly walked over us just now. Did you notice?"

The commander was playing his game out over again--stroke by stroke.
"With a beam-tube I'd ha' strafed him amidships," he concluded.

"Why didn't you then?" I asked.

There were loads of shiny reasons, which reminded me that we were at
war and cleared for action, and that the interlude had been merely
play. A companion rose alongside and wanted to know whether we had
seen anything of her dummy.

"No. But we heard it," was the short answer.

I was rather annoyed, because I had seen that particular daughter of
destruction on the stocks only a short time ago, and here she was
grown up and talking about her missing children!

In the harbour again, one found more submarines, all patterns and
makes and sizes, with rumours of yet more and larger to follow.
Naturally their men say that we are only at the beginning of the
submarine. We shall have them presently for all purposes.