Our trip was quite successful, but not without certain excitements.

On the night of the 23rd we passed fairly close to a fishing fleet on
the Dogger Bank, and saw the lights of several steamers in the
distance. As our first business was to lay our mines in the appointed
place, we did not worry them.

We burnt usual navigation lights, or rather side lights which appear to
be usual, except that, by a little fitting which Alten has made
himself, the arcs of bearing on which the lights show can be changed at
will. His idea is that, should we appear to be approaching a steamer
which he wishes to avoid, in many cases, by shining a little more or
less red and green light, we can make her think that we are a steamer
on such a course that it is her duty by the rules of the road to keep
clear of us.

He tells me it has worked on several occasions, and he has also found
it useful to have two small auxiliary side lights fitted which are the
wrong colours for the sides they are on. It is, of course, only neutral
shipping which carry lights nowadays, though Alten says that many
British ships are still incredibly careless in the matter of lights.

However, to resume my account of what happened. We reached our position
at dawn or slightly after, the weather was beautifully calm and the sea
like glass. As we were only three miles from the English coast, and
close to the mouth of the Tyne, we were extraordinarily lucky to have
nothing in sight, if one excepts a long smudge of smoke which trailed
across the horizon to the southward.