ses an electric button and
raises and lowers the periscope as quickly as possible, so as to take
his own observation without, if possible, being observed himself; for
he knows that any injury to the periscope--his most priceless
jewel--would, as it were, render the boat blind and rob him of the
much coveted laurel leaves. During these short glimpses the commander
only perceives a little sky and the wide, round plate of the reflected
sea with its dancing waves, while the nervous tension of the expectant
crew increases every minute.

At last is heard a joyous outcry from the commander, "The fellows are
coming!"--and after one quick glance, to locate the enemy exactly,
the periscope is lowered. Now every heart beats with happy
anticipation and every nerve quivers with excitement. The captain
quickly issues his orders for the course to be steered and for the
necessary navigation. The officer in charge of the torpedoes receives
the command to clear the loaded torpedo for firing, while the captain
quietly calculates, first, the relative position of his boat to the
enemy's ship, according to the course she has taken; secondly, at
which point he must aim the torpedo to take surest effect, and--in the
same way as in hunting a hare--he withholds the shot to correspond to
his victim's gait.

Many thoughts fly through his brain. Here, among his companions, the
annihilation of the enemy will cause joyful enthusiasm, while among
them their downfall will cause overwhelming sorrow. But without doubt
they must vanish from the seas, and only a man, who has experienced
these sensations, knows how many secondary matters occur to him at
such a time.

With lowered periscope, he sees nothing that goes on above him on the
sea, and like a blind man the boat feels its way through the green
flood. Every possible event becomes a subject of conjecture. Will the
fellow continue on the same course? Has he seen our periscope in the
second it was exposed, and is he running away from us? Or, on the
contrary, having seen us, will he put on full steam and try to run us
down with a fatal death stroke from his prow?

At such an instant of high nervous tension, I have caught myself
giving superfluous orders to let myself relax, and yet I knew that
every man was at his post, fully conscious that his own safety, the
safety of the whole boat, and the honor of the Fatherland were all at
stake, and dependent on his individual effort. I knew, of course, that