en ran shrieking up and down the deck; seeking a place of safety.

A boat was lowered over the side loaded with passengers. Hardly had it
struck the water when perhaps a dozen men and women flung themselves
over the side of the vessel into the boat. The little craft, already
overloaded, could stand no more. It tilted gradually to one side and
then suddenly turned over.

The occupants were thrown into the water and disappeared beneath it.
Soon heads bobbed up here and there and pitiful cries were borne across
the water to the U-16.

A second small boat, launched in haste, met the same fate, as did a
third.

The panic aboard the liner became more acute. Hoarse commands of men and
shrill cries of women and children rang out over the sea, while at the
same moment the commander of the German submarine called out:

"Hurry now! Five minutes more!"

Lord Hastings took his decision instantly.

"Below," he said quietly as he led the way. Frank and Jack followed.

"Submerge, Mr. Templeton," came Lord Hastings' sharp command.

Jack gave the order. The conning tower was hermetically closed instantly
and Lord Hastings took his place at the periscope. When the U-16 had
submerged until the periscope barely protruded above the water's edge,
Lord Hastings ordered:

"Hold her there!"

Orders came thick and fast now. Gradually the U-16 swerved a bit, to
better bring her torpedo tubes to bear. Lord Hastings gave a hurried
order to Jack, who stood at his elbow.

"Let no one come near me here," he said. "It would not do to have Davis
or one of the crew see what we are about to do."

"No one shall pass me, sir," was Jack's quiet response.

"Good. Signal No. 2 torpedo."

Immediately upon going below Frank had ordered the men to their posts,
where they now stood, eagerly expectant--the German members of the crew
because they believed a British ship was to be torpedoed, and the
Englishmen because they knew a German craft of some kind had been
encountered.

The electric signal board aboard the submarine now flashed red:

"No. 2 torpedo!"

The man on duty there, who chanced to be a German, stood tense and
expectant.

"How does she go above, sir?" asked Jack.

"Still a panic on the liner," returned Lord Hastings. "Several boats
have been lowered safely, however, and are picking up those in the
water. If the German will withhold his fire for ten minutes, all will be
saved."

"Does he seem to be ready to fire, sir?"

"He