ng torpedo,
it would have been a fair hit amidships. As it was, the explosive went
harmlessly on its way through the open sea. A short cheer from the crew
marks the miss, and the firing increases in intensity. The battleship so
turns that her bow is in the direction of the submarine, presenting,
thus, a mark which may be hit only through a lucky shot, since the
submarine is a mile away. Accurate shooting even at a mile is expected
of torpedo-men when the mark is a broadside, but hitting a "bow-on"
object is a different matter.

Two more torpedoes zip past, and then over the seas comes bounding a
destroyer, smoke bellying from her funnels. She is over the probable
hiding-place of the submarine, and a great explosion and a high column
of water tell those on the battleship that she has released a
depth-bomb. Suddenly a signal flutters to the stay of the destroyer. The
crew of the battleship cheer. There is no more to fear from that
submarine, for oil is slowly spreading itself over the surface of the
ocean--oil and pieces of wreckage.

The dawn establishes itself fully. The battleship resumes her course
toward the appointed rendezvous.

Our navy has always held the idea that the Germans could be routed out
from their submarine bases, has believed that, after all, that is the
one sure way of ridding the seas of the Kaiser's pirates for good. It
may be assumed that the recent attacks of the British upon Ostend and
Zeebrugge, as a cover to blocking the canal entrances through sinking
old war-ships, were highly approved by Vice-Admiral Sims. Secretary
Daniels has considered the advisability of direct methods in dealing
with the German Navy. No doubt the temptation has been great, if only
because of the fact that with the British and American and French navies
combined, we have a force which could stand an appreciable amount of
destruction and yet be in a position to cope with the German fleet. Yet,
of course, that is taking chances. And:

"It is all very well to say 'damn the torpedoes,'" said Secretary
Daniels, in discussing this point, "but a navy cannot invite
annihilation by going into mined harbors, and ships can do little or
nothing against coast fortifications equipped with 14-inch guns.
Experience at Gallipoli emphasizes this fact. And yet"--here the
secretary became cryptic--"there is more than one way to kill a cat. No
place is impregnable. Nothing is impossible."

The British showed how damage might be dealt n