aused me to
think more of what the men were doing than of my own sensations. I
wondered how one man could learn it all, for the skipper must have an
intimate knowledge of all the complicated machinery of his vessel. There
were engines everywhere and little standing room--at least, that is how
it appeared on the first glance, and even afterwards it was clear that
no adipose person could hope to survive aboard a submarine.

No sooner had the engine-room received the order to submerge than the
captain followed his helmsman down the conning-tower hatch, and he lost
not a second in getting to the periscope--the eye of his vessel. Soon my
attention was arrested by the sight of two men sitting side by side
turning two large wheels. One kept his eye on a bubble and turned his
wheel to control the hydroplanes to keep the craft level, and the other
man's eyes also watched a bubble in a level. His share of the work was
to keep the vessel at the depth ordered by the commander.

Although I was deeply interested in everything that went on under the
sea in that craft, my eyes were continually on the captain, who looked
like a photographer about to take the picture of a wilful baby. The
skipper's face was concealed behind two black canvas wings of the
reflector, which keep the many electric lights aboard from interfering
with his view through the glass. I then noticed a door in the stern of
the craft--about amid-ships--a door which is closed on the sight of
danger. To me it looked like a reflection, but you soon find out that
you are looking at the engines of the submarine. There, four or five
men, ignoring whether they were under the water or on the surface, were
concentrated on their work. One mistake, and the submarine and its crew
are lost. Hence there is no inattention to duty. Finally, this door was
slammed to.

The air below is not much different to what it is when the vessel is on
the surface--or not noticeably different until the craft has been
submerged for several hours. It is then that the "bottles" or air tanks
are brought into play. I walked to the bows of the boat, where a giant
torpedo was greased and ready for the shutting of its compartment. The
air-tight tube was then locked down, and the missile was ready for its
victim. But, as I said, lured as you may be to gaze at the other parts
of the wonderful craft, you will find that your gaze comes back to the
captain--always at the periscope, hands on those brass bars th