had no fear of an attack, as the
_Portugal_ was plainly marked with the Red Cross insignia and was
flying a Red Cross flag from her peak.

The submarine circled about the ships twice and then, to the horror of
those who were watching, fired a torpedo. The missile went astray, but
another followed and found its mark. Although the ship was at anchor,
with the shore near by, it was impossible to get all of her crew and
wounded to safety.

This attack greatly incensed Russia. She sent protests to all of the
neutral powers, calling attention to the deed perpetrated against her.
The flame of national anger was fanned higher when Constantinople
issued a statement saying that a Turkish submarine had sunk the
_Portugal_, claiming that she flew the Russian merchant flag without
any of the usual Red Cross markings upon her hull. It was said that
the explosion which shattered the vessel was caused by the presence of
ammunition.

On the morning of March 30, 1916, the steamship _Matoppo_, a British
freighter, put into Lewes, Delaware, with her master and his crew of
fifty men held prisoners by a single individual. Ernest Schiller, as
he called himself, had gone aboard the _Matoppo_ in New York, March
29, 1916, and hid himself away until the vessel passed Sandy Hook,
bound for Vladivostok. Then he came out and with the aid of two
weapons which the captain described as horse pistols, proceeded to cow
the master and crew. Schiller announced that the _Matoppo_ was a
German prize of war and that he would shoot the first man who moved a
hostile hand. The crew believed him. They also had an uneasy fear that
certain bombs which Schiller mentioned would be set off unless they
obeyed.

With Schiller in command the _Matoppo_ headed down the coast, her
captor keeping vigil. Off Delaware he ordered the captain to make
port. The latter obeyed, but also signaled to shore that a pirate was
aboard. Port authorities then sent a boat alongside, and Schiller was
arrested. He admitted under examination that he and three other men
had plotted to blow up the Cunard liner _Pannonia_. They bought the
dynamite and made the bombs, but his companions' courage failed, and
the plan was abandoned. Then it was proposed to stow away on some
outward bound ship, seize her at sea and make for Germany. With this
purpose in mind Schiller got aboard the _Matoppo_, but the other
conspirators deserted him. Not to be foiled, he captured the vessel
single-handed. It de