ern Ocean. The Hebrides lay far to the
southward, and less than two days' steam ahead lay the Arctic Circle.
These cheerless surroundings, however, found no echo in the hearts of
the watch below on the leading ship of the unit, who were lounging on
the settees in the oil-smelling fo'c'sle discussing their prospects of
long leave, for their ship was to "blow-down" for a thorough refit when
they returned to harbour in less than three weeks' time.

On the deck of the same vessel two officers, standing in the shelter of
the wheel-house, were sweating and shivering in patches, but also happy
with the thought of the forthcoming reunion with their families and the
brief enjoyment of the comforts of home after seven long winter months'
wandering, with soul-destroying monotony, over the windswept wastes of
England's frontier. The watch on deck, with the exception of the
helmsman and look-out, crouched under the lee of the iron
superstructure, alternately swinging their arms and stamping their
heavily booted feet, but they too were mentally impervious to the dismal
surroundings.

Of the second ship in the line the same cheery story cannot be told. She
was jealous of the first. It would be another two months at least before
she would go in dock for refit; and among the watch below there were
three new hands on their first voyage, two of whom would, just then,
have preferred the peace and stillness of the sea bottom to the
friskiness of the surface.

The third trawler was a happy little ship, for although the junior of
the unit she had been very fortunate in securing a "Fritz" all to her
own cheek less than three months before.

This, then, was one of the units on the Outer Hebrides and Iceland
patrol during the winter of 1915, and they seemed to be the sole
occupants of the leagues of water around.

It was barely eleven o'clock, Greenwich time, when they reached the last
ten miles of their beat, and speed was reduced so that they would not
have to turn about and begin steaming back over the course they had come
until the morning watch went below at midday. This was an artful though
harmless arrangement to enable those going off duty to have a meal and
at least an hour's rest in peace, as on the voyage back both wind and
sea would be astern and the vicious lurching of the small ship reduced
to a minimum.

The time passed slowly, as it generally did on patrol when nothing
exciting was afoot, but a few minutes before the await