e of 'em pahsses through the chart house, and the
other tears a nice little 'ole in 'er for'ard.

"That'll do for that gun practice,' I says.

"'Aren't you goin' to 'ave a go at 'em?' says the mate.

"'You can 'ave all the go at 'em you please,' I says, 'after we leave
the ship. Besides you there's 19 men and 4 Eurasians in this crew, and
some of 'em will maybe like to see 'ome again--I know I do!'

"We get into the boats, myself takin' along what was left of a second
case of Scotch, and good old pre-war Scotch it was, not the gory
infant's food they serve these days that a man 'as to take a tumblerful
of to know 'e's 'aving a drink at all. I also took along three sofy
cushions, hand-worked by the missus, with pink doves and cupids and the
like--rare lookin' they was. 'A man might's well be comfortable,' I
says.

"I 'ad a cook. 'If comfort's the word,' says the cook, 'I might's well
take along the wife's canary,' and 'e takes it along in a cage in one
'and, and a bag of clothes in the other. 'E's in the boat when 'e thinks
to go back for a package of seed 'e'd left for the canary on the shelf
in the galley. 'Hurry up with your bird-seed,' I says, and as I do a
shell comes along and explodes inside of 'er old frame somewheres, and
the cook says maybe 'e'll be gettin' along without the seed--the canary
not being what you'd call a 'eavy eater, anyway.

"The mate 'ad a cameraw, and when we're clear of the ship he would stand
up and set the cameraw on the shoulders of a Eurasian fireman, and take
shots of the ship between shells.

"In good time one last shell 'its 'er, and down she goes. The U-boat
moves off, and we see no more of 'er.

"It's a fine day and a lovely pink sunset, and there's a beautiful mild
sirocco blowing off the African shore to make the 'ot night pleasant as
we approach it in the boats. A man could 'ardly arsk to be torpedoed
under more pleasant conditions, I say, and we continue to row toward the
shore in 'igh 'opes. It's maybe two in the mornin' when we see the
side-lights of a ship. She's bound east--a steamer--and we know she's a
Britisher, because we're the only chaps carried lights in war zones at
that time. Carryin' lights at night o' course made us grand marks for
the U-boats, but there was no 'elp for it. A board o' trade regulation,
that was, and no gettin' away from what the board o' trade says. We had
our choice of carryin' lights and losin' our ships, or not carryin'
lights and losin