d left New York, had brought her speed down to 18 knots, a
circumstance which was in favor of the attacking vessel, for it
could not have done much damage with a torpedo had she been going
at her highest speed; it would have given her a chance to cross
the path of the torpedo as it approached. No sign of the submarine
was noticed by the lookout or by any of the passengers on the
_Lusitania_ until it was too late to maneuver her to a position
of safety. A few moments before the white wake of the approaching
torpedo was espied, the periscope had been seen as it came to the
surface of the water. From that moment onward the liner was doomed.

The German admiralty report of the actual sinking of the ship,
which was issued on the 14th of May, 1915, was brief. It read:
"A submarine sighted the steamship _Lusitania_, which showed no
flag, May 7, 2.20 Central European time, afternoon, on the southeast
coast of Ireland, in fine, clear weather.

"At 3.10 o'clock one torpedo was fired at the _Lusitania_, which
hit her starboard side below the captain's bridge. The detonation
of the torpedo was followed immediately by a further explosion
of extremely strong effect. The ship quickly listed to starboard
and began to sink.

"The second explosion must be traced back to the ignition of quantities
of ammunition inside the ship."

One of the effects of the sinking of the _Lusitania_ was to cut
down the number of passengers sailing to and from America to Europe
on ships flying flags of belligerent nations. Attacks by submarines
on neutral ships did not abate, however, for on the 15th of May,
1915, the Danish steamer _Martha_ was torpedoed in broad daylight
and in view of crowds ashore off the coast of Aberdeen Bay.

The sinking of ships in the "war zone" continued in spite of rumors
that the German admiralty was expected to discontinue operations
of the submarines against merchantmen on account of the unfriendly
feeling aroused in neutral nations, particularly the United States.
On the 19th of May, 1915, came the news that the British steamship
_Dumcree_ had been torpedoed off a point in the English Channel. A
torpedo fired into her hull failed to sink her immediately, and a
Norwegian ship came to her aid, passing her a cable and attempting
to tow her to port. But the submarine returned, and fearing attack,
the Norwegian ship made off. A second torpedo fired at the _Dumcree_
had better effect than the first one, and she began to settl