rpedo-boat, the beast! Was the rascal going to come back at
the crucial moment?

It required only a few seconds for the torpedo-boat to pass over us, but
those seemed as hours. At every blinking of the eye I imagined I heard
something explode, turn against or drag alongside my boat. But fortune
was ours. The sharp, grinding sound of the swift torpedo-boat propellers
became fainter and fainter and, at last, ceased entirely. Unconsciously
I straightened up a little in the tower, whistled a few notes from
"Dockan," and tapped, as if nothing had happened, with the knuckle of my
forefinger on the glass of the manometer. What did the manometer
register? Nothing whatsoever had happened. Everything was in the best
condition. The depth coincided. The diving rudder was lying normal.
Before me stood Tuczynski, my faithful helmsman and orderly, at former
times skipper on the _Weichsel_ and _Nogat_; behind me, the mate leaned
against the wall of the conning tower contentedly and yawned.

I suddenly felt an unresistible craving for a cigarette. The nerves
needed some stimulation. For about ten minutes I controlled myself. Then
I arose to a periscope distance from the surface and took a look around
to see how things were going. What I saw filled my heart with joy. The
whole swarm of British destroyers and trawlers had moved toward the
southwest and were eagerly searching in a long line. As we were
proceeding in an opposite direction we quickly left them. After about
five more minutes I would dare to come to the surface. To the north the
way was clear.

Soon I was sitting, in the best of spirits, up in the conning tower,
greedily inhaling with both lungs the fine, refreshing sea air and,
mixed with it, the long puffs of the cigarette.

IV

RICH SPOILS

Late in the afternoon of the same day we broke into a peacefully working
fishing flotilla just like a wolf into a flock of sheep. In order to be
sure no shepherd with his dog was guarding them we, keeping ourselves
submerged, carefully examined each ship. I could not see a gun or
anything suspicious anywhere.

All were peacefully occupied at their casting nets, fishing. There were
seven fishing steamers and nine sailing ships, which were scattered over
a distance of about three miles. The weather was glorious, even better
than the day before. The sun smiled from a steel blue sky and danced in
golden stripes on the bright, calm surface of the sea. A gentle
northerly swell