rnative but to
reply. The sea round about the nearer craft was soon spouting with
shell splashes, and between the fountains of spray and clouds of dense
smoke in which she tried to hide herself, we could see the red flashes
of some of our shell as they hit and burst, and the spurt of flame from
her own little gun as she fired at us. Only three or four of her
projectiles came anywhere near, while the havoc on board her must have
been indescribable. It was a hateful business to have to fire at her
at all, but what else could we do as she would not surrender?

It was all over very soon. The nearer trawler was almost hidden in
smoke, and presently, when we got ahead of her and to windward at a
range of about 1,500 yards, we noticed a white thing fluttering in her
mizzen rigging. It was a shirt, as we discovered afterwards, and a
signal of surrender, so we ceased firing at once and ran down to her to
pick up the survivors.

The further trawler, meanwhile, had been sunk by the destroyer ahead of
us, the crew having abandoned her beforehand in two boats.

We steamed fairly close to our fellow and lowered a boat, for we could
see all the survivors standing up with their hands above their heads.
The ship herself was in a deplorable state. Shell seemed to have burst
everywhere, and one of the first which struck her had cut a steam pipe
in the engine-room and had stopped the engines. Clouds of steam were
coming from aft, her upper deck was a shambles, and she was badly holed
and on fire. She was still afloat, though sinking fast.

Our boat went across and brought back those that remained of her crew.
There were thirteen of them all told, including the skipper, and of the
men one was badly, and four more slightly, wounded. Nine had been
killed outright.

Then occurred rather a pleasing incident. Our men, a long time before,
were going to do all sorts of desperate things to any Germans they got
hold of. They were full of the Lusitania business, bomb dropping from
Zeppelins, and the treatment of our prisoners. But when the time came
there was a complete revulsion of feeling. They were kindness itself,
and when the prisoners came on board the seamen met the seamen and
escorted them forward like honoured guests, while our stokers did the
same for their opposite numbers.

We took all necessary precautions, of course, but the Germans were very
well behaved and gave us no trouble at all. They were a particularly
fine