group of soldiers on the shore came expressions of good luck. In response
to Jack's request, a pilot had been hurried aboard and now took the wheel.

"Half speed ahead," Jack ordered.

The water churned up ahead of the Essex, and she moved majestically toward
the center of the stream.

Gradually the cheering died away in the distance, and the city of Newport
News was lost to sight. In Hampton Roads again, the pilot was dropped in a
small boat and rowed shoreward.

Frank took his place behind the helmsman and Jack rang for full speed
ahead. At last the Essex was off in pursuit of the German submarines.

Meanwhile, an account of the activity of the enemy off the coats is in
order. Besides the sinking of the first two freight vessels, which had
been reported to the Navy Department by survivors who had reached shore in
small boats, other vessels had been sent to the bottom. Most of these were
freighters or small trading ships, including two sailing vessels. Some had
been sunk off the New Jersey coast, others off the coasts of Delaware and
Virginia.

In some cases the vessels attacked had attempted to flee, but they were
quickly overhauled by the submarines, which, besides firing torpedoes into
their hulls, shelled them with rapid fire guns and later attacked the
small boats in which the crews sought to make the shore.

Casualties had been heavy aboard the ships sunk by the raiders. One or two
of the enemy submarines had been fired on by armed ships, but to no avail;
and as a result of those efforts, the death lists aboard such vessels had
been increased, for the Germans, angered, had swept the survivors in small
boats with rapid fire guns.

How many submarines were operating in American waters, the Navy department
did not know. From the fact that ships were attacked in at least three
places, within a short space of time, however, it was believed that there
were at least three or four of the raiders.

From all ports along the coast, destroyers, submarine chasers, motor boats
armed with single guns, had put to sea in an effort to run down the
raiders. But off the New Jersey coast, almost in the midst of these
vessels, a sailing ship was sunk by a submarine. Before any of the
patroling vessels could reach the scene, however, the U-Boat had submerged
and fled.

Depth bombs were dropped by ships of war wherever it was thought a
submarine might be lurking beneath the water. But these efforts met with
no success. Repo