s ships by small
boats.

This undertaking was hazardous, too, for enemy shells were falling all
about. Nevertheless, the most of the men reached their ship in safety, and
from the flagship came the signal to retreat.

Upon returning to the Brigadier, Frank surveyed his own men. There had
been few casualties among them. Less than a dozen men had been killed and
left behind. Of wounded Frank counted fifteen. Immediately he ascended to
the bridge to report to Jack.

Jack greeted his chum with a smile. Although the Brigadier had been in the
midst of the battle, and many German shells had found their marks aboard
her, Jack was as cool and unruffled as before the battle started.

"What luck, Frank?" he asked.

"Good," Frank replied. "We held the Mole until ordered back. And you?"

"The best of luck. I've stuck tight to the Vindictive through the heat of
the battle, and I believe our guns have done some damage."

"And the block ships?" asked Frank.

"They have been sunk at the mouths of both harbors, I am informed. The
raid has been a complete success."

At that moment came the recall signal from the flagship.

"See," said Jack, "there's proof of it. If we had not been successful, the
recall would not have been sounded yet. There is still plenty of time if
we needed it, and our damage has not been great enough to leave the job
unfinished."

Jack was right. The harbors of Ostend and Zeebrugge had been effectually
sealed. No longer would enemy U-Boats make nightly raids into the North
Sea, only to scurry back to their bases when it grew light. As a submarine
base, Zeebrugge was extinct. So, for that matter, was Ostend.

That the success of the British expedition had been a severe blow to the
Germans goes without saying. No other single feat since the beginning of
the war had done so much to dishearten them; and there is little doubt
that the sealing of their submarine bases did much toward hastening the
end of the war.

British losses in the raid had been severe. The Vindictive, which had led
the attack, had literally been shot to pieces and it was a miracle how she
remained afloat. The Brigadier, also, had suffered severely, but her
condition was not so bad that a few months in drydock would not be
sufficient to make her whole again.

A dozen or more of the little motorboats and coastal patrol vessels had
been sunk, and the loss of life had been heavy. Several others of the
destroyers had been badly damaged, bu