the bow gun. The reports had hardly ceased echoing when some
remarkable activity was displayed, not only aboard the transport, but
on the part of the convoying squadron.

As the shells splashed into the sea near the spot where the commotion
had been observed, there were smudges of black smoke at several points
on either side of the troopship. These were the funnels of the
destroyers belching out clouds of vapor that told of their approach
under forced draught. And as the other guns on the transport awoke and
began firing on the suspected submarine, up came racing the swift
craft, the men on board eagerly looking for a target.

Then their big guns got into action, and for a time the sea in the
vicinity of the suspected place was churned by exploding shells, while
one destroyer, the fastest of the flotilla, shot right over the place
where the lookout thought he had seen a periscope, and dropped two
depth bombs that added further to the churning of Neptune's element.

Meanwhile, for the second occasion in a short time, lifeboat stations
were sounded, and the soldiers, donning their life preservers, took
their places to await what might follow--possibly, an order to abandon
ship after she had been struck by a torpedo.

But this contingency did not arise. The destroyers swarmed around the
transport, seeking in vain for something substantial on which to
expend their ammunition, and then the scare was over.

And whether it was only a scare, or whether a real submarine had shown
her periscope and then dived before sending a torpedo, could, of
course, only be surmised. But no chances were being taken, and the
transport on which the Cresville boys traveled was not the only one of
the American Expeditionary Forces that believed itself the object of a
frustrated attack.

"If that was a sub, it came out pretty far to meet us," observed
Jerry, when the excitement had died away and they were at ease once
more.

"No telling where they'll be found," said a noncommissioned officer.
"If that had been one I believe we'd have got her, though."

"Surest thing you know!" declared Ned Slade emphatically.

This was the only incident that marked the passage. Of course, at
various times, especially during the nights, the lookouts may have
imagined they saw the wake of a periscope or a torpedo, but there was
no general alarm.

And finally, after what really was a tiresome voyage, and one the end
of which was welcomed by all, the transp