"Well—Fritz's claws," amended Sir William.
"Same thing," replied the Lieutenant-Commander. "What's ours to-day is theirs tomorrow—figuratively speakin', that is. If it's sauce for the goose it's sauce for the gander—just tit for tat, this game."
"That," said Sir William, "is rather a novel point of view. It's not exactly one that is taken by the bulk of people ashore."
The figure beside the helmsman crinkled up his eyes as he stared ahead and gave a low-voiced order to the helmsman. "Oh?" he said. "I don't know much about what people ashore think, except that they're all rattled over this so-called Submarine menace. Anyone that's scared is apt to cling to one point of view."
"That is so," replied the Scientist. "But I chose to come out with you to-day for these experiments on the principle of setting a thief to catch a thief."
"That's sound," said the Submarine expert. "Because, you know, in the Navy we all look at life from different points of view, according to our jobs. No, thanks, I won't smoke till we get outside. Now, those fellows"—the speaker jerked his head astern to the great grey Battleships—"those big-ship wallahs—they're only just beginning to take Us seriously. I put in my big-ship time at the beginning of the war—we do a year in a big ship, you know, for our sins—and the fellows in the Mess used to jeer at Us. They talked about their rams…." He laughed. "Rams!" he repeated. "They called us pirates. P'raps we were, but we didn't carry bathrooms in those early boats—nor yet manicure sets…. Port ten! … Ease to five—steady!"
The speaker was silent for a moment, musing. "I don't know that I altogether blame 'em." He turned to his First Lieutenant, a youth some years his junior with preposterously long eyelashes. "'Member the manoeuvres before the War?" The other laughed and nodded. "I torpedoed my revered parent's Battleship," continued the speaker, "at two hundred yards in broad daylight and a flat calm." He chuckled. "Lor' bless me! It's like a fairy tale, lookin' back on it after two years of war."
"Haven't they rather altered their tune since, though?" asked the visitor.
"A bit, yes. They don't quite know how to take us nowadays. We come in from patrol and tie up alongside them to give the men the run of the canteen; they ask us to dinner and give cinema shows for the sailors, bless 'em. We're beginning to feel quite the giddy heroes when we find ourselves among the Battle-fleet."
"Cold feet," interposed the First Lieutenant. "That's what's behind it all. We're It…."