Aboard these transports the men were straining their eyes to get a view of the battle and chafing at their inability to take a hand. And yet there was hardly a man aboard the transports who did not realize that in an encounter with a submarine, a troop ship nine times out of ten would come off second best.
Denied the privilege of taking a hand, therefore, they stood at the rails of the various ships and cheered on the fighting vessels.
There was an explosion as a torpedo found the hull of the destroyer Halifax. The ship wabbled crazily in her course, then dashed forward again. Apparently she was not badly hurt.
A shell from one of the guns mounted by the first submarine, a moment later, landed squarely aboard the same destroyer and carried away her superstructure. Men fell to the deck dead or badly wounded.
"First blood for the Germans," said Jack to himself.
Apparently angered at this German success, the second British destroyer, the Angelic, darted forward and attacked the submarine with such abandon and effectiveness that she was forced to give the destroyer its entire attention. Twice the Angelic maneuvered out of the path of a torpedo, and then, with a well directed shot, put the submarine out of the battle. This shell caught the U-boat along side the conning tower. Iron and steel flew high in the air, and, descending, scattered death among the crew. Thus crippled, a second shot from the Angelic disposed of her entirely and she sank beneath the waves.
There were now but three submarines left.
"Great Scott! It's a wonder they don't submerge," said Frank. "Wonder if they think they can lick us?"
The answer came from the enemy. All three simultaneously launched torpedoes at the Lawrence. It was absolutely impossible for Lord Hastings to maneuver the ship out of the way of all three missiles. He did the best he could, but one of the projectiles penetrated the side of the ship and pierce the engine room.
There was a loud explosion from below. Lord Hastings turned to Frank.