Billy Whiskers in France

by Frances Trego Montgomery

It was after midnight and every one was in bed but the officers of the ship and the sailors on the lookout for submarines when Billy’s sharp eyes saw something that looked like a log of wood standing straight up in the water. Before he could call out, “A periscope!” a black object was seen skipping over the surface of the water and the next thing he knew he was flying up in the air amid a spray of water. When he came down he struck the water about a hundred feet from where he went up and he felt himself going down, down, down toward the bottom of the ocean. But it was too deep for him to strike bottom here, so after going down, down, down, he began to come up, up, up, and when he got to the surface and shook the water out of his eyes, he looked around to see if he could discover Stubby or Button. And oh, joy! there they both were swimming towards him unhurt.

Luckily for them, not one of them had been injured in the least. Just then a big piece of wreckage that would act as a raft floated near them and they all crawled upon it, and were just in time to see what was left of the packet sink beneath the waves. They also saw that two lifeboats were afloat toward which many black heads could be seen swimming. Soon the swimmers reached the boats and climbed into them, and Billy saw they were the Captain and officers of the ship along with some of the sailors and passengers. As soon as they were in the lifeboats, they began picking up the people they saw in the water, and as there were but few passengers aboard all were saved. For a wonder the U-boat did not send another torpedo after them which in all probability they would have done had they not been frightened away by a guard boat coming to the rescue. After it had chased the submarine away, it came back and picked up all the passengers of the lifeboats and steamed away toward Ireland with them as they happened to be very near Queenstown.

Now none of the people had seen or heard the Chums on their raft though Billy baaed, Stubby barked and Button mewed.

“Well, there are two or three things to be thankful for,” said Billy. “First of all, we are alive and unhurt. The next is that the tide is carrying us inshore instead of out to sea, and the wind is blowing that way too. But most important of all is the fact that we are not far from land, and if the tide doesn’t turn and carry us out to sea, we should reach land at the rate we are floating now in about two hours. If we see the tide is turning, we can jump off the raft and swim for shore.”

“You would see some good in every situation, even if your home was burning,” declared Button.

“Well, wouldn’t you?” asked Billy.

“No. I nearly always feel despondent when in bad luck until I get mad and think what is the use. Then I make the best of whatever comes, while patient little Stubby here says nothing but just saws wood, as the saying is.”

Soon after daylight the raft touched the shore, and the Chums lost no time in leaving it, I can tell you. In the distance up the shore they saw a number of fishermen’s cottages. Stubby and Button proposed to walk up to them and see if they could not get something to eat, while Billy waited for them near by and made his breakfast of shamrock, for they were on Irish soil, the native heath of the shamrock.

The fishermen received them kindly, and gave them plenty to eat and drink. Then a quarrel arose as to who should own the dog and cat that had come to them so strangely. At last it was proposed to auction them off. The bidding was in kegs of fish instead of in money, however.