Suddenly, at a distance of not more than two miles off the starboard beam, Jack spied a vessel driving leisurely toward the east with a trail of smoke floating along in her train. Taking up his glasses he was able to make her out plainly in the moonlight—-a destroyer!
Without calling his captain Jack decided to follow her for a while and accordingly altered the course of the Monitor to east by southeast until she was cutting in at right angles toward the speedy warship. After a chase lasting the better part of half an hour Jack found that the Monitor was rapidly approaching the mainland off to port, with the destroyer running into what appeared to be a convenient harbor on the Belgian coast. He decided to report to McClure before proceeding further, and forthwith sent Ted to waken the ship's commander. In a few minutes McClure climbed into the conning tower.
"What's up now?" he asked as he swept the horizon.
"Destroyer right ahead, sir," reported Jack as he indicated the position of the vessel. McClure picked it up with his glasses, and by taking the Monitor's position was able very shortly to determine that the vessel was off the entrance to Ostend.
"We might as well run up a bit closer and take a shot at her anyway," he announced shortly.
Crowding on full speed, the American vessel edged in closer and was then partially submerged. The German vessel had not noticed the submarine as yet; at least, she gave no indication of being cognizant of the proximity of the American vessel. At a distance of three thousand yards McClure decided to loose a torpedo.
"We'll take one shot and then dive," he said. "The coast is studded with guns everywhere here and we are too close to them to loiter around long."
In another moment, after sighting carefully on the fleeing destroyer, McClure gave the signal to fire and Jack sent a torpedo whirling from the bow of the Monitor.
"And now down we go," said McClure as he signaled to take in ballast.
Not waiting to note the effect of their fire, the officers of the Monitor sent their ship careening into the depths and went down to a depth of fifty feet with a greatly decreased speed.