The most serious damage done to the Carmania was by a shell, which set her on fire under her fore-bridge, and made steering difficult. The fire spread so much that it prevented the Carmania’s men from going to the rescue of the Germans in the water. But before she sank five boats put off from the Cap Trafalgar, and I am glad to say they were all rescued by a coal-ship—two hundred and seventy-nine officers and men.
So much for this exciting little fight. The two ships were almost exactly equal in size and strength, and the British vessel won on her merits by better seamanship and better gunnery. No wonder the Navy was pleased.
VI
Now I must tell you about Lieut.-Commander Max K. Horton, of Submarine E9, and how he earned the nickname of “The Double-toothed Pirate.”
You know how terribly dangerous the submarine service is. These ships are long and narrow, shaped rather like a cigar, and they can travel a long way under the water. But they are very fragile, and their gallant crews are always ready for instant death.
The day before the Carmania sank the Cap Trafalgar, September 13, Lieut.-Commander Horton took a little trip out to the Frisian Islands in E9. He found the German light cruiser Hela and sank her with a torpedo, and got away without being seen.
The loss of the Hela herself did not matter much to the Germans, as she was nearly ten years old and not of much fighting value. But what did matter was the upset to the nerves of the Germans. This is a most valuable thing in war—to make your enemy feel “jumpy.”
It is said that E9 came back to Harwich flying a little yellow flag bearing a skull and crossbones, which, as you probably know, is the badge of the Kaiser’s favourite regiment of Brandenburg Hussars.
The next exploit of E9 was even more daring, even more certain to make the Germans “jumpy.”
Again the little ship went off to the Frisian Islands, and there she torpedoed and sank a German destroyer. If you look at the map, you will see how close these islands are to the German naval stations of Wilhelmshaven and Emden. What should we have felt if a German submarine had come up and sunk a British ship quite close to Portsmouth and Plymouth? However, the War may bring us worse surprises than that, and if it does we must bear them bravely.