"Well, rather. We are stationed to observe the approach through the mine-field to Wilhelmshaven. It means that every few hours we have to pop to the surface and have a look round; and except for the departure of some of the raiding German cruisers late on Saturday night (which we duly reported to the Admiralty, by the by) it's usually a case of a lot of work for nothing—for the beggars won't come out."
"Supposing a German warship did make a dash while you are down below?" asked Terence.
"We could tell by the noise of the propellors," replied the lieutenant-commander. "She is bound to keep almost immediately above us, owing to the narrowness of the passage through the mine-field."
"Then what would happen?" queried Aubyn, keenly interested in the information.
"If she were unsupported we would try the effect of a torpedo," replied Maynebrace, with a smile. "Ten to one the disaster to one of von Tirpitz's pets would be put down to the accidental displacement of one of the mines. In the case of the 'Derfflinger' and her consorts we let the whole crowd go. It would be impossible to torpedo the lot, and even if we hit one the remainder might scoot back to Wilhelmshaven. On the other hand, by not giving them a scare we help to keep their spirits up, so to speak, and let our battle-cruisers do the smashing-up part of the business. By the by, the seaman who was with you on the derelict boat told us of the result of the dust-up: how the 'Bluecher' went under."
"It was a pity we didn't get the rest," remarked Terence.
"Fortune of war," declared the lieutenant-commander. "And, as luck would have it, the three German battle-cruisers did not return to Wilhelmshaven by the same channel, otherwise I might have had a try for one or two of them. No, they made for Heligoland, I fancy, and thence either to Kiel or Wilhelmshaven by a passage inside the mine-field. Well, I must leave you for a while. I'll send young Warborough—he's my sub.—to have a yarn with you. And as soon as I get the chance I'll get off a wireless announcing that you are safe and sound on board."
It was not long before Sub-lieutenant Warborough arrived upon the scene. He was a young, easy-going officer, wholeheartedly devoted to his career; yet, when on leave he was a worry to the police in the vicinity of each of the great naval ports. His brother-officers in the submarine flotilla were apt to remark that Dick Warborough was a "bit of a scorcher" in more ways than one. On one occasion a lively scene in a Portsmouth theatre, in which Warborough played a leading though unrehearsed part, almost ended in a police-court. Perhaps it was lucky for the sub. that his father was a man of position and influence. Warborough freely confessed to half a dozen endorsements on his motor-driver's licence. The fines he had been ordered to pay in his twelve-month amounted to almost as much as his pay and allowance as a sub-lieutenant in the submarine service, so once again he thanked his lucky stars that his parent was rich and, what was more, generous. Yet, with all his foolish pranks ashore, he was keen and a capable officer from the moment he passed through the dockyard gates to return to duty till the time when he was again able to proceed on leave.
"Skipper says I'm to hold a pow-wow with you, Aubyn," began Warborough, not with any suspicion of condescension but in a frank, easy-going manner. "Glad to have someone to spin a yarn with. Do you motor?"
Terence had to confess that, except for trips in hired cars during his brief visits to his home, his experiences in that direction were few and far between; then, by way of altering the topic of conversation, he asked what the young officer thought of the submarine service.