"Just our confounded luck," declared the lieutenant-commander. "One of our own cruisers trying her level best to smash us. That tramp altering her course gave her the tip. But the fellow who laid that quick-firer ought to have his cross-guns taken away for a bad miss," he added grimly, referring to the "gun-layer's badge" worn on the right arm.
A careful survey by means of the periscope revealed no sign of the cruiser or destroyer that had been so inconsiderate as to fire upon one of her submarines; but the modern "Flying Dutchman" was well within view, and about a couple of miles on the submarine's port bow.
The lieutenant-commander knitted his brows in perplexity. His craft was in an awkward predicament. She had been fired on at sight, owing possibly to the tramp signalling to the British warship that she was being chased by a German submarine. If "E Something" had remained awash a second or third shot would in all probability have sent her to the bottom for good and all, since it was impossible to convince the cruiser or destroyer of her error in time to stop the over-zealous guns'-crews.
By diving, the submarine was safe from the effect of gun-fire so long as she kept submerged; but directly she reappeared she might be instantly fired upon or else rammed by the now alert cruiser, which would certainly follow the supposed course of the unseen craft.
Suddenly an idea flashed through the brain of the skipper of "E Something." The Dutch tramp had been the cause of the somewhat disconcerting incident: he would make her the means of getting out of an awkward, not to say hazardous, position.
Terence held his breath when he heard the order to ascend to the surface. The operation savoured of suicide, for it seemed evident to him that the mere showing of the top of the conning-tower would result in a salvo from the guns of the cruiser, which must by this time have greatly decreased the distance between the position from which she fired the first shot and the spot where the submarine had vanished.
Up rose the "E Something," but no shell burst with devastating effect within her vitals. Almost before she regained her normal position the order was given to open hatches.
"Now, Aubyn, up with you!" exclaimed Warborough.
Terence needed no second invitation. Nimbly he ascended the iron rings of the vertical ladder and gained the deck. To his surprise he found that the submarine was close alongside the Dutchman's starboard quarter and moving at practically the same speed and in the same direction as she was.
The submarine's White Ensign, which, owing to the hasty descent had not been lowered and untoggled from the halliards, was hanging limply from the staff, resembling an umbrella. For the purposes of recognition it was useless. Even had it been otherwise, the minds of the crew of the tramp were so completely obsessed with the idea that the craft was a German submarine that they would have regarded the ensign as false colours.