A Sub. of the R.N.R.: A Story of the Great War

by Percy F. Westerman

"'Sunderland' and destroyer flotilla to proceed in support of seaplanes," came the signal.

Hastily the pins of the mooring shackle were knocked out. Steam was already raised, and in a very few minutes the light cruiser and her attendant destroyers were slipping between the heads of the detached breakwater and the Admiralty Pier.

But swift as were the light cruisers the seaplanes were quicker. Already they were five or six miles out to sea, their position being revealed by the flashes of the light guns as they exchanged shots with the fugitive Taubes.

Suddenly with a dazzling flash a bomb exploded hardly twenty feet from the "Sunderland's" starboard quarter. Five seconds later another struck the water almost under the cruiser's bows, and a waft of evil-smelling gas drifted across the navigation bridge, causing officers and men to cough and gasp for breath.

The captain tried to give an order, but was unable to utter a sound. Mutely he signed for the helm to be put hard over.

Terence understood. Literally groping his way through the thick vapour, that even in the darkness showed an unmistakable greenish hue, he found the quartermaster, who was clutching his throat and struggling for breath.

Pushing the man aside Aubyn rapidly revolved the steam steering-gear. Obediently the cruiser swung round, narrowly escaping a high explosive missile that, had she maintained her course, would have played havoc with her fo'c'sle.

All around the "Sunderland" the destroyers were dodging hither and thither in order to attempt to avoid the hail of bombs that rained from the sky. It was little short of a miracle that collisions did not take place, for owing to the darkness, the suffocating fumes from the missiles, and to the fact that most of the helmsmen were temporarily blinded and choked, all attempt at formation was out of the question.

From the after-bridge of the cruiser a searchlight flashed skywards. For a few seconds even its powerful rays failed to penetrate the pall of smoke, till an eddying gust freed the "Sunderland" from the noxious fumes.

Then the source of the mysterious missiles was revealed. At a height of over two thousand feet were a couple of Zeppelins. Taking advantage of the fact that the attention of the British seaplanes and destroyers was centred on the fugitive Taubes, these giant airships, by reason of their altitude, were able to manoeuvre immediately above the flotilla.