"Ay, ay, sir," replied the quietly confident gunlayers.
"By heavens, sir!" exclaimed the warrant officer. "Look at that—the murderous swine."
For the U-boat, not content with its work of torpedoing the transport, had opened fire upon one of the lifeboats that had pulled away from the lee side of the sinking ship. Having given the felucca orders to stand off, the Huns paid no more attention to the apparently harmless Greek trader until their cold-blooded equanimity was rudely disturbed.
With a deafening crash both quick-firers spoke simultaneously from the felucca's deck. Before the thin bluish haze of burnt cordite was dispersed, the shells had "got home." One, striking the U-boat's gun, swept it and its crew into nothingness; the other, bursting against the base of the conning tower, tore a huge rent in the steel deck, swept away the periscopes, and blistered the grey paint into a hideous yellow daub. When the smoke of the exploding missile had disappeared, the U-boat's kapitan-leutnant was observed gripping the shattered guard-rail with one hand, the other pressed to his side.
"We've got her!" exclaimed the delighted Mr. Gripper. "She can't dive, and these seas will fill her."
The German captain was evidently of the same opinion. Through his binoculars the sub saw that he was moving his jaw, as if shouting orders or questions to those of his crew in the interior of the pirate craft. Then a seaman's head and shoulders appeared through the hatchway, and a white flag fluttered in the strong wind.
"Napoo, laddie!" ejaculated the gunner. "You've all gone and done it this time."
He looked to Farrar for confirmation. The sub shook his head.
"Cease fire!" he ordered.
For the first time Mr. Gripper's mahogany-hued face expressed dissatisfaction at his youthful skipper's decision.