Already several of the men were stricken to the deck, some slain outright, others writhing in agony from severe splinter wounds. Amid the flying fragments of shells the youthful doctor set to work to render first aid, coolly heedless of the fact that the felucca was doomed.
The "Georgeos Nikolaos" was sinking. She was also on fire for'ard. The bow gun, with its disappearing mountings, had "disappeared" in a most unorthodox way, having been completely blown overboard, together with the men who served it. Yet not a soul on board gave one thought of surrendering. Although with few exceptions members of the auxiliary service, they were fully imbued with the glorious traditions of the White Ensign. So long as a plank remained under their feet, they were grimly determined to fight on, working the remaining gun in stubborn defiance, yet the while conscious that they were firing for firing's sake since the comparatively puny weapon was innocuous to the foe.
A fragment of shell struck down the gunner as he stood at Farrar's side. It was a dangerous wound, but beyond an ashy greyness of his features the staunch warrant officer gave no indication of his physical pain.
"Dash it all!" he exclaimed. "My luck's changed this trip—and the thirteenth too!" and straightway relapsed into unconsciousness.
A steady flow of warm fluid trickled over the sub's right eyebrow. Under the impression that it was perspiration he mopped it with his handkerchief, to discover that blood was running from a clean cut on his forehead. In the excitement he had failed to experience any sensation of pain when a splinter of flying metal struck him a glancing blow.
At length the U-boat ceased firing, for the felucca's after gun had been put out of action by a direct hit upon the open breech-block that had destroyed the intercepted thread-locking arrangement. Yet it seemed rather unusual for a Hun, getting the best of things, to cease fire as long as there was anything in the nature of a target to aim at.
One glance showed the sub the reason. The White Ensign had been blown away.
Another ensign was soon forthcoming. With one hand Farrar lashed it to a boat-hook staff, and defiantly displayed the emblem of freedom.
Fritz's reply was not long in coming. A shell struck the "Georgeos Nikolaos" just abaft the stump of the foremast, playing havoc on board and tearing a hole 'twixt wind and water. It was the coup de grâce. Half stifled by the pungent fumes of the T.N.T., his vision affected by the noxious smoke, the sub found himself striking out in a turmoil of broken water amidst a dozen or more of his devoted crew.
As the smoke dispersed, drifting in eddying clouds far to leeward, Farrar was able to obtain a clearer view of his surroundings. All around, the surface of the agitated sea was thick with pieces of timber of various sizes and shapes. Planks from the still-sinking vessel were shooting upwards through the air with terrific violence, to fall again and strike the water with resounding smacks. Twenty yards away floated the felucca's boat that had been wrenched from its securing lashings as the craft sank. It was keel upwards, a portion of the stern had been shattered, and there were other injuries from shell fire. No longer seaworthy the boat still served a purpose by supporting four or five bluejackets who were clinging to her bilge-keels.