Then the after 9.2-inch followed the example of the for'ard one, the muzzle of the enormous weapon ploughing up a large portion of the quarter deck before it toppled over the side.
The ends of the lower signal yardarms dipped beneath the water; the main-topmast, snapping just above the fire-control platform, disappeared, taking with it a tangled mass of wire and hemp cordage. Cowls, derricks, and a medley of deck gear were taking charge, while the heavy boom boats, breaking from their securing lashings, slid noisily into the sea.
Amidst a smother of foam, and surrounded by an archipelago of floating debris, the "Tantalus" fell right over on her beam ends, resting on the bottom with only a portion of her port battery showing above the still agitated water—the grey-painted metal tinted a ruddy hue in the last rays of the setting sun.
"Give the old ship a cheer, lads!" shouted her late captain.
The men gave three resounding cheers in the true old British style, the soft west wind catching the echoes and sending them far and wide across the lofty Cornish land; while the "Antipas" and her consorts bore away for the Trecurnow Naval Base.
"We've a pretty big crowd on board," remarked Holcombe to his chum Farrar. "You hardly expected to find yourselves shipmates with a horde of Huns, did you?"
"Shipmates with a horde of Huns?" repeated Farrar. "What do you mean?"
"Simply that we have the crew of the U-boat that torpedoed you safely under hatches."
"That's good!" exclaimed the R.N.V.R. sub. "We heard that you had strafed old Fritz, but having her crew on board is news—absolutely."
"And," continued Holcombe, "we were examining the prisoners' effects. In the kapitan's pocket-book we found a receipted bill for a double dinner at one of the leading hotels at Trebalda. The old sinner must have gone ashore in mufti, taking one of the officers with him most likely, or else he met a pal. Mark my words, there'll be some lively developments. The kapitan—von Loringhoven's his name, brother to that Zeppelin commander who raided Barborough last year—looked a bit silly when we found the document, but he wouldn't say how he got hold of it. It's up to some one to find out. So our skipper is going to send the bill to Scotland Yard."