"Stand by there, Castellan! Get your pumps to work, and I shall want full speed ahead--I'm going to run that old croak down--hurry up."
He put the transmitter back on the hooks and presently Lennard saw the bows of the _Ithuriel_ rise quickly out of the water. The doomed vessel in front of them was a long, low-lying French torpedo-catcher, with one big funnel between two signal-masts, hopelessly out of date, and evidently intended only to go in and take her share of the spoils. Erskine switched off the searchlight, called for full speed ahead and then with clenched teeth and set eyes, he sent the _Ithuriel_ flying at her victim.
Within five minutes it was all over. The fifty-ton ram rose over the _Leger's_ side, crushed it down into the water, ground its way through her, cut her in half and went on.
"That ship ought to have been on the scrap-heap ten years ago," said Erskine as he signalled for half-speed and swung the _Ithuriel_ round to the westward.
"She's got a scrap-heap all to herself now, I suppose," said Lennard, with a bit of a check in his voice. "I've no doubt, as you say, this sort of thing may be necessary, but my personal opinion of it is that it's damnable."
"Exactly my opinion too," said Erskine, "but it has to be done."
The next instant, Lennard heard a sound such as he had never heard before. It was a smothered rumble which seemed to come out of the depths, then there came a shock which flung him off his feet, and shot him against the opposite wall of the conning-tower. The _Ithuriel_ heeled over to port, a huge volume of water rose on her starboard side and burst into a torrent over her decks, then she righted.
Erskine, holding on hard to the iron table to which the signalling board was bolted, saved himself from a fall.
"I hope you're not hurt, Mr Lennard," said he, looking round, "that was a submarine. Let a torpedo go at us, I suppose, and didn't know they were hitting twelve-inch armour."
"It's all right," said Lennard, picking himself up. "Only a bruise or two; nothing broken. It seems to me that this new naval warfare of yours is going to get a bit exciting."
"Yes," said Erskine, "I think it is. Halloa, Great Cæsar! That must be that infernal invention of Castellan's brother's; the thing he sold to the Germans--the sweep!"