Page:Cruise of the Dry Dock.djvu/340

 little swirl of water. The submarine had come into the action.

The tug rushed straight through the bullet-rumpled water to the point where the metal fin had disappeared, like a terrier dashing at a rathole.

With the disappearance of the submarine's “eye,” the fusillade ceased abruptly. The great cannon were firing more slowly now and there came short intervals of comparative silence in the battle.

From the bridge Caradoc bellowed fiercely at his men: “Spread around the rail—keep a sharp lookout for the submarine!” The crew came back with a will now that they learned the bombardment had not been intended for them.

In the meantime the tiny David had put the great Goliath to flight. The Panther was endeavoring to save herself. She veered out of the thundering battle line and zigzagged easterly, in full flight from any enemy that she could almost drop down one of her smokestacks.

And the little Vulcan swung about in an effort to keep up with her principal. On she rushed, shaking and puffing like a locomotive,