| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 1 | 20 | 41 | 61 | 81 |
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commands of the commander and his junior; but presently we were too
indiscriminately mixed to make it safe to use our firearms, and the battle resolved
itself into a hand-to-hand struggle for possession of the deck.
The sole aim of each of us was to hurl one of the opposing force into the sea. I
shall never forget the hideous expression upon the face of the great Prussian with
whom chance confronted me. He lowered his head and rushed at me, bellowing
like a bull. With a quick side-step and ducking low beneath his outstretched
arms, I eluded him; and as he turned to come back at me, I landed a blow upon
his chin which sent him spinning toward the edge of the deck. I saw his wild
endeavors to regain his equilibrium; I saw him reel drunkenly for an instant upon
the brink of eternity and then, with a loud scream, slip into the sea. At the same
instant a pair of giant arms encircled me from behind and lifted me entirely off
my feet. Kick and squirm as I would, I could neither turn toward my antagonist
nor free myself from his maniacal grasp. Relentlessly he was rushing me toward
the side of the vessel and death. There was none to stay him, for each of my
companions was more than occupied by from one to three of the enemy. For an
instant I was fearful for myself, and then I saw that which filled me with a far
greater terror for another.
My boche was bearing me toward the side of the submarine against which the tug
was still pounding. That I should be ground to death between the two was lost
upon me as I saw the girl standing alone upon the tug's deck, as I saw the stern
high in air and the bow rapidly settling for the final dive, as I saw death from
which I could not save her clutching at the skirts of the woman I now knew all too
well that I loved.
I had perhaps the fraction of a second longer to live when I heard an angry growl
behind us mingle with a cry of pain and rage from the giant who carried me.
Instantly he went backward to the deck, and as he did so he threw his arms
outwards to save himself, freeing me. I fell heavily upon him, but was upon my
feet in the instant. As I arose, I cast a single glance at my opponent. Never again
would he menace me or another, for Nob's great jaws had closed upon his throat.
Then I sprang toward the edge of the deck closest to the girl upon the sinking tug.
"Jump!" I cried. "Jump!" And I held out my arms to her. Instantly as though
with implicit confidence in my ability to save her, she leaped over the side of the
tug onto the sloping, slippery side of the U-boat. I reached far over to seize her
hand. At the |