THE ART OF CATCHING SUBMARINES.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 January 1917, Page 8

THE ART OF CATCHING SUBMARINES.

THE "TRAMP" DISGUISE. (By ''A Submariner'' in the Daily Mail). There was nothing of the ocean gie.yl.niind about 11.M.5. T'oppler. In |)K'wai days, a* the Saucy Annie, of Ilnil, she- had earned dividends for a practicalminded owner whose standard of, beavty for a shin was»that she should be abki to carry the maximum of cargo at the iniiiiimiiu of v.orking cost. When (he long hand of the Admiralty reached nut and grabbed her, she had been for sonn: time frcighti'.ig consignments of rancid oil, and 'the odor of this still clung lovingly to her skin. But although from an aesthetic point of view the blul!'noscd, slab-sided ■ old boat had nianv i-liortcomings, she possessed certain qualities which the Admiralty surveyors regarded with an approving eye. So they put a couple of guns into her, piovided her witn a White Ensign to lie hoisted "as :md when required," and sent her out to hunt for submarines. This task she pursued diligently, but uith ill-success, for some time.

Although the Toppler got where submarines were often enough seen these wily craft did r.ot seem to like the look vf Her. Whenever she "showed up" they dipped into the 'ditch," peristopes and all, and disappeared, "Th" blamed old hooker can smell U-boats, an' by gum if they can't smell her they ain't got no noses," opined "Dod,&tr" Long lo*"Guiincry Jack" of the Toppler. as a whiff from her hold availed l:is nostril?, A LOW DISGUISE. Xow the "owner" of the Toppler a man wlio believed in results. He could not content himself with merely chasing submarines; he wanted to catch them. After turning over the matter so that he could look at all sides of it lc put back to port with a plan in his mind. Thcr" what ho planned xim done, and when fife Toppler went to sea again it wiv-i in such a disreputable guise that even her former owner, although in no way squeamish on the subject of appearances, would have refused to acknowledge her. She looked like a long-condemned hulk that had oroken adrift, and from captain downwards her, complement were in keeping with their ship in outward seeming. Kven a San j'rancisco "crimp" would have been asjiamed to own them. "Wot a lot o' beauties;'looks as if we'd all been i-hanghaied," quoth "D.i.ltger" Long, gleefully rubbing his three days' growth on his chin. ' "An wot a ship after the .' added "Jumper" Collins, mentioning tin smart battle-cruiser from which he had l.ccn drafted. "Well, there ain't no v.bsli decks 'ere, an' routine's like iffi eld shoe, so I ain't grumblin'." rf For somo days the Toppler wallowed along—"steamed" would be the wrong word for it—and surely nowhere eUe afloat could such an apparently unswtworthy old tub, such an enticing target for a U-boat, have been met with. "Please don't hurt me; I'm worthless," was written all over her, and every motion of her lumbering hull proclaimed Klplcss, inoffensive innocence. Other vessels as they passed her wondered that any owners had the temerity to send su'.n a feckless old boat to sea in these times, and said things about the Toppler and her crew which would have pleased the latter mightily if they could have heard them. "Bet she don't gc-t much further without hem' stoijped;" remarked the watch-keeper of a s'ick liner as he turned from contsm--1 jating the Toppler.

SOMETHING DOING. And he was right—she did not. The Toppler was ambling along—- ' Sleep walkin','' "Dodger" Long called it—when a periscope came ripping towards her, and a U-boat quickly heaved to the surface. A minute or so later a second U-boat rose on the other bow.

"We've dropped into a whole flotilla of J d pirates," said tlie Topplcr - 0 /captain unconcernedly. "Steady, lads, and stand by for orders." "Aye, aye, sir," cheerfully responded "Dodger" Lone:, and the crew steppe*) quickly to their stations. The captain passed sonic orders beiow, then stopped his engines and walked to the dicky at the end of the bridge nearest to the first-risen U-boat. With v cap slouched over his ears ami a thickly sprouting bj.ird on his chin the Toppier's "owner" looked what he was not. The usual parley began, or it would be more corroet to say the "pirates" issued their customary peremptory oc-c-crs for abandoning ship. The Toppler ilicy apparently held in contempt as a something that would not yield them much booty, and was not worlii wasting a torpedo upon. "Let down your ladder; I'm going to rend aboard and blow your ship up," ordered Pirate No. I.

"All right, sir," humbly acquiesced the Toppler's captain, and a companion hinder began to grate its way down her side.

"Lower botn," commanded the pir.ito. "md be ready to leave with your crew."

"Very well, sir," and the Toppler's captain obeyed in so far as lowering the second ladder was concerned, but reserved the right to make what disposition he thought best of his crew, thviigh he did not tell the pirate this.

From the U-boats two little eanvan Bcrthons pushed off and made for s : de of the Toppler "Stand by now for quick action, and mind yon don't let the blighters with rhe bombs corae aboard us," rasped out the captain. "Aye, aye, sir; we'll watch out for that," answered the men crouched wider the nettings.

Jerked along by the short pulls of their little oars, the two collapsings came towards the Toppler by a series or leaps. Arriving at the companions tl.e bow men held on with a boathooK while a pirate tflicer jumped from O'tcli beat and hurried up the ladder, followed by a couple of mwi. As t.'iey slopped on the deck horny, hard-hit-ting fist?, caugut them under the or..v, Mid one by one they fell like logs. At the saAe time a brawny figure jumped to the top of either ladder and billetn of pig-iron .crashed down into each of the boats, ripping out thei© Bottoms. The Toppltr'j skipper watched this •ii.tently. '•Fire!" he shouted, sharply jerking she engine-room telegraphs Instantly the White Ensign ran up astern, and the Toppler, baring her teeth, snaritd destruction at the pirates. "Wh-r-r! Wl.-r-r!" sang her guns, ane. before thsy had any chance of making a reply both U-boats were sunk. One rolled over on her side and disappeared with a gurgle, of astonished pretest against such cavalier treatment; .the. other, badly holed forward, slid imriftb: ut» fcnrnmri upt* M mn \