Apparently, at regular intervals, were large ships of war, all of them in motion. Sailing vessels and steamers, carrying freight, were coming up the channel, convoyed to the open doors in this giant network which guarded the channel.
The lieutenant on the chaser backed his vessel toward the submarine and hailed the captain:
"The chances of that fellow seem to be pretty slim. I would like to see the finish of the game; but I suppose we ought to get into port as soon as possible," answered the captain.
"Then I will give the order to proceed," replied the lieutenant.
The captain nodded, and the boys started for the door.
"One moment!" said the captain. "We may still be able to see an interesting sight."
The boys rushed out of the door. Glancing up at the deck of the chaser they could see the marines aboard rushing to the side of the vessel. As they looked at the buoys it was noticed that they were silent. _L'Orient_ was slowly backing away from the obvious location of the submerged vessel.
"They are about to throw a shell," observed the captain.
The remark had hardly left his mouth when an explosion was heard and the shell could be observed moving upward at a very high angle, and descending into the water with a vicious plunge.
No sooner had it struck the sea than it seemed to raise the surface of the water like the foaming mass in a boiling pot. The explosion was dull, vibrant, ominous.
"They are shooting another one," shouted Alfred, although he tried to suppress his voice.
"Boom!" came the sound, as he uttered the words.
The second shot struck the water not fifty feet distant from the first one.
"Do you think they will fire another?" asked Alfred.
"What is that little boat going over there for?" asked Ralph, as one of the torpedo boats boldly advanced over the spot where the two shells had entered the water.
The captain nodded his head for a few moments before speaking.
"I can see that now," said Ralph. "Look at the oil coming up and covering the sea."
It was, indeed, a sad sight to witness, knowing that the shots meant the death of thirty or more human beings.
"Well, I am awfully sorry for them, even if they had no sympathy for us, and didn't wait to see whether or not we were put into safety before they sent our ship down," said Alfred reflectively, as he turned and entered the conning tower.