The long muzzle of the machine-gun swung round, tilted up and down once or twice, and then emitted a yellow flame followed by a deep boom. "Damn!" ejaculated Lawless, and his comment was fervently echoed by the gunner. The shot, aimed a trifle too low, had struck the water some ten yards in front of the submarine, an inaccuracy pardonable enough considering how the destroyer was pitching. Before the gunner could elevate his weapon and while the machine-gun on the "bandstand" aft was opening fire, three men were seen to scramble over the patrol boat's bulwarks and drop on to the platform of the submarine. But thinking, probably, that the loss of three men was better than the loss of the whole crew, the commander had closed the hatch and the submarine disappeared beneath the surface as the sailors alighted on her platform. Next moment they disappeared also, dragged down by the suction of the submerging vessel. "To think we might have bagged that swine!" growled Lawless as he proceeded to leave the bridge once more. "Just my infernal rotten luck." His comment was echoed in varied terms by the Sub-Lieutenant, the gunner and other members of the _Knat's_ crew. It was, to say the very least, extremely annoying. "Stand by with life-buoys!" shouted Lawless, as he reached the deck. He wanted to rescue the Germans if possible, partly from humanitarian motives and partly because he hoped to glean some information from them. While Trent was bringing the destroyer round to the patrol boat, the gunner still stood behind his quick-firer, cursing his luck and calling upon all the gods to witness that he would have sunk "the blighter" (_i.e._, the submarine) with his next shot, and Lawless leant over the deck-rail trying to catch a glimpse of the men who had vainly endeavoured to regain the submarine before she sank. He was still trying to penetrate the gloom, when a shadowy figure was swept towards him and, leaning over the rail, he made a grab at it. In doing so he overbalanced and next moment found himself amidst the dark swirl of waters striking out with one hand while with the other he clutched the jacket of the man whose life he had attempted to save.