To be sure, not all of the U-boat's victims were sunk in deep water. Many torpedoed vessels were beached or succeeded in reaching shallow water before they foundered. Some were sunk in harbors while they lay at anchor, before the precaution was taken of protecting the harbors with nets. The Allies did not wait for the war to end before trying to refloat these vessels. In fact, during the war several hundred ships were raised and put back into service. A special form of patch was invented to close holes torn by torpedoes. Electric pumps were built which would work under water and these were lowered into the holds of ships to pump them out. The salvors were provided with special gas-masks to protect them from poisonous fumes of decayed matter in the wrecks. Our own navy has played an important part in salvage. Shortly after we entered the war, all the wrecking-equipment in this country was commandeered by the government and we sent over to the other side experienced American salvors, provided with complete equipment of apparatus and machinery. The majority of wrecks, however, are found in the open sea, where it would have been foolish to attempt any salvage-operations because of the menace of submarine attack. On at least one occasion a salvage vessel, while attempting to raise the victims of a submarine, fell, itself, a prey to a Hun torpedo. Now that this menace has been removed, such vessels as lie in comparatively shallow water, and in positions not subject to sudden tempests, can be raised by the ordinary methods; or if it is impracticable to raise them, much of their cargo can be reclaimed. However, most of the torpedoed ships lie at such depths that their salvage would ordinarily be despaired of. IN THE DEPTHS OF THE SEA It will be interesting to look into conditions that exist in deep water. Somehow the notion has gone forth that a ship will not surely sink to the very bottom of the deep sea, but on reaching a certain level will find the water so dense that even solid iron will float, as if in a sea of mercury, and that here the ship will be maintained in suspension, to be carried hither and yon by every chance current. Indeed, it makes a rather fantastic picture to think of these lost ships drifting in endless procession, far down beneath the cold green waves, and destined to roam forever like doomed spirits in a circle of Dante's Inferno.