At his third shot, the submarine bore down on the vessel, which was flying the signal "A.B."--abandon ship--and was lowering its lifeboats. "Women and children first," was the rule, and after they had been placed safely, the men entered the boats. As the captain, the last to leave, cleared the ship's side, the submarine commander ordered him to make for shore. The U-boat fired several shells into the vessel, and she finally sank at 7:55 p. m., with the American ensign and signals flying. Clouds of fire and steam arose as she went down. The _Carolina_ carried 218 passengers, and a crew of 117. All got safely into the lifeboats, which were moored head and stern, one to the other, except the motor sailer and boat No. 5, and all headed for shore, on a westward course. They had smooth seas until midnight, when a squall came on with heavy rain and lightning. The boats, which were connected by lines, were anchored until the storm passed. At daylight they began to proceed singly, to make rowing easier. At 11 o'clock the storm-tossed survivors sighted a schooner, the _Eva B. Douglas_, which took aboard all that were in sight, 160 passengers and 94 of the crew. But about noon one boat, in attempting to weather the rough seas, capsized, drowning seven passengers and six of the crew. There were still three boats to be accounted for. The next day, 19 survivors were picked up and carried to Vineyard Haven, and 18 were rescued by the British steamer _Appleby_, and taken to Lewes, Delaware. Lifeboat No. 5 was rowed to shore, and the thousands along the Boardwalk were amazed when it came in sight and was landed through the surf at Atlantic City. That Monday, June 3rd, was one of the busiest days of the war in the Navy Department, as it was at naval bases all along the Atlantic. The fact that the Germans were operating off our shores stirred up not only Washington but the entire country. Plans for submarine defense had been made out long before, and were put into effect. Our patrol force, all along the line, was on the job. But hunting a U-boat and capturing it are two very different things. News and rumors were pouring in, and when I received the newspaper correspondents I faced a fire of questions as rapid as that of a machine-gun: "What is the Navy doing to protect shipping?" "Why did it let the submarine sink those vessels?" "Have you sunk the U-boat?" "What naval vessels have you sent out? What methods are they using to get the 'sub'?" "How many boats have the Germans sent over?" "Have you got enough vessels to protect our coast and commerce?" "Will you recall our destroyers from Europe?"