Some two weeks previous, while she was rising from the water and at a height of about sixty metres, something suddenly went wrong with the balancing mechanism and the plane made a dive for the sea, which she hit at a terrific speed; the back wings and the pontoons or boats were completely demolished. The mechanic and the observing lieutenant were catapulted into the sea and had much difficulty in swimming back to the wreck, which had the appearance of a gigantic bird sitting on its nose with its tail standing up in the air. It reminded me of an ostrich with its head buried in the sand. The bonnet around the engine and mechanic's seat, in all seaplanes of this description, is watertight, so that in case of an accident of this kind the weight of the engine will not cause it to sink. However, in this case, one of the struts supporting the pontoons had caused this watertight bonnet to leak and, although both operators baled for dear life, the water gained on them steadily. When the rescuing launch finally arrived alongside the machine it was just on the verge of sinking. The crew of the launch tied the machine to the launch with ropes in such a manner that it could not sink and the whole outfit was hoisted on board the _Wolf_. All six cylinders of the engine were cracked and the "bird" appeared a total wreck. However, the "aeroplane" squad set to work and repaired the planes and put spare cylinders on the engine; and in a few days she was ready for duty again. The crew of the plane apparently were none the worse for their mishap. One day one of the officers told me that probably in a few days they would pick up a nice fat steamer with plenty of food on board. On the morning of October 26th, immediately after breakfast, I noticed that they were getting the "bird" on deck and assembling it. I asked one of the officers whether there was "something doing" and he said: "If we have any luck after lunch we shall have fresh meat for supper." About 11 A.M. the "bird" was finished and the engine warmed up. Suddenly somebody shouted, and everybody got his binoculars and looked astern of us, and, sure enough, a faint outline of smoke could be seen on the horizon. The hydroplane went up and in half an hour came back and reported a large steamer approaching. Commander Nerger shaped his course so as to meet this steamer but still give him the impression that we were en route from the Cape to Colombo. At 3:05 P.M. the steamer was right abreast, She was a fine big Class A Japanese passenger steamer, deeply loaded, and I could see passengers on her saloon deck. At 3:07 P.M. the _Wolf_ broke out the Imperial Navy flag and signalled for the _Hitachi Maru_ to stop and not use her wireless, also dropped a shot across the _Hitachi's_ bow. When the _Hitachi_ failed to stop, the _Wolf_ fired another shot closer to her bow.