The _Queen Mary_ was one of the fleet of battleships that had patrolled the North Sea since the outbreak of hostilities. Already she had seen her share of fighting, for she had led more than one attack upon the enemy when the Germans had mustered up courage enough to leave the safety of the great fortress of Heligoland, where the main German high sea fleet was quartered. It had been in a skirmish with one of these venturesome enemy vessels that the _Queen Mary_ had received injuries that necessitated her going into dry dock for a few days, while she was given an overhauling and her wounds healed. True enough, she had sent the foe to the bottom; but with a last dying shot, the Germans had put a shell aboard the _Queen Mary._ Her damage repaired, the _Queen Mary_ was now steaming to the open waters of the North Sea, where she would again take up patrol duty with the other vessels that comprised the British North Sea fleet, under command of Vice-Admiral Beatty, whose flagship, the _Lion_, had taken up the additional burden of patrolling the _Queen Mary's_ territory while the latter was being overhauled. Aboard the battleship, the British tars, who had become fretful at the delay, were happy at the thought of getting back into active service. While they had been given an opportunity to stretch their legs ashore, they, nevertheless, had been glad when the time to steam back into the open sea had come. Now, as the _Queen Mary_ entered the mouth of the Thames and prepared' to leave the shores of Old England for the broad expanse of the North Sea, they sang, whistled and laughed gaily. They were going back where they would get another chance at the enemy, should he again venture from his lair. Forward, upon the upper deck, stood two young officers, who peered into the darkness ahead. "To my mind," said one, "this beats a submarine. Just look about you. Consider the size of this battleship! Look at her armament! Think of the number of men aboard!" "You may be right," returned the second officer, "but we have had some grand times beneath the sea. We have been to places and seen things that otherwise would have been impossible." "True enough; but at the same time, when it came to a question of fight, we have had to slink about like a cat in the night, afraid to show ourselves to larger and heavier adversaries. Now, aboard the _Queen Mary_, that will be done away with. Now we are the cat rather than the mouse." "It may be that I shall come to your way of thinking in time," said the second speaker, "but at this moment I would rather have the familiar feel of a submarine beneath my heel. I would feel more at home there. Besides, we have lost one thing by being assigned to the _Queen Mary_ that hits me rather hard."