A moment later the motorboat scraped alongside the submarine, and the three clambered over the side as fast as they could amid a veritable rain of bullets, none of which, however, found its mark. "Down with you, quick!" shouted Lord Hastings. Frank and Jack dashed for the companionway at top speed, Lord Hastings right behind them. Down the ladder they went with a rush, and the conning tower was hermetically closed behind them. "Submerge to ten fathoms, and quickly, Mr. Templeton!" said Lord Hastings quietly. Jack repeated the command, slowly the tanks began to fill, and the D-17 to submerge, the while the occupants of the motorboats without peppered the side of the vessel with rifle and revolver bullets. "Shall I launch a torpedo at them, sir?" asked Frank. Lord Hastings shook his head. "Not much use," he said. "You might hit one, and you might not. It's not worth a chance. But we haven't any time to lose now. They know we're here, and the quicker we get out the better. They'll have every German submarine in these waters on the hunt for us. Fortunately, we have the heels of any of them, and we can still see while submerged. They don't know that; so, for the moment, the advantage is on our side." "But, sir," protested Jack, "how about the other part of our plans here?" "What?" demanded Lord Hastings. "Warship, or two, sir," said Jack. "True," said Lord Hastings. "I had forgotten. Shape your course due north for two miles, Mr. Templeton; then come to the surface." He turned to Frank and spoke again: "We'll leave our card, at any rate," he said quietly. "You may prepare for action, Mr. Chadwick!" CHAPTER VII. THE ATTACK. An instant later every man aboard the D-17 was on the alert. Lord Hastings stood at the periscope, which, immediately the submarine had reached the desired place, would make visible to him the great German battleships upon the surface of the water. Frank and Jack stood to their posts, ready and eager for the word that would send one of the steel engines of destruction speeding into the hull of the enemy. There was not a man aboard who did not realize that they were indeed in a ticklish situation; for, besides the danger that always attended such an undertaking, there was the additional danger now of encountering one or more of the German under-water boats. Nor was there a chance of a surprise attack. Lord Hastings was well aware that the presence of a hostile submarine had been flashed to every German battleship in the harbor. Above, the sea was being swept with powerful searchlights, while below the under-sea craft of the Germans were dashing hither and thither in a vain endeavor to find some trace of the enemy who had so brazenly dared to enter what the Germans believed an impenetrable base. Lord Hastings now turned to Jack with a command: "You may come to the surface, Mr. Templeton."