Pumps, indeed, played a big part in beating the German submarine, and it was the submersible type that figured in the case of the _Westmoreland_, for three placed in the hold of this vessel were left submerged for nearly three months and upon withdrawal worked quite as well as when they were put down. No richer prize than the _Westmoreland_ fell to the Salvage Section during the whole war, for ship and cargo were worth about £3,000,000. The vessel was steaming in the neighbourhood of St. Bees Head on her way to Liverpool when an enemy submarine let loose a torpedo. The missile ran true, and a moment later a terrific explosion told the Germans they had bagged their game. Whereat the attacking submarine, knowing the sea thereabouts was likely to be well patrolled for some little time to come, quietly slid off. True as the torpedo ran, the Germans made a slight miscalculation. Though trifling, it made all the difference in the end. Instead of the torpedo hitting in that vital spot amidships and destroying the engines, it struck forward in No. 2 hold and tore an enormous hole in the hull of the ship big enough to drop a small house into. The heart of the ship, the engine-room, was untouched, and the captain still retained the power to drive his ship through the seas. Slim destroyers slipped over the horizon and crowded round the torpedoed vessel. Fortunately her bulkheads held firm and, although the damage was such that it looked as if the ship might founder at any moment, the captain held his course in a valiant attempt to reach port. Slowly the bow of the ship sank lower and lower in the water, until it seemed impossible for her longer to remain afloat. At last a destroyer manœuvred into position and took off captain and crew, and they stood by to see the last of the ship. Instead of sinking, however, she still hung there, and the captain and crew returned to her in order to try once more to get her to port. There was just a chance that they might succeed, and the captain was not going to lose that chance. Engineers and stokers went below to give her steam, and she limped lamely along, continuing to go down by the head. As her bow went down, so her stern came up until it was obvious that if she did not soon sink she was bound to become unmanageable, for in a short time her screws would be clear of the water and churning the air instead of the sea. Heading her for the beach while there was yet time, the captain took her in until her propellers were right in the air and her bow scraped the bottom, then he and the crew were taken off and the _Westmoreland_ quietly settled down.