The destroyers drew in closer to the troopships and began immediately
belching forth dense black clouds of smoke under forced draft that the
boys divined instantly as the smoke screens used so effectively as a
curtain to blind the eyes of the U-boats.
Turning her nose outward from the hidden transports the _Dewey_ drew
away in a wide sweeping circle to starboard.
"All hands below!" came the order. Immediately the deck guns were made
fast and the crew scrambled down through the hatches. In a few minutes,
driving ahead at full speed, the _Dewey_ was submerged until only her
periscopes showed.
All at once the crew heard a shout from the conning tower.
"There she is!" yelled Lieutenant McClure, as he stood with his eyes
glued to the periscope glass.
"U-boat driving straight ahead at the smoke curtain. Port the helm!"
he commanded.
The _Dewey_ came around sharp and, in response to the guidance of her
commander, began to ascend.
Having executed a flank movement, the _Dewey_ now was endeavoring to
engineer a surprise attack on the German submarine from the rear.
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