Coming up out of
the south the American submarine had run at right angles into the line
of the Hun retreat. The _Dewey_ held a strategic position. She
viewed the approaching squadron as though looking down the hypotenuse
of the angle. The Germans were speeding along the base. The _Dewey_
had but to slip down the perpendicular to intercept the panicky
Prussians.
And that was just what Lieutenant McClure proposed doing. All hands
were ordered below and the hatches sealed. Running on the surface,
the oil engines were put to their best endeavor and the _Dewey_ cleft
the whitecaps at her best speed.
"Go forward, Mr. Hammond, and inquire of Chief Gunner Mowrey how many
torpedoes we have aboard," ordered Lieutenant McClure.
Jack hurried away and returned in a few minutes to report that all
four tubes were loaded and two auxiliary Whiteheads in the racks.
The _Dewey's_ torpedo range was two miles, but her commander preferred
to be within less than six hundred yards for a sure shot.
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