Tenders came alongside and
gave her stores of fuel and ammunition. The giant torpedo tubes were
loaded and the ship's full quota of reserve torpedoes taken aboard.
The night and following day were given over to leisure hours. Jack
and Ted wrote letters home and to school telling of their promotions
and some of their latest exploits.
At nine o'clock of the following evening the submarine fleet received
the word to be off.
The attack was planned to be started at one o'clock in the morning
under the cover of darkness. Keeping in close touch, the submarines
spread out over the sea like a huge fan. Behind them at a distance of
five miles moved the supporting column of dreadnoughts, battle cruisers,
destroyers, scouts and mine sweepers---units in the great fleet bent
upon the task of smashing the German stronghold.
The _Monitor_ led off in the battle array. Copies of the chart of
Zeebrugge, the original that had been found on the converted U-boat
at the time of her capture, had been given to every submarine skipper
in the fleet.
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