the monotony of the night. Yet the utmost vigilance was necessary. The safety of the ship depended upon the sharp eyes of the two look-out men on the fo'c'sle, and the alertness of the junior watch-keeper on the bridge. To the ordinary risk of collision was added another danger, for hostile submarines had been reported making for the Mediterranean, and were reasonably expected to take a very similar course to that followed by the British armed merchant-cruiser.

The "Rules of the Road for Preventing Collision at Sea" reduced the former danger to a minimum, provided an efficient watch were maintained; against the mad dogs of the sea—the German submarines, who never hesitated to torpedo at sight anything afloat regardless of her nationality—the ship had to take her chances, and trust to Providence and a quick use of the helm to avoid the deadly torpedo, should the phosphorescent swell in the wake of the weapon betray its approach.

A faint click, barely perceptible above the howling of the wind and the swish of the waves, attracted Webb's attention. The officer of the watch had switched off the light in the chart-house before emerging, lest a stray beam should betray the vessel to a lurking foe.

Presently the door opened and a tall, broad-shouldered man appeared, his outlines just discernible in the faint light; for the moon, now soon on the point of setting, was momentarily unobscured.

"Hallo, Tom!" he exclaimed. "What do you think of the Bay, eh?"

The speaker was Lieutenant Jack Osborne, R.N.R., for the time being officer of the watch. He, too, had good reason to be thankful for his early training as a Sea Scout on the yacht Petrel. The outbreak of war found him at Shanghai—a Third Officer on one of the liners of the Royal British and Pacific Steamship Company's fleet. Within two hours of the receipt of the mobilization telegram, Osborne was on board a vessel bound for Vancouver, en route for home by the Canadian Pacific. Twelve months' sea service procured him his promotion as lieutenant, R.N.R., and when the Portchester Castle was commissioned he found that one of his brother officers was his former Sea Scout chum, Tom Webb.

"An improvement on the North Sea in winter," replied Webb optimistically. "And it will be a jolly sight warmer when we get to the Mediterranean."

"You haven't been abroad before?" asked Osborne.

"Strictly speaking—no," replied the Sub. "I've 

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