Then the sub came
up, little more than a cable's length away; and the Q captain at last
sent a wireless call for help in case he should sink too soon. When
the conning tower rose clear the German commander opened the hatch and
smiled at his work. He was still cautious; for his gun crew began to
appear. But the Q caught him; knocking his head off with the very
first shot, and riddling the whole sub in no time.
The same Q captain, Gordon Campbell, V.C., went out again in another Q
ship which was also disguised as a tramp. When a submarine attacked
her she zig-zagged away in wild alarm, firing only her one
merchantman's gun, and slowing down so as to get overhauled. Knowing
the sub would catch his message Campbell wirelessed "Help! Come quick!
Submarine chasing and shelling." Presently the Q stopped, done up, and
the "panic-party" left her to her fate. This fate really did seem, and
might have been, certain; for she was on fire from the shelling and her
after magazine blew up with terrible force, killing the stern gun's
crew and blowing the gun overboard.
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