Undoubtedly the observer
at the other end of the submarine's periscope had seen the _Fanning_ at
about the same time the presence of the undersea craft was detected. It
had appeared about 400 yards from the destroyer's course.
In less time than it takes to tell, the _Fanning_, with throttles
suddenly opened, plunged into the waters where the periscope had last
been seen. And at the proper moment the commander, standing tensely on
the bridge, released a depth-bomb from its fixed place. The explosive,
300 pounds in weight, sank with a gentle splash into the rolling wake of
the destroyer and, at the depth as regulated before the bomb was
released, it exploded with a terrific report.
Up from the ocean rose a towering column of water. It hung in the air
for a moment like a geyser, and then gradually fell back to the level of
the sea. A score of voices proclaimed the appearance of oil floating
upon the water. Oil is sometimes released by a submarine to throw an
attacking destroyer off the scent; but this time there were bubbles,
too. That was quite significant. Then while the _Fanning_ circled the
spot wherein the explosion had occurred, the _Nicholson_ stormed up, cut
across the supposed lurking-place of the submarine, and released one of
her depth charges. She, too, circled about the mass of boiling,
oil-laden water.
For several minutes the two destroyers wheeled in and out like hawks
awaiting their prey, and then suddenly there was a cry as a disturbance
was noted almost directly between the two craft.
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