



Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Barbara Kosker and the
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THE BOY VOLUNTEERS SERIES

By KENNETH WARD

_12mo. Cloth. Fully Illustrated 50c per Volume_


THE NEWEST BOYS' BOOKS ON THE EUROPEAN WAR, RELATING THE ADVENTURES
OF TWO AMERICAN BOYS AND THEIR EXPERIENCES IN BATTLE AND ON AIR SCOUT
DUTY. ALL PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED WITH AUTHENTIC DRAWINGS.

=The Boy Volunteers on the Belgian Front=

Describes the adventures of two American boys who were in Europe when
the great war commenced. Their enlistment with Belgian troops and their
remarkable experiences are based upon actual occurrences and the book is
replete with line drawings of fighting machines, air planes and maps of
places where the most important battles took place and of other matters
of interest.

=The Boy Volunteers with the French Airmen=

This book relates the further adventures of the young Americans in
France, where they viewed the fighting from above the firing lines. From
this book the reader gains considerable knowledge of the different types
of air planes and battle planes used by the warring nations, as all
descriptions are illustrated with unusually clear line drawings.

=The Boy Volunteers with the British Artillery=

How many boys to-day know anything about the great guns now being used
on so many European battle fronts? Our young friends had the rare
opportunity of witnessing, at first hand, a number of these terrific
duels, and the story which is most fascinatingly told is illustrated
with numerous drawings of the British, French and German field pieces.

=The Boy Volunteers with the Submarine Fleet=

Our young heroes little expected to be favored with so rare an
experience as a trip under the sea in one of the great submarines. In
this book the author accurately describes the submarine in action, and
the many interesting features of this remarkable fighting craft are made
clear to the reader by a series of splendid line drawings.

THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY

PUBLISHERS NEW YORK




[Illustration: _An explosion followed that seemed to tear everything to
pieces._]




 THE BOY VOLUNTEERS
 WITH THE
 SUBMARINE FLEET


 BY
 KENNETH WARD


 THE NEW YORK BOOK COMPANY
 NEW YORK


 Copyright, 1917, by
 AMERICAN AUTHORS PUBLISHING CO.




CONTENTS


 CHAPTER                                                        PAGE

     I. THE OMINOUS WARNING ON SHIPBOARD                          13

    II. THE TORPEDOED SHIP                                        25

   III. PRISONERS ON BOARD OF A SUBMARINE                         37

    IV. THE TERRORS IN THE DARK ROOM OF AN UNDERSEA BOAT          49

     V. SOME OF THE MYSTERIES OF A SUBMARINE                      58

    VI. GROPING THROUGH THE ENGLISH CHANNEL                       68

   VII. CAUGHT IN THE DEEP SEA NETS                               78

  VIII. THE NIGHT'S STRUGGLE TO FREE THE VESSEL                   89

    IX. THE CAPTURE OF THE SUBMERGED VESSEL                       99

     X. THE SECRET KEY TO THE BOMB FUSE                          110

    XI. OPERATING THE SUBMARINE WITH A CAPTIVE CREW              120

   XII. THE DEATH BLOW TO THE SUBMARINE                          130

  XIII. THE RESCUE IN THE CHANNEL                                142

   XIV. TEN HOURS IN THE DANGER ZONE                             151

    XV. A FRIGHTFUL MINE EXPLOSION                               161




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS


 _An Explosion Followed That Seemed to Tear
    Everything to Pieces_                             _Frontispiece_

                                                                PAGE

 _The Points of the Compass_                                      27

 _The Submarine Decoy_                                            30

 _Map Showing the Scene of the Wanderings of the Boys_            43

 _The Steel Nets_                                                 73

 _The Entangled Submarine_                                        95

 _The Periscope_                                                 137

 _The Conning Tower. All That Could Be Seen of
    the Submarine_                                               148

 _A Contact Mine_                                                156



 THE BOY VOLUNTEERS
 WITH THE
 SUBMARINE FLEET




CHAPTER I

THE OMINOUS WARNING ON SHIPBOARD


"Submarine two points to starboard, sir!" shouted a voice.

Instantly there was confusion; the captain sprang from the end of the
bridge to the board behind the quartermaster and pushed a lever to the
right.

"Ralph, come out quickly; the second officer has just shouted to the
captain that a submarine is in sight," said Alfred, as he rushed into
the reading room where Ralph was deeply engrossed in a book.

Ralph needed no second warning. Together with a dozen or more, who were
in the room, he sprang to the door, and followed Alfred, who was now
nearing the bridge.

"Can you see it?" asked Ralph excitedly.

"No; but they