Ted did remember, now that it had been called to his mind.  It had gripped their imagination at the time; it seemed such a wonderful thing, the fact that submarines small enough to be carried on the decks of huge liners had been able to cross the Atlantic alone and unaided.  They had been still further amazed by the feats of the German undersea cargo carrier Deutschland that had made the trip to America and back, and the U-53 that suddenly popped into Newport one summer afternoon.

The night dragged along.  Now that they were fairly off, Jack and Ted preferred not to sleep, but rather to keep tabs on the maneuvers of the American fleet.  The sea was calm and the Dewey cruised on the surface, with her hatches open.  The boys were able to stretch themselves in a promenade on the aft deck and found the night air invigorating as they speculated together on their mission.

They had soon to find out something of the number and character of warships in the fleet of which the Dewey was a unit.  As daybreak came stealing up over the horizon they looked about them to discern many other warships all about them.  Far to port, strung out in single file about a half mile apart, were three huge liners that they took to be troopships.  Deployed around them were destroyers—–­four of them—–­riding like a protecting body guard.  Bobbing about at intervals in the maritime procession were other submarines, their conning towers silhouetted against the dim skyline.

Relieved of duty, Jack and Ted went below and turned in for a two-hour sleep.  When they climbed up through the forward hatch again after breakfast it was to find the sun shining bright and the fleet moving majestically eastward.

Chief Gunner’s Mate Mike Mowrey confided to them that the Dewey was, indeed, bound for European waters.  Lieutenant McClure had opened his sealed orders and learned that he was to report to the Vice-Admiral in the North Sea.  Word had been passed around to the ship’s officers and they in turn were “tipping off” their men.  The Dewey was stripped for action and was to assist the destroyers in defense of the transports in the event of an attack.

The first day out was spent in drills and target practice.  Late in the afternoon a huge warship was sighted dead ahead and for a time there was a bit of anxious waiting aboard the Dewey.  While it was generally known that the German high seas fleet was bottled up in the Kiel Canal, there was always a chance of running into a stray raider.  But very shortly the oncoming vessel broke out a flutter of flags, indicating that she was a French cruiser, and exchanged salutations with the commander of the American fleet.

The men of the Dewey soon learned that the troopships which they were escorting carried a number of regiments of marines and several detachments of U.S.  Regulars bound for France.  Because the submarines were slower than either the transports or the destroyers, the fleet made slow progress.