* * * * A friend who had been listening
to the proceedings of the ' Thetis ' tribunal has told me of a curious dream that came to him. He dreamed he was on board a submarine when an inrush of water occurred. The submarine was under the actual command of Captain X: but there happened to be aboard another very experienced officer, a Captain Z, who was the first to notice the disaster. Captain Z gave immediate orders to close the watertight doors. At this Captain X intervened to point out that he was in com- mand of the ship ; and he insisted that the doors should be left slightly ajar. If this were done, said Captain X, the water might go away again ; whereas if the doors were wholly shut, it would press dangerously against them. When Captain Z expostulated against this decision, it was decided that his presence in the ship was a danger and a provocation,- and he was immediately sent to the surface.
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