difference between our case and his; just as the sailors often told the
prisoners aft that in case of the _Wolf_ going into action it would be
no worse for the prisoners than it was for the fighting crew!

We were forbidden to talk to the crew, but under cover of the darkness
some of them, a great number of whom spoke English, were only too glad
to speak to us. We learnt from them that the _Wolf_ had been out a year;
they were all very "fed up" with it all, tired of the life, tired of the
sea, tired of the food, longing to get home, and longing for the war to
end. They had, too, no doubts as to how it would end, and were certain
that the _Wolf_ would get back to Germany whenever she wished to do so.
Of course we assured them that they were utterly mistaken, and that it
would be absolutely impossible for the _Wolf_ ever to get through the
British blockade or see Germany again.

They were certain three things would bring them victory: their
submarines, the defection of Russia, who would soon be made to conclude
peace with Germany, and the fact that in their opinion America had
entered the war too late. The submarines, too, would not allow a single
transport to reach European waters!

While on the _Wolf_ we heard of the great reverse to the Italian arms.
We were told that half a million prisoners and thousands of guns were
taken, and that there was no longer an Italian army! Germany had strafed
one more country and knocked her out of the war. This made their early
victory still more certain! Their spirits may be imagined when this news
of Italy's disaster was received.

The interests of the _Wolf_ were now, to a certain extent, identical
with our own--that we should not meet an Allied cruiser. A notice was