Written early in the war when the author obviously couldn't know how things would turn out, which dates the story some. The whole bit about the German submarine invading Scapa Flow while Hiram was allowed to watch from the conning tower was a bit much and distracted from the story. The tale got a bit dull in the middle, although it did pick up at the end. But the story of Hiram Holliday would have been better if, at the end of this, or some other book, he finally found the love of his life instead of always remaining the brave little man whose fate it was to meet unattainable women.