Chapter 3
Those were anxious days, during which I had but little opportunity toassociate with Lys. I had given her the commander's room, Bradley andI taking that of the deck-officer, while Olson and two of our best menoccupied the room ordinarily allotted to petty officers. I made Nobs'bed down in Lys' room, for I knew she would feel less alone.
Nothing of much moment occurred for a while after we left Britishwaters behind us. We ran steadily along upon the surface, making goodtime. The first two boats we sighted made off as fast as they couldgo; and the third, a huge freighter, fired on us, forcing us tosubmerge. It was after this that our troubles commenced. One of theDiesel engines broke down in the morning, and while we were working onit, the forward port diving-tank commenced to fill. I was on deck atthe time and noted the gradual list. Guessing at once what washappening, I leaped for the hatch and slamming it closed above my head,dropped to the centrale. By this time the craft was going down by thehead with a most unpleasant list to port, and I didn't wait to transmitorders to some one else but ran as fast as I could for the valve thatlet the sea into the forward port diving-tank. It was wide open. Toclose it and to have the pump started that would empty it were the workof but a minute; but we had had a close call.
I knew that the valve had never opened itself. Some one had openedit--some one who was willing to die himself if he might at the sametime encompass the death of all of us.
After that I kept a guard pacing the length of the narrow craft. Weworked upon the engine all that day and night and half the followingday. Most of the time we drifted idly upon the surface, but towardnoon we sighted smoke due west, and having found that only enemiesinhabited the world for us, I ordered that the other engine be startedso that we could move out of the path of the oncoming steamer. Themoment the engine started to turn, however, there was a grinding soundof tortured steel, and when it had been stopped, we found that some onehad placed a cold-chisel in one of the gears.
It was another two days before we were ready to limp along, halfrepaired. The night before the repairs were completed, the sentry cameto my room and awoke me. He was rather an intelligent fellow of theEnglish middle class, in whom I had much confidence.
"Well, Wilson," I asked. "What's the matter now?"
He raised his finger to his lips and came closer to me. "I think I'vefound out who's doin' the mischief," he whispered, and nodded his headtoward the girl's room. "I seen her sneakin' from the crew's room justnow," he went on. "She'd been in gassin' wit' the boche commander.Benson seen her in there las' night, too, but he never said nothin'till I goes on watch tonight. Benson's sorter slow in the head, an' henever puts two an' two together till some one else has made four out ofit."
If the man had come in and struck me suddenly in the face, I could havebeen no more surprised.
"Say nothing of this to anyone," I ordered. "Keep your eyes and earsopen and report every suspicious thing you see or hear."
The man saluted and left me; but for an hour or more I tossed,restless, upon my hard bunk in an agony of jealousy and fear. Finally Ifell into a troubled sleep. It was daylight when I awoke. We weresteaming along slowly upon the surface, my orders having been toproceed at half speed until we could take an observation and determineour position. The sky had been overcast all the previous day and allnight; but as I stepped into the centrale that morning I was delightedto see that the sun was again shining. The spirits of the men seemedimproved; everything seemed propitious. I forgot at once the cruelmisgivings of the past night as I set to work to take my observations.
What a blow awaited me! The sextant and chronometer had both beenbroken beyond repair, and they had been broken just this very night.They had been broken upon the night that Lys had been seen talking withvon Schoenvorts. I think that it was this last thought which hurt methe worst. I could look the other disaster in the face withequanimity; but the bald fact that Lys might be a traitor appalled me.
I called Bradley and Olson on deck and told them what had happened, butfor the life of me I couldn't bring myself to repeat what Wilson hadreported to me the previous night. In fact, as I had given the matterthought, it seemed incredible that the girl could have passed throughmy room, in which Bradley and I slept, and then carried on aconversation in the crew's room, in which Von Schoenvorts was kept,without having been seen by more than a single man.
Bradley shook his head. "I can't make it out," he said. "One of thoseboches must be pretty clever to come it over us all like this; but theyhaven't harmed us as much as they think; there are still the extrainstruments."
It was my turn now to shake a doleful head. "There are no extrainstruments," I told them. "They too have disappeared as did thewireless apparatus."
Both men looked at me in amazement. "We still have the compass and thesun," said Olson. "They may be after getting the compass some night;but they's too many of us around in the daytime fer 'em to get the sun."
It was then that one of the men stuck his head up through the hatchwayand seeing me, asked permission to come on deck and get a breath offresh air. I recognized him as Benson, the man who, Wilson had said,reported having seen Lys with von Schoenvorts two nights before. Imotioned him on deck and then called him to one side, asking if he hadseen anything out of the way or unusual during his trick on watch thenight before. The fellow scratched his head a moment and said, "No,"and then as though it was an afterthought, he told me that he had seenthe girl in the crew's room about midnight talking with the Germancommander, but as there hadn't seemed to him to be any harm in that, hehadn't said anything about it. Telling him never to fail to report tome anything in the slightest out of the ordinary routine of the ship, Idismissed him.
Several of the other men now asked permission to come on deck, and soonall but those actually engaged in some necessary duty were standingaround smoking and talking, all in the best of spirits. I tookadvantage of the absence of the men upon the deck to go below for mybreakfast, which the cook was already preparing upon the electricstove. Lys, followed by Nobs, appeared as I entered the centrale. Shemet me with a pleasant "Good morning!" which I am afraid I replied toin a tone that was rather constrained and surly.
"Will you breakfast with me?" I suddenly asked the girl, determined tocommence a probe of my own along the lines which duty demanded.
She nodded a sweet acceptance of my invitation, and together we satdown at the little table of the officers' mess.
"You slept well last night?" I asked.
"All night," she replied. "I am a splendid sleeper."
Her manner was so straightforward and honest that I could not bringmyself to believe in her duplicity; yet--Thinking to surprise her intoa betrayal of her guilt, I blurted out: "The chronometer and sextantwere both destroyed last night; there is a traitor among us." But shenever turned a hair by way of evidencing guilty knowledge of thecatastrophe.
"Who could it have been?" she cried. "The Germans would be crazy to doit, for their lives are as much at stake as ours."
"Men are often glad to die for an ideal--an ideal of patriotism,perhaps," I replied; "and a willingness to martyr themselves includes awillingness to sacrifice others, even those who love them. Women aremuch the same, except that they will go even further than mostmen--they will sacrifice everything, even honor, for love."
I watched her face carefully as I spoke, and I thought that I detecteda very faint flush mounting her cheek. Seeing an opening and anadvantage, I sought to follow it up.
"Take von Schoenvorts, for instance," I continued: "he would doubtlessbe glad to die and take us all with him, could he prevent in no otherway the falling of his vessel into enemy hands. He would sacrificeanyone, even you; and if you still love him, you might be his readytool. Do you understand me?"
She looked at me in wide-eyed consternation for a moment, and then shewent very white and rose from her seat. "I do," she replied, andturning her back upon me, she walked quickly toward her room. Istarted to follow, for even
believing what I did, I was sorry that Ihad hurt her. I reached the door to the crew's room just behind herand in time to see von Schoenvorts lean forward and whisper somethingto her as she passed; but she must have guessed that she might bewatched, for she passed on.
That afternoon it clouded over; the wind mounted to a gale, and the searose until the craft was wallowing and rolling frightfully. Nearlyeveryone aboard was sick; the air became foul and oppressive. Fortwenty-four hours I did not leave my post in the conning tower, as bothOlson and Bradley were sick. Finally I found that I must get a littlerest, and so I looked about for some one to relieve me. Bensonvolunteered. He had not been sick, and assured me that he was a formerR.N. man and had been detailed for submarine duty for over two years.I was glad that it was he, for I had considerable confidence in hisloyalty, and so it was with a feeling of security that I went below andlay down.
I slept twelve hours straight, and when I awoke and discovered what Ihad done, I lost no time in getting to the conning tower. There satBenson as wide awake as could be, and the compass showed that we wereheading straight into the west. The storm was still raging; nor did itabate its fury until the fourth day. We were all pretty well done upand looked forward to the time when we could go on deck and fill ourlungs with fresh air. During the whole four days I had not seen thegirl, as she evidently kept closely to her room; and during this timeno untoward incident had occurred aboard the boat--a fact which seemedto strengthen the web of circumstantial evidence about her.
For six more days after the storm lessened we still had fairly roughweather; nor did the sun once show himself during all that time. Forthe season--it was now the middle of June--the storm was unusual; butbeing from southern California, I was accustomed to unusual weather.In fact, I have discovered that the world over, unusual weatherprevails at all times of the year.
We kept steadily to our westward course, and as the U-33 was one of thefastest submersibles we had ever turned out, I knew that we must bepretty close to the North American coast. What puzzled me most was thefact that for six days we had not sighted a single ship. It seemedremarkable that we could cross the Atlantic almost to the coast of theAmerican continent without glimpsing smoke or sail, and at last I cameto the conclusion that we were way off our course, but whether to thenorth or to the south of it I could not determine.
On the seventh day the sea lay comparatively calm at early dawn. Therewas a slight haze upon the ocean which had cut off our view of thestars; but conditions all pointed toward a clear morrow, and I was ondeck anxiously awaiting the rising of the sun. My eyes were glued uponthe impenetrable mist astern, for there in the east I should see thefirst glow of the rising sun that would assure me we were still uponthe right course. Gradually the heavens lightened; but astern I couldsee no intenser glow that would indicate the rising sun behind themist. Bradley was standing at my side. Presently he touched my arm.
"Look, captain," he said, and pointed south.
I looked and gasped, for there directly to port I saw outlined throughthe haze the red top of the rising sun. Hurrying to the tower, Ilooked at the compass. It showed that we were holding steadily uponour westward course. Either the sun was rising in the south, or thecompass had been tampered with. The conclusion was obvious.
I went back to Bradley and told him what I had discovered. "And," Iconcluded, "we can't make another five hundred knots without oil; ourprovisions are running low and so is our water. God only knows how farsouth we have run."
"There is nothing to do," he replied, "other than to alter our courseonce more toward the west; we must raise land soon or we shall all belost."
I told him to do so; and then I set to work improvising a crude sextantwith which we finally took our bearings in a rough and mostunsatisfactory manner; for when the work was done, we did not know howfar from the truth the result might be. It showed us to be about 20?north and 30? west--nearly twenty-five hundred miles off our course.In short, if our reading was anywhere near correct, we must have beentraveling due south for six days. Bradley now relieved Benson, for wehad arranged our shifts so that the latter and Olson now divided thenights, while Bradley and I alternated with one another during the days.
I questioned both Olson and Benson closely in the matter of thecompass; but each stoutly maintained that no one had tampered with itduring his tour of duty. Benson gave me a knowing smile, as much as tosay: "Well, you and I know who did this." Yet I could not believethat it was the girl.
We kept to our westerly course for several hours when the lookout's cryannounced a sail. I ordered the U-33's course altered, and we boredown upon the stranger, for I had come to a decision which was theresult of necessity. We could not lie there in the middle of theAtlantic and starve to death if there was any way out of it. Thesailing ship saw us while we were still a long way off, as wasevidenced by her efforts to escape. There was scarcely any wind,however, and her case was hopeless; so when we drew near and signaledher to stop, she came into the wind and lay there with her sailsflapping idly. We moved in quite close to her. She was the Balmen ofHalmstad, Sweden, with a general cargo from Brazil for Spain.
I explained our circumstances to her skipper and asked for food, waterand oil; but when he found that we were not German, he became veryangry and abusive and started to draw away from us; but I was in nomood for any such business. Turning toward Bradley, who was in theconning-tower, I snapped out: "Gun-service on deck! To the divingstations!" We had no opportunity for drill; but every man had beenposted as to his duties, and the German members of the crew understoodthat it was obedience or death for them, as each was accompanied by aman with a pistol. Most of them, though, were only too glad to obey me.
Bradley passed the order down into the ship and a moment later thegun-crew clambered up the narrow ladder and at my direction trainedtheir piece upon the slow-moving Swede. "Fire a shot across her bow,"I instructed the gun-captain.
Accept it from me, it didn't take that Swede long to see the error ofhis way and get the red and white pennant signifying "I understand" tothe masthead. Once again the sails flapped idly, and then I orderedhim to lower a boat and come after me. With Olson and a couple of theEnglishmen I boarded the ship, and from her cargo selected what weneeded--oil, provisions and water. I gave the master of the Balmen areceipt for what we took, together with an affidavit signed by Bradley,Olson, and myself, stating briefly how we had come into possession ofthe U-33 and the urgency of our need for what we took. We addressedboth to any British agent with the request that the owners of theBalmen be reimbursed; but whether or not they were, I do not know.[1]
With water, food, and oil aboard, we felt that we had obtained a newlease of life. Now, too, we knew definitely where we were, and Idetermined to make for Georgetown, British Guiana--but I was destinedto again suffer bitter disappointment.
Six of us of the loyal crew had come on deck either to serve the gun orboard the Swede during our set-to with her; and now, one by one, wedescended the ladder into the centrale. I was the last to come, andwhen I reached the bottom, I found myself looking into the muzzle of apistol in the hands of Baron Friedrich von Schoenvorts--I saw all mymen lined up at one side with the remaining eight Germans standingguard over them.
I couldn't imagine how it had happened; but it had. Later I learnedthat they had first overpowered Benson, who was asleep in his bunk, andtaken his pistol from him, and then had found it an easy matter todisarm the cook and the remaining two Englishmen below. After that ithad been comparatively simple to stand at the foot of the ladder andarrest each individual as he descended.
The first thing von Schoenvorts did was to send for me and announcethat as a pirate I was to be shot early the next morning. Then heexplained that the U-33 would cruise in these waters for a time,sinking neutral and enemy shipping indiscriminately, and looking forone of the German raiders that was supposed to be in these parts.
He didn't shoot me the next morning as he had promised, and it hasnever been clear to m
e why he postponed the execution of my sentence.Instead he kept me ironed just as he had been; then he kicked Bradleyout of my room and took it all to himself.
We cruised for a long time, sinking many vessels, all but one bygunfire, but we did not come across a German raider. I was surprisedto note that von Schoenvorts often permitted Benson to take command;but I reconciled this by the fact that Benson appeared to know more ofthe duties of a submarine commander than did any of the stupid Germans.
Once or twice Lys passed me; but for the most part she kept to herroom. The first time she hesitated as though she wished to speak tome; but I did not raise my head, and finally she passed on. Then oneday came the word that we were about to round the Horn and that vonSchoenvorts had taken it into his fool head to cruise up along thePacific coast of North America and prey upon all sorts and conditionsof merchantmen.
"I'll put the fear of God and the Kaiser into them," he said.
The very first day we entered the South Pacific we had an adventure. Itturned out to be quite the most exciting adventure I had everencountered. It fell about this way. About eight bells of theforenoon watch I heard a hail from the deck, and presently thefootsteps of the entire ship's company, from the amount of noise Iheard at the ladder. Some one yelled back to those who had not yetreached the level of the deck: "It's the raider, the German raider_Geier_!"
I saw that we had reached the end of our rope. Below all wasquiet--not a man remained. A door opened at the end of the narrowhull, and presently Nobs came trotting up to me. He licked my face androlled over on his back, reaching for me with his big, awkward paws.Then other footsteps sounded, approaching me. I knew whose they were,and I looked straight down at the flooring. The girl was coming almostat a run--she was at my side immediately. "Here!" she cried. "Quick!"And she slipped something into my hand. It was a key--the key to myirons. At my side she also laid a pistol, and then she went on intothe centrale. As she passed me, I saw that she carried another pistolfor herself. It did not take me long to liberate myself, and then Iwas at her side. "How can I thank you?" I started; but she shut me upwith a word.
"Do not thank me," she said coldly. "I do not care to hear your thanksor any other expression from you. Do not stand there looking at me. Ihave given you a chance to do something--now do it!" The last was aperemptory command that made me jump.
Glancing up, I saw that the tower was empty, and I lost no time inclambering up, looking about me. About a hundred yards off lay asmall, swift cruiser-raider, and above her floated the Germanman-of-war's flag. A boat had just been lowered, and I could see itmoving toward us filled with officers and men. The cruiser lay deadahead. "My," I thought, "what a wonderful targ--" I stopped eventhinking, so surprised and shocked was I by the boldness of my imagery.The girl was just below me. I looked down on her wistfully. Could Itrust her? Why had she released me at this moment? I must! I must!There was no other way. I dropped back below. "Ask Olson to step downhere, please," I requested; "and don't let anyone see you ask him."
She looked at me with a puzzled expression on her face for the barestfraction of a second, and then she turned and went up the ladder. Amoment later Olson returned, and the girl followed him. "Quick!" Iwhispered to the big Irishman, and made for the bow compartment wherethe torpedo-tubes are built into the boat; here, too, were thetorpedoes. The girl accompanied us, and when she saw the thing I hadin mind, she stepped forward and lent a hand to the swinging of thegreat cylinder of death and destruction into the mouth of its tube.With oil and main strength we shoved the torpedo home and shut thetube; then I ran back to the conning-tower, praying in my heart ofhearts that the U-33 had not swung her bow away from the prey. No,thank God!
Never could aim have been truer. I signaled back to Olson: "Let 'ergo!" The U-33 trembled from stem to stern as the torpedo shot from itstube. I saw the white wake leap from her bow straight toward the enemycruiser. A chorus of hoarse yells arose from the deck of our owncraft: I saw the officers stand suddenly erect in the boat that wasapproaching us, and I heard loud cries and curses from the raider.Then I turned my attention to my own business. Most of the men on thesubmarine's deck were standing in paralyzed fascination, staring at thetorpedo. Bradley happened to be looking toward the conning-tower andsaw me. I sprang on deck and ran toward him. "Quick!" I whispered."While they are stunned, we must overcome them."
A German was standing near Bradley--just in front of him. TheEnglishman struck the fellow a frantic blow upon the neck and at thesame time snatched his pistol from its holster. Von Schoenvorts hadrecovered from his first surprise quickly and had turned toward themain hatch to investigate. I covered him with my revolver, and at thesame instant the torpedo struck the raider, the terrific explosiondrowning the German's command to his men.
Bradley was now running from one to another of our men, and though someof the Germans saw and heard him, they seemed too stunned for action.
Olson was below, so that there were only nine of us against eightGermans, for the man Bradley had struck still lay upon the deck. Onlytwo of us were armed; but the heart seemed to have gone out of theboches, and they put up but half-hearted resistance. Von Schoenvortswas the worst--he was fairly frenzied with rage and chagrin, and hecame charging for me like a mad bull, and as he came he discharged hispistol. If he'd stopped long enough to take aim, he might have gottenme; but his pace made him wild, so that not a shot touched me, and thenwe clinched and went to the deck. This left two pistols, which two ofmy own men were quick to appropriate. The Baron was no match for me ina hand-to-hand encounter, and I soon had him pinned to the deck and thelife almost choked out of him.
A half-hour later things had quieted down, and all was much the same asbefore the prisoners had revolted--only we kept a much closer watch onvon Schoenvorts. The _Geier_ had sunk while we were still battling uponour deck, and afterward we had drawn away toward the north, leaving thesurvivors to the attention of the single boat which had been making itsway toward us when Olson launched the torpedo. I suppose the poordevils never reached land, and if they did, they most probably perishedon that cold and unhospitable shore; but I couldn't permit them aboardthe U-33. We had all the Germans we could take care of.
That evening the girl asked permission to go on deck. She said thatshe felt the effects of long confinement below, and I readily grantedher request. I could not understand her, and I craved an opportunityto talk with her again in an effort to fathom her and her intentions,and so I made it a point to follow her up the ladder. It was a clear,cold, beautiful night. The sea was calm except for the white water atour bows and the two long radiating swells running far off into thedistance upon either hand astern, forming a great V which ourpropellers filled with choppy waves. Benson was in the tower, we werebound for San Diego and all looked well.
Lys stood with a heavy blanket wrapped around her slender figure, andas I approached her, she half turned toward me to see who it was. Whenshe recognized me, she immediately turned away.
"I want to thank you," I said, "for your bravery and loyalty--you weremagnificent. I am sorry that you had reason before to think that Idoubted you."
"You did doubt me," she replied in a level voice. "You practicallyaccused me of aiding Baron von Schoenvorts. I can never forgive you."
There was a great deal of finality in both her words and tone.
"I could not believe it," I said; "and yet two of my men reportedhaving seen you in conversation with von Schoenvorts late at night upontwo separate occasions--after each of which some great damage was founddone us in the morning. I didn't want to doubt you; but I carried allthe responsibility of the lives of these men, of the safety of theship, of your life and mine. I had to watch you, and I had to put youon your guard against a repetition of your madness."
She was looking at me now with those great eyes of hers, very wide andround.
"Who told you that I spoke with Baron von Schoenvorts at night, or anyother time?" she asked.
"I cannot te
ll you, Lys," I replied, "but it came to me from twodifferent sources."
"Then two men have lied," she asserted without heat. "I have notspoken to Baron von Schoenvorts other than in your presence when firstwe came aboard the U-33. And please, when you address me, rememberthat to others than my intimates I am Miss La Rue."
Did you ever get slapped in the face when you least expected it? No?Well, then you do not know how I felt at that moment. I could feel thehot, red flush surging up my neck, across my cheeks, over my ears,clear to my scalp. And it made me love her all the more; it made meswear inwardly a thousand solemn oaths that I would win her.
[1] Late in July, 1916, an item in the shipping news mentioned aSwedish sailing vessel, Balmen, Rio de Janeiro to Barcelona, sunk by aGerman raider sometime in June. A single survivor in an open boat waspicked up off the Cape Verde Islands, in a dying condition. He expiredwithout giving any details.
The Land That Time Forgot Page 3
