The Burning Shore c-8

by Wilbur Smith

  The sighting is a large vessel showing green and red navigation lights, bearing o6o degrees, he reported quietly to Kurt. I could make out no details.

  As the periscope rose up through the deck, the hydraulic rams hissing loudly, Kurt ducked down, unfolded the side handles and pressed his face into the rubber pads, peering into the Zeiss lens of the eyepiece and straightening his body to follow the telescope up, already swinging it on to the bearing marks o6o degrees.

  The lens was obscured by water, and he waited for it to clear.

  Late twilight- he judged the light up there on the surface, and then to Horsthauzen, range estimate? Sighting is hull down. That meant she was probably eight or nine miles, but red and green navigation lights indicated that she was headed almost directly towards the U-32. That she should be showing lights at all indicated the vessel's supreme confidence that she was alone on the ocean.

  The lens cleared of water and Kurt traversed slowly.

  There she was. He felt his pulse leap and his breathing check. It never failed, no matter how often he saw the enemy, the shock and the thrill was as intense as the very first time.

  Bearing mark! he snapped at Horsthauzen, and the lieutenant entered the bearing on the attack table.

  Kurt stared at the quarry, feeling the hunger in his guts, the almost sexual ache in his loin as though he were watching a beautiful naked and available woman; at the same time he was gently manipulating the knob of the rangefinder with his right hand.

  In the tens of the periscope the double images of the target ship were brought together by the rangefinder.

  Range mark! Kurt said clearly as the images coalesced into a single sharp silhouette.

  Bearing 075 degrees, said Horsthauzen. Range 7,650 metres! and entered the numerals into the attack table.

  Down periscope! New heading 34o degrees! ordered Kurt, and the thick telescoping steel sections of the periscope hissed down into their well on the deck between his feet. Even at this range and in the bad light Kurt was taking no chances that a wary lookout might pick out the plume of spray thrown up by the tip of the periscope as it cut the surface, turning on to an interception course into the north.

  Kurt was watching the second hand of the clock on the control panel. lie must give Horsthauzen at least two minutes before he made his next sighting. He glanced across at his first officer and found him totally absorbed in his calculations, stopwatch in his right hand, left hand manipulating the tumblers of the attack table like a Chinaman with an abacus.

  Kurt switched his attention to his own calculations concerning the light and the surface condition of the sea.

  The fading light favoured him. As always, the hunter needed stealth and secrecy, but the rising sea would hamper his approach; breaking over the lens of the periscope, it might even affect the running of his torpedoes.

  Up periscope! he ordered. The two minutes had expired. He found the image almost instantly.

  Bearing mark! Range mark!

  Now Horsthauzen had his references, elapsed time between sights and the relative ranges and bearings of the submarine and its target, together with the U-32's own speed and course.

  Target is on a heading of 175 degrees. Speed 22 knots, he read off the attack table.

  Kurt did not look away from the eyepiece of the periscope, but felt the thrill of the chase in his blood like the flush of strong spirits. The other ship was coming straight down on them, and its speed was almost exactly that to be expected of a British battle cruiser making a long passage. He stared at the distance image, but the light was going even as he studied the shadowy superstructure just visible between the pinpricks of the navigational lights and yet, and yet, he was not absolutely certain, perhaps he was seeing what he wished to see, but there was a vague triangular shape against the darkening sky, the sure tripod mark of the new F-class battle cruiser.

  Down periscope. He made his decision. New heading 3 5 5 degrees, the head-on course to intercept the target, designate the target as the "chase". That was the intimation to his officers that he was attacking, and he saw their expression turn wolfish in the subdued light and they exchanged eager gloating glances. The chase is an enemy cruiser. We will attack with our bow tubes. Re art battle stations. In quick succession the reports came in assuring him of the instant readiness of the entire ship. Kurt nodded with satisfaction, standing facing the brass control panel, studying the dials over the heads of his seated helmsmen, his hands thrust deeply into the pockets of his pea-jacket so that their trembling did not betray his agitated excitement, but a nerve jumped in his lower eyelid, making him wink sardonically, and his thin pale lips trembled uncontrollably. Each second seemed an eternity, until he could ask, Estimated bearing? The seaman with the hydrophones over his ears looked up. He had been closely monitoring the distant sound of the chase's propellers.

  Bearing steady, he replied, and Kurt glanced at Horsthauzen.

  Estimated range? Horsthauzen kept all his attention on his attack table.

  Estimated range 4,000 metres."Up periscope. She was still there, exactly where he had expected her she had not turned away. Kurt felt almost nauseated with relief. At any time that she suspected his presence the chase could simply turn and run away from him, without even bothering to increase speed, and he would be helpless to stop her. But she was coming on unsuspectingly.

  It was fully dark in the world above the surface, and the sea was breaking and tumbling with white caps. Kurt had to make the decision which he had postponed to the last possible moment. He made one last sweep of the entire horizon, swinging the handles of the periscope the full 36o degrees, shuffling around behind the eyepiece, satisfying himself that there was no other enemy creeping up behind his stern, no destroyers escorting the cruiser, and then he said, I will shoot from the bridge. Even Horsthauzen glanced up momentarily, and he heard the sharp intake of breath from his junior officers when they realized they were going to surface almost under the bows of an enemy battle cruiser.

  Down periscope! Kurt ordered his senior helmsman. Reduce speed to five knots and come to tower depth.

  He saw the needles on the control dials tremble and then begin to move, the speed dropping back, the depth decreasing gently, and he moved across to the ladder.

  I am transferring to the bridge, he told Horsthauzen, and stepped on to the ladder. He climbed nimbly and at the top spun the locking wheel of the main hatch.

  As the submarine broke through the surface, the internal air pressure blew the hatch open and Kurt sprang through it.

  The wind lashed him immediately, tugging at his clothing and blowing spray into his face. All about him the sea was breaking and boiling, and the ship rolled and wallowed. Kurt had relied on the turmoil of waters to disguise the disturbance that the U-32 would make as she surfaced. With one glance, he satisfied himself that the enemy was almost dead ahead and coming on swiftly and unswervingly. He bowed to the aiming table at the forward end of the bridge, unstoppered the voice pipe and spoke into it. Prepare to attack! Stand by bow tubes. Bow tubes closed up, Horsthauzen answered him from below, and Kurt began to feed him the details of the range and bearing, while on the deck below, the lieutenant read off from the attack table the firing heading and passed it to the helmsman. The submarine's bows swung gradually as the helmsman kept her on the exact aiming mark.

  Range 2,5oo metres, Kurt intoned. She was at extreme range now, but closing swiftly.

  There were lights burning on her upper decks but apart from that she was merely a huge dark shape. There was no longer any definite silhouette against the night sky, although Kurt could make out the shapeless loom of her triple funnels.

  The lights troubled Kurt. No Royal Naval captain should be so negligent of the most elementary precautions. He felt a small chill wind of doubt cool his excitement and battle ardour. He stared at the enormous vessel through the spray and darkness and for the first time in a hundred such dangerous nerve-racking situations, he felt himself hesitant and uncertain.

 
The vessel before him was in the exact position and on the exact course where he had expected to find the inflexible. It was the right size, it had three funnels and a tripod superstructure, it was steaming at 22 knots, and yet it was showing lights.

  Repeat range mark! Horsthauzen spoke through the voice tube, gently prodding him, and Kurt started. He had been staring at the chase, neglecting the rangefinder.

  Quickly he gave the decreasing range and then realized that within thirty seconds he would have to make his final decision.

  I will shoot at 1,000 metres, he said into the voice tube.

  It was pointblank range; even in this confused sea there was no question of missing with one of the long sharklike missiles.

  Kurt stared into the lens of the rangefinder, watching the numerals decreasing steadily as hunter and hunted came together. He drew a deep breath like a diver about to plunge into the cold black waters and then he raised his voice for the first time. Number one tube, ]Os! Almost immediately Horsthauzen's voice came back to him, with that slight catchy stutter that always afflicted him when he was over-excited. Number one fired and running. There was no sound, nor recoil. No movement of the submarine's hull to signal the release of the first torpedo.

  In the darkness and the breaking white waters Kurt could not even distinguish the wake of the speeding torpedo.

  Number two tube, Ms! Kurt was firing a spread of torpedoes, each on a minutely diverging course, the first aimed forward, the second amidships, the third aft.

  Number three tube, lose All three fired and running! Kurt raised his eyes from the aiming table and slitted them against the flying spray and the wind as he gazed down the track of his torpedoes. It was standard service procedure to crash dive immediately all torpedoes were fired and to await the explosions of the hits down in the safety of the depths, but this time Kurt felt compelled to remain on top and watch it happen.

  Running time? he demanded of Horsthauzen, watching the tall bulk of his victim festooned with lights like a cruise ship, so that she paled out the fields of stars that sprinkled the black curtain of the sky behind her.

  Two minutes fifteen seconds to run, Horsthauzen told him, and Kurt clicked down the button of his stopwatch.

  Always in this time of waiting after his weapons were sped upon their way, the remorse assailed Kurt. Before the firing there was only the heat of the chase and the tingling excitement of the stalk, but now he thought of the brave men, brothers of the sea, whom he had consigned to the cold dark and merciless waters.

  The seconds dragged, so that he had to check the luminous dial of his stopwatch to assure himself that his torpedoes had not sounded or swerved nor run past.

  Then there was that vast blurt of sound which even when expected made him flinch, and be saw the pearly fountain of spray rise against the bulk of the battle cruiser, shining in the starlight and in the decklights with a beautiful iridescent radiance.

  Number one, hit. Horsthauzen s shout of triumph came from the voice pipe, followed immediately by another thunderous roar as though a mountain had fallen into the sea.

  Number two, hit And yet again, while the first two tall shining columns of spray still hovered, the third leapt high in the dark air beside them. Number three, hit. As Kurt still watched, the columns of spray mingled, subsided and blew away on the wind, and the great ship ran on, seemingly unscathed.

  Chase is losing speed, Horsthauzen exalted. Altering course to starboard. The doomed ship began a wide aimless turn into the wind. It would not be necessary to fire their stern tubes.

  Lieutenant Horsthauzen to the bridge, Kurt said into the voice tube. It was a reward for a task perfectly performed. He knew how avidly the young lieutenant would relate every detail of the sinking to his brother officers later. The memory of this victory would sustain them all through the long days and nights of privation and hardship that lay ahead. Horsthauzen burst from the hatch and stood shoulder to shoulder with his captain, peering at their monstrous victim.

  She has stopped! he cried. The British ship lay like a rock in the sea.

  We will move closer, Kurt decided, and relayed the order to the helmsman.

  The U-32 crept forward, butting into the creaming waves, only her conning tower above the surface, closing the range gradually and gingerly. The cruiser's guns might still be manned and only a single lucky shot was needed to hole the submarine's thin plating.

  Listen! Kurt ordered abruptly, turning his head to catch the sounds that came to them faintly above the clamour of the wind.

  I hear nothing.

  Stop engines! Kurt ordered, and the vibration and hum of the diesels ceased. Now they could hear it more clearly.

  Voices! Horsthauzen whispered. It was a pathetic chorus, borne to them on the wind. The shouts and cries of men in dire distress, rising and falling on the vagaries of the wind, punctuated by a wild scream as somebody fell or leapt from the high deck.

  She is listing heavily. They were close enough to see her against the stars.

  She's sinking by the bows. The great stem was rearing out of the black. She's going quickly, very quickly They could hear the crackle and rumble of her hull as the waters raced through her, and twisted and distorted her plating.

  Man the searchlight, Kurt ordered, and Horsthauzen turned to stare at him.

  Did you hear my order? Horsthauzen roused himself.

  It went against all a submariner's instincts to betray himself so blatantly to the eyes of the enemy, but he crossed to the searchlight in the wing of the deck.

  Switch on! Kurt urged him when he hesitated still, and the long white beam leapt out across half a mile of tempestuous sea and darkness. It struck the hull of the ship and was reflected in a dazzle of purest white.

  Kurt threw himself across the bridge and shouldered his lieutenant from the searchlight. He gripped the handles and swung the solid beam across and down, slitting his eyes against the dazzling reflection from the ship's paintwork; he searched frantically and then froze, with his fingers hooked like claws over the searchlight handles.

  In the perfect round circle of the searchlight beam, the scarlet arms of the huge painted cross were outflung, like the limbs of a condemned man upon the crucifix.

  Mother of the Almighty God, Kurt whispered, what have I done? With horrid fascination he moved the beam slowly from side to side. The decks of the white ship were canted steeply towards him, so he could see the clusters of human figures that scurried about them, trying to reach the lifeboats dangling from their davits. Some of them dragging stretchers or leading stumbling figures dressed in long blue hospital robes, and their cries and supplications sounded like a colony of nesting birds at sunset.

  As Kurt watched, the ship suddenly tipped towards him with a rush, and the men on the decks were sent sliding across them, piling up against the railings. Then singly and in clusters they began to fall overboard.

  One of the lifeboats let go and dropped out of control to hit the water alongside the hull and immediately capsized. Still men were dropping from the high decks, and he could hear their faint shrieks above the wind, see the small spouts of white spray as they struck the water.

  What can we do? Horsthauzen whispered beside Kurt, staring with him down the searchlight beam, his expression pale and appalled.

  Kurt switched off the searchlight. After the intense light, the darkness was crushing.

  Nothing, said Kurt in the darkness. There is nothing we can do."And he turned and stumbled to the hatchway.

  By the time he reached the bottom of the ladder, he had control of himself again, and his voice was flat and his expression stony as he gave his orders.

  Lookouts to the bridge. Revolutions for 12 knots, new course i5o degrees. He stood at ease as they turned away from the sinking ship, fighting theurge to lift his hands to cover his ears.

  He knew he could not shut out the cries and shrieks that still echoed in his skull. He knew he would never be able to shut them out, and that he would hear them again at the hour of h
is own death.

  Secure from action stations, he said with dead eyes, his waxen features wet with spray and sweat.

  Resume patrol routine.

  Centaine was perched on the foot of the lowest bunk in her favourite ward on C deck. She had the book open on herlap.

  It was one of the larger cabins, with eight bunks, and all the young men in the bunks were spinals. Not one of them would ever walk again, and almost in defiance of this fact they were the noisiest, gayest and most opinionated bunch on board the Protea Castle.

  Every evenin& during the hour before lights-out, Centaine read to them, or that was the intention. It usually only required a few minutes of the author's opinions to trigger a spirited debate which ran unchecked until the dinner gong finally intervened.

  Centaine enjoyed these sessions as much as any of them, and she invariably chose a book on a subject about which she wanted to know more, always an African theme.

  This evening she had selected volume 11 of Levaillant's Voyage dans Pint6rieur de IAfrique in the original French. She translated directly from the page of Levaillant's description of a hippopotamus hunt which her audience followed avidly, until she reached the description:The female beast was flayed and cut up on the spot. I ordered a bowl to be brought me, which I filled with her milk. It appears to be much less disagreeable than that of the elephant and the next day had changed almost wholly to cream. It had an amphibious taste, and a filthy smell which gave disgust, but in coffee it was even pleasant. There were cries of revulsion from the bunks. My God! somebody exclaimed. Those Frenchies! Anybody who will drink hippo milk and eat frogs- Instantly they all turned upon him. Sunshine is a Frenchy, you dog! Apologize immediately! and a barrage of pillows was hurled across the cabin at the offender.

  Laughing, Centaine jumped up to restore order, and as she did so the deck bucked under her feet and she was hurled backwards on to the bunk again, and the blast of a massive explosion ripped through the ship.

  Centaine struggled up and was knocked down again by another explosion more violent than the first.