The Mystery Ship: A Story of the 'Q' Ships During the Great War
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CHAPTER V
THE PROWESS OF KAPITAN VON PREUGFELD
"THE fog is thicker than ever," grumbled the ober-leutnant as heemerged from below. "It is so far fortunate for your landing, vonPreussen, but give me a clear night. Then there is far less risk ofbeing run down by those accursed P-boats."
"You need to be doubly careful on a night like this," rejoined thespy.
"And one way is to lose no time in getting into the dinghy," addedvon Preugfeld pointedly.
Rubbing alongside the bulging hull of the U-boat was a smallcollapsible dinghy manned by a couple of hands clad in oilskins. Inthe stern-sheets, muffled by a piece of tarpaulin, was a lightedcompass.
"I am sending my unter-leutnant in charge of the boat," observed vonPreugfeld.
"Then I hope Herr von Loringhoven realises the sense of hisresponsibility," laughed the spy, as he stepped into the boat. _"AufWiedersehen!"_
The dinghy pushed off under muffled oars and well-greased rowlocks.In less than half a minute it was inaudible and invisible, swallowedup in the fog.
The kapitan of U 247 remained on deck, half-buried in his greatcoat.He was both irritable and impatient--impatient for the return of theboat, irritable since he wanted to smoke and durst not. AnotherU-boat commander had smoked on deck while his boat was rechargingbatteries at night. The fumes of the cigar, drifting far and wide,assailed the keen nostrils of a submarine hunter. As it was, theU-boat got away, but her kapitan learnt a lesson and did not hesitateto inform his fellow-pirates of his very narrow escape.
Always within easy distance of the open conning-tower hatchway andready to submerge at an instant's notice, Ober-leutnant von Preugfeldmaintained his solitary vigil, for the rest of the crew had beenordered to their diving stations. It was the life of a hunted animal,haunted by an ever-present fear. Von Preugfeld, prematurely aged andcareworn, had suffered the torments of the damned since the order hadbeen issued for unrestricted submarine warfare, At first he hadentered into the business with grim zest. A firm believer in thepolicy of ruthlessness as applied to war, the ober-leutnant had nocompunction in sinking unarmed merchantmen and hospital ships, butwhen the British Mercantile Marine took unto itself guns andgun-layers who could shoot uncommonly straight, and when the RoyalNavy adopted certain sinister devices to cope with the pirate Hun,von Preugfeld did not feel at all happy.
By this time he was convinced that he was on the losing side. Almostevery officer in the German Submarine Service had the same opinion,although individually they were loth to admit it. The men, too, knewthat the U-boat campaign was a failure, but, unlike their officers,they discussed the matter amongst themselves and thought that it wasquite about time they had a say in the business.
For a full forty minutes von Preugfeld paced the limited expanse ofsteel platform that comprised the U-boat's deck, until a faintwhistle like the call of a curlew was borne to his ears.
Ordering a couple of hands on deck, the ober-leutnant gave thepre-arranged reply. For another five minutes the interchange ofsignals continued as the dinghy, baffled by the fog, endeavoured tofind her way back to her parent ship.
Presently the black outlines of the little boat loomed through themoonlit mist. The bowman threw the painter, and von Loringhovenclambered on board.
"This confounded fog!" he exclaimed. "I have not seen a worse oneeven off the Friesland shore."
"And von Preussen?" asked the kapitan laconically.
"We landed him safely, Herr Kapitan," replied the unter-leutnant."There was no one about. The actual business of setting him ashorewas simple. We are to look out for him at the same place at midnighton the first of next month, I believe?"
"That is so," assented von Preugfeld. "That is, if we are stillalive," he added, speaking to himself.
"If what, Kerr Kapitan?" asked his subordinate anxiously.
"Nothing," rejoined the other gruffly. "Now, to your post, vonLoringhoven. We have a tricky piece of navigation in front of us ifwe are to arrive off Aberspey by midnight."
Thanks to his intimate knowledge of the coasts of Great Britain, vonPreugfeld was able to take the intricate inner passage round St.Rollox Head. He did not expect to find any patrols in that waterwayon a foggy night, and his anticipations were well founded. Runningawash and at full speed, U 247 literally scraped past the outlyingrocks, the thresh of her propellers being deadened by the constantroar of the surf upon the far-flung ledges that thrust themselvesseaward from the bold headland. Through a winding channel barely ahundred yards in width, beset with dangers on either hand and sweptby furious currents and counter-eddies, the U-boat held steadilyonwards, until with a grunt of relief von Preugfeld "handed over" tohis subordinate.
"We're through," he observed. "Now keep her south by west at nineknots. Call me in twenty minutes."
At the expiration of the given time the kapitan went on deck andordered the leadsman to sound. Very slowly the U-boat held on, untilthrough a rift in the fog the look-out sighted a green buoy on thestarboard hand.
"That is what I was looking for," remarked von Preugfeld to theunter-leutnant. "It's a wreck-buoy placed there as a monument to ourachievement last March. You remember?"
"The _Camperdown Castle_, Herr Kapitan?"
"No, you fool," snapped the kapitan. "We sank the _Camperdown Castle_eighty kilometres away to the south-eastward."
"The _Columbine_, then?"
"That's better," exclaimed von Preugfeld. "That red cross on her portbow made an excellent mark, illuminated by electric light as it wasfor our convenience. Now, shut off the motors. Call away the guns'crews. Elevate to eight thousand metres, and fire anywhere betweenwest by north and west by south, and I'll warrant we'll make a messof things ashore in Aberspey."
The two six-inch guns mounted on U 247 were quickly manned. Theglistening, well-oiled breech-blocks were flung open, and the metalcylinders with their deadly steel shells were thrust home. For abrief instant the gun-layers lingered over their sights, training theweapons upon an invisible target roughly five miles off.
"Open fire!" ordered von Preugfeld in a strained, harsh voice.
Both guns barked almost simultaneously, stabbing the foggy night withlong tongues of dark red flame. Even as the U-boat heeled under therecoil the shrill whine of the projectile could be distinctly heard,followed by the distant crashes of the exploding shells.
"Hit something," observed von Loringhoven. "Let us hope that theobjective was worth hitting."
"Carry on!" shouted the kapitan. "Twelve rounds each gun, and besharp about it."
The required number of rounds did not take long. The German gunnerswere working in feverish haste, fearful lest the tip-and-runbombardment would bring swift retribution in its wake in the shape ofa flotilla of destroyers.
Directly the last shell case had been ejected and passed below--forbrass was worth almost its weight in silver to the German militaryand naval authorities--the guns were secured and the crews returnedto diving stations.
Pausing only to listen intently for sounds of approaching vessels,von Preugfeld disappeared through the conning-tower hatchway. Themetal fastening clanged into its appointed place, the ballast tankswere flooded and U 247 submerged to thirty metres.
For the next hour she proceeded warily, until her kapitan deemed itsafe to rise to the surface. The engines were stopped, and as soon asthe U-boat floated just awash the officers went on deck to listen.
"Petrol engine!" exclaimed von Loringhoven, as the noisy exhaustbeats of an internal combustion engine were plainly audible althoughat a considerable distance.
"Down with her then!" ordered von Preugfeld.
As he moved towards the hatchway, the chief motor engineerapproached.
"We have a bad case of short circuiting, Herr Kapitan," he began."Both on magneto and accumulator the motors refuse to fire. Ihave----"
"_Donnerwetter!_" exclaimed von Preugfeld angrily. "What monkeytricks have you been playing? And there are hostile motor craftaround. Von Loringhoven, what depth have we?"
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"Too great to rest on the bed of the sea, Herr Kapitan," replied theunter-leutnant.
Without motive power the submarine was helpless for under-water work.She could fill her ballast tanks, but it would be impossible to sinkonly to a required depth. She would sink rapidly until the tremendousexternal pressure of water would crush her thick steel hull like anegg-shell.
"How long will it take you to make good defects?" demanded vonPreugfeld of the thoroughly scared mechanic. "Half an hour--twentyminutes?"
"I will try, Herr Kapitan. Perhaps in half an hour----"
"Then get on with the task," almost shouted the excitableober-leutnant. "First couple up the surface-cruising engines. VonLoringhoven, turn out the guns' crews. If that motor vessel comes insight we must try and settle her before she uses her depth-charges,or it will be all up with us. Ten thousand curses on von Preussen forhaving got us into this mess!"
Although scared himself, von Loringhoven could not help smiling athis superior's words. He realised that the spy had little or nothingto do with U 247's present predicament. It was just possible that theconcussion caused by the bombardment of Aberspey might have set up ashort circuit, but von Preugfeld would never admit that.
At frequent intervals the U-boat's engines were stopped. The noise ofthe unseen motor vessel's exhaust alternately grew louder andfainter. Somewhere in that baffling mist was the danger. Engaged ina mutual game of maritime blind man's bluff the submarine and thesubmarine-hunter were groping for each other. At any moment a rift inthe veil of fog might bring the adversaries almost broadside tobroadside.
Von Preugfeld glanced at the luminous dial of his watch.
"Fifteen minutes more," he muttered. "Will it be in time?"