Those were anxious days, during
which I had but little opportunity
to associate with Lys. I had
given her the commander's room,
Bradley and I taking that of
the deck-officer, while Olson
and two of our best men occupied
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 British
waters behind us. We ran steadily
along upon the surface, making
good time. The first two boats
we sighted made off as fast as
they could go; and the third,
a huge freighter, fired on us,
forcing us to submerge. It was
after this that our troubles
commenced. One of the Diesel
engines broke down in the morning,
and while we were working on
it, the forward port diving-tank
commenced to fill. I was on deck
at the time and noted the gradual
list. Guessing at once what was
happening, 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 the head with a most
unpleasant list to port, and
I didn't wait to transmit orders
to some one else but ran as fast
as I could for the valve that
let the sea into the forward
port diving-tank. It was wide
open. To close it and to have
the pump started that would empty
it were the work of but a minute;
but we had had a close call.
I knew that the valve had never
opened itself. Some one had opened
it--some one who was willing
to die himself if he might at
the same time encompass the death
of all of us.
After that I kept a guard pacing
the length of the narrow craft.
We worked upon the engine all
that day and night and half the
following day. Most of the time
we drifted idly upon the surface,
but toward noon we sighted smoke
due west, and having found that
only enemies inhabited the world
for us, I ordered that the other
engine be started so that we
could move out of the path of
the oncoming steamer. The moment
the engine started to turn, however,
there was a grinding sound of
tortured steel, and when it had
been stopped, we found that some
one had placed a cold-chisel
in one of the gears.
It was another two days before
we were ready to limp along,
half repaired. The night before
the repairs were completed, the
sentry came to my room and awoke
me. He was rather an intelligent
fellow of the English 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've found out who's doin'
the mischief," he whispered,
and nodded his head toward the
girl's room. "I seen her sneakin'
from the crew's room just now," 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' he never puts two an' two
together till some one else has
made four out of it."
If the man had come in and
struck me suddenly in the face,
I could have been no more surprised.
"Say nothing of this to anyone," I
ordered. "Keep your eyes and
ears open 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 I fell into a troubled
sleep. It was daylight when I
awoke. We were steaming along
slowly upon the surface, my orders
having been to proceed at half
speed until we could take an
observation and determine our
position. The sky had been overcast
all the previous day and all
night; but as I stepped into
the centrale that morning I was
delighted to see that the sun
was again shining. The spirits
of the men seemed improved; everything
seemed propitious. I forgot at
once the cruel misgivings of
the past night as I set to work
to take my observations.
What a blow awaited me! The
sextant and chronometer had both
been broken beyond repair, and
they had been broken just this
very night. They had been broken
upon the night that Lys had been
seen talking with von Schoenvorts.
I think that it was this last
thought which hurt me the worst.
I could look the other disaster
in the face with equanimity;
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, but for the life of
me I couldn't bring myself to
repeat what Wilson had reported
to me the previous night. In
fact, as I had given the matter
thought, it seemed incredible
that the girl could have passed
through my room, in which Bradley
and I slept, and then carried
on a conversation 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 those boches must be pretty
clever to come it over us all
like this; but they haven't harmed
us as much as they think; there
are still the extra instruments."
It was my turn
now to shake a doleful head. "There are no
extra instruments," I told them. "They
too have disappeared as did the
wireless apparatus."
Both men looked
at me in amazement. "We
still have the compass and the
sun," 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 hatchway and seeing me, asked
permission to come on deck and
get a breath of fresh air. I
recognized him as Benson, the
man who, Wilson had said, reported
having seen Lys with von Schoenvorts
two nights before. I motioned
him on deck and then called him
to one side, asking if he had
seen anything out of the way
or unusual during his trick on
watch the night 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 seen the girl
in the crew's room about midnight
talking with the German commander,
but as there hadn't seemed to
him to be any harm in that, he
hadn't said anything about it.
Telling him never to fail to
report to me anything in the
slightest out of the ordinary
routine of the ship, I dismissed
him.
Several of
the other men now asked permission
to come on deck,
and soon all but those actually
engaged in some necessary duty
were standing around smoking
and talking, all in the best
of spirits. I took advantage
of the absence of the men upon
the deck to go below for my breakfast,
which the cook was already preparing
upon the electric stove. Lys,
followed by Nobs, appeared as
I entered the centrale. She met
me with a pleasant "Good morning!" which
I am afraid I replied to in a
tone that was rather constrained
and surly.
"Will you breakfast with me?" I
suddenly asked the girl, determined
to commence a probe of my own
along the lines which duty demanded.
She nodded
a sweet acceptance of my invitation,
and together
we sat down 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 bring
myself to believe in her duplicity;
yet--Thinking to surprise her
into a betrayal of her guilt,
I blurted out: "The chronometer
and sextant were both destroyed
last night; there is a traitor
among us." But she never turned
a hair by way of evidencing guilty
knowledge of the catastrophe.
"Who could it have been?" she
cried. "The Germans would be
crazy to do it, 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
a willingness to sacrifice others,
even those who love them. Women
are much the same, except that
they will go even further than
most men--they will sacrifice
everything, even honor, for love."
I watched her face carefully
as I spoke, and I thought that
I detected a very faint flush
mounting her cheek. Seeing an
opening and an advantage, I sought
to follow it up.
"Take von Schoenvorts, for
instance," I continued: "he would
doubtless be glad to die and
take us all with him, could he
prevent in no other way the falling
of his vessel into enemy hands.
He would sacrifice anyone, even
you; and if you still love him,
you might be his ready tool.
Do you understand me?"
She looked
at me in wide-eyed consternation
for a moment, and
then she went very white and
rose from her seat. "I do," she
replied, and turning her back
upon me, she walked quickly toward
her room. I started to follow,
for even believing what I did,
I was sorry that I had hurt her.
I reached the door to the crew's
room just behind her and in time
to see von Schoenvorts lean forward
and whisper something to her
as she passed; but she must have
guessed that she might be watched,
for she passed on.
That afternoon it clouded over;
the wind mounted to a gale, and
the sea rose until the craft
was wallowing and rolling frightfully.
Nearly everyone aboard was sick;
the air became foul and oppressive.
For twenty-four hours I did not
leave my post in the conning
tower, as both Olson and Bradley
were sick. Finally I found that
I must get a little rest, and
so I looked about for some one
to relieve me. Benson volunteered.
He had not been sick, and assured
me that he was a former R.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 his loyalty, and so it was
with a feeling of security that
I went below and lay down.
I slept twelve hours straight,
and when I awoke and discovered
what I had done, I lost no time
in getting to the conning tower.
There sat Benson as wide awake
as could be, and the compass
showed that we were heading straight
into the west. The storm was
still raging; nor did it abate
its fury until the fourth day.
We were all pretty well done
up and looked forward to the
time when we could go on deck
and fill our lungs with fresh
air. During the whole four days
I had not seen the girl, as she
evidently kept closely to her
room; and during this time no
untoward incident had occurred
aboard the boat--a fact which
seemed to strengthen the web
of circumstantial evidence about
her.
For six more days after the
storm lessened we still had fairly
rough weather; nor did the sun
once show himself during all
that time. For the season--it
was now the middle of June--the
storm was unusual; but being
from southern California, I was
accustomed to unusual weather.
In fact, I have discovered that
the world over, unusual weather
prevails at all times of the
year.
We kept steadily to our westward
course, and as the U-33 was one
of the fastest submersibles we
had ever turned out, I knew that
we must be pretty close to the
North American coast. What puzzled
me most was the fact that for
six days we had not sighted a
single ship. It seemed remarkable
that we could cross the Atlantic
almost to the coast of the American
continent without glimpsing smoke
or sail, and at last I came to
the conclusion that we were way
off our course, but whether to
the north or to the south of
it I could not determine.
On the seventh day the sea
lay comparatively calm at early
dawn. There was a slight haze
upon the ocean which had cut
off our view of the stars; but
conditions all pointed toward
a clear morrow, and I was on
deck anxiously awaiting the rising
of the sun. My eyes were glued
upon the impenetrable mist astern,
for there in the east I should
see the first glow of the rising
sun that would assure me we were
still upon the right course.
Gradually the heavens lightened;
but astern I could see no intenser
glow that would indicate the
rising sun behind the mist. 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
through the haze the red top
of the rising sun. Hurrying to
the tower, I looked at the compass.
It showed that we were holding
steadily upon our westward course.
Either the sun was rising in
the south, or the compass had
been tampered with. The conclusion
was obvious.
I went back
to Bradley and told him what
I had discovered. "And," I
concluded, "we can't make another
five hundred knots without oil;
our provisions are running low
and so is our water. God only
knows how far south we have run."
"There is nothing to do," he
replied, "other than to alter
our course once more toward the
west; we must raise land soon
or we shall all be lost."
I told him to do so; and then
I set to work improvising a crude
sextant with which we finally
took our bearings in a rough
and most unsatisfactory manner;
for when the work was done, we
did not know how far 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 been traveling due south
for six days. Bradley now relieved
Benson, for we had arranged our
shifts so that the latter and
Olson now divided the nights,
while Bradley and I alternated
with one another during the days.
I questioned
both Olson and Benson closely
in the matter
of the compass; but each stoutly
maintained that no one had tampered
with it during his tour of duty.
Benson gave me a knowing smile,
as much as to say: "Well, you
and I know who did this." Yet
I could not believe that it was
the girl.
We kept to our westerly course
for several hours when the lookout's
cry announced a sail. I ordered
the U-33's course altered, and
we bore down upon the stranger,
for I had come to a decision
which was the result of necessity.
We could not lie there in the
middle of the Atlantic and starve
to death if there was any way
out of it. The sailing ship saw
us while we were still a long
way off, as was evidenced by
her efforts to escape. There
was scarcely any wind, however,
and her case was hopeless; so
when we drew near and signaled
her to stop, she came into the
wind and lay there with her sails
flapping idly. We moved in quite
close to her. She was the Balmen
of Halmstad, Sweden, with a general
cargo from Brazil for Spain.
I explained
our circumstances to her skipper
and asked for
food, water and oil; but when
he found that we were not German,
he became very angry and abusive
and started to draw away from
us; but I was in no mood for
any such business. Turning toward
Bradley, who was in the conning-tower,
I snapped out: "Gun-service on
deck! To the diving stations!" We
had no opportunity for drill;
but every man had been posted
as to his duties, and the German
members of the crew understood
that it was obedience or death
for them, as each was accompanied
by a man 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
the gun-crew clambered up the
narrow ladder and at my direction
trained their 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 of his way and get the
red and white pennant signifying "I
understand" to the masthead.
Once again the sails flapped
idly, and then I ordered him
to lower a boat and come after
me. With Olson and a couple of
the Englishmen I boarded the
ship, and from her cargo selected
what we needed--oil, provisions
and water. I gave the master
of the Balmen a receipt for what
we took, together with an affidavit
signed by Bradley, Olson, and
myself, stating briefly how we
had come into possession of the
U-33 and the urgency of our need
for what we took. We addressed
both to any British agent with
the request that the owners of
the Balmen be reimbursed; but
whether or not they were, I do
not know. [1]
[1] Late in July, 1916, an
item in the shipping news mentioned
a Swedish sailing vessel, Balmen,
Rio de Janiero to Barcelona,
sunk by a German raider sometime
in June. A single survivor in
an open boat was picked up off
the Cape Verde Islands, in a
dying condition. He expired without
giving any details.
With water, food, and oil aboard,
we felt that we had obtained
a new lease of life. Now, too,
we knew definitely where we were,
and I determined to make for
Georgetown, British Guiana--but
I was destined to again suffer
bitter disappointment.
Six of us of the loyal crew
had come on deck either to serve
the gun or board the Swede during
our set-to with her; and now,
one by one, we descended the
ladder into the centrale. I was
the last to come, and when I
reached the bottom, I found myself
looking into the muzzle of a
pistol in the hands of Baron
Friedrich von Schoenvorts--I
saw all my men lined up at one
side with the remaining eight
Germans standing guard over them.
I couldn't imagine how it had
happened; but it had. Later I
learned that they had first overpowered
Benson, who was asleep in his
bunk, and taken his pistol from
him, and then had found it an
easy matter to disarm the cook
and the remaining two Englishmen
below. After that it had been
comparatively simple to stand
at the foot of the ladder and
arrest each individual as he
descended.
The first thing von Schoenvorts
did was to send for me and announce
that as a pirate I was to be
shot early the next morning.
Then he explained that the U-33
would cruise in these waters
for a time, sinking neutral and
enemy shipping indiscriminately,
and looking for one 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 has never been clear to me
why he postponed the execution
of my sentence. Instead he kept
me ironed just as he had been;
then he kicked Bradley out of
my room and took it all to himself.
We cruised for a long time,
sinking many vessels, all but
one by gunfire, but we did not
come across a German raider.
I was surprised to note that
von Schoenvorts often permitted
Benson to take command; but I
reconciled this by the fact that
Benson appeared to know more
of the 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 her room. The first time she
hesitated as though she wished
to speak to me; but I did not
raise my head, and finally she
passed on. Then one day came
the word that we were about to
round the Horn and that von Schoenvorts
had taken it into his fool head
to cruise up along the Pacific
coast of North America and prey
upon all sorts and conditions
of 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.
It turned out to be quite the
most exciting adventure I had
ever encountered. It fell about
this way. About eight bells of
the forenoon watch I heard a
hail from the deck, and presently
the footsteps of the entire ship's
company, from the amount of noise
I heard at the ladder. Some one
yelled back to those who had
not yet reached 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 was
quiet--not a man remained. A
door opened at the end of the
narrow hull, and presently Nobs
came trotting up to me. He licked
my face and rolled 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
almost at 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 my irons. At
my side she also laid a pistol,
and then she went on into the
centrale. As she passed me, I
saw that she carried another
pistol for herself. It did not
take me long to liberate myself,
and then I was at her side. "How
can I thank you?" I started;
but she shut me up with a word.
"Do not thank me," she said
coldly. "I do not care to hear
your thanks or any other expression
from you. Do not stand there
looking at me. I have given you
a chance to do something--now
do it!" The last was a peremptory
command that made me jump.
Glancing up,
I saw that the tower was empty,
and I lost no
time in clambering up, looking
about me. About a hundred yards
off lay a small, swift cruiser-raider,
and above her floated the German
man-of-war's flag. A boat had
just been lowered, and I could
see it moving toward us filled
with officers and men. The cruiser
lay dead ahead. "My," I thought, "what
a wonderful targ--" I stopped
even thinking, 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 I trust 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 down
here, 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
barest fraction of a second,
and then she turned and went
up the ladder. A moment later
Olson returned, and the girl
followed him. "Quick!" I whispered
to the big Irishman, and made
for the bow compartment where
the torpedo-tubes are built into
the boat; here, too, were the
torpedoes. The girl accompanied
us, and when she saw the thing
I had in mind, she stepped forward
and lent a hand to the swinging
of the great cylinder of death
and destruction into the mouth
of its tube. With oil and main
strength we shoved the torpedo
home and shut the tube; then
I ran back to the conning-tower,
praying in my heart of hearts
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
'er go!" The U-33 trembled from
stem to stern as the torpedo
shot from its tube. I saw the
white wake leap from her bow
straight toward the enemy cruiser.
A chorus of hoarse yells arose
from the deck of our own craft:
I saw the officers stand suddenly
erect in the boat that was approaching
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
the submarine's deck were standing
in paralyzed fascination, staring
at the torpedo. Bradley happened
to be looking toward the conning-tower
and saw 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.
The Englishman struck the fellow
a frantic blow upon the neck
and at the same time snatched
his pistol from its holster.
Von Schoenvorts had recovered
from his first surprise quickly
and had turned toward the main
hatch to investigate. I covered
him with my revolver, and at
the same instant the torpedo
struck the raider, the terrific
explosion drowning the German's
command to his men.
Bradley was now running from
one to another of our men, and
though some of the Germans saw
and heard him, they seemed too
stunned for action.
Olson was below, so that there
were only nine of us against
eight Germans, for the man Bradley
had struck still lay upon the
deck. Only two of us were armed;
but the heart seemed to have
gone out of the boches, and they
put up but half-hearted resistance.
Von Schoenvorts was the worst--he
was fairly frenzied with rage
and chagrin, and he came charging
for me like a mad bull, and as
he came he discharged his pistol.
If he'd stopped long enough to
take aim, he might have gotten
me; but his pace made him wild,
so that not a shot touched me,
and then we clinched and went
to the deck. This left two pistols,
which two of my own men were
quick to appropriate. The Baron
was no match for me in a hand-to-hand
encounter, and I soon had him
pinned to the deck and the life
almost choked out of him.
A half-hour later things had
quieted down, and all was much
the same as before the prisoners
had revolted--only we kept a
much closer watch on von Schoenvorts.
The Geier had sunk while we were
still battling upon our deck,
and afterward we had drawn away
toward the north, leaving the
survivors to the attention of
the single boat which had been
making its way toward us when
Olson launched the torpedo. I
suppose the poor devils never
reached land, and if they did,
they most probably perished on
that cold and unhospitable shore;
but I couldn't permit them aboard
the U-33. We had all the Germans
we could take care of.
That evening the girl asked
permission to go on deck. She
said that she felt the effects
of long confinement below, and
I readily granted her request.
I could not understand her, and
I craved an opportunity to 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 at our bows and the two
long radiating swells running
far off into the distance upon
either hand astern, forming a
great V which our propellers
filled with choppy waves. Benson
was in the tower, we were bound
for San Diego and all looked
well.
Lys stood with a heavy blanket
wrapped around her slender figure,
and as I approached her, she
half turned toward me to see
who it was. When she recognized
me, she immediately turned away.
"I want to thank you," I said, "for
your bravery and loyalty--you
were magnificent. I am sorry
that you had reason before to
think that I doubted you."
"You did doubt me," she replied
in a level voice. "You practically
accused 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
reported having seen you in conversation
with von Schoenvorts late at
night upon two separate occasions--after
each of which some great damage
was found done us in the morning.
I didn't want to doubt you; but
I carried all the responsibility
of the lives of these men, of
the safety of the ship, of your
life and mine. I had to watch
you, and I had to put you on
your guard against a repetition
of your madness."
She was looking at me now with
those great eyes of hers, very
wide and round.
"Who told you that I spoke
with Baron von Schoenvorts at
night, or any other time?" she
asked.
"I cannot tell you, Lys," I
replied, "but it came to me from
two different sources."
"Then two men have lied," she
asserted without heat. "I have
not spoken to Baron von Schoenvorts
other than in your presence when
first we came aboard the U-33.
And please, when you address
me, remember that 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 the hot, 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 me
swear inwardly a thousand solemn
oaths that I would win her.
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