CHAPTER III--The Stranded Submarine
"No such luck," protested Sefton, until, reading the serious look in themedical officer's eyes, and now conscious of a commotion on deck as theship's company went to action stations, he started up, leapt from hisbunk, and hurriedly scrambled into his clothes.
Upon gaining the deck Sefton found that Stirling had exaggerated thefacts--he generally did, as a matter of fact. Just looming through thelight haze were half a dozen large grey forms emitting tell-tale columnsof smoke; for, combined with the lack of Welsh steam coal and inferiorstoking, the Huns generally managed to betray their whereabouts byvolumes of black vapour from their funnels.
The ships were now steaming in double column, line ahead, and, havingleft Smith's Knoll well on the starboard hand, were running on asoutherly course to clear Winterton Ridge.
"Off to Yarmouth, I'll swear," declared Crosthwaite. "The bounders havegot wind of the fact that our battle-cruisers are well up north."
The _Calder_ was now approaching the two trawlers. Grasping amegaphone, the lieutenant-commander hailed the skipper of the _Carse o'Gowrie_.
"German battle-cruisers in sight," he shouted. "You had better slip andclear out."
The tough old Scot shaded his eyes with a hairy, tanned hand and lookedin the direction of the hostile craft.
"I'll bide here, if ye have nae objection, sir," he replied. "After allthis fuss, fetchin' the cable an' all, I'm nae keen on dropping it agen.Maybe they'll tak no notice of us, thinking we're fisherfolk."
"The probability is that they'll sink you," said Crosthwaite, secretlygratified at the old man's bravery, and yet unwilling to have to leavethe trawlers to their fate.
"If they do, they do," replied the skipper unmoved. "It wouldna be thefirst by many a one. But sin' we hae the cable, here we bide."
Old Peter M'Kie was of a similar opinion. Sink or swim, he meant tostand by. The _Carse o' Gowrie_ and the _Dimpled Lassie_ were to remainwith the fished cable, since it was just possible that the Germans mighttake them for ordinary trawlers, as the boats showed no guns.
The lieutenant-commander of the destroyer saw that it was of no use toattempt to shake the resolution of the two skippers. After all, theystood a chance. By remaining quietly, and riding to the raised cable,they certainly had the appearance of fishing boats using their trawl,while any attempts at flight might result in unpleasant attentions fromthe number of torpedo-boats accompanying the German battle-cruisers.
Accordingly the _Calder_ slipped quietly away, keeping under the lee ofthe Haisborough Sands to avoid being spotted by the enemy vessels. Itwas a genuine case of discretion being the better part of valour.Although not a man of her crew would have blenched had orders been givento steam full speed ahead towards the huge German battle-cruisers,Crosthwaite realized that such a step would be utterly useless. Longbefore the destroyer could get within torpedo-range of the foe, shewould be swept clean and sent to the bottom under the concentrated fireof fifty or more quick-firers. Had it been night or thick weather the_Calder_ would no doubt have attempted to get home with her 21-inchtorpedoes. The risk would be worth running. But, as matters now stood,it would be sheer suicidal madness on her part, without the faintestchance of accomplishing anything to justify the attempt.
Meanwhile the destroyer was sending out wireless messages reporting thepresence of the raiders. Busy in exchanging wireless signals with theirfar-flung line of covering torpedo-boats, and with a couple of Zeppelinsthat flew high overhead, the German vessels made no attempt to "jam" the_Calder's_ aerial warning.
Constantly ready for action at very brief notice, the Britishbattle-squadrons were under weigh within a few minutes of the receipt ofthe _Calder's_ message, and Beatty's Cat Squadron was heading south-eastwith all possible speed before the first hostile gun thundered againstGreat Yarmouth.
"They've opened the one-sided ball," remarked Sefton as a dull boom fromthe now invisible German ships--a single report that was quickly takenup by other heavy weapons--was borne to the ears of the _Calder's_ crew."And, by Jove, Whit-Monday too."
"Yes," assented the doctor. "And ten to one the beach is crowded withholiday-makers. Before we left port, didn't we see some idiotic reportin the papers stating that the East Coast would be ready for holidayvisitors 'as usual'?"
"Let's hope the Huns will get cut off again," said the sub. "Another_Bluecher_ or two will make them sit up."
"They're too wary," replied the somewhat pessimistic medico. "They'vebeen warned that the coast is clear. Before the submarines from Harwichcan come up they'll be off. And with twelve hours of daylight in frontof them they'll be back long before our sixth destroyer flotilla canmake a night attack."
For nearly twenty minutes the officers and men listened in silence tothe furious bombardment. Several of the latter had homes in the townthat now lay exposed to the enemy guns. Realizing their helplessness,they could only hope that the damage done was no greater than that ofthe previous naval attack on the same place, and that this time the CatSquadron would intercept the raiders and exact a just and terribleretribution.
At length the firing ceased almost as suddenly as it had begun. In vainthe destroyer's crew waited long and anxiously for the renewal of thecannonade in the offing that would announce the gratifying news thatBeatty had once more intercepted the returning Huns.
At 20 knots the _Calder_ returned towards the position in which she hadleft the two trawlers. With feelings of relief it was seen that bothcraft were still afloat and apparently all well.
Suddenly one of the look-outs raised the shout of: "Submarine on thestarboard bow, sir!"
Without a moment's hesitation Crosthwaite telegraphed for full speed, atthe same time ordering the quartermaster to port helm.
A mile and a half away could be discerned the elongated conning-towerand partly housed twin periscopes of a large submarine, although why inbroad daylight the unterseeboot--for such she undoubtedly was--exposedher conning-tower above the surface was at first sight perplexing.
With the for'ard 4-inch quick-firer loaded and trained upon the meagretarget the _Calder_ leapt forward at a good 24 knots, ready at the firstsign of the submerging of the submarine to send a projectile crashinginto and pulverizing the thin steel plating of her conning-tower.
So intent was the lieutenant-commander upon his intended prey that hehad failed to notice the proximity of a black-and-white can buoy nowalmost on the starboard bow. It was not until Sefton reminded him ofthe fact that he realized that the destroyer was doing her level best topile herself upon the Haisborough Sands--a feat that the Germansubmarine had already accomplished to the rage and mortification of herofficers and crew.
Listing violently outwards, the destroyer swung round clear of thetreacherous shoal, and for the first time Crosthwaite was aware of theignominious predicament of the unterseeboot.
"The beggar may have a broadside torpedo-tube," he remarked to hissubordinate as he ordered the _Calder_ to be swung round, bows on to thestranded craft, speed having been reduced to give the destroyer moresteerage-way. "Give her a round with the for'ard gun. Plank a shell ahundred yards astern."
The shot had the desired effect. The conning-tower hatch was thrownopen, and the head and shoulders of a petty officer appeared. For a fewmoments he hesitated, looking thoroughly scared, then his hands wereextended above his head.
In this position of surrender he remained, until, finding that thedestroyer made no further attempt to shell the submarine, he emergedfrom the conning-tower. Two officers followed, and then the rest of thecrew--twenty-two all told. The officers stood upon the steel gratingsurrounding the conning-tower, for the tide had now fallen sufficientlyto allow the platform to show above water. The rest of the crew, wadingknee-deep, formed up in a sorry line upon the after part of the stillsubmerged hull, and, with uplifted hands, awaited the pleasure of theircaptors.
"Fetch 'em off, Mr. Sefton," ordered the lieutenant-commander. "Half of'em at a time."
/> The sub hastened to order away the boat. As he did so Dr. Stirlingnudged him and whispered in his ear:
"Shall I lend you a saw, old man?"
"A saw!" repeated Sefton in astonishment. "What on earth for?"
"Skipper said you were to bring half of them at a time," explained theirresponsible medico with a grin. "Better try the top half of each manfirst trip."
"That'll do, Pills," retorted the sub. "If it's surgery you're after,you had better do your own dirty work."
"Give way, lads," ordered the sub as the boat drew clear of the steelwall-side of the destroyer.
"We surrender make," declared the kapitan of the submarine as the boatranged up alongside. "We haf a leak sprung."
"WE SURRENDER MAKE.... WE HAF A LEAK SPRUNG"]]
"Sorry to hear it," rejoined Sefton.
"Is dat so?" enquired the perplexed German, mystified at his foe'ssolicitude.
"Yes," soliloquized the sub. "We would much rather have collared thestrafed submarine intact. We didn't bargain for her keel plates beingstove in.
"Now then!" he exclaimed. "I'll take eleven of you men first trip."
The coxwain and bowman of the boat deftly engaged their boat-hooks inconvenient projections of the submarine's conning-tower, while thespecified number of dejected and apprehensive Huns was received onboard.
Having delivered the first batch of prisoners on the destroyer, Seftonreturned, but, instead of immediately running alongside the prize, heordered his men to lie on their oars. With the boat drifting at adistance of twenty yards from the unterseeboot, the sub coolly awaiteddevelopments.
The Huns--officers and men alike--were far from cool. Gesticulatingwildly, they implored the sub to take them off. Never before had Seftonseen a greater anxiety on the part of the Germans to abandon their ship,and in the course of eleven months' service in the North Sea hisknowledge of the ways of the wily Hun was fairly extensive.
At length two of the submarine's crew, unable to restrain their panic,leapt overboard and struck out for the boat.
"Stand by with a stretcher, there, Jenkins," ordered Sefton. "Show themwhat we mean to do. Knock them over the knuckles if they attempt tograsp the gunwale."
"We surrender do, kamerad!" shouted the Huns in dolorous chorus, seeingtheir companions repelled from the waiting boat.
"Yes, I know," replied Sefton. "You've told me that already. A fewminutes' wait won't hurt you. There's plenty of time."
"Back oars!" ordered the sub, as the Germans, terrified beyond measure,slid from the submarine's deck into the water, officers and men strikingout frantically.
Thirty seconds later came the dull muffled sound of an explosion. Athin wreath of vapour issued from the open conning-tower.
"Not much of a bust-up that," exclaimed Sefton contemptuously. "Itwould not have flicked a fly from her deck. Well, I suppose I must takethe beggars into the boat."
The lightness of the explosion had also astonished the German officers.Adopting their usual procedure they had fixed three detonators in thehull of the stranded vessel, and upon the approach of the _Calder's_boat the second time they had lighted the four-minute time-fuses.
Sefton, guessing rightly what had been done, had resolved to give theHuns, not a bad quarter of an hour, but a worse three minutes. He, too,expected to see the submarine's hull disintegrated by a terrificexplosion.
On the boat's return to the destroyer with the rest of the prisoners,Sefton made his report to the lieutenant-commander.
"Can't blame them," declared Crosthwaite. "In similar circumstances wewould have done the same, but with better results, I hope. Send thatpetty officer aft; I want to speak to him."
The man indicated was, as luck would have it, the fellow responsible forlighting the fuses. Putting on his fiercest expression,Lieutenant-Commander Crosthwaite sternly taxed him with attempting todestroy the submarine after she had surrendered.
Taken aback, the man admitted that it was so.
"How many detonators?" asked Crosthwaite.
"Three, Herr Kapitan."
"And what time-fuses?"
"Four-minutes," was the reply.
"Then jolly rotten stuff," commented the lieutenant-commander as hemotioned for the prisoner to be removed below. "We'll give them anotherquarter of an hour before we board her."
The stated time passed without any signs of further internal explosions.The _Calder_ made good use of the interval, Harwich being communicatedwith by wireless, announcing the capture of the prize, and requestingtugs and lighters to be dispatched to assist the disabled U boat intoport.
"Now I think it's all O.K.," remarked Crosthwaite. "Sure you're keen onthe job?"
Sefton flushed under his tanned skin. His skipper was quick to noticethat he had blundered.
"Sorry!" he said apologetically. "Ought to have jolly well known youbetter. Off you go, and good luck. By the by, take a volunteer crew."
Of the seventy men of the _Calder_ every one would have unhesitatinglyfollowed the sub. Asking for volunteers for a hazardous service wasmerely a matter of form. There was quite a mild contest to take part inthe operations of boarding the submarine.
By this time the falling tide had left nearly the whole extent of thedeck dry. There were four hatchways in addition to the conning-tower,each of which was securely fastened. Through the open aperture in theconning-tower Sefton made his way. Below all was in darkness, for withthe explosion the electric lamps had been extinguished. A heavy reek ofpetrol fumes and sulphurous smoke scented the confined space.
The sub switched on the electric torch which he had taken the precautionto bring with him. The rays barely penetrated the smoke beyond a fewfeet.
"Phew!" he muttered. "Too jolly thick. It is a case for asmoke-helmet."
Back went the boat, returning in a short space of time with the requiredarticle. Donning the safety-helmet, one of the bluejackets descended,groped his way to the nearest hatchway and opened it.
An uninterrupted current of fresh air ensued, and in ten minutes themidship portion of the prize was practically free from noxious fumes.
"Blow me, Nobby," exclaimed one of the carpenter's crew, "did you eversee such a lash up? Strikes me they slung this old hooker together in abit of a hurry."
The shipwright's contemptuous reference to the Teuton constructor's artwas justified. The submarine had every appearance of being roughlybuilt in sections and bolted together. Everything pointed to hurriedand makeshift work.
Under the engine beds Sefton discovered two unexploded detonators. Theone that had gone off was "something of a dud", for the explosive forcewas very feeble--insufficient even to start any of the hull plating.But it had performed a useful service to the British prize crew: theblast had detached the time-fuses from the remaining gun-cotton charges,and had thus preserved the submarine from total destruction.
Nevertheless Sefton heaved a sigh of relief as the two detonators weredropped overboard. Guncotton, especially German-made stuff, was apt toplay peculiar tricks.
The fore and after compartments or sub-divisions of the hull were closedby means of watertight doors in the bulkheads. The foremost was foundto have four feet of water--the same depth as that of the sea over thebank on which the vessel had stranded. It was here that the plates hadbeen started when the U boat made her unlucky acquaintance with theHaisborough Shoal.
Flashing his torch upon the oily surface of the water, Sefton made abrief examination. On either side of the bulging framework were tiersof bunks. This compartment, then, was the sleeping-quarters of thesubmarine's crew. Of torpedo-tubes there were no signs; nor were theseto be found anywhere else on board. Aft was a "gantry" communicatingwith an ingeniously contrived air-lock. The submarine was not designedfor torpedo work but for an even more sinister task: that ofmine-laying. Not a single globe of latent destruction remained onboard. Already the U boat had sown her crop of death; would there betime to destroy the harvest?