CHAPTER XVII
THE HUMOROUS ADVENTURE
"Abandon ship, eh?" thought Darrin, springing to complete his toilet.
In his civilian attire he hastened down the passage-way and up to thespar deck. And here, as he would also have seen had he looked aft, aremarkable scene was being enacted.
At the first sound of the whistle, which had now begun its wailing anew,the crew had sprung to clear the boats for launching.
"Will I be in the way on the bridge?" Dave called up.
"Come right up," Dan nodded.
Darrin was beside his friend in a jiffy.
"Over there," said Dalzell, nodding.
Off to starboard about a mile distant, a German submarine lay rolling.In the morning light the tower stood out against the horizon, magnifiedin size. The submersible's deck also showed, with sailors standing bythe forward and after guns.
"We'll get a shell in a moment," spoke Dalzell, calmly, as the secondsounding of the whistle signal ended.
Though the "Prince" carried wireless apparatus for installing at need,no sign of it was visible in the form of aerials and connections, so thefirst shell was aimed not at the foremast, but at the single broad, tallsmoke-stack. It missed by only a foot and went screaming to port.
For the third time the "Prince's" whistle sounded, "Abandon ship."Members of the crew sprang up into two of the boats. A few men wholooked like civilian passengers hastily followed. Then a feminine bevyraced out on deck.
"I thought so," said Darrin, nodding comprehendingly. "Dan, you'veeverything here but the children."
Those who had already entered the boats now turned to help the wearersof skirts. The two boats were swung out. After that, a third boat,similarly loaded, was also swung out on the davits. Blocks and fallscreaked as the boats and their human freight were lowered.
Fortunately, the sea was not rough. All of the boats reached the watersafely and rowed away.
From the submarine a puff of smoke at the muzzle of the after gunannounced the rushing departure of another shell. This missile struckthe water barely fifty feet in advance of one of the boats, butdisappeared without doing any harm.
"At their old, dirty tricks of terrorizing and murdering passengers inthe small boats!" muttered Dan Dalzell, savagely. "And yet, at one time,there were Americans who wondered why we entered this war!"
For a fourth time the "Prince's" whistle began its serial wail. Now,however--clever ruse!--the whistle's sound was feebler, the jets of whitesteam smaller and fainter. It looked as though the boilers had beenemptied of steam.
"Heinie von dem Sub has concluded that we're a dead proposition,"chuckled Dalzell, as the submarine, instead of firing other shots atonce, moved in closer. On she came, this dirty, gray pest of the sea,until she was within three hundred yards.
"Abandon completely before we sink you!" was the message signalled fromthe enemy. "Your captain and chief engineer must come aboard us with allship's instruments and papers."
"Shake out the signal, 'Your message understood,'" shouted Dan from thebridge.
After a moment the flags composing the signal were started toward the"Prince's" foremast head.
As Darrin turned from watching the submarine he beheld naval gunners,this time in uniform, and with Ensign Peters in charge, taking the rangecarefully.
At some signal that Darrin did not catch, a whistle sounded shrilly.Now, from the deckhouse below a detachment of Uncle Sam's jackies inuniform dashed out.
"Open ports!" called Ensign Peters, as some of the men sprang to theguns.
All in a jiffy the sliding doors in the bulwarks were shoved back andgun muzzles were run out. Crisply the orders issued. Within a fewseconds the first gun spoke, and right after it the other two.
One of the shots struck the submarine's hull aft, ripping off severalplates.
"Hurrah!" yelled Dalzell. "Now, let's see 'em try to dive. But fire fastand straight, before the Huns take it out of our people in the smallboats!"
One shot the enemy fired, aimed at one of the "Prince's" guns. Over thetop of the bulwarks it went, missing them by only a few feet.
That was a game at which two could play. Ensign Peters aimed a gun atthe base of the submersible's forward gun. A cheer of joy went upforward on the tramp steamer when it was seen that a hit had beenregistered as aimed. The enemy now had only his stern gun, and he swungquickly to bring it to bear.
Ensign Peters now aimed at the base of the stern gun. But he missed it,for, a second before, one of the other guns in the "Prince's" batteryhad struck the submarine just below the water line.
"Good enough!" roared Dalzell in trumpet tones. "Now, let's see therascal fight!"
Evidently in reply to signal or command all the sailors on the enemycraft ran to the conning tower and vanished inside.
"Called to see if they can repair the leak and submerge!" guessedDalzell, and passing his conjecture down to the gunners on the spar deckbelow. "Make submerging a cinch for them!"
Three more shots barked out, almost together. One went a shade wild, onehit the upper hull, but the third was planted just below the water-line.
"Good-bye!" called Dan, derisively.
Then the "Prince's" steam whistle, with a sufficiently good head ofsteam this time, sent the recall to the small boats, which immediatelyput about.
The submarine was sinking fast. Eight or ten men managed to get throughthe tower to the deck just before the pest sank out of sight.
"Some of those men are swimming," Dan shouted. "Stand by with lines!We'll give them a chance! More than they'd do for us, though!"
Several of the German swimmers sank at once. Perhaps they preferred todrown, fearing the tortures that their home papers declared were metedout to submarine sailors by officers of the Allied Powers.
Two enemy seamen, however, were found afloat as the "Prince" drew closerand lay to. Lines were cast to them, both catching hold. The swimmerswere then hauled aboard. Dan Dalzell went down to the spar deck in orderto question them.
Both were loutishly stupid in appearance, and plainly were badly scaredas well. Their ragged, oil-stained uniforms gave them the opposite ofsmart appearance.
"Do you men speak English?" Dan demanded, eyeing the pair as the deckwatch arraigned them before him.
The duller-looking of the pair shook his head, but the other replied:
"I speak id somedimes, a liddle."
"What craft was that you came from?" Dalzell queried.
"The U 193."
"How many ships have you sunk?"
"I vas not by der ship before dis cruise," replied the German.
"How long had you been out this time?"
"Zwelf (twelve) days."
"How many ships did you sink on this cruise?"
"You vas der first vun," said the man, dully.
"I think we'll survive our misfortune," smiled Dalzell, grimly. "Howmany submarines have you served on?"
"None, in dis var," was the answer.
"And you won't serve in any more during this war," rejoined Dan. "Don'tyou fellows feel like criminals, firing on women and children, andcommitting wilful and useless murder all over the high seas?"
"Vat?" demanded the fellow, stupidly. "Vat?"
Dan had to repeat the question in two or three different forms before itsank in.
"Chermany got to vin by der var," replied the seaman, with a shrug ofhis broad shoulders.
"Why don't you win, then, by fair fighting?"
"Chermany got to vin der var," the fellow replied, stolidly. "Der vay,it makes noddings."
By which he meant that Germany must win, but that the means by which shewon did not matter.
"Why must Germany win?" Dan demanded impatiently.
"Because Chermany is Chermany; because she is der ruler of der vorld,"came back the ready answer.
"If Germany is really the ruler of the world, she'll have to prove it,and take a century of hard fighting to do it," Dan clicked. "Has it everstruck you, my man, that Germany is
the bad-dog nation of the world?"
"Chermany is der fine, der great nation of der vorld," insisted theprisoner, stubbornly.
"Wouldn't a fine nation act like a fine nation?" demanded Dalzell."Wouldn't it respect the rights of other peoples? Wouldn't Germany, if afine nation, fight according to the rules of honor and decency, and notlike pirates?"
Again it required repetitions, in other words, to drive the query home.
"Chermany is Chermany," declared the stolid fellow. "Chermany must vinder var because Chermany must rule. It is right dot der Chermans shouldtell der rest of der vorld vat is. Vat Chermany must do to vin it isright for her to do, but vat you Amerigans do is wrong. You are onlypigs, und you help der pigs of English. You are all pigs, und Chermanyshall punish you good for vat you do!"
"When?" asked Dan, derisively.
"Negst year! You vait, you see! Den der var vill over be, und derAmerigans on deir knees shall be!"
"The war end next year?" Dan derided. "Not unless Germany has beenwhipped soundly by that time."
"Chermany cannot be vip'," insisted the prisoner. "Chermany, she alvaysfight! Blenty in dis var. Den, ven der var stop, she begin get readyagain, she get ready again to fight der negst var. Chermany cannot bevip', but Ameriga shall down mit her knees go, und Chermany shall saysvords dot Ameriga does not like to hear. You vait, you see! Chermany isder von real fighting gountry of der vorld. Not all der rest of dervorld can vip her! It cannot be done. Chermany over all!"
"And that's the whole story, from a German point of view," Dave mutteredin an undertone. "This fellow looks stupid, but his leaders are justabout as stupid. Isn't it a waste of time to talk with him, Danny?"
"I'm afraid it is," Dalzell nodded. "But this is the first chance I havehad to get a German's real view of the war. This fellow is too stupid toconceal anything, so he has told me the truth as he sees it. Yet, as yousay, Dave, it's the whole story, and he cannot tell me any more than hehas told if I should question him from now until midnight."
Then, to a petty officer:
"Take these fellows below and lock them in the brig. Place a guard overthem. See that they have the usual ship ration, and see that sufficientfresh water is offered them at all times. It's warm in the brig, so theycan take off their clothes until the garments are dry."
Stolidly the pair marched along, out of sight and hearing.
"'Chermany over all! Chermany must rule der vorld,'" Dan mimicked."We've got their number, David, little giant. Uncle Sam and hisinternational friends will have to kill, cripple or lock up most of themen of Germany before we can hope to knock the foolishness out of theirheads."
"Which we'll proceed to do so thoroughly," quoth Dave Darrin, "that,hereafter, not even a German head will be capable of holding suchfoolishness as they now talk!"