When, after some time, I came again to the surface there was nothing
more to be seen of the great, proud steamer. Among the wreckage and
corpses of the horses three boats were floating and occasionally fished
out a man still swimming in the sea. Now I came up on the surface
in order to assist the victims of the wrecked ship. When our boat's
mighty, whale-like hull suddenly arose out of the water, right in
their midst, a panic seized them again and quickly they grasped their
oars in order to try to flee. Not until I waved from the tower to them
with my handkerchief and cap did they rest on their oars and come over
to us. The state in which some of them were was exceedingly pitiful.
Several wore only white cotton trousers and had handkerchiefs wrapped
around their necks. The fixed provisions which each boat was required
to carry were not sufficient when the boat's crew was doubled and
trebled.
While I was conferring with our mess officer as to what we could
possibly dispense with of our own provisions we noticed to the north
and west some clouds of smoke which, to judge from the signs, were
coming towards us quickly. Immediately a thought flashed through my
head:
"Now they are looking for you. Now comes the whole swarm."
Already the typical masts of the British destroyers and trawlers arose
above the horizon. We, therefore, did not have a minute to lose in
order to escape these hostile and most dangerous enemies. I made my
decision quickly and called to the captain of the sunken steamer that
he could let one of the oncoming ships pick them up as I could not
spare the time, but had to go "north-east." Then I submerged--right in
front of the boats full of survivors.
(Here the captain graphically describes his escape from the British
fleet; how near they came to his capture. He relates many interesting
tales of the "Days of Terror," "A Lively Chase," matching wits "The
British Bull-dog," and the joy of "Homeward Bound."--EDITOR.)