'MYSTERY' CARGO AND CAMOUFLAGE EQUIPMENT
As Casement had expressed a very strong objection against accompanying
us in the _Libau_, it was finally decided to place a submarine at his
disposal. He had with him two companions, Lieutenant Monteith and the
Irish sergeant, Bailey. The latter turned out in the sequel to be a
thorough-paced scoundrel. The submarine was to put Casement, with his
companions, on board the _Libau_ at a rendezvous in Tralee Bay, and I
was then to proceed in under his instructions.
As a still further precaution against the aims and destination of the
_Libau_ becoming known, it had also been decided that I was on the
following day to leave Wilhelmshaven and proceed to the Baltic. The
goods-trains with our cargo of arms and munitions, which had been
waiting for days on the sidings of various stations in Central Germany,
without the railway authorities knowing anything about their
destination, were, the following night, ordered by telegram to Lübeck,
so that they arrived almost at the same time as we did.
By two o'clock in the afternoon we were on our way down the Jade.
Officers in command of guardships and barriers had had orders to let us
pass without hindrance or delay.
Off the 'Roter Sand' lighthouse, which so often in thick weather had
given us guidance--not seldom at the very last moment--the first
metamorphosis took place. The secret hatchway was opened and a couple of
large boxes brought up, the contents of which we proceeded to spread out
on deck. These consisted of complete outfits of clothing for the crew;
Norwegian uniforms, _i.e._ plain blue suits, caps, sweaters, linen, etc.,
all genuine down to the smallest detail. Even the black buttons were
stamped with the name of a Norwegian firm!
In a few minutes the dressing-up was complete, and the result was not
without its comic side, for, while some of us looked very like
Scandinavians, others looked like nothing on earth, for of course not
all the garments were adapted to the size of the wearers. One of the
stokers, a tall Bavarian, asked indignantly why the stokers did not get
fine big knives like the seamen. When I explained to him that these were
only for work, and that later on all would have proper daggers and
pistols, he was visibly reassured. One consequence of this metamorphosis
was that henceforward all military smartness of bearing and movement had
to be dropped, for in order to be able to play our parts properly we
must gradually accustom ourselves to tramp-ship ways. I had supposed
that this would come easy to the men, but that was not the case; and I
must say that, desirable as it was under present circumstances, I could
not help being pleased to see how extraordinarily difficult it was to
get rid of the military polish. I was sorry my former chief was not
there to observe it. However, they learned in time to drop the
heel-clicking, call me Cap'n, instead of 'Herr Leutnant,' talk a low
German lingo that might pass, at a pinch, for Norwegian, and let their
beards grow.
We signalled good-bye to a group of outpost boats on their way in, and
once more entered the Elbe. In the night we passed through the Kiel
Canal. Next morning saw us off the Bulk lightship, and a little later we
steamed, in glorious spring weather, through the Fehmarn Sound. A few
hours later we were in Lübeck.
In calling on the firm of shipping agents which had been entrusted with
the loading and outfitting of the _Libau_, I decided to assume my rôle
of merchant captain, but the first attempt was something of a fiasco.
Clad in the go-ashore kit proper to my status, I entered the private
office of the firm, only to be greeted with a respectful 'Good morning,
Commander'--a nasty jolt! I stuck to it, however, and the interview
passed through various stages of incredulity, indignation at my
avoidance of military service, and irritation at my boorish manners. In
the end, however, we understood each other excellently, and I here
record with gratitude the valuable aid I received from the firm and
their confidential employees in the fitting out of the _Libau_.
The main difficulty was the stowage of the cargo. Even allowing for the
quantities of coal and water which would be used in the course of the
voyage, the draft which we were not to exceed at our arrival in Ireland
was extremely small; and the cargo, in order to be capable of being, if
necessary, quickly got out, with very little in the way of help and
appliances, had to be stored in a manner contrary to accepted principles
and usages. As a result of that, the _Libau_ was so top-heavy that if we
encountered stormy weather, there was a great danger of her capsizing. I
had perforce, therefore, to make up my mind to increase the dead-weight,
which was already considerable, by another two hundred tons of coal.
That had, on the other hand, the advantage that I might quite possibly
find an excellent use for this 'ballast' later, and how necessary it
was, for the immediate purpose the sequel was to show. Without it we
should infallibly have been lost off the Rockalls.
As with all the people that we were obliged to employ, the stevedore's
men were all carefully chosen. After coal, provisions, water, and so
forth had been put on board, they got to work on the stowage of the
cargo. Piece by piece had to be lowered into the hold with the greatest
care, lest any of the cases should break, for it was highly important
that no one should know what was in them. The cases were, for this
reason, marked with the usual black and red shippers' marks. The men
must, of course, have smelt a rat, for what could be the object of
sending to sea at this time a German cargo-steamer with piece-goods
marked with names like Genoa and Naples? In any case, I thought it as
well to put it abroad here, too, that the _Libau_ was going to Libau!
Of course, this was whispered under the strictest seal of secrecy, for
then we could be sure that it would go all round the town. I myself let
out once in conversation that I was going to take troops aboard in
Libau, which were to carry out a 'coup' in Finland. That sounded quite
credible. No later than next morning I was asked confidentially by one
of the gentlemen who had to do with the fitting-out, whether it was true
that I was going to embark troops at Libau for Finland; it was, he said,
being reported in the town. Imagine my astonishment! I could only hope
that the rumour would come to the ears of some English spies, and if in
addition the Russians were on the look-out for us at Libau, then
everything was in the best possible train.
And now there suddenly appeared in the living-rooms of the _Libau_ all
sorts of genuine Norwegian equipment, whenever possible stamped with the
name of a firm; and even Norwegian books and the latest Christiania
papers. It was a pity, but it could not be avoided, that a number of
Scandinavian ships were lying in harbour with us. All suspicious objects
of any kind were now packed away in the hold with the 'entrance through
the sofa bunk,' the 'conjurer's box,' as the men christened it.
This 'conjurer's box' was to be very useful to us later. The whole of
the German equipment, which we had to have with us but were obliged
during the voyage to keep hidden from prying eyes--uniforms, arms,
explosive and incendiary bombs, all German nautical instruments, books,
charts, flags (including the numerous flags of foreign nations which we
might have to use)--all found their way into this compartment.
We had supplies enough, all told, to keep us easily for six months--with
the exception of coal, of course, which was calculated to last
forty-five days.
The lavishness of our equipment was in part due to the fact that we had
to have two or three sets of almost all articles of everyday
use--German, English, and, above all, Norwegian--from the compass down
to the smallest sardine-tin. In case the ship should be searched, any
small object of German origin, even a trouser-button with the name of a
German firm stamped on it, might serve to betray us.
Nothing was lacking. We even carried one of the curiously shaped
Norwegian whalers on deck. Arms, tools of every kind, electric
pocket-lamps, surgical dressings, a plentiful supply of bunting,
colours, brushes, and sail cloth, with which the appearance of the ship
could be altered as required, wood and cement for various purposes,
bed-linen, curtains, and crockery, in short, everything, just of the
kind used on Norwegian ships, was provided.
It need hardly be mentioned that we also possessed one or two German
naval ensigns and pendants. All tubs, chests, and tins of preserved meat
that bore Norwegian inscriptions, were assigned places in particularly
conspicuous positions.
We were especially well-found in the matter of ship's papers. Besides
German papers for our own consulates in neutral countries, which might
eventually come in useful, we had an excellently assorted stock of
Norwegian Ship's logs and Engine-room logs, Articles, Certificates,
Manifests, Bills of Lading, etc., on board, which served to authenticate
the ship, crew, and cargo, and whose genuineness was beyond suspicion.
In addition, there were a number of letters, including one of particular
interest from my hypothetical owners in Bergen. In this I was requested,
before leaving Christiania, to take on board with all speed a
consignment of pit-props for Cardiff, which had arrived at the last
moment, and on which my owners, in view of the keen demand in England,
expected to make a handsome profit. My owners also urged me strongly, in
contravention of the English regulations, not to follow the usual
steamer track, but to make a point of keeping clear of it, since it was
precisely on this track that the German submarines had lately been
making such terrible havoc. This letter might serve--provided I found
the right kind of idiot to work it off on--or at least might help, to
explain the unusual route which I was to follow.
After the main cargo, consisting of arms and munitions, had been got on
board, we proceeded to the stowing of the 'camouflage cargo.' This
consisted, in addition to the above-mentioned pit-props, of tin baths,
enamelled steel ware in cases, wooden doors, window frames, and similar
useful articles. These all bore shippers' marks, indicating their
destination as Genoa or Naples. It need hardly be mentioned that only
this camouflage cargo appeared on the manifest and bills of lading, for
its mission in life was to distract attention from our other and
dangerous cargo. For this reason also it was stored above the other
cargo, in such a way that it could only be moved with the greatest
difficulty, and it was only after penetrating several feet down that one
came to the munitions.
While these operations had been going on below, my first mate and his
men had been busily engaged in giving the ship the appearance of a
common tramp. Everywhere, both on hull and upper-works, shone patches of
red-lead, the number of which is generally in inverse proportion to the
size of the ship. To be in character, no stress was laid henceforward on
cleanliness or order.
The name _Libau_ had been painted out. Now that the rumour about our
intended landing in Finland had got round, it could, of course, cause no
surprise that we should conceal our name, for fear of Russian spies!
Meanwhile I had spent several days in Berlin, where all sorts of
important matters had still to be settled. It was even yet not certain
that the expedition would take place at all. In twenty-four hours more,
however, it was to be decided. Heavily laden with packages of all kinds,
I locked myself in, by way of precaution, in a reserved carriage, and
left Berlin accompanied by the best wishes of those interested in the
success of our voyage. On the very evening of my return, I received
telegraphic orders to proceed to sea. Thank Heavens, the uncertainty was
over at last.
Next morning we were ready for sea. The time of sailing I had, for
certain reasons, fixed at six p.m. As the very last item in our
equipment there was brought on board at midday a large dog, of quite
'unquestionable' breed. Old and decrepit as he was, he was nevertheless
a dog; and a dog is a thing that a tramp steamer cannot be without. So I
had hastily purchased him at the last moment.
The one thing still lacking to our completeness was some kind of
knowledge of the Norwegian tongue! For that we must look to the help of
Providence, not to mention--supposing the next few days allowed us
time--a pocket vocabulary which I had provided, to be on the safe side.
The absence of this linguistic knowledge could not disturb our
confidence; at the worst one could make shift to carry it off with
'Platt-Deutsch.'[2] The English are no great heroes in the linguistic
field. If it should be our lot to be examined later on by an English
ship which did not happen to have a Norwegian interpreter on
board--though that, of course, was a possibility on the Norwegian
coast--it was possible the bluff might come off.
FOOTNOTE:
[2] The Low-German dialect which is the 'home-tongue' of many of the
German seamen. It certainly sounds sufficiently different from ordinary
German to pass muster with an untrained ear as a different language.