THE 'PHANTOM SHIP' IN A TRAP
At the mouth of Tralee Bay we met a stiff north wind, and here and there
the waves were topped with foam. A couple of small steamers deeply laden
were crawling along northwards, hugging the coast, for they were too
much afraid of the German submarines to venture out on the open sea. The
second one was a Norwegian--'like ourselves.' The name was, on account
of the distance, unreadable, but the shape of the vessel was devilishly
like that of the _Aud_. I wonder if this was the real _Aud_, which was
due back from the Mediterranean just about this time. It would have been
a nice _rencontre_ for us. Unfortunately, I was unable even afterwards
to ascertain the facts. The only information about our double that
reached me was a newspaper article some months later which stated that
the Norwegian steamer _Aud_, from Bergen, had been torpedoed and sunk on
the 2nd of October of the same year.
Favoured by wind and current, we were now steaming at a good speed into
the Atlantic, slowly but surely turning away from the coast so as to
raise no suspicion. Shall we succeed?... I would really have preferred
to see the sky overcast and a good high sea running. That would have
been the best protection against the English patrol ships. It was,
however, now and afterwards, most beautiful clear weather. Not a wisp of
smoke was visible on the horizon. We had still nearly four hours of
daylight in front of us.
I need not tell how anxiously we all waited for the sun to go down.
In view of our successful flight from Tralee the crew were already busy
with plans for the future. They thought we could now start at once on
our war with the dummy guns. They were so pleased with the imminent
prospect of commerce-raiding that they sang all sorts of lively songs to
the accompaniment of a concertina, and in order to avoid spoiling their
fun I did not let them notice how little enthusiasm I have for concerts
of this sort.
Towards 6 p.m., a smoke-cloud was noticed in the south-west, which grew
larger every moment and rapidly came nearer. Soon afterwards we noticed
a second smoke-cloud, and it came so close after the first that it was
evidently from the same vessel. So we had a two-funnelled steamer ahead
of us. Then the mastheads came in view, the wireless-masts, and the
spotting-top. There could be no doubt about it--she was an English
warship. We estimated that she was doing at least twenty knots. If we
now tried to run away at our tramp-steamer speed she would catch us in a
hour--if she did not honour us before then with a shell. So carry on!
only cool heads could help us now--together with a fair amount of
impudence.
The warship was travelling at top speed, and it was not long before her
upper works and then the whole of her hull came into view. It was an
auxiliary cruiser, one of the fast channel steamers which in peace-time
ply between England and France. By this time we were, of course, at
action stations on board the _Aud_; that is to say, all preparations had
been made for blowing up the ship, the suspicious material was all
packed away in the 'magic-box,' the engines were at half-speed, and I
myself was marching dead slow up and down the bridge. We were once more
the old tramp-crew of a few days before.
The cruiser was no doubt one of those which had been warned some hours
previously by the wireless-ship. What we had to expect this time was, at
the very least, a thorough examination of the vessel. And even if we
came successfully through this we should probably be escorted to the
nearest port, where the suspicious _Aud_ would be unloaded and her cargo
of munitions revealed. Now followed some minutes of tense expectation.
Only half a mile separated us from the cruiser. Her armament, consisting
of several 4.5 guns and a number of machine-guns, was clearly visible.
We expected she would come within hailing distance. But she did not.
Instead of that she steamed alongside us in a zigzag course for about
ten minutes. The signal we were expecting never came. Nearly her whole
crew stood on deck, gazing at us with curiosity. We went ahead as if it
were no concern of ours. But who can describe our astonishment when the
English ship, as if she had seen all she wanted to see, turned sharply
east and steamed off as she had come, at top speed! Now, what did this
mean? We had no idea at that time that it was the fear of our imaginary
'heavy guns,' our 'torpedoes,' and the 'submarines that were escorting
us,' that had kept the cruiser at a distance and had sent her off
post-haste for reinforcements! Unfortunately, these were not long in
coming up. The sun was now low down in the west and threw such a
dazzling glare on the water that it was actually painful to scan the
horizon. In doing so we soon made the unpleasant discovery that our
cruiser was not the only ship in view. Almost ahead, a little on the
starboard bow, another English ship was coming up, and to
starboard--yes, what the devil was that? Ahead, astern, in fact all
round us, we could see smoke clouds, which, as was soon evident, came
from other monsters similar to the first. All auxiliary cruisers, and
all of the same type. All the steamers of the channel service seemed to
have been concentrated against us.[15]
There was no necessity for deliberation. We were hemmed in all round,
and there was no way out. All these ships, armed with guns and
machine-guns, against our little _Aud_, whose sole armament consisted of
a couple of wooden cannon. And still these fellows appeared to be
horribly afraid of us, for they still kept their distance, zigzagging
round us. It showed that they expected at any moment a shell or a
torpedo. I really had to laugh at these heroes of the sea.
As nobody had yet barred our way we kept on our course at the same
speed. Something is bound to happen, said I to myself, for this can
hardly be intended as a guard of honour. And something did happen at
last. Shortly after seven o'clock the cruiser which we had first sighted
came so close that we could easily read her name--_Bluebell_. At the
same time she ran up a signal, 'Stop at once.' The other ships kept at a
respectful distance, their guns cleared for action. We were prepared for
all eventualities. On the forecastle-head the ship's dog was barking as
if mad. His instinct told him that he had to play his rôle very
carefully now. As soon as I stopped the ship other signals followed:
'What ship is that?' 'Where are you from?' 'Where are you bound for?'
I could not now give Cardiff as my immediate destination, as we had gone
too far off the course. So, in order to give a credible answer, I
replied 'Genoa and Naples.' For, in case of necessity, we still had on
board a number of doors and window-frames bearing this address. I had
retained them at the time with a view to building a deck-house in order
to alter our appearance if necessary. In hoisting the signal one of my
crew intentionally broke the signal halliards. This was a brilliant
idea, for every moment's delay might be important. Even if no U-boat
came to our help, the darkness which was rapidly falling might save us.
A tramp steamer like the _Aud_ could not be expected to have spare
signal halliards. In order to convince the English of our willingness,
however, we hung out, one after the other, from the bridge the flags
that composed the message. In this cumbersome fashion we signalled
backwards and forwards for about a quarter of an hour. Then came a long
pause, during which the searchlights on the _Bluebell_ were used in
order to communicate with the other ships. The continual crackling from
her aerials proved also that wireless was being used. Other ships had in
the meantime come on the scene, and the commander of this flotilla
appeared to be on board one of them, for the signals from all the ships
were now directed to this particular cruiser. All of a sudden the
_Bluebell_ signalled to us 'Proceed!'
We were prepared for anything--except that we should be let go
scot-free. We did not wait to be told twice, and in a few moments the
_Aud_ was again under way. In order to conclude the affair in the
approved manner, I ordered the first mate to dip our flag slowly and
respectfully, which visibly impressed the English, for they returned our
salute most courteously. It really appeared as if these English folk
were convinced that we actually were the Norwegian _Aud_, as we had
stated. All the same, I did not feel too easy in my mind as we steamed
away. I could not persuade myself that we had bluffed this lot also,
especially as they had not only been warned but actually been sent to
intercept us, as was clear from the catechism we had just gone through.
When we had gone some distance I therefore ordered the speed to be
gradually increased, so that we should get away as quickly as possible
from the enemy.
We did not need to worry very long. We had already put a considerable
distance between us. The cruisers had stopped and now lay like a swarm
of locusts in one spot, apparently holding a council of war. Eight bells
had just been struck, when there was a commotion astern of us. The whole
swarm suddenly turned south and came racing after us like a pack of
hounds. At the mast of the leading vessel flew the familiar signal,
'Stop at once.' For the second time I stopped the engines and waited
events--for unfortunately no other course was open to us. If we had not
stopped they would have set about us at once. I waited for perhaps five
minutes, and as nothing else happened in that time beyond the fact that
the enemy had come considerably nearer, I got a bit impatient and
signalled, 'Why?' Instead of answering our signal our old friend the
_Bluebell_ steamed to within 150 yards of us, stopped, and prepared to
lower the cutter. Two officers and about twelve seamen, all armed to the
teeth, had taken their places in it. So here was the prize crew at last!
A load fell from all our hearts, for there was an excellent prospect
that we might escape during the night while Fastnet or Queenstown waited
for us in vain. When I shouted down to the deck, 'Look out! Prize crew
coming,' the mate grinned all over his face. And others grinned with
him, for now, as they said, there was a chance of doing something at
last.
During this time the chief engineer was busy forward repairing a steam
winch, and in order to see if it was working again he let it run for a
moment. It may have been because of this noise, or because the English
mistook some empty tin or other floating object for a periscope--at any
rate immediately the winch started we heard shouts all round us mingled
with the ringing of engine-room telegraphs, and next moment the whole
flotilla scattered as if struck by lightning.[16]
Once more we were all alone on the sea. This was a cat-and-mouse game
with a vengeance. In order to put an end to the business I now
signalled, 'May I proceed?' The answer was 'Wait.' While the cruisers
slowly approached again, I signalled, 'Please inform me why.' This time
there was a long pause before the reply came. And a very unpleasant
reply it was: 'Follow me to Queenstown; course, south, 63° east.'
Curse it--they had got suspicious! Our fate was now decided.
With a prize crew on board, which would have been dealt with according
to plan, we might have gained the high seas during the night; but with
an escort of armed fast steamers this was out of the question. Even in
thick fog and the darkness of night it is very doubtful if we could have
broken away from our escort.
Now, as in the case of all the other signals, I answered first with,
'Don't understand,' for my only aim now was to gain time and try to get
them to put a prize crew on board. In that case an escort would have
been unnecessary. The cruiser really made every effort to make his
signal intelligible.
But the more trouble he took the less understanding we showed. We seemed
to have lost every shred of intelligence on board the _Aud_. In justice
to them, I must confess that the crew of the _Bluebell_ did their best
to help us; they tugged like mad at the signal halliards, and altered
course over and over again, in order to let their flags blow out in the
wind. But all in vain! Nothing could make us understand what they
wanted!
The English did not appear to notice that we were fooling them, for
(greatly daring) they came so close to us that the most shortsighted
could have read the message. But I only shook my head, held the
signal-book aloft, and pointed to it with my finger, to indicate that
this signal was not given in our book. Then the _Bluebell_ plucked up
courage and approached very, very carefully to within fifty yards of us.
While this ridiculous exchange of signals was going on it had gradually
become dark, so that it really was difficult now to read the signals.
The _Bluebell_ noticed this, for we now saw a man with a huge megaphone
preparing to shout something to us from the bridge. In order to
forestall him, I shouted, 'Shall I let down a ladder for your prize
crew?' Instead of answering my question, the _Bluebell_ sheered off
about forty yards from us, and her officers showed us by all sorts of
pantomime that they had no intention of sending a boat. My very friendly
invitation had failed.
If we had only known what a mysterious ship we were supposed to be, the
armament and U-boat escort that we were credited with, many things would
have been more intelligible to us. As I read to-day the English papers
of those days, I come upon the most incredible reports in regard to our
little _Aud_. 'The Mystery Ship,' 'The Flying Dutchman,' and other scare
headlines followed by the most fantastic accounts prove what excitement
the _Aud_ caused in England, and, above all, among the vessels of the
coast-patrol.
The other cruisers had meanwhile formed a ring round us. On some the
guns were manned and ready to fire at us. At the slightest hostile move
on our part we should have been riddled like a sieve. Aboard the
_Bluebell_ a diminutive lieutenant was now enthroned on the signalling
bridge, armed with a gigantic megaphone through which he continued to
shout, 'Fol-low-me-to-Quee-ee-eenstown.--South--sixty-three--east!' This
was repeated time after time, but always with the same negative result.
This farce might have gone on all night, and I was beginning to get
tired of it. And the English captain also appeared to be losing
patience, for I saw him sign to the speaker to come down. Then we heard
a few curt orders. The cruiser passed us on the port side. The next
moment there was a flash, and a shell from the _Bluebell_'s forward gun
burst in front of our bows. As we were directly in his line of fire we
were all stupefied for a moment by the violence of the concussion.
In plain English this meant, 'The farce is finished. Curtain!' As we
were not very anxious for any more shells (the next would most certainly
go, not across our bow, but into it), I shouted loud enough for the
English to hear, 'Full speed ahead, south, 63 east.' At the same time I
sent a message to the chief-engineer that I would hang him from the
yardarm if this 'full speed' rose above five knots.
We reckoned it out that at this speed we should reach Queenstown at ten
o'clock next morning. There was nothing left for us but to follow the
cruiser. Further resistance would have been useless. We therefore
wallowed along at a 'speed' of five knots behind the _Bluebell_, which
now took the lead, while the other ships spread out all round us. A
magnificent escort for us twenty-two men! The wind shifted to NNW. and
then died down, while the few clouds which were still in the sky
disappeared. With them disappeared our last hope of escape.
The _Bluebell_, as was to be expected, was not very pleased with our
speed. But all her protests (made by means of a signalling-lamp) did not
help a bit. The more his signals flashed the slower we became. The
conversation was very funny. For instead of using the electric
Morse-lamp we used a small paraffin lamp, making the dots and dashes by
holding a hand in front. This was, of course, an extremely cumbersome
method, and the ever-increasing rage of the English amused us immensely.
More than a dozen times they signalled 'Faster,' to which I replied at
first, 'Don't understand.' Afterwards I answered curtly, 'Impossible.'
'Why?' demanded the _Bluebell_.
'Engines broken down.'
Then a long pause--they were most probably debating how they might
compel us to increase our speed. After some time we were informed, 'If
you don't get up full speed at once I will make you.' This did not sound
very friendly, but I did not worry much, for I said to myself that,
after all the anxiety which the enemy had shown to get us to the nearest
port, they were not likely to fire at us. The most they would do would
be to send a prize crew on board, which was exactly what I wanted. Then,
even if the ships remained by us, their watchfulness would be certain to
relax. So instead of answering the threat I replied, 'Come and see for
yourself.' This was a piece of impudence, but it was just possible it
might prove our salvation.
To my chagrin, however, the English showed no desire to accept my
invitation. They resigned themselves to their fate, and we had very few
more signals from them. Our pace now became a crawl. With the patience
of sheep, they steamed along, zigzagging now to the left, now to the
right, evidently afraid we might discharge a torpedo at them any moment.
The various orders for altering course had all to be repeated about ten
times before we pretended to understand, and the _Bluebell_ took it all
without further protest.
FOOTNOTES:
[15] A few days later I learned through an English naval officer that
the wireless boat, when off Kerry Head, _i.e._ just after we weighed
anchor, had sent an urgent wireless message to Fastnet. The admiral in
command there at once sent out a whole swarm of auxiliary cruisers and
destroyers against us, about thirty vessels altogether. These boats, by
virtue of their great speed, were in a very short time able to form a
cordon from Fastnet to beyond the northern outlet from Tralee Bay. So
that we should have been caught in any case, no matter what course we
had taken.
[16] The English papers stated later, on the authority of authentic(!)
reports, that 'the captain of the _Bluebell_, on account of the heavy
seas, was unfortunately unable to launch a boat and send a prize crew on
board the _Aud_.' I wish to state emphatically, in contradiction, that
there was neither wind nor sea at the time.