“The motor boat reaches us, paying no attention to our apparatus, and
they take us on board. It is 5.45. We are recognized as Italians and
they take us to the ladder on the port side of the ship. A crowd of
sailors receives us at the top of the ladder. We feel it our duty to
shout ‘_Viva l’Italia!_’ This demonstration, contrary to what might be
expected, is received in a spirit rather more cordial than hostile.
To our surprise we notice the new Jugoslav insignia on the caps. We
are asked, in Venetian dialect, how we come to be here. We answer
(as Commander Ciano had suggested) that we lighted on the water in a
hydroplane which we had afterward sunk. In the meantime they are
escorting us aft. The friendly reception and the changed nationality
of the fleet cause us to hesitate a bit; we consult and come to a
decision, asking to speak with the Captain on a very important and
urgent matter. The Captain is called, and it is 6 o’clock when he
receives me in his cabin. I give him Dr. Paolucci’s knife, which I find
myself still holding, and inform him that his ship is in immediate and
very serious danger. The Captain inquires the nature of the serious
danger and asks if other ships are in the same peril. I answer that
I cannot disclose the nature of the danger and that no other ship is
involved.
[Illustration:
_Drawn by Joseph Cummings Chase._