Within the next few days the secret purchase by the Vice-Consul of
Vigo of the _Virgen del Socorro_ was an accomplished fact, and he had
had his first interview at Pampeluna with his old friend, Lieutenant
Koch. Other meetings followed, at intervals of a week or so, and
before the end of the month, thanks to a lavish "greasing" of palms,
the arrangements for the escape of the eleven officers and their
concentration with other fugitives at Vigo were all made. The captain
of the _Wehrt_, as surreptitiously as possible, bought inordinate
quantities of provisions and stores during July, in order that José and
the others might, at the opportune moment, tranship a part of them to
the _Virgen del Socorro_.
At last everything was ready. Nothing remained to be done but for
someone to send a signal from Pampeluna to the Vice-Consul at Vigo, who
was to pass it on to other quarters. But the signal, so eagerly awaited
on the appointed day, August 4th, never came!
Instead, two days later came a letter of explanation, stating that
Lieutenant Karl Koch had fallen ill at the critical moment. The plan
of escape, therefore, had to be indefinitely postponed. It was a
bitter disappointment to the Vice-Consul, who pictured himself being
reproached by his superiors for building castles in the air, if not
being saddled with the whole of the expenses. But he consoled himself,
in the presence of the captain of the _Wehrt_, with the argument that
it was "just as well, since it would allow the authorities time to go
to sleep." The astute seaman could not, however, quite agree with this.
He knew the advantage of fine weather for such a perilous voyage as the
one projected, and feared that if the escape were not effected soon it
might be too late or too full of risk to be worth undertaking.
Lieutenant Koch's illness dragged on for week after week. August went
by, September came, and the hopes of the Vice-Consul of Vigo fell lower
and lower. In the first three weeks in September the officer entered
the convalescent stage. One result of his breakdown was, indeed, in
his favor; he was allowed greater and greater liberty, and, on the
plea of taking the air, got out several times in a motor-car, with the
authorization of the governor and doctor of the prison and under the
discreet eye of an official. Soon even this supervision was relaxed,
and then, when October came in, the U-boat lieutenant saw the chance
for which he and his companions had been waiting. It was about this
time that the Vice-Consul of Vigo (now almost on the verge of despair)
unexpectedly received the long-awaited warning.