The leg I had broken aboard the _Cæsarea_ was scarcely well knit when
I broke the other leg. This was after I had shipped on the _Flying
Fish_. But let me jump ahead a few years and tell you this tale
exactly as I related it to the Emperor. That was after I had
realized my boyhood ambition and become a lieutenant commander in the
Imperial Navy.
H. M. S. _Kaiser_ was one of the proudest ships of the German Navy.
She was always kept spick and span. You can bet that she was shining
now. His Majesty was aboard for a visit. We sat in the saloon after
dinner, smoking, drinking, talking. For several days the Kaiser had
amused himself by having me tell stories of my adventures before the
mast. To-night the Emperor said to me:
"Luckner, what was your worst experience?"
I thought of the fight with the albatross, the scurvy and beri-beri
aboard the _Pinmore_, the flogging at the rope's end aboard the
_Cæsarea_, the three days in the dungeon in Chile, the setting of my
broken leg with block and tackle, the plan to draw lots and see whose
blood would be drunk in the drifting lifeboat.
"My worst time, Your Majesty? It was aboard Your Majesty's ship, the
_Panther_."
The _Panther_ was a small ship but a memorable one in the German
Navy. You will recall that it was the part she played in the Tangier
dispute of 1908 that nearly brought on a world war at that time.
Von Plessen, the stately old courtier, glared at me. An admiral
across from me scowled. The Emperor smiled.
"By thunder, you must tell me about it."