Suddenly a ship comes in sight. Its smoke is like a black line drawn
on the horizon. A bell rings. It is a signal for each man to be at his
post. The U-39 slowly rises to the surface. A last look is given at
the mirror of the periscope; no English coast guard is in sight. So
everything is ready for action. We hear the command, "Empty the water
cistern." Freed from her ballast, the submarine rises to the surface.
"Both engines ahead at full speed!" The boat cleaves her way through
the water that cascades her sides with foam. In a short time the ship
is reached. The submarine hoists her flag and fires a cannon shot. No
flag betrays the nationality of the captured ship, but we can read the
name, _Gadsby_, on her side. She is English. We signal that her whole
crew is to take to the lifeboats, and quickly! At any moment we may be
surprised.
Through the megaphone we indicate to the men the nearest way to land;
then a cannon shot, then a second one. The captured ship, after
pitching for a while, sinks.
The time necessary for the sinking of a ship differs considerably in
different cases. Some disappear in five minutes, others float for
several hours. The finest spectacle I witnessed was the sinking of
the _Fiery Cross_. The crew received orders to get off in the boats.
Some of our men rowed up close to the abandoned ship and attached
hand grenades to her sides. They were fired and the three-master was
blown up with all her sails spread and set. The hull and the rigging
went down to the depths, but the sails spread out on the surface of
the water like so many little fields of polar ice. Eleven ships were
destroyed during my stay on board. Quite a number of others were
captured, besides these, but they were let go again.
This trip, which I shall never forget, lasted twelve days. It was
dangerous, but it was exciting and so fine that I would not have missed
it for anything in the world.