[Illustration: cover]
THE "AYESHA"
[Illustration: VON MÜCKE]
_The_ "AYESHA"
BEING
THE ADVENTURES OF THE LANDING SQUAD
OF THE
"EMDEN"
BY
KAPITÄNLEUTNANT
HELLMUTH VON MÜCKE
TRANSLATED BY HELENE S. WHITE
[Illustration: Logo]
RITTER & COMPANY
BOSTON, MASS.
Copyright, 1917, by
RITTER & COMPANY
_All rights reserved, including the translation
into foreign languages, including the Scandinavian_
First Printing, January, 1917
Second Printing, February, 1917
THE · PLIMPTON · PRESS
NORWOOD · MASS · U · S · A
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE
The translator has so enjoyed rendering this little volume into
English, that she feels impelled to testify to the pleasure it gave
her, and to express a hope that it may find many readers who will
follow its record of valiant deeds with as great interest.
That men placed in almost daily peril of their lives can retain their
sense of humor and a kindly attitude toward men and circumstances
throughout a desperate struggle with adverse conditions is a happy
testimony to the buoyancy and to the superiority to the merely physical
that courage in the face of danger begets.
Although always bravely confident, there is an engaging ingenuousness
and freedom from self-conceit in Lieutenant von Mücke's delightful
recital of his amazing achievement, while his never failing
appreciation of the humorous side of the situation illumines the entire
narrative as with flashes of sunshine.
The translator desires also to acknowledge her indebtedness to an
earlier but unpublished translation of the book by Mrs. Anne Richmond
Vaughan.
HELENE S. WHITE
January, 4th, 1917.
FOREWORD
That TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION is amply illustrated in the
following gripping narrative. I have read practically all the stories
and yarns of this war, many in their original languages, but I have
found none to surpass this interesting tale. In the years to come, all
men, especially those "who go down to the sea in ships," will find
in these adventures some very profitable lessons in perseverance,
resourcefulness and courage. Although this feat may be dimmed by the
light of the major operations of the war, I predict that no reader who
has once started to read this book will fail to complete it, nor on
completion, will he fail to say that he has enjoyed a most interesting
series of adventures.
J. H. KLEIN, JR.,
_Lieutenant, U.S. Navy_.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
3 January, 1917
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. KEELING ISLAND 1
II. THE _AYESHA_ 12
III. ON BOARD 27
IV. A FINE DAY ON BOARD 39
V. AN UNEASY DAY 45
VI. PADANG 53
VII. THE MEETING WITH THE _CHOISING_ 76
VIII. THE PASSING OF THE _AYESHA_ 88
IX. FROM PERIM TO HODEIDA 98
X. ON TO SANAA 121
XI. SHIPWRECK 140
XII. THE ATTACK 160
XIII. TO THE RAILROAD 204
XIV. HOMEWARD BOUND 220
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Kapitänleutnant von Mücke (after his return) _Frontispiece_
The _Ayesha_ _page_ 16
Von Mücke (from an earlier photograph) " 72
View of Hodeida }
Crossing the Desert} " 132
Map of Arabia " 166
Map showing the entire trip from Keeling
Islands to Constantinople " 218
THE "AYESHA"
CHAPTER I
_KEELING ISLAND_
"I report for duty the landing squad from the ship,--three officers,
six petty officers, and forty men strong."
It was on the ninth of November, 1914, at six o'clock in the morning
that I reported for duty to the commanding officer of His Majesty's
ship, _Emden_, Captain von Mueller, at the gangway of the ship. The
_Emden_ was lying at anchor in Port Refuge, a harbor formed by Keeling
Reefs. Alongside were the two cutters in which the officers and men of
the landing squad had already taken their places. The steam launch was
ready to push off and tow them ashore. My orders were to destroy the
wireless telegraph and cable station on Direction Island, which is the
most northerly island of the Keeling group, and to bring back with me,
in so far as possible, all signal books, secret code books, and the
like.
Three cables run from Direction Island, one line to Mauritius, another
to Perth in Australia, and a third to Batavia. As this station was
the last absolutely British connection between Australia and the
motherland--the other cables having been cut by some of the other ships
of our cruising fleet--we had every reason to suppose that we would
meet with vigorous military resistance. For this reason we were taking
with us all of the four machine guns that the _Emden_ carried. Two were
aboard the steam launch, the others had been put on the cutters. The
men were equipped with rifles, side arms, and pistols. The launch took
the cutters in tow, and we were off for Direction Island.
Even quite small boats must pick their way very carefully while within
the waters of this atoll,[1] in order to avoid the numerous, constantly
changing coral reefs. The course that we were to take from the ship to
the point at which we were to land, covered a distance of about 3000
meters.
Direction Island is very flat, and is covered with a luxuriant growth
of tall palms. Among their towering tops we could discern the roofs of
the European houses and the high tower of the wireless station. This
was our objective point, and I gave orders to steer directly for it.
Just below our landing place a small white sailing vessel was riding at
anchor.
"Shall we destroy that, too?" inquired one of my lieutenants, pointing
to the little schooner.
"Certainly," was my answer. "It has sailed on its last voyage. Detail a
man at once to be ready with the explosive cartridges."
With our machine guns and fire-arms ready for action, we landed at a
little dock on the beach, without meeting with resistance of any kind,
and, falling into step, we promptly proceeded to the wireless station.
The destruction of the little white sail-boat was deferred for the time
being, as I wished first of all to find out how affairs on shore would
develop.
We quickly found the telegraph building and the wireless station,
took possession of both of them, and so prevented any attempt to send
signals. Then I got hold of one of the Englishmen who were swarming
about us, and ordered him to summon the director of the station, who
soon made his appearance,--a very agreeable and portly gentleman.
"I have orders to destroy the wireless and telegraph station, and I
advise you to make no resistance. It will be to your own interest,
moreover, to hand over the keys of the several houses at once, as that
will relieve me of the necessity of forcing the doors. All fire-arms
in your possession are to be delivered immediately. All Europeans on
the island are to assemble in the square in front of the telegraph
building."
The director seemed to accept the situation very calmly. He assured me
that he had not the least intention of resisting, and then produced
a huge bunch of keys from out his pocket, pointed out the houses in
which there was electric apparatus of which we had as yet not taken
possession, and finished with the remark: "And now, please accept my
congratulations."
"Congratulations! Well, what for?" I asked with some surprise.
"The Iron Cross has been conferred on you. We learned of it from the
Reuter telegram that has just been sent on."
We now set to work to tear down the wireless tower. The men in charge
of the torpedoes quickly set them in place. The stays that supported
the tower were demolished first, and then the tower itself was brought
down and chopped into kindling wood. In the telegraph rooms the Morse
machines were still ticking busily. What the messages were we could not
decipher, for they were all in secret code. But we chuckled with both
amusement and satisfaction as we pictured to ourselves the astonishment
of the senders, who were waiting in vain for a reply to their messages,
for, from the vigorous action of the apparatus, we concluded that some
information was eagerly desired. But this, to our regret, it was not in
our power to furnish.
Our next duty was quite to the taste of my vigorous boys in blue. A
couple of heavy axes were soon found, and, in a few minutes, Morse
apparatus, ink bottles, table legs, cable ends, and the like were
flying about the room. "Do the work thoroughly!" had been our orders.
Every nook and corner were searched for reserve apparatus and other
like matter, and everything that bore any semblance of usefulness in a
wireless station was soon destroyed. Unfortunately this fate was shared
by a seismometer that had been set up on the island. In their zeal my
men had mistaken it for a lately invented addition to the telegraph
service.
To locate and cut the submarine cables was the most difficult part
of our task. A chart, showing the directions in which the cables
extended, was not to be found in the station, but close to the shore we
discovered a number of sign-boards bearing the inscription, "Cables."
This, therefore, must be the place where we must search for the ends of
the cable strands. Back and forth the steam launch carried us over the
cables that were plainly to be seen in the clear water as we tried to
grasp them with a couple of drags and heavy dredging hooks, which we
drew along the bottom. It was no light task, for the cables were very
heavy, and the only power at our command was a very limited amount of
human strength. For a while, it seemed impossible to draw the cables to
the surface; in the end, after we had succeeded in raising the bight
of the cable a little, my men had to get into the water, dive, and tie
tackle to it, by the aid of which we continued our labor. With great
difficulty we at length succeeded in getting the cable strands into
the boat. I did not want to use any of the dynamite cartridges for the
work of destruction, as the _Emden_ might have need of them for the
sinking of more steamers. So we set to work upon the stout cables with
crowbars, axes, driving chisels, and other like implements. After long
and weary labor, we succeeded in cutting through two of them, and we
then dragged the ends out to sea, and dropped them there. The third
cable was not to be found in spite of our diligent search for it.
A small house of corrugated iron, in which were stored quantities of
reserve apparatus and all sorts of duplicate parts, was blown up and
set on fire with a couple of explosive cartridges. All newspapers,
books, Morse tapes, and the like, we took away with us.
Our landing squad was just about to re-embark when, from the _Emden_,
came the signal "Hurry your work." I quickly summoned my men, abandoned
my intention of blowing up the small white schooner as a matter of
little importance, and was on the point of pushing off from shore,
when it was reported to me: "The _Emden_ has just sounded her siren."
This was the command to return to the ship with the utmost despatch.
As I was boarding the steam launch, I saw that the anchor flag of the
_Emden_ was flying at half mast, which told us that she was weighing
anchor. The reason for this great haste was a mystery to me, and,
for the present, was no concern of mine. All my effort was bent upon
getting back to the ship as speedily as possible. With all steam on we
raced toward the _Emden_, taking the shortest course between the reefs.
Meanwhile, the _Emden_ had turned seaward, and was running at high
speed out of the harbor. My first thought was that she was going to
meet our tender, the _Buresk_, that had been ordered here with coal,
and which, I supposed, she was going to pilot through the reefs. In
this belief I continued to follow the _Emden_ as fast as I could, but
was surprised to find her going at a speed of from sixteen to seventeen
miles. Our launch, with the heavily laden cutters in tow, could make
barely four miles an hour.
Suddenly we saw the battle flags on the _Emden_ run up, and then a
broadside burst from her starboard. Even yet the reason for all this
was hidden from me, and I believed the _Emden_ to be in pursuit of a
steamer that had come in view.
But now a salvo of five heavy shells struck the water just aft of
the _Emden_; five tall waterspouts marked the places where they fell
into the sea. There was no longer any room for doubt; we knew that a
battle was on in earnest. The _Emden's_ opponent we could not see,
for the island, with its tall palms, was between us. The _Emden_, in
the meantime, had increased her distance from us to several thousand
meters, and was adding to her speed with every moment. All hope of
overtaking her had therefore to be abandoned, and I turned back.