Those were hours I shall not easily forget. Far and wide, nothing was
to be seen on the surface of the sea. In spite of a brilliant sun and a
remarkably clear horizon, we remained unnoticed. Nearer and nearer we
drew to the coast. Evidently the English had no idea that this first
day of the New Year was the dawn of a great holiday for us and that
there was a _Moewe_ which, instead of waiting for March and April, was
determined, at this unusual season, to lay a few eggs along the English
coast!
Mine-laying is not an easy task; the entire crew must take a hand in
it. As a rule, the mines--egg-shaped black monsters, almost the size
of a man--lie carefully stowed away in long rows in the hold. When the
moment to use them arrives they are brought to the upper deck and there
again arranged in rows. Shortly before they are laid they are provided
with ignition fuses. This detail is attended to by a specially-trained
_personnel_, under the supervision of torpedo officers. At the command
"Throw!" each mine in turn receives a violent push and drops with a
graceful dive into the water at a safe distance from the ship.
It was three o'clock in the afternoon when we began to dispose of the
mines. To the accompaniment of hissing steam, the rolling of the mines
between the lower and upper tracks continued without interruption.
Above, on the bridge, joy reigned supreme, for the weather was splendid
and we followed the coastline without anything suspicious coming in
sight. In my most sanguine dreams I could never have imagined that we
would thus remain unchallenged and unmolested.
At four o'clock a brilliant light once more beamed on us from the
shore. We could now see our exact whereabouts, but, anxious not to be
overtaken by the dark, we almost immediately turned back.
The glass now began to drop suddenly; the wind rose, and it began to
rain. Soon a perfect deluge was falling. So much the better--the worse
the weather the better for us! We resumed our mine-throwing, after the
necessary preparations.
Everything went well, though the storm raged more furiously than ever.
At nine o'clock, still undetected, we turned to sea. Our dear cousins
meanwhile remained blissfully ignorant of our friendly visit to their
shores.
The decks were cleared, but there was still no rest for us. The storm
was at its height, and the hour was full of danger. In front of us, in
the direction of the wind, lay the coast and the blinking lights of
the boats at anchor. Behind us were the mines we ourselves had dropped,
and into which we would infallibly drift if we failed to maintain
ourselves against the wind. Only at four o'clock did we go forward once
more, when the first officer came to release me from my post after
twenty-four hours' strenuous duty. On the following day I expressed my
thanks to the crew for the good work they had done.
It was well that we had our task behind us, for in the days that
followed we should have no opportunity of carrying out our designs. For
a whole week we were battered about in the wildest manner, and had only
one thought--to keep the ship head-on to the raging sea. There was no
question of advancing. To avoid detection I would have willingly gone
farther away from the coast, but this could not be done.
At last, however, the glass began to rise again and we approached the
coast for the second time. In the feeble light of dawn a big steamer
hove in sight.
At first, from her build, we took her to be a passenger boat; then, as
she seemed anxious to follow in our wake, we began to have some doubts.
When we saw that she was painted grey, we jumped to the conclusion that
she was an enemy auxiliary cruiser, and one of the largest at that.
What a catch for us!
All eyes were fixed on me. Every man was anxiously awaiting the command
to fight. But the _Moewe_ dare not think of fighting yet. She dare not
expose her cards and reveal her next move, which was still mine-laying.
Even were the issue of the encounter to our advantage, the wireless on
board the other boat would betray everything. Our chief aim must first
be attended to--all our mines must be laid--then only would the _Moewe_
be free to act as she pleased.
With mingled feelings we watched the big boat get behind us. There was
now some eight thousand yards between us--a good firing distance.
Suddenly she veered away from us, as if satisfied with her inspection.
We could even hear her sending a wireless to the nearest shore station,
possibly to signal our presence. Were this the case, painful results
would certainly ensue for us. I altered my course as soon as the boat
disappeared--it was better to avoid complications. At full speed we
steamed for the point where we had decided to lay our next mines. This
time the weather was calm and clear.
At eight-fifteen, as we threw the first mine overboard, some lights
blinked into sight. They came from English fishing-boats, and we
avoided them with care. But gradually the number of these boats grew to
such an extent that we could no longer evade them. The mines tumbled
into the water in their very midst, and though every instant we feared
detection, we continued our exertions during the whole night without
a hitch. Either they took us for one of their own patrol-boats, or
else, after the way of good fishermen, they thought of nothing at all.
At six o'clock, our task satisfactorily completed, we left the shores
of England in dazzling sunlight, looking forward to a couple of days'
much-needed rest.
The first day the men took things easily, and only the most
indispensable duties were performed. The news which we received daily
by wireless told us that an enemy man-of-war had run across a mine, and
we would have given anything to know whether the mishap was due to one
of the "eggs" the _Moewe_ had laid. Subsequently we ascertained that
such was the case.
Something like sixty nautical miles separated us now from the usual
steamer-route.