The next morning, at seven o'clock on January 15th, we met the British
steamer _Ariadne_, three thousand tons, with a cargo of maize. In the
most obliging manner she ran right into our arms.
The searching of the ship and the capture of the crew were again
carried out according to the prescribed rules, and I decided
to sink the abandoned ship in precisely the same manner as the
_Farringford_--by shelling her--as this gave our gunners an opportunity
of practising.
The chart house was chosen for a target, and immediately after the
first shell the ship caught on fire. Enormous volumes of smoke filled
the air. Glorious though the sight was, we found it most provoking, for
we feared that the smoke might serve as a warning to some approaching
vessel. We waited patiently, or rather impatiently, for fully half an
hour, for the "passing" of the _Ariadne_, but as she showed no signs of
sinking we finally decided to speed her on her way by sacrificing one
of our torpedoes. No sooner said than done! Very shortly afterwards the
_Ariadne_ took her final plunge.
Almost immediately a cloud of smoke showed in the distance, heralding
the passage of a fast steamer going north. We began preparations at
once to hurry after her, and, if possible, waylay her. While feverish
preparations were going on in the engine-room, we continued our
investigations. The speed of the vessel was a capital point, for,
assuming that we annexed her, her pace, provided it turned out equal to
ours, would prove an enormous advantage. On the other hand, fast boats
are generally provided with wireless, and we ran the risk of being
signalled, in which case we would be compelled to resort to drastic
measures, a course we would rather avoid with a passenger boat. Also,
of course, the vessel might prove to be an auxiliary cruiser, or even
a man-of-war. We approached her, therefore, very cautiously. The first
officer, who went aloft with his glasses, informed us that the boat had
only one funnel and very big superstructures. That meant that she could
only be a passenger boat, or else an auxiliary cruiser. Still very
cautiously we approached her, and soon were practically certain that
we were in the presence of a passenger boat, though her nationality
remained doubtful, as she carried no flag.