At a distance of about two thousand yards, I steered in such a way that
a collision was imminent, unless the ship got behind the _Moewe_. At
last we caught sight of her name--_Appam_. Turning to the International
Shipping List, we read: _Appam_, English steamer of the Elder Dempster
Line, seven thousand eight hundred tons register; carries passengers
and has a wireless. That such a big boat carried also a precious cargo
we did not doubt for an instant.
Without more ado, therefore, we hoisted the signal, "Stop at once," and
also showed our war-flag, in the hope that the ship would abandon all
thought of resistance. But she disregarded our signal, and we had to
follow it up with a shell as a warning to the captain and a reminder of
what it means to ignore, in war-time, the orders of a man-of-war.
Our shell had the desired effect; the _Appam_ slowed down considerably
and, finally, stood still. A few seconds later, I was told that her
wireless was operating. Immediately our own operators intervened in
such a way that the enemy's message became indecipherable. At the
worst, any ship hovering in the neighborhood could only have been able
to make out that something unexpected was taking place. But even that
was to be avoided at all costs.
I therefore ordered a shell to be aimed at the wireless on the
_Appam's_ bridge. It silenced the apparatus at once, and the _Moewe_
then got behind the English boat. I next saw English man-of-war sailors
in uniform in the act of directing upon us small, quick-firing guns.
Had they really fired on us, it would not have been an act of courage,
but cold-blooded folly and reckless audacity, for surely they must
have known that their small guns would have been quite inadequate
against our far better equipment.
It would have been, moreover, a distinctly criminal act towards their
passengers, for if we retaliated the unarmed passengers would most
certainly have come to grief.
To end the critical situation, I quickly fired a second shell over
the heads of the firing brigade. We saw the men scurry away, and
then return to their posts and resume their preparations for firing.
This made my blood boil and I ordered a few well-directed shells to
be fired straight into their midst. Then, at last, their thick heads
understood that we were in earnest. I promptly dispatched two boats to
the _Appam_, for we now could see on board quite a number of English
naval uniforms. Her deck was getting more and more crowded with people,
who, in great excitement, were equipping themselves with life-belts and
moved in all directions like a swarm of bees.
A striking contrast to this scene was presented by a group of
people leaning on the taffrail and making joyful signals in our
direction. We soon unravelled this mystery. These people were our own
compatriots--twenty-one civilians, with three women, and eighteen
prisoners of war from the Cameroons police. They had all been arrested
in Duala, at the beginning of January, and put on the _Appam_ to be
interned in England. Their joy at their happy and quite unexpected
release is indescribable, and we naturally reciprocated and shared in
their delight.
I ordered them to be transferred at once to the _Moewe_, and they
joined us with shining eyes and smiling faces. We celebrated the
occasion by drinking to the health of His Majesty the German Emperor.
More and more satisfactory tidings came from on board our capture. The
ship was laden with a precious cargo, which would compensate us amply
for the risk we had run in attacking a vessel provided with wireless.
Specially welcome was the news that the _Appam_ was carrying a million
marks in gold. Without losing a minute we transported this treasure to
the hold of the _Moewe_. It was comparatively light booty--eighteen
cases in all; sixteen cases of them contained fourteen bars of gold
apiece, and two gold-dust.
So far everything had gone splendidly. What, however, was to be done
with the four English officers, twenty sailors and marines, and the
hundred and sixty passengers on board the _Appam_? To transfer them
to the _Moewe_ was out of the question, every available corner being
occupied.
After some deliberation, I dispatched Reserve Officer Berg, with a
prize-crew of twenty men, to the _Appam_. The released Germans were
told to consider him as the master of the ship and on every occasion to
back him up. That being settled, we hurriedly departed, for the _Moewe_
still feared the possible consequences of that interrupted wireless
message of the _Appam_.
Our next act was to ascertain what provisions the _Appam_ had on board,
for my intention was to send our captive into some port only after a
considerable time, for with our parting from her the secret of our
existence would naturally come to light.
At nightfall we stopped the ship, and I summoned the captain, officers,
and crew of the _Appam_, also the four officers and sailors belonging
to the British Navy. By all laws and rights they were prisoners of war,
and had to join their friends below.