Our first capture on this occasion occurred on February 4th--a Belgian
boat, the _Luxembourg_, four thousand three hundred and twenty-two tons
register, with a cargo of five thousand nine hundred tons of coal, the
property of a railway company in Buenos Ayres. Considering the high
price of coal and freight, this cargo alone was worth about a million
marks. Yet cargo and ship promptly disappeared into the depths.
The crew of the Belgian ship consisted of the most varied types of
humanity. The majority were neutrals, chiefly Greeks and Spaniards, and
their transfer to the _Moewe_ was rather a comical affair. They were
hampered by the most unnecessary paraphernalia--mandolins, parrots,
zithers, monkeys, dogs, and so on.
On February 6th we captured another vessel, the English steamer
_Flamenco_, four thousand six hundred and twenty-nine tons register.
She met our advances by using her wireless. We retorted with a few
well-directed shells, and this quickly brought her to her senses,
especially as she had caught on fire. The crew rushed to the boats, one
of which upset, and about twenty men fell into the water. This is no
joke in this region, where sharks abound, and we were genuinely pleased
when our prize-crew succeeded in fishing all, save one man, out of the
waves.
While preparations were being made to sink the _Flamenco_, I summoned
her captain and remonstrated with him for having used his wireless, an
act which had provoked us into firing. He replied that his duty was to
thwart our plans, just as much as mine was to capture his boat. One of
the neutrals transferred on board the _Moewe_ confirmed our suspicion
that we were being tracked. He told us that the English cruiser
_Glasgow_ had overtaken them the previous day and had warned them of
the danger of an encounter with the _Moewe_.
At first we were inclined to doubt the story, for up to now we had
neither seen nor heard of this cruiser. On developing some photographic
plates seized on board the _Flamenco_, however, we made the
acquaintance of this English cruiser. We must have unwittingly passed
each other in the night.
We continued our voyage in splendid weather, though the heat was
insufferable. Good luck was slow in coming. But one afternoon, shortly
after five, we caught sight of a vessel, and quickly went in pursuit.
She proved to be the Norwegian _Estrella_, so we let her go. On this
occasion we once more changed the aspect of the _Moewe_.
For days after that we only saw flying-fish, water, and passing clouds.
But on Sunday, after having the whole day in vain searched the horizon,
towards evening we perceived a cloud of smoke.
We hurried forward, but, unfortunately, it was quite dark before we
overtook the steamer.
Our request for her name remained for a time without an answer. Then
came the reply: "_Heraclide_."
This was disconcerting, for Lloyd's Register contained no such name. We
repeated our question and received the same answer:
"_Heraclide_."
"What nationality?"
"Good friend."
"What line?"
Deep silence.
Now we knew how to act. If the boat had claimed to be a neutral, I
should have let her go unmolested. On the other hand, a neutral would
never have given such an equivocal reply, so, of course, she could only
be an "Engländer."