When I got in touch with Washington I was told that the matter I had
in hand became unexpectedly, stupendously important, in fact, so vital
I was urged to use the utmost care, but to rush as fast as possible.
The importance of the Canby girl as a witness was realized and she was
guarded every moment by one of unquestioned loyalty and discretion,
and plenty of khaki that seemed accidental.
This pleased me immensely, for more than one reason. But the other
information was not so reassuring. Ramund and the manager had been
admitted to bail in the sum of a hundred thousand dollars each. Rash
and risky conduct could be looked for on the part of the Boches and I
must not underestimate their resourcefulness. Though yet unpublished,
it was known that Bernstorff had deflorated and daily ravished
diplomatic virginity in a most brutal and conscienceless manner so
truly Hun.
I informed them a private party had hold of the wreck, that through
him I had in my possession twenty-four bodies, together with a mass of
evidence and asked for some kind of an armed vessel to protect
Howard's ambitious efforts to float and bring in intact. They said
they would do the best they could, every available vessel having been
sent to fight submarines.
I returned to the wrecking operations at the Tortugas doubtful of
immediate protection.
Howard was on watch and very glad to see me, and delighted that the
Government, too, was watching little Jim.
"Have you been up all night?" he asked anxiously.
"Yes."
"I'll have Don get breakfast; then you sleep. We will get everything
ready. I want to go down to make one more careful examination of the
wreck in order to finally decide on a plan of action, but I believe I
have figured it out during the night."
"Breakfast, yes. Sleep I can do without until to-night." I did not
tell him about the necessity of haste.
After breakfast he went down and remained two hours. He had scarcely
discarded his diving suit before I saw he was jubilant.
"Wood,--I believe now it's only a case of making pump connections to
the freight hold and get the water out of there first. I still
believe, if we pump out the submerging tanks after that, she has got
to come to the top even if the engine-room and crew's quarters aft are
injured," he said enthusiastically.
"How do you know the submerging tanks are intact and water tight?"
"Can't find a trace of anything wrong I cannot fix with little
trouble."
I knew it was not an amateur talking. He had been able to do anything
with machinery of a hydraulic nature, his paper-mill experience being
largely along that line. Besides, he had spent the last fifteen years
in and about the water with practical knowledge of marine machinery
and pumps.
He rested a short while and went down, this time with tools he thought
he needed, and in another two hours the full engine force of the
_Anti-Kaiser_ was drawing the water out of the freight hold. Howard
descended repeatedly to see that it continued to work properly.
Scotty stood watch continuously during the day, scanning every sail or
smoke that came within range of his glasses. We all prayed for good
weather. A storm such as they have in the Gulf occasionally would be
very bad, but that was a risk we had to take.
Howard induced a big sponger, a friend of his, to bring supplies of
all sorts. After twenty-four hours of steady pumping the hold was
cleared. Howard said the wreck had righted itself slightly.
During this time Don and I disposed of the Hun bodies a long way from
the scene of our operations, for obvious reasons.
Then came the more delicate work of pumping out the submerging tanks
of the wreck. If this could not be done our work would fail, but
Howard was confident and labored almost like a superman. He said he
was now as familiar with the engine-room of the sunken sub as the man
who made it, and was certain. It took six hours to get satisfactory
connections and again the pumps were started.
After pumping three hours on the submerging tanks, Howard dived again,
tremendously anxious. He remained below some time before coming up,
clearly disappointed. The pumping so far had failed to show the
slightest results.
"It's got to come, Wood; it's got to come; but, damn it, it don't
come," he fumed, speeding up the pumps to the last ounce of the
_Anti-Kaiser's_ powerful engines.
"Hit it for three hours more, then you can tell better. We may expect
results too soon," seeing the canker of doubt at work. He realized
fully what a failure meant, stupendous service to his country, his
fortune and the opportunity to resume the name of Howard Byng, and
place little Jim right before the world, all hung in the balance. Who
could have stood such a strain and retained power of judgment or even
sanity.
I watched him closely the next three hours. The pangs of hell could
have gripped no man harder. He stood by the pumps and engines
compelling by sheer force of will the last atom of effort in the
combination of steel, brass and fuel.
Then he donned the diving suit somewhat as a man going to his
execution, but hoping for a reprieve at the last moment, though with
magnificent will he continued to lash the straining pumps, and they
seemed to actually speed up under the fierce compelling gaze, as he
went over the side to go down to pronounce his own doom.
He had been on the bottom but a short time when he signaled to "haul
up." I will agree while we were doing so were anxious moments; we were
not to remain in doubt long. Even before he could get his suit off he
waved his arms, and I knew he was again Howard Byng, resourceful,
successful, exultant.
He almost tore off the diving suit after I unfastened it. Scotty and
Don sensed excitement and all crowded about him.
"She's coming--she's coming," he shouted; "her bow is now three feet
from the bottom and her stern is almost clear. She's ours! She's ours!
She must have a heavier line fastened to her bow or the tide will
carry her away enough to break our pump connections," he added
breathlessly. "She is ours, boys; the Hun is ours! The world is ours!"
he again shouted, the strain ending in delirious joy. Then, running to
the bow of the _Anti-Kaiser_, he grabbed the end of a two-inch hawser,
scorned the diving suit, and went over the side like a porpoise or a
sea-lion into its natural element.
I paid out the line to him. In a moment more he had made it fast to
the bow of the Boche sub, and was coming rapidly up the line hand over
hand, like an orang-outang.