THE INFERNO
June comes gradually to an end, and with it unfortunately the fine
weather. A rising swell from the S.W. and the absence of the current
which we had expected to help us along indicates a storm centre in
the south, diverting the course of the Gulf Stream. Thus we travel on
throughout another day. Towards evening the atmosphere becomes close and
heavy and the sun sinks slowly in a misty blood-red veil.
The sky grows threatening and overcast; there is brilliant sheet
lightning, while the ever-increasing closeness of the atmosphere
announces the near vicinity of the Gulf Stream. During the night masses
of heavy thunder-clouds roll up, the wind rises on every side, and the
wildness of the running seas increases, till steering becomes noticeably
difficult.
Measurements record an increase in the water temperature, which finally
rises up to 82½ degrees Fahrenheit. Now we are in the Gulf Stream,
whose periphery is marked in the air above by a fiery crown of heavy
tropical thunder-clouds.
Vivid sea phosphorescence and strong atmospherical disturbances are also
accompanying signs of the presence of the Stream. This is noticeable
from our wireless apparatus, which is strongly affected by the heavy
electrical conditions of the atmosphere. Hitherto it has kept us
faithfully in touch with the army bulletins from the Nauen station.
The phosphorescence of the waters makes observation very difficult.
One's eyes are blinded and observation made difficult by the continuous
sparkling of the surface of the sea in the blackness of the night. This
state of things is far from pleasant, for we are now approaching a zone
where many steamer tracks cross each other, and double precautions are
necessary.
Added to this, the foulness of the weather increases. Heavy seas
spring up, and a storm of hail beats down on the deck. Over the foaming
whipped-up waves a wind of strength 11 to 12 is blowing.
All around over the boiling sea hang heavy black balls of clouds, from
which a pale yellow light darts out incessantly--regular broadsides of
lightning. Then suddenly all is enveloped in blackest night again, while
at times the whole boat and the surrounding water are lit up by flashes
of greenish light, in which every detail shows up with startling
distinctness....
The whole air is filled with tumultuous uproar, and overhead the thunder
crashes continuously. We are approaching the centre of the storm. The
boat is surrounded by an unearthly storm-world. It is as if the end of
all things had come....
Suddenly the head-lights of a big steamer rise up behind us. In the
darkness of the night we are able to avoid her without difficulty. Like
a shining vision she disappears in the distance. She is a passenger
steamer who, judging by her course, has come from the Mediterranean. I
must confess we watched her row of lights with a feeling of envy, till
rain and darkness swallowed her up from sight again.
The next day the weather reaches its worst stage. Hurricane-like gusts
of wind sweep all around. The air is filled with continuous froth. The
water no longer falls in drops, but in cascades--walls of water pour
down, lashing our faces and hands painfully. The air is so thick that
one can no longer see through it. In order to observe anything ever so
faintly, a small piece of glass has to be held in front of the eyes,
with the result that a little foaming torrent rolls from the pane on to
your sleeves.
The boat travels with extreme difficulty in the roaring sea. She is
tossed here and there by the waves till every joint creaks and groans.
Sometimes she heels over so heavily that it is almost impossible to hold
on with one free hand only, to the parapet of the "bath-tank."
It is an Inferno.
But this is nothing to the hell down below, particularly in the engine
room.
Owing to the heavy seas all the hatches are of necessity closed; even
the conning-tower hatch can only be opened occasionally. Two great
ventilation machines are working unceasingly, it is true. But the
fresh air that they draw from the ventilation shaft, which is carefully
protected from the breakers, is immediately swallowed up by the greedy
Diesel engines. These hungry, ungrateful monsters only give off heat
in return, heavy overbearing heat impregnated with horrible oil
vapour, which is then swept by the ventilators throughout all the other
compartments. Such ventilation can no longer be of a refreshing nature.
The air in the boat on this account has become overwhelmingly laden with
moisture. It is almost an impossibility to breathe, and one awaits with
resignation, or desperate gaiety, the moment when one really will be
forced to join the fishes. In the closed-up body of the ship every
object is covered in steaming water which again evaporates in the heat,
till everything is soaked through and streaming. All the drawers and
cupboard doors swell and stick fast, and added to this the wet clothes
from the watchers in the conning-tower are spread out over the whole
boat.
It is impossible to give any idea of the state of the temperature that
then reigned in the boat. In the Gulf Stream the outside temperature was
82 degrees Fahrenheit, so extraordinarily warm was the water around
us. Fresh air no longer penetrated, and in the engine-room the two
six-cylinder combustion engines hammered on in ceaseless rhythm.... A
choking cloud of heat and oil vapour issued from the engines and spread
through every part of the boat.
The temperature rose gradually in these days to 127 degrees Fahrenheit.
And in such an inferno men lived and worked. Groaning, the naked
off-duty watch rolled about in their cabins. Sleep was out of the
question. When one of them was just dropping off into a heavy stupor he
would be awakened to fresh misery by the perspiration running in drops
from his forehead into his eyes.
It was almost a relief when the eight hours' rest was over and the
watchmen were called once more into the control-room or the engine-room.
Then the martyrdom recommenced. Clad only in shirt and trousers the men
stood at their posts, a cloth wrapped round their foreheads to keep the
perspiration out of their eyes. The blood glowed and rushed in their
temples--fever was in their veins. It was only by the greatest strength
of will that they were able to force their streaming bodies to perform
their allotted duties, and to keep going during the four hours' watch.
But how long could this state of things be expected to last?
During these days I kept no journal, and can only find the following
note: "If the temperature rises any higher the men in the engine-room
will not be able to stand it any longer."
They did stand it, however,--they kept going like heroes, doing their
work in spite of exhaustion, till at last the storm centre lay behind
us, the weather cleared up, the sun broke through the clouds, and the
dropping of the sea made it possible to open the hatches once more.
Then they climbed up out of their inferno, pale, covered with dirt and
oil, and rejoiced in the sun as if they had never seen it before.