A SPLINTER OF SHELL
ALMOST before the cheering died away an alert seaman raised the
warning cry of "Submarine on the starboard quarter."
He had just caught a glimpse of the pole-like periscopes of a
submarine ere they vanished beneath the surface of the placid sea.
Of her nationality there could be no doubt. A British one would have
had no occasion to submerge, since the stranded monitor flew the
White Ensign from a spar temporarily set on end and lashed to a
stanchion in lieu of her demolished ensign-staff.
The "U" boat was evidently standing by to cover the flight of the
Zeppelin should any cruiser stand in pursuit, for the airship was
flying comparatively low, instead of the usual altitude of ten
thousand feet, when annihilated by the "Anzac's" fire. Having
witnessed the destruction of the Zepp., the "U" boat had approached
the monitor with the intention of avenging the loss of the
air-raider. She had no idea that the "Anzac" was aground, for by this
time she was almost waterborne and lay on practically an even keel;
while, since the whole of the sandbank was submerged, there was no
indication of shallow water.
Nevertheless it seemed as if the monitor would fall an easy prey to
the German torpedo, for there was not a single gun that could be
brought to bear in the direction of the submarine.
Tressidar was not kept long in suspense. The feather-like wake of the
approaching weapon was clearly visible as the torpedo made unerringly
towards the immovable target.
"Stand clear there, aft!" shouted the sub.
Those of the crew who had been watching the approach of the submerged
weapon promptly scurried across the deck so as to be as far from the
point of impact as possible. Of serious damage to the monitor there
was little fear, owing to the complex nature of her bulging sides.
The loss of twenty feet of side plating would matter but little,
since the buoyancy of the monitor would not be appreciably altered.
But the expected explosion did not occur. Set to run at a depth of
twelve feet, the torpedo struck the sandy bottom at a distance of
between eighty and a hundred yards short of the target.
For another twenty yards it ploughed through the sand, until its
delicate rudders were damaged by tearing through the comparatively
hard substance. Then with an erraticity that torpedoes have been
known to display, the weapon made a sharp curve, and rising to the
surface continued its undecided way like a hydroplane, its course
being marked by a line of spray in its wake.
Again the monitor's crew cheered--this time ironically. The shoal
that had proved a stumbling-block was now guarding the stranded craft
in no uncertain manner.
After a lapse of a quarter of an hour the submarine cautiously poked
her periscopes above the surface, although quite half a mile from the
spot where she had previously dived. Once more she fired a torpedo,
with almost the same result, for instead of turning on impact with
the shoal, the weapon struck nose first into the sand and remained
there.
The commander of the "U" boat was evidently puzzled. He could not
understand why the two torpedoes should have missed the mark; he was
also at a loss to account for the fact that the British vessel had
not attempted to open fire.
Nevertheless he was wary. With the idea of drawing the monitor's
fire, he released one of the communication buoys, towing it a hundred
yards astern of the submerged craft. The resistance of the buoy
caused a decided feather of foam that could not escape the eyes of
the crew of the monitor. At the end of five minutes the buoy was
drawn under the surface and taken on board the "U" boat again, by
means of an automatic winding machine and a system of "air lock"
doors. Examination showed that the relatively easy target was
untouched.
Hence the commander of the German submarine came to the correct
conclusion that the monitor was not capable of defence. Again the
periscopes appeared above the surface and a prolonged examination of
the British vessel was made. The German officers soon came to the
decision that it was safe to rise and attack the monitor by shell
fire, provided the "U" boat kept on the starboard quarter of her
enemy.
"There she is, sir!" reported a petty officer to Tressidar, as the
"U" boat rose to the surface at a distance of nearly two miles off.
Glasses were brought to bear upon the submarine, and it was then seen
that the Germans were preparing to use their two "disappearing" guns.
To reply was impracticable, for the submarine was well beyond
effective rifle-range, and the sole serviceable turret gun could not
be trained sufficiently abaft the beam to bear upon the enemy.
"Action stations!" was the order. Since the crew were without present
means of offence or defence, all they could do was to take cover
behind the armoured parts of the ship and "take their gruelling ";
but every moment the tide was rising, and before long it would be
possible to back off the shoal, turn and bring the gun to bear upon
the Hun.
With little delay the "U" boat opened fire. The first half-dozen
shells flew either above or wide of the monitor, but presently the
small but relatively powerful missiles began to find a mark.
From his post in the conning-tower, which, in spite of the fractured
dome, was proof against the small-calibre shells, Tressidar watched
his opportunity. He made no effort to get the "Anzac" off the shoal
until he felt certain that she would glide off without difficulty.
Then, he hoped, there would be time to train the 14-inch gun on the
submarine before she had a chance to trim for diving--and only two
rounds for that particular weapon remained.
The gun, already loaded, was trained as far aft as possible, so that
the moment the monitor swung round it could be brought to bear.
A leadsman, risking the flying fragments of shell, ran forward and,
throwing himself at full length upon the low fo'c'sle, took
soundings.
"By the mark two less a quarter," he announced.
"Good," muttered the sub. "That's what we want."
An order to the engine-room and the twin propeller began to churn up
water and sand. With hardly a jar the monitor glided astern--and
struck again, this time by the heel.
"Full speed ahead port engine; starboard, easy astern," shouted the
sub. through the voice-tube; then, in his eagerness to see whether
the vessel would answer to her helm, he left the shelter of the
conning-tower.
The next instant he felt as if he had hit his head violently against
a door-post. Thousands of lights danced before his eyes. Vainly he
clutched for support. His fingers closed upon empty air. He was dimly
conscious of falling on the deck and of someone throwing his arms
around his waist, and then everything became a blank.
* * * * *
When Tressidar recovered consciousness he found himself lying on a
cot that had been brought upon deck and lashed down on the aft-side
of the shell-torn superstructure.
Standing by were two sick-bay stewards, who, in the absence of a
doctor, had been attending to their youthful "skipper."
Almost the first thing of which the sub. became aware was the fact
that the monitor was again under way. The steady roll combined with
the subdued thud of the engines proclaimed the pleasing news. Also
the firing had ceased, which tended to prove that the "U" boat had
either been sunk or had taken herself off.
"Have we settled her?" were Tressidar's first words.
"She's done for, sir," replied the second quartermaster. "Only----"
"Only what?" asked the sub. anxiously, for the face of his informant
had disappointment written on every feature.
"We were just out of it, sir. Turret gun was about to bear when the
'U' boat went bang. One of our seaplanes did the trick, sir; only we
were within a brace of shakes of plugging her with a 14-inch shell at
the same time. Didn't spot her at that distance until she planked a
bomb fairly on the strafed Hun's conning-tower--and she was only
about a hundred and fifty feet up when she let rip. That's the worst
of those seaplanes, sir; always nosing in where they ain't wanted, if
you don't mind my saying so," he added apologetically and at the same
time with a tinge of professional jealousy.
Tressidar smiled. By so doing he became aware of a pain shooting
through his head.
"Well, what have I got?" he asked, addressing one of the sick-bay
staff.
"Steel splinter embedded in right femur----"
"Right what?" repeated the sub. anxiously. "That's the right thigh, I
believe? But my head?"
"All right, sir, as far as we know," reported the man. "No doubt it
is the sudden shock to the system, sir; I've known it like that
before to-day. We've had to leave the splinter in the wound, sir, but
we'll soon have a surgeon on board. We're just approaching Harwich.
We've exchanged signals and asked for medical assistance."
"There's a steamboat making for us now, sir, added the quartermaster.
"Any casualties?" enquired Tressidar.
"Five men down, sir. The last half a dozen shells from that submarine
tickled us up a lot."
"Very good; see that the doctor attends to them first," said the sub.
"Don't say a word about me until they have been dealt with."
"But we have already reported that you've been hit, sir."
"Then annul that part of the signal," ordered Tressidar firmly. "I'm
quite comfortable. Now, remember, the men are to be seen first."
By the time the busy fleet-surgeon was free to attend to the sub.'s
injuries, Tressidar was far from comfortable. Hot, throbbing pains
shot through the wounded thigh. From the waist upwards he felt cold
and shivery. More than once he felt as if he were on the point of
losing consciousness again.
"It's no use disguising the fact, Mr. Tressidar," said the doctor in
answer to the sub.'s point-blank question. "You have had a narrow
escape. But for the prompt attention of these men in checking the
flow of blood from the femoral artery you would have bled to death."
"Shall I lose my leg?" asked Tressidar, his mind filled with
apprehension at the possibility--not so much of being a cripple, as
of having to sever his connection with the Service.
"I think not.... No, no operation until we get him ashore.... Yes, up
to our eyes in work... quite a big action... we had them this time...
Our casualties heavy.... Shotley full up... had to send for
additional staff."
These disjointed sentences were what Tressidar overheard in a
conversation between the fleet-surgeon and his assistants. "Quite a
big action." Not, of course, The Day, but a fairly decent scrap
somewhere in the North Sea.
"Hurrah!" exclaimed the sub.
"Here, this won't do," remonstrated the doctor. But the reproof fell
upon deaf ears. The sub. had relapsed into unconsciousness.