CHAPTER XIX A STERN CHASE
Shortly after 1 p.m. we noticed a small steamer beyond Kerry Head on the north side of the Shannon. The foam at her bows told us that she was travelling at high speed. As she was holding a westerly course I had at first no suspicions. She was still so far off that even with our prismatic glasses I could make out nothing. I therefore got the big glass, which had already stood me in good stead so many times, and perceived to my astonishment that the steamer had a long gun completely uncovered mounted on her forecastle deck. Her tall top masts showed that she had a wireless installation.
Another patrol-boat, then,—but this time a much bigger and more modern one than our friend the Shatter. I handed my glass to the mate, so that he could see for himself. He had scarcely focused on the boat when he hastily exclaimed, 'She is altering course—she's coming straight for us.' I could see now with the naked eye that this was a fact. The place was getting unhealthy for us, and we needed no time for deliberation over our next move.
'All hands on deck, stand by to weigh anchor!' 'Have steam up for full speed.' All hands were at their stations in a moment. The capstan creaked and groaned in every joint. Bump, bump. All at once it stopped. The anchor had evidently got wedged between the rocks. I felt as if I were standing on hot coals. I had actually put the telegraph forward in order to simply part the cable or to slip it, when the capstan started to turn again. As soon as ever the anchor was free we started. Course, due west! And high time it was, for the stranger was visibly drawing nearer. We judged the distance to be at most nine miles. So long as she did not catch us up we were all right, for we were still a neutral steamer, so far as she was concerned. I had worked out in my head what had happened. Loop Head had presumably warned the naval base at Limerick about us, and the admiral in command there, probably not trusting too much to his Shatter II., had sent out a bigger boat to Tralee to have a closer look at the suspicious Norwegian. (A high English officer assured me later that my guess was practically correct.) A flotilla flag at her mast-head, and the fact that she altered course to south-west as soon as we started, confirmed my conjecture. Her unmistakable intention, therefore, was to cut us off. It was now more than ever a question of legging it. (We could no more risk a second examination than we could risk an exchange of shells in which we, with our old Russian rifles and home-made guns would certainly have come off second best.)
In order to get full steam quickly, I ordered all hands to the stokehold. I myself went to the wheel and kept the Aud quite close to the coast, for the rocky shore is here so steep that one can approach with safety within forty yards. The dense clouds of smoke from our funnel swept along the rocky wall and whirled into the deep fissures, as if drawn into an airshaft.
The English boat was coming dangerously near. The question now was which of us had the longest legs. We reckoned she was doing twelve knots or more; we, on former occasions, had never done more than eleven. It was therefore to be expected that she would slowly but surely catch us. That was to be avoided at any cost.
In order to further encourage the men in the stokehold I called down to them from time to time through the voice-pipe the distance between us. They worked like horses, and after some time I was able to state that we were keeping our lead. Why the English boat did not at least send a shot across our bows is still a mystery to me, especially when she found that we took no notice whatever of her constant signals.
In the meantime we had approached our old friend the Shatter, which was leisurely wallowing up and down just under the battery at about 500 yards from the shore. She seemed to have noticed us at last, for she turned slowly and steamed towards us. I therefore called the second mate up on the bridge, telling him to keep his eye on the Shatter, and gave the wheel to A.B. Strehlau.
We had gradually come so near that without the glasses we could now perceive the guns of the battery trained on us. A lively exchange of signals was taking place between the battery and our pursuer. And then a signal was hoisted on the Shatter also. Unfortunately, it was impossible to read it for there was not a breath of wind. The devil! Had the rascal been deceiving us, and was the drunkenness all playacting, in order to be able to attack us in front in conjunction with the battery, while the other boat attacked us behind?
For one moment I was inclined to fear some such stratagem, for it appeared impossible that the Shatter's signal could mean anything but 'Stop at once.' As a precautionary measure I therefore ordered all preparations for blowing up the ship. At the same time I gave the order to starboard the helm, in order to ram the Shatter, for I was determined that if we went down we should take her with us. The next few seconds must decide our fate. We were going straight for the Shatter at full speed, but she made no effort to escape being rammed. What could be the explanation? I gazed steadily through the glasses. Suddenly the Shatter turned to port, and as she heeled over for an instant on account of the sudden turn, we read the signal. We could not believe our eyes. From the signal halliards of the Shatter fluttered the signal I knew so well in the old days, 'T.D.L.'—'Bon voyage.'
I rushed to the helm, tore the wheel round to port, and anxiously counted the seconds till the Aud began to answer the helm. Fortunately, the high speed at which we were going made the rudder effective—but only just in time. All our lives hung on the fraction of a second. In the very next second we shot past the English boat not a ship's length off.
All this, of course, happened in much less time than it takes to tell it. But the greatest surprise of all was still reserved for us. The brave captain was standing on his little bridge holding on like grim death to the rail. His crew stood, or rather lurched, about on the deck. At the moment when we ran past him at full speed he tore his hat off, waved it round his head, yelling like a Red Indian, and called for 'Three Cheers for the Aud,' to which his crew bawled an enthusiastic response.
If at this moment I had had a couple of bottles of whisky by me on the bridge I would have willingly thrown them to the crew of the Shatter out of gratitude for this ovation; for there can be no doubt that the conduct of the Shatter crew at the very least made the battery officer uncertain of his ground. (I heard later that the battery, in response to a signal from our pursuer, was just about to fire at us while we were standing away from it, but did not do so because the cheers of the Shatter crew seemed to indicate that we had been the victims of some mistake.) Of course, we answered the greeting of the Shatter with cap-waving and a friendly 'Good-bye!' Düsselmann, in fact, ran up the signal, 'X.O.R.'—Thank you. To cap it all, I dipped my flag, as we left the most friendly Englishman I have ever met on the seas. None of us, I am certain, will ever forget this moment.
It was not till afterwards that I heard from the crew that our lives hung once more in the balance. One of the crew had mistaken my order to dip the flag and was under the impression that I had said 'Tyske,' which was our pre-arranged signal for blowing up the ship. He was just about to break out the German naval ensign at the stern, and the chief engineer stood ready with the fuse, when the mistake was realised. So this little entr'acte went off all right—at any rate so far as we were concerned. Not for the captain of the Shatter, however; for I heard some months later that the English Admiralty considered his conduct too 'gentlemanlike' and deprived him of his commission after a court-martial had sentenced him to imprisonment.
The battery now lay a good mile astern, but we were still within range of its guns and our pursuer was close on our heels. We therefore had to make every effort to increase the distance, which was, of course, largely a question of correct steering. So the first mate took over the wheel, while the second mate worked the engine-room telegraph. Down below my brave stokers, half naked and with sweat literally pouring down, toiled at the glowing furnaces, while the others untiringly fetched baskets of coal from the bunkers. The engineers stood at their stations in the engine-room, ready each moment to carry out the orders as they came from the bridge. We were steaming with every ounce of pressure we could get.
Meanwhile, the English boat had drawn nearer. The second mate at once shouted down the tube, 'Get up more steam, the Englishman will be alongside in no time.' And with a sinister smile he added, 'If you fellows can't make more steam, say the word. The fuse is ready. But in that case please label your bones.' The noise of shovels, the banging of furnace-doors, and a loud cheer were the answer that came up from the engine-room. The chief-engineer came puffing up the ladder and shouted to me, 'Captain, if we go on like this the boilers will burst. The steam is long past the red mark.'
'I thought it was long ago. But it's no good worrying about that, my dear fellow. We must break through at all costs. As it is, we have still got a chance; but if this fellow astern of us succeeds in catching us we can make our wills.' He shook his head seriously. Then he plunged down again into his own domain below, and encouraged his men to work as if the devil were at our heels.
By now the wireless boat had come up with the Shatter, which was still making leisurely for Tralee. To our joy we noticed the other vessel carefully manœuvring in order to come alongside the Shatter. This gave us a good start, and we could see several people jump from the wireless boat, which was letting off a white cloud of hissing steam, on board the Shatter. What happened then was not hard to guess. But the captain of the Shatter will certainly not reveal it as long as he lives. Unfortunately, we were unable to watch the proceedings from close range.
After an interval of about five minutes the Shatter went about and then both boats took up the chase. But our pursuers had lost so much time in laying their ship alongside the Shatter that they had little chance of overtaking us, for our brave little Aud was now, according to the patent log, doing more than thirteen knots.
The coastline now bent round towards SW., and as we were still keeping the same distance from it, we were soon out of sight of the battery. Keeping the same speed, we ran for another hour and a half, and noted with joy that our pursuers were visibly dropping behind. The English also soon saw the impossibility of overtaking us, for they suddenly turned off to port and steamed slowly towards the coast, where they soon disappeared in one of the many bays.
It was getting on for half-past three, so we must already have put some miles behind us. When the engine-room staff heard that our pursuers had given up the chase they greeted the news with three rousing cheers. We all gave a sigh of relief, especially the chief-engineer, who lost no time now in letting the steam down below the red danger mark on the pressure gauge.
We were now getting near the mouth of the bay. The sea was studded all over with little islands and rocks, some of which projected only a couple of feet out of the water. One of the larger islands aroused our interest. At the foot of the massive, rocky wall there was a semicircular opening of natural formation so big that a sailing-boat could comfortably go through to the far side. Unfortunately, the chart showed so many shallows between these islands that I felt bound, under the circumstances, to take the longer course round the outlying islands, a proceeding which, at any rate, gave me more freedom of movement. And that was at the moment more important than ever, for it was inconceivable that the captain of the wireless boat, after giving up the hopeless chase, would sit down and do nothing. So we were not particularly pleased when we noticed a lighthouse with signalling station and wireless installation facing the sea on Dunmore Island, the last island on the south side of the bay.
Without doubt these people already knew all about our flight. Fortunately for us, however, they were unarmed, so that we had to reckon only with the fact that they would watch us and report every alteration of our course to the nearest coastguard stations and ships.
The Atlantic now lay before us, and I had the choice of steering north, west, or south. South appeared to me to be the best, for even if we had aroused suspicion the English had so far had no positive proof against us. The Norwegian flag still flew at our stern, and as I had told the captain of the Shatter that we were bound for Cardiff and then for Italy, I thought it was best to keep up appearances while it was still daylight, and to steer a southerly course. If a warship should then come along we should be able to justify our course by means of our manifest. Then, when it got dark, I intended to turn westwards in order to get away from the patrolled coastal area.