I suspected that he was lying, but I thought it unsafe to persist.
It occurred to me too late that I had been guilty of some imprudence in showing so much anxiety on the subject. It was only too probable that my inquiries would be reported to the Kaiser, who would draw his own inferences in the event of anything going wrong.
I returned on board my own boat, saying nothing to Orloff, and gave the order to proceed.
Orloff had handed over the wheel to one of his subordinates, who steered the submarine out into the blue waters of the North Sea.
As soon as we were well out of reach of the Slesvig shore, I said to the steersman,
“Now I will take the helm.”
Instead of promptly relinquishing it to me, the man turned his head in search of Orloff, saying at the same time,
“Do you understand the course, sir?”
I saw that if I meant to be master of the vessel, I must prove that my words of the night before were spoken in earnest. I drew my revolver, and put a bullet through the mutineer’s head.