But his words did not seem to be borne out, for no sooner was it apparent to all on board that the Sherman had come to a stop again than a sort of panic began which the officers had to work hard to subdue. Finally the colonel commanding the troops had to make an address from the main deck.
“There is absolutely no danger!” he declared. “The captain assures me the ship is not leaking a drop, and we shall soon be back at the dock whence we started. This is unfortunate, but it can not be helped. We shall start for home again as soon as possible.”
“When will that be, sir?” some soldier asked. While another—more than one, in fact—inquired as to the cause of the trouble.
“There has been an accident to the machinery,” the colonel stated. “One of the engines is disabled, and that puts all the work on the remaining unit. I am told that this excess caused a temporary stoppage of the one good engine. But we shall soon be under way again.”
“Was there an explosion?” some one asked.
“A slight one, yes,” was the rather hesitating answer.
“What caused it?”
“Did we hit a mine?”
“Was it a Boche?”
These were only a few of the questions, hurled like hand grenades, at the colonel.