"As none of these pigs of fools ever keep a look-out," remarked a third voice, which was young and pleasant, "just do the laughing gull again, Max."
The excellent imitation of the laughing gull was repeated; it now became evident from the conversation, that it should have been answered by a whistle from the cliffs. Then as Gheena began to paddle away, noiselessly she hoped, someone exclaimed blasphemously. She heard the quick splash of a swimmer in the water, and with so much to be afraid of that she forgot fear, she heard the scuffle of a man climbing into the boat.
"If you scream or make a sound," said someone in excellent English, "I..."
Gheena said she supposed then that she had better not, and that she was only out amusing herself, and would like to go home.
But the answer to this was to find herself moving as in a dream on to the back of the steel whale, with everyone buzzing round her in undertones.
The captain asked her if she understood German, to which she said "No" hurriedly, believing it might be useful to pretend ignorance. She again asked politely to be allowed to go home.
From the ensuing whispers she gathered that she was not likely to be allowed to. Someone argued that it would not matter, and the voice of the engineer said if they could not get away it certainly would not, and Gheena found herself being propelled down into an atmosphere reeking of oil, where light was permissible.
Here a stout senior officer positively gloated at her capture. It appeared that he was even a minor admiral, whose varied manoeuvres had run the "U" boat out of fuel. He sat at a small table and glowered, while Gheena, not at all sure that she was awake, was conscious of glances of rapt admiration from the senior lieutenant, the owner of the pleasant voice ... so Gheena stood closer to him.
"Good evening; I want to go home," said Gheena in French, why she hardly knew. Someone had told her to address herself to the head admiral.
Having addressed some abusive remarks to her in German and seen these received blankly, they decided that the strange woman did not, owing to usual lack of Kultur of her race, understand any language but her own and French.