THE MEETING WITH THE “CHOISING”
With a light wind astern, the Ayesha slowly made her way out from among the Dutch islands, and toward three o’clock in the morning had passed beyond the limits of Dutch territorial waters. I had but just turned in when Lieutenant Schmidt, whose watch it was, waked me with the words: “Captain, a German boat is coming alongside.”
As I knew that we were then well out at sea, I growled out: “Man, don’t talk nonsense! Let me sleep!”
But he assured me again that it was as he had said, and would not be frightened off even by the most violent protests. At the same time I heard loud voices from outside crying: “There she is, there she is! We have caught her after all.”
As I came on deck, I saw a little row-boat with a few people in it swiftly approaching us from out the darkness of the lingering night. Soon one traveling case, and then another, came flying on board. Their two owners appeared immediately afterward, and turned out to be an officer of the reserves and a chief engineer’s mate, also a reservist. Both reported to me for duty. As we were outside of the limit of Dutch territorial waters, there was no reason for deferring their enrolment.
Our only difficulty was to provide quarters for the officers now aboard the Ayesha, as there was but the one bed, which was hardly big enough for three. In the end, it was arranged that one officer should sleep in the bunk in the cabin, while another chose the place on the floor under the mess table for his bed, a resting place which was not wholly free from disturbance, however, as the third officer, who had the watch, was inclined to put his feet there.