The one thing still lacking to our completeness was some kind of knowledge of the Norwegian tongue! For that we must look to the help of Providence, not to mention—supposing the next few days allowed us time—a pocket vocabulary which I had provided, to be on the safe side. The absence of this linguistic knowledge could not disturb our confidence; at the worst one could make shift to carry it off with 'Platt-Deutsch.'[2] The English are no great heroes in the linguistic field. If it should be our lot to be examined later on by an English ship which did not happen to have a Norwegian interpreter on board—though that, of course, was a possibility on the Norwegian coast—it was possible the bluff might come off.
FOOTNOTE:
[2] The Low-German dialect which is the 'home-tongue' of many of the German seamen. It certainly sounds sufficiently different from ordinary German to pass muster with an untrained ear as a different language.
CHAPTER V THE 'LIBAU' SAILS—AND BECOMES THE 'AUD'
The clock in the neighbouring church-tower was clanging out the last of its six vigorous strokes as the Libau, under the mercantile flag, hauled out from the quay. A pleasant Sunday calm lay over the harbour. That the start took place on a Sunday was regarded by my men, according to an ancient sailors' superstition, as a good omen.
Travemünde was passed shortly before dark, and, as we took farewell of the friendly little town, the engine-room telegraph rang for 'full speed ahead.' The voyage into the unknown had begun.
I now made the crew acquainted, so far as was absolutely necessary, with the purpose of the voyage. For the present I said nothing of our course, or destination, and I avoided naming any names, that the men might know only so much as the situation demanded.
I did this in the men's own interest, so that if they were taken prisoners they could truthfully say that they knew nothing. The next thing was to give each of them a Norwegian name and rating. The pronunciation of their names gave some of them considerable difficulty, but I insisted that henceforth no German names were to be used, that the men might become thoroughly accustomed to their new character.