"What about this that your mate is saying, Captain?"
My stomach felt much better, now that Leudemann had spoken. So I thought I might as well give the Englishman a good dose.
"There were rumours at home in Norway that two cruisers and sixteen German submarines had put out of port."
The search officer's comrade, who had been looking around the cabin, came over to us when he heard all this.
"I think we had better be going," he spoke up suddenly.
"Yes," replied the other, and they went on deck.
They made no attempt at questioning the sailors or investigating the sailors' belongings.
"Your papers are all right, Captain," said the search officer, "but you will have to wait here for an hour until you get a signal to proceed."
"All right, Mister Officer."
One of my boys, who was of a pessimistic turn of mind, heard this. As he walked away from my cabin he said out loud to himself: