Tom Slade on a Transport

by Percy Keese Fitzhugh

“They’re more likely to spill the cup when it’s empty,” said the deck steward, who was a sort of walking encyclopedia to Tom.

“I suppose that’s because we haven’t got such a good convoy going back,” Tom said.

“That and high visibility. You see, the less there is in the ship, the higher she sets up in the water, and the higher she sets the better they can see her. We’re in ballast and floating like a balloon. They get better tips about westbound ships, too. All the French ports are full of German agents. They come through Switzerland.”

The first day out on the voyage homeward was very rough. At about dusk Tom was descending the steps from the bridge with a large tray when he saw several of the ship’s people (whose time was pretty much their own on the westward trip) hurrying to the rail. One of them called to him, “We’re in for it;” but Tom was not alarmed, for by this time he was too experienced a “salt” to be easily excited.

“You can see the wake!” someone shouted.

There was a sudden order on the bridge, somebody rushed past him and then the tray, with all its contents, went crashing upon the steps and Tom staggered against the stair-rail and clung to it.

The ship was struck—struck as if by a bolt out of the sky.

He had been through this sort of thing before and he was not scared. He was shocked at the suddenness of it, but he kept his head and started across the deck for his emergency post, aft. Everyone seemed to be running in that direction.

He knew that however serious the damage, there was but small danger to life, since the convoy was at hand and since there were so very few people upon the ship; there were life-boats enough, without crowding, for all on board.

But the impact, throwing him down the steps, as it did, had caused him to twist his foot and he limped over to the rail for its assistance in walking. Men were now appearing in life-preservers, and hovering impatiently in the vicinity of the lifeboat davits, but he heard no orders for manning the boats and he was distinctly aware of the engines still going.