Part 6 (1/2)
The next day a hurricane was still blowing, and going aboard was still out of the question. The s.h.i.+p was blown farther in sh.o.r.e, and it began to look as if she would break up and we should see nothing of our personal belongings. The day after, however, was beautifully fine, and we left Skagen harbour in two motor barges, almost touching a floating mine on the way. It took more than an hour to get from the harbour to the s.h.i.+p, for we had to take a very circuitous route owing to the shallow water and many sandbanks. It was a bitterly cold trip, but at last we reached and with great difficulty--as no gangway was down and we had to climb a ladder projecting a few feet out from the s.h.i.+p's side--boarded the s.h.i.+p, which was in charge of the Danish authorities.
After some difficulty, for the s.h.i.+p was in a state of great chaos, we secured from various parts of the s.h.i.+p all our baggage, which was landed that night at Skagen, much to our relief, as up to that time we had only what we stood up in at the time we landed from the lifeboat. So that, after all, we lost very little of our baggage, a most unexpected stroke of good luck. Some of us returned to the sh.o.r.e, only a short distance away, in the salvage tug's lifeboat, as we did not relish the long return trip in the motor barges, crammed as they would be with baggage.
From there we walked to our hotel. The baggage was taken to the Custom House, and next day put on the train, so we were unable to open it till we arrived in Copenhagen, by which time we stood badly in need of it.
We had set foot on the _Igotz Mendi_ for the last time. She had been our ”home” for more than three months--never shall we forget her. I can picture every detail of her as I write, the tiny cabins, the miserable tiled floor saloon, and the wretched meals taken therein, the dirty condition of the whole s.h.i.+p, the iron decks--none of it will ever be forgotten by any one of her unwilling pa.s.sengers.
The _Igotz Mendi_ was some time afterwards towed off into deep water, and after repairs left Danish waters and proceeded to Spain, after loading up with a full cargo of coal at Newcastle. Wonderful to relate--for it is indeed a marvel that the Germans did not make a special and successful effort to sink her--she arrived at her home port, Bilbao, on June 21, 1918, with her whole s.h.i.+p's company complete. She had naturally a great reception, being welcomed with flags, bands, and fireworks. What an adventurous voyage she had had since she last left European waters! We owe a great deal to her genial Captain and all her officers and crew, who one and all did what they could for us and were invariably kind and sympathized with us in our misfortunes and rejoiced with us at our escape. It may even have been due to the gentle persuasion of her Spanish crew that the _Igotz Mendi_ made such a thorough job of running aground at Skagen. The Spaniards naturally regarded their captors with no friendly eye, and were as anxious as we were that their s.h.i.+p should not get to Germany.
During the week we had to give evidence to the Danish authorities concerning our capture and treatment on board. We were overwhelmed with kindness by the Danes, who made no secret of their sympathies with the Allies; invitations to dinners and parties flowed in, and we could not have accepted them all if we had stayed as many weeks as we had days.
On Friday, March 1st, at 1 p.m., most of us left Skagen. The whole village turned out to give us a good send-off, and snapshots galore were taken--this, indeed, had been going on ever since we landed. The ladies among us were presented with flowers and chocolates, the men with smokes, and we left with the heartiest good wishes of our warm-hearted hosts. While in Denmark we read the German account of the _Wolf's_ expedition and exploits. It was, of course, grossly exaggerated, and contained a fantastic account of the ”action” between the _Wolf_ and _Hitachi_. Rather a one-sided ”action,” as the _Wolf_ did all the firing!
From Skagen our pa.s.sage home was arranged by the British Consular authorities. The journey from Skagen to Copenhagen was rather trying, since we had to leave the too well-heated train during the night and embark on train ferries when crossing from mainland to island and from one island to another. It was bitterly cold. We made our first acquaintance with bread and b.u.t.ter tickets at Skagen, and found them also in use on the railways and train ferries in Denmark and Scandinavia.
We arrived at Copenhagen about 8.30 on the following morning. When at Skagen I had written to Sir Ralph Paget, K.C.M.G., His Britannic Majesty's Minister to Denmark--whom we had known some years before when filling a similar position in Siam--telling him of our rescue. Lady Paget and he were waiting at the station to meet us. They straightway took my wife and myself off to the British Legation in Copenhagen, and insisted on us remaining there as their guests during our stay in the Danish capital. They were the personification of kindness to us, and helped us in every possible way, and it would be quite impossible for us to express adequately our great indebtedness to them. We obtained fresh _vises_ for our pa.s.sports from the British, Swedish, and Norwegian Consulates, and my wife, who had been unable in Siam to obtain a pa.s.sport to travel to England, was granted an ”emergency pa.s.sport,” on which she was described as an ”ex-prisoner.” The Germans had, quite unintentionally, it is true, helped her to get to England when our own Government had forbidden it.
We left Copenhagen on the evening of March 4th, and once more during the night embarked in a train ferry to cross to Sweden at Helsingborg. The next morning found us at Goteborg. The old Mauritius woman and her grandchild had been accommodated in a sleeping carriage with two berths.
Not being used to such luxuries and not knowing what to do in such surroundings, they had deposited their garments on the bunks and slept on the floor, which doubtless came more natural to them!
The same evening we arrived at Christiania; unfortunately we saw nothing of this capital, as we arrived late at night, crossed to a hotel near the railway station, and returned to the station to resume our journey on the next morning before it was fully light. The whole of the next day we were travelling through Norway in brilliant dazzling suns.h.i.+ne, over snowclad mountains--some so high that vegetation was absent--finally leaving Bergen in the late afternoon of March 7th on the S.S. _Vulture_.
From the _Wolf_ to the _Vulture_ did not look very promising!
Before leaving Norway every article of our baggage was carefully searched before being put on the boat. I asked the Customs officer what he was particularly looking for. ”Bombs,” he replied. But there were no German diplomats or members of German Legation staffs amongst us!
The s.h.i.+p was very full, so much so that many first-cla.s.s pa.s.sengers were compelled to travel third cla.s.s, and among us were many people and officials of Allied nationality escaping from the disorders in Russia.
We travelled full speed all night, and the pa.s.sage was far from comfortable. Daybreak showed us the coast of the Shetlands--our first sight of the British Isles--and a few fussy armed trawlers shepherded us into the harbour of Lerwick, where we remained at anchor till dusk. We then set off again at full speed, and sighted the coast of Scotland in the morning. But it was not till past 2 p.m. that we arrived at Aberdeen. No sooner had the boat berthed in dock there than a representative of the Admiralty told us that all the _Igotz Mendi_ prisoners were to proceed to London forthwith to be interrogated by the Admiralty. We had intended to have a few days' rest at Aberdeen after our strenuous travelling, but this was not allowed, so, much to our disgust and very much under protest, we spent still one more night out of bed, and so to London, where we arrived in a characteristic pea-soup fog on the morning of March 10th, after incessant travelling by train and sea for a week. We had not relished another sea voyage--and one across the North Sea least of all--but there was no help for it. We feared that as we had escaped the Germans once, they might make a special effort to sink us crossing the North Sea. But fortunately the U boats left us alone, though few, if any of us, turned in during those last few nights, for we felt we must still hold ourselves ready for any emergency. Arrived in London we were taken forthwith to the Admiralty, and there interrogated by the authorities as to the _Wolf's_ exploits.
Our adventures were really at an end at last.