Part 11 (1/2)
”Isn't she the chesty one!”
”Look at the big squab with all that war-paint on--how does she expect any U-boat to overlook her?”
”That big loafer, she'd better watch out or she'll be getting hers before the day's gone!”
U-boats were thick around there. One of them must have come up, looked the convoy over, and said, ”Well, there's nothing to this but the big one!” and, Bing! let her have it, for it was not yet quite dark when those who were looking at her saw a column like steam go into the air, a black column like coal follow it, and after that a column of water boiling white.
One of our destroyers hopped to twenty-five knots, dumped over a 300-pound ”ash-can,” and got Mister U-boat. At least, the British admiralty later gave her 100 per cent on the circ.u.mstantial evidence.
Two other destroyers--the 396 and the 384, we will call them--went at once to the job of taking off pa.s.sengers from the sinking s.h.i.+p.
That was at five minutes to six, just before dark. It had interrupted dinner on our s.h.i.+p; but by and by we went back to the ward-room to finish eating. It is always good business to eat--no knowing when a man will be needing a good meal to be standing by him inside. And we were still eating when the messenger came in with a radio. He pa.s.sed it to the skipper, who read it to himself, whistled, and then read aloud: TORPEDOED--CLAN LINDSAY.
The _Clan Lindsay_ was another of our convoy, and she had been within 1,000 yards of our s.h.i.+p when we last came about to zigzag back across the front of our column.
We looked at one another, and one said: ”Well, you got to hand it to Fritz for being on the job every minute.”
And another: ”Yes, but it looks like a big night to-night. Two in an hour! And eighteen more s.h.i.+ps and eight destroyers to pick from yet! If he starts off like that, what d'y' s'pose he'll be batting by morning?”
The ward-room on our s.h.i.+p opens onto the s.h.i.+p's galley; and from the s.h.i.+p's galley another door opens onto the deck. Through the open galley-door just then came a m.u.f.fled explosion--a great Woof!
We all thought just one thing--they've got us too!--and we all sort of half curled up, and would not have been a bit surprised if the next instant we found ourselves sailing through the deck overhead. The feeling lasted for perhaps three seconds, and then our skipper, happening to look up, saw that the colored mess-boy George was grinning widely.
”What the devil you laughing at?” barked out our skipper.
George took his eyes off the galley-door, but his grin remained. Said George: ”Cap'n, I see de flame. The galley stove just done bust!”
The galley stove on our s.h.i.+p was an oil-burner. It had back-fired, and so the loud Woof!
Later it came out that the _Clan Lindsay_ wasn't torpedoed at all; but one of our destroyers dropped a depth charge so close to her to get a U-boat that she thought she was.
The camouflaged big liner sank, but not until the two of our destroyers standing by had taken off every one of the 503 pa.s.sengers, one taking the people off the deck, the other picking up those in the small boats.
One destroyer--the 396, say--took off 307 of these pa.s.sengers. Her skipper pa.s.sed the word by radio to the 384, which had gathered in 196 pa.s.sengers, including the commodore. The 384 got the message, only she got it 7 instead of 307 people rescued.
”Seven survivors!” said the 384's skipper. ”I wonder why she radioed that?” He meditated over the puzzle and by and by solved it to his satisfaction.
”Of course, what she wants is for us to take off the seven and add 'em to our own.” He took measures to meet the emergency, and then followed this little incident:
Aboard the 396 they were busy trying to find s.p.a.ce for their 307 pa.s.sengers when a lookout heard a Putt! putt! putt! coming over the water. The officer of the deck listened. Everybody on the bridge listened. Putt! putt! putt! it came. The officer of the deck reported to the skipper. The skipper wondered who it could be, when just then a radio message arrived: ”Am sending a boat--384.”
”Sending a boat? What for?” He meditated over that puzzle and then he solved it--as he thought. ”Sure. That British commodore she picked up is coming to see how the survivors aboard here are getting on. That's it”--he turned to the watch-officer--”you know how these Britishers are for regulations. Even in the midst of a mess like this we'll have to kotow to his rank or he'll probably be reporting us. So rouse out six side-boys, line 'em up, rig up the port ladder, have the bugler stand by for ta-ra-rums and all that stuff.”
They did that, shoving their crowded survivors out of the way to make room for the ceremony.
The Putt! putt! putt! comes nearer and nearer. Next, from out of the blackness of the ocean they make out a little motor-dory. Balanced out on the gunwale of the little dory, when it comes nearer, they see an American bluejacket smoking a cigarette. No one else was in the dory.