A Watch-dog of the North Sea: A Naval Story of the Great War by Percy F. Westerman
CHAPTER XXXIII
A SPLINTER OF SHELL
ALMOST before the cheering died away an alert seaman raised thewarning cry of "Submarine on the starboard quarter."
He had just caught a glimpse of the pole-like periscopes of asubmarine ere they vanished beneath the surface of the placid sea.
Of her nationality there could be no doubt. A British one would havehad no occasion to submerge, since the stranded monitor flew theWhite Ensign from a spar temporarily set on end and lashed to astanchion in lieu of her demolished ensign-staff.
The "U" boat was evidently standing by to cover the flight of theZeppelin should any cruiser stand in pursuit, for the airship wasflying comparatively low, instead of the usual altitude of tenthousand feet, when annihilated by the "Anzac's" fire. Havingwitnessed the destruction of the Zepp., the "U" boat had approachedthe monitor with the intention of avenging the loss of theair-raider. She had no idea that the "Anzac" was aground, for by thistime she was almost waterborne and lay on practically an even keel;while, since the whole of the sandbank was submerged, there was noindication of shallow water.
Nevertheless it seemed as if the monitor would fall an easy prey tothe German torpedo, for there was not a single gun that could bebrought to bear in the direction of the submarine.
Tressidar was not kept long in suspense. The feather-like wake of theapproaching weapon was clearly visible as the torpedo made unerringlytowards the immovable target.
"Stand clear there, aft!" shouted the sub.
Those of the crew who had been watching the approach of the submergedweapon promptly scurried across the deck so as to be as far from thepoint of impact as possible. Of serious damage to the monitor therewas little fear, owing to the complex nature of her bulging sides.The loss of twenty feet of side plating would matter but little,since the buoyancy of the monitor would not be appreciably altered.
But the expected explosion did not occur. Set to run at a depth oftwelve feet, the torpedo struck the sandy bottom at a distance ofbetween eighty and a hundred yards short of the target.
For another twenty yards it ploughed through the sand, until itsdelicate rudders were damaged by tearing through the comparativelyhard substance. Then with an erraticity that torpedoes have beenknown to display, the weapon made a sharp curve, and rising to thesurface continued its undecided way like a hydroplane, its coursebeing marked by a line of spray in its wake.
Again the monitor's crew cheered--this time ironically. The shoalthat had proved a stumbling-block was now guarding the stranded craftin no uncertain manner.
After a lapse of a quarter of an hour the submarine cautiously pokedher periscopes above the surface, although quite half a mile from thespot where she had previously dived. Once more she fired a torpedo,with almost the same result, for instead of turning on impact withthe shoal, the weapon struck nose first into the sand and remainedthere.
The commander of the "U" boat was evidently puzzled. He could notunderstand why the two torpedoes should have missed the mark; he wasalso at a loss to account for the fact that the British vessel hadnot attempted to open fire.
Nevertheless he was wary. With the idea of drawing the monitor'sfire, he released one of the communication buoys, towing it a hundredyards astern of the submerged craft. The resistance of the buoycaused a decided feather of foam that could not escape the eyes ofthe crew of the monitor. At the end of five minutes the buoy wasdrawn under the surface and taken on board the "U" boat again, bymeans of an automatic winding machine and a system of "air lock"doors. Examination showed that the relatively easy target wasuntouched.
Hence the commander of the German submarine came to the correctconclusion that the monitor was not capable of defence. Again theperiscopes appeared above the surface and a prolonged examination ofthe British vessel was made. The German officers soon came to thedecision that it was safe to rise and attack the monitor by shellfire, provided the "U" boat kept on the starboard quarter of herenemy.
"There she is, sir!" reported a petty officer to Tressidar, as the"U" boat rose to the surface at a distance of nearly two miles off.
Glasses were brought to bear upon the submarine, and it was then seenthat the Germans were preparing to use their two "disappearing" guns.To reply was impracticable, for the submarine was well beyondeffective rifle-range, and the sole serviceable turret gun could notbe trained sufficiently abaft the beam to bear upon the enemy.
"Action stations!" was the order. Since the crew were without presentmeans of offence or defence, all they could do was to take coverbehind the armoured parts of the ship and "take their gruelling ";but every moment the tide was rising, and before long it would bepossible to back off the shoal, turn and bring the gun to bear uponthe Hun.
With little delay the "U" boat opened fire. The first half-dozenshells flew either above or wide of the monitor, but presently thesmall but relatively powerful missiles began to find a mark.
From his post in the conning-tower, which, in spite of the fractureddome, was proof against the small-calibre shells, Tressidar watchedhis opportunity. He made no effort to get the "Anzac" off the shoaluntil he felt certain that she would glide off without difficulty.Then, he hoped, there would be time to train the 14-inch gun on thesubmarine before she had a chance to trim for diving--and only tworounds for that particular weapon remained.
The gun, already loaded, was trained as far aft as possible, so thatthe moment the monitor swung round it could be brought to bear.
A leadsman, risking the flying fragments of shell, ran forward and,throwing himself at full length upon the low fo'c'sle, tooksoundings.
"By the mark two less a quarter," he announced.
"Good," muttered the sub. "That's what we want."
An order to the engine-room and the twin propeller began to churn upwater and sand. With hardly a jar the monitor glided astern--andstruck again, this time by the heel.
"Full speed ahead port engine; starboard, easy astern," shouted thesub. through the voice-tube; then, in his eagerness to see whetherthe vessel would answer to her helm, he left the shelter of theconning-tower.
The next instant he felt as if he had hit his head violently againsta door-post. Thousands of lights danced before his eyes. Vainly heclutched for support. His fingers closed upon empty air. He was dimlyconscious of falling on the deck and of someone throwing his armsaround his waist, and then everything became a blank.
* * * * *
When Tressidar recovered consciousness he found himself lying on acot that had been brought upon deck and lashed down on the aft-sideof the shell-torn superstructure.
Standing by were two sick-bay stewards, who, in the absence of adoctor, had been attending to their youthful "skipper."
Almost the first thing of which the sub. became aware was the factthat the monitor was again under way. The steady roll combined withthe subdued thud of the engines proclaimed the pleasing news. Alsothe firing had ceased, which tended to prove that the "U" boat hadeither been sunk or had taken herself off.
"Have we settled her?" were Tressidar's first words.
"She's done for, sir," replied the second quartermaster. "Only----"
"Only what?" asked the sub. anxiously, for the face of his informanthad disappointment written on every feature.
"We were just out of it, sir. Turret gun was about to bear when the'U' boat went bang. One of our seaplanes did the trick, sir; only wewere within a brace of shakes of plugging her with a 14-inch shell atthe same time. Didn't spot her at that distance until she planked abomb fairly on the strafed Hun's conning-tower--and she was onlyabout a hundred and fifty feet up when she let rip. That's the worstof those seaplanes, sir; always nosing in where they ain't wanted, ifyou don't mind my saying so," he added apologetically and at the sametime with a tinge of professional jealousy.
Tressidar smiled. By so doing he became aware of a pain shootingthrough his head.
"Well, what have I got?" he asked, addressing one of the sick-baystaff.
"Steel splinter
"Right what?" repeated the sub. anxiously. "That's the right thigh, Ibelieve? But my head?"
"All right, sir, as far as we know," reported the man. "No doubt itis the sudden shock to the system, sir; I've known it like thatbefore to-day. We've had to leave the splinter in the wound, sir, butwe'll soon have a surgeon on board. We're just approaching Harwich.We've exchanged signals and asked for medical assistance."
"There's a steamboat making for us now, sir, added the quartermaster.
"Any casualties?" enquired Tressidar.
"Five men down, sir. The last half a dozen shells from that submarinetickled us up a lot."
"Very good; see that the doctor attends to them first," said the sub."Don't say a word about me until they have been dealt with."
"But we have already reported that you've been hit, sir."
"Then annul that part of the signal," ordered Tressidar firmly. "I'mquite comfortable. Now, remember, the men are to be seen first."
By the time the busy fleet-surgeon was free to attend to the sub.'sinjuries, Tressidar was far from comfortable. Hot, throbbing painsshot through the wounded thigh. From the waist upwards he felt coldand shivery. More than once he felt as if he were on the point oflosing consciousness again.
"It's no use disguising the fact, Mr. Tressidar," said the doctor inanswer to the sub.'s point-blank question. "You have had a narrowescape. But for the prompt attention of these men in checking theflow of blood from the femoral artery you would have bled to death."
"Shall I lose my leg?" asked Tressidar, his mind filled withapprehension at the possibility--not so much of being a cripple, asof having to sever his connection with the Service.
"I think not.... No, no operation until we get him ashore.... Yes, upto our eyes in work... quite a big action... we had them this time...Our casualties heavy.... Shotley full up... had to send foradditional staff."
These disjointed sentences were what Tressidar overheard in aconversation between the fleet-surgeon and his assistants. "Quite abig action." Not, of course, The Day, but a fairly decent scrapsomewhere in the North Sea.
"Hurrah!" exclaimed the sub.
"Here, this won't do," remonstrated the doctor. But the reproof fellupon deaf ears. The sub. had relapsed into unconsciousness.