Brighton Boys with the Submarine Fleet by James R. Driscoll
CHAPTER XXIII
OUT OF THE NET
In stolid silence the German "Herr Kommander" signaled for the conningtower hatch to be thrown open and turned to find that CommanderMcClure had taken a crouching position directly behind him in theconning tower, a huge automatic gripped in one hand. Bonte had beensummoned from the wireless room to overhear and translate to theAmerican commander every word spoken by Herr Schmidt. The lattergrumbled a reply with a nod of his head.
"Remember now, if you betray us, you die instantly," cautioned McClureas the lid of the conning tower flew open at the touch of a buttonand the German thrust his head out into the early morning atmosphere.A thin silvery mist floated over the water, and McClure, from hisposition, could see the, stars twinkling above him. The Germandestroyer hovered right at hand and her captain on the forward deckwas bellowing a challenge at the _Monitor_ through a megaphone.
There was a tense silence in the conning tower of the submarine duringthe parley that followed.
"Don't attempt to move," said McClure to the German at his side.
In whispers, at intervals in the German dialogue, Bonte translatedto McClure the conversation of Herr Schmidt. The Teuton was tellinghis fellow countrymen that it was all a mistake; that this was theU-108 and that she had stumbled into the net by accident, having beenpulled off her course by a defect in the diving rudders.
McClure had given orders that at the first sign of betrayal theconning tower was to be closed and the _Monitor_ submerged againas quickly as possible. Ted stood by ready to transmit the orderto lower away. But what was the surprise of "Little Mack" to haveHerr Schmidt turn and shout down the conning tower in German:
"Send men on deck through the fore and aft hatches equipped to cutaway the cable nets!"
Cramming his revolver into his holster, Jack hurried forward whileTed made off aft to the engine room. In another moment the forwardhatch was thrown open and three of the German seamen emerged on deck,followed by the _Monitor's_ executive officer in German naval uniform.At the same time Ted climbed up from the engine room on the aft deck,followed by four of the German prisoners. In the dim light the crewsmoved about their work like phantoms.
As best they could the Germans lifted the steel wires and cables andcarried them along the deck of the _Monitor_; one toward the bow,the other toward the stern. It was tedious work and hard work, too,for the cables were heavy and so interwoven that it was a difficulttask to move them. Ted and his crew had the hardest work because ofthe fact that the netting had become entangled in the propeller blades.
Jack and his men finished first, having lifted the last steel meshclear of the prow of the _Monitor_, the Germans under him standingabout the deck at his command as though but taking a little airon the deck of their own vessel After what seemed an eternity tothe submarine commander in the conning tower, Herr Schmidt announcedthat the vessel was clear of the entanglements.
"Fine!" exclaimed McClure. "Now we are going away from here."
So saying, he rang the engine room ahead and the _Monitor_ began tomove off at moderate speed. At the same time there was a greatcommotion on the German destroyer and a voice at the end of a megaphonedemanded in stentorian tones where the U-boat was going.
"Tell them we are going into Ostend," said McClure, as the Germanofficer relayed the message into the conning tower.
Now the American officers were intent upon a safe get-away. In orderto make as small a target as possible of the _Monitor_ the tail ofthe sub was turned to the destroyer and in that position she glidedaway into the depths. In two minutes she was submerged, only thetips of her periscopes showing.
"They have their aft guns trained on us and are firing away as fast asthey can load and reload," said Jack as he gazed into the tube.
"Well, they'll never get us now," exclaimed McClure as the _Monitor_took in another three hundred pounds of water ballast and dived downout of sight of the German warship.
There was danger now of running into another net and the officers ofthe sub were fully cognizant of their peril. As a precaution McClurestopped the engines entirely and then gave orders to submerge to onehundred feet. Slowly but steadily the vessel dropped away into thefathoms and was soon beyond the range of guns, depth bombs or othermenacing projectiles. When at last the depth dial showed the desireddepth the _Monitor_ was headed straight out to the open sea andstarted ahead at eight knots an hour.
Unmolested, but feeling her way cautiously along until well out of thedanger zone of nets and mines, the _Monitor_ moved out to sea and sether course for the Strait of Dover.
By noon she had made excellent progress.
Not a vessel had yet been sighted, and with the freedom of the opensea the sub was able to cruise on the surface at full speed. Severalhours later the _Monitor_ picked up H.M.S. _Chesterton_, turned overthe German prisoners, and gave warning of the intended U-boat raidon the transports. "We sank the mother ship of the submarines,"McClure told the _Chesterton's_ commander, "but they'll probablyget their supplies elsewhere and try to pull off the stunt."
The world was electrified next morning by the news of a great battlebetween the Allied High Seas Fleet and the German submarine flotilla,in which the Germans, outnumbered and outgeneraled, were beaten offwith the loss of several giant U-boats. The _Monitor_ played a veryimportant part in the engagement and had the satisfaction of sinkingone of the enemy ships by gunfire, coming up at close range rightbeside the U-boat and engaging her in an old-fashioned hand-to-handconflict.
Several days later while cruising in the North Sea a call came to the_Monitor_---a radiogram from the flagship of the American admiral,summoning the sub to a rendezvous with other allied submarines forimportant instructions.