Transcribed from the 1918 John Murray edition by David Price, [email protected]
DANGER!AND OTHER STORIES
BY ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
AUTHOR OF"THE WHITE COMPANY," "SIR NIGEL""RODNEY STONE," ETC.
LONDONJOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W.1918
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
PREFACE
The Title story of this volume was written about eighteen months beforethe outbreak of the war, and was intended to direct public attention tothe great danger which threatened this country. It is a matter ofhistory how fully this warning has been justified and how, even down tothe smallest details, the prediction has been fulfilled. The writermust, however, most thankfully admit that what he did not foresee was theenergy and ingenuity with which the navy has found means to meet the newconditions. The great silent battle which has been fought beneath thewaves has ended in the repulse of an armada far more dangerous than thatof Spain.
It may be objected that the writer, feeling the danger so strongly,should have taken other means than fiction to put his views before theauthorities. The answer to this criticism is that he did indeed adoptevery possible method, that he personally approached leading naval menand powerful editors, that he sent three separate minutes upon the dangerto various public bodies, notably to the Committee for National Defence,and that he touched upon the matter in an article in _The FortnightlyReview_. In some unfortunate way subjects of national welfare are inthis country continually subordinated to party politics, so that a self-evident proposition, such as the danger of a nation being fed fromwithout, is waved aside and ignored, because it will not fit in with somegeneral political shibboleth. It is against this tendency that we haveto guard in the future, and we have to bear in mind that the danger mayrecur, and that the remedies in the text (the only remedies everproposed) have still to be adopted. They are the sufficientencouragement of agriculture, the making of adequate Channel tunnels, andthe provision of submarine merchantmen, which, on the estimate of Mr.Lake, the American designer, could be made up to 7,000 ton burden at anincreased cost of about 25 per cent. It is true that in this war theChannel tunnels would not have helped us much in the matter of food, butwere France a neutral and supplies at liberty to come via Marseilles fromthe East, the difference would have been enormous.
Apart from food however, when one considers the transports we haveneeded, their convoys, the double handling of cargo, the interruptions oftraffic from submarines or bad weather, the danger and suffering of thewounded, and all else that we owe to the insane opposition to the Channeltunnels, one questions whether there has ever been an example of nationalstupidity being so rapidly and heavily punished. It is as clear asdaylight even now, that it will take years to recover all our men andmaterial from France, and that if the tunnel (one will suffice for thetime), were at once set in hand, it might be ready to help in this taskand so free shipping for the return of the Americans. One thing however,is clear. It is far too big and responsible and lucrative an undertakingfor a private company, and it should be carried out and controlled byGovernment, the proceeds being used towards the war debt.
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE.
_August_ 24_th_,CROWBOROUGH.
I. DANGER! {1}BEING THE LOG OF CAPTAIN JOHN SIRIUS
It is an amazing thing that the English, who have the reputation of beinga practical nation, never saw the danger to which they were exposed. Formany years they had been spending nearly a hundred millions a year upontheir army and their fleet. Squadrons of Dreadnoughts costing twomillions each had been launched. They had spent enormous sums uponcruisers, and both their torpedo and their submarine squadrons wereexceptionally strong. They were also by no means weak in their aerialpower, especially in the matter of seaplanes. Besides all this, theirarmy was very efficient, in spite of its limited numbers, and it was themost expensive in Europe. Yet when the day of trial came, all thisimposing force was of no use whatever, and might as well have notexisted. Their ruin could not have been more complete or more rapid ifthey had not possessed an ironclad or a regiment. And all this wasaccomplished by me, Captain John Sirius, belonging to the navy of one ofthe smallest Powers in Europe, and having under my command a flotilla ofeight vessels, the collective cost of which was eighteen hundred thousandpounds. No one has a better right to tell the story than I.
I will not trouble you about the dispute concerning the Colonialfrontier, embittered, as it was, by the subsequent death of the twomissionaries. A naval officer has nothing to do with politics. I onlycame upon the scene after the ultimatum had been actually received.Admiral Horli had been summoned to the Presence, and he asked that Ishould be allowed to accompany him, because he happened to know that Ihad some clear ideas as to the weak points of England, and also someschemes as to how to take advantage of them. There were only four of uspresent at this meeting--the King, the Foreign Secretary, Admiral Horli,and myself. The time allowed by the ultimatum expired in forty-eighthours.
I am not breaking any confidence when I say that both the King and theMinister were in favour of a surrender. They saw no possibility ofstanding up against the colossal power of Great Britain. The Ministerhad drawn up an acceptance of the British terms, and the King sat with itbefore him on the table. I saw the tears of anger and humiliation rundown his cheeks as he looked at it.
"I fear that there is no possible alternative, Sire," said the Minister."Our envoy in London has just sent this report, which shows that thepublic and the Press are more united than he has ever known them. Thefeeling is intense, especially since the rash act of Malort indesecrating the flag. We must give way."
The King looked sadly at Admiral Horli.
"What is your effective fleet, Admiral?" he asked.
"Two battleships, four cruisers, twenty torpedo-boats, and eightsubmarines," said the Admiral.
The King shook his head.
"It would be madness to resist," said he.
"And yet, Sire," said the Admiral, "before you come to a decision Ishould wish you to hear Captain Sirius, who has a very definite plan ofcampaign against the English."
"Absurd!" said the King, impatiently. "What is the use? Do you imaginethat you could defeat their vast armada?"
"Sire," I answered, "I will stake my life that if you will follow myadvice you will, within a month or six weeks at the utmost, bring proudEngland to her knees."
There was an assurance in my voice which arrested the attention of theKing.
"You seem self-confident, Captain Sirius."
"I have no doubt at all, Sire."
"What then would you advise?"
"I would advise, Sire, that the whole fleet be gathered under the fortsof Blankenberg and be protected from attack by booms and piles. Therethey can stay till the war is over. The eight submarines, however, youwill leave in my charge to use as I think fit."
"Ah, you would attack the English battleships with submarines?"
"Sire, I would never go near an English battleship."
"And why not?"
"Because they might injure me, Sire."
"What, a sailor and afraid?"
"My life belongs to the country, Sire. It is nothing. But these eightships--everything depends upon them. I could not risk them. Nothingwould induce me to fight."
"Then what will you do?"
"I will tell you, Sire." And I did so. For half an hour I spoke. I wasclear and strong and definite, for many an hour on a lonely watch I hadspent in thinking out every detail. I held them enthralled. The Kingnever took his eyes from my face. The Minister sat as if turned tostone.
"Are you sure of all this?"
"Perfectly, Sire."
The King rose from the table.
"Se
nd no answer to the ultimatum," said he. "Announce in both housesthat we stand firm in the face of menace. Admiral Horli, you will in allrespects carry out that which Captain Sirius may demand in furtherance ofhis plan. Captain Sirius, the field is clear. Go forth and do as youhave said. A grateful King will know how to reward you."
I need not trouble you by telling you the measures which were taken atBlankenberg, since, as you are aware, the fortress and the entire fleetwere destroyed by the British within a week of the declaration of war. Iwill confine myself to my own plans, which had so glorious and final aresult.
The fame of my eight submarines, _Alpha_, _Beta_, _Gamma_, _Theta_,_Delta_, _Epsilon_, _Iota_, and _Kappa_, have spread through the world tosuch an extent that people have begun to think that there was somethingpeculiar in their form and capabilities. This is not so. Four of them,the _Delta_, _Epsilon_, _Iota_, and _Kappa_, were, it is true, of thevery latest model, but had their equals (though not their superiors) inthe navies of all the great Powers. As to _Alpha_, _Beta_, _Gamma_, and_Theta_, they were by no means modern vessels, and found their prototypesin the old F class of British boats, having a submerged displacement ofeight hundred tons, with heavy oil engines of sixteen hundredhorse-power, giving them a speed of eighteen knots on the surface and oftwelve knots submerged. Their length was one hundred and eighty-six andtheir breadth twenty-four feet. They had a radius of action of fourthousand miles and a submerged endurance of nine hours. These wereconsidered the latest word in 1915, but the four new boats exceeded themin all respects. Without troubling you with precise figures, I may saythat they represented roughly a twenty-five per cent. advance up on theolder boats, and were fitted with several auxiliary engines which werewanting in the others. At my suggestion, instead of carrying eight ofthe very large Bakdorf torpedoes, which are nineteen feet long, weighhalf a ton, and are charged with two hundred pounds of wet gun-cotton, wehad tubes designed for eighteen of less than half the size. It was mydesign to make myself independent of my base.
And yet it was clear that I must have a base, so I made arrangements atonce with that object. Blankenberg was the last place I would havechosen. Why should I have a _port_ of any kind? Ports would be watchedor occupied. Any place would do for me. I finally chose a small villastanding alone nearly five miles from any village and thirty miles fromany port. To this I ordered them to convey, secretly by night, oil,spare parts, extra torpedoes, storage batteries, reserve periscopes, andeverything that I could need for refitting. The little whitewashed villaof a retired confectioner--that was the base from which I operatedagainst England.
The boats lay at Blankenberg, and thither I went. They were workingfrantically at the defences, and they had only to look seawards to bespurred to fresh exertions. The British fleet was assembling. Theultimatum had not yet expired, but it was evident that a blow would bestruck the instant that it did. Four of their aeroplanes, circling at animmense height, were surveying our defences. From the top of thelighthouse I counted thirty battleships and cruisers in the offing, witha number of the trawlers with which in the British service they breakthrough the mine-fields. The approaches were actually sown with twohundred mines, half contact and half observation, but the result showedthat they were insufficient to hold off the enemy, since three days laterboth town and fleet were speedily destroyed.
However, I am not here to tell you the incidents of the war, but toexplain my own part in it, which had such a decisive effect upon theresult. My first action was to send my four second-class boats awayinstantly to the point which I had chosen for my base. There they wereto wait submerged, lying with negative buoyancy upon the sands in twentyfoot of water, and rising only at night. My strict orders were that theywere to attempt nothing upon the enemy, however tempting the opportunity.All they had to do was to remain intact and unseen, until they receivedfurther orders. Having made this clear to Commander Panza, who hadcharge of this reserve flotilla, I shook him by the hand and bade himfarewell, leaving with him a sheet of notepaper upon which I hadexplained the tactics to be used and given him certain general principleswhich he could apply as circumstances demanded.
My whole attention was now given to my own flotilla, which I divided intotwo divisions, keeping _Iota_ and _Kappa_ under my own command, whileCaptain Miriam had _Delta_ and _Epsilon_. He was to operate separatelyin the British Channel, while my station was the Straits of Dover. Imade the whole plan of campaign clear to him. Then I saw that each shipwas provided with all it could carry. Each had forty tons of heavy oilfor surface propulsion and charging the dynamo which supplied theelectric engines under water. Each had also eighteen torpedoes asexplained and five hundred rounds for the collapsible quick-firing twelve-pounder which we carried on deck, and which, of course, disappeared intoa water-tight tank when we were submerged. We carried spare periscopesand a wireless mast, which could be elevated above the conning-tower whennecessary. There were provisions for sixteen days for the ten men whomanned each craft. Such was the equipment of the four boats which weredestined to bring to naught all the navies and armies of Britain. Atsundown that day--it was April 10th--we set forth upon our historicvoyage.
Miriam had got away in the afternoon, since he had so much farther to goto reach his station. Stephan, of the _Kappa_, started with me; but, ofcourse, we realized that we must work independently, and that from thatmoment when we shut the sliding hatches of our conning-towers on thestill waters of Blankenberg Harbour it was unlikely that we should eversee each other again, though consorts in the same waters. I waved toStephan from the side of my conning-tower, and he to me. Then I calledthrough the tube to my engineer (our water-tanks were already filled andall kingstons and vents closed) to put her full speed ahead.
Just as we came abreast of the end of the pier and saw the white-cappedwaves rolling in upon us, I put the horizontal rudder hard down and sheslid under water. Through my glass portholes I saw its light greenchange to a dark blue, while the manometer in front of me indicatedtwenty feet. I let her go to forty, because I should then be under thewarships of the English, though I took the chance of fouling the mooringsof our own floating contact mines. Then I brought her on an even keel,and it was music to my ear to hear the gentle, even ticking of myelectric engines and to know that I was speeding at twelve miles an houron my great task.
At that moment, as I stood controlling my levers in my tower, I couldhave seen, had my cupola been of glass, the vast shadows of the Britishblockaders hovering above me. I held my course due westward for ninetyminutes, and then, by shutting off the electric engine without blowingout the water-tanks, I brought her to the surface. There was a rollingsea and the wind was freshening, so I did not think it safe to keep myhatch open long, for so small is the margin of buoyancy that one must runno risks. But from the crests of the rollers I had a look backwards atBlankenberg, and saw the black funnels and upper works of the enemy'sfleet with the lighthouse and the castle behind them, all flushed withthe pink glow of the setting sun. Even as I looked there was the boom ofa great gun, and then another. I glanced at my watch. It was sixo'clock. The time of the ultimatum had expired. We were at war.
There was no craft near us, and our surface speed is nearly twice that ofour submerged, so I blew out the tanks and our whale-back came over thesurface. All night we were steering south-west, making an average ofeighteen knots. At about five in the morning, as I stood alone upon mytiny bridge, I saw, low down in the west, the scattered lights of theNorfolk coast. "Ah, Johnny, Johnny Bull," I said, as I looked at them,"you are going to have your lesson, and I am to be your master. It is Iwho have been chosen to teach you that one cannot live under artificialconditions and yet act as if they were natural ones. More foresight,Johnny, and less party politics--that is my lesson to you." And then Ihad a wave of pity, too, when I thought of those vast droves of helplesspeople, Yorkshire miners, Lancashire spinners, Birmingham metal-workers,the dockers and workers of London, over whose little homes I would bringthe shad
ow of starvation. I seemed to see all those wasted eager handsheld out for food, and I, John Sirius, dashing it aside. Ah, well! waris war, and if one is foolish one must pay the price.
Just before daybreak I saw the lights of a considerable town, which musthave been Yarmouth, bearing about ten miles west-south-west on ourstarboard bow. I took her farther out, for it is a sandy, dangerouscoast, with many shoals. At five-thirty we were abreast of the Lowestoftlightship. A coastguard was sending up flash signals which faded into apale twinkle as the white dawn crept over the water. There was a gooddeal of shipping about, mostly fishing-boats and small coasting craft,with one large steamer hull-down to the west, and a torpedo destroyerbetween us and the land. It could not harm us, and yet I thought it aswell that there should be no word of our presence, so I filled my tanksagain and went down to ten feet. I was pleased to find that we got underin one hundred and fifty seconds. The life of one's boat may depend onthis when a swift craft comes suddenly upon you.
We were now within a few hours of our cruising ground, so I determined tosnatch a rest, leaving Vornal in charge. When he woke me at ten o'clockwe were running on the surface, and had reached the Essex coast off theMaplin Sands. With that charming frankness which is one of theircharacteristics, our friends of England had informed us by their Pressthat they had put a cordon of torpedo-boats across the Straits of Doverto prevent the passage of submarines, which is about as sensible as tolay a wooden plank across a stream to keep the eels from passing. I knewthat Stephan, whose station lay at the western end of the Solent, wouldhave no difficulty in reaching it. My own cruising ground was to be atthe mouth of the Thames, and here I was at the very spot with my tiny_Iota_, my eighteen torpedoes, my quick-firing gun, and, above all, abrain that knew what should be done and how to do it.
When I resumed my place in the conning-tower I saw in the periscope (forwe had dived) that a lightship was within a few hundred yards of us uponthe port bow. Two men were sitting on her bulwarks, but neither of themcast an eye upon the little rod that clove the water so close to them. Itwas an ideal day for submarine action, with enough ripple upon thesurface to make us difficult to detect, and yet smooth enough to give mea clear view. Each of my three periscopes had an angle of sixty degreesso that between them I commanded a complete semi-circle of the horizon.Two British cruisers were steaming north from the Thames within half amile of me. I could easily have cut them off and attacked them had Iallowed myself to be diverted from my great plan. Farther south adestroyer was passing westwards to Sheerness. A dozen small steamerswere moving about. None of these were worthy of my notice. Greatcountries are not provisioned by small steamers. I kept the enginesrunning at the lowest pace which would hold our position under water,and, moving slowly across the estuary, I waited for what must assuredlycome.
I had not long to wait. Shortly after one o'clock I perceived in theperiscope a cloud of smoke to the south. Half an hour later a largesteamer raised her hull, making for the mouth of the Thames. I orderedVornal to stand by the starboard torpedo-tube, having the other alsoloaded in case of a miss. Then I advanced slowly, for though the steamerwas going very swiftly we could easily cut her off. Presently I laid the_Iota_ in a position near which she must pass, and would very gladly havelain to, but could not for fear of rising to the surface. I thereforesteered out in the direction from which she was coming. She was a verylarge ship, fifteen thousand tons at the least, painted black above andred below, with two cream-coloured funnels. She lay so low in the waterthat it was clear she had a full cargo. At her bows were a cluster ofmen, some of them looking, I dare say, for the first time at the mothercountry. How little could they have guessed the welcome that wasawaiting them!
On she came with the great plumes of smoke floating from her funnels, andtwo white waves foaming from her cut-water. She was within a quarter ofa mile. My moment had arrived. I signalled full speed ahead and steeredstraight for her course. My timing was exact. At a hundred yards I gavethe signal, and heard the clank and swish of the discharge. At the sameinstant I put the helm hard down and flew off at an angle. There was aterrific lurch, which came from the distant explosion. For a moment wewere almost upon our side. Then, after staggering and trembling, the_Iota_ came on an even keel. I stopped the engines, brought her to thesurface, and opened the conning-tower, while all my excited crew camecrowding to the hatch to know what had happened.
The ship lay within two hundred yards of us, and it was easy to see thatshe had her death-blow. She was already settling down by the stern.There was a sound of shouting and people were running wildly about herdecks. Her name was visible, the _Adela_, of London, bound, as weafterwards learned, from New Zealand with frozen mutton. Strange as itmay seem to you, the notion of a submarine had never even now occurred toher people, and all were convinced that they had struck a floating mine.The starboard quarter had been blown in by the explosion, and the shipwas sinking rapidly. Their discipline was admirable. We saw boat afterboat slip down crowded with people as swiftly and quietly as if it werepart of their daily drill. And suddenly, as one of the boats lay offwaiting for the others, they caught a glimpse for the first time of myconning-tower so close to them. I saw them shouting and pointing, whilethe men in the other boats got up to have a better look at us. For mypart, I cared nothing, for I took it for granted that they already knewthat a submarine had destroyed them. One of them clambered back into thesinking ship. I was sure that he was about to send a wireless message asto our presence. It mattered nothing, since, in any case, it must beknown; otherwise I could easily have brought him down with a rifle. Asit was, I waved my hand to them, and they waved back to me. War is toobig a thing to leave room for personal ill-feeling, but it must beremorseless all the same.
I was still looking at the sinking _Adela_ when Vornal, who was besideme, gave a sudden cry of warning and surprise, gripping me by theshoulder and turning my head. There behind us, coming up the fairway,was a huge black vessel with black funnels, flying the well-known house-flag of the P. and O. Company. She was not a mile distant, and Icalculated in an instant that even if she had seen us she would not havetime to turn and get away before we could reach her. We went straightfor her, therefore, keeping awash just as we were. They saw the sinkingvessel in front of them and that little dark speck moving over thesurface, and they suddenly understood their danger. I saw a number ofmen rush to the bows, and there was a rattle of rifle-fire. Two bulletswere flattened upon our four-inch armour. You might as well try to stopa charging bull with paper pellets as the _Iota_ with rifle-fire. I hadlearned my lesson from the _Adela_, and this time I had the torpedodischarged at a safer distance--two hundred and fifty yards. We caughther amidships and the explosion was tremendous, but we were well outsideits area. She sank almost instantaneously. I am sorry for her people,of whom I hear that more than two hundred, including seventy Lascars andforty passengers, were drowned. Yes, I am sorry for them. But when Ithink of the huge floating granary that went to the bottom, I rejoice asa man does who has carried out that which he plans.
It was a bad afternoon that for the P. and O. Company. The second shipwhich we destroyed was, as we have since learned, the _Moldavia_, offifteen thousand tons, one of their finest vessels; but about half-pastthree we blew up the _Cusco_, of eight thousand, of the same line, alsofrom Eastern ports, and laden with corn. Why she came on in face of thewireless messages which must have warned her of danger, I cannot imagine.The other two steamers which we blew up that day, the _Maid of Athens_(Robson Line) and the _Cormorant_, were neither of them provided withapparatus, and came blindly to their destruction. Both were small boatsof from five thousand to seven thousand tons. In the case of the second,I had to rise to the surface and fire six twelve-pound shells under herwater-line before she would sink. In each case the crew took to theboats, and so far as I know no casualties occurred.
After that no more steamers came along, nor did I expect them. Warningsmust by this time have be
en flying in all directions. But we had noreason to be dissatisfied with our first day. Between the Maplin Sandsand the Nore we had sunk five ships of a total tonnage of about fiftythousand tons. Already the London markets would begin to feel the pinch.And Lloyd's--poor old Lloyd's--what a demented state it would be in! Icould imagine the London evening papers and the howling in Fleet Street.We saw the result of our actions, for it was quite laughable to see thetorpedo-boats buzzing like angry wasps out of Sheerness in the evening.They were darting in every direction across the estuary, and theaeroplanes and hydroplanes were like flights of crows, black dots againstthe red western sky. They quartered the whole river mouth, until theydiscovered us at last. Some sharp-sighted fellow with a telescope onboard of a destroyer got a sight of our periscope, and came for us fullspeed. No doubt he would very gladly have rammed us, even if it hadmeant his own destruction, but that was not part of our programme at all.I sank her and ran her east-south-east with an occasional rise. Finallywe brought her to, not very far from the Kentish coast, and the search-lights of our pursuers were far on the western skyline. There we layquietly all night, for a submarine at night is nothing more than a verythird-rate surface torpedo-boat. Besides, we were all weary and neededrest. Do not forget, you captains of men, when you grease and trim yourpumps and compressors and rotators, that the human machine needs sometending also.
I had put up the wireless mast above the conning-tower, and had nodifficulty in calling up Captain Stephan. He was lying, he said, offVentnor and had been unable to reach his station, on account of enginetrouble, which he had now set right. Next morning he proposed to blockthe Southampton approach. He had destroyed one large Indian boat on hisway down Channel. We exchanged good wishes. Like myself, he neededrest. I was up at four in the morning, however, and called all hands tooverhaul the boat. She was somewhat up by the head, owing to the forwardtorpedoes having been used, so we trimmed her by opening the forwardcompensating tank, admitting as much water as the torpedoes had weighed.We also overhauled the starboard air-compressor and one of the periscopemotors which had been jarred by the shock of the first explosion. We hadhardly got ourselves shipshape when the morning dawned.
I have no doubt that a good many ships which had taken refuge in theFrench ports at the first alarm had run across and got safely up theriver in the night. Of course I could have attacked them, but I do notcare to take risks--and there are always risks for a submarine at night.But one had miscalculated his time, and there she was, just abreast ofWarden Point, when the daylight disclosed her to us. In an instant wewere after her. It was a near thing, for she was a flier, and could dotwo miles to our one; but we just reached her as she went swashing by.She saw us at the last moment, for I attacked her awash, since otherwisewe could not have had the pace to reach her. She swung away and thefirst torpedo missed, but the second took her full under the counter.Heavens, what a smash! The whole stern seemed to go aloft. I drew offand watched her sink. She went down in seven minutes, leaving her mastsand funnels over the water and a cluster of her people holding on tothem. She was the _Virginia_, of the Bibby Line--twelve thousandtons--and laden, like the others, with foodstuffs from the East. Thewhole surface of the sea was covered with the floating grain. "John Bullwill have to take up a hole or two of his belt if this goes on," saidVornal, as we watched the scene.
And it was at that moment that the very worst danger occurred that couldbefall us. I tremble now when I think how our glorious voyage might havebeen nipped in the bud. I had freed the hatch of my tower, and waslooking at the boats of the _Virginia_ with Vornal near me, when therewas a swish and a terrific splash in the water beside us, which coveredus both with spray. We looked up, and you can imagine our feelings whenwe saw an aeroplane hovering a few hundred feet above us like a hawk.With its silencer, it was perfectly noiseless, and had its bomb notfallen into the sea we should never have known what had destroyed us. Shewas circling round in the hope of dropping a second one, but we shoved onall speed ahead, crammed down the rudders, and vanished into the side ofa roller. I kept the deflection indicator falling until I had put fiftygood feet of water between the aeroplane and ourselves, for I knew wellhow deeply they can see under the surface. However, we soon threw heroff our track, and when we came to the surface near Margate there was nosign of her, unless she was one of several which we saw hovering overHerne Bay.
There was not a ship in the offing save a few small coasters and littlethousand-ton steamers, which were beneath my notice. For several hours Ilay submerged with a blank periscope. Then I had an inspiration. Ordershad been marconied to every foodship to lie in French waters and dashacross after dark. I was as sure of it as if they had been recorded inour own receiver. Well, if they were there, that was where I should bealso. I blew out the tanks and rose, for there was no sign of anywarship near. They had some good system of signalling from the shore,however, for I had not got to the North Foreland before three destroyerscame foaming after me, all converging from different directions. Theyhad about as good a chance of catching me as three spaniels would have ofovertaking a porpoise. Out of pure bravado--I know it was very wrong--Iwaited until they were actually within gunshot. Then I sank and we saweach other no more.
It is, as I have said, a shallow sandy coast, and submarine navigation isvery difficult. The worst mishap that can befall a boat is to bury itsnose in the side of a sand-drift and be held there. Such an accidentmight have been the end of our boat, though with our Fleuss cylinders andelectric lamps we should have found no difficulty in getting out at theair-lock and in walking ashore across the bed of the ocean. As it was,however, I was able, thanks to our excellent charts, to keep the channeland so to gain the open straits. There we rose about midday, but,observing a hydroplane at no great distance, we sank again for half anhour. When we came up for the second time, all was peaceful around us,and the English coast was lining the whole western horizon. We keptoutside the Goodwins and straight down Channel until we saw a line ofblack dots in front of us, which I knew to be the Dover-Calais torpedo-boat cordon. When two miles distant we dived and came up again sevenmiles to the south-west, without one of them dreaming that we had beenwithin thirty feet of their keels.
When we rose, a large steamer flying the German flag was within half amile of us. It was the North German Lloyd _Altona_, from New York toBremen. I raised our whole hull and dipped our flag to her. It wasamusing to see the amazement of her people at what they must haveregarded as our unparalleled impudence in those English-swept waters.They cheered us heartily, and the tricolour flag was dipped in greetingas they went roaring past us. Then I stood in to the French coast.
It was exactly as I had expected. There were three great Britishsteamers lying at anchor in Boulogne outer harbour. They were the_Caesar_, the _King of the East_, and the _Pathfinder_, none less thanten thousand tons. I suppose they thought they were safe in Frenchwaters, but what did I care about three-mile limits and internationallaw! The view of my Government was that England was blockaded, foodcontraband, and vessels carrying it to be destroyed. The lawyers couldargue about it afterwards. My business was to starve the enemy any way Icould. Within an hour the three ships were under the waves and the_Iota_ was streaming down the Picardy coast, looking for fresh victims.The Channel was covered with English torpedo-boats buzzing and whirlinglike a cloud of midges. How they thought they could hurt me I cannotimagine, unless by accident I were to come up underneath one of them.More dangerous were the aeroplanes which circled here and there.
The water being calm, I had several times to descend as deep as a hundredfeet before I was sure that I was out of their sight. After I had blownup the three ships at Boulogne I saw two aeroplanes flying down Channel,and I knew that they would head off any vessels which were coming up.There was one very large white steamer lying off Havre, but she steamedwest before I could reach her. I dare say Stephan or one of the otherswould get her before long. But those infernal aeroplanes spoiled oursport
for that day. Not another steamer did I see, save the never-endingtorpedo-boats. I consoled myself with the reflection, however, that nofood was passing me on its way to London. That was what I was there for,after all. If I could do it without spending my torpedoes, all thebetter. Up to date I had fired ten of them and sunk nine steamers, so Ihad not wasted my weapons. That night I came back to the Kent coast andlay upon the bottom in shallow water near Dungeness.
We were all trimmed and ready at the first break of day, for I expectedto catch some ships which had tried to make the Thames in the darknessand had miscalculated their time. Sure enough, there was a great steamercoming up Channel and flying the American flag. It was all the same tome what flag she flew so long as she was engaged in conveying contrabandof war to the British Isles. There were no torpedo-boats about at themoment, so I ran out on the surface and fired a shot across her bows. Sheseemed inclined to go on so I put a second one just above her water-lineon her port bow. She stopped then and a very angry man began togesticulate from the bridge. I ran the _Iota_ almost alongside.
"Are you the captain?" I asked.
"What the--" I won't attempt to reproduce his language.
"You have food-stuffs on board?" I said.
"It's an American ship, you blind beetle!" he cried. "Can't you see theflag? It's the _Vermondia_, of Boston."
"Sorry, Captain," I answered. "I have really no time for words. Thoseshots of mine will bring the torpedo-boats, and I dare say at this verymoment your wireless is making trouble for me. Get your people into theboats."
I had to show him I was not bluffing, so I drew off and began puttingshells into him just on the water-line. When I had knocked six holes init he was very busy on his boats. I fired twenty shots altogether, andno torpedo was needed, for she was lying over with a terrible list toport, and presently came right on to her side. There she lay for two orthree minutes before she foundered. There were eight boats crammed withpeople lying round her when she went down. I believe everybody wassaved, but I could not wait to inquire. From all quarters the poor oldpanting, useless war-vessels were hurrying. I filled my tanks, ran herbows under, and came up fifteen miles to the south. Of course, I knewthere would be a big row afterwards--as there was--but that did not helpthe starving crowds round the London bakers, who only saved their skins,poor devils, by explaining to the mob that they had nothing to bake.
By this time I was becoming rather anxious, as you can imagine, to knowwhat was going on in the world and what England was thinking about itall. I ran alongside a fishing-boat, therefore, and ordered them to giveup their papers. Unfortunately they had none, except a rag of an eveningpaper, which was full of nothing but betting news. In a second attempt Icame alongside a small yachting party from Eastbourne, who werefrightened to death at our sudden appearance out of the depths. Fromthem we were lucky enough to get the London _Courier_ of that verymorning.
It was interesting reading--so interesting that I had to announce it allto the crew. Of course, you know the British style of headline, whichgives you all the news at a glance. It seemed to me that the whole paperwas headlines, it was in such a state of excitement. Hardly a word aboutme and my flotilla. We were on the second page. The first one begansomething like this:--
CAPTURE OF BLANKENBERG!
* * * * *
DESTRUCTION OF ENEMY'S FLEET
* * * * *
BURNING OF TOWN
* * * * *
TRAWLERS DESTROY MINE FIELD LOSS OF TWO BATTLESHIPS
* * * * *
IS IT THE END?
Of course, what I had foreseen had occurred. The town was actuallyoccupied by the British. And they thought it was the end! We would seeabout that.
On the round-the-corner page, at the back of the glorious resonantleaders, there was a little column which read like this:--
HOSTILE SUBMARINES
Several of the enemy's submarines are at sea, and have inflicted some appreciable damage upon our merchant ships. The danger-spots upon Monday and the greater part of Tuesday appear to have been the mouth of the Thames and the western entrance to the Solent. On Monday, between the Nore and Margate, there were sunk five large steamers, the _Adela_, _Moldavia_, _Cusco_, _Cormorant_, and _Maid of Athens_, particulars of which will be found below. Near Ventnor, on the same day, was sunk the _Verulam_, from Bombay. On Tuesday the _Virginia_, _Caesar_, _King of the East_, and _Pathfinder_ were destroyed between the Foreland and Boulogne. The latter three were actually lying in French waters, and the most energetic representations have been made by the Government of the Republic. On the same day _The Queen of Sheba_, _Orontes_, _Diana_, and _Atalanta_ were destroyed near the Needles. Wireless messages have stopped all ingoing cargo-ships from coming up Channel, but unfortunately there is evidence that at least two of the enemy's submarines are in the West. Four cattle-ships from Dublin to Liverpool were sunk yesterday evening, while three Bristol- bound steamers, _The Hilda_, _Mercury_, and _Maria Toser_, were blown up in the neighbourhood of Lundy Island. Commerce has, so far as possible, been diverted into safer channels, but in the meantime, however vexatious these incidents may be, and however grievous the loss both to the owners and to Lloyd's, we may console ourselves by the reflection that since a submarine cannot keep the sea for more than ten days without refitting, and since the base has been captured, there must come a speedy term to these depredations."
So much for the _Courier's_ account of our proceedings. Another smallparagraph was, however, more eloquent:--
"The price of wheat, which stood at thirty-five shillings a week before the declaration of war, was quoted yesterday on the Baltic at fifty-two. Maize has gone from twenty-one to thirty-seven, barley from nineteen to thirty-five, sugar (foreign granulated) from eleven shillings and threepence to nineteen shillings and sixpence."
"Good, my lads!" said I, when I read it to the crew. "I can assure youthat those few lines will prove to mean more than the whole page aboutthe Fall of Blankenberg. Now let us get down Channel and send thoseprices up a little higher."
All traffic had stopped for London--not so bad for the little _Iota_--andwe did not see a steamer that was worth a torpedo between Dungeness andthe Isle of Wight. There I called Stephan up by wireless, and by seveno'clock we were actually lying side by side in a smooth rollingsea--Hengistbury Head bearing N.N.W. and about five miles distant. Thetwo crews clustered on the whale-backs and shouted their joy at seeingfriendly faces once more. Stephan had done extraordinarily well. I had,of course, read in the London paper of his four ships on Tuesday, but hehad sunk no fewer than seven since, for many of those which should havecome to the Thames had tried to make Southampton. Of the seven, one wasof twenty thousand tons, a grain-ship from America, a second was a grain-ship from the Black Sea, and two others were great liners from SouthAfrica. I congratulated Stephan with all my heart upon his splendidachievement. Then as we had been seen by a destroyer which wasapproaching at a great pace, we both dived, coming up again off theNeedles, where we spent the night in company. We could not visit eachother, since we had no boat, but we lay so nearly alongside that we wereable, Stephan and I, to talk from hatch to hatch and so make our plans.
He had shot away more than half his torpedoes, and so had I, and yet wewere very averse from returning to our base so long as our oil held out.I told him of my experience with the Boston steamer, and we mutuallyagreed to sink the ships by gun-fire in future so far as possible. Iremember old Horli saying, "What use is a gun aboard a submarine?" Wewere about to show. I read the English paper to Stephan by the light ofmy electric torch, and we both agreed that few ships would now come upthe Channel. That sentence about diverting commerce to safer routescould only mean that the ships would go round the North of Ireland andunload at Glasgow. Oh, for two more ships to stop that entrance!Heavens, what _would_ England have done against a foe with thirty orforty submarines,
since we only needed six instead of four to completeher destruction! After much talk we decided that the best plan would bethat I should dispatch a cipher telegram next morning from a French portto tell them to send the four second-rate boats to cruise off the Northof Ireland and West of Scotland. Then when I had done this I should movedown Channel with Stephan and operate at the mouth, while the other twoboats could work in the Irish Sea. Having made these plans, I set offacross the Channel in the early morning, reaching the small village ofEtretat, in Brittany. There I got off my telegram and then laid mycourse for Falmouth, passing under the keels of two British cruiserswhich were making eagerly for Etretat, having heard by wireless that wewere there.
Half-way down Channel we had trouble with a short circuit in our electricengines, and were compelled to run on the surface for several hours whilewe replaced one of the cam-shafts and renewed some washers. It was aticklish time, for had a torpedo-boat come upon us we could not havedived. The perfect submarine of the future will surely have somealternative engines for such an emergency. However by the skill ofEngineer Morro, we got things going once more. All the time we lay thereI saw a hydroplane floating between us and the British coast. I canunderstand how a mouse feels when it is in a tuft of grass and sees ahawk high up in the heavens. However, all went well; the mouse became awater-rat, it wagged its tail in derision at the poor blind old hawk, andit dived down into a nice safe green, quiet world where there was nothingto injure it.
It was on the Wednesday night that the _Iota_ crossed to Etretat. It wasFriday afternoon before we had reached our new cruising ground. Only onelarge steamer did I see upon our way. The terror we had caused hadcleared the Channel. This big boat had a clever captain on board. Histactics were excellent and took him in safety to the Thames. He camezigzagging up Channel at twenty-five knots, shooting off from his courseat all sorts of unexpected angles. With our slow pace we could not catchhim, nor could we calculate his line so as to cut him off. Of course, hehad never seen us, but he judged, and judged rightly, that wherever wewere those were the tactics by which he had the best chance of gettingpast. He deserved his success.
But, of course, it is only in a wide Channel that such things can bedone. Had I met him in the mouth of the Thames there would have been adifferent story to tell. As I approached Falmouth I destroyed a three-thousand-ton boat from Cork, laden with butter and cheese. It was myonly success for three days.
That night (Friday, April 16th) I called up Stephan, but received noreply. As I was within a few miles of our rendezvous, and as he wouldnot be cruising after dark, I was puzzled to account for his silence. Icould only imagine that his wireless was deranged. But, alas!
I was soon to find the true reason from a copy of the _Western MorningNews_, which I obtained from a Brixham trawler. The _Kappa_, with hergallant commander and crew, were at the bottom of the English Channel.
It appeared from this account that after I had parted from him he had metand sunk no fewer than five vessels. I gathered these to be his work,since all of them were by gun-fire, and all were on the south coast ofDorset or Devon. How he met his fate was stated in a short telegramwhich was headed "Sinking of a Hostile Submarine." It was marked"Falmouth," and ran thus:--
The P. and O. mail steamer _Macedonia_ came into this port last night with five shell holes between wind and water. She reports having been attacked by a hostile submarine ten miles to the south-east of the Lizard. Instead of using her torpedoes, the submarine for some reason approached from the surface and fired five shots from a semi-automatic twelve-pounder gun. She was evidently under the impression that the _Macedonia_ was unarmed. As a matter of fact, being warned of the presence of submarines in the Channel, the _Macedonia_ had mounted her armament as an auxiliary cruiser. She opened fire with two quick-firers and blew away the conning-tower of the submarine. It is probable that the shells went right through her, as she sank at once with her hatches open. The _Macedonia_ was only kept afloat by her pumps.
Such was the end of the _Kappa_, and my gallant friend, CommanderStephan. His best epitaph was in a corner of the same paper, and washeaded "Mark Lane." It ran:--
"Wheat (average) 66, maize 48, barley 50."
Well, if Stephan was gone there was the more need for me to show energy.My plans were quickly taken, but they were comprehensive. All that day(Saturday) I passed down the Cornish coast and round Land's End, gettingtwo steamers on the way. I had learned from Stephan's fate that it wasbetter to torpedo the large craft, but I was aware that the auxiliarycruisers of the British Government were all over ten thousand tons, sothat for all ships under that size it was safe to use my gun. Both thesecraft, the _Yelland_ and the _Playboy_--the latter an American ship--wereperfectly harmless, so I came up within a hundred yards of them andspeedily sank them, after allowing their people to get into boats. Someother steamers lay farther out, but I was so eager to make my newarrangements that I did not go out of my course to molest them. Justbefore sunset, however, so magnificent a prey came within my radius ofaction that I could not possibly refuse her. No sailor could fail torecognize that glorious monarch of the sea, with her four cream funnelstipped with black, her huge black sides, her red bilges, and her highwhite top-hamper, roaring up Channel at twenty-three knots, and carryingher forty-five thousand tons as lightly as if she were a five-ton motor-boat. It was the queenly _Olympic_, of the White Star--once the largestand still the comeliest of liners. What a picture she made, with theblue Cornish sea creaming round her giant fore-foot, and the pink westernsky with one evening star forming the background to her noble lines.
She was about five miles off when we dived to cut her off. Mycalculation was exact. As we came abreast we loosed our torpedo andstruck her fair. We swirled round with the concussion of the water. Isaw her in my periscope list over on her side, and I knew that she hadher death-blow. She settled down slowly, and there was plenty of time tosave her people. The sea was dotted with her boats. When I got aboutthree miles off I rose to the surface, and the whole crew clustered up tosee the wonderful sight. She dived bows foremost, and there was aterrific explosion, which sent one of the funnels into the air. Isuppose we should have cheered--somehow, none of us felt like cheering.We were all keen sailors, and it went to our hearts to see such a ship godown like a broken eggshell. I gave a gruff order, and all were at theirposts again while we headed north-west. Once round the Land's End Icalled up my two consorts, and we met next day at Hartland Point, thesouth end of Bideford Bay. For the moment the Channel was clear, but theEnglish could not know it, and I reckoned that the loss of the _Olympic_would stop all ships for a day or two at least.
Having assembled the _Delta_ and _Epsilon_, one on each side of me, Ireceived the report from Miriam and Var, the respective commanders. Eachhad expended twelve torpedoes, and between them they had sunk twenty-twosteamers. One man had been killed by the machinery on board of the_Delta_, and two had been burned by the ignition of some oil on the_Epsilon_. I took these injured men on board, and I gave each of theboats one of my crew. I also divided my spare oil, my provisions, and mytorpedoes among them, though we had the greatest possible difficulty inthose crank vessels in transferring them from one to the other. However,by ten o'clock it was done, and the two vessels were in condition to keepthe sea for another ten days. For my part, with only two torpedoes left,I headed north up the Irish Sea. One of my torpedoes I expended thatevening upon a cattle-ship making for Milford Haven. Late at night,being abreast of Holyhead, I called upon my four northern boats, butwithout reply. Their Marconi range is very limited. About three in theafternoon of the next day I had a feeble answer. It was a great reliefto me to find that my telegraphic instructions had reached them and thatthey were on their station. Before evening we all assembled in the leeof Sanda Island, in the Mull of Kintyre. I felt an admiral indeed when Isaw my five whale-backs all in a row. Panza's report was excellent. Theyhad come round by the Pentland Fir
th and reached their cruising ground onthe fourth day. Already they had destroyed twenty vessels without anymishap. I ordered the _Beta_ to divide her oil and torpedoes among theother three, so that they were in good condition to continue theircruise. Then the _Beta_ and I headed for home, reaching our base uponSunday, April 25th. Off Cape Wrath I picked up a paper from a smallschooner.
"Wheat, 84; Maize, 60; Barley, 62." What were battles and bombardmentscompared to that!
The whole coast of Norland was closely blockaded by cordon within cordon,and every port, even the smallest, held by the British. But why shouldthey suspect my modest confectioner's villa more than any other of theten thousand houses that face the sea? I was glad when I picked up itshomely white front in my periscope. That night I landed and found mystores intact. Before morning the _Beta_ reported itself, for we had thewindows lit as a guide.
It is not for me to recount the messages which I found waiting for me atmy humble headquarters. They shall ever remain as the patents ofnobility of my family. Among others was that never-to-be-forgottensalutation from my King. He desired me to present myself at Hauptville,but for once I took it upon myself to disobey his commands. It took metwo days--or rather two nights, for we sank ourselves during the daylighthours--to get all our stores on board, but my presence was needful everyminute of the time. On the third morning, at four o'clock, the _Beta_and my own little flagship were at sea once more, bound for our originalstation off the mouth of the Thames.
I had no time to read our papers whilst I was refitting, but I gatheredthe news after we got under way. The British occupied all our ports, butotherwise we had not suffered at all, since we have excellent railwaycommunications with Europe. Prices had altered little, and ourindustries continued as before. There was talk of a British invasion,but this I knew to be absolute nonsense, for the British must havelearned by this time that it would be sheer murder to send transportsfull of soldiers to sea in the face of submarines. When they have atunnel they can use their fine expeditionary force upon the Continent,but until then it might just as well not exist so far as Europe isconcerned. My own country, therefore, was in good case and had nothingto fear. Great Britain, however, was already feeling my grip upon herthroat. As in normal times four-fifths of her food is imported, priceswere rising by leaps and bounds. The supplies in the country werebeginning to show signs of depletion, while little was coming in toreplace it. The insurances at Lloyd's had risen to a figure which madethe price of the food prohibitive to the mass of the people by the timeit had reached the market. The loaf, which, under ordinary circumstancesstood at fivepence, was already at one and twopence. Beef was threeshillings and fourpence a pound, and mutton two shillings and ninepence.Everything else was in proportion. The Government had acted with energyand offered a big bounty for corn to be planted at once. It could onlybe reaped five months hence, however, and long before then, as the paperspointed out, half the island would be dead from starvation. Strongappeals had been made to the patriotism of the people, and they wereassured that the interference with trade was temporary, and that with alittle patience all would be well. But already there was a marked risein the death-rate, especially among children, who suffered from want ofmilk, the cattle being slaughtered for food. There was serious riotingin the Lanarkshire coalfields and in the Midlands, together with aSocialistic upheaval in the East of London, which had assumed theproportions of a civil war. Already there were responsible papers whichdeclared that England was in an impossible position, and that animmediate peace was necessary to prevent one of the greatest tragedies inhistory. It was my task now to prove to them that they were right.
It was May 2nd when I found myself back at the Maplin Sands to the northof the estuary of the Thames. The _Beta_ was sent on to the Solent toblock it and take the place of the lamented _Kappa_. And now I wasthrottling Britain indeed--London, Southampton, the Bristol Channel,Liverpool, the North Channel, the Glasgow approaches, each was guarded bymy boats. Great liners were, as we learned afterwards, pouring theirsupplies into Galway and the West of Ireland, where provisions werecheaper than has ever been known. Tens of thousands were embarking fromBritain for Ireland in order to save themselves from starvation. But youcannot transplant a whole dense population. The main body of the people,by the middle of May, were actually starving. At that date wheat was ata hundred, maize and barley at eighty. Even the most obstinate had begunto see that the situation could not possibly continue.
In the great towns starving crowds clamoured for bread before themunicipal offices, and public officials everywhere were attacked andoften murdered by frantic mobs, composed largely of desperate women whohad seen their infants perish before their eyes. In the country, roots,bark, and weeds of every sort were used as food. In London the privatemansions of Ministers were guarded by strong pickets of soldiers, while abattalion of Guards was camped permanently round the Houses ofParliament. The lives of the Prime Minister and of the Foreign Secretarywere continually threatened and occasionally attempted. Yet theGovernment had entered upon the war with the full assent of every partyin the State. The true culprits were those, be they politicians orjournalists, who had not the foresight to understand that unless Britaingrew her own supplies, or unless by means of a tunnel she had some way ofconveying them into the island, all her mighty expenditure upon her armyand her fleet was a mere waste of money so long as her antagonists had afew submarines and men who could use them. England has often beenstupid, but has got off scot-free. This time she was stupid and had topay the price. You can't expect Luck to be your saviour always.
It would be a mere repetition of what I have already described if I wereto recount all our proceedings during that first ten days after I resumedmy station. During my absence the ships had taken heart and had begun tocome up again. In the first day I got four. After that I had to gofarther afield, and again I picked up several in French waters. Once Ihad a narrow escape through one of my kingston valves getting some gritinto it and refusing to act when I was below the surface. Our margin ofbuoyancy just carried us through. By the end of that week the Channelwas clear again, and both _Beta_ and my own boat were down West oncemore. There we had encouraging messages from our Bristol consort, who inturn had heard from _Delta_ at Liverpool. Our task was completely done.We could not prevent all food from passing into the British Islands, butat least we had raised what did get in to a price which put it far beyondthe means of the penniless, workless multitudes. In vain Governmentcommandeered it all and doled it out as a general feeds the garrison of afortress. The task was too great--the responsibility too horrible. Eventhe proud and stubborn English could not face it any longer.
I remember well how the news came to me. I was lying at the time offSelsey Bill when I saw a small war-vessel coming down Channel. It hadnever been my policy to attack any vessel coming _down_. My torpedoesand even my shells were too precious for that. I could not help beingattracted, however, by the movements of this ship, which came slowlyzigzagging in my direction.
"Looking for me," thought I. "What on earth does the foolish thing hopeto do if she could find me?"
I was lying awash at the time and got ready to go below in case sheshould come for me. But at that moment--she was about half a mileaway--she turned her quarter, and there to my amazement was the red flagwith the blue circle, our own beloved flag, flying from her peak. For amoment I thought that this was some clever dodge of the enemy to tempt mewithin range. I snatched up my glasses and called on Vornal. Then weboth recognized the vessel. It was the _Juno_, the only one left intactof our own cruisers. What could she be doing flying the flag in theenemy's waters? Then I understood it, and turning to Vornal, we threwourselves into each other's arms. It could only mean an armistice--orpeace!
And it was peace. We learned the glad news when we had risen alongsidethe _Juno_, and the ringing cheers which greeted us had at last diedaway. Our orders were to report ourselves at once at Blankenberg. Thenshe passe
d on down Channel to collect the others. We returned to portupon the surface, steaming through the whole British fleet as we passedup the North Sea. The crews clustered thick along the sides of thevessels to watch us. I can see now their sullen, angry faces. Manyshook their fists and cursed us as we went by. It was not that we haddamaged them--I will do them the justice to say that the English, as theold Boer War has proved, bear no resentment against a brave enemy--butthat they thought us cowardly to attack merchant ships and avoid thewarships. It is like the Arabs who think that a flank attack is a mean,unmanly device. War is not a big game, my English friends. It is adesperate business to gain the upper hand, and one must use one's brainin order to find the weak spot of one's enemy. It is not fair to blameme if I have found yours. It was my duty. Perhaps those officers andsailors who scowled at the little _Iota_ that May morning have by thistime done me justice when the first bitterness of undeserved defeat waspassed.
Let others describe my entrance into Blankenberg; the mad enthusiasm ofthe crowds, and the magnificent public reception of each successive boatas it arrived. Surely the men deserved the grant made them by the Statewhich has enabled each of them to be independent for life. As a feat ofendurance, that long residence in such a state of mental tension incramped quarters, breathing an unnatural atmosphere, will long remain asa record. The country may well be proud of such sailors.
The terms of peace were not made onerous, for we were in no condition tomake Great Britain our permanent enemy. We knew well that we had won thewar by circumstances which would never be allowed to occur again, andthat in a few years the Island Power would be as strong as ever--stronger,perhaps--for the lesson that she had learned. It would be madness toprovoke such an antagonist. A mutual salute of flags was arranged, theColonial boundary was adjusted by arbitration, and we claimed noindemnity beyond an undertaking on the part of Britain that she would payany damages which an International Court might award to France or to theUnited States for injury received through the operations of oursubmarines. So ended the war!
Of course, England will not be caught napping in such a fashion again!Her foolish blindness is partly explained by her delusion that her enemywould not torpedo merchant vessels. Common sense should have told herthat her enemy will play the game that suits them best--that they willnot inquire what they may do, but they will do it first and talk about itafterwards. The opinion of the whole world now is that if a blockadewere proclaimed one may do what one can with those who try to break it,and that it was as reasonable to prevent food from reaching England inwar time as it is for a besieger to prevent the victualling of abeleaguered fortress.
I cannot end this account better than by quoting the first few paragraphsof a leader in the _Times_, which appeared shortly after the declarationof peace. It may be taken to epitomize the saner public opinion ofEngland upon the meaning and lessons of the episode.
"In all this miserable business," said the writer, "which has cost us the loss of a considerable portion of our merchant fleet and more than fifty thousand civilian lives, there is just one consolation to be found. It lies in the fact that our temporary conqueror is a Power which is not strong enough to reap the fruits of her victory. Had we endured this humiliation at the hands of any of the first-class Powers it would certainly have entailed the loss of all our Crown Colonies and tropical possessions, besides the payment of a huge indemnity. We were absolutely at the feet of our conqueror and had no possible alternative but to submit to her terms, however onerous. Norland has had the good sense to understand that she must not abuse her temporary advantage, and has been generous in her dealings. In the grip of any other Power we should have ceased to exist as an Empire.
"Even now we are not out of the wood. Some one may maliciously pick a quarrel with us before we get our house in order, and use the easy weapon which has been demonstrated. It is to meet such a contingency that the Government has rushed enormous stores of food at the public expense into the country. In a very few months the new harvest will have appeared. On the whole we can face the immediate future without undue depression, though there remain some causes for anxiety. These will no doubt be energetically handled by this new and efficient Government, which has taken the place of those discredited politicians who led us into a war without having foreseen how helpless we were against an obvious form of attack.
"Already the lines of our reconstruction are evident. The first and most important is that our Party men realize that there is something more vital than their academic disputes about Free Trade or Protection, and that all theory must give way to the fact that a country is in an artificial and dangerous condition if she does not produce within her own borders sufficient food to at least keep life in her population. Whether this should be brought about by a tax upon foreign foodstuffs, or by a bounty upon home products, or by a combination of the two, is now under discussion. But all Parties are combined upon the principle, and, though it will undoubtedly entail either a rise in prices or a deterioration in quality in the food of the working-classes, they will at least be insured against so terrible a visitation as that which is fresh in our memories. At any rate, we have got past the stage of argument. It _must_ be so. The increased prosperity of the farming interest, and, as we will hope, the cessation of agricultural emigration, will be benefits to be counted against the obvious disadvantages.
"The second lesson is the immediate construction of not one but two double-lined railways under the Channel. We stand in a white sheet over the matter, since the project has always been discouraged in these columns, but we are prepared to admit that had such railway communication been combined with adequate arrangements for forwarding supplies from Marseilles, we should have avoided our recent surrender. We still insist that we cannot trust entirely to a tunnel, since our enemy might have allies in the Mediterranean; but in a single contest with any Power of the North of Europe it would certainly be of inestimable benefit. There may be dangers attendant upon the existence of a tunnel, but it must now be admitted that they are trivial compared to those which come from its absence. As to the building of large fleets of merchant submarines for the carriage of food, that is a new departure which will be an additional insurance against the danger which has left so dark a page in the history of our country."
Danger! and Other Stories Page 1