Heinrich sat at a slouched position, his body limp. He felt numb thinking about the consequences yesterday’s incident would cause.
“Am I getting through to you at all, Heinrich?”
Otto started to rise from his chair when Heinrich gestured for him to stay seated.
“Somehow, I am not getting through to you, Otto! Do you not understand if they would have ordered more cannon fire with the lineup they had at their disposal, what it could have meant to the men on board? There could very well have been many casualties; including dead ones!” Heinrich shot back in a loud and distressed voice.
He put up both hands gesturing for both men to calm down. In a much softer voice almost sounding he was pleading with his friend, he said, “Otto, I need you to know all that my mind was going through. No one else but you understand me well enough. I need to share what I felt during the action.”
Otto nodded and sat down.
“It was frightful for me also, but at the same time exhilarating,” Heinrich confessed. “Part of me wanted to take refuge, cut and run, but another part of me felt the excitement – the sheer thrill of it.”
“You are indeed a complicated person, Heinrich. Over the years together we both learned what our common character attributes were versus our differences in the way we perceived danger and how we feel about it. I am different than you in the way we confront danger. You find it exciting, and I find it barbaric.”
“It is hard enough for me to understand let alone try to explain it to someone else, Otto. I just get caught up in the moment, and I am taken into a feverish pitch when danger happens. My first reaction is to confront it and eliminate it.”
Otto nodded in acknowledgment.
Heinrich finished by saying, “I still have much to learn in the face of conflict at sea. But I will say again; my decision was solely based on defending this ship and crew.”
Otto scooted his chair closer to Heinrich and looked him dead in the eye.
“The frigate fired a single shot. If she meant to attack us, she would have fired her entire broadside. Is that not true?”
Drope did not answer, but his expression changed to a look that Otto knew well having spent eight years together. It meant he had gotten through to Heinrich’s better sense.
“Yesterday did not have to end up the way it did had you not been so ruffled. You did let your emotions speak too loud, Heinrich. Responsibility does not go without repercussions. Your adversarial attitude may well be your curse. It may help you in brawls to defend your honor, but not in battles with warships! I don’t have to remind you that as captain, the men will do whatever you say – even if it is to their demise. But is that what you truly want?”
Then Drope’s eyes shifted and took on a far-away gaze. It was Heinrich’s contemplative behavior. It told Otto that he was not brooding, but mulling over what he heard. Otto sat quietly waiting for Heinrich to collect his thoughts and respond.
Otto knew the words he would hear next were as close to a confession as Heinrich would ever give. He also knew it came not from a weak man; far from it. His friend had character strength that did not bend easily. Heinrich was true to his calling as the honest man Herr Weber had helped nurture.
“I loathe myself for what this incident has done to the men. Believe me, Otto, the desire was to escape, not fight. When they fired on us, I made the decision to strike back to allow escape. It was purely instinctive.”
The clock ticked away as if trying to keep pace with Otto’s heart rate, at least it seemed that way, as he pondered Heinrich’s words. He knew Heinrich had followed his heart – but when would he start including more of his brain to balance out decisions?
His mind kept coming back to Heinrich not taking the time to contemplate the situation and come up with options that would work for the good of all aboard, “It would not have happened if he ordered the See Wolf to heave to.”
Otto finally found his voice, “I know you believe it was the best thing to do at the time. I am not a jury and judge. Let’s move on and make sure the same mistake does not happen again.”
Was there no way out of this dilemma?
“It wasn’t a mistake! As I said, it was a decision based on their antagonistic action to fire on us. Have you thought at all if we had heaved to and bent to their demand, would they have stopped firing their guns?”
“I do not believe they would have kept up their cannon fire. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Just maybe they are overzealous in their use of force, Otto. That is what I perceived. To me they were quite hasty firing on us in the first place, don’t you think? That was what prompted my suspicion of what they would do next. Am I supposed to read their minds now? Next may have been more cannon fire. The English navy is very good at hitting targets, especially ones that heave to and become even easier to hit. I made a calculated decision to act in the way we did for our safety. There was no time to guess their next move. I perceived their fire as a clear threat to our welfare, and I made an on the spot decision to protect ourselves. I did so not for self-interest, rather for the good of the crew. How many times must I repeat this to get through to you?”
Heinrich’s words were forceful, forthright and in Otto’s estimation also unpretentious. He hesitated before responding and gave earnest heed to his friend’s words.
“Heinrich, perhaps I rushed my assessment. Can we walk through the entire incident together and see if we come to different conclusions? And both promise to be sincere for the good of all of us.”
“If it will help us both to see the sequence of events as they played out and see what options were available to us, then of course.”
Otto stood up, “First let me fill up our tankards for this may take us awhile.”
For the next two hours, they recounted in careful detail everything that had taken place during the event. Whenever a decision was made in the event sequence, they discussed options and the cause and effect. They decided once they had covered all the details that they recalled of the incident, they would next meet with the section heads to garner any other pertinent information by listening to their versions. With two minds recounting what had occurred, they now understood better what the other had meant and why they did so during the episode. Otto even conceded that he had acted somewhat impulsively and rushed to conclusions. He now saw that the See Wolf did not have clear and simple options given the British rashness in opening fire hastily and putting the See Wolf in dangerous waters. Such impetuous behavior was tantamount to disaster. And indeed, the result would now cast the See Wolf into turbulent waters.
“Now, Heinrich, I need you to know that I argued solely for the crew’s safety; nothing more.”
“As I did.”
“I believe you. We will attempt to figure out a solution at our meeting tomorrow if there is indeed one. I will go and talk with the men. Is there anything else?”
“So, what about the crew?”
“Indeed, what about the poor crew?” Otto asked himself. He felt as if a millstone had been thrown around their necks and thrown overboard with this horrible turn of events.
“We have a commitment to the crew to draw up a sound strategy, one that they can trust and buy into. We won’t be alone coming up with ideas; I guarantee that the section heads will assist in that endeavor. Ultimately, they back you, Heinrich; they have high regard for you. Are you with me on that?”
Heinrich nodded and said, “The crew must bounce back from this fiasco. They must realize that one bad incident does not dictate their entire future.”
“Do not be so sure about that. I’m afraid that will be decided by the British when they discuss what they want to do about the incident. Their decision will affect our plans.”
“How we decide to ply our merchant endeavor will be decided tomorrow. The plan must include ways to convince the crew that our goals can be attained. We will reassert to the crew that every one of them will share in the profits we make.”
Otto thought, “That you d
o my friend, that you do,” but instead changed the subject, “By the way, the hole in the hull is nearly finished being patched up by Bauer. The cannonball was found resting among the shattered pieces of wooden crates in the forward hold. The hole in the sail has been stitched up. No other damage was done. You want to keep the ball as a keepsake reminder?”
“No, but I would like to send it back to them by cannon fire if I could. Maybe they will want to reuse it.”
Otto offered a sly grin.
“Tell the section heads we are meeting first thing in the morning.”
Otto rose and departed for the evening.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CONSTERNATION
Morning broke quietly as Heinrich stepped through his cabin doorway into a room crammed full of men impatiently awaiting him. All were engaged in anxious conversation, but once they spotted their captain, they quieted down. Heinrich stood still for a moment and looked at the forlorn expressions on the faces of his trusted comrades. Their expressions still held vestiges of fear imposed on them by the deadly exchange incurred with the British ships. What had fate dealt them just yesterday? Their ship had not even made its maiden cargo run yet, and now they faced a dilemma that could very well sink what they had signed up for. The incident with the British warships not only affected their business prospects but surely their future personal welfare as well if the British decided to hunt them. The room harbored an atmosphere of despair, which was contrary to the positive attitudes they had just days ago. Now their future was shrouded in a murky black veil.
Heinrich cringed at the thought of facing these irate men; something very rare for him. Suddenly, he felt queasy; another feeling unusual for him. Stepping to his desk, he grabbed his chair and pulled it around to the front and sat down. He motioned with a hand for the others to take a seat. Slowly men began pulling up chairs until all thirteen were seated. Although the cabin along with the two armories was one of the largest rooms on board ship, the delegation took up the entire space. Here sat the ship’s core group of leadership; all serious men. Men he had handpicked for their specific talents and skill sets. Men he required to help pull off a merchant business endeavor in a young and wild new world. He could not lose their support in this venture, or he might as well head back to Bremerhaven. They had a short time amongst each other to ponder, discuss and even sulk over the attack incident. Now was the time to find out where they all stood. He could feel the mood. The emotion that the men exuded was tense.
On his way from the galley to this meeting, Heinrich remembered some of Herr Weber’s board meetings when they had to discuss business issues that had significant impact on the welfare of the company. In teaching him business matters, Weber had instructed him to push his emotions aside and conduct the discourse with factual details and not let feelings guide the decisions made. He now thought as he did in those far-off meetings that it was easy to say, yet difficult to put into practice. But he knew he must try. Forcing his nerves to settle and his mind to think, he began shrugging off the weakness he felt.
Facing the inevitable, he brought his head up and saw all eyes intently locked on him. After clearing his throat, he dove right in, “Because of the incident yesterday; our future may look bleak. But, I believe by applying ourselves as we know we can, we can come up with a workable solution together. We need a plan that will allay our situation. How to ply our business trade may become a bit tricky, but I believe doable. We still have the means financially; the ship and crew, and I hope the will to do so. We can make this happen. I have called all of you here to discuss the situation, Herren, and formulate a plan on just how to proceed going forward,” Heinrich stated. “Are we in agreement?”
The room was as still as a becalmed ship as men looked at one another. Each man had to come to grips with his feelings. They continued glancing at each other as they contemplated the circumstance. Most deferred from speaking wanting the more stalwart to speak up first. Hell, they were all bold men, and any one of them can speak their mind, Heinrich thought. He waited patiently.
Breaking the awkward silence, Doc Strobel spoke in his usual down-to-earth way, “Heinrich, what the hell was the meaning of you commanding fire? I find your action irrefutably irrational. Your response with cannons should have been a thoroughly thought-out decision!”
Ernst Mayer piggybacked on the Doc’s remark and blurted out, “And what was your response to their warning shot? It was purely reactionary.”
Within Heinrich squirmed and felt pushed into a corner. He immediately wanted to speak out; stop the accusations. His inner voice told him to hold up, allow the men to let their frustration out. After all, these were men he felt a strong bond to; men who he strongly respected for what they were about.
Ernst more vehemently than any other almost shouted, “Are you saying that we are now a rogue vessel no different than a pirate ship?”
The entire group cast their eyes at Ernst in response to the man’s attitude sharp admonishment.
Before anyone else could respond, Fritz Huber, the other boatswain replied, “That, I am afraid, may be correct.”
Ernst lurched forward in his chair with increased aggressiveness and stated harshly, “You just tossed our dreams overboard, captain! Why bother trying to come up with a plan? You’ll just throw that overboard too! The way I see it, we are thoroughly ruined. I wish we didn’t fire on the ship and just allowed them to board us. They would have seen that we were a bona fide merchant ship. Why didn’t we do that instead of firing back at them?”
“That is enough, Herr Mayer!” ordered Otto. “Hold your fiery tongue. The captain made his decision as he saw fit and he cannot turn the clock back on it. If you have something of value to add to this meeting, say so in a civil tongue.”
“But it was the wrong decision from my point of view,” Mayer continued. “There was no reason to -”
“I said, Herr Mayer; that is enough of your contemptible language!” Otto barked out at the boatswain. “I will not have that kind of talk aboard this ship. Do you understand me?” Otto’s eyes burned into Ernst.
Ernst looked at the first officer with a rueful expression but held his tongue.
Otto went on, “Anyways, I explained to all of you last night that there was no time allotted during the incident for us to have called a meeting to discuss how to respond to the threat. The captain was forced to make decisions on the spot.”
“Herren,” Heinrich spoke up. “The situation is regrettable, but it is beyond our ability to change matters now. When I made the decision to fire, it was to defend ourselves, nothing more and nothing less. If anyone here agrees with Herr Mayer, I have no problem hearing you out. The only thing that I expect from you is that you do so in a constructive manner. You may speak your peace, without duress.”
Seeing an open door, Mayer immediately took him up on it.
“Your irrational decision has changed our lives! I do not see any way to patch things. How can we be regular merchant mariners when we will be seen as common criminals? All the men are angry. They demand answers to -”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on there, Ernst!” Fritz interjected. “I am not happy what has happened either, but you can’t say that all the men feel the same way. That’s false.”
“It is not false! I have spoken with many of the crew. Their trust in the captain is waning,” responded Ernst backing up his previous statement that rang loud with absoluteness.
“The best thing for us is not to give the men aboard any more reason to go against the captain. With the present mood, it would not take much to incite a mutiny,” Fritz answered back.
“I find that is a bit exaggerated. I sincerely doubt it will come to that,” Reiner broke in. “I admit much of the crew is upset; some men more than others. You know how a few loudmouths are able to incite others to pensive thoughts leading to despondency. It’s up to each of each of us to clamp a lid on their damaging behavior. The men do not know what to think unless we provide them information from the ship
’s leadership. Doing so will give the crew a clear understanding of what happened and provide them hope. Let’s start there and not go overboard with detrimental castigation. We are better men than that, and hopefully even better leaders.”
Some of the men threw questioning looks at Reiner and eyebrows furrowed. They might not have understood some of Mannheim’s lexicon spoken, but most men murmured agreement given the jest of the German aristocrat’s character, even those who might have somewhat agreed with Ernst.
Arnold chimed in, “The men do look to us for hope. We have a responsibility to come up with answers, not sit here and dwell on failure and point blame …”
“… which will not do a damn thing to reach a workable solution,” Manfred Rhine finished for him.
“Wait just a minute, gentlemen, there is more to be said before we simply overlook the incident as if it was but a slight mistake,” stated Siegfried Strobel. “Men’s lives were at risk.”
Reiner responded, “And the captain’s decision to keep the British at bay prevented any of us further harm. It is best learning from our mistakes rather than spending time on looking for ways to punish. And regarding this particular incident, I am not personally convinced it was a mistake. The frigate was poised with their full broadside guns even if we did not fire. I am no sorcerer who can see through a vision what comes next. But I have been in enough warfare scenarios to know an opponent’s ability and sense his willingness to strike. That is the predicament I saw us in that day. And furthermore, the British rule in this region is so stifling powerful that they do what they want unopposed. They are the law as they see fit in any situation.”
Conrad next said, “Reiner has a sound point there. We all witnessed it from different locations, but no one can dispute the angle of their cannons. We cannot jump to conclusions fed by our emotional states. Why should any of us believe the British will not continue to fire on a ship that heaves to? They will do whatever is in their best interest. Captain, remember in New York harbor when we talked to the short, bald-headed captain of the Sea Breeze? He told us of being ordered to heave to by a British ship and was fired on even when the ship complied. Lucky his ship and crew came out of that in one piece. Let us get a hold of ourselves and discuss this rationally.”
Winds of Fury Page 33