CHAPTER I
THE OMINOUS WARNING ON SHIPBOARD
"Submarine two points to starboard, sir!" shouted a voice.
Instantly there was confusion; the captain sprang from the end of thebridge to the board behind the quartermaster and pushed a lever to theright.
"Ralph, come out quickly; the second officer has just shouted to thecaptain that a submarine is in sight," said Alfred, as he rushed intothe reading room where Ralph was deeply engrossed in a book.
Ralph needed no second warning. Together with a dozen or more, who werein the room, he sprang to the door, and followed Alfred, who was nownearing the bridge.
"Can you see it?" asked Ralph excitedly.
"No; but they are pointing to the right; it seems as though we areturning around," responded Alfred.
"So we are," said Ralph. "There! what is that?" shouted Ralph, as hefollowed the direction pointed out by the second officer.
The captain gave another wrench to the wheel, and the ship straightenedout on its course. All eyes were now directed to a point to the right,and astern, for the boat had described a half circle.
"Wait till I get the glasses," said Alfred, as he dived for the maincompanionway, and slid down the railing.
He was back in record time, followed by his father and mother,accompanied by Ralph's mother. Needless to say all were agitated, forthey had been told on the morning of sailing that the trip might be adangerous one, and it was only urgent business necessity that compelledMr. Elton to take the risk.
"I can see something away back there, just like a trail of foam. Iwonder whether that's what they are so excited about on the bridge?"questioned Alfred, as he lowered the glasses, and glanced up at theofficers who were vigorously discussing the situation.
"Let me look," said Ralph, reaching for the glasses. He was silent for afew moments, then, handing the glasses to Mr. Elton, he continued:"There is something coming; see if you can make it out."
Mr. Elton gazed intently, and turned to his wife, as he said: "I amafraid that is a torpedo on the way now."
Nevertheless, he made the remark quietly; those around heard thewarning, and the boys glanced at the bridge. The captain again moved thewheel, and the ship swerved.
"It is a torpedo," shouted Ralph. Every one leaned over the ship's sideand waited, some with terror on their faces, others pale but calm. Twoor three rushed for the companionway, and several fainted.
"It's going to miss! It's going to miss!" shouted Alfred. He turnedaround and waved his cap to the officers on the bridge, but they weretoo intent watching the submarine to notice the salutation. It wasevident, however, from their actions that they had no immediate fear.
It was with a thrill that the two hundred passengers, who were lined upon the port side of the steamship, saw a foamy trail, one hundred feetdistant, pass alongside their vessel, and disappear in the distance, farahead.
"There comes another one," said a voice.
It was easy to distinguish the second peril, and it seemed to comestraight and true. The ship veered slightly from its course, andbreathlessly the passengers watched the trail. On, on it came. Thevessel again slightly changed its course, and this time the torpedo wentwide of the mark.
"Now, for the next one," said Alfred.
"Ah! we are now too far ahead, and going too fast for them. Even if thesubmarine comes to the surface it cannot possibly catch us," said thenavigating officer, who passed along and quieted the anxious ones.
Thus, for the time being, they escaped, but the vigilance was greaterthan ever. They would be in the danger zone for twelve hours more.
* * * * *
Two and a half years previous to this time, Mr. and Mrs. Elton,accompanied by their son Alfred, Mrs. Elton's sister, and her son Ralph,were traveling through Europe, and happened to be in Germany when warwas declared. The boys, together with Mr. Elton's chauffeur, were ontheir way to Antwerp with their car, and were pursued by the Germans asthey were entering Belgium territory.
Their car was requisitioned by the Belgium government, and as the Germanforces entered Belgium south of Liege, they were cut off from reachingAntwerp. In the effort to make their way across the country the two boysmet the Belgian forces, and were in the first battle, which was foughtbetween the Germans and Belgians. They took part in the defense ofBelgian territory with the Belgian forces, from Liege, to Louvain,Aerschott, and Malines, until the city of Antwerp was besieged, and wereamong the last to leave when the Belgians evacuated that place.
They were fortunate enough, however, to reach French territory with thebulk of the Belgian army, and arrived at Dunkirk, on the Channel,during that period when the British were sending over the first forcesto resist the invasion of France.
The second day they visited the hangars where the British were settingup their aircraft and training the recruits for the aviation service.While approaching the grounds they were the witnesses of an accident toone of the flyers, who made a disastrous landing near them, and theywere prompt enough to lift the machine from one of the men, which savedhis life.
This incident was the changing point in their career, for they thendetermined to enter the aviation corps, if possible. Despite theirefforts, they were not able to succeed, at this time, and as the fatherof Alfred had sent word to them to meet him in Paris, they regretfullyworked their way to that city, only to learn, on arriving, that Mr.Elton was not permitted to leave Germany.
By an accidental circumstance they went to Bar-le-Duc, in eastern France,and visited the aviation grounds there. Having made themselves useful,they were favored with the privilege of making ascensions, and wereinstructed in the handling of the trial machines on the grounds.
On one occasion they were aloft with Lieutenant Guyon, who, owing toheart troubles, fainted while at a high altitude, and the boys broughtthe machine down safely. Thereafter, the lieutenant was their constantfriend, and when the corps moved to Verdun they were regularly enrolledas members, and subsequently became engaged in many exciting flights.While on a scouting operation with their friend, several German machinesappeared and a battle followed in which the machine was injured, andduring the descent both boys were wounded.
The lieutenant was caught in the wreckage, as the machine finallyplunged to earth, and within a week died of his wounds. The boys wereheart-broken at his death, and after a week at the base hospital weretransferred to the American hospital in Paris. After recovery they wereregularly discharged from the service, and started for home.
On their way to the Channel they became interested in the artillerybranch and happened to take part in the first great French drive in theSomme region and later were with the British artillery when it began itsgreat fight against the Germans in the region west of Bapaume.
It was there that Alfred's parents and Ralph's mother learned of theirwhereabouts, and, through the kindly offices of the American ambassador,were permitted to visit the battery where the boys were stationed, andwhere they finally prevailed upon them to accompany them home.
They sailed from Bordeaux early in the morning of the same day that theevents took place which we have just related. On the day of sailing thethrilling news reached France that President Wilson had given the Germanminister his passports, and while such an act does not, ordinarily, meanwar, the strained relations between the United States and Germany madeit probable that war would follow.
As stated, Mr. Elton's business compelled him to sail, notwithstandingthe danger, and they now found themselves within the danger zoneprescribed by the German authorities, for, as they were sailing on aship belonging to one of the belligerent nations, they knew that it wasa prey for any submarine and subject to be sunk without warning.
Although instructions of a general nature had been issued by the captainafter the vessel left port, he called the passengers togetherimmediately after the excitement attending the appearance of thesubmarine had died away, and addressed them as follows:
"For the next twelve or fiftee
n hours we shall be in the danger zone,and it is imperative that each of you should at all times carry a lifebelt. I impress this on you not for the purpose of creating alarm, butbecause I know that people become careless. The officers will give fullinstructions to all of you as to the way the belts should be worn, sothere will be no confusion at the last moment.
"And now, another thing, which you must remember. More lives are lostthrough undue excitement than from the real danger, in case of trouble.We are here for the purpose of giving due warning and assistance, andevery man in the ship's crew will be faithful to his duty. Do not rushabout and become excited, because that unduly alarms those about you, Iwill give you ample warning. Five short blasts on the ship's whistlewill call you to the boats. When you hear that go to your cabinsquickly, seize such clothing as you have prepared for such an event, andif you have not strapped on the life belt do so at once.
"It should be the first duty of the men to aid the women and children,see that the belts are properly put on, and assist them to the deck.Once there, go as quickly as possible to the davits and await orders,for the officers and men will be there to direct and take charge of thepassengers. Should the boat be so badly hit that it is impossible forall the passengers to get into the boat before the vessel goes down, themen must see to it that every one goes overboard and clears the ship'sside.
"Many women will, even in this extremity, refuse to jump overboardwithout their husbands, but in such cases there must be no hesitancy onthe part of the men. Do not argue, but push them overboard, and the lifebelts will hold them in position in the water until the waiting boatscan rescue them. There will be no danger of drowning under thoseconditions, but be sure to jump as far from the vessel as possible."
It was not such a speech as tended to relieve nervousness, but itcertainly made every one within hearing very thoughtful. Women, and men,as well, turned white, and many of them timidly examined the tiny lifebelts which were handed out.
"It seems that we get into trouble wherever we go," said Alfred, not ina spirit of alarm, however, but more because he felt a deep concern forhis father and mother.
"Oh, Ralph, isn't this terrible!" said his mother, as she came forward.
"It certainly is; but this is something like the experiences we have hadfor over two years, and it doesn't make it seem so bad;--do you thinkso?" he added, addressing Alfred.
"I wouldn't be at all worried, Auntie," responded Alfred. "Here comesmother; I hope she is not broken up or worried."
"No," replied Mrs. Elton. "It is dreadful, but it is no worse for usthan for others. I am glad the captain spoke as plainly as he did. Wemust understand and do our duty."
"Now, Mother, you and Auntie go to the ladies' room and stay there. Ifanything happens we will know where to find you," said Ralph.
"But I want you to come and stay with us," replied Mrs. Elton.
"We cannot do that," replied Alfred. "We have fine glasses and every oneshould be on the watch. It takes a great many eyes to see in alldirections."
"Alfred is right," said Mr. Elton. "I will remain with you; but do notbe alarmed for the present."
"Wait until I get my binoculars," said Ralph, as he rushed down to thecabin.
He was up at once, and together they ran forward to the bridge, as thesecond officer descended.
"Can we be of service to you in any way?" said Alfred, pointing to theirglasses.
"Indeed, you can," said the officer.
At that moment the captain, leaning over the rail of the bridge,shouted: "Come up, boys; those are the right kind of weapons. We oughtto have dozens more of the same kind."
The boys fairly stumbled up the steep, narrow ladder that led to thebridge.
"At your service," said Ralph.
The captain smiled, as he said: "Take positions at the end of thebridge."
The boys walked across to the other side, and Ralph elevated hisglasses.
A moment later the captain, in his walk to and fro, stopped before theboys. "You have evidently had occasion to use the binoculars before, butprobably not while at sea," he observed.
"No," replied Ralph; "we used them in flying machines and while servingin the artillery, but this is really the first opportunity we have hadto use them on shipboard."
"Then a little instruction will be of service to you and to all of us,"said the captain. "I noticed that you were sweeping the sea to the rear.That is not necessary, for at our speed a torpedo boat would not be ableto catch us. All your time should be devoted to scanning that quadrantfrom straight ahead to a point but a little astern of your left quarter,as it is from that section, and the corresponding section on the rightside of the vessel that we expect the enemy; do you understand what Imean?"
"I think so," replied Ralph. "But suppose a submarine should be wellahead of us and submerge, and then wait until we have passed. In thatcase couldn't it again come up and send a torpedo into the stern of theship?"
"That might be possible, but not probable. A submarine is absolutely inthe dark when completely submerged," said the captain. "It must come tothe surface sufficiently near to bring its periscope out of the water,and that would reveal its presence to us. It would be a pretty hard jobfor a navigator in a submarine to calculate when the boat had passedsufficiently near to know the opportune time to come to the surface andgive us the shot."
"But couldn't they come near enough to take a chance? They might come up500 feet away or 2,000. At either distance they could land a torpedo,couldn't they?" asked Alfred.
"Quite true; but the submarine might not know whether we were armed ornot, and it would not take the risk of exposure in that recklessmanner," replied the captain.
"But we are not armed, are we?" asked Ralph.
"No; our guns will be ready for us on the return trip," answered thecaptain. After a moment he continued: "Let me also give you a hint as tothe particular manner of using the glasses to get a correct view. Do notattempt to take in the entire field at one sweep. Sight at a point nearthe ship, say at a distance of a quarter of a mile; then slowly raisethe glasses so that your view grows more and more distant and finallythe focal point reaches the horizon. Then turn a point to the right orto the left, and bring down the forward end of the glasses until theview is again concentrated on the point nearest the ship."
"That is something like making observations on a flying machine,"replied Alfred, "only in that case the glass is held stationary, as themachine moves along, and in that way objects can be seen much betterthan by sweeping it around continuously. We learned that from LieutenantGuyon."
"Quite true; I see you are well qualified to observe. But to continue:after you have thus made the first observation as I have explained, theglasses should be held horizontally to take in the view at the horizon,and then swept around at that angle to the right or to the left,depressing it at each swing. That is called sweeping the sea."
"I know two men who have glasses," said Ralph. "Shall I get them?"
"Yes, if you can; this is the kind of service which is appreciated,"said the captain.
Ralph sprang down the ladder, and ran along the deck. He was absent forsome time, but soon appeared with two men.
"Come on," said Ralph, as he ascended the ladder. The men hesitated fora moment, and followed, as an officer appeared and invited them to comeup.
Boy Volunteers with the Submarine Fleet Page 3