Boy Volunteers with the Submarine Fleet

by Harry Castlemon

  CHAPTER VI

  GROPING THROUGH THE ENGLISH CHANNEL

  There was a steady pulsation of the engines during the entire afternoonwithout cessation until five o'clock, when the submarine submerged andcontinued under water for an hour. The three captives had now learned agreat many of the manoeuvers incident to the diving operations, thesignals accompanying each action, and studied with the greatestdiligence and care the direction indicator and inclinometer.

  "I have been noticing the indicator for the last hour," said Ralph, "andit didn't change once. Are we going due north?"

  "The indicator that you see is not for the purpose of showing the pointsof the compass, but to tell whether or not there is a turning movementin the ship. If, for instance, the rudder should be turned to starboardor to port, the dial would swing in such a position as to show how muchof a turn has been made, and no more," responded the captain.

  "Suppose then, that after making a quarter turn, the ship should againgo ahead on a straight line, what would happen to the dial?" askedAlfred.

  "In that case the dial would again indicate that by coming back to itsoriginal position,--or, in other words, the dial would show that theship had then assumed a new direction of sailing, and if it againchanged to the right or to the left the indicator would reveal this tothe observer," remarked the captain.

  "I wish we had a compass," said Ralph.

  "Unfortunately, they have taken our watches and pocket compasses," saidthe captain. "We may contrive, later on, to get a glimpse of thesteering compass."

  "Do you know where it is?" eagerly inquired Alfred.

  "The navigating officer's instrument is in the conning tower, but it isusual, too, to have a similar instrument below, and I am sure it islocated to the left of the cook's galley. It would not be safe, however,for either of us to be spying around in that quarter," responded thecaptain.

  That night they were again locked in their narrow apartment. As they hadbeen provided with a good meal it was not such an unpleasant experience,and they were also comforted by the feeling that the submarine was nowengaged in a no more perilous duty than trying to reach some port.

  That night was followed by a trying day of waiting. Singularly, they hadnot been permitted to ascend the hatchway stairs since the first day oftheir capture.

  "A glance at the sun would be enough to tell us the direction," remarkedthe captain after they left the table at the lunch hour.

  "I suppose they are keeping us down here for that purpose," suggestedAlfred.

  "I have thought," replied the captain, "that the very fact of keeping usin ignorance of the direction they are going is the best indication thatwe are making for a concealed base."

  When they retired the second night the captain remarked: "It is nowplain to my mind that we are on the way to Germany, or, possibly, to abase somewhere at a greater distance than Spain."

  "How long would it take to make the trip to Germany?" asked Alfred.

  "If we circled the British Isles and came in by way of Norway, it wouldmean a run of 1,400 miles. To go by way of the Channel would be about800 miles. It would make but little difference in point of time,"answered the captain.

  "Why wouldn't it take longer to travel 1,400 miles?" asked Ralph.

  "Because on the long route we would be able to travel four-fifths of theway on the surface, and would not have to avoid mines and nets. TheChannel route is a dangerous one, requiring the utmost caution," saidthe captain.

  The second morning Alfred was outside, as usual, consulting theinstruments, when a voice remarked in response to an inquiry: "48, 10."He paid no attention to it at the time, but later on, in a conversation,remarked to the captain:

  "Some one in the conning tower, this morning, said '48, 10.' What do yousuppose he meant by that?"

  "Glad you remembered that. Are you sure the figures you give arecorrect?" asked the captain eagerly.

  "Sure of it," was Alfred's reply.

  "Then we are near the English Channel. Good; I am glad to know that. Didyou hear them refer to any other figures?" asked the captain.

  "What would the other figures be?" asked Ralph.

  "Of course, I can only guess. The figures you have given meunquestionably represent forty-eight degrees and ten minutes northlatitude. What interests me most is to get our position east and west,"said the captain.

  "About what longitude are we in?" asked Ralph.

  "If we are less than five degrees west we must be in the EnglishChannel, and it would appear that they are taking the shortest route. Ifwe should be seven or eight degrees west I should regard it as a prettysure symptom that we are going to encircle the British Isles," remarkedthe captain.

  Late that afternoon Ralph rushed into their little cabin and said:

  "I have an idea that I can tell you the direction we are going."

  "Have you heard anything?" asked the captain.

  "Not a word," answered Ralph. "I have just made an observation," hecontinued, laughing.

  "That's good," responded the captain. "I think we are sailing north bywest."

  "You are wrong," replied Ralph; "we are going due east."

  "Are you sure?" asked the captain, exhibiting unusual interest in thenews. "How did you find it out?"

  "I saw the sun," said Ralph with a chuckle.

  "How and where did you see it?" asked Alfred, incredulously.

  "Well, I didn't exactly see the sun, but I saw a streak that came fromthe sun," was the reply.

  "That's just as good," responded the captain. "Where did you see it?"

  "I was at the indicator when an officer went up and the hatch wasraised. As he didn't push it all the way down I had an idea he mightsoon return, so I moved up and stood between the twin tanks to the rightof the steps. When the officer raised the hatch a streak of sunlightwent right across the under side at the corner of the door, and I knewit couldn't come in at the front port hole," said Ralph, with a glow ofpleasure in the discovery.

  The captain shook his head slowly, as he said: "I am afraid this willmean an additional source of worry to all of us; it is bad enough to belocked up and subjected to the guns of vessels and warships, but it willbe doubly hazardous to pass through the mine fields, and avoid thenets."

  "Do you know anything about them, and how and where they are located?"asked Alfred.

  "Yes, I have a pretty good knowledge of their location, and how to avoidthem, although they constantly change the nets, or provide new safetyoutlets," said the captain.

  _The Steel Nets_]

  "What do you mean by safety outlets?" asked Alfred.

  "Immense steel nets are stretched across the straits from Calais toDover, two lines, in fact, between which the vessels plying betweenEngland and France go to and fro in safety. Furthermore, war vesselsguard these nets on both sides, so that it would be a difficult matterto get near the nets," said the captain.

  "But submarines do seem to get through somewhere; do they not?" askedRalph.

  "Yes; owing to their ability to make the trip under water, and takingadvantage of the darkness, it is sometimes the case that they getthrough without being entangled in the nets," he replied.

  "But how do the ships that sail along the Channel get through?" askedAlfred.

  "That is just what I was referring to when I spoke of safety outlets. Ata certain point there is an opening through the nets at one side,through which vessels can pass into the line between the two wirecordons. The opening in the other line of nets is not directly opposite,but a mile or so off to one side, so that in order to get to the openingin the other nets, it is necessary for the ship to sail along in thesafety zone between the two nets, and make a turn at right angles to getout through the second opening. That method has been found to be mosteffective, and is called the safety lane," responded the captain.

  They were now in or near the most widely traveled part of the ocean onthe western front of the continent. Thousands of ships pass and repassthat zone which reaches from the southern part of Irela
nd to the westerncoast of France, and it was remarkable that the submarine was able tomove along up to this time on the surface without being detected.

  Before the sun had gone down that night, however, they were compelled tosubmerge twice, and then the mantle of night shrouded the vessel and itmoved along with more boldness. On this the fourth night of captivity,they were not locked in their prison.

  "I cannot account for it," said the captain. "Possibly the commanderhas some little human sympathy left, and does not want to drown us likerats in a cage."

  Neither the captain nor the boys slept much that night. They were toomuch occupied with constantly watching the manoeuvers necessary on thepart of the commander and his crew to prevent detection as they passedup the Channel.

  "I have spent years on the Channel as a navigating officer and in chargeof various types of ships in the merchant service, as well as on our ownnaval vessels, and I know, probably, better than the lieutenant incharge of the submarine, what the dangers are. It is my belief that thelieutenant has come over this course before, and probably knows a safe,or measurably safe route, and has taken the chances of returning, but noone, however skilful a navigator he may be, can be sure of makingexactly the same course twice. The tides may be against him; he may beout of his reckonings hundreds of feet, and that is too big a margin,where a hundred feet in width is the limit through which his vessel maypass in safety."

  The captain thus, in general terms, set forth the perils of the routethat the commander of the submarine had taken, and stated also, veryplainly, that they must now be prepared to meet the greatest of alldangers. Sleep, therefore, could not be considered.

  The long and weary night at last came to an end, and the appetizingodors of the morning meal were wafted to them. Their toilets wereexceedingly simple affairs, a small cake of soap, warm water, and along towel serving for the three. They had no trouble in dressing, fortheir clothing had not been removed. They were obliged to dispense withthe bath, for, although all these boats are provided with comforts ofthat kind, none of them was available to the captain and the boys, andthey did not ask that any privileges be extended to them.

  No sooner had breakfast been served than the machinery began to slowdown until finally it ceased. Not a perceptible motion was now observed.A pulsator or two were at work, and a slight rumble due to the action ofthe dynamo came to their ears.

  "I suppose we are now on the bottom," suggested Ralph.

  "Yes; during the daytime it will be necessary to keep quiet. Even theperiscope may reveal our presence," remarked the captain.

  A little information as to the activities of the crew during theseperiods of rest may be interesting. Idleness breeds discontent andmischief. It is upon the principle that constant work encouragescontentment and makes for efficiency, that the Germans require thecontinued activity which was shown by the occupants of the submarine.

  The vessel was manned by twenty-seven officers and men. The personnelbeing as follows: A lieutenant, a sub-lieutenant, two under or pettyofficers, a physician, a cook and two oilers, two first-classmachinists, and seventeen helpers, or seamen, although it was evident,as the captain expressed it, that few of the helpers had seen much seaduty.

  While it is customary to divide the duties on shipboard into threewatches, during the period of twenty-four hours, so as to give eachsquad a period of service every day at a different period, it would bedifficult to carry out the same regulations on board a ship of thischaracter.

  The captain said: "I notice that they have practically two watches, onetaking up the duty from midday until twelve at night, and the other frommidnight to noon. Yesterday, I noticed the same shift that was on dutyin the morning continued at work all the afternoon, so it is possiblethat every three or four days shift No. 1, which works from noon tomidnight, will be changed so that for the next four days the time fortheir services will be from midnight to noon."

  Attention is called to this method of doing duty so that the reader mayunderstand certain events which will be referred to later.

  The personnel of the shifts was also changed at intervals so that whilethe lieutenant during one shift would have at work a certain machinistand petty officer, during the next or second shift thereafter anothermachinist or petty officer would be on duty. In this manner all becameefficient, for they had the opportunity afforded of being drilled andhandled by different combinations of men and assistants.