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With water, food, and oil aboard, we felt that we had obtained a new lease of life.
Now, too, we knew definitely where we were, and I determined to make for
Georgetown, British Guiana--but I was destined to again suffer bitter
disappointment.
Six of us of the loyal crew had come on deck either to serve the gun or board the
Swede during our set-to with her; and now, one by one, we descended the ladder
into the centrale. I was the last to come, and when I reached the bottom, I found
myself looking into the muzzle of a pistol in the hands of Baron Friedrich von
Schoenvorts--I saw all my men lined up at one side with the remaining eight
Germans standing guard over them.
I couldn't imagine how it had happened; but it had. Later I learned that they
had first overpowered Benson, who was asleep in his bunk, and taken his pistol
from him, and then had found it an easy matter to disarm the cook and the
remaining two Englishmen below. After that it had been comparatively simple to
stand at the foot of the ladder and arrest each individual as he descended.
The first thing von Schoenvorts did was to send for me and announce that as a
pirate I was to be shot early the next morning. Then he explained that the U-33
would cruise in these waters for a time, sinking neutral and enemy shipping
indiscriminately, and looking for one of the German raiders that was supposed to
be in these parts.
He didn't shoot me the next morning as he had promised, and it has never been
clear to me why he postponed the execution of my sentence. Instead he kept me
ironed just as he had been; then he kicked Bradley out of my room and took it all
to himself.
We cruised for a long time, sinking many vessels, all but one by gunfire, but we
did not come across a German raider. I was surprised to note that von
Schoenvorts often permitted Benson to take command; but I reconciled this by
the fact that Benson appeared to know more of the duties of a submarine
commander than did any of the stupid Germans.
Once or twice Lys passed me; but for the most part she kept to her room. The
first time she hesitated as though she wished to speak to me; but I did not raise
my head, and finally she passed on. Then one day came the word that we were
about to round the Horn and that von Schoenvorts had taken it into his fool head
to cruise up along the Pacific coast of North America and prey upon all sorts and
conditions of merchantmen.
"I'll put the fear of God and the Kaiser into them," he said.
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