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nexed, leaving the owner thereof the chart - room to sleep in. He was naturally very chagrined at his ill-fortune, especially as he said he had been told by the Consul at Lorenco Marques that the course between there and Colombo was quite clear, and had not even been informed of the disappearance of the Hitachi, though she had been overdue at Delagoa Bay about a month. Consequently he had been showing his navigation lights at sea, and without them he would probably not have been seen, as it it was about 1 A.M. when the Wolf picked him up. The remaining Spanish officers took their watch on the bridge, always with a member of the prize crew in attendance; the Spanish engineers remained in charge of the engine-room, again with a German always present, and the Spanish crew remained on duty as before. There was a prize crew of nine Germans on board, the Captain, Lieutenant Rose, who had also been in charge of the Hitachi after her capture, and the First Officer, who had also filled that post on the Hitachi, being the only officers.

The Igotz Mendi had been completed in 1916, and was a ship admirably fitted for her purpose, which, however, was not that of carrying passengers. Her decks were of iron, scorchingly hot in the tropics, and iey cold in northern latitudes. There was no place sheltered from the sun in which to sit on deck, and the small awnings which were spasmodically

occu

rigged up were quite insufficient for the purpose. There were no cabins except those provided for the officers, who generously gave them up to the married couples on board, taking quarters much more crowded and much less desirable. The cabins were quite suitable for one pant each, but very cramped for two, the one oocupied by my wife and myself being only seven and a half feet square. Each contained one bunk and one settee, the latter being a sleeping-place far from comfortable, as it was only 5 feet long by about 20 inches wide, and the floor space was very narrow and restricted. There were four cabins, two on each side of a narrow alleyway about two feet wide, while one married couple occupied the chief engineer's cabin further aft, quite 8 roomy apartment. The four men above mentioned occupied a space under the poop; it could not be dignified by the name of cabin. It was very small, only one occupant could dress at a time, and immediately in front of it was a reeking pig-sty with three full-sized occupants. The passage to it from the saloon on the upper deck was often a perilous one in rough weather and in the dark, for there was never any light showing on board at night during the whole cruise. This, then, was to be our home for the next few months. We did not know for how long, but we regarded the prospect with a certain amount of equanimity, as the ship was unarmed,

and we knew we should not be fired on by a hostile oruiser, as might have been the case if we had remained on the Wolf. There was on board a certain amount of live stock; a couple of cows, each had a calf born on board; these all met the usual fate of such things on appropriate occasions.

When we arrived on the Spanish boat we were served with meals at the times to which the Spanish officers had been been accustomed -i.e., breakfast at 9 and supper at 4; but these times were soon afterwards changed to breakfast at 8.30, tiffin 12.30, and supper 5.30. We were lucky to get fresh food for some days. But this soon came to an end, though the stock of muscatels, a quince preserve called membrillo, and Spanish wine lasted very much longer.

For many days after we parted company with the Wolf we ambled and dawdled through the sea on a southwesterly course, sometimes stopping altogether for an hour or two, sometimes for half a day, sometimes for a whole day.

On the afternoon of the 23rd the Germans became very agitated at the sight of smoke on the horizon. At first we all thought it was the Wolf, but before long we could see two columns of smoke, evidently coming from steamers travelling together. We at once changed our course, and manoeuvred at full speed in such a way that we quickly got out of sight of the smoke. Then we resumed our original course, and the German captain

came down from the bridge and told us there was no relief for us yet. We all felt that if the Hitachi had only avoided distant smoke as the German captain had done, we need never have made the acquaintance of the Wolf.

On the 24th we again met the Wolf in the evening. Whenever the Wolf had an appointment to meet her prize at a certain time and place, the prize always hoisted recognition signals directly she saw the Wolf on the horizon. These were made of wicker, and varied in shape on different occasions.

We were now well to the south of Africa, in the roaring forties; we saw many schools of whales, and albatrosses accompanied us for several days. By December 1 we had begun to steer N.W., and on the 3rd the captain informed us we were the nearest we should ever be to Cape Town, the port to which I had set out. We were then 150 miles off. We met the Wolf again on the 5th, and travelled in her company during the remainder of that day and the next two, stopping, as usual, for communication and the sending of stores to us in the evenings just before sunset. The Wolf on this occasion told us she had sunk the American sailing vessel John H. Kirby, from America to East London, with a cargo of 400 motor-cars on board, when two days from her destination, the officers and orew being taken on board the Wolf.

The evening of December 7

was the last occasion we saw the Wolf for many days. The two ships now shaped a course for the Brazilian island of

Trinidad, where it was understood the Wolf would coal from her prize, and with her spend the Christmas holiday.

VII.

It must not be supposed that the life of the prisoners on the Igotz Mendi in any way approximated to that of passengers on an ordinary passenger ship. To begin with, there were no ship's servants to wait on us with the exception of the Spanish steward, a youth who waited at table and excelled in breaking ship's crockery. If the cabins were to be kept clean, we had to do it ourselves. Every morning saw the occupants sweeping out and cleaning up their cabins, as no ship's servant ever entered them. The water supply was very limited, and had to be fetched by ourselves -no matter what the weather -sometimes from the forepeak, and sometimes from a pump near the ship's galley. Washing water and drinking water were served out twice a day, at 8 A.M. and 4 P.M., an ordinary water-oan being the allowance of the former, and a water-bottle that of the latter. The supply of washing water was very inadequate, and no hot water was ever available. After washing ourselves, we had to wash our clothes in the same water-for there was of course no laundry on board -and then the cabin floor after that. It was impossible to have a proper bath all the time we were on board. There

was no water supply in the bathroom, and it was kept in an extremely dirty condition. The saloon, about 18 feet square, in which all the meals were served in two sittings, was very rarely clean, and the habits of the captain's pup did not improve matters, while the table appointments were often disgusting. The tablecloth was filthy after the first meal or so, thanks to the rolling of the ship, but was only changed twice, sometimes only once, a week. Cups were used without saucers, and spoons gradually disappeared, so that towards the end one had to suffice between four or five persons.

We got thoroughly sick of the food provided, but the German officers and crew had just the same. The Hitachi had been carrying 10,000 cases of canned crab to England. A great part of this was saved and divided between the Wolf and her prize. None of us ever want to see or hear of this commodity again; we were fed on it till most of us loathed it, though when it was served we perforce had to eat it or dry bread, and several of us chose the latter. Bully beef, every variety of bean, dried vegetables, bean soup, dried fish that audibly announced its advent to the table, and pea

and we knew we should not be fired on by a hostile oruiser, as might have been the case if we had remained on the Wolf. There was on board a certain amount of live stock; a couple of cows, each had a calf born on board; these all met the usual fate of such things on appropriate occasions.

When we arrived on the Spanish boat we were served with meals at the times to which the Spanish officers had been accustomedi.e., breakfast at 9 and supper at 4; but these times were soon afterwards changed to breakfast at 8.30, tiffin 12.30, and supper 5.30. We were lucky to get fresh food for some days. But this soon came to an end, though the stock of muscatels, a quince preserve called membrillo, and Spanish wine lasted very much longer.

For many days after we parted company with the Wolf we ambled and dawdled through the sea on a southwesterly course, sometimes stopping altogether for an hour or two, sometimes for half a day, sometimes for a whole day.

On the afternoon of the 23rd the Germans became very agitated at the sight of smoke on the horizon. At first we all thought it was the Wolf, but before long we could see two columns of smoke, evidently coming from steamers travelling together. We at once changed our course, and manœuvred at full speed in such a way that we quickly got out of sight of the smoke. Then we resumed our original course, and the German captain

came down from the bridge and told us there was no relief for us yet. We all felt that if the Hitachi had only avoided distant smoke as the German captain had done, we need never have made the acquaintance of the Wolf.

On the 24th we again met the Wolf in the evening. Whenever the Wolf had an appointment to meet her prize at a certain time and place, the prize always hoisted recognition signals directly she saw the Wolf on the horizon. These were made of wicker, and varied in shape on different occasions.

We were now well to the south of Africa, in the roaring forties; we saw many schools of whales, and albatrosses accompanied us for several days. By December 1 we had begun to steer N. W., and on the 3rd the captain informed us we were the nearest we should ever be to Cape Town, the port to which I had set out. We were then 150 miles off. We met the Wolf again on the 5th, and travelled in her company during the remainder of that day and the next two, stopping, as usual, for communication and the sending of stores to us in the evenings just before sunset. The Wolf on this occasion told us she had sunk the American sailing vessel John H. Kirby, from America to East London, with a cargo of 400 motor-cars on board, when two days from her destination, the officers and orew being taken on board the Wolf.

The evening of December 7

was the last occasion we saw the Wolf for many days. The two ships now shaped a course for the Brazilian island of

Trinidad, where it was understood the Wolf would coal from her prize, and with her spend the Christmas holiday.

It must not be supposed that the life of the prisoners on the Igotz Mendi in any way approximated to that of passengers on an ordinary passenger ship. To begin with, there were no ship's servants to wait on us with the exception of the Spanish steward, a youth who waited at table and excelled in breaking ship's crockery. If the cabins were to be kept clean, we had to do it ourselves. Every morning saw the occupants sweeping out and cleaning up their cabins, as no ship's servant ever entered them. The water supply was very limited, and had to be fetched by ourselves -no matter what the weather -sometimes from the forepeak, and sometimes from a pump near the ship's galley. Washing water and drinking water were served out twice a day, at 8 A.M. and 4 P.M., an ordinary water-can being the allowance of the former, and a water-bottle that of the latter. The supply of washing water was very inadequate, and no hot water was ever available. After washing ourselves, we had to wash our clothes in the same water-for there was of course no laundry on board -and then the cabin floor after that. It was impossible to have a proper bath all the time we were on board. There

VII.

was no water supply in the bathroom, and it was kept in an extremely dirty condition. The saloon, about 18 feet square, in which all the meals were served in two sittings, was very rarely clean, and the habits of the captain's pup did not improve matters, while the table appointments were often disgusting. The tablecloth was filthy after the first meal or so, thanks to the rolling of the ship, but was only changed twice, sometimes only once, a week. Cups were used without saucers, and spoons gradually disappeared, so that towards the end one had to suffice between four or five persons.

We got thoroughly sick of the food provided, but the German officers and crew had just the same. The Hitachi had been carrying 10,000 cases of canned crab to England. A great part of this was saved and divided between the Wolf and her prize. None of us ever want to see or hear of this commodity again; we were fed on it till most of us loathed it, though when it was served we perforce had to eat it or dry bread, and several of us chose the latter. Bully beef, every variety of bean, dried vegetables, bean soup, dried fish that audibly announced its advent to the table, and pea

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