Brighton Boys with the Submarine Fleet Page 20

  CHAPTER XX

  THE MOTHER SHIP

  News of the capture of the German U-boat had preceded the returningsquadron and a great reception was accorded the American submarine andits gallant crew as it came to anchor again in the harbor at Chatham.Several American warships were at anchor with other units of theBritish and French fleets, and thousands of sailors lined the decksto cheer the plucky _Dewey_ as it wended its way to its anchorage,accompanied by the destroyer _Farragut_, the latter towing thecaptive German submarine.

  During the days that followed, Jack and Ted found themselves lionizedwherever they went while on shore duty. News of the capture hadspread throughout England and France, and the censors had permitteda generous account of the affair to be forwarded by cable to theUnited States.

  Letters and messages reached the boys, but none that pleased them more,amid all the adulation heaped upon them, than a simple cablegram of afew words, forwarded from Brighton Academy that read: _"Heartycongratulations. We knew you would make good, and we are proud of you._""_The Brighton Boys_."

  Closer inspection of the captured U-boat by American and Englishnaval officers proved it to be one of the very latest and improvedtypes of German undersea craft. It was a vessel of a thousand tonsdisplacement and more than three hundred feet long, capable of asurface speed of twenty knots an hour and propelled by twin enginesof eight thousand horsepower. The hull was constructed of doublesteel---virtually one hull within another---and the space betweenhulls given over to the storage of fuel oil, thus increasing thecruising radius of the vessel by permitting the carrying of more fuel.The periscopes were of the telescopic variety that could be raised andlowered.

  "What do you suppose they will do with our prize?" asked Jack oneafternoon about a week after they had returned from their adventurousvoyage. He was talking to "Little Mack," who was supervising somerepairs to the _Dewey_.

  The submarine commander's eyes twinkled. "I reckon they'll turn herright in against the Germans," was his reply.

  "Do you suppose they will man her with a crew from the American fleet?"pursued Jack.

  "Haven't the least doubt of it," answered his chief. "Some of my boysmay be taken to fill up her crew and I wouldn't be a bit surprised ifthey light on you.

  "But not with my permission," continued McClure after a pause.

  Jack was pleased at the compliment and hastened to assure his commanderthat he hoped always to remain with him for the war. Jack's bravefight to save his captain from the sea in the encounter with thefloating mine, together with the experiences they had shared the lasttwo weeks, had endeared these two to each other, and while there wasa difference of some ten years in their ages, they were close friends.

  Commander McClure's surmises as to the disposition of the U-boat werecorrect, as subsequent events showed. Chief Engineer Blaine and hisstaff of the _Dewey_ were assigned to the U-boat with orders tofamiliarize themselves with the operation of the vessel as quicklyas possible. American deck guns were being substituted for theGerman guns and alterations being made in the torpedo tubes toaccommodate made-in-america torpedoes.

  Returning to the naval station one afternoon from shore-leave, CommanderMcClure drew Jack aside to announce briefly that he had just receivedorders transferring him from the _Dewey_ to command of the U-boat.Executive Officer Cleary, with a portion of the _Dewey's_ crew, hadbeen detailed to remain in Chatham with the American submarine. Itwas to undergo extensive repairs after its perilous adventure on thebottom of the sea.

  "And now I have a surprise for you," smiled "Little Mack," as he tookfrom his inner pocket an official-looking envelope and handed it toJack. The latter took the proffered envelope and tore it open. Whathe read therein was enough to make any ambitious young Americansubmarine sailor open his eyes.

  It was an official order announcing the appointment of Jack as anensign with an assignment to the captured U-boat as executive officerunder Lieutenant-commander McClure!

  Jack could scarce believe what he read and was so dumbfounded he couldnot speak for some minutes.

  "And our friend Wainwright is to be with us, too," continued McClure.

  "You mean Ted Wainwright?" asked Jack.

  "Yes, he will be my aide and relieve the wireless operator at times,"explained "Little Mack." "As a matter of fact," he continued, "I willship the most of my old crew on the U-boat. The _Dewey_ will be outof service for some time and Cleary will probably take her out on hernext voyage with a brand new crew."

  Jack excused himself in a few minutes to hurry away and acquaint Tedwith the news. He found his chum writing letters and broke the newsto him. The two did a fine young hornpipe dance, so delighted werethey over the fact that they had been assigned together to the samevessel again---and to the famous U-boat.

  The next ten days were taken up by the new officers of the U-boatin acquainting themselves thoroughly with the operation of the capturedcraft, and in preparations for the new trip to sea. Latest news fromthe front had shown the Allies closing in on the German naval basesalong the North Sea front. The combined armies of the Americans,the French and the British under one commander had driven the Hunsnorthward till Zeebrugge was in danger of being wrested from them.Consequently, the American lads were anxious to get into the fray withtheir powerful new vessel.

  "What are they going to call our new Kaiser-buster?" asked Jack of hischief one morning while they were inspecting the ship's storage tanks.

  "So far as the Germans are concerned she is still the U-91," saidthe little captain. "You notice that we haven't changed the outsidedress of her a single bit. Unless I lose my guess we are going toget pretty close to the Boche with this old boat of theirs."

  And then "Little Mack" confided to Jack that the German code bookhad been captured with the U-boat, and that, furthermore, the U-91had shipped as her wireless chief a former secret-service chap, HalBonte, who had worked for a time in the offices of a German-Americansteamship line in New York and knew the German language "like abreeze."

  "Of course the U-91 has been re-named," continued the captain. "Shewill be known hereafter in the navy department records as the _Monitor_.You remember what that other _Monitor_ did."

  And Jack, of course, recalled at once the famous battle in HamptonRoads during the Civil War when the little cheesebox of John Ericssonhad whipped the much touted _Merrimac_ after the Confederate terrorhad completely dominated the Federal fleet and for a time wrested theprestige of the sea from the Union.

  "Pretty good record to live up to," commented Jack as he recalled thefeats of the famous little Ironsides that had saved the day for theUnion.

  "And you bet we'll do it," retaliated his chief.

  It was not long before the _Monitor_ was ready to put to sea again.Thoroughly equipped, her captain and crew familiarized with theoperation of their new craft after a number of trial trips in Englishwaters, she awaited only the call of duty that would send her forthfor daring exploits against the Hohenzollern navy---a German submarineborn of steel out of the great Krupp works and put together in theyards at Wilhelmshaven turned against her own sister ships under thedirection of a doughty Yankee crew!

  At last came the order to move, an order received with great acclaimdown in the hold of the massive steel structure where her crew offorty-two men laid wagers on the number of ships they would sink, andup in the conning tower where her officers fretted to be loose againin the North Sea. The _Monitor_ carried eight torpedoes and severaltons of shells for her deck guns, while her fuel tanks had enough oilto keep her afloat for many days.

  During the next few weeks the world was startled by the exploits ofsome daredevil sort of a submarine that seemed to have an uncannyhabit of turning up right in the heart of German fleets. Units ofthe German navy were being sunk with ridiculous ease. U-boat baseswere raided and upon one occasion the mystery submarine had workedits way into a German harbor and blown up a cruiser.

  Late one afternoon, just before dusk, the _Monitor_ fell in with asubmarin
e of unusual length and depth, a monster vessel of the typeof the famous _Deutschland_ that had made the memorable transatlanticvoyage earlier in the war, but of even greater displacement.

  Running partly submerged the _Monitor_ had sighted the big fellowseveral miles astern. Jack was in the conning tower at the wheelwhen he noticed the U-boat across the water.

  "Looks like an undersea cargo boat," said Jack after he had reportedto McClure, and the two stood gazing intently at it through theperiscopes.

  "The Germans aren't trading with cross-atlantic nations any more,"said "Little Mack" with a grim smile. "Most likely she is a mothership for submarines. She has her wireless antenna up and is talkingto some one. Suppose we go above and get in communication with her."

  Accordingly, the engines were slowed down and the _Monitor_ ascendeduntil she was awash. In that position her wireless aerials,telescopically arranged like her periscopes, were run out and thewires strung.

  Almost immediately she "cut in" on the big submersible.

  At that moment the latter vessel spoke the _Monitor_ and wanted toknow who she was.

  "Tell him the U-108 out of Zeebrugge," the American skipper told hiswireless chief.

  The message, in German code, was clicked out by Hal Bonte.

  For a few minutes the two ships flung their wave lengths at each otherand then the _Monitor's_ operator closed the key to say to his chief:

  "That chap over there is the _Bergerhof_, mother ship of the GermanU-boat fleet with supplies of fuel and food for our enemy's submarines.She is keeping a tryst here with her children and expects them atthis rendezvous within the next two hours. After which the well-filledchildren are to visit the English channel and attack a group oftransports scheduled for convoy to France the following night. Shesignals us to heave to and wait the appointed time."

  McClure chuckled at the announcement.

  "Just as I thought. Give them an O.K. in your best German," was hisrejoinder.