The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1918-10-25
CHAPTER xVii-Continued.

is
Also, by this time some of the men
mad lost their heads completely; in
TACT, had gone violently crazy, and the
rest of us were afraid of them. We
we're all thinking of the fight that
might occur any moment between the
Yarrowdale and some other vessel and
we knew we were in the likeliest place
| for the vessel to be struck. Even
though we were not hit amidships, If
the ship were sinking we did not think
| he Germans would give us chance to
escape We figured from what they
had said that we would go down with
he ship. And going down on a ship in
which you are a prisoner is quite diff
;erent from going down with one for
which you have been fighting. You
arrive at the same place, but the feel
ing is different.
Some of US thought of overpowering
The crew and taking the vessel into our
own hands, and we got the rest of
the sane or nearly sane men together
and tried to get up a scheme for doing
it. 1 was strong for the plan and so
were several others, but the Limey Of
ficers who were with us advised
against it. They said the Germans
were taking us TO q neutral country,
where we would be interned, which
was Just what the Germans had told
us, but what few of US believed.
Then some others said that If we
hn xrnJ1l6
fire the time bombs. We replied that
at least the Germans would go west
with us, but they could not see that
there was any glory in that. For my
self. / thought the Germans would not
fire the bombs until the last minute,
and that we would have chance at
the boats before they got all of us
anyway. There were only thirteen
German sailors on board, besides their
commander. This last Hun was
named Badewitz.
So the pacifists ruled, because we
could not do anything unless we were
all together, and there was no mutiny.
They said we were hotheads, the rest
of us, but / still think we could have
made dash for it and overpowered
our sentries, and either gone over the
side with the lifeboats, or taken over
the whole ship. 1t would have been
better for us if we had tried, and if
the pacifists had known what was
coming to US they would have fred |
the time bombs themselves rather |
than go on into that future. How |
ever. that is split milk.
We were not allowed to open the |
portfolios while we were in the bunk |
ers, under penalty of death. and there |
in the dark, in that sinking air, it is
no wonder many of us went crazy.
Among US was a fellow named Har-
rington, about six feet tall and weigh
ing $50 pounds. He seemed to be all |
right mentally, but some of US
thought afterwards he was crazy.
Anyway, do not blame him for what
be did. Harrington rushed up the
fiddIey and opened the door. There
was a German sentry there, and Har-
-ington made swing at him and then
grabbed his bayonet. The sentry
yelled and some others came down
rom the bridge and shot Harrington
through the hand. After they had
beaten Harrington pretty badly, the
pull of the bunch, Badewitz himself,
came over and hammered Harrington
Ill around the deck. Then they put
iim in irons and took him to the chart
DOM.
The next day we were sitting in the
iddley getting warm when the door
,pened and there was Badewitz. He
relied "Heraus !" and began firing at
is with a revolver, so we beat it back
,nto the coal. Pretty soon the door
u ened again. But it was only Ger
nan sentry. He threw down a note.
t was written in English and read,
Pick out eight men for cooks" So
We picked out eight men from the va
ious vessels and they went on deck
nd rugged up galley aft. n
But we did not receive any knives
orks, spoons or plates. The first
neal we got was nothing but macaro-
q, piled up on pieces of cardboard
oxes. Then we appointed four men
0 serve the macaroni, and they got
our pieces of wood, the cleanest we
ould find, which was not very clean
t that, and they dug around in the
and divided it up and put
in our hands. We had to eat 1t
fter that from our grimy fingers.
hose who were helped first had to go
arthest back on the coal to eat 1t, /
nd those who were helped last got .
sss, because the dividers got more
areful toward the end and gave ,
mailer portions
But we did not get macaroni very |
ing. A cook from the Voltaire was ,
leaning copper dixie that the mac
roni had been cooked in, and he was g