Banna Strand lyrics and guitar chords
The Ballad Of Roger Casement. Recorded by The Wolfe Tones. Unknown songwriter. Can someone let me know who wrote this powerful song about Roger Casement. the last verse was written in 1965 by Derek Warfield of The Wolfe Tones. The song words state that Good Friday was in the month of May, in fact Good Friday in 1916 was on the 21st of April. The song was also recorded by Damien Dempsey and by The Grehan Sisters who used some different lyrics that the 'tones version. The Grehan Sisters who played banjo and guitar also sang The Orange And The Green song which Patsy Watchorn also covered. Included also is the tenor guitar / mandola tab.
Twas [G] on Good Friday morning,
All [C] in the month of [G] May,
A [Dm] German Ship was [G] signalling,
Be[C]yond out [G] in the Bay,
We had [Dm] twenty thousand [G] rifles
All [C] ready for to [G] land,
But no answering signal did come
From the [C] lonely Banna [G] Strand.
"No signal answers from the shore",
Sir Roger sadly said,
"No comrades here to meet me,
Alas, they must be dead,
But I must do my duty
And at once I mean to land",
So in a small boat rowed ashore
On the lovely Banna Strand.
Now the R.I.C. were hunting
For Sir Roger high and low,
They found him in McKenna's fort;
Said they: "You are our foe",
Said he: "I'm Roger Casement,
I came to my native land,
I mean to free my countrymen
On the lonely Banna Strand.
They took Sir Roger prisoner,
And sailed for London town,
And in the Tower they laid him,
A traitor to the Crown;
Said he "I am no traitor",
But his trial he had to stand,
For bringing German rifles
To the lonely Banna Strand.
'Twas in an English prison
That they led him to his death,
"I'm dying for my country"
He said with his last breath,
They buried him in British soil
Far from his native land,
And the wild waves sing his requiem
On the lonely Banna Strand.
They took Sir Roger home again
In the year of '65,
And with his comrades of '16
In peace and tranquil lies,
His last fond wish, it is fulfilled
For to lie in his native land,
And the waves will roll in peace again
On the lonely Banna Strand.
All [C] in the month of [G] May,
A [Dm] German Ship was [G] signalling,
Be[C]yond out [G] in the Bay,
We had [Dm] twenty thousand [G] rifles
All [C] ready for to [G] land,
But no answering signal did come
From the [C] lonely Banna [G] Strand.
"No signal answers from the shore",
Sir Roger sadly said,
"No comrades here to meet me,
Alas, they must be dead,
But I must do my duty
And at once I mean to land",
So in a small boat rowed ashore
On the lovely Banna Strand.
Now the R.I.C. were hunting
For Sir Roger high and low,
They found him in McKenna's fort;
Said they: "You are our foe",
Said he: "I'm Roger Casement,
I came to my native land,
I mean to free my countrymen
On the lonely Banna Strand.
They took Sir Roger prisoner,
And sailed for London town,
And in the Tower they laid him,
A traitor to the Crown;
Said he "I am no traitor",
But his trial he had to stand,
For bringing German rifles
To the lonely Banna Strand.
'Twas in an English prison
That they led him to his death,
"I'm dying for my country"
He said with his last breath,
They buried him in British soil
Far from his native land,
And the wild waves sing his requiem
On the lonely Banna Strand.
They took Sir Roger home again
In the year of '65,
And with his comrades of '16
In peace and tranquil lies,
His last fond wish, it is fulfilled
For to lie in his native land,
And the waves will roll in peace again
On the lonely Banna Strand.
Roger Casement being arrested
Rebel songs for tin whistle
Lonely Banna Strand tenor guitar / mandola tab-Tuning CGDA below and standard tab above.
Written by the German Captain Karl Spindler who was in charge of bringing 20,000 guns to Ireland in 1916
Roger Casement had traveled to Ireland onboard a submarine from Germany around the same time as the ship that carried the rifles.
Chapter 16 of gun running for casement this is a LibriVox recording all the revox recordings are in the public domain for more information or development here please visit librivox.org casement by Carl Spindler translated by W Montgomery and eh McGrath chapter 16.
We reach our goal it was Thursday the 20th of April a fresh glorious morning during the night the wind had died away the air was still and the Broad even undulations of a northwesternly swell made the only movement on the water during the night the false casing round the funnel had been completed in order to have everything ready for the landing when we reached to leave day the camouflage cargo had of course to be removed from above the munitions this proved to be no light task for the pit props were rather green and consequently heavy which delayed the unloading a good deal.
all hands had two turn two and open matches and throw the hole of the false cargo overboard in half an hour's time the upper deck looked like a packing department at one of the big stores window frames door frames tin zinc buckets tin baths and the like were sent up in a steady stream from the hold and piled upon the deck boxes and straw went into the furnaces arrest was heaved overboard before long our course was marked by trail of flotsam and jetson it stretched to The Horizon with a vague Instinct that it might come in useful I retained on board a small quantity of the pit crops apercussion which was well repaid on the following day while we were at this work and armed motor ship passed us within six miles and gave us some anxious moments but fortunately took no notice of us the new observation made our position 52 degrees north 11 degrees West a bear 45 miles from Tralee in about four hours we should have reached our goal I had unfortunately to give up my plan of proceeding in under the Spanish flag for it had taken us longer than we calculated to jettison the cargo and there was not enough time to make The Metamorphosis what troubled me most was that it would be full moon that night and the bright moonlight might easily prove our undoing.
The new Nate bells had just been struck when the engine room Telegraph rang for full speed ahead and the out pointed her nose for Tralee Bay the next two hours were occupied with the final preparations for the landing there was still a mass of things to get done steam winches and unloading tackle were made ready the hatches uncovered and in every hold the top cases were placed in the slings ready for immediate landing I had a supply of pocket electric lamps and tools for opening the cases put in small bags so that they could be passed a shore at once for from the moment we got alongside the unloading must go with a rush in order to be finished before the English got wind of it if all went without a hitch I hope to have the ship emptied in seven to eight hours if that was the crooks it was of course quite possible that it might come to bloody hand and fighting before all was done there could be no doubt that the harder authorities and perhaps also the military authorities would come on board as soon as we got in to examine the ship and her papers their questions as to where we came from and so forth must be answered in such a way that they should have no desire to ask any more that is to say they must be rendered harmless in case the Irish had not already provided for that.
it was clear that even with the greatest caution something might leak out about our sudden arrival and suspicious nocturnal operations casement himself had told me that even in Tralee they were a good many people of English sympathies the town of Tralee lies about three miles from the harbor Pier the harbor proper which is in a kind of outline supper is called Fennet, fenet is a small insignificant harder which is connected with Tralee by railway this railway might be very awkward for us for if an alarm was given infinite we should have to reckon on the arrival of the military within half an hour for our main protection against them we should have to trust to the machine guns which formed a portion of our cargo packing cases ready for use these must therefore be landed first of all the men to serve the machine guns ought to be standing ready on the key and made sure once more that the explosives and incendiary bombs were ready and the German naval enson was at hand to make assurances doubly sure.
I had two additional masses of explosives placed in the forward part of the ship so that if need be nothing of my ship should be left order hands wash and clean into number two's that is to clean up and put on uniform only are taps which for the moment we could not put on we hit where we could get at them easily over our uniform we pulled on our old Norwegian kit each man worried dark and pistol in his belt under his jacket shortly after one o'clock the first signs of land appeared long low line bluish cloud banks on the horizon which little by little assumed it definite form the Irish Coast there was not a ship in sight I called up my man and gave them the last explanations hitherto they have known nothing definite though of course it long guess that they were not bound for lebao it was good to see their Grimm but well pleased smiles when I told them that now it was up to us to make good and every man must do his best I told them that even their uniforms might not save them from being shocked if caught the grinned knowingly as much as to say they've got to catch us first splendid fellows I knew that I could trust that I explain my plans to the last Detail every man had his allotted task the engineers for instance were told that they must be ready to pump out the water tanks to lighten the ship and enable her to get up the shallow channel leading to senate as the last touch the surgical dressings were served out and the big medicine chest with all necessary materials was placed in the mess room and then I gave the order every man to his post
Roger Casement had traveled to Ireland onboard a submarine from Germany around the same time as the ship that carried the rifles.
Chapter 16 of gun running for casement this is a LibriVox recording all the revox recordings are in the public domain for more information or development here please visit librivox.org casement by Carl Spindler translated by W Montgomery and eh McGrath chapter 16.
We reach our goal it was Thursday the 20th of April a fresh glorious morning during the night the wind had died away the air was still and the Broad even undulations of a northwesternly swell made the only movement on the water during the night the false casing round the funnel had been completed in order to have everything ready for the landing when we reached to leave day the camouflage cargo had of course to be removed from above the munitions this proved to be no light task for the pit props were rather green and consequently heavy which delayed the unloading a good deal.
all hands had two turn two and open matches and throw the hole of the false cargo overboard in half an hour's time the upper deck looked like a packing department at one of the big stores window frames door frames tin zinc buckets tin baths and the like were sent up in a steady stream from the hold and piled upon the deck boxes and straw went into the furnaces arrest was heaved overboard before long our course was marked by trail of flotsam and jetson it stretched to The Horizon with a vague Instinct that it might come in useful I retained on board a small quantity of the pit crops apercussion which was well repaid on the following day while we were at this work and armed motor ship passed us within six miles and gave us some anxious moments but fortunately took no notice of us the new observation made our position 52 degrees north 11 degrees West a bear 45 miles from Tralee in about four hours we should have reached our goal I had unfortunately to give up my plan of proceeding in under the Spanish flag for it had taken us longer than we calculated to jettison the cargo and there was not enough time to make The Metamorphosis what troubled me most was that it would be full moon that night and the bright moonlight might easily prove our undoing.
The new Nate bells had just been struck when the engine room Telegraph rang for full speed ahead and the out pointed her nose for Tralee Bay the next two hours were occupied with the final preparations for the landing there was still a mass of things to get done steam winches and unloading tackle were made ready the hatches uncovered and in every hold the top cases were placed in the slings ready for immediate landing I had a supply of pocket electric lamps and tools for opening the cases put in small bags so that they could be passed a shore at once for from the moment we got alongside the unloading must go with a rush in order to be finished before the English got wind of it if all went without a hitch I hope to have the ship emptied in seven to eight hours if that was the crooks it was of course quite possible that it might come to bloody hand and fighting before all was done there could be no doubt that the harder authorities and perhaps also the military authorities would come on board as soon as we got in to examine the ship and her papers their questions as to where we came from and so forth must be answered in such a way that they should have no desire to ask any more that is to say they must be rendered harmless in case the Irish had not already provided for that.
it was clear that even with the greatest caution something might leak out about our sudden arrival and suspicious nocturnal operations casement himself had told me that even in Tralee they were a good many people of English sympathies the town of Tralee lies about three miles from the harbor Pier the harbor proper which is in a kind of outline supper is called Fennet, fenet is a small insignificant harder which is connected with Tralee by railway this railway might be very awkward for us for if an alarm was given infinite we should have to reckon on the arrival of the military within half an hour for our main protection against them we should have to trust to the machine guns which formed a portion of our cargo packing cases ready for use these must therefore be landed first of all the men to serve the machine guns ought to be standing ready on the key and made sure once more that the explosives and incendiary bombs were ready and the German naval enson was at hand to make assurances doubly sure.
I had two additional masses of explosives placed in the forward part of the ship so that if need be nothing of my ship should be left order hands wash and clean into number two's that is to clean up and put on uniform only are taps which for the moment we could not put on we hit where we could get at them easily over our uniform we pulled on our old Norwegian kit each man worried dark and pistol in his belt under his jacket shortly after one o'clock the first signs of land appeared long low line bluish cloud banks on the horizon which little by little assumed it definite form the Irish Coast there was not a ship in sight I called up my man and gave them the last explanations hitherto they have known nothing definite though of course it long guess that they were not bound for lebao it was good to see their Grimm but well pleased smiles when I told them that now it was up to us to make good and every man must do his best I told them that even their uniforms might not save them from being shocked if caught the grinned knowingly as much as to say they've got to catch us first splendid fellows I knew that I could trust that I explain my plans to the last Detail every man had his allotted task the engineers for instance were told that they must be ready to pump out the water tanks to lighten the ship and enable her to get up the shallow channel leading to senate as the last touch the surgical dressings were served out and the big medicine chest with all necessary materials was placed in the mess room and then I gave the order every man to his post
17 24 hours and Tralee Bay the coast in brilliant sunshine hi bear mountain scene with clefson goes with steep overhanging Cliffs which assuredly had never been trodden by the foot of Man only at the base of the cliffs to a height of perhaps 150 yards above the water we saw a few green patches of grass and low shrubs what struck us particularly was the jagged deeply indented ridges of the Long ranges of mountains gradually the numerous islands in rocks that lay off the shore came into view it was no very inviting picture there are in fact few coasts more inhospitable and more dangerous from their numerous wreaths than the Irish we saw it persistently with our glasses for any sign of Life any house or lighthouse upon the coast in Vain there was nothing to be seen but naked rocks here and there the coastline was a little withdrawn so that we thought more than once this must be truly be but there appeared on either side of it so many other similar openings between the high Cliffs that we became confused that was a decidedly unpleasant surprise relying on my excellent new knobservation which could not be much out a held on for some way further steep Shore deep water is a pretty sound rule so we could safely stand closing with the chart and the ceiling directions open before us we searched for the entrance in a quarter of an hour we had found it having picked up the three sisters a small three-pointed south side of the 12 mile broad estuary of the Shannon the coast here Ben sharply first to the northeast then to the east and then in a wide Curve back to the northwest again the result is that in approaching from the sea one at first sees only a long stretch of coastline while the bay lies concealed behind it I immediately altered course to pass close to the three sisters and from there get my bearings for negotiating the entrance there is a signal station at lupehead on a small island in the north side of the estuary and I wanted to give it as wide a birth as possible during the war this innocent little island might well have developed into a Grim monster bristling with guns.
certainly the signal station would be under military control just as we were getting our 4-point of the three sisters there appeared over the water on our part bau or small triangular patch of gleaming white that looked for all the world like a distant sale footnote as this phrase is not self-ex lake cross Springs from 2 points Ashore some readers may like to be reminded of the elementary geometry involved in the method here referred to of determining a position by the aid of a single known point having gotten is 4 4 45 bearing he would proceed on the same course till he got an eight eight ninety in right angle triangle of which one of the other angles is 45 the remaining angle is also 45 decides opposite these equal angles are also equal that is to say the distance from the rock which is what he wants to know is equal to the distance run between the times of The Taking of the two bearings which you can determine by log speed and allowances for current etc footnote and surely it must be the pilot cutter already on the lookout for us I could have shouted for joy a few minutes later however I made the unwelcome Discovery that the supposed sale was assuming improbable dimensions and it finally revealed itself as the actual island of Lupe head which I had supposed to be further north the sun had played a trick on us illuminating the Western trapeze shape end of the island so brightly that it looked in the distance like a large white sale disapp ointment number one as soon as I recognize my mistake I altered course to starboard from which direction there was for the present no danger to be apprehended at least so far as we could see for only naked rocks frown down on us slowly we worked our way into the bay anxiously scanning with our glasses every Hill cliff and gully but especially the surface of the water ahead.
the current which sets strongly southward tended to force us in shore and necessitated constant small alterations of course by 3:30 p.m. We had the three sisters two miles on our starboard beam loophead was now clearly visible except for the signal station and a few small buildings nothing else was to be seen upon the island but what was that to starboard on a broad top Cliff some 200 feet above the water stood a high signal mask with wireless aerials to write and left of it peered out half a dozen black muzzles from embrasures human in the edge of the rock the nastiest jar of all was that these guns were bearing right on us and that a number of English soldiers were getting busy about them while others were observing us through glasses Damnation I had not been Reckoning on quite such a reception is this I at once sent below all the men whose presence was not required on Deck and the off-pl began once more under the observation of the English field glasses which were now being directed on us at short range it was highly important to appear as unconcerned as possible scarcely honoring the English with a glance we tramped solidly up and down the bridge in the usual manner six paces to starbird and then stallardly six pieces deport again all The Wild pulling at her pipes and spitting to the wide in the most approved fashion meanwhile we steered slightly to the north in order to get away as soon as possible from the neighborhood of the coast defense station when a quarter of an hour had elapsed and the latter had done nothing to make itself objectionable in the way of shot or signal we concluded that the danger was over for the moment only for the moment of course today it was likely to be a case of out of the frying pan into the fire meanwhile ahead of us a little group of islands was gradually rising over the water while on the southern and Eastern side to the bay a number of wretched looking Fisherman's huts came into view outlying houses of thin it the nearest and largest of the islands was initially skirt a rendezvous with Sir Roger casement the die must soon be cast with a Keener anxiety and read yet known redirected our glasses ahead if everything continued to go as well as it had done hitherto than at the latest within half an hour the Pilot Boat must make her appearance with the recognition marks that had been agreed upon a green flag at the mast head and a man with the green jersey in the bows on our starboard hand almost on the skyline of the hills a light-colored invisible looking like an ancient castle with the long flag pole on the tower.
whether the pole was connected with a wireless installation we could not tell the castle was green from the north side of the Bay by a high wall of rock which soon hit it from us again we were drawing near and near to our goal now only a mile now half a mile and we should be there 4:15 p.m. We were at the very spot exactly a mile northwest of initial skirt along low lying island which was entirely uninhabited now for it with eager expectation we awaited the man who were to meet us here and on whom it now depended whether our mission could be carried out to a successful issue for the next half hour we had had hanging from our Bridge Rail the signal agreed upon with casement now with the naked eye and now with our glasses we scan this aroundings nothing to be seen nothing moving in any Direction not a boat on the water or any sign of life the whole neighborhood seem to be dead as there was no appreciable current here in the inner part of the Bay I laid to temporarily with the engine stopped when another 10 minutes had a lapped and still nothing was to be seen I Began to feel a little uneasy a quarter of an hour went by and for moment to moment our anxiety increased we waited and waited with beating hearts silently hoping that the next few seconds would see our wishes fulfilled in Vain the stillness remained absolute slowly the minutes slit away the half-hours agreed upon was nearly up I got out my secret orders and read them through once more there could be no doubt I was at the right spot and exactly at the right time but where were the Irish my orders were if after half an hour's weight none of the A4 said vessels or persons are at the Rendezvous and there does not appear to be any possibility of communicating with them Urt use your own judgment as to whether to proceed in or to turn back the half hour I considered for a few moments what I should do turn back no under no circumstances would I give up the game so long as any possibility remained of carrying out a landing but how to carry it out to run in in full daylight without having established communication with casement or any of his people would be foolish I might just as well make the English a present of the munitions.
another point was that the channel beside the Pier was only six feet deep at low tide so that if I were obliged to blow up the ship to prevent her falling into the hands of the enemy hardly half of her Hall would be underwater it looked too as if something had gone wrong on the slopes of Carry head the northern buttress of Tralee bay and in several other places clouds of smoke were rising from the hills could these be warnings intended for us but if so where the deuce or the men who had let them my whole crew had in the meantime gathered on Deck and as we were all taking the same risk I had the whole ships Company up to the Bridge to confer on the situation to my Delight none of them thought of turning back so long as there was any hope whatever of carrying out our mission as we talk things over we came more and more to the conclusion but the English had got wind of our Enterprise the absence of the Irish might of course have various grounds it was quite possible that the wireless message announcing our coming had arrived in a mutilate condition or that it had been badly deciphered and that either for this or for the previous reason it might have been obscure if not holy unintelligible it was also possible that the code word which it had been agreed to insert in the German wireless news just before the evening military communicate as assigned to be Irish that are expedition had started I'd been accidentally omitted and the Irish had consequently thought that something had occurred to prevent our coming foot note a message of count burnsdorfs quoted in the times that 25th May 1918 mentions that there were numerous private wireless receiving stations in Ireland the German news reports sent out to all the world by the great now and station would be easy to pick up and amid the long succession of news items a cleverly chosen codeword meaning by pre-arrangement expedition started or the like would easily escape notice except from those who are on the lookout for it footnote.
But it seemed to me on the whole much more probable that the Irish of the West had not been content to look on idly at the activity of their Brethren on the east coast and had also themselves started disturbances which had led to the proclamation of martial law on the west coast also as I've mentioned earlier this had been suggested to me by paragraph in the papers before I left Berlin if the Irish had really committed this Folly my task would be rendered immensely more difficult if not impossible for it might be taken a certain that a number of the Sinn Feiners concerned would already be under arrest and that the English would have at least have gotten wind of our intended landing that might account for the sudden appearance of the battery which we had passed shortly before but where was casement all this time was he already in Ireland and perhaps already arrested or was he still on a submarine which had not yet arrived here too there were all kinds of possibilities the submarine might have had an accident in turn back or bad weather or engine trouble might have delayed The Voyage again it was not impossible that the submarine with casement on board had already been here and after finding how the landlady had gone back some distance to meet us perhaps to warn us in the latter case it might be assumed that towards evening the submarine would again return to the Rendezvous there were certainly possibilities enough to keep one guessing.
But I felt pretty sure that the Irish and the west had broken out prematurely and the English in consequence had taken measured to deal with our plan as well as with the Irish rising assuming then as the most probable hypothesis that the principle leaders including perhaps casement himself had been arrested but that those who remained would make an effort to carry out the plan as best they could it seemed most likely that they would wait for nightfall before attempting to communicate with me I had abandoned the idea of leaving the bay again and returning after dark as being too suspicious of maneuver on the other hand to continue to lie here indefinitely would also be likely to awaken suspicion are therefore decided to explore the inner parts of the Bay at half speed I headed for the shore between Finn and Kerry head while working slowly around the north point of anish desert some of the smaller Islands lying behind came into view some of these seem to be inhabited but none of the habitants were to be seen we could now see also the first signs of finnett a little peer with a lighthouse behind it Rose the mass and 1 or 2 small sailing vessels and to one side a conjuries of brick buildings the town the whole thing had a depressing look the only imposing feature in the picture was the ring of high bear Hills which surrounded the bay nothing whatever to attract our interest stay what was that was not there a man standing on the pier they're certainly was at the base of the flagstaff from which hung the folds of the English and there trapped to and fro at the usual mechanical century go an unmistakable Tommy with his rifle over his shoulder here to them the military were in occupation evidently everything was prepared for our coming and striking contrast to his roar-like was the absolute lack of intelligence in the century who seemed to take no notice whatever of us though we were now lying as large as life only a few hundred yards before him we looked in Vain for further soldiers or any indication of the proximity of a large military force that they want to lure US into a trap the Pier was so close now to us that with the glasses we could make out every object upon it so of course everything on board could be equally clearly seen if anyone was watching us I therefore a gradually turned away towards the north to have a look at the flat Coast below carry head perhaps I might there find an opportunity to get in touch with the Sinn Fein men after we had steamed all around the upper part of the Bay however all hopes of this kind had to be abandoned though we showed our signals more and more boldly as time went on no one took the slightest notice of us.
The situation became more and more extraordinary for two solid hours we had been cruising about in the bay it was beginning to grow dusk and there had not been the slightest sign from the land the fact that no one had taken the slightest notice of our presence or of our peculiar behavior confirm me more and more in the Theory but there was some kind of a concealed trap either I nor any of my men found it possible to believe that the English really took us for a harmless Trader as afterwards proved to be the case such carelessness was so utterly contrary to our German ideas of Duty and discipline that we suppose this possibility to be entirely excluded we were there for glad when night fall and darkness shield of dust them inquisitive glances instead of flags we now use the green light which we showed at short intervals towards both land and sea our after our past and nothing happened Darkness reigned every rare even in the town only on the pier they're burned a small green light the Pier headlight intended to show incoming vessels the entrance to the harbor from time to time we imagined we saw a signal light in one of the houses to the Southeast but always the glasses showed that we were mistaken as midnight true near it became noticeably brighter no wonder for towards one o'clock the moon would rise I once more approach the Peer this time within 600 yards and at the risk of Discovery showed by green light once again then when this last attempt proof fruitless I steam slowly back to the Rhonda view often is just skirt cautiously we felt the way along the cliff to the Anchorage so still was the night that even on the forecastle the stroke of our propeller blades could be clearly heard it must have been an hour and a half after midnight when the Anchor rattled down into the depths and we brought up the Shadow of anish to skirt in what seemed to us a hiding place well-screened directions if the century on the pier was not asleep he must no doubt of heard the rattle of the Anchor chain but nothing happened the moon had meanwhile Risen but as we lay Close under the west side of the island we could count on being in deep shadow until close on the dawn our after-hour and as morning approached my hope that the Irish would manage to communicate with us during the night gradually faded away when it last day dawned I gave up the game for lost useless to run boldly alongside Fenit Pier or who could suppose we should be allowed to unload our ammunitions on molested useless to pretend an accident to the machinery for at once we should have a swarm of officials on board in practical to send men Ashore in a boat at some outlying spot to make inquiries for I could not spare a man and view a future eventualities and yet I hated to turn back.
The one thing that gave me some small consolation was defined that all my men were equally unwilling to do so well but if we stay how long will they let us lie here we had not long to wait for an answer I was just discussing the question with my second when suddenly we were startled by a show from the lookout man steamer on the starboard bow the pilots steamer with all our thoughts concentrated for so long on the coming of the pilot it was a small wonder if electrified by the shout we left to the conclusion that the small steamer which was now rounding carry head was actually bringing the pilot to us I myself spraying to the signals prepared to hoist their recognition signal but as I did so I kept an eye fixed on the steamer which was heading straight for us that was fortunate for in the next few moments she ran up not the Irish pilot flag but the British naval ensen I personally did not hesitate for a moment but took the flight that is to say in accordance with an arrangement made for such cases I faded away to my cabin leaving it to my meat du Solomon to stage the comedy which was now to open all but a few of the man had also disappeared behind the curtain of my window I could watch comfortably the further development of events allowed voiced objugation address to some of the men and the heavy steps passing two and throw over my cabin told me that already taken up his role I looked at my watch it was shortly after five a.m the first thing that struck me about the steamer was that she seemed to be a no hurry and that the man undecked seemed to be still half asleep the second but the lifeboats which hung at each side of her deck were dummies and painted metal between which was concealed a quick firing gun a real life outpost boat therefore on both sides the bow flaunted enlarge lettering the name shatter two footnote this name does not appear in the list of auxiliary craft in the Navy list for April 1916 footnote end or officers did not appear to be distinguished for smartness and resolution for the stopped their engines while still at a very discrete distance from us and gathered in a group with their heads together frequently pointing in our Direction evidently holding a council of War that lasted about five minutes then they got underway again and circled two or three times round our ship taking care of not to come too near this seemed some out to show a lack of confidence in us after a while they stopped again and I saw them examining us through their glasses before leaving the bridge I had hardly give it an order to get the hatches closed down as rapidly as possible the time had been too short however to complete the work and answer to a question through The Voice pipe the officer of the watch and for me the only number two which was right under the bridge had been hastily covered that was a serious matter for almost the whole business was plain to be seen by our English friends if they care to look on the port side forward they're even a few cases of munitions which inscriptions such as 1, cartridges 2000 Russian cartridges standing on Deck where they had been brought up ready to be landed promptly onboard The shatter really console stations seem to be the order of the day for it was nearly a quarter of an hour longer before she found courage after cruising round us yet once more to come alongside us at about 20 yards distance then I saw uniform figure with megaphone in hand preparing to begin a conversation with my officer of the watch this was apparently the,nding serve the proud warship I inferred this from the fact that he ordered several of his Men armed with rifles and Pistols to take up their posts near him in order no doubt to season the conversation if need be with a little peppering of shot this rather reinsured me especially when I took a second look at the, undersized stocky figure with a typical whiskey drinkers face the color of which was scarcely distinguishable from the red scarf which he wore around his neck I had at once the feeling that things were going to be rather amusing and so in fact it turned out. end of chapter 17.
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