The Atlantic Express
by: justjames17
(Copyright 2004 -2007 by the author)

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...
 

Chapter 14

Our departure time approached once again, I was pacing the bridge as the lines were singled up in preparation to slipping and breaking contact with the shore, the engines were rumbling below decks and we could feel their vibrations through our feet. A faint shimmering heat haze was visible from the funnels and the engine room intakes could be heard sucking air.

We cast off and I gave orders to swing our stern out from the wharf, astern on the port engine and ahead on the starboard, the propellers thrashed the muddy water then gripped and slowly pulled us astern and out into open water. I rang down to stop engines then slow ahead both engines the ship slowed her astern movement then began to forge ahead, we were off on the start of our trip back to England. The escorts moved down the harbour as the merchant ships milled about forming up into their lines for the long trip home.

We headed out into the Atlantic, a few miles off shore we were joined by a cruiser and three destroyers of the United States Navy, they were going to join us in guarding the convoy to learn our tactics with defending the convoy and attempting to destroy any U-boats we came in contact with. It was great to have their assistance and we knew the convoy would be better for their help.

Course was set and we settled down into our positions as signalled by the senior British Captain, the weather was gentle a light breeze from the north creating gentle swells as we sailed slowly along at convoy speed. Two days passed without any problems when our ship suddenly lost speed and a muffled explosion was heard from below, the engine room voice pipe sounded and I answered it quickly, it was the chief engineer telling me a major steam line had blown out and several men had been either killed or badly scalded. I called on the First Officer to organise a stretcher crew and go below to check the damage and injuries.

We slowed in the water and I made a signal to the convoy leader informing him of our predicament, he asked if it was repairable in a short time or did we need to return to port for repairs. I told him I would consult with the Engineers and inform him as soon as we knew. The ship coasted to a stop and we lay rolling in the swells, the phone buzzed again and I was told we needed time to repair the line but we wouldn't need to return to port but the repair would take about 6 to 8 hours. The commander wished us well and said that we may expect a blimp from the U.S. Navy to put in an appearance to watch for U-boats and a possible American destroyer to stand by us while repairs were carried out.

We on the bridge watched as the convoy slowly sailed over the distant horizon, the injured stokers were sent to the sick bay where the medical staff looked after them, the two dead men were sewed into canvas with weights at their feet and laid out on deck to be buried at sea. I called for the crew to assemble on deck, except for the men doing the repairs and the lookouts, I went down on deck Bible in hand and the crew were called to attention. The corpses were covered with naval ensigns and a table was set up at the rail with one end overhanging the side. The remains were lifted onto the table and the flags fastened to the inner end, I read the service for the dead and we prayed silently then the table was lifted and the two canvas covered bodies slid silently over the side to the cadence of boatswains" pipes to splash down and sink quickly into the depths.

We remained heads bowed for some minutes then the pipes sounded again and I ordered the ship's company to carry on. I returned to the bridge, I sat in my chair leaning on the windbreak searching the sea for any sign of a periscope. The sea was empty and we drifted silently beam on to the light breeze, as the engine room crew battled to repair the damage below. A couple of hours passed when I heard the faint sound of engines, I and the lookouts scanned the sky looking for the aircraft, we saw the silver sausage shape of the dirigible slowly approaching from the west. It slowly neared our position circling around us searching the sea for hidden submarines, the commander of the patrol blimp called using a signal lamp saying all was well no enemy in sight. We signalled back thanking him for his assistance and asking how long he would be with us, he replied, "As long as you need us we can stay airborne for 24 hours if needed."

This was a great comfort to us as it meant less stress on the crew while we waited for the repairs to be completed, another hour passed when we saw a top mast appear over the horizon and I sounded action stations automatically, the crew rushed to their posts as the air ship signalled to tell us the U.S.S. Geary was arriving to assist us. We watched the destroyer sweep up rapidly a huge bone in her teeth as she knifed through the sea at 35 knots. She was a picture of perfection, a modern fleet destroyer; she made our weary old warrior look her age, we admired her beauty as she raced past close by her crew watching our battered old ship as she rolled slowly on the swells.

The Geary signalled us asking if they could send crew to assist us in the repairs but I thanked them saying things were well in hand. She then began a slow sweep around us with her asdic operating, her sweep gradually widened until she settled down to a steady patrolling of the area with us in the centre. The chief engineer appeared on the bridge wiping his greasy hands on some waste, I turned expectantly to him my eyebrows raised inquisitively. He saluted and told me things were in hand and the repairs were proceeding as expected, they were bypassing the damaged area and rerouting the steam, the job was about half done and another 5 hours should see it finished. I thought about the time and realised by then it would be dark, dusk being the most dangerous time at sea, but with the air patrol and the Geary we should be safe from attack.

Johnson, the First Officer, stepped onto the bridge and told me we had three patients in sick bay with steam burns, I ordered him to take over the bridge as I was going below to see the burnt stokers. I clattered down the ladder and headed to the sick bay, I entered the room and smelt the stench of cooked meat, I saw the Doctor attending to a man his legs looked crimson and swollen where the blast of the superheated steam had seared his flesh, peeling the skin from his legs. The moans of pain still issuing from him even though he had been injected with morphine, my stomach turned over at the sight and the smell. I had to leave before I vomited I would return later when the doctor had finished treating and dressing their wounds.

I returned to the bridge and slumped on my stool staring vacantly through the thick glass of the windbreak, the bridge crew were silent watching me while the lookouts scanned the sea. My thought kept returning to the man's agony in the sick bay, the sight of his scalded cooked flesh and the sickly sweet odour of his cooked limbs. I stood up and began to pace back and forth in frustration, my ship disabled and drifting helplessly, crewmembers maimed by a mechanical failure. My brain seethed with resentment at our bad luck I desperately wanted to get under way and rejoin the convoy instead of wallowing along wind rode. The drone of the blimp's engines wore down my nerves as it slowly cruised around above us, I watched the Geary as she patrolled in circles protecting us from invisible enemies. I felt useless, my primary purpose unattainable as my ship floundered helplessly at the whim of the sea and wind, I paced back and forth like a caged lion.

The sun slowly approached the horizon as the day drew to a close, the wind had dropped with the sun, I closed up the crew, the gun crews standing uselessly at their turrets without power the guns were virtually immobile. Our defence would be left in the hands of the lighter weapons; these would be only useful at reasonably close range. Thank the Lord we had our patrolling friends in the Geary, the airship bad us farewell as darkness descended over the ocean and she headed back towards the coast. The night was pitch black as clouds had moved in blanketing the area; we rolled and wallowed with the current.

I went below to the sick bay to find the patients all bandaged up and resting drugged against the pain in the bunks, the doctor filled me in on the injuries and expressed worry about a leading stoker who was badly scalded to the extent that his skin had peeled off his lower limbs exposing raw flesh. He was worried about infection and had dusted the men's wounds with sulphur and antiseptic liquid. I chatted to him for a while then bad him goodnight and returned to the bridge, the cool air caused me to shiver as I pulled up the collar of my bridge coat for warmth. I slumped onto the stool resting my tired head on my folded arms as I tried to relax; I heard footsteps on the bridge and heard Bradley speak to the gunner who was Officer of the watch.

He moved to my side and cleared his throat, "Ahem, good evening Captain, I have your meal ready below in your cabin if you are ready."

I lifted my head and peered at him in the gloom saying, "Please bring it up here to the bridge please Bradley, I don't want to go below until the engines are repaired."

He nodded and said, "Aye, aye Captain." He turned and left disappeared below decks again.

In minutes he was back setting my meal out on the shelf below the wind break, he wished me bon appetite and departed leaving me to eat in peace. I soon finished the meal and stood up to pace the width of the bridge once again, I walked over to where the port lookout was scanning the darkness, I said, "Can you see anything out there in this darkness?"

He stood to attention and said, "Yes sir, every now and then I catch a glimpse of a white cap as a wave breaks but other than that it is as black as a dog's guts, I catch a glimpse of the Geary every now and then as well."

The engine room voice pipe whistled and I bolted to answer it nearly knocking young Guns over in my haste, I flipped the lid open and answered the call, it was the Chief informing me that they were flashing up the boilers any minute and we should have steam up in about half an hour. I smiled for the first time since the explosion as my anxiety eased with the good news, I ordered the signalman to inform the Geary of our imminent return to power. The clatter of the signal lamp sounded as it lit up the bridge flickeringly; the Geary answered telling us she would stand by us for a few hours to ensure we were steaming ok. I thanked them for their consideration and turned to the bridge crew telling them we should be mobile shortly.

The funnel sounds increased as the boilers began to return to normal, the engine room fans whirred as they sucked air below, the voice pipe sounded after about 20 minutes and the Chief advised me we were able to proceed, he had two of the four boilers on line. I ordered half speed ahead and the deck vibrated once more as the ship began to forge slowly ahead. We gradually worked up to 25 knots and the feel of the breeze of passage was wonderful if cool on our faces again. The Navigator had worked out the course to rejoin the convoy and we steered towards our destination. The Geary kept pace with us easily and after two hours they wished us a safe voyage, we thanked her and she turned away, the disturbed water at her stern began to mound higher as she increased speed, and soon vanished from sight in the blackness.

The Springthorpe was on her own speeding through the night, I was hoping against hope we would have no further trouble from our ageing vessel, her long years were beginning to take their toll as he worn engines showed the miles she had steamed in two world wars. We steamed through the night and dawn found us still alone on the grey sullen looking sea, I asked the Navigator how long till we raised the convoy, he worked on the chart in the chart room off the bridge and said we should see them by 1100 hours if they were steaming at normal speed.

Action stations were dismissed and the crew fell out most heading below to the mess deck for breakfast, I stretched my aching tired body and told Number One I was going below to clean up and eat, if anything occurred he was to call me in my cabin. I stomped below my sea boots feeling like lead and I entered my cabin flopped on the chair at my desk kicking the heavy boots off my aching feet. Bradley appeared as if by magic and put breakfast on my desk saying he hoped I was going to rest for a couple of hours before we overhauled the convoy. I nodded tiredly rubbing my sore gritty eyes and then began to eat ravenously, I drank my mug of tea and Bradley refilled my mug again putting the milk and sugar in then stirring it for me.

I finished the meal of bacon and eggs with many slices of toast and a few strong cups of tea, I stood and walked to my head area, stripped off my clothes and jumped under the shower, I washed quickly then dried off and wandered out to my bunk. I collapsed on the bunk and fell into a deep sleep as Bradley picked up my discarded uniform and underwear taking them away to wash or clean them. My rest was interrupted by a sudden cessation of engine noises, my eyes popped open and I lay there listening, no mechanical sounds could I hear only the sound of the sea on the hull. In seconds the voice pipe above my bunk squawked, I sat up and answered it, Johnson the First Officer told me the engines had been shut down as the oil pump had ceased pumping. I slid from my bunk and stood up swaying as the ship began to roll beam on, Bradley appeared like magic with my uniform and I dressed quickly left the cabin and headed to the engine room.

The Chief saw me appear at the bulkhead door and quickly climbed the ladder to greet me as I stood on the catwalk overlooking the engine room; he was covered in black sludge and was wiping his hands clean on a dirty cloth. He looked very tired and his temper was at boiling point, he told me the damned ship should be in the breaker's yards as she was worn out and ready for the scrap heap. The engineers were for ever struggling to keep the old engines turning over but these long convoys were taxing the ship's ability to keep steaming. He went on to say she needed a complete overhaul and it was unlikely she would get it with the yards flat out building new vessels and repairing the younger ships.

I put my hand on his shoulder and said, "I know you and your men are doing all you can Chief, you can only do your best. Let me know when things are up and running again, any idea how long it will take?"

The man looked at me with his red blurry eyes and replied, "Och! Captain, it will take as long as it takes, we may have to make some of the parts as these old pumps have no spares anymore. I'll let you know as we get the beastie stripped down."

I patted him on the back and he saluted me and slid down the ladder into the steaming heat below, I was sweating profusely as I left the area and was glad to walk out on deck into the cooler morning air. The grey sky threatened rain and the wind was cooler as I walked along the deck, my cap under my arm so that the men wouldn't have to salute me. I found the Chief Petty Officer with a detail of seamen working on the rust near the forward hatch and watched them chipping the rust ready for the red lead undercoat. I climbed up to the bridge and everyone snapped to attention when my head appeared above the deck, they had been relaxing and not at all on their toes. I barked at them telling them to smarten up we were still at sea and an enemy sub could appear at any time.

I turned to tear a strip off the Officer of the watch when the port lookout cried out torpedo off the port bow, I leapt to the engine room voice pipe and blew into it, the Chief answered and I called for some power or we were in big trouble, he replied no power was possible so I told him to clear the engine room immediately. The Navigator announced over the ships address system for the crew to brace themselves as we watched the white wake spearing inexorably towards us. My hands gripped the windbreak; my knuckles white with the strain, the torpedo disappeared from sight under the bow as we braced for the explosion. Seconds passed but no explosion, the torpedo reappeared from under our midships and raced away from us, the weapon had been set too deep and had cleared our keel. I breathed again and looked in the direction the submarine must be, I saw two more white wakes heading towards us. We braced again but this time the U-boat Commander had realised his error, the depth was reset shallower and the missiles slammed disruptively into our hull, one near the bow which blew the first 20 feet off the ship, the second hit near our midships and opened the engine room to the hungry sea.

I was knocked off my feet as were most of the bridge crew, I scrambled up my ears ringing from the explosion, the ship was already lower in the water and I knew she was going down quickly. I ordered abandon ship, and the crew launched our lifeboats and the heavy Carley rafts were unlashed so they would float away as she settled. The First Lieutenant ordered a radio message sent giving our position and the fact it was a submarine attack. We abandoned ship after despatching our secret papers to the depths in a weighted bag, we pulled away from the stricken Springthorpe and watched her slowly settle bow down, her rudder and propellers appeared from the sea then she slid almost tiredly into the cold water, leaving a trail of oil and flotsam on the surface.

I was worried that the sub would surface and use her guns on our boats, as had happened in the past; the captain of this sub didn't emulate the vicious behaviour of the other murdering monsters. I saw the periscope appear from the sea like a large finger as the U-boat circled us, the scope slid below the heaving oily surface as he dived back into the depths. I breathed again and realised we may live to see home once more.

We rigged the sails on the boats and began to tack our way slowly back towards America, the day passed quietly as the heavy wooden lifeboats slowly zigzagged their way across the grey sea. Darkness approached and I ordered the overloaded boats to close up as I didn't want them to get separated in the darkness. The burn victims were suffering as the cold night air settled on us, the Doctor injected them with morphine to ease their pain and they fell back to sleep as we sailed on through the inky blackness. The night passed slowly the cold damp sea air eating into our shivering bodies, our wounded shipmates suffering most as the doctor tried to ease their suffering and keep them alive. Dawn was a phantom on the horizon, a faint lightening in the misty darkness, one of the burnt stokers quietly passed away without a complaint. We quietly slid his body over the side and prayed for his soul, the light increased and I checked the other boats were still with us, they were in sight and slowly converging on our position.

The sun climbed out of bed and the golden rays brought no warmth to our tired and frigid bodies, it would be some time before the warmth returned as it climbed higher in the sky. We sailed slowly on towards the sun and hopefully rescue by our allies. We issued some water and ships biscuits to the crew in the boat which bolstered the mood a little except for our injured comrades who were moaning softly in pain. The doctor sat by them talking softly trying to ease their misery, he had to ration the morphine as we didn't know how long it would be before we were found. The sun climbed higher and at last we felt a little warmth, thank the Lord it was not winter, the freezing cold would have been intolerable.

The day passed slowly but the wind remained kind and we made good time the boats sailing at about 5 knots, I took a noon sight with my sextant and we had made good about 30 miles since the sinking, during the night our speed was negligible as the wind usually dropped after dark. The men kept a watch on the sky and horizon hoping to see either a ship or plane, it was amazing we were on the main convoy rout but nothing was stirring, it looked as though we were in for a second cold night in the boats. Just before sundown a second issue of water and biscuits was issued and the men sat back slowly chewing trying to make the meagre food last and fool their stomachs into thinking they'd eaten well. The sun fell into the sea and vanished leaving us in a lingering twilight, as the wind dropped once again, we were now at the mercy of the current until morning. We tried to get comfortable leaning against one another for support and to share what little warmth we could.

Tom sat next to me, sharing a blanket as we cuddled in the darkness, we watched the myriad of stars wheeling overhead in the black sky, the display was mind blowing compared to what one saw on land unless you were away out in the countryside away from light pollution. We whispered to each other chatting about Richard and Henry, Bradley was seated next to me on the other side so we were able to talk quietly without others easily overhearing us. I felt Tom's hand on my thigh and I smiled in the darkness as he slid up to my crotch to feel my erect cock. I knew he too was excited because we were discussing our American lovers; he began to fumble with my trousers and after much trouble he pulled out my cock and began to wank me, I reciprocated and we were soon climaxing quietly together. Cum sprayed into the bilge of the boat mixing with the seawater under the deck, Bradley knew we were wanking and he too followed us adding his sperm to the slopping water under our feet. We adjusted ourselves and settled back to hopefully fall asleep.

The masturbation left us tired and we were soon nodding under the frosty stars, swirls of sea fog rose from the water and danced about the becalmed boats like wraiths haunting our dreams. We slept in the rocking boats our cold exhausted bodies pressed together in the blackness.

To be continued...
 

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Posted: 08/03/07