opportunity for drill; but every man had been posted as to
his duties, and the German members of the crew understood that
it was obedience or death for them, as each was accompanied by
a man with a pistol. Most of them, though, were only too glad
to obey me.

Bradley passed the order down into the ship and a moment later
the gun-crew clambered up the narrow ladder and at my direction
trained their piece upon the slow-moving Swede. "Fire a shot
across her bow," I instructed the gun-captain.

Accept it from me, it didn't take that Swede long to see the
error of his way and get the red and white pennant signifying
"I understand" to the masthead. Once again the sails flapped
idly, and then I ordered him to lower a boat and come after me.
With Olson and a couple of the Englishmen I boarded the ship,
and from her cargo selected what we needed--oil, provisions
and water. I gave the master of the Balmen a receipt for what
we took, together with an affidavit signed by Bradley, Olson, and
myself, stating briefly how we had come into possession of the
U-33 and the urgency of our need for what we took. We addressed
both to any British agent with the request that the owners of the
Balmen be reimbursed; but whether or not they were, I do not know. [1]


[1] Late in July, 1916, an item in the shipping news mentioned a
Swedish sailing vessel, Balmen, Rio de Janiero to Barcelona, sunk
by a German raider sometime in June. A single survivor in an open
boat was picked up off the Cape Verde Islands, in a dying condition.
He expired without giving any details.