of shell-fire in the interval, drifting helplessly in lifeboats in
mid-ocean, all our personal belongings left behind in what we imagined
to be a sinking ship, not knowing what fate was in store for us, but
naturally, remembering what we had heard of German sea outrages,
dreading the very worst.

[Illustration: _HITACHI_ PASSENGERS AND CREW IN LIFEBOATS AFTER THEIR
SHIP HAD BEEN SHELLED.

From an enlargement of photo taken on the _Wolf_ by a German officer.]




CHAPTER II

PRISONERS ON THE "WOLF"


Escape in any way was obviously out of the question. At last the raider
got under way and began to bear down on us. Things began to look more
ugly than ever, and most of us thought that the end had come, and that
we were up against an apostle of the "sink the ships and leave no trace"
theory--which we had read about in Colombo only a couple of days
before--the latest development of "frightfulness." Our minds were not
made easier by the seaplane circling above us, ready, as we thought, to
administer the final blow to any who might survive being fired on by the
raider's guns. It was a most anxious moment for us all, and opinions
were very divided as to what was going to happen. One of the ladies
remarked that she had no fear, and reminded us that we were all in God's