their original course and the sailing ship crossed our course astern.
About 1.30 p.m., however, we changed our course and turned about. We
were all mystified as to what was going to happen, until we saw a sail
on the horizon. The _Wolf's_ purpose was evident then. She was going
back to destroy the ship whose existence she had forgiven in the
morning. Imagine the feelings of the crew of her prey; seeing the _Wolf_
bearing down on her in the morning, their suspense as to their fate and
that of their ship, their joy at their release, and--here was the _Wolf_
again! What would their fate be now? The _Wolf_ did not leave them long
in doubt. She came up to her prize about 5 p.m. She was a four-masted
barque in full sail, in ballast from the Cape to South America, and made
a beautiful picture as she lay bathed in floods of golden light from the
setting sun. Before dark, however, preparations had begun to remove her
officers and crew and provisions, and this was completed in a few hours.
We were invited by the Germans to stay up and see the end. They told us
a searchlight would be thrown on the ship, that we might better see her
go down. Stage effects, with a vengeance! But they were not carried
out--it was a too dangerous proceeding, as the enemy regretfully
realized. We waited up till past eleven and saw lights flitting about
the doomed ship, as the Germans sailors were removing some things,
making fast others, and placing the bombs to blow her up. But none
waited up for the end, which we heard took place after midnight. The
ship first canted over, her sails resting on the water, righted herself
and then slowly disappeared. It was a beautiful moonlight night for the
commission of so dark a deed. The Germans afterwards told us that when
the _Wolf_ first spoke the barque she gave her name _Storobrore_ and
said she was a Norwegian ship, and so was released. The Germans had
afterwards discovered from the _Wolf's_ shipping register that she was
the _Alec Fawn_ and British owned before the war, and therefore to be
destroyed.