The four boats were now drifting aimlessly about over the sea, when an order was shouted to us, apparently from a Japanese officer in one of the other boats, to tie up with the other three boats.  After some time this was accomplished, and the four boats in line drifted on the water.  The two steamers had stopped; we did not know what was happening on board either of them, but saw the raider’s motor launch going between the raider and her prize, picking up some of the men who had fallen into the sea when the boat capsized.  Luckily, the sharks with which these waters are infested had been scared off by the gunfire.  We realized, when we were in the lifeboats, what a heavy swell there was on the sea, as both steamers were occasionally hidden from us when we were in the trough of the waves.  We were, however, not inconvenienced in any way by the swell, and the lifeboats shipped no water.  There was no one in command of any of the boats, and we simply waited to see what was going to happen.

What a sudden, what a dramatic change in our fortunes!  One that easily might have been, might even yet be, tragic.  At half-past one, less than two hours before, we were comfortably on board a fine ship, absolutely unsuspicious of the least danger.  If any of us had thought of the matter at all, we probably imagined we were in the safest part of the ocean.  But, at three o’clock, here we were, having undergone the trying ordeal 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 hands, which cheered up some of the drooping hearts and anxious minds.  Certainly most of us thought we were soon to look our last upon the world; what other thoughts were in our minds, as we imagined our last moments were so near, will remain unrecorded.