much to our disgust and very much under protest, we spent still one more night out of bed, and so to London, where we arrived in a characteristic pea-soup fog on the morning of March 10th, after incessant travelling by train and sea for a week.  We had not relished another sea voyage—­and one across the North Sea least of all—­but there was no help for it.  We feared that as we had escaped the Germans once, they might make a special effort to sink us crossing the North Sea.  But fortunately the U boats left us alone, though few, if any of us, turned in during those last few nights, for we felt we must still hold ourselves ready for any emergency.  Arrived in London we were taken forthwith to the Admiralty, and there interrogated by the authorities as to the Wolf’s exploits.  Our adventures were really at an end at last.

[Illustration:  AT SKAGEN:  GERMAN PRIZE CREW OF THE IGOTZ MENDI UNDER GUARD, AWAITING INTERNMENT.]

With what joyful and thankful hearts did we reach home, once more to be united with our relatives and friends, who had long mourned us as dead.  The shipping company had long ago abandoned all hope, the Hitachi had been posted missing at Lloyd’s, letters of condolence had been received by our relatives, and we had the, even now in these exciting times, still unusual experience of reading our own obituary notices.  We shall have to live up to them now!  We heard from the Nippon Yushen Kaisha in London that the Japanese authorities had sent an expedition to look for the Hitachi.  The expedition called at the Maldives, and had there found, in the atoll where we had first anchored in the Wolf’s company, a door from the Hitachi splintered by shell-fire and a case of cocoanut identified as having been put on board the Hitachi at Colombo.  The natives on this atoll could have told the expedition that at any rate the Hitachi was not sunk there, as they saw the Wolf and her prize sail away at different times.  The Hitachi’s disappearance was attributed to a submarine, though it was not explained how one managed to operate in the Indian Ocean!

We also heard in London that the Captain of the Hitachi committed suicide before the Wolf arrived in Germany.

No comment need be made on the German procedure of dragging their prisoners month after month over the oceans.  Such a thing had never been done before.  The Germans had had opportunities to release us, but had taken none to do so, as they had evidently determined not to allow any account of the Wolf’s cruise to be made known.  They might have put the Hitachi prisoners on the Maldives and left them there to get to Colombo as best they could, the Germans taking the ship; they might have sent the prisoners on the Igotz Mendi to Colombo or Java after they had taken what coal they wanted.  As the Spanish Captain said, they had a right to take his contraband, but not his ship.  But a question of