Brag
04-21-07, 10:52 AM
Previous episodes are posted on: http://www.freewebs.com/kielman/ (http://www.freewebs.com/kielman/)
Vortex
by Alex Braguine
Episode 4
The moment Goss stepped aboard, the hum of fans, a light vibration of machinery coming through the soles of his shoes, and the smell unique to ships, greeted him like an old friend. He'd never been on a merchant vessel before, but it was like a homecoming.
Before looking for his cabin, he went across the ship to the port side, climbed to the main deck. The number of people crowding the rail surprised him. His gaze roamed the brown wavelets of the La Plata River and settled on a destroyer standing near the horizon.
Several people in the crowd held binoculars.
"That's the German battleship," a man standing next to Goss said.
"Battleship?" Goss took a more detailed look of the destroyer.
"You haven't heard?"
"No, I just got off the train."
"Our sailing has been delayed, the English Navy is blockading the La Plata."
Goss wondered about the legality of blockading a neutral port. Of course, one couldn't believe what people said. Battleship, indeed. Once his suitcase arrived in his cabin he would take his glasses and identify the destroyer. Probably Argentinean, The Brits wouldn't be this far south.
Montez was a small man with a frog face and sad eyes. He sat on the lower bunk cutting paper dolls. "Ah, there you are. What is a man to do when the Imperial British Navy prevents him from traveling? I'm only going to Santos and if I miss the auction I'm done. Done!" He shook his head sadly, spread his paper dolls like an accordion and smiled. "It helps my nerves."
Goss removed his Panama hat and tossed it on the upper bunk.
Montez folded another sheet of ship's stationary and started on a new string of paper dolls.
#
The destroyer was a British built Serrano class slowly going back and forth maintaining station about three miles off Buenos Aires. In the second-class bar, the radio was tuned to a Montevideo station with an excited reporter on the waterfront. He said the captain of the Graf Spee was ashore. Some people said he went to the German Embassy, others said it was the Uruguayan Admiralty.
A member of a tugboat crew said they had seen Royal Navy ships just beyond the horizon. A naval battle had taken place off the coast and the German pocket battleship was damaged.
The purser's office confirmed that the sailing has been postponed.
At the bar, Goss ordered a scotch and soda and was not surprised when Dumbo Parks sidled over.
"Well, my dear friend. I expected you to be on a whaling ship."
"I didn't say where I was boarding it," Goss answered.
"True, true. Well, we're not going anywhere 'til our navy takes care of that Jerry ship. The blighter has done enough damage to unarmed shipping. More Navy cruisers are arriving. We've got him nailed. Cheers!"
Goss wanted to smash his fist into the arrogant Englishman's face. He contained his temper and took a sip from his glass, remembering his promise to himself that he would never again hit another man. Revealing his German sympathies would not help him reach his destination.
On the radio, Montevideo's port captain invoked international law and that the Graf Spee would be allowed to stay 24 hours to make repairs related to its seaworthiness.
Goss wondered what the Graf Spee could do. Go out with guns blazing like the Russian cruiser Variag in 1905? Or get blown like the Königsberg in the Rufiji delta During the Great War? None of the options spelled success. Silently he toasted the captain and crew of the Graf Spee, while Dumbo Parks nattered about the glories of the British Empire.
Vortex
by Alex Braguine
Episode 4
The moment Goss stepped aboard, the hum of fans, a light vibration of machinery coming through the soles of his shoes, and the smell unique to ships, greeted him like an old friend. He'd never been on a merchant vessel before, but it was like a homecoming.
Before looking for his cabin, he went across the ship to the port side, climbed to the main deck. The number of people crowding the rail surprised him. His gaze roamed the brown wavelets of the La Plata River and settled on a destroyer standing near the horizon.
Several people in the crowd held binoculars.
"That's the German battleship," a man standing next to Goss said.
"Battleship?" Goss took a more detailed look of the destroyer.
"You haven't heard?"
"No, I just got off the train."
"Our sailing has been delayed, the English Navy is blockading the La Plata."
Goss wondered about the legality of blockading a neutral port. Of course, one couldn't believe what people said. Battleship, indeed. Once his suitcase arrived in his cabin he would take his glasses and identify the destroyer. Probably Argentinean, The Brits wouldn't be this far south.
Montez was a small man with a frog face and sad eyes. He sat on the lower bunk cutting paper dolls. "Ah, there you are. What is a man to do when the Imperial British Navy prevents him from traveling? I'm only going to Santos and if I miss the auction I'm done. Done!" He shook his head sadly, spread his paper dolls like an accordion and smiled. "It helps my nerves."
Goss removed his Panama hat and tossed it on the upper bunk.
Montez folded another sheet of ship's stationary and started on a new string of paper dolls.
#
The destroyer was a British built Serrano class slowly going back and forth maintaining station about three miles off Buenos Aires. In the second-class bar, the radio was tuned to a Montevideo station with an excited reporter on the waterfront. He said the captain of the Graf Spee was ashore. Some people said he went to the German Embassy, others said it was the Uruguayan Admiralty.
A member of a tugboat crew said they had seen Royal Navy ships just beyond the horizon. A naval battle had taken place off the coast and the German pocket battleship was damaged.
The purser's office confirmed that the sailing has been postponed.
At the bar, Goss ordered a scotch and soda and was not surprised when Dumbo Parks sidled over.
"Well, my dear friend. I expected you to be on a whaling ship."
"I didn't say where I was boarding it," Goss answered.
"True, true. Well, we're not going anywhere 'til our navy takes care of that Jerry ship. The blighter has done enough damage to unarmed shipping. More Navy cruisers are arriving. We've got him nailed. Cheers!"
Goss wanted to smash his fist into the arrogant Englishman's face. He contained his temper and took a sip from his glass, remembering his promise to himself that he would never again hit another man. Revealing his German sympathies would not help him reach his destination.
On the radio, Montevideo's port captain invoked international law and that the Graf Spee would be allowed to stay 24 hours to make repairs related to its seaworthiness.
Goss wondered what the Graf Spee could do. Go out with guns blazing like the Russian cruiser Variag in 1905? Or get blown like the Königsberg in the Rufiji delta During the Great War? None of the options spelled success. Silently he toasted the captain and crew of the Graf Spee, while Dumbo Parks nattered about the glories of the British Empire.