a second torpedo which we
fired off from the other side didn't make the same mistake. After
twenty seconds there was absolutely not a trace of the ship to be seen.
The enemy had fired off only about six shots.

[Sidenote: French ships fight the _Emden_.]

[Sidenote: A burial at sea.]

"But now another ship, which we couldn't see, was firing. That was the
French _D'Ibreville_, toward which we now turned at once. A few minutes
later an incoming torpedo destroyer was reported. He mustn't find us in
that narrow harbor, otherwise we were finished! But it proved to be a
false alarm; only a small merchant steamer that looked like a destroyer,
and which at once showed the merchant flag and steered for shore.
Shortly afterward a second one was reported. This time it proved to be
the French torpedo boat _Mousquet_. It comes straight toward us. That's
always remained a mystery to me, for it must have heard the shooting. An
officer whom we fished up afterward explained to me that they had only
recognized we were a German warship when they were quite close to us.
The Frenchman behaved well, accepted battle and fought on, but was
polished off by us with three broadsides. The whole fight with both
ships lasted half an hour. The commander of the torpedo boat lost both
legs by the first broadside. When he saw that part of his crew were
leaping overboard, he cried out: 'Tie me fast; I will not survive after
seeing Frenchmen desert their ship!' As a matter of fact, he went down
with his ship as a brave Captain, lashed fast to the mast. Then we
fished up thirty heavily wounded; three died at once. We sewed a
Tri-color (the French flag), wound them in it and buried them at sea,
with seamen's honors, three salvos. That was my only sea fight. The
second one I did not take part in."

Muecke, who had been recounting his lively narrative, partly like an
officer, partly like an artist, and not trying to eliminate the flavor
of adventure, now takes on quite another tone as he comes to tell of
the end of the _Emden_:

[Sidenote: Landing on Cocos Island.]

[Sidenote: Order to weigh anchor.]

"On November 9 I left the _Emden_ in order to destroy the wireless plant
on the Cocos Island. I had fifty men, four machine guns, about thirty
rifles. Just as we were about to destroy the apparatus it reported:
'Careful; _Emden_ near.' The work of destruction went smoothly. The
wireless operator said: 'Thank God! it's been like being under arrest
day a