r 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 Tricolor, (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:

"On Nov. 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 operators said: 'Thank God! It's been like being under arrest
day and night lately.' Presently the Emden signaled to us, 'Hurry up.'
I pack up, but simultaneously wails the Emden's siren. I hurry up to
the bridge, see the flag 'Anna' go up. That means 'Weigh anchor.' We
ran like mad into our boat, but already the Emden's pennant goes up,
the battle flag is raised, they fire from starboard.

"The enemy is concealed by the island and therefore not to be seen,
but I see the shells strike the water. To follow and catch the Emden
is out of the question; she's going twenty knots, I only four with my
steam pinnace. Theref