Ted stood by ready to transmit the order
to lower away. But what was the surprise of "Little Mack" to have
Herr Schmidt turn and shout down the conning tower in German:
"Send men on deck through the fore and aft hatches equipped to cut
away the cable nets!"
Cramming his revolver into his holster, Jack hurried forward while
Ted made off aft to the engine room. In another moment the forward
hatch was thrown open and three of the German seamen emerged on deck,
followed by the _Monitor's_ executive officer in German naval uniform.
At the same time Ted climbed up from the engine room on the aft deck,
followed by four of the German prisoners. In the dim light the crews
moved about their work like phantoms.
As best they could the Germans lifted the steel wires and cables and
carried them along the deck of the _Monitor_; one toward the bow,
the other toward the stern. It was tedious work and hard work, too,
for the cables were heavy and so interwoven that it was a difficult
task to move them.
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