The Sinister Submarine

Climbing down through the conning tower into the control room, Jimmy was immediately fascinated by the interior of the sub. I’ll bet this is a U-boat, he thought. I’m pretty sure that’s what they called German submarines in World War II. This is just way cool! “This is cool!” Jimmy yelled up through the conning tower to Sandy and Sally but didn’t hear any reply. Unable to control his curiosity, Jimmy began to explore the sub. The ladder down from the conning tower had led him directly into the control room. The first thing he saw was the periscope. He was sorely tempted to raise it if he could figure out how, but he decided better of it. And besides, Sally would probably give him a three-day lecture about it if he did. But, boy, would he ever love to try out the periscope. However, he wasn’t even sure it would work if they weren’t submerged. Once he gave up on the periscope he found lots of other gadgets and things to hold his attention. Slowly glancing around the control room he saw all kinds of gauges, lots of which had Spanish words stuck over the top of the German words. Gee, maybe this sub is from South America, he thought. I think some of the German war criminals escaped to South America. Maybe they took some submarines with them. Jimmy laid his hand on a console to get a closer look at some of the dials and as if to confirm his assumption, he found a newspaper. It was all in Spanish so there wasn’t much he could make out except the date – it was dated a week ago – and the place the newspaper was printed – Bogotá. If I remember correctly, Bogotá is in Colombia. These guys must be d**g dealers. Why else would they have gone to all the trouble of building that false wall on the face of a cliff? Why else would they have that hidden cavern? This means Señor Nemesio HAS to be involved. Jimmy knew he should be frightened, or at the very least – concerned, but he was still much too interested in exploring to think about such things. He knew he needed to tell people about this – the right people – but not right now; after he was done here. I’ve got plenty of time to do that, he convinced himself. As he examined some of the dials in the control room he thought he could figure out what most of them did, but not all of them. There were a couple of wheels, too, that he thought might control some of the fins on the outside. They must be kind of like rudders, he guessed. There was something like a funnel attached to some piping. They probably talk through this. Jimmy simply couldn’t resist. He picked up the funnel and said, “Fire forward torpedoes!” With a chuckle, he put it back. Then he came across the big compass. Finally! he thought. At least I know what this is. Jimmy was amazed that this bucket of bolts was still running. It certainly looked the worse for wear and had obviously had a lot of makeshift repairs done to it. There was even some duct tape wrapped around some of the pipes. How safe could that be? And everything was filthy, covered with years-old grunge. He couldn’t help but wonder just how long this tub could stay submerged. He knew the nuclear subs could stay submerged for days, even months, but this was so rickety and so cramped and so smelly, he couldn’t imagine it staying submerged for more than a few hours before the crew would be demanding some fresh air. Heading towards the back of the boat (stern, he reminded himself) he left the control room. He looked to his right and saw the communications room. Naturally, he couldn’t resist going in to have a look. He sat in the green padded chair and stared at the equipment. I wonder if this stuff still works. As he put on the oversized headphones, he pretended he was listening for enemy subs. Wheeling himself across the room (which wasn’t very far because it was really, really small), he picked up the mike and was about to speak. He decided not to. What if this stuff DOES work? Right across from the communications room was another small room, but it looked very well cared for. The cabinets were wood and had been recently polished, as had all the brass knobs. The bunk was really small, too, but because there was only one, and because it was right across from communications, Jimmy assumed it was the captain’s quarters. Geesh! The captain doesn’t even get a proper door, Jimmy thought as he noticed the curtain across the open archway. Jimmy began opening drawers and looking in cupboards. He didn’t find anything that spelled out – I’m a d**g dealer. But when he thought about it for a second, he realized that he didn’t really expect to. If I could just get some real evidence, he thought. No one’s going to believe us if we try to tell them that we found a German submarine, from South America, in a secret cave, that has a false face, that can be opened and closed, delivering (hmmm, were they delivering or picking up?) drugs apparently to one of the island’s most respected businessmen. Jimmy decided they must be delivering. They were from Colombia, after all. He also decided that the story sounded pretty weird, even to him. “Stranger than fiction,” he mumbled to himself as he went back out into the hallway. (Companionway, he reminded himself trying to remember all the nautical terms he had learned when he went sailing with his dad.) As he moved still closer to the stern he went past some of the crew quarters. Man, were these guys ever squooshed in here. They must have felt like human sardines. Past the crew quarters, he came into a room that was filled with very large batteries. If I remember my history classes, he thought, they run these things on electric engines when they’re submerged and diesel engines when they’re running on the surface. This must be the electric engine room. A noise coming from the control room gave Jimmy a start, but then he remembered it must just be Sandy and Sally. He started to make his way back to the control room and was about to call out their names when he realized that the greasy-looking character coming down the ladder was neither Sandy nor Sally. Looking around for a place to hide, Jimmy quickly ducked into the captain’s quarters and silently pulled the curtain partway across the opening so he could still have some view into the control room. The swarthy, vicious-looking little man (Jimmy figured he couldn’t be any more than about 5’4”, which was probably a good thing on a submarine.) headed forward from the conning tower. Jimmy breathed a sigh of relief and was thankful for his luck. From what he’d seen of the sub there really weren’t many places to hide. If this guy had headed straight for the captain’s quarters Jimmy would have been a goner. Curiosity getting the better of him, Jimmy decided to follow the intruder. He convinced himself that this guy seemed so intent on whatever it was he had to do that he wouldn’t even notice that someone was tailing him. Apparently, Jimmy was right. The sailor never looked to the right or left or even behind as he headed for his objective. In yet another cramped room the sailor stopped in front of some circular doors with wheels on them, obviously to open or close the doors. Each wheel easily spun as the man gave it a whirl. Odd, thought Jimmy. Why would they be in such good repair when everything else in the ship seems to be falling apart and rusting? As each door swung open, Jimmy noticed some bundles inside some very long tubes. Those must be torpedo tubes, Jimmy speculated. But why would they put stuff like that in torpedo tubes? And then the answer struck him. If these were, indeed, the drugs, then if they were at sea and someone threatened to board them, they could just blow the drugs out the torpedo tubes and no one would be able to find any evidence on board. Clever, thought Jimmy. Very clever. Still oblivious to Jimmy’s presence, the sailor threw the bundles on bunks that lined one wall. Jimmy was still awed at how closely everyone was packed in together on this boat. There was just barely enough room to get into each bunk. Just the bundles seemed to pretty much fill them up. He couldn’t imagine having to work and sleep in such cramped quarters. Hearing the torpedo tube doors being slammed back into place brought Jimmy out of his trance. He knew he had to get back to the captain’s quarters, quickly and quietly, or he would be discovered. The thought that he might not be able to get off of this tub was beginning to dawn on him as he silently snuck back to his hiding place. And where are Sandy and Sally? he worried. Did they get caught? Are they hiding somewhere outside? Have they gone for help? There was no way he could know. He would have to act as if it were just him. He was pretty certain that if he were caught, he’d be told if Sandy and Sally had been caught too. He could just hear the crew gloating! Just as the sailor headed for the ladder to the conning tower, Jimmy slipped back into the captain’s quarters. If he had been seen, the sailor gave no indication. He was too busy pushing the bundles ahead of him, up the conning tower. As the sailor exited the hatchway and disappeared, Jimmy began to wonder what he should, or could, do. There must be something going on outside on the dock. He found if he listened really carefully he could hear some muffled voices. There seemed to be lots of voices. His heart sank. What if I can’t get out of here at all? Looking around the captain’s quarters, he wondered if there was something he could do to sabotage the sub. Something so they couldn’t get back to South America. There had to be a way, but what was it? His eyes finally fell on a duty roster (at least he thought that’s what it was) on the wall, held up by two rather large magnets. His mind was telling him that the magnets might be useful but he couldn’t quite drag out the memory of why they would be. Trusting to instinct, he pocketed the two magnets. He decided to take a chance and climb back up the conning tower to see what was going on. He was being so careful to be quiet that it seemed to take forever to reach the top of the tower. Slowly he edged up so he could see the dock. There were a lot of people there, but he didn’t see Sandy and Sally among them. Quickly scanning the cavern he saw Sandy and Sally hiding behind the fuel drums where they had stored their snorkel gear. He was pretty sure they couldn’t be seen by the men on the dock. Well, at least they’re safe – for now. Jimmy was relieved by the thought. As he looked back to the dock the group was dispersing, their business clearly done. Most of the sub’s crew was now on the deck and one had even started to climb the conning tower. I can’t get out without being seen, he moaned silently to himself and decided he had to go back into the sub and hide. He took less trouble to be quiet this time as the crew was making a fair bit of noise as they boarded. On his way through the control room, the large compass grabbed his attention. That’s it! he remembered. These magnets, he thought as he pulled them from his pocket. They’ll screw up the compass. They won’t know where they’re going. He mutely thanked his dad for the sailing lessons and instructions on all things nautical. Quickly he placed the magnets as out of sight as he could. It was really important that they not find them right away. He ducked back into the captain’s quarters just as the first of the crew reached the bottom of the ladder. Several more followed after. The control room quickly became crowded. It was obvious who the captain was. As soon as he dropped into the control room he began issuing orders and even this motley crew snapped into action at his commands. Jimmy heard the hatch on the conning tower slam shut and the wheel was tightened with a sickening squeal of metal against metal. He felt totally and utterly alone. Sally was right, he moaned inwardly. Sometimes I just don’t think. I sure hope I’ll have the opportunity to tell her she was right. At this moment Jimmy wasn’t very confident of that possibility. Who knew what a crew like this would do to a stowaway. He didn’t fool himself into thinking that they’d drop him at the nearest port. He felt the sub begin to move. He was pretty sure they were diving too, to get under the false wall. His confidence and bravado were deserting him as quickly as the sub was pulling away from land. The one thing that he could be certain about was that Sally would tell Mom and Dad as soon as she could. They would know what to do. He just hoped that their efforts wouldn’t be too late for him. Desperately trying to shake off his fear, he again looked around the captain’s quarters for a place to hide. The captain would eventually come in here and Jimmy didn’t want to just say, “Hi! Thought I’d just come along for the ride.” But all the cupboards were too small. Noticing a pile of blankets, he got an idea. The captain was still roaring orders. Jimmy had no idea how long they’d been underway. He had forgotten to put on his watch this morning. He was kicking himself for that. It was a waterproof watch his mom and dad had given him for his thirteenth birthday. Would he live to see another birthday, he wondered. With some of the turns they had been making, Jimmy was pretty sure they were through the reef by now. And heading for open sea, he moaned. He just prayed that the compass would steer them wrong and they’d go around in circles, or end up back where they started or possibly run aground. By then his mom and dad would have alerted the authorities and they would be looking for him. After what seemed like hours, but may have been only minutes, Jimmy heard a set of footsteps that became louder and louder. Then came the sound of the curtain being pulled back. The captain exploded in a stream of profanities. Funny how they all pretty much sound the same in any language. The captain then yanked at the pile of blankets that had somehow appeared on his bunk. As he pulled them off onto the floor, Jimmy was discovered. “What have we here?” snarled the captain in heavily accented English. “A stowaway. Explain yourself, boy!” Some of the crew peered into the cabin to see what was going on. “You won’t get away with this, you know.” Jimmy stuttered, trying to muster all the courage he could. “They’ll be looking for me by now.” This statement didn’t have the effect Jimmy hoped for at all. The captain began to roar with laughter and soon all the crew had joined in, even those who didn’t know why they were laughing. Grabbing Jimmy by the arm he pulled him out into the control room. He felt very exposed in only his swimsuit. Most of the crew were laughing and, Jimmy thought, making rude remarks that he didn’t understand. The captain bellowed some orders and Jimmy was sure they were starting to surface. He could hear the seawater being pushed out of the ballast tanks. What does this mean? he wondered. Are we so far out that they don’t have to worry about being on the surface? The thought didn’t comfort him. The captain mumbled something and indicated the conning tower ladder to one of the men who quickly climbed it and opened the hatch at the top. So we are surfacing, Jimmy observed. Roughly, the captain pushed Jimmy towards the ladder. The man who had opened the hatch was waiting for him at the top. Jimmy resisted, but then the captain pulled out his g*n, poked it into Jimmy’s ribs, and waved it up the ladder. The instructions were unmistakable. Jimmy was to climb the ladder to the top of the conning tower. As he climbed from rung to rung, he tried desperately to stop himself from shaking. He didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of knowing he was scared. Two crew members, and then the captain followed Jimmy. They dragged him down to the wet deck of the sub. The captain gave a short, malicious instruction in Spanish and pointed to the water. As Jimmy was trying to figure out what the captain was saying, two men picked him up by the arms and legs, swung him in an arc over the side of the sub, and let go! Jimmy landed in the ocean with a mighty splash. “Perhaps you will be a nice lunch for some shark,” the captain yelled as the sub moved away, and Jimmy could hear everyone laughing as they got back into the submarine. As Jimmy floated in the water the sub became smaller and smaller and finally submerged. He couldn’t see land in any direction. How was he going to get out of this, he wondered.