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[Page 87]
1915.
her, she altered course & apparently increased speed also, for she emitted large black columns of smoke from her funnel. At 7.30 p.m. she was still about 10 miles ahead, & plainly visible - evidently a ship of considerable size. It now became questionable whether we should be able to overtake her before darkness set in. However, we decided to fire a 12" shell near her, hoping by this means to impress her that our intentions were serious. The shell pitched just ahead of her starboard bow, & it had the desired effect, for she hove to at once, realising full well that she was within our gun range. It was dark when we came up with her, but our seachlights removed this difficulty. One officer was at once sent over to her. She turned out to be a German ship of the Woërmann Line of Hamburg, named "Elinor Woërmann". The Captain had thrown the log overboard, & this, coupled with the fact that her upperworks were coated with invisible paint, pointed to her being employed in assisting German warships. She had on board 1800 tons of Welsh coal in bags, & a good quantity of stores. The crew numbered 99. The captain explained that since December 1st. he had been attempting to reach German South West Africa, but that owing to the close vigilance of British warships he had been foiled in that attempt. This information we