Meanwhile the coaling question had come to be a source of annoyance to us. Our faithful _Markomannia_ had no more coal to give us. To be sure, our prize, the _Pontoporros_, with her cargo of coal from India, was still with us. But this Indian coal is far from being desirable fuel, as it not only clogs the fire kettles with dirt, but, while it gives out a minimum of heat, it sends forth a maximum of smoke, and so our prize was not an unmixed joy to us. However, this vexed coal question was happily solved for us by the English Admiralty in a most satisfactory manner. Before many days had passed, a fine large steamer of 7,000 tonnage, loaded with the best of Welsh coal, en route for Hong Kong, and destined for their own use, was relinquished to us by the English in a most unselfish manner. So, for the present, we were most generously supplied with the best of fuel, and all further anxiety on this account was dismissed to the uncertain future. The captain of our new coal-laden prize seemed to have no scruples with regard to transferring himself, together with his ship, into German service. Willingly and faithfully he coöperated with the officer of the prize crew that was, of course, placed in command of his ship, all the while cheerfully whistling "Rule, Britannia." In the meantime, even the English government itself had become convinced that the destruction of the _Emden_ had, after all, not been accomplished. * * * * * VII--STORY OF LIFE ABOARD THE FLYING DUTCHMAN We knew quite well that sixteen hostile ships were in pursuit of us,--British, French, and Japanese. We never had any information with regard to the position of these ships, nor of their character, which, after all, could matter very little to us, since the _Emden_ was the smallest and least formidable of all the war ships in the Indian Ocean. There was not a hostile cruiser, that she was likely to meet, that was not her superior in strength. That the _Emden's_ career must soon be cut short was therefore a prospect of which everyone aboard her felt certain. Many hounds are certain death to the hare. Our Commander had set this aspect of affairs before us, sharply and clearly, at the very outset of the _Emden's_ career, pointing out that the only future ahead of the _Emden_ was to inflict as much damage as possible upon the enemy before she herself should be destroyed, which, in any event, could be but a question of time.