1855 United States Tycoon

Chapter 506, Annie’s Diary

Journalists naturally have a safer retreat, and that is the sea. The Shire concentration camp is not far from the sea. To the east of it is a cliff just a few hundred meters, and below the cliff is the vast Indian Ocean. According to the agreement, a United States submarine was there waiting for them. A few guerrillas escorted a few reporters and twenty or so children to the edge of the cliff. A few people tied a rope to the reporter’s waist, put them down the cliff one by one, and used a basket to hold them. Put those little kids down. Most of these children are relatively small, very thin, and many of them are sick. If they can’t get treatment and nutrition, many of them will not live long. And under the cliff, an inflatable rubber boat has been waiting there, and a submarine has surfaced a little further away.

The rubber boat is not big, it is impossible to transport so many people onto the submarine at one time, and because there are many reefs near the shore, the submarine must stay quite far away from the coast for safety, which also makes the rubber boat come and go. It takes a long time. The battles in the concentration camps are also entirely possible to attract the British navy that might perform tasks nearby. Because of the distance from the concentration camp to the coast, the British navy can launch artillery bombardments from the sea on the Boer guerrillas occupying the concentration camp. If at this time, the British warships appeared, then all previous efforts may have been in vain.

But now, they have to take such risks, because of such risks, the rewards they can bring will also be very huge.

Fortunately, until everyone got on the submarine, the British warship did not appear. This is probably because there is no British warship nearby, or some people in the army think that the problem can be solved by the army. If the navy is called, let alone the cooperation between the navy and the army. It is complicated and not done well. It is not uncommon for the Navy’s shells to fall on the Army. Even if everything goes well, the Army does not want to see the Navy’s “daddy saved you again.”

According to the original plan, the submarine was only responsible for taking away these five or six reporters. However, now, more than 20 children suddenly appeared, and the submarine was immediately full. Once diving, the air in the submarine will immediately become muddy, and it is not good for the children to stay in this way for a long time. Besides, with the addition of so many people, the consumption of oxygen will also increase a lot, so the time for underwater snorkeling would have been shortened. So the captain Haite decided to take a risk altogether. Instead of letting the submarine dive immediately, he used the method of surface navigation and sailed towards the open sea.

Haite made this decision also justified. The submarine itself has a very good protective color, it is painted gray blue, and it can be very well integrated into the background of the ocean from a distance. Moreover, the submarine itself is much lower than the battleship, so when you look at the battleship from the submarine, you look up and the back view is the bright sky, while from the battleship you look down on the submarine, and the back view is the sea. Therefore, under normal circumstances, if the watchman is not asleep, the distance from the submarine to the battleship should be greater than the distance from the battleship to the submarine. Of course it is greater than the distance at which a warship can accurately shoot.

After sailing for about an hour, the lookout sent out an alert that British warships were found. So the submarine began to dive.

“Go and inform the passengers that we are going to dive. Before we resurface, let them sit or lie down without talking or moving. Save oxygen as much as possible.” Captain Haite told Captain Lai Steward said.

All the reporters obeyed the order honestly. Although there were still many things in the boat that interested them, they were all honestly motionless at this time. Originally, the sailors were very worried about whether the children would be unruly, but these children who grew up in suffering were also very sensible, and the sudden changes in the environment made them a little frightened. His eyes looked at the reporters and sailors in panic, but there was not much action.After the submarine sailed quietly underwater for more than two hours, the air in the cabin became more and more muddy, many reporters felt a little breathless, and the children became lethargic. Only the sailors have not shown anything strange yet.

“Sherlock, did you hear the sound of a propeller nearby?” the captain asked.

“No, boss. There is no sound at all,” the sonarman Sherlock replied.

“Well, go up to the depth of the periscope and be ready to raise the periscope,” the captain said.

So there was a rumbling sound from the submarine, which was the sound of compressed air in the sea water discharged from the ballast tank. As the sea water was discharged, the submarine began to slow down and float up until it reached a depth where the periscope could be extended, and then sailed at a low speed of about two knots per hour. At this speed, when the periscope is extended, it will not pull out a clear track, which is conducive to the concealment of the submarine.

Captain Haite raised the periscope and observed it carefully for a while. There are indeed no ships on the sea.

“Very well, ascending to the semi-submersible state, and then start the exhaust fan to ventilate. Start the diesel engine to charge the battery.” Captain Haite moved his eyes from the front of the periscope to develop such a command.

The so-called semi-submersible state means that the submarine as a whole is not out of the water, only the command tower is projected out of the water. This way, the exposed area is small, and it is not easy to be found, and of course it is safer.

The submarine gently stretched out the command tower, so fresh air followed. Since then, the submarine has maintained a semi-submersible state and sailed slowly, until night, the whole surface was surfaced, and the speed was raised to the highest , Heading towards the north at full speed.

Before dark the next afternoon, the submarine and the support ship Honest Man successfully reconciled, and the reporters and children were transferred to this ship. At this time, the submarine had sailed for nearly two hundred nautical miles with reporters and children, far away from the patrol range of the British warship.

…

After traveling north along the coastline of East Africa for two weeks, the Honest Man crossed the Suez Canal and arrived in Italy. During this period, through the radio, reporters learned of the death of the legendary South African guerrilla captain, Waldner.

…

“The Goodman has arrived in Italy,” Dasco Popov reported to Scrooge. A few years ago, Bond retired, and he recommended Dasco Popov to Scrooge to succeed him. Because Dasco Popov was quick-witted, calm, and courageous, he had already made a lot of credit before that. Later, after he took over the position of Bond, his performance was indeed very good, so like Bond, he was also deeply trusted by Scrooge.

“Ah, Dasco, are those kids all right?” Scrooge asked.

“The children are all pretty good. Just taking care of these children keeps the seafarers very busy. But for the sailors who have been floating on the sea for a long time, it is actually a very good thing to have a group of children nearby.” Dasco replied, “In addition, some information about the concentration camp, as well as photos, etc. have been sorted out. According to the Associated Press, it is very impactful.”

“Very well, has my express number arrived?”

“Mr. MacDonald, the Express has arrived in Italy the day before yesterday. The children who followed your instructions have also been sent to the Express, and are now under the protection of our professionals. In addition, President Kruger has also Came here from Germany. They are preparing to hold a press conference in Italy to expose the atrocities of the British.”

“I heard you mentioned last time that in addition to the Death record, Bilt has some diaries, right?” Scrooge asked.

“Yes, Mr. MacDonald.” Dasco replied, “These diaries will also be made public at the press conference tomorrow.”

“Ah, I suddenly had an idea to ask Bilt to keep the diary first, not to make it public. This material is not used in this way, it should have better usage. Let him bring these things after the press conference, and Together, those kids, take my express number back to United States.”

“Okay, Mr. MacDonald.”

“Also ask your people to keep an eye on them. The British are not fools. Most of them are now planning how to deal with such things. It is very important to protect all kinds of evidence. It is more important than the safety of personnel, understand? Don’t let the British spend anything and get away these vital evidences.”

“We understand, Mr. MacDonald. We will use our lives to ensure the safety of these evidences.” Dasco stood up and replied in a firm tone.

…

The British have indeed found a problem. Because Kruger kept sending invitations to various media, claiming that evidence of the latest atrocities committed by the British in South Africa was about to be published. At this time, if something went wrong, the British would be really idiots. And considering what happened in South Africa two weeks ago when the guerrillas attacked the concentration camps at all costs, what Krueger said was the latest evidence of atrocities, this naturally became clear.

For this reason, the British first used diplomatic means to ask the Italian government to stop “this apparently unhonorable gathering that was intended to defame the reputation of the British Empire through various lies.” But now Italy is also a big country after all. If the British are allowed to say something casually, they will not let people hold a press conference. They really can’t do such a shameful thing. And at this time Italy and Germany were allies, (although Italy became a traitor immediately after the beginning of World War I) behind the Germans instigating support, Italy naturally would not buy it.

The British also know that there is basically no possibility that Italy will succumb to this matter. Therefore, they must consider how to deny or even counterattack in public opinion. To do this, it is best to destroy the evidence in those hands. However, this is not easy. First of all, the forces behind the reporters also understand this point. Of course, they are watching very closely. Secondly, they don’t have enough time to react.

Therefore, the British can only respond passively and hope that what the reporters throw out will not be too shocking.

…

The next day, the press conference started on time in an auditorium in Genoa.