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allow no Russian to lay a sacrilegious finger,

Both he and I watched it with a good deal of anxiety as, a day or two later, it went up the side of the Ulidia and was lowered down No. 2 hold

Considerable indignation was felt at the time at the conduct of certain young Flying officers who had gained what was felt to be an unfair advantage over the Navy by having parcels sent out specially from Venns containing garments calou- for the ship's derricks had lated to revolutionise the ideas of the maidens of Popoff.

not been improved by two years' neglect, the pump weighed a ton and a half, and the box containing its suctions and steel dischargepipes three tons.

However, it was got safely down into the 'tween-decks and pushed aft against the bulkhead.

It was at Popoff, too, that there occurred an example of poetic justice. A fatigue party was being marched down the plank-road, carrying corrugated iron. To my surprise, the right-hand man of the leading section of fours was my late Bn. H.Q. mess cook in The purpose of this was France, who, coming to me in that, by cutting out a plate great distress, and out of work in after demobilisation, had been given a job at 148. a day, which he had thrown up at the end of a week. His bad cooking I had suffered in silence for some months, but his ingratitude I was glad to see suitably rewarded.

Towards the end of July I heard that the 12-inch motorpump had arrived in Archangel, and went over with the Aleida Johanna to collect it.

I found in charge of it a small motor engineer about twenty years old, whom I had not previously met. His voice showed that he came from the Tyne, and his look that he preferred Newcastle to Archangel. He paid very little attention to me beyond telling me that he had had to come away at a day's notice, and had not had time to get all the spares he wanted, and devoted himself entirely to the pump, on which he would

the bulkhead, and by having one set of suctions in the stokehold and another in No. 2 hold, the pump could be

made available for whichever compartment most needed it.

The law of the obstinacy of inanimate objects, which usually ordains that there shall be a stanchion or something of the sort in precisely the most awkward possible position, did not operate in this case; for immediately above the pump was a ventilator, and up this the 12-inch steel discharge-pipes were led. A bend on the top allowed the pump to discharge clear over the side near the gangway.

This led to a number of alarms and excursions; for Reay, the motor engineer, from his position at the pump in the 'tween-decks, never knew whether or not there were boats alongside when he started

hold to find out. There would be a few preliminary coughings and splutterings as he started the engine, but this gave very little warning, and within a few seconds the pump would be throwing water "full bore," and a solid stream from the 12-inch pipe would be falling at the rate of 700-800 tons an hour on to whatever happened to be beneath it.

had been standing by, and,

the pump, and was not usually inolined to climb out of the when water was still about three feet deep, they were down in the hold working feverishly to get into place the huge stanchions of 16-inch timber which were to shore down the tank top and make the ship solid up to the deck. These vertical supports stood on horizontal baulks laid along the tank top in order that the strain should not come at a number of isolated points, but should be equally distributed, while between the tops of them and the 'tween decks were similar logs laid horizontally.

The Aleida Johanna on the first occasion filled nearly up to the rails before Reay could be persuaded to hear, above the roar of his engine, the voices of the agitated Russians shouting down No. 2 hatch.

These episodes were, however, nothing beside the renewed feeling of confidence which the pump gave to all on board.

A few days after it arrived it was considered that the cement bulkhead in No. 2 had hardened sufficiently to allow of our "trying" the hold.

The motor-pump, "Old Bill," as it was christened, was started away, and to every one's delight the water in the hold was seen to be falling steadily. Within twenty minutes the tank tops were dry, and the pump was throwing up a mixture of dirty water, cement, and sand from the bilges.

In order not to put too great a pressure on the tank top, we had decided only to pump on the falling tide and during slack water. Time, therefore, was short. A crowd of men

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Stanchions of the same size were carried up up from the 'tween-deck to the main deck, so that the tank top had virtually the added strength of both these deoks, and before it could give way must push them both up with it.

The ship was thus practically "in one piece."

While the carpenters were busy getting these stanchions into place, some of the divers in wading-dresses were working along the bilges locating the worst leaks, while others were busy putting in "tumbler" bolts to replace the many loose or missing rivets in the tank top which were sending up miniature fountains of water.

The tanks were, in fact, a mass of small leaks, and when Reay stopped the pump, it was only five or six minutes befere there was a foot or so of water on the floors.

However, now that we had seen the hold dry, it was much easier for the divers to work at eliminating the leaks one by

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one, and all hands were in good spirits.

Reay became a popular hero, and an admiring crowd was usually to be found round the pump whenever he gave it a trial run.

Needing an assistant to fetch and carry spanners, petrol, &c., and to swing the engine for starting, he attached to himself one Savonoff, who became his devoted slave.

They spent all day and most of the night in their dark corner of No. 2 'tween-deck alongside the pump. Coming down unexpectedly, I would find Savonoff creeping about on his stomach making explosive noises or gazing at Reay between the crossed fingers of his two hands. Reay would explain that Savonoff was telling him about his experiences in the Russian armoured cars, or how he had gone to gaol for assaulting 8 policeman in Petrograd. Neither knowing a word of the other's language, they understood each other perfectly, and would carry on long and intricate conversations on all sorts of subjects entirely by gesture-of which Savonoff was such a master that I have always regretted that I did not secure him for the "movies."

For very few other Russians had Reay any respect. Their habit of eating cold raw bacon for breakfast, and putting apricot jam into their tea, was a constant irritation to him, aud certainly it was not pleasant to watch.

Moreover, they were continually grumbling about their rations, which were on exactly the same scale as those of our own troops, and far more liberal than those issued to any other Russians, and it was noticeable that the general tone was not so contented as it had been before. The truth was, that Bolshevik feeling was in the air, and that we had one or two agitators who were quick to take advantage of it. Soroko itself had been in the occupation of the Bolsheviks, and Belaieff's millworkers and, still more, the railway employees were strongly though secretly in sympathy with them.

From Soroka we had about a dozen carpenters and a certain amount of casual labour, and these were infected with the new principles, and were not slow to begin propaganda amongst the rest.

However, there was nothing seriously to worry about until the end of the first week in August. The work was going on-though not as fast as we had wished, for we had hoped to be ready to attempt to float by this time-and I had gone over to Archangel to persuade the bank there to disgorge some of my money.

It was unsatisfactory to have to go away and leave Reay the only Englishman on board the ship; but the men had to be paid, and the bank, though they readily admitted that my account was several thousand pounds in credit, blandly stated when

I wrote to them that they had no money, and therefore regretted their inability to pay. They continued to do business as usual, however, and, after the D.N.T.O.'s interpreter and I had cornered the manager in his private office and refused to go or to allow him to go until he produced some hundred of thousands of roubles, we eventually got the money, though he attempted to palm off some nine different breeds of rouble, each more obsolete and spurious than the last.

The identification of Kerensky's, Nicolai's, perforated and not perforated, Tzar notes, Archangel notes, British guaranteed roubles, &c., had by this time become something of a fine art.

Having secured the money, I was anxious to get back as soon as possible.

There was a sloop-one of the "Flower" class-calling at Onega and going on from there to Popoff, whence I could get to Soroka by train.

While in Archangel I had heard stories of mutinies of Russian troops and the murder of British officers up the Dwina, but I had not paid much attention to them. On board the sloop, however, was a subaltern in the Rifle Brigade whom I had last seen on the morning of 21st March 1918, opposite St Quentin, when he was taken prisoner. He told me that he was one of five officers detailed to join at Onega the 5th North Russian Rifles-reputed to be on the brink of mutiny. They

had not been allowed to take their servants, none of them spoke Russian, and they had no interpreter. I advised him, unnecessarily perhaps, to be careful, and saw him ashore at Onega. I debated whether I should go ashore myself, but there happened to be a tug just leaving for Popoff which would arrive before the sloop, and I decided to go aboard her.

It proved a lucky decision. In the first place, we had only left Onega an hour when the 5th Russian Rifles mutinied, murdered all the officers in the town, including, presumably, my friend in the Rifle Brigade, and handed over the place to the Bolsheviks' troops. Onega was the next post to Soroka.

Secondly, the navigating officer of the tug was Lieut. E. J. Grey, D.S.C., a New Zealander, and the best type of sailorman, who had been second in command of the famous Qboat Stockforce in the historic action in which her commander, Captain Auten, won his V.C.

He was very interested in the Ulidia; we quickly became friendly. I saw at once how valuable he would be to me, and immediately on our arrival at Popoff we both telegraphed to the Ministry of Shipping and asked that he might be demobilised at once.

No difficulties were made, as he was supernumerary, and within three or four days he was in our employment and had joined us aboard the Ulidia. He was a very welcome addition,

We kept a discreet silence about the affair at Onega, but the sudden increase of troops passing through Soroko, and the fact of aeroplanes flying over in an easterly direotion, made the men suspect that something was in the wind.

Such news travels quickly, and it was soon known on board. The effect was disquieting. The men were already "fed up." They had been working six weeks at Soroka, which had no amusements to offer them, and they now had large sums of money in their pockets which they were anxious to spend at Archangel. Moreover, they were frankly frightened about the possibilities of а Bolshevik advance on Soroka.

In this they differed from the local labour, who were openly exultant about it, and began to grow very idle and truculent.

The first step was a deputation from the Archangel workmen to say that they wished to leave, and insisted on the Aleida Johanna taking them home to Archangel at once. We pointed out that it was only a question of a week or so before the Ulidia would be floated, and when this had no effect, told them that no one would navigate the Johanna for them and that she would not leave.

With the arrival of a deputation from the local labour armed with axesthings began to look more serious. They stood in the saloon with their caps on and

their hands in their pockets, laughed in an openly contemptuous manner, talked for a considerable time about some purely imaginary grievance, and went on strike.

The sight of them sitting about doing nothing had naturally not at all a good effect on the Archangel party, who were working under protest. Captain G. was wildly indignant, but powerless.

Reay, Grey, and I held a hurried council of war.

An urgent telegram was sent to the ordnance at Popoff, and by the next train arrived two cases. We had the launch in to meet the train, and the two cases were hoisted aboard and carried into the saloon. Here they were hurriedly unpacked

and the first intimation our friends had of their contents was when (having walked unobtrusively up on to the bridge) we "loosed off" a drum from the Lewis gun over the side, and then, idly fingering a Mills bomb, a Mills bomb, proceeded to call a meeting. At this we explained that the salvage operations were in their most critical phase, and that we had no intention of having them interfered with. That any one who did not work would get neither food nor pay, and that if he wanted to resign his job and go ashore he would have to swim.

The rattle of the Lewis gun had had an instantaneous effect we were now "topdog" again and work was resumed.

About this time we had

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