CHAPTER 9

Mladineo and Radic had little trouble in finding a substantial number of ships actually in the port of Bari to which they felt we should lay claim at once. Members of the crew of the Bog s Nama had been strolling about in the port for several days and had recognized a number of vessels that formerly plied the Dalmatian coast under Jugoslav colors. Counting the Bog s Nama, there were five ships in Partisan hands, two of them little motor vessels of forty-ton capacity, one a big motor vessel of 400-ton capacity, and two of them steamers—our ship and a 530-ton freighter.

There were also nine vessels under the Italian flag, ranging from thirty to two hundred-ton capacity, all of which had once been under Jugoslav registry. And there were two customs launches, big enough to move at sea in favorable weather, and King Peter's private launch or speed boat, a little mahogany Chris-Craft thirty feet long.

It was arranged that Radic would see the skipper of every vessel under the Partisan flag and obtain from him his name and the names of the men in his crew, together with all available data about the ship itself, its length and beam and cargo capacity and power and speed; and the immediate needs of each vessel should be listed.

No action would be taken until later to acquire the Jugoslav ships still held by the Italians.

Five Partisan ships to take over at once, nine Jugoslav ships in Italian hands to be taken over a little later—fourteen ships in all! It was better than we had hoped, better than we had dared to hope. The admiral would have to help us straighten out the position of the five Partisan ships and tell us how to acquire the nine now held by the Italians; one method would then apply to the lot of them.

As there was more cargo due on the pier within the next twenty-four hours than Bog s Nama could take aboard without capsizing, the first thing to do was to call on the skippers of the other Partisan ships and gather them into our company. NOIC had softened up some, but he was still none too friendly. There was no telling what he would do if we tied up the tracks on our pier for hours or even for days by using freight cars as warehouses.

I made it clear to Mladineo that no one was to approach the ships still under the Italian flag, that nothing whatever was to be done that might indicate or betray in any way our interest in them.

Petrinovic, looking pale and tired, listened intently to all that was said in the little cabin. When we had completed our discussion of the ships I asked him how soon Bog s Nama could be made ready for the sea. He rose and left us to go and consult the captain, a dirty, slothful man (we later fired him) who had made a poor impression on both Tim and me. When he returned it was to say the ship would be ready in the latter days of the week, about Friday or Saturday.

I said: "Then there is time for a reconnaissance."

"Do you think it's really necessary?" Mladineo answered.

"Where will you find a ship to take us over? Why not just sail across in Bog s Nama?"

"How can we be sure that Vis is still in Partisan hands?" I queried.

"We can't be absolutely certain," Mladineo answered, "but one has to take chances in this business."

"No point in taking any that are avoidable."

"That's right; but how will we get over?"

"I don't know. We'll have to find something. Maybe the Navy will help us," I answered.

But there was no time that day to do anything about it. Mladineo and I set out a few minutes later in a rowboat to recruit the other Partisan ships.

The crew of the Bog s Nama was under Mladineo's orders, he being the head of the little triumvirate mission which, they knew, had been sent across by their own Coastal Command. They were still under the strict discipline Partisans impose upon themselves in Jugoslavia, but this was not true of the Partisan crews aboard the other vessels in port. Beyond the fact that they would be held accountable for their deeds when they got back to Jugoslavia they were under no discipline at all, and Mladineo was not briefed to extend his authority to cover them. This point worried him a little as we set out to call on the other skippers, each of which would be absolute lord and master aboard his ship.

"Don't worry," I told him. "We have plenty of authority of a kind. You can report them if they refuse to help us, but we have food and water and money and my uniform and that's authority enough."

There is always lots of protocol about life in port and it was scrupulously observed aboard the Partisan ships. We had to board each vessel after hailing her skipper, introduce ourselves and go below to his little cabin for a glass of Rakjia and a leisurely palaver about his trip across. An inspection of the vessel usually followed, then, after half an hour's aimless talk, we would come to grips with the problem. They all fell in with our suggestions eagerly and one by one they upped anchor and started engines, then chugged slowly across the port to moor just opposite the end of our pier. Some of the ships were wonderfully clean and well kept, others were filthy and in disrepair. Clean captain, clean ship; dirty captain, dirty ship: it was as simple as that, apparently. But all of them were in need of food and repairs.

By six o'clock that Sunday evening truck-loads of food had been delivered to us at the dock and distributed to the hungry crews. We had also watered the ships and established a heavy guard with sub-machine guns on the end of the pier not only to frustrate any attack which might be made against the Partisans but to keep away unauthorized persons and prying eyes, for there was already evidence of much curiosity in the port.

Suddenly, a messenger arrived, asking that I go at once to NOIC's office. I left immediately.

When I arrived there, to my surprise, he (NOIC) announced: "Well, I've got your coal for you. It'll be out there on the end of the pier at six o'clock in the morning—forty car-loads of it. Please arrange to take it off at once as we shall need the tracks for other work a bit later in the day."

I thanked him and promised to get the cars unloaded, but I left the office cursing him under my breath. What a dirty trick! He knew perfectly well how ill equipped we were for that task. The little ship tied up on the end of that pier could only take aboard fifty tons . . . but he had made it clear, when I told him that we wanted to take the coal a litde at a time, as needed, that it was already on the cars and would have to be taken off. . . .

Back at Bog s Noma I explained the situation to Petrinovic.

"How many men can you get together to work on the coal when it arrives in the morning?" I asked.

"I can probably raise fifty Partisans, here in the port," he answered. "We'll bunker the coal-burners and put the rest in the hold of the Mila—she could take the whole lot by herself."

"How will you handle the stuff?" I asked

There were no cranes on our pier. It was difficult to understand how so much coal could be moved by hand in any reasonable time.

"Don't worry," he said. "We'll get it stored in no time."

So I left it to him. Tim and Radic arrived soon after from a visit aboard one of the motor vessels and Olga strolled aboard a few minutes later from some excursion in town. We were all together again and exchanged notes on the events of the afternoon. All in all, it was not unsatisfactory. We were all tired but in good spirits and Tim invited Olga and Mladineo to join us for dinner at the hotel.