Max Pemberton

“ Well, no shot was fired, and, at that, courage seemed to come upon the men as a freshet. Black himself had not turned a hair from the beginning, and none was quicker than he to perceive the significance of the liner's silence. Plainly, he had staked all upon the hazard of her armament, and fortune rewarded him. As a man triumphant he turned to Jack-o'-Lantern, and bade him make an answer to the signal. Then through a monstrous megaphone, one of Guichard's designing, there went across the sea a word of defiance which might have set even our own men shuddering.
"Ahoy, there, you on the Borkum! ”

“ Never would a man ashore understand the moment of it or what the crew of the Zero must have lived through in those instants of waiting.
Had they any kind of gun or had they not? There are German liners that sail the seas in cruiser's trim and are little less serviceable than warships. Of the Borkum I myself knew nothing, either of her history or her armament; but it was plain that the men had some kind of a story about her, and that what was in my mind was in theirs also. If the great ship carried any kind of machine-gun, we were done for beyond any hope whatever. ”

“ I heard the clang of the steel doors which covered the launch, and knew that men were launching her to bring the batteries on board. The work was hardly begun when a searchlight flashed out upon the far horizon, and with a startled cry Osbart declared that a warship was upon us.
"It's the Invincible out of Plymouth, by all that's hellish," said he. Black did not answer him immediately, but I knew that he was moved. The wide beam of light, winging over the dark waters, must have been a sudden vision of victory to the men on the German steamer. ”

“ The race! My God, if we were to lose it! It mattered nothing to us if the German went free. To Black it mattered so much that his pride would have gone astoop many a day had she escaped him. Sooner than that, I believe he would have delivered himself a prisoner upon the warship's decks. For that, he fired a second shot at the very moment the Borkum began to steam away from us, and for the second time he enveloped her decks in the deadly flame. I saw the gun flash out ”

“ Osbart stamped his foot.
"It's God's truth, and she'll get it."
And then to the men he said:
"I take you all to witness that this is none of my doing. There's a reward of twenty thousand pounds offered ashore for the ship that takes us. Well, that money is as good as paid. Our batteries are out—you know it. We lie here helpless for any man to strike. ”

“ Take no heed of him, my lads. The Doctor's well enough when we're in southern latitudes; the rest of ye get your arms and stand by for trouble. I'll make those lousy Germans dance the polka, by thunder! ”