Percy F. Westerman

“ Hans Kuhlberg was the first to recover to a certain extent from his state of panic.
"We are still alive, Herr Kapitan," he exclaimed, in a broken high-pitched voice.
"For how long?" added von Loringhoven.
"This darkness!... Are the motors still running?... Are we rising or sinking until the hull plates crack like an egg-shell under the exterior pressure? Himmel! Tell me that."
"The chlorine fumes!" exclaimed Kuhlberg, relapsing into his state of blind panic. "We will be stifled like——"
"Hold your idiotic tongue!" hissed the ober-leutnant. "Where is the torch?" ”

“ Even as the British armed merchant-cruiser gathered sternway a torpedo, gleaming silvery white in the glare of the searchlight, leapt from a tube in the enemy's main deck. Disappearing beneath the waves amidst a cascade of glistening spray the missile almost grazed the British vessel's port quarter, and missing her stern post, by inches, harmlessly finished its run five miles from the scene of the encounter. ”

“ Even as Farrar watched the burning ship, the while straining desperately at the heavy oars, the enveloping pall of smoke was rent by a vivid flash. An ear-splitting detonation followed, while the hitherto calm water of the harbour was lashed with furious waves.
Panic seized upon the "Giuseppe's" crew with redoubled violence. Throwing caution to the winds they dipped the boat's gunwale. A short, crested wave breaking inboard completed the catastrophe, and the next instant the two British officers found themselves "in the ditch" in the midst of a struggling mob of Italian seamen. ”

“ When the smoke of the exploding missile had disappeared, the U-boat's kapitan-leutnant was observed gripping the shattered guard-rail with one hand, the other pressed to his side.
"We've got her!" exclaimed the delighted Mr. Gripper. "She can't dive, and these seas will fill her."
The German captain was evidently of the same opinion. Through his binoculars the sub saw that he was moving his jaw, as if shouting orders or questions to those of his crew in the interior of the pirate craft. ”

“ Presently, above the noise of nature's handiwork, came the bass hum of an aerial propeller. The ober-leutnant gazed upwards between the narrow walls of the rocky inlet.
"Too slow for a seaplane or a flying-boat," he muttered. "It must be one of those infernal coastal airships. Himmel! I hope she hasn't any suspicions of U 254 lying off the shore. I've waited quite long enough to my liking. Ach, there she is. ”

“ The anti-aircraft guns were getting into action at last, and the strafe no longer promised to be a one-sided business.
Soon the "air was stiff" with flying shrapnel, while shells of a hitherto unknown type added to the flying-boats' peril. These missiles, on bursting, liberated long tentacles of the lightness of silk that floated in strings of fire in the air.
A burst of shrapnel, seemingly close under the "Avenger's" nose, caused the flying-boat to pitch and roll like a tramp in ballast in a heavy seaway. ”

“ Blindly, and at a depth of thirty metres, the U-boat forged ahead. The ober-leutnant dared not risk rising, even for a momentary glimpse through the periscope, for the sharp crash of the cruiser's quick-firers told him that the "Tantalus," though sorely stricken, could still bite—and bite hard.
Not until the U-boat was two miles on the British vessel's port quarter did von Loringhoven bring her to the surface.
"They're firing at a piece of wreckage—what good fortune for us!" he exclaimed aloud without addressing his remark to any one. "Himmel! she has received her death-blow." ”

“ Farrar, shivering in the night air in his thin, shoddily made uniform, watched his companion with envious eyes as Sylvester entered the cabin. In the rôle of officer's servant he was experiencing several of the inconveniences that it is the lot of a common soldier to have to grin and bear.
There was no time to be lost, for the sooner the Moke put his plan into execution the better. Every revolution of the motor-boat's twin propellers was taking her nearer Trieste—and Trieste was a most unhealthy locality as far as the bogus Baron Eitel von Stopelfeld was concerned. ”

“ The force of the explosion, for the torpedo had struck her abreast of the engine room, had practically shattered the lightly built hull. Bow and stern were cocked high in the air, while amidships the frothy sea was pouring over the submerged deck.
One boat had already been lowered. Another had been swung out and the falls manned. The crew were waiting for something. Curious on that point, von Loringhoven peered intently through the eyepiece of the periscope. Presently he saw a man, waist deep in water, staggering aft, carrying the body of an insensible comrade on his back. ”

“ At one moment the fuselage would be shooting ahead in practically a straight line, while overhead the gas envelope would be swaying from side to side like an ungainly pendulum; at another, the suspended car would be rearing and plunging like a dinghy rowed against short, steep seas; the while the breeze was whistling through the network of tensioned wires, the shrieking of the wind being audible even above the bass hum of the propeller and the noisy pulsations of the open exhaust. ”

“ One by one the crew were permitted to take a peep at the hated English ship as she lay with a distinct list to starboard. Clouds of smoke and steam enveloped her for'ard portion, the wind driving the vapour in front of the slowly moving craft.
"She seems in no hurry, Herr Kapitan," the unter-leutnant ventured to remark. "They are not even hoisting out the boom-boats, although they have swung out the boats in davits."
"If they do not abandon ship very soon they'll have to swim for it," said von Loringhoven. ”

“ Literally blown in two amidships the ill-fated craft had foundered with all hands.
"You'll be home again in three or four days with reasonable luck, Mr. Sylvester," observed Barcroft. "The train service is absolutely rotten, but I suppose it's the stock excuse—'owing to the war.' After three years of captivity I suppose you won't mind three days in a railway carriage."
"It will feel like three centuries," declared the Moke seriously. "The sudden change from being a fugitive in a hostile country to a free man is so bewildering that I know I shall be grousing every minute of the journey. ”

“ At fifteen knots the blunt bows of the modern pirate crashed into the foremost boat, rending the elm planking like matchboard. A few of the men who escaped being crushed by the enormous bulk of the murderous craft were left struggling in the water. Of these only one wore a lifebelt. Von Loringhoven had not noticed it when the boat was alongside. He signed to a petty officer standing aft. The Hun drew a revolver and, as the lifebelted seaman swept past, shot him through the head with as little compunction as a gamekeeper would have at killing a stoat or a weasel. ”

“ Gradually the motor controls were opened out until the din of the whirling propeller grew terrific. At fifty miles an hour, and with the huge gasbag quivering under the enormous wind pressure, the Blimp tore to the aid of the torpedoed cruiser.
Kirkwood, who was searching the vast expanse of sea with his binoculars, raised the voice-tube to his lips.
"Say, old man," he exclaimed. "The destroyers have nearly twenty miles' start of us. I can spot them."
"The 'Antipas' is out," remarked Barcroft with a chuckle. "Won't old Tressidar be in a tear if we beat her! We'll try it, anyway." ”

“ The cruiser was heeling badly to starboard. Although her steering gear was unaffected she had begun to circle under the impulse of the port propeller; until steadied on her helm, she floundered through the water at the greatly reduced speed of five and a half knots.
"We'll save the old ship yet, I fancy," remarked the captain to the commander. "It will be best, I think, to muster all hands aft. Is steam available for the boat-hoists?"
"Yes, sir," replied the commander.
"Very good. It's well to know that in case we have to hoist out the boom-boats. Pass the word for the men to fall in." ”

“ Von Loringhoven shrugged his shoulders, cursing under his breath as the movement resulted in a rivulet of rain-water trickling down his neck.
"And with you I am as good as lost," he muttered sotto voce. "No, Hans; a bargain is a bargain. Have I not arranged everything for you three? You have civilian clothes, English money, food, maps, and each an address of a good German who will give you shelter and provide for your safety. It stands to reason that four men will arouse suspicion. Singly they have excellent chances." ”

“ I ought not to have made for the East Coast."
"You will be quite safe when you arrive at Manchester," declared von Loringhoven. "A large city is a splendid hiding-place. Müller makes for London, hein? Don't get blown to bits by a Gotha, Müller; that would be a cruel fate for a good German flying-officer. Koenig, you are making for Bradford: another excellent town to escape observation. And, Hans, you are for Leeds. These English know we are homing birds, and conclude that we have gone east, but for the present our course lies west." ”

“ By the time Farrar's late escort had been released and had told their story, he reflected, the men would be so thoroughly bewildered that it was a question whether they would remember where they had been, much less recognise the house, while they knew nothing of the deserter's flight.
Satisfied on that score Sylvester rejoined his companion and, steering a course by the stars, walked briskly towards the still distant coast, the two taking turns at carrying the Baron's portmanteau. Knowing the valuable nature of its contents the Moke was reluctant to abandon the trophy. ”

“ In really dirty weather a craft of this type is one of the most undesirable that can be imagined, for possessing great length to a comparatively small beam she drives through rather than over the waves, while to the vibrations imparted by the pulsations of the powerful engines must be added the disconcerting hogging and sagging of the lightly built hull. ”

“ The ungrateful Hun, however, does not thank his captors for their little attentions. With the arrogance of his race he attributes his easy lot as a prisoner of war to the fear of the British as to what might happen to them when Germany is victorious. And on their part the British have yet to learn fully—as they are beginning to do—that the only thing the German fears is the force of armed might. ”

“ Thinks we might be one of her patrol boats. We are, as far as the craft's concerned. Ah, I thought so: a warning shot."
A spurt of flame leapt from the destroyer's fo'c'sle, and, almost as soon as the sharp report, a 12-centimetre shell struck the water a cable's length away from the patrol boat's starboard quarter.
"A miss is as good as a mile," observed Sylvester. Nevertheless he ducked beneath the coaming, as if the thin teak plank was a sufficient protection from a powerful shell.
"It was intended as a miss," rejoined Farrar. "She'll get nearer than that, I fancy. ”

“ This starving-out campaign seems to hang fire."
"Our U-boats will bring England to her knees yet," declared the ober-leutnant. "They say these English never know when they are beaten, but they'll find out soon."
"One might also say that they never know when they are winning," added the spy. "Much as I hate to have to say it I must admire the matter-of-fact way in which these English take ill-news."
"They get plenty of that," retorted von Loringhoven ironically. "Every week, and down go twenty merchant ships. How long can England stand that?" ”

“ Once he fancied he heard the detonation of the impulse charge that liberated the torpedo. There was certainly a sharp horizontal movement that follows the release of the powerful self-actuated weapon. In vain he strained his ears for the crash of the explosion, but he certainly heard the subdued reports of several quick-firers in action.
It was not until three hours later that the U-boat rose to the surface and Farrar was permitted to resume his airing on deck. Judging by the disgruntled appearance of officers and crew, the attempt to torpedo the hostile vessel was a failure. ”

“ For a brief instant the bow and stern were lifted clear of the water, to disappear in a smother of smoke and flame. As the U-boat sank a quantity of petrol and oil was forced through the jagged hole amidships, and being lighter than water the highly inflammable fluid spread far and wide. The next instant the sea for a radius of fifty yards across the spot where the Hun craft had disappeared was a blaze of fire, the hissing flames threatening to set alight the idle sails of the felucca.
"Start up!" shouted the sub, addressing the engine-room artificer in charge of the "Georgeos Nikolaos" motor. ”

“ Eighteen hundred yards astern a terrific cauldron of foam marked the spot where a hostile periscope had been momentarily sighted. The U-boat had evidently seen that the cruiser was not hurrying to the bed of the Atlantic, and was doing her level best to hasten matters.
"Fritz is a bit of a sticker for once," remarked the engineer-lieutenant, catching sight of Farrar in the bustle and noise. "He usually makes himself very scarce after having got one home when there are quick-firers knocking about. How far is it to the nearest land, navigator?" ”

“ Not bad for a sixteen year old, eh?"
"A girl to be proud of, Barcroft," replied Sylvester. "British to the core. By Jove! I can see a German fräulein writing a letter like that and under similar conditions—I don't think."
"And," added Barcroft, "it shows the true drift of public opinion. Thanks to the absurd restrictions of a rotten censorship all sorts of vague and inaccurate rumours float around. You cannot muzzle millions of people, you know. Consequently it is the froth that floats on the surface—the vapourings of irresponsible individuals of excitable temperament. ”