Percy F. Westerman

“ It only remains for us to save ourselves, and as much of the booty as we possibly can. The gold stowed away aft is, I am sorry to say, lost to us. We can only take revenge upon those who have cheated us out of our hard-earned riches. I therefore propose that we place the crew of the yacht on board the whaler. If they manage to fetch port, well and good, if not—that's not our concern. We will then tranship the amount of treasure that is left to us, scuttle the Independencia, and the English officer and his companions can keep guard over the gold at the bottom of the sea. ”

“ CHAPTER XX THE RECAPTURE OF THE "INDEPENDENCIA"
"They're about to abandon ship!" exclaimed Cardyke, when the first boat-load of treasure was taken off to the yacht. "It's no idle threat this time. They'll scuttle the cruiser."
"Guess you're about right, sonny," said Hiram B. Rutter. "We must look to ourselves, and Old Nick take the hindmost."
"Sh!" admonished Fielding. "There's no necessity to alarm the others just yet. As soon as we find the ship is actually sinking we'll get the others through the ports without any fuss. She won't sink in a minute." ”

“ To Drake's surprise, the Impregnable was showing steaming-lights, a circumstance quite contrary to the procedure hitherto followed by the modern buccaneer.
Turning hard-a-port the flotilla eased down, and waited for the giant cruiser to pass.
"Looks like a bloomin' ghost, sir," remarked Jenkins to his superior. "Not doin' more'n six knots at the very outside, and as quiet as a corpse."
"We'll liven her up in due course," replied Drake. "Now, lads, no cheering or unnecessary noise. No shot to be fired till I give the word. Then a good old British cheer, and drive the rascals down below. ”

“ But to Drake's satisfaction the captain of the pirate-cruiser agreed to receive the boat.
"That's good!" ejaculated Drake. "Now, Fielding, off you go. Round up their gold-braided gentry and lock them up in the chart-room. Take possession of the bridge, and make them follow in our wake. They are only milk and water pirates, after all."
"Am I to take away the whaler, sir?" asked Cardyke.
"Very good. But when Mr. Fielding has taken the necessary steps to secure control over the prize, you will return—you understand? Good—now look alive, or we'll have someone else's finger in the pie." ”

“ Now that the Independencia was leading, it was a question of flight, not fight. Telegraphing for full speed Cervillo stood upon the after-bridge and made a disdainful gesture towards the ship astern, then at twenty-two knots the pirate-cruiser simply walked away from her antagonist, whose speed, even in her prime, was seven and a half knots less than that of the Independencia.
"Take those men below," ordered the Spanish captain. "It is well I had them on board. They will be more useful still to us very shortly." ”

“ But Mukyima was not content with watching. The active Jap crawled through the narrow port, balanced himself on the sill, then with a like motion drew himself up to the deck. Lying prone behind the casing of a skylight he waited till another rocket had been fired, then, mingling boldly with the pirate crew, made good use of his eyes. Unobserved, he regained the half-deck and told General Oki of what he had seen.
"Pirates get guns ready," explained Oki to Fielding. "Men are ready to capture other ship." ”

“ They are desperate men. If they should sink the ship what chance have we in our shattered boats in this fearful sea of fog and ice?"
"I would suggest that we bring forty or fifty men aft, and hold them ready to open fire; warn our men first, so that no more panic may take place—they were quite out of hand yesterday—then raise an alarm that the ship is sinking, and every man is to save himself. Those Englishmen and their companions will bolt from below like startled rabbits, and we can mow them down as soon as they are all clear of the hatchway." ”

“ The glory of capturing the Impregnable was to be the Frome's, if possible. The idea of co-operation with the other British destroyers was distasteful to him. "Alone I did it" was to be his motto, the "I" including the officers and crew of the little craft under his command.
As fast as her three undamaged propellers could drive her the Frome tore in the direction the pirate cruiser was supposed to have taken. Eagerly glasses were brought to bear upon the horizon, in the hope of discerning a cloud of smoke—the oil-laden vapour from the Impregnable's liquid fuel. ”

“ Fielding glanced significantly at his comrades. He was a young man, brave and resolute, and full of life; but the prospect of being mangled in a steel tomb was enough to quail the stoutest heart. Cardyke was deadly pale. He, too, was willing to face ordinary dangers, but the threatened mode of extermination was too horrible to contemplate. Hokosuka and Mukyima, who were ignorant of the nature of the threat, turned and asked General Oki to explain the pirate leader's words. ”

“ And do you think boats would stand much chance of being picked up in these seas?"
"Me find a ship."
"Then we'll wait till you do, especially if the ship is a British cruiser."
"You refuse?"
"Absolutely."
"Den I pour petrol into cabins, and set fire. You dogs will burn to death."
"Very considerate of you to provide us with heat in this cold atmosphere," replied Fielding, coolly. "Now, listen, Señor Cervillo: you will not dare to use so much as a litre of petrol. I'll tell you why. We know that most of the gold you precious scoundrels have collared lies on the orlop-deck." ”

“ Already the cool, business-like determination of the American cruiser, which Fielding recognised as the almost obsolete Denver, had begun to tell upon the "jumpy" assortment of cosmopolitans who formed the crew of the pirate vessel. Most of the Independencia's quick-firers were manned, but many of the officers and men were running aimlessly hither and thither; some dived below to avoid, if possible, the bursting shells that might at any moment hurtle from the Denver, others besought Juan Cervillo to put the ship about, and seek safety in flight. ”

“ Meanwhile a regular pandemonium had broken out on the pirate cruiser. Alarmed by the uproar, men poured from below, not knowing whether they were attacked by a retributive cruiser. In the darkness the confusion was increased tenfold, and Fielding profited by the chaotic state of things to put the steering hard to port, steadying the helm while the Independencia pointed in exactly the opposite direction to her previous course. ”

“ But Cervillo had no intention of surrendering. Calling half-a-dozen men to his aid he ran forward and began to hack through the lanyards of the shrouds. Desperately the men worked till the obstruction was cast off, and the doomed yacht resumed her flight.
It was not the intention of the Cerberus to sink her prey. Capture at all costs was the order of the captain. There might be prisoners, and more than likely rich booty stowed underneath her hatches. Could the Serena be deprived of the means of propulsion the boats of the scout would soon settle matters. ”

“ He, too, began to realise that, with her diminished speed and rapidly burning oil supply, it was only a question of hours before the Independencia floated idly at the mercy of wind and wave. With the exhaustion of the oil fuel the auxiliary engines would be useless, and the centrifugal pumps would be powerless to check the inrush of water. The pumps worked by manual labour might keep the vessel afloat for twenty-four hours, but Da Silva, who had been mate of a Levant trader, knew only too well how quickly men will tire at the arduous task of manning the pumps. ”

“ In answer to Drake's earnest representations the captain of the Cerberus consented to another flight with the aero-hydroplanes that evening, on the understanding that volunteers only should be taken to comprise the crews of the aerial scouts.
"I can rely upon enough men to make one crew at least, sir," replied Drake; but to his astonishment and immense satisfaction not only did every member of the complements of the four aero-hydroplanes signify their willingness to forgo their "stand-easy," but every seaman on board qualified as airmen literally clamoured to take part in the search. ”

“ This done the Dutchmen were ordered to come up from below, and were placed in one of the store-rooms of the after-flats of the cruiser. The Vulkan had been scuttled and was sinking fast, but ere she dropped beneath the waves her master, the taciturn Stalkart, rushed from the chart-room, where he had been concealed, on to the bridge. Volubly cursing and shaking his fist at the rascally crowd who had sunk his ship, the captain remained bravely at his post, scorning the gestures that indicated that he should save himself. ”

“ If we use force they threaten to sink the ship. As you know, we have only three boats left, and they have been considerably damaged. This is the situation. More than that, I see you men are standing before me armed, and with every appearance of being mutineers. Is not that so?"
"We mean to have our rights," interrupted the Greek, surlily. "If we don't look after ourselves, who else will?"
"I'm the person to do that," retorted Juan Cervillo, with a fierceness that made the Greek—although he was standing twenty feet from the pirate captain—recoil and seek refuge behind his comrades. ”

“ Señor Da Silva will muster forty men armed with rifles upon the quarter-deck. The rest of you will go for'ard, and on the signal being given, commence to shout 'All hands on deck!' and 'Everyone for himself—the ship's sinking!' Make as much noise as you can. The prisoners will at once bolt from below, and as soon as the last man is up through the hatchway Señor Da Silva will give the word for them to be shot down. No one must be allowed to escape below. We can then recover the gold, and on the first available opportunity we will tranship the booty and ourselves to another vessel. ”

“ Finger on trigger the platoon waited to mow down the hostages as they issued pell-mell through the hatchway; but they waited in vain.
"Ten thousand fiends take them!" exclaimed the pirate captain in his wrath when he saw that treachery failed to accomplish his ends. "There must be a traitor amongst the crew."
Disgusted and foiled, Cervillo retired to his quarters, and spent the rest of the day in sulky isolation. Meanwhile Da Silva, to whom the care of the vessel had been entrusted, kept the cruiser pointing due south at a modest ten knots. ”

“ If ever a man was tempted to use the potential weapons at his command Lieutenant Drake was. He knew that the pirates fully now expected an attack from the sky, and since they had not reverted to their former tactics of displaying their prisoners as a human screen, he naturally and rightly concluded that Fielding, Cardyke, and Coxswain Hardy were no longer in the hands of the desperate ruffians. ”

“ No, Cardyke, we must sit tight and await our opportunity. It's bound to come. You see, if we attempted to capture the ship, and failed—we cannot rely upon success—our position might be infinitely worse. We cannot come to much harm here. The gold acts as an invisible breastplate to shield us all."
Just then there was a heavy crash somewhere amidships, followed by a babel of yells that roused the sleeping watch from their berths.
"What's happening now?" asked Fielding. "Can you make out what they are shouting about, Mr. Rutter?" ”

“ By the glare of the burning petrol, that shot skywards to a height of over one hundred feet, he could see the boats, deeply laden, lying on their oars, and the knot of brave men gathered around their rash but intrepid commander.
Suddenly there was an explosion as the sea burst through the heated plating. The pillar of flame died out, stifled in the cloud of smoke and steam, but the burning petrol floating on the water, spread in all directions, spurts of fire rising and falling intermittently till darkness and the increased distance hid the awful scene from the midshipman's view. ”

“ Pacing up and down on the lee side of the quarter-deck was a muffled figure that Cervillo recognised as his minion Da Silva. The pirate captain beckoned, and his lieutenant hastened towards him. Both men entered the cabin that Cervillo had been obliged to occupy, and the door was shut and bolted.
"I've been striving to find a means of recapturing those insolent dogs," began Cervillo, jerking his thumb in the direction of the after end of the ship. "Caramba! It must be done! But how? Can you suggest anything, Da Silva? You were ever a man of resource. ”

“ Without a word of explanation Fielding and his companions were marched out and taken up the half-deck accommodation ladder. Expecting that Juan Cervillo had taken it into his head to either coerce the hostages to accept his terms or else to carry out his threat earlier than he had decided to do, Fielding made a sign to his comrades to be on the alert. Should the Spaniard give the word to murder his prisoners, the five were to stoop, draw their revolvers, and open a sudden and unexpected fire upon their captors, Cervillo being especially marked down as a target. ”