Commander Lawless

“ Lawless took the paper and read:
"Kite to Knat. When is a mine most to be feared? Answer: when it goes against the grain."
"Trent, I'll——," began the victim, but the junior officer had bolted on deck before the threat was finished.
To complete the Lieutenant's discomfiture, a message was received that night from the officer commanding the flotilla censuring Lawless for allowing the Krajero to proceed on her way without having thoroughly overhauled her cargo. ”

“ The men crawled up to him, and one, who had the end of a rope round his waist, slipped it off and placed the noose beneath the aviator's shoulders, then, both holding the line, they lowered their prisoner down through a sort of hatch, and eventually he found himself standing upon the deck of the airship.
"Who are you?" asked a voice in excellent English; and, turning, the Lieutenant saw that his questioner was an officer, evidently the commander of the Zeppelin.
"Flight-Lieutenant Lawless. Who are you?" ”

“ If only he could have brought down another Zeppelin....
Now, Lawless, as those who have followed his turbulent career are aware, was one of those hapless individuals who seem to be marked out as the sport of destiny. On this particular occasion the mischievous planet under which the Lieutenant had first seen the light must have twinkled with more than its usual malignity, for, within twelve hours of setting forth on his pleasure trip, he was a prisoner in the hands of the Germans. ”

“ Upon the quivering bridge towering above the narrow, sea-washed decks stood Lawless wrapped in a hooded "lammy" suit, which had once been white but was now the colour of a coal-sack. In front of him a quartermaster, similarly attired, gripped the little steering-wheel and gazed alternately at the illuminated compass and the tiny light at the bows that showed which way the vessel was heading.
"Ease her a couple of points," said the Lieutenant, recovering his balance after a sudden lurch which had thrown him against the searchlight apparatus. ”

“ It'd be as easy to see one as the other a night like this."
"Well, keep a bright look-out."
"A bright look-out——" the Sub-Lieutenant's reply was drowned by another squall, and Lawless, with a sigh of relief, descended to the deck. Seeing the door of the galley open, he stepped in and demanded of the cook a mug of hot cocoa. With this between his hands the Lieutenant perched himself upon the locker and, in defiance of the rules of conduct towards subordinates as laid down by my Lords of the Admiralty, swapped weather anecdotes with the cook. ”

“ After proceeding slowly for some little time, Lawless came to the conclusion that the firing was taking place somewhere to the north-west, and he accordingly steered in that direction. As the Knat slowly felt her way through the fog the sound of the guns grew louder and more distinct, thereby confirming the Lieutenant in his decision. He was leaning over the bridge-rail, trying to penetrate the opaque white curtain in front of him, when there came a shout from the deck below.
"Zep, sir, right over'ead, sir!" cried a man. ”

“ Lawless, now that his doubts were at rest, lost no more time, all the men were at their stations in readiness and there was no further reason to delay an action. His object now was to creep up abreast of the cruiser until he could launch a torpedo with a fair chance of its getting "home." This manœuvre, however, was not by any means easy, for it necessitated exposing the Knat to the enemy's fire, and if only one shot made good it would almost certainly mean an end of the adventure so far as the destroyer and her crew were concerned. ”

“ Upon examination, the ship's papers proved to be in order, but Lawless, determined to leave nothing to chance, ordered the hatch-covers to be removed. The captain complied, and the Lieutenant was permitted to look into the holds, both of which had loose grain up to the combings.
"You can proceed, Captain," said Lawless.
"Tanks, ver goot," answered the skipper, and, as soon as the Lieutenant had regained his boat, resumed his course.
"Nothin' doing," said Lawless, when he returned to the Knat. "Business is dull, Trent." ”

“ As it happened, the cast was successful, whereupon the bos'n called softly to a sailor, who at once flung the barrel into the sea, together with the slack line.
"All clear, sir," the bos'n reported to Lawless.
The latter rang down "half-speed astern," the Knat backed away into the fog, and the steamer was blotted out.
"There," murmured the Lieutenant, with a sigh of satisfaction, "when the skipper spots that in his wake he'll have about fifty fits right away. Now we'd better try and get back on our beat." ”

“ The vessel surged along through the darkness, and presently Lawless became aware of a familiar sound—the weird and melancholy clang of a bell-buoy. He now knew that the submarine was heading towards the coast, and was amazed at the German Commander's temerity in venturing so near when, at any moment, the searchlight of a passing warship or patrol boat might suddenly flash out upon him. And now the mournful clang of the bell-buoy grew louder, and a fanciful idea occurred to Lawless that it was tolling for the hundreds of men who had perished in the North Sea by mine and submarine. ”

“ Lawless had realised that if the man fired at him it must inevitably attract the attention of those on board the Mars—for revolver shots in mid-air would be hardly likely to pass unnoticed—and they would at once open fire with the anti-aircraft guns. But the same thought had evidently occurred to the other, for, instead of firing, he slipped the revolver back into his pocket.
Lawless braced himself for the coming struggle, and twisted his legs round some wire guys to secure a firmer grip of the machine and leave his arms free. ”

“ The first two attempts to torpedo the German proved unsuccessful, and in both cases the Knat was driven off with the loss of several men killed and wounded, while the machine-gun aft on the bandstand had been wrecked by the only air-bomb which, up to the present, had struck the vessel. With such odds against him, Lawless would have been quite justified in drawing off; but to retire before a superior foe is not one of the ways they have in the Navy. ”

“ Appeal to their patriotism."
"I shan't write at all; let 'em do their worst," answered Lawless, as he rose from the table. "They're a measly lot of bounders, anyway."
He went on deck and, although a white mist was creeping over the sea from the east, gave orders to get under way. Soon the Knat was threading her way out of the Humber towards her alloted beat "somewhere" in the North Sea. Later, when off Spurm Head, instructions were received by wireless to keep a look-out for German warships, as there was a report to the effect that several were steaming in a westerly direction. ”

“ Had the pilot been able to come to the assistance of his companion, Lawless would not have stood a dog's chance; but, fortunately for him, the man had all he could do to maintain control of the machine and prevent it from capsizing under the constantly shifting weight of the opponents as they swayed dangerously from side to side. ”

“ By this time the sound of firing had died away save for an occasional distant boom, and as it would be useless to try and locate the scene of action now, Lawless did the best thing possible in following the ship which had so nearly run him down. ”

“ Trent, attend to your duties," snapped Lawless and left the bridge.
CHAPTER VIII THE BELL BUOY
Above the inky surface of the North Sea, battalion after battalion of low-lying, black clouds rolled across the moonless sky, driven by a southerly wind that frequently lashed itself into gusts and squalls of short-lived violence. Like a shadow riding the white-capped rollers, the long, low form of the Knat plunged and reeled southwards in the teeth of the rising gale, her high bows throwing up cascades of ghostly white foam each time she met the full force of an on-coming wave. ”

“ Then, looking over his shoulder, he saw the distant beam of the Knat's searchlight still focussed upon the patrol boat; evidently no one had seen him fall overboard nor had he yet been missed.
"Well," he remarked turning to the Commander of the submarine, "what are you going to do with me?"
"I have a good mind to send you back where you came from," answered the German officer, jerking his head in the direction of the water.
"As a reward for saving one of your men, I suppose," replied Lawless. "Well, as you seem to be afraid of even one Englishman, perhaps it is the best thing you can do." ”

“ Meanwhile it was necessary to prevent those on board from suspecting the presence of a destroyer so close at hand, for, should the Knat be sighted, the chances were a hundred to one that, friend or foe, the strange vessel would open fire on her without waiting to make inquiries.
For nearly an hour the two vessels continued to pound along in a south-easterly direction, each hidden from the other by the enveloping fog.
"Something's got to be done," said Lawless at last. ”

“ Only an anti-aircraft gun, firing at right angles to its base, could hit the terrible war machine above.
All this time Lawless was waiting for his opportunity—and at last it came. Springing forward, he seized one of the hand grenades and flung it with all his strength at the gas-bag above his head, hoping that it would explode and ignite the gas. Unfortunately, it struck a girder below the balloon, but in doing so ignited some of the cordage, which, being creosoted, began to burn furiously. ”

“ The officers exchanged significant glances, and the one who had produced the photograph turned once more to the Lieutenant.
"We understand from the Captain of the Panther that the man went ashore with you at Plymouth," he said.
"Yes, and I lent him a fiver to get to London with. Here's his card," and Lawless produced the visiting card which the rescued passenger had given him. ”

“ A couple of hours after Lawless had boarded the Norwegian steamer, a wireless message was received from the Captain of the cruiser-scout, Trojon, inquiring if a vessel called the Krajero had been sighted.
"Tell him 'yes,' and that, after examining her papers and cargo, I allowed her to proceed," said Lawless to the operator. ”

“ All at once everybody on board the dirigible was startled by the sound of guns in the distance, and next moment the sky was illuminated by searchlights which swept the horizon like tremendous phosphorescent antennæ.
Mike had given the alarm!
Several minutes elapsed before the searchlights found the airship and focused themselves upon it, and then everything on board was illuminated by the dazzling rays. A few seconds later the sound of firing increased, and Lawless guessed that a battery of howitzers was being trained on the dirigible. ”

“ But, as the machine rose, Lawless caught sight of the pilot emerging from the hut; nothing happened for fully a minute and then he heard the crack of a rifle. By this time, however, he was out of danger, and, though a searchlight waved frantically skywards it never once focussed itself upon him.
The distance from Glatz to Stettin is about two hundred miles as the crow flies, and, with the aid of the chart and compass he found in the machine, Lawless hoped to steer a fairly accurate course. ”

“ The two remained in conversation for some moments, and then the Commander again addressed his prisoner.
"I shall put you where, for a time at least, you can do no harm," he said. "The rest will depend on yourself."
A moment later Lawless felt the throb of the submarine's oil-engines and the vessel, still awash, started to plunge forward. Soaked to the skin and shivering, for the water was cold despite the fact of its being a very warm night, he hoped that the commander would offer him something hot if nothing else, but the German appeared to have no such intention. ”

“ In a few seconds the Irishman's head appeared above the hatch, and, stepping on to the deck, he helped Lawless haul the man up.
"Now fetch the machine for'a'd, Mike, while I try and bring this chap to his senses," said the Lieutenant.
Cassidy promptly climbed on to the taffrail and made his way amidships to the spot where the seaplane had been made fast. Meanwhile Lawless did his best to revive the unconscious man by splashing sea-water over him and trying artificial respiration. In a few moments the passenger uttered a faint moan and opened his eyes. ”

“ In the little wheelhouse, perched high up in front of the funnel, Skipper Chard clung to a handrail and peered through the rime-frosted glass across the endless grey vista of tossing, white-capped seas.
Chard growled as the trawler, struck amidships by an extra large wave, heeled till her port taffrail was under water.
When she had righted herself, Lawless, clad in oilskins and a sou'-wester, swarmed up the little iron ladder to the wheelhouse, and, waiting a favourable opportunity, opened the door and staggered in.
"Phew!" he ejaculated. "This is weather and no mistake!" ”

“ Taking advantage of the darkness—for there had been no moon—the skipper of the smack had fixed up this dummy riding-light in order to deceive the watchers aboard the destroyer and then extinguished the real one. This done, he must have got a row-boat with muffled oars to tow him out of the harbour, thus obviating the necessity for using the engines and so warning the Knat's men of his manœuvres. It was an ingenious trick, cleverly carried out.
"We must get under way at once," said Lawless. ”