*CHAPTER X*
*THE BRIGAND OF THE EASTERN SKIES*
"Someone has signalled us to stop, Captain!" said the wireless operator.
"Who is it?" demanded the irate skipper.
"He will not declare himself, sir!"
"Hand me that receiver, Robson!" and the commander, clamping theear-piece of the wireless telephone to his ear, asked of the intruder,"Who are you that thus dares to order me to stop on a lawful voyage?"
"It is I, Sultan von Selim, Air-King of the Hamadian Desert, who ordersyou to stop!" came the reply from the aerial raider, who now rode just alittle way above the large airship, and on the starboard side.
"Then I refuse!" thundered the skipper.
"You will do so at your peril," came the quiet, cool reply, which ratherdisconcerted the captain.
"I will call up the patrols, you brigand!" continued the commander ofthe liner.
"One word to the patrols and I will blow your wireless to pieces. Ihave two guns already trained on it," replied the air-king.
"I dare you to do it!" replied the brave skipper. Then, turning to theoperator, he said, "Send the S.O.S. with the latitude and longitude tothe patrols. Smartly there, Robson."
"Yes, sir."
"This is that raider we heard of at Delhi, but he can't touch us."
The raider, however, had caught the sentence, or part of it, and heunderstood the order. The next instant a burst of fire from a machinegun, trained with wonderful accuracy, blew the main part of the wirelessapparatus to pieces, and rendered it perfectly useless for eitherreceiving or transmitting. How the captain and the operator escapedinjury or death will for ever remain a mystery.
Seizing a megaphone, the former dashed out of the cabin, down the keelcorridor and the narrow slip-way, to the central touring gondola on thestarboard side, and, shaking his fist at the raider, who sailed calmlyalongside about a hundred feet away, shouted through the instrument:"You brigand! You shall hang for this!"
A mocking laugh, drowned by the roar of the engines, which stillcontinued full speed ahead, was the only reply. Evidently this madairman was enjoying the fun immensely. At any rate he appeared verycareless of the other's threats.
"I mean it, you felon!" roared the skipper.
"Are you going to heave to?" came the the reply through the raider'smegaphone.
"No, certainly not!"
"Then you must take the consequence!" came the mocking taunt, and thenext instant, "Rep-r-r-r-r-r-r-r!" came another burst from that deadlymachine-gun, which seemed so effective every time it spoke.
This time the starboard engine, a 250-H.P. motor, conked out entirely,and, for a moment, there was danger of fire in the gondola, owing to thepetrol-feed being smashed in the general break-up.
This made the captain think furiously. He now recognised, for the firsttime, that he was absolutely at the mercy of this strange highwayman ofthe air. Evidently he was a determined character, a master criminal,and the skipper looked round for some means of defence.
There was certainly an old machine-gun aboard the airship, but it hadnever been used and was not even mounted, for it was believed that apeaceful trader would never need it. The police patrols constituted thereal defence of the trade routes, and even with them a few smugglerswere the chief offenders.
The captain's eyes were fixed for the next few seconds on the wonderfulmachine which sailed along so easily and so quietly. Once, he hadnoticed, when the raider made a circuit of the great liner, that themachine had shot ahead at twice or thrice the speed of the _Empress_.The armoured conning-tower, over the top of which the heads of the pilotand his companion could just be seen, gave the skipper an impression ofstrength, against which he knew that even if he could have replied witha machine gun, the bullets would have pattered harmlessly against thesides, and fallen away like rain-drops.
He was in a quandary, this brave air-skipper. He had missed his chanceof calling up the patrols. Yet, how could he, a British captain,surrender to some foreign marauder, or perhaps even to a Britishrenegade; for he knew not as yet who this bold fellow was. Then hethought of his passengers, those distinguished guests committed to hischarge, and last of all of the valuable lading: that consignment of goldfor the vaults of the Bank of England.
"By heaven, it's the gold they're after!" he exclaimed. "I neverthought of it before. They've had the news ahead of us and they'vewaited for the airship in this out-of-the-world spot. Confound them,but they shan't get it if I can help it!" and the captain nerved himselfto still further resistance, though he felt it was hopeless, unless someoutlying patrol should come up quickly.
The raider seemed to have read his thoughts, for he sailed close upagain, and shouted through his megaphone, "For the last time, Captain,will you heave to?"
"No--o!" the courageous man replied, though this time his voice wavereda bit, for he wondered what devilry the stranger would attempt next.
He had not long to wait, for the pirate suddenly banked his machine,turned swiftly outwards, and circling round till he came up level withthe great twin-engine in the rear gondola, which drove the giantpropeller near the rudder, he opened once more a terrific burst of firewhich instantly put both engines out of action.
This almost brought the huge liner to a stop. At any rate, she now mademore leeway than headway, for the only remaining engines which could nowbe used were those in the foremost gondola and port centre cabin.
"Stop!" signalled the captain to the remaining engineers in charge ofthose engines.
And the next instant the huge, looming mass, with her engines silent,lay there helpless, levering away to windward, shorn of her pride, andwith the wreckage hanging loose from her rear and central gondolas.
Another surprise that now awaited the crew and passengers of theair-liner was to see the phantom raider careering wildly around thebeaten giant at enormous speed, in almost perfect silence, though histwo propellers raced wildly as he dipped, spun and rolled to celebratehis victory, and to show off his amazing powers to the victims.
"Good heavens!" ejaculated the captain as he watched all this. "It wasonly too true, then, what we heard at Delhi."
"You mean about the silent engines and the speed of three hundred milesan hour," added the navigating officer, who now stood by the skipper.
"Yes. It's some amazing conspiracy. I cannot help admiring therascals, though I should like to hang the pair of them."
"Hullo! here he comes again. I wonder what he wants this time," and thenext instant the raider throttled down, and came close up to thegondola, shouting as he did so in perfectly good English:--
"Start that port engine, please, and bring her to earth by that clusterof palm-trees over there."
"What more do you want with us?" replied the captain.
"I must see your passports, and examine your cargo for contraband."
"Eh, what's that?" exclaimed the amazed commander. "What does he wantto examine our passports for?"
"We haven't any," remarked the navigating officer.
"And why the deuce is he to search for contraband, I should like toknow?" groaned the skipper.
"Did you hear what I said?" called the raider, who now appeared to begetting angry at the delay.
"Yes," growled the other.
"Then bring her down at once, and let out that mooring cable!"
And as there was no apparent help for it, and not a single patrol hadyet hove in sight, the captain of the liner reluctantly complied,wasting as much time as he dared in the operation.