CHAPTER XXXIII.
NEWS OF DURANGO.
FOR nearly two hundred feet the two divers trudged over the sandybed, till the airtube rising obliquely towards the surface told themthat they were near the end of their quest.
Overhead was a rectangular floating body measuring roughly twentyfeet by ten. Dacres had found out enough to identify the craft as akind of floating store. He remembered having seen it moored in theharbour, but previously there had been nothing to arouse hissuspicions.
He touched the Irishman's hand, and pointed towards the now invisible"Meteor." The two men tramped slowly back in the direction of theairship till they came in sight of the corpse of the unfortunatediver and the body of the dead swordfish.
Again Dacres came to a halt. The idea of taking the body of thevictim on board flashed across his mind. Perhaps the man might beidentified. Taking possession of the dead man's axe he commenced tohew laboriously at the horny substance in the head of the swordfish.It was a lengthy task, but at length the stubborn bone was severed.
"Man, I thought you were done for," exclaimed Vaughan Whittinghame,as soon as Dacres' head-dress was removed. "What has happened?"
The Captain and the crew of the "Meteor" had good cause to think thatsomething terrible had overtaken their comrades, for the water allaround was tinged with blood and agitated by the air-bubbles thatwere still being thrown up through the severed tube.
"We're all right," said the sub. "We caught the fellow fairly in theact of boring holes in the under sheathing."
"You killed him?"
The sub shook his head.
"No," he replied. "There will be direct evidence in a few moments.Callaghan is still busy down there. Will you have a weighted linelowered, sir?"
While two members of the crew were divesting Dacres of his borroweddiving-suit a rope was lowered over the side, and the rest of thecrew eagerly watched the course of events. Presently the Irishman'shelmet appeared above the surface, then his shoulders and arms.Holding on to the ladder with one hand he motioned with the other forthe men to haul away.
Up came the corpse of the unknown diver transfixed by the pointedweapon of the swordfish.
"It might have been one of us, sir," said Dacres.
"Get the man on board and let's see who he is," ordered the captain.
"That's where he descended," announced the sub, pointing to thegalvanized shed on the raft. "If we are fairly sharp we ought to nabthe whole crowd before they become alarmed."
"Good!" ejaculated Captain Whittinghame. "Mr. Setchell, will youplease send a message to the flagship and request that an armedboat's crew be sent as soon as possible."
In double quick time a cutter was observed to leave the "Repulse."The men, instinctively realizing that the matter was urgent, bent totheir oars with a will.
"There's been an attempt made to scuttle the 'Meteor,'" exclaimedWhittinghame to the lieutenant in charge of the boat. "The fellowsare operating from yonder house-boat or raft."
"They're still there, I suppose?" asked the officer.
"We haven't seen them leave. Can you board and investigate?"
"Certainly," was the reply, and ordering his men to give way thelieutenant instructed the coxswain to pull straight for the raft.
Eagerly the crew of the airship watched the departing cutter. As sheran alongside the floating store the oars were boated, and theseamen, armed with rifles and bayonets, clambered on to the platformsurrounding the iron shed.
The lieutenant knocked once without receiving any reply. He knockedagain. This time he was greeted by a revolver shot, the bulletpassing completely through the door and missing the officer's body bya hand's breadth.
Another and another shot came in quick succession, but at the firstsign of resistance the lieutenant and his men had thrown themselvesflat upon the platform.
"Give it to them hot, men," shouted the officer.
Seven Lee-Enfields spoke almost simultaneously The bullets, passingcompletely through the frail galvanized iron sheeting, whistled highabove the British ships lying half a mile away in the open roadstead.From within the hut came groans and shrieks for mercy, while from asmall window was thrust a white handkerchief fastened to the staff ofa boathook.
One of the seamen, putting his shoulder to the frail door, quicklyburst it open. In rushed the bluejackets, presently to emerge withfour uninjured but badly scared men and two slightly-wounded ones asthe result of their prompt action.
"Do you know any of these gentlemen, sir?" asked the lieutenantunconcernedly as the cutter returned to the "Meteor."
"I do," declared Gerald Whittinghame. "They are some of Durango'sgang. Three of them, at least, were members of the crew of the'Libertad.'"
"Never!" ejaculated his brother incredulously. "We left the'Libertad' a total wreck. The survivors were known to have made forthe Brazilian frontier."
"All the same, I'm certain I'm right," persisted Gerald. "Ask thelieutenant to send the men on board and we will question them."
To this proposal the "Repulse's" officer raised no objection. The sixValderians were made to enter the airship. The two wounded ones werehanded over to Dr. Hambrough's care, while the others were told tostand against one of the bulkheads, with an armed man between each toprevent any further act of violence.
The prisoners maintained a sullen silence when questioned by GeraldWhittinghame. Promises to be treated with leniency and threats ifthey refused to divulge their employer's whereabouts alike wereuseless.
The Valderians apparently realized that being in the power of theBritish their lives were safe. Had they thought otherwise fear wouldhave compelled them to speak to save themselves from summaryexecution.
"I'll take the whole jolly lot back to the flagship, sir," said thelieutenant. "No doubt the Admiral will send them ashore with therequest that the new president of Valderia will deal with them as hethinks fit."
"One moment," replied Vaughan Whittinghame. "Suppose we see if we canidentify the fellow in the diver's suit. It might even be Durangohimself."
The body of the dead diver had been removed from where it had beenlying close to the entry port, and had been placed in a compartmentout of the sight of the captives as they were being brought on board.
When the head-dress was removed Gerald Whittinghame tapped hisbrother on the shoulder.
"Now are you convinced?" he asked.
"I don't know the man," replied the Captain.
"But I do. That is Sebastian Lopez, the fellow who took command ofthe 'Libertad' when she left Naocuanha to pick up Reno Durango atSalto Augusto. I don't mind staking any amount that Durango hasdoubled on his tracks and is somewhere in Valderian territory."
"Hardly likely with those submarine plans in his possession,"demurred Captain Whittinghame. "He knows that Valderia is no go asfar as he is concerned. He'll be making his way as fast as he can toEurope, to raise money on the plans."
"When it's a choice between cupidity and revenge there's no tellingwhat the Mexican will do," declared Gerald. "My opinion is that he issomewhere about, and has bribed these men to cripple the 'Meteor.' Iadmit they went a clumsy way about it, for they could easily havefixed an electrically-fired mine under the aircraft and blown her toatoms. Look here; the best thing we can do is to separate theprisoners and try to get them to open their mouths."
"Good idea!" asserted the lieutenant of the "Repulse." "If youthreaten to hand them over to President Desiro I should think they'lllisten to reason pretty smartly."
"Very well, then," assented the Captain. "So long as you have noobjection I haven't; they are your prisoners, you know."
The first Valderian to be questioned maintained an obstinate silence.At the threat of being sent ashore to be dealt with by the newpresident he merely shrugged his shoulders.
"Take him away," ordered Vaughan Whittinghame impatiently. "They showfar greater solicitude for their rascally leader than Durango wouldshow towards them."
"Before you have the next prisoner brought in we'll
arrange a littledramatic episode," said the flagship's lieutenant. "I'll order my mento fire a volley."
"By all means," assented Whittinghame. "I quite follow you."
Having given his boat's crew orders for each man to break out abullet from a cartridge and load with the blank, the lieutenant toldthe men to fire. The sharp crack of musketry resounded from one endof the airship to the other.
When the second prisoner was ushered in he was pale and trembling. Hewas now fully convinced that the faith he had in the Englishman'sreluctance to take life was a mistake, for in his mind he feltcertain that the volley he had just heard meant the summary executionof his predecessor.
"Pay attention," exclaimed Gerald Whittinghame sternly. He had beendeputed to act as cross-examiner-in-chief, and his intimate knowledgeof Spanish stood him in good stead. "Pay attention: you have beencaught in the act of committing an outrage on the property of afriendly nation; for it is useless to attempt to excuse yourself onthe grounds that you were unaware of the settlement of thedifferences between Great Britain and Valderia. We mean to takeextreme measures with you, unless----"
Vaughan's brother paused in order that his words should carry weight,while the incompleted sentence indicated that even yet the prisonermight expect clemency.
"Unless you tell us all you know of the whereabouts of Senor RenoDurango. Do not attempt to deceive us. Already we know a great deal,so if you tell us anything that we know to be false you will havegood cause to wish you had held your tongue."
"Senor, I speak the truth," replied the Valderian. "I have been madeto do what I have done. I swear it----"
"We do not ask you about your part of the affair," interruptedGerald. "What we want to know, and what we insist on finding out,relates to Durango."
"Senor, he is not in Zandovar."
"That I know," said Whittinghame. It was a sheer piece of bluff, forup to the present he had had a suspicion that the Mexican might havereturned.
"Nor is he in Naocuanha."
"We do not wish to know where he is not, but where he is."
"Senor, I know not."
Gerald Whittinghame pulled out his watch.
"You are lying," he thundered. "I give you thirty seconds. At the endof that time if you do not tell the truth----" and he pointedsignificantly towards the door.
The silence was so intense that the ticking of the watch could bedistinctly heard. The prisoner's face was working spasmodically.
"Twenty-eight, twenty-nine ----" counted Gerald.
Before he could say the word "thirty" the Valderian leapt upon himlike a tiger. The watch was hurled across the cabin, while ereWhittinghame and his companions quite realized what was taking placethe prisoner was clawing Gerald's face like a wild cat.
Two or three of the "Meteor's" crew threw themselves upon the violentprisoner and secured him.
"Shoot me!" he shouted defiantly. "Shoot me, you English cowards! Iwill not tell."
"Take him below," ordered Gerald. "He is a jolly sight braver thanmost of his countrymen. You will not be shot," he added, addressingthe Valderian.
"By Jove! if they are all like that fellow we shan't learn verymuch," remarked Vaughan to his brother, after the man had been ledaway to join the first prisoner. "Either Durango has put black fearinto their hearts, or else they regard him as a hero worthy of anysacrifice."
"We'll try the effect of another volley, sir," suggested thelieutenant from the "Repulse." "Number Three may be made of differentstuff."
The third prisoner certainly was. With the report of the riflesringing in his ears he was ushered into the cabin. He, too, thoughthe was to be sent to execution, and in the hope of saving his life hemost readily agreed to tell all he knew concerning his chief.
Durango, two days after the destruction of the "Libertad," had madeoff for Salto Augusto, accompanied by two men who had served undervon Harburg, while the other survivors, under his orders, went toNaocuanha. Apparently, the Mexican thought better of attempting thehazardous journey on foot across the Voyocama Desert; for on the eveof the fall of the Valderian capital he arrived at Naocuanha. Withoutattempting to inform President Zaypuru of his presence, the Mexicancalled together his remaining partisans and ordered them to destroyor at least seriously cripple the airship as she lay in the innerharbour.
His idea was not merely to revenge himself upon his rival, but toprevent Whittinghame from pursuing him. He had left Zandovar thatmorning for Nazca, a small seaport in Peru. "For what reason isDurango going to Nazca?" demanded Gerald Whittinghame.
"Senor, I do not know. I can only guess, for the Senor Durango rarelytold us of his plans. I know that at Nazca dwells an inventor who hasconstructed a boat that can fly through the air. Some months ago thisinventor wrote to President Zaypuru and offered to sell him thecraft, but Durango advised the president to have nothing to do withit. Perhaps, now, Durango will buy it. _Quien sabe?_"
"How long will it take Durango to reach Nazca?"
"He has but to ride to Tuiche: there he will find an aeroplane,"replied the prisoner.
"That will do; remove him," ordered Gerald, then turning to hisbrother he added, "we must be off almost at once, if we are to catchthe villain. How long will it take for the 'Meteor' to be ready forflight?"
"Twenty minutes," replied Vaughan calmly.