CHAPTER XXII.
IN THE MEDITERRANEAN.
"And I guess we might as well sink, also," said Lord Hastings.
"Wait a moment," protested the German prisoner. "What are you going todo with me? You remember you promised me my liberty before we enteredthe Baltic."
"That is true," replied Lord Hastings, "but so far no opportunity haspresented itself. There has been no chance to fulfill my promise."
"Well," said the prisoner, "I am willing to take a chance. Give me aboat and enough provisions for a day, and set me adrift."
"But you may not make shore that way," protested Lord Hastings.
"That will be my funeral, not yours. I am willing to take the chance. Iknow these waters pretty well, and if you can furnish me with a pair ofoars, I will guarantee that I will find a place of safety withintwenty-four hours."
Lord Hastings turned the matter over in his mind for some moments.
"So be it," he said at length. "When would you start?"
"At once."
"Mr. Templeton," said Lord Hastings, "you will have one of the smallboats stocked with provisions and water sufficient for twenty-fourhours. We shall not submerge until our prisoner has left us."
Jack saluted.
"Very well, sir," he said, and disappeared below.
It was but the work of minutes to water and provision the small boat,and when at last all was in readiness, the boat was lowered into thesea. The prisoner climbed in and took up the oars that had beenfurnished him.
"Goodbye," he called to the three officers. "Thanks for yourhospitality. I hope to be able to return it some of these days."
"I hope you will never have to," Lord Hastings called back. "Goodbye."
The German waved his hand in reply, and the three aboard the bridge ofthe D-16 waved back at him. Then he bent to his oars, and set out in adirection that, barring accident, would take him to Heligoland.
"Good luck to him," said Jack, as the German rowed away.
"The same," said Frank.
"Now," said Lord Hastings, "for that long deferred dive."
All three went below and soon the D-16 sank from sight.
There was no further incident as the D-16 wended her way along. Shereached Dover Harbor without difficulty, where Lord Hastings put in toreplenish his supply of coal and food. Here he also filed his report tothe Admiralty. Upon the morning of the following day, the submarinepointed her nose up the English Channel toward the Atlantic Ocean.
Once upon the broad expanse of the Atlantic the D-16 turned her prowsouthward and ran down the coast of France at full speed, finallyemerging into the sunny waters of the Mediterranean.
"I believe," said Lord Hastings, "that, on our way to the Dardanelles,we might run into the Adriatic and see what success the French fleet ishaving with the Austrians."
"Good," said Frank. "Ever since we left there I have been anxious to getback for a day or two."
"Suits me, too," declared Jack.
Accordingly the submarine, instead of going straight to the allied fleetoff the Dardanelles, swerved at the entrance of the Adriatic, and soonwas among the French fleet gathered there.
The blockade of the Austrian fleet in the Adriatic, up to this time, hadbeen maintained with all vigilance, and in spite of several attempts ofthe enemy to run the blockade, they were still bottled up. What attemptsthey had made had been defeated with heavy losses, and it seemed thatthere would not be another.
There was no denying the fact that the French fleet was superior to thatof the Austrians, but it was still something of a mystery to navalauthorities why the Austrians did not venture forth to give battle.
True, they had done this once in the earlier stages of the war, assistedby four Zeppelin dirigibles, but they had been driven back after severalof their most powerful ships had been sunk and the dirigibles hurledinto the sea. After that the Austrians made no more attacks in force,but confined their operations to raids by single ships, one or two ofwhich had been successful enough to dispose of one or two Frenchbattleships, or cruisers.
But, for weeks, now, there had been a dearth of active operations in theAdriatic. This, then, was the situation there when the D-16 moved in tospend a quiet day among the French men-of-war.
It soon proved that the day was not to be a quiet one. In fact, the D-16had hardly time to let go her anchor, close under the lee of the Frenchflagship, before she was engaged.
Lord Hastings, once the D-16 had anchored, went aboard the Frenchflagship to pay his respects to the French admiral. The latter greetedhim warmly, for the two, before the war, had been close friends.
"Pretty quiet, eh, admiral?" was Lord Hastings' greeting.
"Well, it has been, Hastings," was the reply, "but my nose tells methere is something in the wind. It is too all-fired quiet to suit me.This stillness spells trouble, or I miss my guess."
"Where do you get that idea?" asked Lord Hastings. "It seems to me thatyou have these fellows bottled up so tight that they won't make anotherbreak."
"Well, it would look that way. I suppose I base my prediction on thefact that in the Austrian admiral's place, I should take some sort ofaction. I know I couldn't remain bottled up like that without chafing abit."
"Nor I," Lord Hastings admitted, "but you must remember that theAustrians are of a different breed."
"Still they have been known to fight," mused the admiral.
"Oh, yes, they have been known to fight; but, to my knowledge, they havenever been known to beat anyone and I don't think they ever will."
"I have learned," said the admiral, "they have completed severalsubmarine vessels, and I fear that they may attempt a raid beneath thewater. Of course, I have my own submarines, but the enemy may get by."
"In which case," said Lord Hastings, "it is a good thing, perhaps, thatI arrived just when I did."
"I fail to see," said the admiral, "how your vessel can hope to discoverthe enemy any easier than my own."
"Well, I'll tell you," and Lord Hastings went into a detailed account ofthe capabilities of the D-16, laying particular emphasis upon her hugesearchlight compartment, separated from the water only by thick glass,and upon her ability to remain indefinitely under the water.
The French admiral was greatly astonished, but when Lord Hastings toldhim of his course and assured him that the D-16 was capable of all heclaimed for her, the admiral was delighted.
"Then you may really be of assistance to me," he said.
"I shall be glad to aid in any way possible," declared Lord Hastings."You have but to command me. Consider me under your orders for the nexttwenty-four hours."
"In that event," said the French admiral, "I wish that you would try andcreep into the harbor and learn what is going on. 'Forewarned isforearmed,' you know."
"I shall be glad to do so."
Lord Hastings bade the admiral goodbye and returned aboard the D-16immediately.
When Frank and Jack learned that there was work ahead of them, both atonce became very enthusiastic and could hardly wait to be on their way.
"We may as well submerge right here and then advance," said LordHastings.
The order was given and the D-16 disappeared from the sight of the otherships. Then she moved forward slowly.
Frank, at his place in the lookout compartment, kept his eyes wide openfor the sign of an enemy, or of the enemy's mines.
Suddenly a dark object appeared directly ahead of him and, swervingquickly, dashed by before he could give the alarm.
Immediately he informed Lord Hastings and the D-16 was brought aboutquickly and headed after the object.
"I don't know whether it is an enemy or not," said Lord Hastings, "butwe can afford to take no chances. We'll have to go after it."
The D-16 dashed on, but after half an hour saw no sign of what allbelieved to have been an Austrian submarine.
"Might as well go up and take a look about," said Lord Hastings. "Weshould be among the Frenc
h fleet again."
And among the French fleet they were, as they learned as soon as theybobbed up on the surface.
But now the air of quiet that had been prevalent before the D-16submerged was changed. The peaceful appearance of the French fleet,which had been lying quietly in the water, was gone.
As the three officers stepped upon the bridge, hoarse cries of commandcame to their ears. Battleships began to move from their moorings, andall were cleared for action.
"Great Scott!" ejaculated Frank. "What do you suppose is the matter?"
"I don't know," said Lord Hastings, but Jack cried:
"Look!"
Lord Hastings and Frank gazed in the direction indicated, and both criedout in alarm and amazement.
Not half a mile away a French cruiser of the first class was sinking bythe head. Members of her crew were throwing themselves into the sea, andboats from other ships were standing by to pick them up.
"What do you suppose is the matter? Explosion?" asked Frank.
"Looks like it," answered his commander. "I----"
But Jack supplied the answer.
"The Austrian submarine that passed us!" he exclaimed. "She isresponsible for this."
"By Jove!" exclaimed Lord Hastings. "You must be right."
At this moment the French Admiral signalled Lord Hastings.
"Torpedoed by Austrian submarine," read the signal flags.
Frank hastened to get out the D-16's flags, and in response to LordHastings' command, signalled the flagship:
"She escaped us, but we'll get her."
The flagship signalled "good luck" and Lord Hastings gave the command tosubmerge.
"Unless I am much mistaken," he said, "the Austrian will make for theopen sea. Probably she will make for the Mediterranean and attempt tosink some of our merchant vessels. They may have established a base someplace."
"I wouldn't be surprised if you are right, sir," said Jack. "But we'llget her."
"We will," said Lord Hastings. "We'll get her if I have to chase heraround the world."
The D-16, with her periscope protruding slightly above the water, dashedon at full speed.