CHAPTER VI
ON THE TRAIL OF THE SUBMARINE
Rawlins was the first to recover from the shock. "I'll say that was aclose shave!" he cried. "The dirty skunks! Missed us though and a missis as good as a mile."
Then, before any one had time to speak, he sprang towards the openhatchway. "Quick!" he shouted, as he leaped down the ladder. "Downbelow! Everybody! Hurry!"
Without stopping to question and only realizing that he must have goodreasons for his orders, the others rushed after him and scarcely wasthe last one at the foot of the stairs when the hatch slid into place,men sprang to levers and wheels and the submarine was diving.
"Jiminy!" exclaimed Tom. "What on earth's the matter? What do you meanby saying they missed us and then hustling us down below?"
"Don't you understand?" snapped Rawlins. "It's clear as glass. Theytried to get us--knew we or the destroyer were trailing them and towedthat schooner along as bait. Had it loaded with explosives and figuredon touching them off when we or the destroyer sighted her and ranalongside. But they failed by about a minute. Probably timed theblamed infernal machine for the destroyer and didn't allow for ourspeed--darned lucky for us! I don't wonder they cleared out as fast asthey could leg it."
"Then if we'd been nearer we'd have been sunk!" cried Frank.
"Sunk!" exclaimed Rawlins. "Sunk! Why we'd have been blown to bits!But by crickey we'll fool 'em and give 'em the jolt of their lives!Get busy with that detector, boys, and see if we can hear her screwagain."
The two boys sprang to their instruments and clapped the receivers totheir ears.
"But what do you mean about surprising them?" asked Tom, stillconfused and puzzled.
"Why they're down at the bottom now waiting, but they'll be up havinga look around to see if they made a good job of us," explainedRawlins, "and while they're squinting at the water and pattingthemselves on the back for their cleverness we'll just bob upalongside."
"But they may run into us," objected Frank. "If they're moving arounddown here, and they'll heat our screws too."
"Don't you worry, son," replied Rawlins. "We're on hard bottom tenfathoms deep and quiet as a mouse and they'll be on the surfacelooking for oil or wreckage. And by glory I'll bump 'em, as thequarter-master says--that is, if I may, Mr. Pauling."
"H-m-m," muttered Mr. Pauling. "I don't think they're worthy of anyconsideration. They evidently tried to destroy us and are no betterthan pirates. I guess we'll be perfectly safe in firing on them ifnecessary. But don't sink them first thing, Rawlins. Put a shot overthem--close enough to let them know we mean business. They can give usvaluable information if we capture them, but dead men don't talk."
"You bet I'll show 'em we mean business!" declared Rawlins. "I handleda gun and crew during the war and I bet my bottom dollar I can slam ashell so close to 'em it will take their hats off without rumplingtheir hair."
"Oh, I hear that whirring again!" cried Frank excitedly.
"Me too!" added Tom.
Bancroft grabbed the receivers and put them on. For an instant helistened attentively and to his ears came the steady unmistakableswishing whir of a vessel's screw, the sound Frank had so aptlycompared to a heavy wind.
"She's a-coming!" announced the operator. "Not far off, either!"
Rawlins sprang to the periscope and glued his eye to it, swinging itaround throughout the entire arc of its movement.
"Now they're closer!" cried Bancroft. Then a moment later: "Going offagain! Sounds as if they're circling!"
"I see 'em!" shouted Rawlins. "At least, I see their shadow.Yep--they're circling. All ready! Stand by! Did you squirt that oil,Quartermaster?"
"Aye, aye, Sir," replied the sailor. "Ready to emerge, Sir?"
"Gosh!" exclaimed Tom, to whom a new thought had just occurred."Perhaps they'll drop a depth bomb!"
"Thunderation!" cried Rawlins, "I hadn't thought of that! Don'tbelieve they've got one though and it would be too risky tothemselves. We're going up now. All ready for the surprise party!"
Then followed quick, sharp orders, men scurried about, levers werepulled and control wheels whirled while Rawlins stood with his eyes atthe periscope and the quartermaster gazed fixedly at the dial of thedepth indicator.
"Two fathoms, Sir!" he announced calmly.
"Periscope's up!" cried Rawlins. "I see her--off to starboard! Allready? Come on!"
At his last word he had bounded to the ladder with his men at hisheels, the hatch slid open and onto the deck they poured with the twoboys, Mr. Pauling and Mr. Henderson bringing up the rear.
A few hundred yards away a large submarine was floating, her upperworks high above the smooth sea with a number of men gazing intentlyat the water from her decks.
The next instant they caught sight of the craft they had thought sunkand were as surprised, dumbfounded and amazed as if they had seen aghost. Loud shouts and cries came clearly across the water from them,they ran hither and thither, confused, getting in one another's wayand utterly at a loss to know what to do.
Before they could make a move, Rawlins and his crew had reached thegun, a shell was slipped into the breech, Rawlins spun the controls,the wicked-looking black barrel swung towards the enemy craft. Thenext instant there was a blinding flash, a puff of smoke, a deafeningreport and the wireless mast of the other submarine and the rails ofthe conning tower vanished as if by magic, while a few yards beyondher a great column of water leaped high in air.
"I'll say I bumped 'em!" fairly screamed Rawlins, as he spun open thebreech of his gun and a second shell was slipped in.
At this totally unexpected turn of events the men upon the enemysubmarine became panic-stricken. Some flung themselves flat upon thedecks, others plunged headlong down the hatch, and still othershuddled behind the rails and super-structure.
"Surrender or we'll sink you!" shouted Mr. Henderson who had grabbedup a megaphone.
As if in reply, there was a puff of smoke from the conning tower ofthe other vessel, a shrill whistle in the air and a bullet spattedspitefully against the steel plates within six inches of Mr.Henderson's head.
Rawlins waited for no further orders. Again came the flash and roar ofhis gun and in a burst of flame the entire top of the other's conningtower disappeared.
"Hurrah!" shouted the boys fairly dancing about, so excited andthrilled that they did not realize their danger. "Hurrah! That'llteach 'em!"
At this instant, Frank caught sight of a strange thing--a slender lineof white moving swiftly through the blue water from the injuredsubmarine and headed directly towards where he stood.
"Jimmy!" he yelled. "What's that? Look, coming right towards us! Lookslike a big fish!"
The others glanced towards the spot indicated. "It's a torpedo!" criedMr. Pauling. "Back her! Full speed astern! Quick or we'll all bekilled!"
But it was too late. The engines had been stopped, the crew were ondeck and long before they could start the motors and get under way theawful death dealing torpedo would be upon them and all would be over.It was traveling at a terrific speed and the white, foaming trail ofits wake was plainly visible. Barely 500 feet lay between those on thesubmarine and instant death.
They were helpless, numbed, frozen with horror. Utterly unable tomove, powerless to escape they stood there, the boys clinging to Mr.Pauling, the men with set faces, gritted teeth and grim eyes watchingthe oncoming, inevitable death.
But Rawlins had spied the torpedo as soon as Frank. With feverishhaste he had loaded his gun; like a madman he swung it and depressedthe barrel all unnoticed by those who were watching the oncomingtorpedo and were hoping against hope, praying with heart and soul thatby some miracle, some chance, it might miss, might fail to explode.
And as they prayed the miracle happened. A flash, a roar and where, aninstant before, the torpedo had been, a huge column of water and foamsprung like a gigantic geyser high in air. There was terrificdetonation, a concussion that threw the boys flat upon the deck, ashower of spray and as the submarine rocked, reeled and pl
unged to thewaves the white-faced boys rose trembling and shaken to their feet.They were saved! Rawlins' skill had won, his well-aimed shot had beenthe answer to their prayers!
But Rawlins seemed suddenly to have gone mad. He was leaping, dancingand shouting.
"Darn their hides!" he screamed. "They got away! They've submerged! Byglory if I'd only had another shot at 'em!"
It was true. Where the other submarine had been the water stretchedunbroken, unruffled even by a periscope.
"Get down below!" ordered Rawlins racing towards the group upon thedeck. "They may fire another torpedo or ram us! It's risky up here!"
Pellmell after him the others pushed down the ladder and an instantlater the submarine was once more under the sea while Rawlins swungthe periscope about and Bancroft listened at the detector.
"I'm getting them," he announced presently, "but pretty well off. Yes,getting fainter all the time. Expect they're only too glad to getaway."
"Oh, hang the luck!" cried Rawlins flinging down his cap. "Why didn'tI shoot a bit lower and disable 'em!"
"Why, man, you saved us!" cried Mr. Pauling, grasping Rawlins' handand patting him on the shoulder. "You made a wonderful hit! Absolutelymarvelous! Aren't you satisfied with that?"
"We owe you our lives," put in Mr. Henderson. "It was the finest thingI've ever seen--wonderful marksmanship, Rawlins."
Rawlins flushed. "Oh, shucks!" he exclaimed. "Didn't I save my ownhide too? More luck than anything else. A fellow has to depend a heapon luck in my business, you know."
"Well all the luck in the world without a clear head, quick mind,steady hands and a true eye wouldn't have helped in that case,"declared Mr. Pauling. "I certainly thank Heaven for ourescape--whether through luck or expert gunnery, my boy."
"Yes, but we might have got those dirty Huns at the same time,"lamented Rawlins. "If I hadn't been so all-fired afraid of sinkingthem and had shot a mite lower."
"Don't you suppose you did sink them?" asked Mr. Henderson. "Ishouldn't think they could maneuver with their superstructure andconning tower smashed."
"No, they got away all right," replied Rawlins. "Didn't we just hearthem--and they're beating us even with a shell through their upperworks, As long as the hatches and bulkheads weren't hit they'd be allright, of course they're running blind, my shot carried away theirperiscope--that is, unless they've got another one--but as long asit's open sea and they know their course that's safe enough. Of coursethey'll come up pretty soon--as soon as they're well out of range ofour gun; but I'll bet we don't sight them again. Guess we might aswell go up to the top. No use ambling along down here. We'd betterhike it to Trade Wind Cay."
As Rawlins had foreseen, they did not catch a glimpse of the othersubmarine and very soon the faint whir of her screws was lost. It wasevident that even in her partly disabled condition she was a muchfaster craft than their own and Rawlins declared that he believed herone of the very latest types that were launched just before the closeof the war and very few of which actually left German harbors.
"Funny she didn't carry a gun," commented Mr. Henderson, "and luckyshe didn't for us."
"She did," replied Rawlins. "Disappearing gun, but they were eithertoo rattled or too surprised to use it. Probably thought it easier andsafer to sneak that torpedo at us. I'll say they were some surprisedwhen it didn't hit!"
"Begging your pardon, Sir, they never knowed it didn't hit, Sir,"remarked the quartermaster. "They was all below when they fired it,Sir, and were just awash when you exploded it. I was a-noticin' ofthat, Sir."
Rawlins slapped his thigh and let out an exultant shout. "By crickey,then we may get 'em yet!" he exclaimed. "If they think the torpedo gotus they'll make straight for their hang-out and think we're done for.I was afraid they'd keep off and not show up."
Throughout that day nothing occurred. A message was sent to Disbrowgiving him their course and the position of the Cay and the submarinekept steadily on her way. Early on the second morning a faint blurshowed upon the horizon ahead and after studying it through hisglasses Rawlins announced that it was Trade Wind Cay.
"Guess we'd better submerge," he said. "If they're there they'll spotus mighty quick and when we get closer we'll even get our periscopedown. No use of taking any chances. Smernoff says they used to sink tothe bottom off the coast and let the men walk ashore, so we can playthat same game--only in a different place. But we'll have to keep themen on board ready to come up the minute we need 'em. If there's a bigbunch on the Cay there's no use in tackling them single-handed."
"Yes, that's the best plan," agreed Mr. Pauling, "but there's onematter we must bear in mind. Whoever goes ashore to scout must be ableto communicate with those aboard here. If we use radio the others willalso hear it and be suspicious--we have every reason to think theyalready know we are, or rather were, following them and we must notcount too much on their thinking they sunk us. How can we arrangethat? Have you any suggestion, Henderson?"
"Have to arrange some sort of signal, I suppose," replied Mr.Henderson. "Possibly by means of these submarine detectors. I imaginethat a bell could be fixed to ring under water so we could hear it."
"I've a better scheme than that," declared Tom. "Wired wireless."
"Wired wireless?" exclaimed his father. "How can you wire wireless andwhat's the idea?"
"Why, you just run a copper wire under water and attach the radio setsat the ends," explained Tom, "Then you can talk back and forth and noone else can hear you."
Mr. Pauling laughed. "Don't you know that the electricity will run offin the water, Son?" he asked. "Water's a conductor of electricity andeven the cables have to be heavily insulated in order to carry thecurrent."
"Well, this is different," insisted Tom. "The electricity doesn't runthrough the water, it's just the radio or electromagnetic waves andthey follow the wire and don't get lost."
"Who put all that nonsense into your head?" demanded Mr. Pauling."Radio is a wonderful science, I'll admit, but that's a little toofishy."
"Well, General Squiers did it--across the Potomac and used it duringthe war," declared Tom, "so it must be so. It was in that same articlethat told about the resonance coils."
"It's quite true, Pauling," Mr. Henderson assured him. "It _does_sound ridiculous, I'll admit, but radio and the modern theory ofelectrons is upsetting all our old-fashioned ideas and Squiers provedconclusively that radio waves _will_ follow a bare copper wireunder water. They'll even go around corners or turns with it--not onlyunder water, but under ground. It was one of those lucky discoveriesthat helped win the war, too. If General Squiers hadn't discovered itwe would have been in a pretty fix. There was not one-thousandthenough insulated wire on hand and we needed hundreds of times morethan all the factories together could supply. There was plenty ofwire, but not enough machines for insulating it. We were right upagainst it when Squiers got his hunch and found it worked. And just asTom says, no one except those with the instruments at the ends of theline can pick up the messages--a big advantage over wireless orordinary telegraph or telephone messages."
"All right," laughed Mr. Pauling, "I give in. Another miracle added tothe long list of radio magic. I'll believe almost anything now. Goahead, Tom, you're the radio boss, you know. Get your wired wirelessready and we'll soon see how it works."
The submarine was now submerged, but with the periscope out, and eachminute the Cay was becoming plainer and plainer.
"If those chaps are there, won't they hear our screws and clear out?"Mr. Henderson asked. "I suppose they'll have a detector on their boator ashore."
"I don't see how we can avoid that," declared Mr. Pauling. "It's oneof the chances we'll have to take. I wish----"
"No, they won't hear!" interrupted Rawlins. "I'd been worrying overthat myself, but luck's with us again to-day. There's a tramp steamerover yonder--heading the same way we are and with her screw thrashingthe water like a dying whale. These laddies we're after 'll never beable to pick up the sound of our little wheel. I'm going to edge overtowards the
tramp a bit so as to make it still safer."
"Jove, that is luck!" exclaimed Mr. Henderson. "I only hope our luckholds and we find our friends at home."
It was soon evident that the tramp steamer would pass close to theisland and that the submarine could hold her course and yet be withinhalf a mile of the tramp as she slipped by the Cay which both wererapidly approaching.
"Better let Smernoff have a look and see if he knows the place,"suggested Mr. Henderson. "Perhaps he can even pick out the location ofthe houses and where the men land."
"All right, have him come right up then," said Rawlins. "I'll have todrop down and get the periscope under water in a minute; we're gettingtoo close to the island and that tramp to risk being seen."
Presently the Russian arrived and bending his huge shoulders peeredinto the eye-piece of the periscope.
"Sure, that heem," he announced in broken English, and then pointedout a row of coconut palms on the western end of the Cay which he saidwas the spot where the men landed, and indicated a hill just to theleft which he declared was where the men had dwelt in the old stonerooms.
"Well, that's all hunky-dory!" declared Rawlins jubilantly. "Now we'lljust drop down and run along easy and come to rest on a nice sandybottom around the point and walk ashore and ask our 'red' friends howthey feel after the surprise party we gave 'em back there. Say, thesechaps picked out a mighty fitting place for themselves--just the spotfor a gang of pirates and thugs. Trade Wind Cay used to be a realpirate hang-out. Back in the buccaneer days they held the place anddefied all the world for years--it was those old chaps cut the stairsand forts and rooms out of the living rock. Used prisoners to do thework and then murdered them afterwards. Spooky sort of place. That'swhy the natives fight shy of it; and they say there's a lot oftreasure buried there."
"I expect it's being a 'spooky' place, as you say is one reason thesemen selected it," commented Mr. Pauling. "They probably knew theywould not be disturbed. But how do you account for the fact that theyfound a few natives there whom they killed according to Smernoff'sstory?"
"Most likely smugglers or political refugees," replied Rawlins, "Everytime there's a row in Santo Domingo a bunch of the natives clear outto save their skins and a place like this would suit 'em first rate.And there's always a crowd of smugglers knocking about. Or they mayhave been fishermen or settlers from some of the others islands--fromover Porto Rico or St. Thomas way, who didn't know the reputation ofthe Cay."
"Say," said Tom, who had been listening attentively as Rawlins hadbeen speaking. "If there's treasure there perhaps we can find it.Wouldn't that be great?"
His father laughed. "If there's any treasure there it's what the menwe are after have brought there," he declared. "And if any was therebefore they've probably found it. No, Son, every island and cay in theWest Indies has treasure on it, if we believe the natives."
"Well, some of 'em really do have and some of it's been found," saidRawlins. "First time I was down here I was diving for a crowd who weresearching for treasure."
"Did they get it?" asked Frank.
"I'll say they did!" replied the diver. "Got it out of an oldwreck--old galleon they said it was. I don't know how much, but bigpiles of old gold and silver coins all stuck together with coral andold bronze bells and cannon. I've often wondered if they got it all. Astorm came up so we couldn't work and we had to clear out. They saidthey were coming back, but I don't think they ever did, and I've beenmeaning to have another look myself, but never got around to it. It'snot far from here either. Over close to the Santo Domingo coast."
"Jehoshaphat!" exclaimed Frank. "Let's go over and try for it now!"
"This isn't a treasure hunt, Frank," Mr. Pauling reminded him. "We'vefar more important matters on hand. Uncle Sam isn't paying us to huntold galleons."
"Oh, hang it!" ejaculated Tom in disappointed tones. "That's what Icall rotten. Here we are with a submarine and a diver and suits andall and right near a sunken galleon with millions and millions ofdollars on it for all we know, and we can't even hunt for it. It makesme sick."
Mr. Pauling laughed. "You'll never do for the Service if you're soeasily sidetracked," he declared. "Of course I understand howfascinating such a story is to you boys, but business is business,treasure or no treasure."
"We'll have to go up and take a squint now," declared Rawlins a momentlater. "We don't want to bump into the rocks."
With the engines stopped the submarine was slowly raised until herperiscope broke through the surface and Rawlins announced that the Caywas within half a mile.
"We can't run into shoal water blind," he said. "And if we go in withour eye out they'll spot us perhaps. I'd like to wait until night, butthen the old tramp wouldn't be wallowing along to drown the sound ofour screw. What shall it be, Mr. Pauling?"
"I think we'd better risk running in with the periscope out," hereplied. "Of course, as you say, there _is_ a risk of being seen,but if we're on the other side of the point and they don't expect usit's a much smaller chance than we'd take by running in at night. It'shighly probable that they maintain a pretty close watch and some oneis at the instruments constantly and they'd be certain to pick us up.Yes, if you keep your periscope low and go slowly, so as not to make awhite wake, I think we can risk it."
So, under half speed and with the slender periscope barely projectingabove the water, the submarine edged slowly in towards the Cay, untilin about five fathoms of water, when Rawlins brought her to a stop andlet her slowly sink until she rested on the sandy bottom.
"Well, we're here," he announced cheerfully, "About three hundredyards from a nice smooth beach. Now, how about going ashore?"
"Better wait until dark," suggested Mr. Henderson. "A diver coming outof the sea is easily seen and would be helpless until he took off hissuit. I would advise laying that copper communication wire and gettingeverything in readiness for a scouting party after dark."
All agreed that this was the wisest plan and so, donning his suit,Rawlins entered the air-lock and carrying a coil of copper wireslipped into the sea, paying out the wire as he walked slowly towardsthe shore. He was strongly tempted to sneak to land among the rocks ofa nearby point and have a look about on his own account, but knowingthat if anything went wrong he would be to blame for having disobeyedorders, he regretfully refrained and having crawled as close to shoreas he dared without showing himself above the surface he weighted theremainder of the coil with coral and returned to the submarine.
Before he had taken ten steps he halted in his tracks, listening halfincredulously, every nerve and sense alert, for in his ears he hadheard the rough, guttural voices he knew so well. For the time beinghe had forgotten that he wore the receiving set and the sound of humanvoices coming to him so unexpectedly and suddenly under water startledhim.
To be sure, the voices sounded faint and far away, but that they werevoices and voices of men speaking in Russian or some similar tonguethere could be no doubt.
"Confound it!" he muttered to himself. "Why the dickens didn't I learnRussian! Wonder if they're hearing it on the sub!"
But he could not ask. He realized that if he could hear the othersthey might hear him if he attempted to speak to his friends and withthis thought another flashed through his mind. Suppose the boys shouldnot hear the Russians and should speak to him! Or suppose, withoutstopping to think, they too should hear the voices and ask him if hedid! In either case the enemy would be forewarned and on the alert.The only thing was to make all haste to the submarine and warn thoseupon it to listen and not to speak into the transmitters. Withoutwaiting to hear more, Rawlins hurried as rapidly as possible to thesubmarine, climbed into the air-lock and soon reappeared among hisfriends.
"Did you hear them?" he asked the moment he entered the door.
"No, hear who?" demanded Mr. Henderson.
"Those Bolsheviks," replied Rawlins, "I heard 'em not five minutesago. I didn't dare call you or say anything for fear they'd hear meand I was nervous as a cat fearing you fellows might call into
thetransmitter and they'd hear."
"We've been right at the instruments and didn't hear a thing,"declared Tom. "Gosh, but it's funny you got 'em and we didn't."
"They were pretty faint and far off," said Rawlins. "Maybe they wereout of your range."
"No, I guess it's that same old effect of the sounds inside thehelmet," said Tom. "Remember, up in New York, we could always hearunder water better than ashore."
"Well, I don't think it makes much difference," declared Mr. Pauling,"but it proves they're here or near here. You'd better take some oneashore with you to-night, Rawlins. Whom would you select?"
"Guess it'll have to be Smernoff," replied Rawlins. "I'll need someone who can savvy Russian more than anything else."
"Do you think you can trust him?" asked Mr. Henderson. "You're takinga risk with him alone on that Cay in the dark and with his old-timefriends and comrades there."
"Sure, I'm taking a risk," agreed Rawlins with a grin, "but a diver'salways taking risks--been taking them ever since I was knee high--anda few more or less don't cut any ice. Anyway, I don't believe Smernoffwill turn traitor. You see, he looks upon me as a sort of hero--savinghis life and all, and besides, he's as keen on evening up scores withthis bunch as any of us. He's got everything to win and nothing tolose by betting on us and my experience is that if it's an even tossup with a fellow he'll chip in with the side that he'll gain the mostwith."
"That's sound philosophy," chuckled Mr. Pauling. "I don't thinkthere's any danger with Smernoff and of course there's the advantagethat he can use a diving suit."
The time dragged slowly until sundown and as soon as darkness fellRawlins summoned the Russian and prepared to go ashore on hisdangerous mission.
"Just as soon as you get ashore, or even before, try this wiredwireless," Tom admonished him. "Then we'll know if it works. It's toobad you can't keep it fastened to your set while you sneak over theisland, but that's impossible."
Then, showing Rawlins how to snap the wire onto his set, the boys badehim good-by and the two men entered the air-lock. For a long timeafter they had left, those upon the submarine sat silent, the boyslistening at their receivers, the men thinking deeply and in theirminds planning their moves should Rawlins locate the camp of the"reds." At last, after what seemed an interminable time, Tom heardRawlins' voice rather thin and faint, coming in over the wire.
"Safe ashore," he said, "and talking mighty low. Can you get me allright?"
"Hear you finely," replied Tom. "We'll stick right here. Good luck!"
Minute after minute dragged by, the little clock upon the bulkheadticked off an hour and no sound or word came from shore. What hadhappened? Had Rawlins found the camp? Had he been seen and captured?Was he even now struggling for his life? Had Smernoff betrayed him?The suspense was nerve-racking. It anything happened to Rawlins, if hefailed to return, their quest would come to an abrupt end. Theydepended upon him for guidance, for advice, for diving. Never untilnow did any of them realize to what an extent everything depended uponhim.
"If he's not back soon I'll take a landing party ashore," declared Mr.Pauling. "We've got arms and a dozen men and more. I can't stand thisuncertainty much longer. They've been gone an hour and a half. I'msorry he took Smernoff. I----"
At that moment Frank heard the long-hoped-for voice. "Coming back!"was all it said.
"Well, he's safe at all events!" exclaimed Mr. Pauling fervently.