The Stolen Cruiser

  CHAPTER XXI

  DRAKE MEETS THE YACHT "SERENA"

  CARDYKE'S first step in the navigation of the vessel was to get heron her proper course. When the quartermasters deserted their poststhe vessel, left to her own devices, slowly headed to starboard, andby the time Cardyke could give his attention to the helm, she waspointing almost due north.

  By this time twilight enabled the midshipman to see the state ofaffairs on deck. The _Impregnable_--she was the _Independencia_ nolonger--was driving her crumpled bows against the waves, the jaggedmass of steel offering a tremendous resistance to the water.

  Instead of turning the ship back till she pointed due south Cardykerang down for half-speed astern. The order was obeyed withcomparative celerity, and the cruiser, gathering sternway, made quitetwo knots an hour more than she had done when steaming ahead. Thepressure upon the collision bulkhead was, in consequence,considerably reduced, and the leakage, instead of gaining, began toshow signs of diminishing in volume.

  Stalkart, the master of the Dutch tug, was placed in charge of thebridge, with two of his men to act as quartermasters. The rest of theDutchmen were told off to various professional duties, while thepassengers taken from _L'?galit?_, under Rutter's orders, were placedto guard the engine-room and stokehold hatchways. Implicitly the menobeyed Cardyke's orders.

  As soon as the midshipman had completed the preliminary arrangementshe hastened to the cabin where his wounded comrade was lying.Fielding had overrated the magnitude of his wound, which, thoughpainful, and even dangerous, was by no means likely to prove mortalunless complications ensued. Mukyima had extracted the bullet anddressed the wound, and Fielding was sleeping comfortably. The Japraised his fore-finger warningly as Cardyke entered. The mid.understood that absolute quietude was essential for his comrade'srecovery; and, softly withdrawing, made his way towards the placewhere Hiram B. Rutter was keeping guard over the engine-roomhatchways.

  In a very short time the engineers and stokers, who were ignorant ofthe change of masters, would expect to be relieved.

  Great was the surprise of one of them on gaining the head of thesteel ladder to find himself confronted by a couple of armed men whohe knew were not members of the pirate crew. Before he could utter awarning cry he was seized, and handed over to the others to be bound.

  The man had come on deck to find out the reason why the watch belowhad not been relieved, and failing to return, another of theengine-room staff clambered up the ladder.

  The two Frenchmen who were awaiting him showed themselves a fractionof a minute too soon. The pirate, guessing that something was amiss,ran down the ladder and informed his companions. Armed with knives,revolvers, spanners, and crowbars, the motley throng made a dash ondeck.

  The struggle at the hatchway was brief but desperate. The engineersand stokers were driven below. Then, as a protest, the engines werestopped.

  "Awfully awkward," commented Cardyke, as Rutter sent for him andexplained the situation. "We can't drift about here for another weekor more."

  "There are at least forty of the skunks below, but that don'tsignify," observed the American. "With a dozen men to back me up Iguess I'd put the fear of Old Nick into their black hearts. Shall Iwhip up a crowd, and tackle the reptiles?"

  Cardyke shook his head.

  "It's too risky," he replied.

  "Too risky, eh?" exclaimed the American. "I thought you chaps didn'tcount risks. But I'm willing to go, and I guess I stand the racket ifI make a mess of this business."

  "You misunderstand me, Mr. Rutter. I quite realise that you arecapable of tackling these rascals. You might succeed; on the otherhand, you might fail. By failing it is quite possible that you mightbe compelled to leave prisoners in their hands, and then, you see,they would have a hold over us."

  "Didn't think of that," replied Hiram B. Rutter. "Of course theywould. But what are we to do?"

  "Summon them to surrender; if they don't, well, we'll starve themout. You speak their lingo, so you might let them know what we intendto do."

  Accordingly Rutter shouted to the men that he wanted to say a fewwords. He told them what Cardyke had threatened to do, adding on hisown responsibility the threat that should any man tamper with themachinery he would be treated to a liberal dose of the cat as soon ashis capture was effected.

  The men debated amongst themselves, and eventually promised tosurrender. They were, they asserted, in a very different positionfrom the rest of the pirate crew. For the most part Italians, theyhad been "signed on" in ignorance of the _r?le_ the captured cruiserwas to play; they had taken no active part in the deeds of violence,and were under compulsion to a certain extent. Cardyke promised thattheir plea would be given careful consideration at the trial thatmust inevitably ensue should the vessel reach port. He also agreed tosegregate them from the rest of the pirates, lest the latter shouldintimidate or offer violence to their former comrades.

  The terms were accepted, and the engineers and stokers were marchedaft and confined on the orlop-deck, stringent precautions being takento prevent treachery. Thus all resistance was at an end. The Dutchengineers and firemen from the _Vulkan_ and her consort were sentbelow in watches, and although short-handed and unused to the turbineengines and the oil-fed furnaces, stuck bravely to their task. Then,at a speed of twelve knots, the _Impregnable_ steamed stern-foremosttowards the port of Halifax.

  * * * * *

  Although nothing had been heard of the pirate-cruiser for severaldays, the British vessels engaged in patrolling the Atlantic did notrelax their vigilance.

  The captain of the scout _Cerberus_ was of opinion that the quarryhad gone north, and Drake was also of the same mind. Accordingly,having obtained permission from the commander of the cruiser squadronto take an independent course, the _Cerberus_ pelted northwards.

  Every day the four aero-hydroplanes were exercised, the little craftoften making extended passages and ascending to a great height. Beingfitted with wireless and taking different directions, they were ableto keep observation over a wide area, returning every night to theirparent ship.

  Flight after flight was made, but nothing to break the vast circle ofopen sea was visible. Nevertheless Drake, always optimistic, feltconfident of success. He had a presentiment that he was destined tobring the pirate cruiser to book.

  "If that's not a vessel, I'm a Dutchman!" he exclaimed, lapsing intohis favourite expression. He pointed to a faint blur on the horizonfully forty miles off. The atmosphere was exceptionally clear, and atthe elevation of 1,000 ft. at which the _Mosquito_ flew, the cloud ofdistant vapour was bound to attract the crew's attention.

  "Yes, sir, it's a craft of some sorts," replied the chief pettyofficer who was responsible for the working of the planes andrudders. "But 'tisn't to say it's the pirate."

  "We'll soon see," said Drake, cheerfully, and at a speed of fiftyknots the aero-hydroplane dashed on her errand of investigation.

  Drake had definite orders not to attack--he was merely to locate themuch-looked-for cruiser and summon the _Cerberus_ by wireless. Thisdone the scout was to take possession of the pirate-cruiser by a planthat had been carefully worked out beforehand.

  But in less than a quarter of an hour the lieutenant's hopes weredashed to the ground, for instead of the _Impregnable_ the strangerproved to be a steam yacht.

  "May as well hail her; she might give us some information," mutteredDrake, and turning to the chief petty officer he ordered the_Mosquito_ to descend to within 50 ft. of the surface of the sea.

  Gracefully the aerial craft swept towards the approaching yacht.Drake kept the latter well under observation with his glasses,looking so intently that the petty officer wondered what possessedhim to take such an interest in a craft that certainly was not thepirate cruiser.

  "By Jove!" thought the lieutenant. "I don't think I'm mistaken.That's the _Serena_."

  During a previous commission on the North American station Drake hadmade the acquaintance of Mr. Rignold, and had frequently been hisguest upon the yacht.
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  "If it is the _Serena_ I'll have a yarn with Rignold for the sake ofold times," he continued, then aloud he gave the order to bring the_Mosquito_ down to the surface of the water.

  The aero-hydroplane rested on the sea at a distance of about threehundred yards from the yacht's port bow. The _Serena_ made no attemptto slow down, but her bulwarks were lined with men, who regarded themarine novelty with considerable interest. Drake noticed that inspite of the cold atmosphere the men were rigged out in canvas suitsand red jersey caps, but by the aid of his glasses he discovered thatthe crew had donned the white suits over their thick clothing.

  "Distinctly funny. Rignold never used to rig his men out like that,"commented the lieutenant, "and he's got a pretty large crew on board.But perhaps the yacht's changed hands. I'll soon find out."

  Meanwhile the _Mosquito's_ aerial planes had been folded, and glidingrapidly through the water the little craft overhauled and graduallyconverged upon the stately yacht.

  "Yacht ahoy!" bawled Drake. "Is that the _Serena?_"

  "Yes," was the reply. "What do you want?"

  "Is Mr. Charles Rignold on board?"

  "Yes; do you want him? We'll slow down and you can come alongside."

  This reply added to Drake's perplexity. The accent of the speaker wasnot British, and the "Yes" instead of the nautical "Ay, ay, sir!" wassomewhat suspicious.

  Cervillo, on sighting the aero-hydroplane, was thrown into a state ofterror. He was afraid that the little craft would immediately callupon its parent ship for assistance; but when the _Mosquito_--whichwas evidently operating unsupported by her consorts--descended to thesurface of the sea, he took courage. If he could but lure the_Mosquito_ alongside, he might be able to repeat his tactics byhaving hostages on board. To his surprise and delight the littlecraft was coming unsuspiciously under his lee, like a bird to thefowler's net.

  Under the _Serena's_ bulwarks crouched half-a-dozen men with pigs ofballast ready to drop into the frail craft, and ropes to rescue theEnglish officer and his crew.