CHAPTER V
OVERHAULED
"I BELIEVE we're on a fool's errand," remarked Fielding to themidshipman.
They were on the bridge; Drake had turned in. It was now two bells ofthe middle watch (1 a.m.), and the _Frome_ was still heading westwardas fast as her motors could impart power to the three undamagedpropellers. Beyond the rhythmical purr of the engines, the "swish" ofthe water as the destroyer's knife-like bow cleft the waves, and themournful slatting of the signal halliards against the mast, hardly asound was audible.
"Why, sir?" asked Cardyke, lowering his night-glasses, and steppingbehind the shelter of the "storm-dodgers."
"Why--because I think we are. We ought to have overhauled our quarryhours ago--certainly before sunset. With lights out, they mighteasily alter course, and let us run by them like a blind man past anotice to trespassers. What's more, we're right out of the beatentrack. All up-Channel traffic will be heading for St. Catherine'slight, and we're well to the south'ard of the Start by now.
"It's a cool bit of work, snapping up a ship almost in sight ofPortsmouth, and in the English Channel, too," remarked Cardyke.
"Yes, and it's the audacity of it all that gives the beggars a chanceof success. But what can be the object of a tramp lumbering alongwith a disabled cruiser in tow? She'll be spotted at sunrise, mark mywords; but I'm afraid the _Frome_ won't have a look in. Well?"
The monosyllable was addressed to a seaman who had scaled thebridge-ladder.
"Message, sir; wireless," replied the man, laconically.
"H'm!" grumbled Fielding, taking the slip of paper. "The admiralwants to know our position, I suppose. That will mean a recall, and awigging for not carrying out orders. I wish we'd crippled thewireless for a few hours. Take this, Cardyke, and see what it's allabout."
The midshipman took the paper, and entered the little chart-room. Thenext instant he was by the sub.'s side.
"She's at it again," he exclaimed. "Here's an urgent call forassistance from ss. _Yosen Maru_, lat. 50-2-14 N., long. 3-45-9 W.,steaming NNE.1/4E. Requires urgent assistance. Pursued and fired uponby large unknown vessel. How's that?"
"Forty miles off, and a general call will bring a dozen vessels toher assistance," replied Fielding, gloomily. "Cut below and informDrake."
Cardyke bounded down the steep ladder, and made his way to thewardroom. The lieutenant was awake in a moment.
"We've been tricked," he exclaimed. "But we'll be in time yet. Passthe word for Mr. Black."
Drake was soon on the bridge, and the _Frome's_ course was alteredtowards the position given by the _Yosen Maru_. As soon as Black, thegunner, came on deck, orders were given to clear for action.
The wireless operator repeatedly called up the vessel in distress,which was known to be a Japanese liner bound for London. But beyondthe first call for aid no message came from the threatened vessel.The ominous silence told its own tale.
With the spray flying in cascades right over the fore-bridge, for thewind was now dead ahead, the _Frome_ thrashed her way through thedarkness. An hour and a half passed, then--
"Rocket, throwing blue and red stars, sir," announced one of the menstationed on the bridge.
"Whither away?"
"Dead ahead, sir. There's another."
"That's the _Yosen Maru_, sure enough," exclaimed Drake. "We'll be intime, after all."
The grey dawn was paling in the eastern sky as the _Frome_ eased downwithin a cable's length of the huge Japanese liner, and a couple ofthe destroyer's boats were promptly lowered and manned, Fieldingbeing in charge of one, and Cardyke of the other.
It was soon evident that the _Yosen Maru_ was helpless and driftingbroadside on to the fairly stiff breeze. Her rudder had been shotaway, and a gaping hole under her counter, a few feet above thewaterline, showed that a shot had been fired with disastrous result.Her accommodation ladder had been lowered, and no attempt had beenmade to haul it up again, so towards this means of entry thedestroyer's boats gave way.
Fielding was the first to board, and at the head of the ladder wasmet by a group of calm, imperturbable Oriental officers.
"We have been boarded by pirates, sir," announced one of theJapanese, in excellent English. "A large cruiser intercepted us andordered us to heave-to. We asked the reason, and in reply a shot wasfired across our bows, and another shattered our rudder. Under thecircumstances we could do nothing more than ease down. We wereboarded by a boat's crew, and the villain in charge demanded to seeour papers, pointing revolvers at the passengers and crew to keepthem intimidated. Our purser was compelled to hand over the whole ofthe bullion in the strong-room, to the value of three hundredthousand yen, some of our stores and provisions were stolen, and tenof our first-class passengers, including General Oki, who is on amission to the British Court, and Mr. Hokosuka, the eminent financierof Nagasaki, were taken out of the ship. Finally having doneconsiderable damage in our engine-room by means of a charge ofdynamite, the rascals returned to their ship, and steamed off."
"Was the pirate ship alone?" asked Fielding. "And did she clear offunder her own steam?"
"Certainly," replied the Japanese officer. "She headed S.S.W., goingabout twenty knots, as far as I could judge."
"I told you we'd been fooled," exclaimed the sub. to Cardyke. "The_Impregnable_ was not towed away--she managed to raise steam, andapparently did very well. I'd like to have a few moments with theskipper of the _Steephill Castle_. The lying rogue is more thanlikely in league with these up-to-date pirates."
"Well, gentlemen," continued Fielding, turning to the officers of the_Yosen Maru_, "we had better be off, and try to overhaul the piratevessel. We can do very little by way of assistance to your ship, Ifear."
"Quite true," replied the spokesman. "The weather is moderate, and wehave plenty of sea-room. Before they put our wireless out of gear weheard that the British cruiser _Dionysius_ was coming to our aid, aswell as the Red Star liner _Scandinavia_."
"Then you'll be well looked after," said the sub. And saluting theJapanese officers, he descended the accommodation ladder.
"Those rascals are not wanting in cool cheek,--holding the passengersas hostages, I suppose," commented Drake, when Fielding had made hisreport. "Well, I suppose we must call up Portsmouth, and inform theadmiral of what has occurred. But there's nothing to prevent usoverhauling the _Impregnable_. At all events I'll have a shot at it."
This was Drake's chief fault: he was overanxious to make anindividual score. The glory of capturing the _Impregnable_ was to bethe _Frome's_, if possible. The idea of co-operation with the otherBritish destroyers was distasteful to him. "Alone I did it" was to behis motto, the "I" including the officers and crew of the littlecraft under his command.
As fast as her three undamaged propellers could drive her the _Frome_tore in the direction the pirate cruiser was supposed to have taken.Eagerly glasses were brought to bear upon the horizon, in the hope ofdiscerning a cloud of smoke--the oil-laden vapour from the_Impregnable's_ liquid fuel.
At eight bells Fielding and Cardyke turned in for a well-earned restbut their sleep was soon to be rudely disturbed. Just before noon theslumbering officers were aroused by a messenger with the news thatthe _Impregnable_ had been sighted.
"No mistake this time, I hope, sir?" asked the sub., as he swunghimself up the bridge-ladder three steps at a time.
"That's the old _Impregnable_," asserted the lieutenant-commander,confidently. "The question is how the dickens are we to do the trick?We can't very well use the quick-firers, or we may bowl over some ofthe Japanese hostages. For the same reason we dare not let loose atorpedo."
"We can hail her, sir, and demand her surrender. If she refuses wemust hang on, call up the other destroyers to our assistance, andtake forcible possession of her."
"Do you think they'll open fire, sir?" asked Cardyke, eagerly.
"Hardly likely, you young fire-eater," replied Drake, with a grimsmile. "They won't risk going so far. They know we have wireless; butif they thought they could
do the trick without witnesses theywouldn't hesitate to try and sink us."
"They didn't sink the _Yosen Maru_."
"No; that strengthens my opinion that they won't go to extrememeasures. There was none of the cut-throat, walk-the-plank style ofthe eighteenth-century pirate about them. No, I don't anticipate muchdifficulty but we'll be prepared."
An hour later the _Frome_ was only a mile astern from her chase. The_Impregnable's_ speed was visibly diminishing.
"They've a cool cheek, by Jove!" ejaculated Fielding. "They'veactually painted another name on her."
"Yes," agreed Drake, who, like his subordinate, was making good useof his binoculars. "It's _Independencia_. That's Spanish, I believe."
"They're hoisting their colours," continued the sub. "A Brazilianensign. Won't do, my hearties. You can't bluff us."
"She's slowed down, sir," exclaimed Cardyke. "Her propellers aregoing astern."
"What ship is that?" shouted Drake through a megaphone, as the_Frome_ slowed down at cable's length on the _Independencia's_starboard quarter.
"Brazilian cruiser _Independencia_, from Cherbourg for Bahia Blanca,"was the reply.
"A bit out of your course, old man," muttered Drake. "Stand by, weare sending a boat."
"For why? We want no communication."
"Then you'll have to want. If you give us any trouble we'll blow youout of the water," and the lieutenant pointed significantly towardsthe foremost torpedo-tube, around which its crew were standing readyto launch home the deadly weapon.
It was mere bluff on Drake's part. He dared not, as he had said, letloose a torpedo, and the weapon was only a practice one, its war-headbeing stowed away below. But to Drake's satisfaction the captain ofthe pirate-cruiser agreed to receive the boat.
"That's good!" ejaculated Drake. "Now, Fielding, off you go. Round uptheir gold-braided gentry and lock them up in the chart-room. Takepossession of the bridge, and make them follow in our wake. They areonly milk and water pirates, after all."
"Am I to take away the whaler, sir?" asked Cardyke.
"Very good. But when Mr. Fielding has taken the necessary steps tosecure control over the prize, you will return--you understand?Good--now look alive, or we'll have someone else's finger in thepie." And Drake gave a hasty, comprehensive glance astern, heaving asigh of relief that the horizon was unobscured. Here was the_Frome's_ chance, he meant to make good use of it.
The mid. was wearing his dirk--the practically useless emblem ofauthority--and in addition he buckled on a holster containing aService revolver. Both boats' crews, armed with rifles andbayonets--for the old British cutlass that worked such doughty deedsin days gone by is now a thing of the past--tumbled into the littlecraft as they lay alongside.
"Give way!" ordered Fielding, and the order was repeated by Cardykein the whaler.
With less than a dozen yards separating the two boats the boarderspulled lustily towards the gigantic cruiser as she lay rising andfalling slightly to the Channel rollers.
There was no accommodation ladder, that article having been unshippedbefore the vessel was put up for sale, so Fielding's boat ranalongside the starboard quarter, where a number of "chocks" affordeda rough and ready sort of ladder. The bow-man laid hold of atorpedo-boom bracket with his boathook, and the sub. prepared toascend, Cardyke's craft lying just astern.
On the _Independencia's_ deck no one was visible save a quartermasterwho was leaning over the stanchion-rails. Having no man-ropes toassist him, Fielding's task was an awkward, not to say dangerous,one. He was half-way up the thirty-odd feet of freeboard, with acouple of bluejackets at his heels, when a noose rope was adroitlythrown over his shoulders, and jerked tight. Simultaneously a lariatdescended into the whaler, caught Cardyke round the waist, and beforeany of his men could prevent it, the mid. was jerked up into the air.
With a crash two pieces of iron were dropped into the boats, stavingout their garboards.
The pirate cruiser's propellers began to churn the water, and the_Independencia_ gathered way. The bow-man of each boat endeavoured tosecure a hold, but the drag of the water-logged craft was too great.
A NOOSE WAS ADROITLY THROWN OVER HIS SHOULDERS ANDJERKED TIGHT. [_Page_ 62.]
The predicament was an ignominious one. The boats' crews wereswimming around their swamped boats, their officers were prisoners inthe hands of the men they had hoped to capture, and the _Frome_, ereshe could give chase, had to pick up the immersed bluejackets.
Meanwhile, the _Independencia_, steaming at twenty knots, was rapidlyleaving the destroyer astern, while Drake could only shake his fistin impotent rage.