CHAPTER XX.
A DUEL WITH A ZEPPELIN.
AN hour after sunset "E Something" rose to the surface. Her hatcheswere opened and the crew allowed on deck, five men at a time, toenjoy the cold, fresh air. Owing to the possibility of the suddenapproach of a swift hostile cruiser or destroyer it was not advisableto let more men out at once, in order that there would be no delay inbattening down and diving.
It was a clear starlit night. Away to the east the sky wasilluminated by the steely rays of the searchlights on the Germanbatteries, where the garrisons, kept on thorns by the dread of avisit from the British Fleet, maintained ceaseless watch.
"I shouldn't wonder if we weren't honoured by the attentions of a fewGerman torpedo-boats," remarked Warborough to Aubyn, as the twoofficers, sheltering from the wind under the lee of theconning-tower, were enjoying their cigarettes. "By this time theboats of the torpedoed cruiser ought to have reached land, and thereport of the disaster--cooked by the authorities for serving up tothe gullible Teutonic public--will have been issued."
"It will probably be reported that she struck a drifting mine," saidTerence.
"More than likely," agreed Warborough. "Drifting mines are a godsendto the harassed German press agencies. But, all the same, thosefellows on the cruiser must have seen the wake of our torpedo, andthat's what makes me think that they'll be sending some of theirsmall craft to give us a shaking up--if they can."
Meanwhile, the wireless mast, which during the period of submergencehad been housed on deck, had been set up, and a report of thetorpedoing of an unknown German cruiser of the "Freya" class had beensent off to the Admiralty. A second message, reporting the rescue ofSub-Lieutenant Terence Aubyn, R.N.R., and Seaman Stairs, was alsodespatched.
Twenty minutes later came the reply:--
"Admiralty express great satisfaction at prowess of submarine 'ESomething,'" while the news concerning the rescued officer and manwas acknowledged in stereotyped form.
"Another 'buck-up' for the British Public," remarked Terence,"although our little piece of work--excuse me saying 'our,' but itsounds natural--will pale into comparative insignificance after the'Bluecher' business."
"Perhaps My Lords will not make the news public--at least, not for along while," rejoined Warborough. "They'll keep it in reserve untilthere is a lull in the papers. Of course not a quarter of the work,that would gladden the nation like anything, gets into the Press. Itisn't well to let the enemy know too much of their losses. By the by,did you hear anything about a hostile submarine attempting to slippast the Needles and into the Solent?"
"No," replied Terence. "Is it a fact?"
"Can't say, old man. Accounts differ. All I know is, that I wasstaying at a house close to Lymington just before Christmas. It wasthe first leave I had had since the outbreak of the war. Anyway, thegunners on the Isle of Wight forts spotted something suspicious, andpromptly let rip for about twenty minutes."
"Did they hit anything?"
"They did," answered Warborough, with a grin. "They nearly plugged mewith a ricochet. Several shells fell inland, one of them demolishingthe chimney of a country pub. Next day I heard on good authority----"
"Something moving up aloft, sir!" reported one of the submarine'screw. "Listen, sir. There's a distinct purr."
"A Zeppelin, by Jove!" exclaimed Warborough. "Pass the word to thecaptain."
The lieutenant-commander, termed by courtesy the captain, was restingin his bunk. He was quickly on deck, for he had "turned in allstanding," with the exception of his boots.
He looked aloft. Like a lead-pencil the Zeppelin could now bedistinguished as she rapidly advanced at an altitude of about athousand feet. Judging by her position she would, unless she changedher direction, pass half a mile to windward of the submarine.
"Mr. Warborough," exclaimed the lieutenant-commander, "I don'tpropose to dive."
"Very good, sir," replied the sub. of "E Something," as coolly as ifthe Zeppelin were anything but a war-machine.
With very little noise the guns'-crews mustered on deck. The twoanti-aerial guns were raised on their disappearing mountings,ammunition was served out, and the submarine was prepared to risk anencounter with the vaunted terror of the air.
Although the petrol engines, used for running on the surface, were inmotion, the clutches of both shafts were disconnected and the exhaustcompletely muffled. Thus the submarine was ready to forge ahead at amoment's notice; but, until she was discovered by the giant gas-bag,her captain preferred to lie low until the Zeppelin somewhatincautiously would descend to investigate the scene of thecatastrophe to the torpedoed cruiser.
At each of the 3-pounder quick-firers the gun-layers "stood easy." Tokeep bending over the sights of the high angle firing-gun would beputting an unnecessary strain upon the men. They waited alertly forreport of the range-finding officer and the order to open fire.
"The brute is in no hurry to descend," grumbled Warborough. "She's agood two thousand feet up now, and a pretty bad target, especially atnight. One thing, she doesn't stand much chance of dropping a bombwithin a couple of hundred yards of us, unless it's by a pure fluke."
"She's descending," exclaimed Terence, as the long, aluminiumcylinder, under the influence of the compensating weights, began todip her nose.
As he spoke a searchlight flashed from the foremost nacelle. Therays, almost perpendicular in direction to the surface of the water,played upon the sea at some three hundred yards from the quiescentsubmarine. The Zeppelin had its suspicions, but as yet had notlocated its intended prey.
"Don't look up, men," cautioned the lieutenant-commander, knowingthat should the searchlight play upon the faces of the crew detectionwould be certain. He, as well as Warborough, had taken the precautionof wrapping a dark muffler over the lower part of his face, while hisforehead was shaded by his peaked cap.
It was a hard thing to obey the order, but the men, subduing theirnatural desire to see what menaced them from above, kept their facesaverted.
"A thousand feet up," announced Warborough at length, speakingsoftly, lest the sound, borne upwards with remarkable clearness,should give the Zeppelin the alarm. "Actual distance, one thousandfive hundred yards."
As he spoke the deck of "E Something" was bathed in a flood ofbrilliant light. A sweep of the searchlight had caused the beam to"pick up" the submarine. So dazzling were the rays that it would havebeen impossible to sight either of the guns in the direction of theairship.
With admirable presence of mind the lieutenant-commander forbore toopen fire. Rigidly the men stood at attention, not one of themrisking the temporary blindness that would ensue if he raised hiseyes to the powerful glare.
"Thank heavens," ejaculated the captain fervently, as the sweepingrays swung round, "they haven't spotted us!"
"Eight hundred feet--twelve hundred yards," reported Warborough.
The Zeppelin was still descending; more, she had slowed downconsiderably, since during the last four minutes she had travelledthree hundred yards. Heading dead into the eye of the wind her rateover the sea was now roughly two and a half miles an hour.
The Zeppelin now presented an easy target, as, moving slowly, shestood out clearly against the starry sky.
The lieutenant-commander raised his hand, the gun-layer of thefor'ard weapon sprang to the night-sights; in another second themissile would have been hurtling on its way towards the bulky target,when round swept the blinding searchlight, full on the submarine.
This time there was no swaying round the rays were kept focussed onthe "E Something." The Zeppelin had spotted her foe.
"Confound that light!" muttered the skipper, as he telegraphed forfull speed ahead.
Quickly the vessel gained steerage way, the helmsman thrusting hishelm hard over, alternately to port and starboard at frequentintervals in order to pursue a zig-zag course and thus baffle the aimof the bomb-trainers.
The first bomb was not long in making its presence known. From theinvisible and now noisy airship, for her engines
were making aterrific din, a powerful missile dropped fifty yards abeam of thesubmarine, and burst with a loud report.
Fragments of the shell flew in all directions, some glancing harmlessfrom the rounded side of the submarine, and others flying overhead.Not a man was touched.
The second bomb fell much further off and dead ahead. The Zeppelinhad overrun her quarry.
With a sharp turn of the steering gear the helmsman brought "ESomething" smartly round in a semicircle till her bows pointed inthe opposite direction to which they had been heading a few secondsbefore. So quickly was the manoeuvre executed that the submarineswept out of the irritating rays of the searchlight.
Both quick-firers barked simultaneously. One shell burst well beyondthe frail gas-bag; the other appeared to explode almost under theforemost suspended car. Whether by accident or design the searchlightwas immediately switched off, while the Zeppelin, elevating herhorizontal rudders and frantically throwing out ballast, began torise in order to be out of range of the British shells.
"Crash!" went the after anti-aircraft gun. This time the range wasobtained to a nicety, and the projectile, bursting almost in front ofthe bows of the Zeppelin, gave her a mortal blow.
To the watchers on the submarine the whole fabric of the airshipappeared to jump, then, with the slightest perceptible intervalfollowing the explosion of the missile, a second detonation occurredin the fore-part of the Zeppelin. There was a blinding triple flash,followed by a deafening report. The aluminium envelope seemed todisperse amidst a cloud of fire-tinged smoke, while the heavierportions of the airship fell with ever-increasing rapidity.
Amidst a series of heavy splashes, the wreckage plunged into the seaat less than half a mile from the submarine. A quantity of heavy oil,taking fire as it streamed downwards, remained burning upon thesurface of the water for quite a considerable time, then with anumber of spasmodic flashes the flames died out, leaving only aslowly drifting cloud of smoke to mark the spot where the wreckagefell.
During the final catastrophe the men of the British submarineremained almost spellbound. They had gained the victory, but allthoughts of elation were subdued by the awfulness of the fate of thevaunted terror of the air.
The "E Something" was then run to the spot where the ill-starredZeppelin had disappeared, in the vain hope of rescuing any survivors.For a radius of several hundred yards the sea was covered with oilwhich had escaped combustion, but of actual relics of the airshipnothing was visible. Her twisted and bent aluminium framework lay ahundred and twenty feet down at the bottom of the North Sea.
Just before dawn the submarine descended and lay hidden, save for abrief interval of reconnaissance, during the whole of the day. Atnight she came up in order to give the crew a "breather." Nothing ofincident occurred, neither on the two following days, so Terence hada good idea of the monotony of life in a British submarine onobservation duty.
At daybreak on the following Thursday the "E Something" prepared forher homeward run. She travelled awash, without sighting any enemycruiser or destroyer. At a rendezvous she fell in with her relief,and having exchanged greetings the two submarines parted, one toenjoy a welcome rest in Harwich harbour, the other to play her partin sweeping the North Sea of the enemy's flag.
"We're giving that fellow a rare funk, Aubyn," remarked Warborough,as the two officers were standing on the navigation platform.
"An example of the far-reaching effect of Teutonic kultur, Isuppose," replied Terence. "By Jove, I reckon her old man is shakinga bit!"
The subject of their conversation was a Dutch tramp steamer of about1500 tons. Anticipating the execution of von Tirpitz's cowardlythreat to sink British merchantmen, she had lost no time in statingher nationality in an unmistakable manner. Her wall sides werepainted in horizontal bands in the national colours, in addition toher name and country in letters a yard or more in length. From herensign staff she flew a Dutch ensign far out of proportion to thoseusually sported by vessels of that size, while, to make additionallycertain that no mistake on the part of a German submarine waspossible, she flew another Dutch ensign at her main-masthead.
Directly they spotted the "E Something" running awash and with theWhite Ensign prominently displayed, the tramp altered her course.Dense columns of black smoke poured from her funnel; every availableman of her engine-room staff gave a hand in shovelling the "blackdiamonds" into the furnaces.
At the very best she could make only eleven knots; had the "ESomething" been a German vessel the Dutchman would have stood nochance of escape.
Even as the two officers were watching the panic-stricken tramp, acolumn of spray shot up fifty feet in the air, about half a cable'slength astern of the submarine.
To the accompaniment of a peculiar screeching sound another and yetanother column of foam leapt skywards. Both men knew at once fromexperience what was the meaning of those pillars of spray; they werecaused by the series of ricochets of a "common shell."
"Hard a-starboard!" ordered Warborough. The submarine awash presentedtoo big a target broadside on. End-on the area exposed to the distantgun-layer was comparatively small.
"Diving quarters!" shouted the junior officer of the submarine.
In fifteen seconds the hatches were closed and the boat trimmed fordiving. At an unusually steep angle she disappeared beneath thesurface.
"Just our confounded luck," declared the lieutenant-commander. "Oneof our own cruisers trying her level best to smash us. That trampaltering her course gave her the tip. But the fellow who laid thatquick-firer ought to have his cross-guns taken away for a bad miss,"he added grimly, referring to the "gun-layer's badge" worn on theright arm.
A careful survey by means of the periscope revealed no sign of thecruiser or destroyer that had been so inconsiderate as to fire uponone of her submarines; but the modern "Flying Dutchman" was wellwithin view, and about a couple of miles on the submarine's port bow.
The lieutenant-commander knitted his brows in perplexity. His craftwas in an awkward predicament. She had been fired on at sight, owingpossibly to the tramp signalling to the British warship that she wasbeing chased by a German submarine. If "E Something" had remainedawash a second or third shot would in all probability have sent herto the bottom for good and all, since it was impossible to convincethe cruiser or destroyer of her error in time to stop theover-zealous guns'-crews.
By diving, the submarine was safe from the effect of gun-fire so longas she kept submerged; but directly she reappeared she might beinstantly fired upon or else rammed by the now alert cruiser, whichwould certainly follow the supposed course of the unseen craft.
Suddenly an idea flashed through the brain of the skipper of "ESomething." The Dutch tramp had been the cause of the somewhatdisconcerting incident: he would make her the means of getting out ofan awkward, not to say hazardous, position.
Terence held his breath when he heard the order to ascend to thesurface. The operation savoured of suicide, for it seemed evident tohim that the mere showing of the top of the conning-tower wouldresult in a salvo from the guns of the cruiser, which must by thistime have greatly decreased the distance between the position fromwhich she fired the first shot and the spot where the submarine hadvanished.
Up rose the "E Something," but no shell burst with devastatingeffect within her vitals. Almost before she regained her normalposition the order was given to open hatches.
"Now, Aubyn, up with you!" exclaimed Warborough.
Terence needed no second invitation. Nimbly he ascended the ironrings of the vertical ladder and gained the deck. To his surprise hefound that the submarine was close alongside the Dutchman's starboardquarter and moving at practically the same speed and in the samedirection as she was.
The submarine's White Ensign, which, owing to the hasty descent hadnot been lowered and untoggled from the halliards, was hanging limplyfrom the staff, resembling an umbrella. For the purposes ofrecognition it was useless. Even had it been otherwise, the minds ofthe crew of the tramp were so completely obsessed with the i
dea thatthe craft was a German submarine that they would have regarded theensign as false colours.
Imagining that the game was up, the stolid Dutch skipper leant overthe bridge rail, while a dozen of the crew peered anxiously over theside.
"This is a Dutch ship," announced the skipper vehemently in German."Why are you stopping me?"
"We are not stopping you, my friend," replied Warborough, in English."Can you understand?"
"Yes, ver' well," was the reply; then pointing to the distant Britishcruiser, which was now recognisable as one of the "Astraea" class, hecontinued: "If you English, why dat sheep fire?"
"Just what we don't want her to do," replied Warborough. "So we'vetaken the liberty of ranging up alongside you. They can't very wellfire at us now, and they'll soon discover their mistake."
Meanwhile, the signalman had hoisted the submarine's code number, butowing to the confusing background afforded by the tramp's tricolouredsides, the hoist was not readily "picked up" by the cruiser, whichwas now approaching to ascertain the mystery of a supposedly hostilecraft that had the audacity to hold up a merchantman under the veryguns of a British man-of-war.
"There's the answering pendant, sir--at the dip," announced thesignalman, pointing to a red and white strip of bunting hoistedhalf-way up the cruiser's yard-arm. "Now it's hoisted close up,sir!" he added after a brief pause.
The cruiser had seen and had read the submarine's signal. Closing,she ramped up at a cable's length from the little craft that she haddone her level best to sink.
A facetious exchange of compliments by means of hand-flags wasindulged in, and with a mutual farewell the British vessels parted,while the skipper of the Dutch tramp, devoutly grateful that thingswere not so bad as he had imagined, resumed his course towardsYmuiden.