CHAPTER IX.
THE SECRET WIRELESS.
UPON regaining the "Lonette," Aubyn descended into the diminutivecabin and made hasty preparations for his adventure. Unbuttoning hisgreat-coat he drew a small revolver from the inside breast pocket ofhis monkey-jacket. Assuring himself that it was fully loaded, thesub. thrust it into the right-hand pocket of his outer garment, then,having readjusted his muffler, rebuttoned his coat, so that theturned-up collar hid the white woollen comforter.
He felt justified in making the attempt. During his brief visit tothe trawler the lack of oil from the broken lamps had first arousedhis suspicions. Secondly, he had made the discovery that theforemast, although painted to resemble pitch-pine, was made of metal,and was consequently hollow. A steel mast for a vessel of thattonnage was a decided rarity, especially when the vessel was supposedto be a trawler. Consequently Aubyn had already made up his mind toinvestigate.
It was impracticable to give Waynsford details of his plan. Withoutdemur the skipper of the "Lonette" had agreed to his chum'sproposition--for which Terence was truly grateful. Had Waynsford beenof a jealous or inquisitive disposition he might have wrecked hisfriend's plans. Instead he had unquestionably complied with Aubyn'swishes.
Presently Terence emerged from the cabin and peered cautiously at thehigh sides of the trawler. Fortunately none of the crew was visible.Six feet abaft the motor-boat's quarter the outlines of the trawler'smizzen chain-plates were just discernible in the darkness.
Softly calling to the "Lonette's" bowman, Aubyn asked him to drop afew feet astern. The man who in civil life had been a deck-hand on acrack racing-yacht, immediately did so. His wonderment at the requestwas overpowered by a sense of obedience acquired by years of trainingthat demanded instant response to the order of the sailing-master.
As soon as the chain-plates came within arm's length Terence graspedthe tarred lanyards and swung himself up till his head was on a levelwith the bulwarks. He peered cautiously along the deck. Aft thetrawler was deserted. Forward the two hands were fumbling with thelanterns and the ends of the severed forestay halliard. Theyevidently were in no hurry to rectify the damage, Terence decided adeft-handed man could have re-spliced the rope in a quarter of thetime.
Silently the sub. crawled over the bulwarks and made his way to thelee side of the engine-room coamings. Here he paused to survey thescene of action, at the same time devotedly hoping that his bootswould not creak and betray his presence. From below came the gutturalvoice of the Dutch skipper punctuated by the clear decisive tones ofDick Waynsford. Amidships, on the port side, one of the crew,invisible from the place where Terence crouched, was still keeping upa running fire of banter with the "Pixie's" crew.
He began to unlace his boots, regretting that he had not left them onboard the "Lonette." Then he remembered that if they were discoveredsuspicions would be aroused. He could not drop them overboard withoutmaking a splash--and the footgear had cost him a guinea a pair. Lyingabout on a wet deck with stockinged feet, he reflected, was a crueljob on a cold night, so he hurriedly re-tied the laces.
"It will be a ticklish job to give an account of myself if they findme," he soliloquised, "that is, if the trawler's what she pretendsshe is. Ten to one I'm on the right tack, though, so here goes."
On all fours he crossed the only uninterrupted part of deck spacebetween the companion and the side of the fish-hold coaming. Here hewas fairly safe from observation unless one of the for'ard handschanced to come aft.
The fish-hold hatches occupied the greater portion of the 'midshipspart of the trawler. Two of the after-coverings had been removed. Theothers were in place, a heavy tarpaulin being loosely thrown overthem, the canvas slack at the for'ard end.
Beneath this covering, and wedged in between the coaming and thedeck, Aubyn crawled. Here he was within ten feet of the foremast--theobject of his suspicions. Thanks to the tarpaulin he was able to keepfairly warm in his cramped quarters, while by means of a fold in thecanvas he was able to command a wide view of the fore part of thevessel.
Presently he heard Waynsford and the Dutch skipper, followed by the"Lonette's" man, emerge from the cabin and make the round of thedeck. Once Waynsford's foot nearly trod upon him as he crouched underthe still tarpaulin. Then, after a seemingly endless delay, Terenceheard the farewell greetings and the gentle purring of the"Lonette's" motors, as, followed by the "Pixie," she forged ahead,circled and was lost to hearing in the darkness.
For the next ten minutes Terence heard nothing but the heavy measuredtread of the skipper of the trawler as he paced the deck. Then,stopping at the forward end of his beat, he said something in a lowtone. The words were German, not Dutch--Aubyn was certain of that.Bitterly he regretted his almost total ignorance of the language ofBritain's greatest foe.
Then came the clank of a steam winch. Apparently the men were haulingin their nets.
"I hope the old hooker won't make off towards the Dutch coast withoutthe 'Lonette' spotting her," observed Aubyn. "If it come overmisty Iwon't give much for my chance. By Jove! I am getting stiff."
Soon the winch was stopped, and men came for'ard. Two of them stoppedat the foot of the foremast and set to work silently and rapidly.Slightly raising the fold of the tarpaulin the sub. could see thatthey were removing a plate from the bulky steel mast. Others--formore of the crew than had previously appeared came on the scene--rovelight steel wire rigging furnished with small circular objects thatthe sub. recognised as insulators for wireless gear.
His suspicions were well-founded. Inside the steel mast was atelescopic spar that could be hoisted thirty feet above the truck.From the head of this staff a line of light rope running through ablock automatically uncoiled itself, the falls dropping on deck. Toone end of this line the aerial was bent and sent aloft.
Two men then came staggering forward with a huge cask. Upon knockingoff the upper and lower bands the barrel opened like an exaggeratedlocket--the remaining bands being dummies--and disclosed a small butpowerful wireless apparatus.
Hardly pausing to weigh the consequences, the sub. threw aside thefolds of the tarpaulin and sprang to his feet. A howl of rage andsurprise greeted his appearance.
"Surrender!" exclaimed Aubyn sternly.
For some minutes there was a dead silence on the part of theastonished Germans, broken only by the moaning of the wind throughthe rigging and the lap of the water against the trawler's sides.Then, giving a hasty glance round to assure himself that no vesselwas within hailing distance, and realising that the daring Englishmanwas alone, the skipper gave a hurried order.
The next moment Terence was confronted by the muzzles of half a dozenautomatic pistols.
"Surrender yourself, Englishman," replied the skipper. "You mad; youall alone. Hands up, or you dead man."
"Perhaps," remarked Terence, with outward calmness, although heremembered with some misgivings that the hair trigger of an automaticpistol is a delicate piece of mechanism for a horny-handed seaman toplay with. "If you shoot you'll make things a jolly sight worse foryou than they are already. You're properly cornered. The twomotor-boats are waiting a short distance off, and there's a destroyeronly too ready to bear a hand."
"Vot you going der do?" asked the German, in a chastened tone.
"To summon assistance and take possession of an enemy ship. The moretrouble you give, my friend, the worse it will be for you."
"Taking a quick yet steady aim, the Sub. pressed thetrigger."]
The skipper shrugged his shoulders, then hastily addressed his crew.The latter put up their pistols, sullenly and almost mutinously. Oneof the men hurried across the deck and drew a signal rocket from alocker. This he affixed to the vessel's side and produced a match.
"Stop!" exclaimed Aubyn authoritatively.
"Dies still Zherman sheep," protested the skipper.
The match flared, shielded from the wind by the partly clasped handof the man who was holding it. In obedience to a further order hebegan to apply the light to the rocket.
Terence whipped out his revolver. Hitherto, realising that apremature display of the weapon might result in a volley from thehostile pistols, he had kept the weapon out of sight. Now that thecrew were practically cowed that danger was over.
The seaman hesitated only for a brief instant, then ignoring thelevelled weapon, bent over his task. One of his comrades chuckledderisively.
Taking a quick yet steady aim the sub. pressed the trigger. The heavyball went true to the mark, severing the rocket-stick and causing therocket to fall over the side. Luck more than good management hadenabled him to hit a target the thickness of a lead pencil on a darknight, with only the flicker of a match to assist his aim.
"If any man attempt to go below I'll wing him--tell them that," saidTerence sternly, addressing the master. "Order them to fall in onthe starboard side."
All sign of resistance having disappeared the crew, ten in number,formed up at the place indicated, while Aubyn drew his cigarette casefrom his pocket and smoked.
It was not an act of bravado on his part. Now that the crisis wasover he had an uncontrollable craving for a cigarette. So he smokedcontentedly as he awaited the return of the "Lonette" and herconsort.
He had not long to wait. Already grey dawn was breaking. The wind haddropped, and the short steep waves had subsided into a sullen roll.Long before the two motor-boats came into view the purr of theengines and the muffled roar of their exhausts could be distinctlyheard in the still morning air.
"I thought the fellows had potted you when I heard that shot,"exclaimed Waynsford, as he clambered over the side. "Well done, oldman," he added cordially, as his glance fell upon the tell-talewireless gear.
"You might send 'Pixie' to bring up the destroyer," suggested Aubyn."It will save a lot of trouble if she tows this packet into port.Tell her to give the destroyer the tip: there may be Germansubmarines about."
"What makes you think that?" asked Waynsford.
"The anxiety on the part of one of those fellows to let off a rocket.I'm glad I was able to stop his little game."
"How?"
"Oh, a pot-shot at five yards--sent the rocket-stick flying out ofhis hands. Wonder I didn't hit him."
"Serve him jolly well right if you had," added Waynsford. Already hewas fairly conversant with German methods of kultur in connexion withnautical affairs, and to him every Teuton appeared in the light of askulking treacherous foe.
"'Pixie,' ahoy!" he shouted, addressing his consort, which had nowslowed down about half a cable's length away on the port quarter."Get into touch with that destroyer: she's heading our way. Informher commanding officer that we suspect hostile submarines in thevicinity."