CHAPTER XXVIII.
IN THE BALLAST TANK.
At Marromea Captain Restronguet paid the pilot, who was taken ashore ina native boat. The Portuguese, as soon as he received his money andfound that he had not been harmed, became quite enthusiastic over thegenerous "Ingles," and vowed that, whatever other work he had in hand,he would await the "Aphrodite" on her return. "If the senhors ever comeback," he added darkly, for he knew the effect of the pestilentialclimate upon unseasoned Europeans.
Marromea, where the Portuguese once had a fairly prosperous tradingstation, had fallen into decay. Fever had decimated the inhabitants,the railway, intended to fellow the course of the river and effect ajunction with the Cape to Cairo line at Victoria Falls, had beenabandoned. Long grass and tropical foliage had already hidden themelancholy remains from view.
There were scarcely thirty Portuguese in the place; the others werenatives who, being partly civilized, were infinitely greater scoundrelsthan their unenlightened brethren. Of the thirty Portuguese, two-thirdsof the number were Government officials, and with the idea of displayingtheir powers, threw every obstacle in Captain Restronguet's way. Dueswere demanded and paid, then a peremptory request to be shown the ship'spapers--documents that the "Aphrodite" did not possess.
Fortunately Hythe had a sheet of printed matter that he had brought offat Gibraltar with his purchases, and this was duly presented. After alengthy scrutiny the officials returned it, saying the papers were quitein order but forty milreis must be paid to _vise_ them.
"I'll see you to Jericho, first!" exclaimed Captain Restronguetwrathfully, and ordering his men to arm themselves he paraded them ondeck as a gentle hint to the mercenary representatives of the PortugueseRepublic.
If they knew of the presence of the "Vorwartz" in the river theauthorities would not admit it; they refused to allow the telegraph tobe made use of to communicate with the trading stations up-stream, andresolutely declined to provide a pilot for the navigation of theshoal-encumbered reaches as far as Kaira--a hundred miles aboveMarromea.
At last Captain Restronguet resolved to take stern measures. He wasready to abide by the usual customs of a foreign country, but he was notgoing to be fooled by a pack of rascally Portuguese.
"Clear for diving, Mr. Devoran!" he shouted.
The Portuguese officials, filled with curiosity, lined the edge of thewharf, talking volubly amongst themselves, while to show their contempttowards the foreign craft they amused themselves by throwing cigaretteends upon her deserted deck.
Down below the crew tumbled; hatches were secured, and the ballast tanksflooded. The "Aphrodite," made fast bow and stern to the wharf by thehempen hawsers, sank till her deck was only a few inches above thewater. It was now just after high water, and there was a depth of fortyfeet alongside the quay.
Then with a jerk the strain on the ropes began to tell, a large portionof the crumbling quay was destroyed and tumbled into the river. Downsank the submarine till the tops of her conning-towers were fifteen feetbeneath the surface. She was resting on the bottom of the river.
"Man the aerial torpedo tube, Mr. Kenwyn," ordered the captain. "Givethem a sixteen pounds charge."
With a whizz and a roar the projectile leapt through the water andsoared four hundred feet in the air. There it burst, the concussionshaking every miserable hovel in Marromea to its foundations. When the"Aphrodite" returned to the surface the quay was deserted; the terrifiedofficials, suffering with injured ear-drums, were skulking in the bush.
"WITH A WHIZZ AND A ROAR THE PROJECTILE LEAPT THROUGH THEWATER."]
"Ah, that is what we want," remarked Captain Restronguet, pointing to aship's whaler lying on the quay. "Under the circumstances, consideringhow extortionately we have been charged, I have no qualms in annexingyon craft."
The whaler was a heavy one, but a dozen men soon brought her on board.This done the "Aphrodite" cautiously made her way upstream, for mudbanksand shoals abounded, and only by the frequent use of the lead was thesubmarine, running light, able to keep to the main channel.
It was now within two hours of sunset, and the "Aphrodite" had to find asuitable berth in order to carry out the plans Captain Restronguet hadsuggested for the safeguarding of his crew.
The confiscated boat had been securely lashed down amidships. It wastoo large to be taken below through the hatchway, but in order that itwould not burst its lashings as the submarine sank Mylor bored fourfairly large holes in the garboards so that the water could easily makeits way out. The holes could be plugged when the whaler was requiredfor service afloat, and as Hythe remarked an additional washing would doa lot of good to a boat that had been left lying on the wharf of thatmalodorous and inhospitable town.
Fortunately a fairly deep and extensive hole was discovered in the bedof the river, the soundings giving ten fathoms. Being the rainy seasonthe river was three or four feet higher than its normal level, acircumstance greatly in the favour of the submarine's voyage ofexploration and retribution.
The night passed fairly quietly, the air within the submarine beingperfectly clear. Looking through the observation scuttle the crew couldsee that the so-called fresh water was of a deep brown colour, while thefull moon, shining through the miasmic mists looked like a ball ofgreenish yellow copper. Occasionally a crocodile would alight upon thedeck of the "Aphrodite" and drag its armoured body over the metalplating with a dull metallic sound. Once a couple of hippopotami intheir moonlight gambols brushed against the side of the conning-tower,the shock being distinctly felt by the men on watch.
In the morning the detector registered the position of the "Vorwartz" ateighty-five miles, which was precisely the same distance as it gaveovernight.
Not until the mists had disappeared did Captain Restronguet order the"Aphrodite" to be brought to the surface and the hatchways opened. Hewould not risk the health of his crew by exposing them to thefever-laden atmosphere. Almost as far as the eye could reach the waterextended, for being in flood the river, wide under ordinarycircumstances, now resembled a vast lake.
Proceeding at twelve knots, that took her over the ground against thecurrent at barely nine miles an hour, the submarine held steadily on hercourse, literally feeling her way between the shoals of loathsome blackmud.
Just before noon a motor-launch manned by Portuguese passed, downwardbound. In reply to a signal to close, the little craft ran alongsidethe "Aphrodite" without the faintest hesitation. Two of her crew whocould speak French were interrogated by Hythe. They had neither seennor heard anything of a vessel resembling the "Vorwartz" although theyhad come from Tete, a few miles below the limit for navigation. Inreply to a request that one of their number should accompany thesubmarine as far as Sena, to act as a pilot, the Portuguese resolutelyrefused, saying that a qualified man could be obtained at Molonho, tenmiles further up the river.
"What does the detector say, Mr. Kenwyn?" asked Captain Restronguet forthe tenth time that morning.
"Eighty-three miles, sir."
"H'm; two gained. But it's very strange that that motor-boat should nothave noticed the 'Vorwartz.' Perhaps the river is deeper, and Karl vonHarburg took the precaution to run submerged."
"It is wide enough for a large craft to pass unnoticed," said Devoran.
"Not the actual channel; if we went half a mile to port or starboard wewould be hard and fast aground."
"Is it likely that the 'Vorwartz' has taken to a backwater?" askedHythe.
"By Jove! I hope not," exclaimed Captain Restronguet; then in aconfident tone he added, "No matter, our detector will locate her. Onething we know, she hasn't ascended the Shire--a tributary that drainsLake Nyassa. I almost wish she had, for I would like to see the finalact take place in British waters."
To guard against the tropical heat awnings had been spread fore and aft,extending the whole length and breadth of the deck. Under this theofficers and crew not on duty "stood easy," the former seated indeck-chai
rs brought from the cabins.
To Hythe the voyage seemed more like a pleasure trip than a mission ofdestruction. He and Kenwyn amused themselves by shooting at crocodilesand hippopotami that frequently came within a hundred yards of the"Aphrodite," while Captain Restronguet did a more practical act bybringing down a bird resembling a turkey, which, falling on the awning,was received as a welcome change to the menu.
Captain Restronguet was in high spirits, but his enthusiasm received aset-back when the "Aphrodite" ran full tilt upon a shoal. It wasthrough no fault of the leadsman. The depth gave six fathoms but a fewmoments before. The discolouration of the water prevented any indicationof the shoaling of the depth from being noticed. It was simply a caseof sheer bad luck.
"Empty the reserve tanks," ordered Captain Restronguet, for the"Aphrodite" was now drawing ten feet for'ard and twelve aft. Quicklythe foremost tank was emptied, but the after one, in spite of the actionof the powerful pumps, refused to be discharged. Consequently thedraught for'ard decreased while the submarine's stern sank lower intothe slimy mud.
"Full speed astern," was the next order, but beyond churning up thebrownish black ooze the propellers failed to do the slightest good.
"Lay out an anchor, Mr. Devoran," exclaimed his superior officer. "Besharp, for the tide is falling."
Hastily the boat was lowered, the heaviest anchor slung underneath, andlaid out a hundred yards astern. The stout hempen hawser was led to themotor capstan, but as the powerful machinery made it revolve it simply"walked home" with the anchor. The soft mud offered little or noresistance to its broad palm.
The "Aphrodite" seemed doomed to remain hard and fast for another tenhours. Night with all its terrors would envelop her ere the next tidewas at its height, and to work in the germ-laden mists was to court thedeadly fever.
"Can the ballast tank be got at from the inside, sir?" asked Hythe,struck by an inspiration.
"Not without flooding one of the sub-divisions of Number ThreePlatform," replied Captain Restronguet. "But why do you ask?"
"I thought perhaps I might put on a diving-dress, and enter the tank andexamine the valves."
"It's feasible," observed Captain Restronguet. "If you attempt it andsucceed I shall be still more indebted to you."
"Then I have your permission?"
"Certainly."
"Look here, Hythe," exclaimed Kenwyn. "If you tackle the job I'm withyou."
"Thanks," replied the sub. "The sooner we start the better."
Donning their diving-suits and equipping themselves with brushes,spanners, rubber-sheeting for the valves, and an electric lamp each, thetwo men entered No. 4a compartment, as the subdivision was designated.As soon as the water-tight doors were shut they began unbolting theman-hole cover that gave access to the faulty ballast-tank, guided intheir self-imposed task solely by the rays of the lamps.
Presently the water began to ooze between the partially removed coverand side of the tank, increasing in volume till the whole of thecompartment was flooded with a liquid resembling thick pea-soup. It wasonly by the concentrated rays of the two lamps and by keeping hishelmeted head within six inches of the metal lid that Hythe was able tocomplete the work of opening a means of communication with theballast-tank.
As soon as this was done the sub squeezed through the manhole. His feettouched a thick layer of stiff mud on the floor of the tank. Bringinghis lamp down he carefully examined the outlet valve. The secret of thedefect was his: when the "Aphrodite" had been submerged by the side ofthe wharf at Marromea the inrush of water had brought with it a quantityof sediment sufficiently plastic to form a layer over the outlet valveand thus prevent its action.
For an hour Hythe toiled. He had neglected to bring anything of thenature of a spade, and had to recourse to his bare hands. Handful afterhandful of the noxious mud he scooped up and passed through the manholeinto the compartment without, till the interior of the tank wasperfectly free from anything of the nature to retard the action of thepumps.
After a lapse of two hours and a half from the time of entering thecompartment the two men, their diving-dresses covered in slime, gave thepre-arranged signal to start the pumps. Ten minutes later both thecompartment and the tank were emptied of water, and the task ofreplacing the cover was proceeded with.
But even then Hythe, nothing if not practical, refused to come on deck.He asked for a couple of buckets full of strong disinfectant fluid to besent down, and, using a mop vigorously, he thoroughly scrubbed out theinterior of the compartment, finishing up by mopping his companion'sdress with the liquid, while Kenwyn performed the same office for him.Thus the risk of fever from the river-mud was entirely obviated.
"I would like a cold bath," exclaimed Kenwyn as the two officersrejoined their comrades.
"You jolly well won't, then," replied Hythe emphatically. "At leastunless you wish to pay an indefinite visit to Davy Jones. Why, man, youare as warm as you can possibly be. Have a hot bath, if you like. Iwill, with plenty of disinfectant in it."
By this time the "Aphrodite," her draught aft considerately lessened,was afloat and resuming her voyage. Kenwyn had had his hot bath andfoolishly sat in the fairly strong breeze to cool himself afterwards.
Before night he was lying unconscious in his bunk, prostrate withblackwater fever.