_Chapter XII_
ARE YOU WINSTANLEY?
The bow of the English freighter _Port Elizabeth_ was plowing its waythrough the broad waves of the Pacific on the evening of the fourteenthof September. The captain and the first mate were keeping a sharplookout on the bridge, for they were approaching San Francisco. Thesteamer had taken a cargo of machinery and rails on board at Esquimaultfor San Francisco, as was duly set forth in the ship's papers. InEsquimault, too, the second mate enlisted, though the captain was notparticularly eager to take a man who carried his arm in a sling. Since,however, he could find no one else to take the place of the formersecond mate, who had gone astray in the harbor saloons of Victoria, thecaptain engaged the volunteer, who called himself Henry Wilson, and thusfar he had had no cause to regret his choice, as Wilson turned out to bea quiet, sober man, thoroughly familiar with the waters along thePacific coast.
Wilson was in the chart-room, carefully examining the entrance to SanFrancisco; suddenly he turned and called through the open door to thecaptain on the bridge: "Captain, we are now eight miles from the GoldenGate; it's a wonder the Japs haven't discovered us yet."
"I should think they would station their cruisers as far out as this,"answered the captain.
"After all, why should they?" asked Wilson, "there's nothing more to bedone here, and the allies of our illustrious government can scarcely beasked to show much interest in an English steamer with a harmlesscargo."
Wilson joined the captain and the first mate on the bridge, and allthree leaned against the railing and tried through their glasses todiscover the fires of the Golden Gate through the darkness; but not agleam of light was to be seen.
"I don't believe we'll be allowed to enter the harbor at night," beganthe first mate again, "more especially as our instructions are to reachthe Golden Gate at noon."
"Yes, but if the engines won't work properly, how the devil can theyexpect us to be punctual!" grumbled the captain.
"Look," cried Wilson, pointing to the blinding flash of a searchlight infront of them, "they've got us at last!" A few minutes later thebrilliant bluish white beam of a searchlight was fixed on the _PortElizabeth_.
"We'll keep right on our course," said the captain rather hurriedly tothe man at the helm, "they'll soon let us know what they want. Wilson,you might get the ship's papers ready, we'll have visitors in a minute."
Scarcely had Wilson reached the captain's cabin when a bell rang sharplyin the engine-room, and soon after this the engines began to slow down.When he returned to the bridge, the masts and low funnels of a ship anda thick trailing cloud of smoke could be seen crossing the reflection ofthe searchlight a few hundred yards away from the _Port Elizabeth_. Thena long black torpedo-boat with four low funnels emerged from thedarkness, turned, and took the same course as the freighter. A boat waslowered and four sailors, a pilot and an officer stepped on board the_Port Elizabeth_.
The captain welcomed the Japanese lieutenant at the gangway and spoke afew words to him in a low tone, whereupon they both went into thecaptain's cabin. The Jap must have been satisfied by his examination ofthe ship's papers, for he returned to the bridge conversing with thecaptain in a most friendly and animated manner.
"This is my first mate, Hornberg," said the captain.
"An Englishman?" asked the Japanese.
"No, a German."
"A German?" repeated the Jap slowly. "The Germans are friends of Japan,are they not?" he asked, smiling pleasantly at the first mate, who,however, did not appear to have heard the question and turned away to goto the engine-room telephone.
"And this is my second mate, Wilson."
"An Englishman?" asked the Jap again.
"Yes, an Englishman," answered Wilson himself.
The Japanese officer looked at him keenly and said: "I seem to knowyou."
"It is not impossible," said Wilson, "I have been navigating Japanesewaters for several years."
"Indeed?" asked the lieutenant, "may I inquire on which line?"
"On several lines; I know Shanghai, I have been from Hongkong toYokohama in tramp steamers, and once during the Russian war I got toNagasaki--also with a cargo of machinery," he added after a pause. "Thatwas a dangerous voyage, for the Russians had just sailed fromVladivostock."
"With a cargo of machinery," repeated the Japanese officer, adding, "andyou are familiar with these waters also?"
"Fairly so," said Wilson.
"Have you any relatives in the American Navy?" asked the Jap sharply.
"Not that I know of," answered Wilson, "my family is a large one, and asan Englishman I have relatives in all parts of the world, but none inthe American Navy, so far as I know."
"Mr. Wilson, you will please take charge of the ship under the directionof the pilot brought along by the lieutenant. Mr. Hornberg's watch isup," said the captain, and went off with the Jap to his cabin.
Five minutes later the captain sent for the first mate, who returned tothe bridge almost directly, saying: "Mr. Wilson, I am to take your placeat the helm. The captain would like to see you."
"Certainly," answered Wilson curtly. The captain and the Jap weresitting together in the cabin over a glass of whisky. "The lieutenant,"said the captain, "wants to know something about Esquimault; you knowthe harbor there, don't you?"
"Very slightly," answered Wilson, "I was only there three days."
"Were there any Japanese ships at Esquimault when you were there?"
"Yes, there was a Japanese cruiser in dock."
"What was her name?"
Wilson shrugged his shoulders and answered: "I couldn't say, I don'tknow the names of the Japanese ships."
"Won't you sit down and join us in a glass of whisky?" said the captain.
"What did you do to your arm?" asked the Japanese.
"I was thrown against the railing in a storm and broke it on the wayfrom Shanghai to Victoria."
A long pause ensued which was at last broken by the Jap, who inquired:"Do you know Lieutenant Longstreet of the American Navy?"
"I know no one of that name in the American Navy."
The Jap scrutinized Wilson's face, but the latter remained perfectlyunconcerned.
"You told the captain that you've been in San Francisco often," beganthe Jap again; "on what line were you?"
"On no line, I was at San Francisco for pleasure."
"When?"
"The last time was two years ago."
"May I see your papers?"
"Certainly," said Wilson, getting up to fetch them from his cabin.
The Japanese studied them closely.
"Curious," he said at last, "I could have sworn that I've seen youbefore."
Then he glanced again at one of the certificates and looking up atWilson suddenly, over the edge of the paper, asked sharply: "Why haveyou two names?"
"I have only one," returned Wilson.
"Winstanley and Wilson," said the Jap with a decided emphasis on bothnames.
"I'm very sorry," said Wilson, "but I don't know anyone of the name ofWinstanley, or whatever you called it. The name cannot very well be inmy papers."
"Then I must be mistaken," said the Jap peevishly.
Wilson left the captain's cabin and went up to the bridge, where he drewa deep breath of relief.
The pilot gave directions for the ship's course, and the torpedo-boatsteamed along on her port side like a shadow.
"I wonder why we have a wireless apparatus on board?" asked Hornberg.
"It never occurred to me until you mentioned it. I imagine it's merelyan experiment of the owners," answered Wilson. Then they both lapsedinto silence and only attended to the pilot's directions for the ship'scourse.
Wilson presently looked at his watch and remarked: "We must be abouttwo miles from the Golden Gate by this time."
"It's possible," said Hornberg, "but as all the ships use shaded lights,it's a difficult thing to determine."
"Can we enter the harbor by night?" he asked of the Japanese pilot.
/> "Yes, sir, whenever you like, under our pilotage you can enter theharbor by day or night."
"How's that?"
"You'll see directly."
At this moment the torpedo-boat's siren bellowed sharply three times,and immediately the red lights at the masthead and the side of a steamerabout half a mile off became visible, and the bright flash of hersearchlight was thrown on the _Port Elizabeth_. The pilot sent a shortsignal across, which was immediately answered by the Japanese guardship.
"Now you'll see the channel," said the pilot to Wilson, "it's really anAmerican invention, but we were the first to put it to practical use. Wecan't possibly lose our way now."
"Yes, captain, you'll see something wonderful now," said the lieutenant,as he came on the bridge with the captain. "You'll open your eyes whenyou see us steering through the mines."
Suddenly a bright circle of light appeared on the surface of the water,which was reflected from some source of light about ten yards below thesurface. "It's an anchored light-buoy," explained the lieutenant, "whichforms the end of the electric light cable, and there to the right isanother one. All we have to do now is to keep a straight course betweenthe two rows of lantern-buoys which are connected with the cable, and inthat way we'll be able to steer with perfect safety between the minesinto the harbor of San Francisco." And indeed, about a hundred yardsahead a second shining circle of light appeared on the water, andfurther on a whole chain of round disks was seen to make a turn to theleft and then disappear in the distance. The same kind of a lineappeared on the right. Half an hour later three bright red reflections,looking like transparent floating balls of light filled with ruby-red,bubbling billows, marked a spot where the helm had to be turned to portin order to bring the ship through a gap in the line of mines. Thus the_Port Elizabeth_ reached San Francisco early in the morning. She did notmake fast at the quay, but at the arsenal on Mare Island, her crew thenbeing given shore leave. When the last man had gone, the _PortElizabeth_, unloaded her cargo of machinery and rails which, in thehands of the Chinese coolies, was transformed into gun-barrels,ammunition and shells in the most marvelous manner. "_Le pavilion couvrela marchandise_, especially under the Union Jack," said Hornbergsarcastically, as he watched this metamorphosis, but the captain onlylooked at him angrily.
That was the second time during the war that Captain Winstanley of theUnited States Navy, and late commander of the battleship _Georgia_, sawSan Francisco, whence he had escaped by night from the naval hospitaltwo months before. The Japanese lieutenant was the same who had receivedthe word of honor of the officers on board the hospital ship _Ontario_on May eighth, and to whom Winstanley had refused to give his. Twomonths after his voyage as second mate on board the _Port Elizabeth_,which enabled him to gather information concerning the Japanese measuresfor the defense of San Francisco, Winstanley stood on the bridge of thebattleship _Delaware_ as commander of the second Atlantic squadron. Andfour months later the name of the victor in the naval battle off theGalapagos Islands went the rounds of the world!