THE ABANDONED FLYING-BOAT.
WHITTINGHAME could now see the reason for the manoeuvre. One of the
derricks of the stumpy foremast was swung outboard. Her donkey-engine
began to work, and from the sea, with the water pouring out of her,
was hoisted the waterlogged flying-boat.
The plane on her port-side had completely vanished, and only a few
fragments of her starboard one remained. Standing amidships and
steadying themselves by the spars of the lifting tackle were three
men--Reno Durango and his Valderian crew.
When the crippled craft was half-way up the side of the tramp the
donkey-engine stopped. The captain of the vessel, leaning over the
bridge rail, shouted to the three castaways. Durango replied,
vigorously shaking his head and gesticulating wildly in the direction
of the "Meteor."
Apparently his protests were unavailing, for he grasped a rope
trailing from the tramp's rail and clambered on board. His companions
followed suit.
The argument proceeded. Evidently the master of the cargo vessel
wished to steam towards the airship, and to this suggestion Durango
demurred strongly. After a while the wrecked flying-boat was lowered
into the water again, and the lifting tackle cast off, the Mexican
pointing towards the abandoned craft and talking volubly.
With a shrug of his shoulders the skipper walked to the centre of the
bridge and telegraphed to the engine-room. The tramp's propeller
began to revolve, and the lumbering vessel gathered way.
For some moments Durango stood as if in despair, then leaning over
the bridge-rail shook his fist at the disabled airship.
Through his binoculars Captain Whittinghame saw his expression
clearly. The rogue, despite his own troubles and obvious
disappointment, was gloating over his rival's misfortunes.
Without saying a word to his comrades in the observation room,
Vaughan Whittinghame went below and made his way to the after
engine-room, where Parsons was found lying on his back with portions
of the partly-stripped motor all around him.
"How long, now?" asked the Captain.
"A couple of hours, maybe, sir," replied the engineer.
"Can you manage in an hour? The after-motors will be sufficient."
"I'll try my best, sir," replied Parsons, unwilling to commit
himself.
"Very good; carry on," rejoined his superior, and without another
word he left the engineer to do his level best towards restoring the
motors to a state of efficiency.
"We are sixty-four miles east a quarter north of the Galapagos, sir,"
announced Dacres.
"Thank you," replied Vaughan. "Just one minute, Mr. Dacres; will you
please come on deck with me?"
The sub followed his chief. Whittinghame said nothing more until the
two officers were out of earshot and on the deck of the water-borne
airship.
"There's the vessel whose lights you picked up an hour ago, Dacres."
"Yes, sir; has she communicated?"
"She apparently meant to, but changed her mind. Do you see something
floating about two and a half miles dead to windward of us?"
The sub brought his telescope to bear in the direction indicated. It
took him some time to locate the object, as it was almost in the
reflected glare of the early morning sun.
"I have it, sir," he said.
"What do you make of it?"
"Cannot say, sir. Wreckage of some sort."
"It is," added Whittinghame. "More, it is the wreck of the
flying-boat, and that rascal Durango has eluded us again."
"Surely he didn't survive the fall?"
"He did. I saw him boarding yonder tramp. Now, this is what I want
you to do: take a compass bearing of the wreckage, and observe the
direction and rate of our drift. In an hour Parsons hopes to have the
after-propellers working. We will then forge ahead and investigate
Durango's flying-boat. Do not say a word to any of the others until
after breakfast. I know them: they would throw aside any idea of food
until we are fit to get under way; and, with all due respect to their
zeal, I am no believer in a man working on an empty stomach."
In exactly forty-nine minutes from the time that the Captain left the
motor-room, Parsons had the engines ready for work. The fault, once
discovered, was easy to remedy.
"Gentlemen," began the Captain after the morning meal was over, "I
have unpleasant news to announce; but I can rely upon your
co-operation sufficiently to know that you will face it with your
characteristic determination. Reno Durango is not only alive, but he
is on board the vessel we saw approaching us just before dawn.
Fortunately we are no longer in a totally crippled state. Although
the supply of ultra-hydrogen is insufficient to lift the bulk of the
'Meteor' our after-motors are once more in working order. I propose,
therefore, to bring the 'Meteor' up to the wreck of the flying-boat
and investigate. We will then take a drastic step. We will pump all
the remaining ultra-hydrogen in Nos. 2 and compartments into Nos. 1
and 5; abandon and scuttle the first two compartments I have
mentioned, and resume the pursuit in a 'Meteor' that will be only
two-fifths of the size of the one that left England only a few weeks
ago. I mean to chase that rascal as long as there is sufficient
buoyancy to keep us in the air and as long as an ounce of cordite
remains to actuate the motors."
"Hear, hear!" exclaimed the doctor, as if he were at a medical
students' smoking concert. The others present contented themselves by
inclining their heads, but resolution was plainly visible on their
bronzed features.
The "Meteor" was navigated from the upper deck, her course set
according to Dacres' observations. Meanwhile, owing to the now steady
breeze the airship had drifted nearly five miles from the scene of
the disaster.
"There she is, sir," shouted the look-out man, "a point on the
starboard bow."
Travelling at a modest ten knots the waterborne craft made straight
for the flying-boat that was lying practically awash in the slight
swell. Owing to her immense bulk and to the fact that she had little
or no grip upon the water the airship was almost unmanageable. To run
to leeward of the wreck was to court disaster, for the thin aluminium
plates were especially liable to be stove in should they come in
contact with the water-logged craft.
"I'll swim to her, sir," said Dacres. "If we bring the 'Meteor' bows
on to the wreckage I can easily take a light line to her and make her
fast. She will serve as a good sea-anchor while we make
investigations."
"How about sharks?" objected Whittinghame.
"Must risk that, sir. A couple of men with rifles will scare them
off."
"Very good; I'll see that they are the best shots we have on board. I
shouldn't like to see you plugged, Dacres--especially by one of our
own men."
Dacres smiled, then proceeded to strip. Waiting till the "Meteor" was
dead to leeward of the remains of the flying-boat, and moving ahead
only enough to counteract the drift caused by the wind, the sub
lowered himself over the bows. Round his waist was made fast one end
of a length of mackerel-line, which though strong was not heavy
enough to impede his progress.
"Pay out!" he shouted, at the same time slipping into the sea. The
water was agreeably warm and remarkably buoyant. Dacres swam with
ease, fifty strokes being sufficient to enable him to gain the wreck.
As he scrambled over the gunwale the boat dipped stern-foremost, but
on sitting on one of the thwarts with the water up to his chin she
quickly resumed a horizontal position.
Dacres' first act upon getting on board was to haul in the light
line, to which was attached a stout grass rope. The latter he made
fast to a bollard in the bows of the craft, which enabled the
"Meteor" to ride comfortably to her practically submerged "mooring."
Considering the weight of her motors it seemed wonderful that the
flying-boat kept awash, till the sub discovered that fore and aft
were air-tight lockers. Indeed, the hull of the boat seemed but
little damaged. Evidently as she was executing a loop she struck the
water with very little speed in a vertical direction. It was
certainly strange that Durango and his companion had not been hurled
clear of her as she fell, and the only conclusion Dacres could come
to was that the men when they felt their craft falling must have
thrown themselves under the waterways and held on tightly during her
erratic downward plunge.
"Much amiss?" shouted Captain Whittinghame.
"Very little, I believe, sir," replied Dacres. "She may be slightly
strained."
"Is she fitted with slings?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then, stand by; we'll haul you to windward and abreast of No. 3
section."
Evidently, thought Dacres, the skipper had some scheme in his mind's
eye. Whittinghame had. It would be possible to stow the boat aboard
the airship, for in her curtailed displacement there would be
sufficient ultra-hydrogen to lift the slightly added weight. Should
occasion serve the hull of the flying-boat, if repaired, would make a
handy tender.
In response to an order several of the crew brought up stout fir
spars from below. These they lashed to the deck, allowing their
slightly tapered ends to project seven feet clear of the extreme beam
of the airship. To these, stout purchase blocks and tackle were
secured, the falls manned, and the lower blocks lowered to the
water's edge.
It was now an easy matter to cant the airship sufficiently for the
water-logged craft to be brought immediately under the improvised
davits. Deftly the sub adjusted the hooks of the lower blocks and
gave the word to haul away.
Under the heavy strain the "Meteor" took a list to starboard, and by
the time the gunwales of the boat were a foot out of water the
airship's decks were at an angle of fifteen degrees.
"She won't stand it, sir," expostulated Setchell, "unless we station
at least twenty men on the port side."
"I don't mean her to," replied Vaughan Whittinghame. "Couple up a
length of hose to the auxiliary pump. We'll soon throw the water
clear of her. One blessing, it shows the boat's topsides are fairly
tight. I was rather afraid of it, when I remember seeing the water
pour from her as the tramp's derrick heaved away at her; but I
suppose it was that she was not slung accurately. Any signs of the
water leaking out of her, Mr. Dacres?"
"None, sir," replied the sub, who had now emerged from his liquid
surroundings, and was perched upon the turtle back deck.
"Very good. We're sending down a hose."
Ten minutes later the pump sucked dry. Relieved of the weight of
water the salvaged boat's keel was a foot clear of the surface, while
the "Meteor" had practically recovered from her awkward list. The
lightly constructed hull and the motor together weighed less than
two-and-a-half hundredweight, so that on being hauled up level with
the upper deck it was a comparatively easy matter to get the craft
inboard and secure her on that part of the platform over No. 5
section.
Two of the crew, skilled shipwrights, at once proceeded to overhaul
the planks, while Parsons and his assistant attended to the motor,
which, owing to its comparatively short period of submergence, was
hardly affected by the salt water.
It did not take Dacres long to resume his clothing and report himself
ready to carry on with his duty, for there was much to be done and
very little time in which to do it.
All the stores and gear that were absolutely essential were removed
from those compartments that were to be abandoned, and carefully
stored in the remaining divisions. The ultra-hydrogen was then
exhausted and recharged into the ballonettes of the fore and aft
sections. In an hour from the time of salving the flying-boat the
"Meteor" was ready to shed her now superfluous 'midship divisions.
Meanwhile, Dacres and Gerald Whittinghame had carefully examined the
interior of the hull of Durango's craft, but no trace of the
submarine plans were forthcoming. Nor had Captain Whittinghame seen
them in the Mexican's possession as he boarded the tramp steamer.
During the chase Durango had been seen holding the precious documents
ready to drop them into space, but none of the men in the "Meteor's"
observationroom could state definitely what happened to them after
the Mexican had been thrown upon the floor-boards of the boat.
"I wish I knew that they were actually destroyed," said Vaughan when
the result of the search was reported to him. "Circumstantial
evidence is always most unsatisfactory. However, Durango cannot get
away from the ship until she touches port, and long before that I
hope to be able to have a few words with him. All ready, there, Mr.
Setchell?"
"Ay, ay, sir."
"All clear aft, there?"
"Ay, ay, sir," replied Dr. Hambrough, who looked more like a South
American stevedore than a member of an honourable profession, for he
had neither spared himself nor his clothing in assisting to clear the
condemned divisions of the airship.
Giving a final glance around to satisfy himself that all was in
order, Captain Whittinghame touched the switch operating the
cam-action bolts. Instantly the "Meteor" split into four separate
divisions. The two central ones, stripped of heavy gear and with
their ballonettes devoid of gas, rolled over and over on the surface
of the sea, for very little water had as yet entered the scuttles,
which had been left open.
The bow and stern sections shot upwards to a height of nearly a
thousand feet. The bow division, being unable to be manoeuvred under
motor-power, had to float aimlessly until the after section,
skilfully steered under Dacres' direction, was brought end on and
quickly secured.
The "Meteor," although now but four hundred and forty feet in length,
was again fit to resume her pursuit of the arch-rogue, Reno Durango.
Vaughan Whittinghame showed no immediate desire to take up the chase.
Gripping the stanchion rails he lent over the stern, his eyes fixed
upon the two cylindrical objects far beneath him: the abandoned
sections of his beloved airship. He watched them as they slowly
filled. They were no longer lively, but wallowed sluggishly in the
slight swell. They sank slowly: quite three-quarters of an hour
elapsed ere one section slipped quietly beneath the waves. Its
downward course was clearly visible long after it had sunk beneath
the surface of the Pacific. Five minutes later No. 3 section plunged
to its ocean bed--a sacrifice to the force of circumstances.
Whittinghame turned abruptly. His eyes looked suspiciously moist, but
without a tremor in his voice he gave the order "Clear upper
deck."