Threatened
That night, according to their pre-arranged plans, the captive
sub-lieutenants avoided taking any of the wines that were placed before
them.
They dined alone in a small cabin placed at least fifty feet from their
sleeping quarters.
As it was now after sunset the porthole was closed and locked. The
door, too, was shut, but not secured. Outside, a sentry paced to and
fro.
"Look here, you fellows!" exclaimed Denbigh after the man deputed to
attend to their needs had gone. "It's all very well knocking off the
fizz, but they'll notice we haven't drunk any."
"Pour it into the grate," suggested Pat O'Hara recklessly.
Denbigh shook his head.
"Won't do," he objected, giving a glance in the direction of the small
"bogie" stove. "I suppose there isn't any possibility of prizing open
the port-lid?"
"You'd be spotted even if you could. There are plenty of men on deck,"
said O'Hara, glad of the opportunity of countering Denbigh's objection
with another. "Come along, old bird; what do you suggest?"
Stirling, to whom the invitation was addressed, thrust his hand into
the breast pocket of his coat.
"What would you do if I weren't here to look after you?" he enquired,
at the same time producing three sponges. "I took them from our cabin."
"For dessert?" queried O'Hara, lifting his eyebrows in surprise.
"Yes, if you are a goat," said Stirling with asperity. "Goats are, I
believe, rather partial to this sort of tack."
Coolly the Scot poured out a wineglassful of sherry--it was from the
same decanter that they had taken some the previous evening--and slowly
spilt the liquid on the sponge.
"Fill your glass first," cautioned Stirling. "Then they'll think we
have had some of the poisonous stuff. Slip your sponge into your
pocket, Denbigh. Don't squeeze it. I am presuming you'll want it
again later. Of course if Pat wishes, he can chew his."
Dinner over, the chums retired to their sleeping cabin. In fact they
had no option, since they were forbidden to go on deck after sunset.
Here they talked and looked at the illustrations of some old Spanish
newspapers until lights out; then, turning in, they lay awake awaiting
possible developments. Eight bells struck. The _Pelikan_ was no
longer moving through the water. Outside the cabin men were talking.
Springing from his bunk Denbigh approached the door, putting his ear to
the covered jalousie.
"I suppose those English swine are sound asleep," said a voice which
the sub recognized as that of Kapitan von Riesser. "I cannot hear them
grunting--we did last night."
"Nor can I, sir," replied Unter-leutnant Klick, who as officer of the
watch was accompanying the captain on his rounds. "But they must be.
They went for that doctored sherry like fishes."
"Himmel! That is good news," exclaimed von Riesser. "It will be quite
safe to settle that vessel. When she first answered our call she was
only forty kilometres away. In twenty minutes----"
The listener fancied he could hear the kapitan rubbing his hands with
glee.
"It is much the better way," continued von Riesser: "'Lost with all
hands' is quite a plausible theory. I am almost sorry we didn't wait
until night when we tackled the Japanese ship. We run a good risk of
being made a quarry for a dozen or more of those accursed cruisers.
Those English may even send some swift destroyers on our track. You
are sure those fellows are quite insensible?"
"As quiet as the grave, sir," assured the unter-leutnant. "They will
hear nothing. Even that terrific explosion when our torpedo took the
Frenchman by surprise never disturbed them. But, of course, sir, I'll
make doubly sure. We'll squirt some chloroform into the cabin."
"Then be sharp about it," said von Riesser. "There's no time to be
lost. That English vessel ought to be in sight within the next quarter
of an hour."
The German officer moved away. In a trice Denbigh communicated the
news to his companions.
"Oh for a respirator!" whispered O'Hara.
"Don't worry," said Stirling. "The electric fan will carry off the
fumes as quickly as they pump them in."
Even as he spoke the fan ceased to revolve. The current actuating the
ventilating gear had been switched off. Already Unter-leutnant Klick
was putting his scheme into effect.
"Those voice tubes," hissed Denbigh.
"They lead nowhere," protested Stirling. "They are blocked. I tried
them some time ago."
The cabin had previously been used as the purser's office, and from it
voice-tubes had communicated with the captain's cabin, the head
steward's quarters, and the clerk's office. The metal pipes had been
removed, but three lengths of flexible tubing had been left.
With a sharp tug Denbigh wrenched one of the tubes from the flange
securing it to the bulkhead. The second gave more trouble. As he was
straining at it a sharp rasping sound fell upon his ear. In the
adjoining cabin someone was at work drilling a hole through the metal
partition.
Smearing the bell-shaped mouth-pieces of two of the detached pipes with
soap from the wash-basin, Denbigh clapped them together.
"Hold on here, Pat," he whispered. "Press 'em tightly."
O'Hara obeyed unhesitatingly. Instinctively he realized that this was
Denbigh's pigeon, and once Denbigh undertook a task he was pretty
certain of the result.
Stirling was then told to hold one end of the second and third
sections. The united length of tubing was now nearly nine feet. One
end Denbigh wedged into the opening in the ceiling for the electric
fan. The other he held in his hand in readiness.
At length, after a tedious wait, Denbigh saw the tip of the drill
emerging from the bulkhead. Marking the spot he instantly switched off
the light. A dull thud announced that the boring tool had made a
complete perforation and that the handle had struck home against the
steelwork.
The drill was withdrawn. In its place a small metal tube was inserted.
Deftly and noiselessly Denbigh slipped the lower end of the flexible
piping over the projecting nozzle. Then he waited. He could hear the
Irishman breathing heavily. The portion of the tube that he was
holding quivered in his excitable grasp. Stirling, cool and collected,
gave no sign of the potential alertness that possessed him.
A gentle hissing sound, repeated at short intervals, announced that the
Germans were injecting the stupefying fumes by means of a bellows. A
faint, sickly odour assailed Denbigh's nostrils. He had to fight hard
to refrain from gasping. Grimly he stood by until the hissing noise
ceased.
His plan had been successful. Save for a slight leakage the fumes had
travelled through the pipe and had been carried through the louvres of
the ventilator, while the hot air of the cabin was sufficient to create
an up-draught to disperse the noxious vapour.
Denbigh removed his end of the tube. As he did so he heard a voice
exclaim:
"It is enough. More will kill them. You had better enter the cabin,
Herr Doktor, and see that they are still breathing."
The sub drew the piping from his companions' grasp.
"Turn in and pretend you're insensible," he whispered, fearful lest the
sound should be heard through the newly-made hole in the bulkhead.
It was less than five minutes later when the door was unlocked and a
dim figure cautiously entered.
"Not half so bad as I expected," said a guttural voice. The smell of
the anaesthetic had almost dispersed. "Where is the switch?"
"Here, Herr Doktor," replied a petty officer.
The next instant the cabin was bathed in brilliant light. In spite of
their efforts to the contrary the three supposed sleepers twitched
their eyelids.
The ship's surgeon bent over O'Hara. A short scrutiny confirmed his
suspicions. He turned to the bunk on which Stirling was lying, and,
lifting the sub's eyelid, placed the tip of his forefinger upon the
eyeball.
"Ach, is it so?" ejaculated the German, for Stirling had been compelled
to contract his eyelids.
A similar test bore the same result in Denbigh's case; then, without
another word, the doctor hurried from the cabin.
"The old pillbox has tumbled to it," muttered Denbigh. "Now what will
their little game be?"
The sub was not left long in doubt. Ober-leutnant von Langer, who had
followed the doctor into the cabin, made his presence known by bawling
out an order to half a dozen of the crew who were waiting without:
"Come! Out mit you!" he exclaimed, addressing the sham sleepers. "It
is that I know your little pretend. Ach! you tink you smart?"
Yet Denbigh and his companions kept still, half-hoping that the
doctor's test had not been successful and von Langer was trying his
hand.
The ober-leutnant gave another order. Unceremoniously the three
British officers were hauled out of the bunks by the seamen, who seemed
to take a delight in roughly handling anyone of commissioned rank.
Perhaps, if von Langer did but know it, his men would have been only
too pleased to use him in the same way, for the ober-leutnant was a
Prussian and a Junker, while the crew were for the most part from
Schleswig-Holstein.
With as much dignity as their dishevelled appearance would permit,
Denbigh and his companions allowed themselves to be taken on deck,
where they had to cool their heels at the pleasure of their captors.
It was a bright moonlight night. The air was decidedly chilly for the
Tropics. A heavy dew was falling. The lightly-clad men--for the
sub-lieutenants were in pyjamas--realized that there was a grave risk
of tropical fever.
The ship was once more under way. With a true seaman's instinct
Denbigh glanced aloft. By the relative position of the moon--since no
stars were visible--he was able to fix the approximate course of the
vessel. She was steering roughly sou'-sou'-east. Far away to the
nor'ard a masthead lamp was blinking--calling in Morse to know why they
had been summoned.
Denbigh gave a grunt of satisfaction. For once von Riesser's plan had
gone awry. He had feared to treacherously torpedo an unsuspecting
merchantman since there were hostile eye-witnesses on board the
_Pelikan_.
Presently the kapitan, clad in a greatcoat over his white uniform,
appeared at the head of the bridge-ladder.
"You there, von Langer?" he called.
"Yes, sir," replied the ober-leutnant. "Shall I bring the prisoners to
you?"
"No, I'll see them in my cabin," replied von Riesser. "Tell off a
couple of hands to guard the prisoners and another half-dozen to wait
outside in case there is any trouble. I'll be there in a few minutes."
The kapitan's quarters were situated aft on the upper deck. They
comprised a large cabin, used for meals and recreation, and a sleeping
cabin opening from it. Denbigh and his companions were marched into
the outer cabin and told to take up a position facing von Riesser's
empty arm-chair and separated from it by a long mahogany table.
The cabin was plainly furnished. In addition to the arm-chair and
table there were two sideboards, a large book-rack, and half a dozen
cane chairs. On the table lay a pile of Dutch charts. Books for
navigation and sailing directions in the same language occupied the
shelves in company with a few American novels.
Everything German, with one exception, had been studiously eliminated,
in order to baffle the curiosity of a British boarding-officer in the
event of the supposed _Zwaan_ being held up. The exception was a large
oil painting of the Kaiser in the uniform of a German Admiral of the
Fleet. The portrait was framed in a massive oak frame securely fixed
to the bulkhead between the two cabins. The only other picture was a
sepia-toned photograph of the Queen of Holland, in a narrow, plain gilt
frame. When it became necessary to hide the features of the All
Highest War Lord from the eyes of the strafed English, who had
practically contrived to drive the War Lord's battleships from the face
of the five oceans, von Riesser took the risk of committing lese
majeste by placing the portrait of Queen Wilhelmina over that of the
Emperor Wilhelm II. Then, to all appearances, the captain's cabin of
the _Zwaan_ was loyally adorned by a photograph of the Queen of the
Netherlands in a deep oak frame with a thin gold slip.
In the circumstances, however, it was not considered necessary to
eclipse the All Highest War Lord, so the three British subs found
themselves confronted by the painted features of the modern Attila.
The door was thrown open. Von Langer and the two seamen clicked their
heels and saluted as von Riesser entered with the dramatic effect of
which Prussians are so fond. Gravely saluting the Emperor's portrait
and then returning his subordinates' mark of respect the kapitan took
his seat.
"You know why you are here?" asked von Riesser abruptly, lowering his
brows and looking sternly at the three British officers.
"We do not," replied Denbigh. "In fact, it is rather unusual to turn a
fellow out of his bunk at one in the morning."
"Do not bandy words, Herr Denbigh," snapped the kapitan. "You have
been causing trouble."
"Is it causing trouble to take steps to avoid being gassed or
chloroformed?" asked O'Hara.
"Yes," almost shouted the kapitan. "If we think it desirable that our
prisoners should be put to sleep it is not for them to resist."
"In that case there's no more to be said," declared the Irishman. "You
are top-dog----"
"You call me a dog, you English swine!" almost howled the now
infuriated Prussian.
O'Hara burst out into violent laughter. Denbigh smiled broadly, while
around Stirling's firm lips hovered the suspicion of a grim smile.
Their utter indifference to the ravings of their captor took von
Riesser by surprise.
"I may as well tell you," began Denbigh, seizing his opportunity, "that
I can speak German perhaps as well as you can speak English. I
overheard your conversation outside our cabin an hour or so ago, and we
know what you proposed to do to the ship which you were luring. I
suppose you call those tactics frightfulness. I call them low-down,
skulking treachery. How a man who professes to be a sailor, who has
lived a free and healthy life upon the sea, could belittle himself to
act as you propose to do, and possibly have done, passes my
understanding. I give you fair warning, Kapitan von Riesser, that,
should we be set free by an English cruiser, you will have a grave
indictment to answer."
Von Riesser did not reply for a few moments. He was greatly agitated.
Once or twice he glanced anxiously at his ober-leutnant, as if curious
to know whether von Langer understood Denbigh's words.
Then he, too, laughed, but it was not a natural outburst of an
unburdened and evenly-balanced mind.
"You threaten?" he asked. "Well, I can threaten also. Suppose I
decide to put into operation the principle of your worthy Prime
Minister? One of his maxims, oft quoted in the Press, is, I believe,
'Wait and see'?"
"It ought to be particularly applicable in your case," rejoined Denbigh
coolly.
"Ach! And in yours. What is to prevent me from ordering a weight to
be put about your neck and cast you into the sea? Weight and sea.
Himmel, that is great!"
He roared at his own joke, while von Langer, although unable to
comprehend the significance, showed his servile approbation by laughing
in a minor key.
"I don't think that it would make very much difference if you did,"
replied Denbigh. "You see, the _Nichi Maru's_ people know that you
carried us off. Some day you will have to answer some rather searching
questions if you could not produce us."
Again von Riesser pondered. He was beginning to feel horribly annoyed
with himself for having ever received the three British officers on
board the _Pelikan_. He was plunging deeper and deeper into the mire.
He lacked the determination to cut the Gordian Knot.
By way of an excuse he scribbled a note and tossed it to von Langer.
"Take that to the officer of the watch," he said carelessly.
The ober-leutnant quitted the cabin. The two impassive seamen
remained. They, fortunately, knew no English, save a few catch phrases
picked up when lying in dock in that dim period before the War.
"Suppose we cry quits," resumed von Riesser. "I am ready to apologize
for having exceeded my rights in dealing with you. After all there's
no great harm done. I'll admit I planned to trap yonder vessel. You
must have misunderstood me when I said that I had intended to torpedo
her. We use our torpedoes only in cases of extreme necessity. Are you
willing to forget this night?"
"We would like to talk the matter over between ourselves," replied
Denbigh. "If you have no objection, we will give our reply at noon
to-morrow."
"I agree," said von Riesser, with a meekness that quite surprised
Denbigh and his companions. He gave an order to the two seamen. They
turned and left the cabin.
Two minutes later the British officers were back in their own quarters.
Time had been called after the first round, and the Prussian had not
come out top-dog.