As if that one tremendous crash had been a prearranged signal, several
others among the scattered war vessels fired a shot toward the shore
where that burst of smoke had betrayed the concealed Turkish battery.
Somehow, as Jack afterwards said, it reminded him forcibly of a pack
of dogs hanging around and watching one of their number skirmish for
a bone; no sooner had he pawed up the ground and made an important
discovery than the entire pack scrambled for its possession.
Unfortunately the smoke cloud drifted in front of the two boys so as to
shut out their view, for which they were sorry. But there could not be
the least doubt that the terrible volley must have utterly annihilated
the members of the luckless battery, as well as smashed their guns.
At least no further shot came from that particular quarter as long as
the little destroyer remained within range.
“They got what they invited, I guess,” Amos exclaimed, looking relieved
when no further shots came from the brush in front of the gully where
the battery had been lying hidden for days perhaps, awaiting a chance
to do something.
Jack had his binoculars leveled at the spot.
“I can’t see the least movement there,” he declared. “All the ground is
torn up in a frightful way, and I think I can pick out the end of a gun
that is covered with rocks. Yes, and there is another lying part-way in
the water, too.”
The boys looked at each other almost in awe at the frightful result of
that volley from the fleet. Then Jack handed the glasses over so that
his chum could see for himself the gruesome sight.
The destroyer had not stopped because of this one incident. Encouraged
by their initial success in disclosing the hiding-place of the enemy,
the daring crew meant to keep right along, venturing several miles up
the straits, and trying to invite another battery to take a chance.
Shells were exploding all around the boat, for distant gunners took up
the challenge, and endeavored to hit the fleet craft. Her speed was all
that saved her on several occasions, for the boys could see the water
churned up in her rear as flying missiles struck too late, through a
miscalculation as to her swiftness.
For the time being pretty much all the firing had ceased on the part of
the invading war vessels. It seemed as though everyone were interested
in the fate of the venturesome destroyer. Doubtless, had another
battery fired from the shore it must have been instantly overwhelmed in
the hail of explosives that would speed that way, since every Allied
gunner seemed wild to have a share in the fun.
“They don’t seem to hit her with any kind of success,” called out Amos,
for the enemy guns were still booming from the forts further up the
straits toward the Narrows; and here and there came a distant report
from the Anatolian shore far back from the edge of the water.
“No, it looks as if she bore a charmed life,” admitted Jack, as he saw
another geyser spout up far behind the mocking boat that kept tempting
the Turkish and German gunners.
“Still, it would take only one hit to finish her,” Amos went on to
say, with renewed apprehension. Somehow he seemed to take a personal
interest in the fortunes of those gallant men who were showing the kind
of mettle they were made of, in thus risking death in order to push
their cause forward.
He had hardly spoken than they saw a shell burst apparently directly
alongside the destroyer, which was wreathed in smoke, as though her own
guns had also been fired shoreward at the same instant.
Jack clapped the glasses to his eyes while Amos stood there holding his
breath, for he feared that the worst must have happened, and the little
destroyer met the fate she had tempted.
Then both boys gave a shout, and from a thousand throats the same
sound welled forth until it rang over the agitated waters of the
Dardanelles; for the saucy little destroyer had suddenly appeared,
emerging from the smoke cloud, and speeding merrily onward as though
scorning the efforts of the enemy to bring about her destruction.
And though the boat continued further along for several miles, all the
while fired on from the distant forts, she seemed to be able to defy
all their best efforts, for when finally the signal was given for her
to return she had escaped the rain of shot and shell.
And it might be noticed that the lesson of that smashed battery had
not been lost upon the observing enemy, for although there may have
been others hidden amidst the gullies and rocks along the shore they
fired no shot to betray their whereabouts. After that one lesson they
“tumbled to the game,” as Amos afterwards said, and lay low.
When it was seen that the mission of the destroyer had come to an end
temporarily the bombardment of the forts was resumed with greater
violence than before. Once again the great guns boomed, and the smoke
drifted with the wind across the straits. It proved to be one of the
most furious attacks thus far attempted, and doubtless considerable
damage was done, not only to the forts themselves, but in destroying
the guns with which they were mounted.
During all this time the mine sweepers had been getting in their work.
They accomplished it in a modest manner, and there was no halo of
romance about what they were doing so that they never received the
salvo of cheers that greeted the successful return of the destroyer. At
the same time they took desperate chances, since nearly all of the time
they were under fire, from both big guns and smaller pieces.
More than one of the sweepers were struck and sunk. Those of the crew
able to do so immediately attempted to swim to one of the other small
vessels, to be taken aboard. Not all of them were so fortunate, and
when the roll-call came later many were not present to answer, having
either fallen into the hands of the enemy, or else sunk to a watery
grave.
From the distance over which these small boats made their way it was
evident that they had succeeded in clearing some miles of the straits
of the fixed mines, which was one of the objects of the day’s work.
At that time in the earlier period of the fight for the Dardanelles
it was positively believed by the Allies that weight of metal would
assuredly carry the battleships through the straits, and the sea wall
of Constantinople.
Although several casualties had already been recorded from those
dangerous floating mines that were set adrift in shoals above the
Narrows, the commanders of the fleet were unable to bring themselves to
believe anything could prevent them from accomplishing their purpose as
first laid out.
We know that later on a radical change was made in the program. The
passage of the Dardanelles, promised for the first of May, had not been
accomplished by the first of September, when there was trench warfare
ashore, with tens of thousands killed and wounded on both sides, and
the end still unknown.
At the time Jack and Amos found themselves with the battle fleet a
spirit of optimism pervaded the various units composing the immense
flotilla. Possibly the knowledge that they had already shattered a
number of the forts at the lower end of the passageway had much to do
with this confidence. They could not yet seem to grasp the fact that
the swift current that set through the Narrows, coming from the Sea
of Marmora day and night, was fated to be their eventual undoing, and
render all their efforts vain, for it bore countless floating mines
capable of sinking even a super-dreadnaught upon contact.
The boys had become heartily tired of it all by this time. Their heads
rang from the dreadful concussion, and Amos even declared he had a
splitting headache.
“I shall go crazy if they don’t drop out soon, stop these terrible
broadsides of living, fiery metal, and get away!” he told his cousin,
who was just then observing some of the aeroplanes that still sailed
back and forth in the clear skies above.
“Watch that fellow away over yonder,” he told Amos, clapping the
binoculars in his hand.
“Oh! do you think he can be Frank?” cried the other, trembling as he
started to adjust the glasses to his sight.
“That’s more than I’d like to say,” replied Jack, “though it might be
possible, for right now he’s taking desperate chances to carry out a
little scheme he’s set up, hoping to do some damage to the Turks, in
all this excitement, where the shells of the fleet can’t reach them.”
“He is swooping low, as sure as anything,” admitted Amos, eagerly.
“It seems to me he must be throwing something down at a fort below
him. There, I could see a little cloud of gray smoke burst close by
the aeroplane, so they must be sending shrapnel up at him from those
anti-airship guns.”
“That’s just what he is doing, Amos, throwing bombs down at a magazine
he has discovered. Turn the glasses lower, and watch to see if there
is any sort of an explosion on the ground. That would give it away if
he succeeds.”
Ten seconds later and Amos uttered a shout.
“He did it, Jack, sure he did! You can see the cloud of dense smoke
that is rising right now! He must have exploded a magazine, and created
no end of trouble for the Turks. Bully for the man in the aeroplane,
whether he’s my brother Frank or another of his stripe!”
Jack saw good reason to believe that what his comrade cried out was
true. There had suddenly arisen a great cloud of smoke many times
larger than would have followed the discharge of a single gun. They
could not hear the thunder that may have accompanied the rending of the
magazine walls, on account of the heavy cannonading that was going on
intermittently around them.
As though satisfied, after having accomplished the errand with which
he had been entrusted, the bold airman now commenced to bore upward in
spirals, meaning to baffle all the attempts of the Turkish gunners to
strike his machine.
“See, they are trying their level best to fetch him down, just in a
spirit of revenge, I reckon!” cried Amos, as he kept the glasses glued
to his eyes; for somehow he seemed to feel that he was looking at his
long-missing brother Frank, because this venturesome feat tallied
exactly with others which the American aviator had successfully carried
through in the past.
A few minutes later and he seemed satisfied the aviator had risen
beyond range of the shrapnel, for he handed the binoculars back to
Jack. His face was beaming with happiness and pride, for Amos certainly
felt that a new honor had come to the Turner family.
“This time I really believe the _Thunderer_ is going to get out of the
straits for good!” Jack observed. Although the battleship had swung
around the circle a number of times, so as to always keep moving, and
present a difficult target to the enemy, up to then they had invariably
come back again for a few more shots at distant Kilid Bahr and Chanak
forts, the one on the left and the other on the right of the Narrows.
Amos was delighted to hear it. His head rang with the terrible noise,
despite his precautions with regard to stuffing his ears with cotton.
Never in all his life had he heard one-tenth the racket that for two
hours or more had assailed him even in the most terrible thunder storm
of his experience.
Yes, the warships were actually leaving the straits, satisfied with the
execution they had done. Thousands of tons of metal had been hurled
upon the batteries and forts of the enemy, and great destruction
must have followed. Still, this severe business could not be kept up
indefinitely; it was too fierce a strain on both men and guns.
So by degrees the firing died down. A few vessels lingered as though
their commanders were loth to abandon the practice; but when another
half hour had passed the quivering air had a chance to quiet down. The
battle had come to a close.