“Mr. Strock?” asked he.
“Yes.”
“I am at your command,” said Mr. Wells.
“Are we to stop any time in Toledo?” I asked.
“No; with your permission, Mr. Strock. A carriage with two good horses
is waiting outside the station; and we must leave at once to reach our
destination as soon as possible.”
“We will go at once,” I answered, signing to my two men to follow us.
“Is it far?”
“Twenty miles.”
“And the place is called?”
“Black Rock Creek.”
Having left our bags at a hotel, we started on our drive. Much to my
surprise I found there were provisions sufficient for several days
packed beneath the seat of the carriage. Mr. Wells told me that the
region around Black Rock Creek was among the wildest in the state.
There was nothing there to attract either farmers or fishermen. We
would find not an inn for our meals nor a room in which to sleep.
Fortunately, during the July heat there would be no hardship even if we
had to lie one or two nights under the stars.
More probably, however, if we were successful, the matter would not
occupy us many hours. Either the commander of the “Terror” would be
surprised before he had a chance to escape, or he would take to flight
and we must give up all hope of arresting him.
I found Arthur Wells to be a man of about forty, large and powerful. I
knew him by reputation to be one of the best of our local police
agents. Cool in danger and enterprising always, he had proven his
daring on more than one occasion at the peril of his life. He had been
in Toledo on a wholly different mission, when chance had thrown him on
the track of the “Terror.”
We drove rapidly along the shore of Lake Erie, toward the southwest.
This inland sea of water is on the northern boundary of the United
States, lying between Canada on one side and the States of Ohio,
Pennsylvania and New York on the other. If I stop to mention the
geographical position of this lake, its depth, its extent, and the
waters nearest around, it is because the knowledge is necessary for the
understanding of the events which were about to happen.
The surface of Lake Erie covers about ten thousand square miles. It is
nearly six hundred feet above sea level. It is joined on the northwest,
by means of the Detroit River, with the still greater lakes to the
westward, and receives their waters. It has also rivers of its own
though of less importance, such as the Rocky, the Cuyahoga, and the
Black. The lake empties at its northeastern end into Lake Ontario by
means of Niagara River and its celebrated falls.
The greatest known depth of Lake Erie is over one hundred and thirty
feet. Hence it will be seen that the mass of its waters is
considerable. In short, this is a region of most magnificent lakes. The
land, though not situated far northward, is exposed to the full sweep
of the Arctic cold. The region to the northward is low, and the winds
of winter rush down with extreme violence. Hence Lake Erie is sometimes
frozen over from shore to shore.
The principal cities on the borders of this great lake are Buffalo at
the east, which belongs to New York State, and Toledo in Ohio, at the
west, with Cleveland and Sandusky, both Ohio cities, at the south.
Smaller towns and villages are numerous along the shore. The traffic is
naturally large, its annual value being estimated at considerably over
two million dollars.
Our carriage followed a rough and little used road along the borders of
the lake; and as we toiled along, Arthur Wells told me, what he had
learned.
Less than two days before, on the afternoon of July twenty-seventh
Wells had been riding on horseback toward the town of Herly. Five miles
outside the town, he was riding through a little wood, when he saw, far
up across the lake, a submarine which rose suddenly above the waves. He
stopped, tied his horse, and stole on foot to the edge of the lake.
There, from behind a tree he had seen with his own eyes, seen this
submarine advance toward him, and stop at the mouth of Black Rock
Creek. Was it the famous machine for which the whole world was seeking,
which thus came directly to his feet?
When the submarine was close to the rocks, two men climbed out upon its
deck and stepped ashore. Was one of them this Master of the World, who
had not been seen since he was reported from Lake Superior? Was this
the mysterious “Terror” which had thus risen from the depths of Lake
Erie?
“I was alone,” said Wells. “Alone on the edge of the Creek. If you and
your assistants, Mr. Strock, had been there, we four against two, we
would have been able to reach these men and seize them before they
could have regained their boat and fled.”
“Probably,” I answered. “But were there no others on the boat with
them? Still, if we had seized the two, we could at least have learned
who they were.”
“And above all,” added Wells, “if one of them turned out to be the
captain of the ‘Terror!’”
“I have only one fear, Wells; this submarine, whether it is the one we
seek or another, may have left the creek since your departure.”
“We shall know about that in a few hours, now. Pray Heaven they are
still there! Then when night comes?”
“But,” I asked, “did you remain watching in the wood until night?”
“No; I left after an hour’s watching, and rode straight for the
telegraph station at Toledo. I reached there late at night and sent
immediate word to Washington.”
“That was night before last. Did you return yesterday to Black Rock
Creek?”
“Yes.”
“The submarine was still there?”
“In the same spot.”
“And the two men?”
“The same two men. I judge that some accident had happened, and they
came to this lonely spot to repair it.”
“Probably so,” said I. “Some damage which made it impossible for them
to regain their usual hiding-place. If only they are still here!”
“I have reason to believe they will be, for quite a lot of stuff was
taken out of the boat, and laid about upon the shore; and as well as I
could discern from a distance they seemed to be working on board.”
“Only the two men?”
“Only the two.”
“But,” protested I, “can two be sufficient to handle an apparatus of
such speed, and of such intricacy, as to be at once automobile, boat
and submarine?”
“I think not, Mr. Strock; but I only saw the same two. Several times
they came to the edge of the little wood where I was hidden, and
gathered sticks for a fire which they made upon the beach. The region
is so uninhabited and the creek so hidden from the lake that they ran
little danger of discovery. They seemed to know this.”
“You would recognize them both again?”
“Perfectly. One was of middle size, vigorous, and quick of movement,
heavily bearded. The other was smaller, but stocky and strong.
Yesterday, as before, I left the wood about five o’clock and hurried
back to Toledo. There I found a telegram from Mr. Ward, notifying me of
your coming; and I awaited you at the station.”
Summed up, then, the news amounted to this: For forty hours past a
submarine, presumably the one we sought, had been hidden in Black Rock
Creek, engaged in repairs. Probably these were absolutely necessary,
and we should find the boat still there. As to how the “Terror” came to
be in Lake Erie, Arthur Wells and I discussed that, and agreed that it
was a very probable place for her. The last time she had been seen was
on Lake Superior. From there to Lake Erie the machine could have come
by the roads of Michigan, but since no one had remarked its passage and
as both the police and the people were specially aroused and active in
that portion of the country, it seemed more probable, that the “Terror”
had come by water. There was a clear route through the chain of the
Great Lakes and their rivers, by which in her character of a submarine
she could easily proceed undiscovered.
And now, if the “Terror” had already left the creek, or if she escaped
when we attempted to seize her, in what direction would she turn? In
any case, there was little chance of following her. There were two
torpedo-destroyers at the port of Buffalo, at the other extremity of
Lake Erie. By treaty between the United States and Canada, there are no
vessels of war whatever on the Great Lakes. These might, however, have
been little launches belonging to the customs service. Before I left
Washington Mr. Ward had informed me of their presence; and a telegram
to their commanders would, if there were need, start them in pursuit of
the “Terror.” But despite their splendid speed, how could they vie with
her! And if she plunged beneath the waters, they would be helpless.
Moreover Arthur Wells averred that in case of a battle, the advantage
would not be with the destroyers, despite their large crews, and many
guns. Hence, if we did not succeed this night, the campaign would end
in failure.
Arthur Wells knew Black Rock Creek thoroughly, having hunted there more
than once. It was bordered in most places with sharp rocks against
which the waters of the lake beat heavily. Its channel was some thirty
feet deep, so that the “Terror” could take shelter either upon the
surface or under water. In two or three places the steep banks gave way
to sand beaches which led to little gorges reaching up toward the
woods, two or three hundred feet.
It was seven in the evening when our carriage reached these woods.
There was still daylight enough for us to see easily, even in the shade
of the trees. To have crossed openly to the edge of the creek would
have exposed us to the view of the men of the “Terror,” if she were
still there, and thus give her warning to escape.
“Had we better stop here?” I asked Wells, as our rig drew up to the
edge of the woods.
“No, Mr. Strock,” said he. “We had better leave the carriage deeper in
the woods, where there will be no chance whatever of our being seen.”
“Can the carriage drive under these trees?”
“It can,” declared Wells. “I have already explored these woods
thoroughly. Five or six hundred feet from here, there is a little
clearing, where we will be completely hidden, and where our horses may
find pasture. Then, as soon as it is dark, we will go down to the
beach, at the edge of the rocks which shut in the mouth of the creek.
Thus if the ‘Terror’ is still there, we shall stand between her and
escape.”
Eager as we all were for action, it was evidently best to do as Wells
suggested and wait for night. The intervening time could well be
occupied as he said. Leading the horses by the bridle, while they
dragged the empty carriage, we proceeded through the heavy woods. The
tall pines, the stalwart oaks, the cypress scattered here and there,
made the evening darker overhead. Beneath our feet spread a carpet of
scattered herbs, pine needles and dead leaves. Such was the thickness
of the upper foliage that the last rays of the setting sun could no
longer penetrate here. We had to feel our way; and it was not without
some knocks that the carriage reached the clearing ten minutes later.
This clearing, surrounded by great trees, formed a sort of oval,
covered with rich grass. Here it was still daylight, and the darkness
would scarcely deepen for over an hour. There was thus time to arrange
an encampment and to rest awhile after our hard trip over the rough and
rocky roads.
Of course, we were intensely eager to approach the Creek and see if the
“Terror” was still there. But prudence restrained us. A little
patience, and the night would enable us to reach a commanding position
unsuspected. Wells urged this strongly; and despite my eagerness, I
felt that he was right.
The horses were unharnessed, and left to browse under the care of the
coachman who had driven us. The provisions were unpacked, and John Hart
and Nab Walker spread out a meal on the grass at the foot of a superb
cypress which recalled to me the forest odors of Morganton and Pleasant
Garden. We were hungry and thirsty; and food and drink were not
lacking. Then our pipes were lighted to calm the anxious moments of
waiting that remained.
Silence reigned within the wood. The last song of the birds had ceased.
With the coming of night the breeze fell little by little, and the
leaves scarcely quivered even at the tops of the highest branches. The
sky darkened rapidly after sundown and twilight deepened into
obscurity.