A BRUSH WITH THE ENEMY.
Lord Hastings turned to the operator with a smile.
"Tell him to blow away!" he said, and the operator departed, grinning
broadly.
The first shades of darkness were now beginning to encircle the little
vessel.
"The enemy has the range of us," said Lord Hastings to Lieutenant
Edwards, as a second shell whistled over the bow of the vessel, kicking
up a great splash in the water.
"Yes, sir," was the reply; "our guns are ineffective at this distance."
Under Lord Hastings' command, the _Sylph_ came about, and headed back in
the way she had come.
"What would you say she is making?" asked Lord Hastings of Lieutenant
Edwards, indicating the approaching German cruiser.
"About twenty-one knots, sir."
"Good. Set our speed at twenty-four, then."
"Very good, sir."
The _Sylph_ seemed to leap forward. Then Lord Hastings took the time to
explain his plans.
"We don't want to run entirely away from her," he explained. "We want to
keep just enough ahead of her so she will continue the chase. Darkness
will be upon us in an hour. I should like to capture that cruiser
single-handed, and some method may present itself. But in the meantime
we must keep out of range of her big guns."
The _Sylph_ gradually drew away from her pursuer. When the distance
between the two vessels was such that Lord Hastings deemed accurate
shooting by the German impossible, the speed of the _Sylph_ was reduced
to twenty-one knots.
These relative positions the two vessels maintained until darkness fell;
then the glare of a searchlight aboard the German fell upon the _Sylph_
and lighted her up like day. So the chase continued for another hour.
Suddenly the wireless operator came on deck, and rushed breathlessly up
to Lord Hastings.
"I have just picked up the British cruiser _Lancaster_," he cried. "I
told her we were being chased by a German cruiser, and she is coming to
our aid. She gave her position as twenty miles west of us, sir."
"Good," replied Lord Hastings. "Keep in touch with the _Lancaster_."
The operator departed.
"How is she headed?" demanded Lord Hastings of Lieutenant Edwards.
"Due west, sir," was the reply.
"Make it west by south," ordered Lord Hastings.
"Very good, sir!"
Gradually the _Sylph_ bore off toward the south, the German cruiser
still in pursuit.
For more than an hour the chase continued, the _Sylph_ still keeping the
same distance ahead of the German. Then from the northwest came the
distant flash of another searchlight.
"Ship off the starboard bow, sir!" came the cry of the lookout.
"Slow to fifteen knots!" came Lord Hastings' order, and there was a
perceptible diminishing in the speed of the _Sylph_.
Still the German cruiser came on, quickly reducing the distance between
the two vessels. Then, suddenly, the light that illumined the _Sylph_
disappeared; the searchlight on the German had been turned in another
direction.
"She has sighted the _Lancaster_, sir," said Lieutenant Edwards.
"So she has," replied Lord Hastings. "Bring the _Sylph_ about, and make
your course north by east, Lieutenant Edwards."
"Very good, sir," was the lieutenant's reply, and the _Sylph_ came about
quickly.
Hardly had the little vessel laid herself out on her new course, when
Lord Hastings' voice rang out:
"Full speed ahead!"
The _Sylph_ jumped forward like some live thing, and headed in the
direction of the German cruiser, still bearing somewhat to the south.
Frank and Jack watched all these maneuvers with the greatest of
interest. When the word was passed that the vessel approaching was a
German cruiser, the boys had been greatly excited; and, when the _Sylph_
had turned and fled from the enemy, their disappointment knew no bounds.
"Great Scott!" Frank exclaimed. "We are running away!"
"I don't believe Lord Hastings is the man to run very far," Jack
replied. "Besides, you can see as well as I can that the _Sylph_ is no
match for the German. She would shoot us out of the water before she
approached within range of our guns."
"Perhaps so," returned Frank, "but just the same I would rather fight
than run away from that cruiser, big as she is."
"I feel the same way. But 'discretion is the better part of valor,' you
know. Besides, I believe Lord Hastings has some scheme in his mind."
"Well, I hope so," declared Frank.
The boys had spied the distant light of the approaching _Lancaster_
practically at the same moment as had the lookout; and, when the _Sylph_
once more came about and headed toward the German cruiser, Jack
exclaimed:
"What did I tell you? I said Lord Hastings wasn't the man to run far, no
matter how great the odds against him."
"You are right," was Frank's reply. "It looks as though we were to see a
little action."
"Yes, and it's likely to be a pretty sizable fight, or I miss my guess,"
returned Jack.
For fear of giving notice of their approach to the enemy, who now
apparently had forgotten the existence of the _Sylph_ in the approach of
the _Lancaster_, the call to quarters was not sounded on the _Sylph_.
Upon orders of Lord Hastings, Frank and Jack went quietly about the
ship, summoning the men to their posts.
There was not a light upon the _Sylph_ as the little vessel bore down
upon the enemy. The searchlight of the _Lancaster_ now enveloped the
German, and the searchlight of the latter now played upon the swiftly
oncoming British cruiser.
On the _Sylph_ everything was ready for the struggle. The perfectly
drilled crew had cleared for action in no time. Lord Hastings and
Lieutenant Edwards made a round of inspection, and spoke inspiring words
to the members of the crew.
"Remember the words of Lord Nelson," cried the former, "'England expects
every man to do his duty!'"
A cheer was quickly silenced when Lord Hastings raised his hand for
quiet.
"Our chance of coming out of this engagement alive," Lord Hastings said
to the gun crews, "is that you make every shot count. A vital spot must
be hit at the first fire. The enemy's great guns would tear us to
pieces. If we can take them by surprise, we have more than an even
chance of success."
Lord Hastings returned to his place on deck.
Nearer and still nearer the _Sylph_ crept toward her foe; and now the
speed was reduced to fifteen knots.
"Another ten minutes and we shall be near enough to strike," declared
Lord Hastings to the group of officers about him. He turned to Jack and
Frank. "Take your posts," he said, "and keep me informed if we are
struck and what damage is done by the enemy's fire."
Frank and Jack descended to the lower deck--now converted into the gun
deck. Both lads were trembling with eagerness and excitement.
"How do you feel, Jack," asked Frank, "scared?"
"No, not exactly," was the reply. "I feel rather funny, though."
"Same here," said Frank, "but I guess we'll get over that as soon as
things break loose."
"Yes; and they're about due to break," declared Jack.
Members of the gun crews joked each other good-naturedly, as they waited
for the command to fire.
And still there was a death-like silence on the _Sylph_.
"Great Scott!" exclaimed Frank at last. "This is the longest ten minutes
I ever saw!"
"Don't you worry," replied Jack, "they'll be over----"
Then suddenly it came. Even from where they stood, the boys could hear
the clear, quiet voice of Lord Hastings:
"Lieutenant Edwards, you may fire at will!"