Harborough's Ruse
It was not until sunset that Villiers was forced to admit the
probability that misfortune had overtaken Alec Claverhouse. The
majority of the other fellows had already taken pessimistic views
upon the subject of the airman's failure to return. Even Harborough,
although he said little, was far from hopeful. He realized that the
responsibility of the flight rested upon him, and he reproached
himself for sending Alec on the trip, when, with very little trouble,
the _Titania_ might have proceeded to investigate the state of the
rival expedition.
"Alec knows his job thoroughly," declared Trevear; "if he's been
forced to come down the old bus will float."
"Unfortunately, Nua Leha's dead to windward," remarked Merridew.
"And Ni Telang's dead to leeward," added Beverley. "Of course he
might have found that things were in a bad way with the _Zug_, and in
that case he would have landed to offer assistance."
"It's no use kagging and hanging on to the slack," said Harborough
briskly. "We'll take the _Titania_ and search for him. Not at once,
though. On a night like this it would be like looking for a needle in
a haystack. If we start an hour before dawn, it will be daylight when
we reach the farthest easterly position he's likely to be, after
making due allowance for the drift of the sea-plane. Tell off a
couple of hands to remain here, Mr. Villiers. The rest will go on
board; they may be more than useful."
With this cryptic utterance Harborough led the way to the boats.
Fortunately, there were plenty of tinned and preserved provisions on
board the _Titania_, and she was practically ready for sea at half an
hour's notice. Before midnight the remaining boats were hoisted in,
the cable hove short, and the sail covers taken off; while, in case
Claverhouse should make for the island during the hours of darkness,
the searchlight was run in a vertical direction to serve as an aerial
signpost.
All hands with the exception of the look-out then turned in to make
up much needed arrears of sleep, for neither ashore nor afloat had
they had a wink of sleep during the previous night, and had been
working at high pressure during the succeeding day.
At 4 a.m. the duty watch was called, and twenty minutes later the
_Titania_ passed through the gap in the reef under power alone.
Directly she rounded the north-eastern extremity of the reef all
plain sail was made and the heavy oil engines shut down. For the
present, speed was neither necessary nor desirable.
The first streaks of dawn found the yacht ten miles from Nua Leha,
doing about five knots before a steady following breeze. A
merchantman entering the danger-zone during the height of the
unrestricted U-boat campaign could not have kept a sharper look-out
than did the crew of the _Titania_ for any sign of the overdue
_Cormorant_.
It was noon before the peaks of Ni Telang showed above the blue
horizon. Only once had the _Titania_ altered her course, and that was
to run two miles to the nor'ard to investigate a floating object that
turned out to be a large open crate, possibly washed from the deck of
a tramp during the hurricane.
"We'll pay friend von Giespert a visit," said Harborough. "Probably
he'll wonder what we want, probably he won't. Time will prove."
The _Titania_ was from two to three miles from the reef when Swaine,
who had betaken himself to the cross-trees and was making good use of
his powerful binoculars, hailed the deck.
"There's the sea-plane, sir," he announced. "Close to the beach,
about a hundred yards to the right of that dark bluff."
Harborough, closely followed by Villiers and Bobby Beverley, swarmed
up the rigging. There was little doubt about it. They could
distinguish what looked like the sea-plane, floating head to wind, at
about a quarter of a mile from the _Zug's_ berth. Even as they looked
a wreath of haze drifted down and hid a considerable portion of the
island from view.
"Wonder if von Giespert's spotted us?" said Harborough, as the three
men regained the deck, leaving Swaine to perform the task of conning
the yacht through the passage between the reefs. "They've got the
_Cormorant_ right enough, unless our eyesight's very much at fault.
Let's only hope that Claverhouse is safe."
Villiers went for'ard to see that the anchor was ready for letting
go, and the anchor-buoy ready for streaming. He had not been there
more than a couple of minutes before Swaine hailed again.
"Haze's cleared," he reported; "but I can't see the sea-plane."
The anchorage was now clearly visible from the deck, and, as the
mast-head man had stated, there was not a sign of the _Cormorant_.
"Either she's been spirited away," thought Villiers, "or else we've
been victims of an hallucination."
It was a tricky passage into the lagoon, for a fairly heavy
ground-swell, hardly perceptible off the island, made the _Titania_
evince a tendency to yaw just at the critical moment. Scraping a
ledge of coral by a none-too-wide margin, she gained the sheltered
lagoon, rounded-to, and dropped anchor.
Before the canvas was lowered and stowed a boat was observed putting
off from the _Zug_, but Claverhouse was not one of its occupants.
Seated in the stern-sheets in a white drill uniform was von Giespert.
"Good-day, Sir Hugh," hailed the German, when the boat was within
twenty yards of the yacht. "Your visit surprises me. I hope you are
aware that the time-limit you imposed is not yet half expired?"
"I am perfectly aware of that, Herr von Giespert," replied
Harborough. "We are here on a very different business. I understand
that one of my sea-planes is here."
"Sea-planes?" repeated von Giespert, with well simulated
astonishment. "I do not understand."
"Let me enlighten you," said Harborough, and proceeded to outline his
version of what had taken place.
"You are obviously mistaken," persisted the owner of the _Zug_. "Look
where you will there is no seaplane of any description here. Perhaps
you are misled by taking that tent for the missing machine. And as
regards your aviator, you may accept my assurance that it would be a
pleasure to me to be able to restore him to you. Unfortunately, since
he is not here, that is impossible."
Harborough's brows contracted.
"I have the right to search the island," he declared bluntly. "Are
you prepared to give me permission to search your ship?"
Von Giespert assumed an air of injured dignity. Up to the present he
had played his part well, for, the moment the approaching _Titania_
had been sighted, he had sent a boat ashore and had quickly scuttled
the _Cormorant_ by the simple expedient of smashing the floats.
"Your request is an insult, sir," he replied. "As such I can only
refuse it. To accede would be throwing away my dignity. Remember,
that ship flies the German flag, and England is now at peace with
Germany. Virtually, the _Zug_ is German territory, and should you
persist----"
"You would resist by force of arms, eh?" added Harborough.
Von Giespert hesitated. To admit that would also be acknowledging
that he feared the result of the search.
"No, no," he replied; "but I would at once make for the nearest port
where there is a German Consular Agent and enter a complaint of the
outrage to the German flag."
"Then there is no more to be said," rejoined Harborough, and,
ignoring the Hun, he turned and went below.
"We are certainly in a bit of a fix," he admitted, conferring with
Villiers and Beverley. "There's something fishy about this business.
I'm rather inclined to arm a boat and board the _Zug_, but if
Claverhouse isn't on board then we'll let ourselves in for damages. I
couldn't swear positively that I saw the sea-plane, neither could
you. We saw something which we took to be the _Cormorant_, and,
taking it for granted, we allowed an illusion to get the better of
us."
Both Villiers and Beverley admitted that they might have been
mistaken. The powers of suggestion which had, as they now thought,
conjured up the sea-plane, had now destroyed the belief.
"We're wasting time," continued Harborough. "Claverhouse may be
drifting farther and farther away every moment. We'll weigh and run a
hundred miles to leeward, if necessary. I won't throw away a single
chance of getting him back."
He went on deck and gave orders for the cable to be hove in. Under
the action of the powerful capstan twenty fathoms came on board
easily and rapidly; then came a decided check.
"Foul bottom," declared Villiers, as he leant over the cathead and
peered into the clear water. "The fluke's caught in a rock, I'm
afraid. We'll try tripping the hook."
Accordingly, the nun-buoy was fished on board, and the slack of the
stout hempen rope that led between it and the crown of the anchor was
hauled in until the yacht's bows were right over the anchor.
Every available man tailed on to the rope, but even with the aid of a
tackle the anchor stubbornly refused to leave the bed of the lagoon.
"And we haven't a diving-dress on board," lamented Swaine.
"I'm not going to borrow one from the _Zug_, in any case," said
Harborough resolutely. "Avast heaving and slack away. I'll get power
on the ship and see what that will do. Something's bound to go."
Something did. With both engines running at full speed, the yacht
forged ahead until the cable snubbed and her bows dipped a good two
feet below the water-line. Then with a heavy lurch the _Titania_ held
on, the fluke of her anchor grinding on the coral bottom.
Getting way off the ship Harborough ordered the cable to be hove-in.
This time the links came in steadily but slowly. There was more than
the weight of the anchor at the end of the massive chain.
Suddenly Villiers gave a shout of astonishment.
"At that!" he ordered, and at the same time motioning to the hand at
the capstan to stop heaving. "Evidence!" he shouted. "We've fished up
the remains of the _Cormorant_."
This time there was no doubt about it. One of the flukes was embedded
in the sea-plane's motor, and with it was a large portion of one of
the wings, a part of the wreckage of the fuselage, and a float
bearing unmistakable signs of being stove in by means of an axe.
"That's conclusive," said Harborough sternly. "Since von Giespert
won't listen to reason, I'll have to teach him a lesson. Get that
piece of wing aboard for evidence, although I guess he's tumbled to
it already. He's been watching us all the time, the blackguardly
sweep. We'll bluff him. If that fails, then we'll use force, but
only as a last resource. He's asking for it all the time."
Kaspar von Giespert took more than an interested view of the
developments of the next hour. He was considerably perturbed when,
through a telescope that decorously protruded through a gap in a
storm-dodger, he watched the impromptu salvage operations of the
scuttled sea-plane.
He took a more cheerful view of life when the _Titania_ got under way
and proceeded seawards, but at the same time that evolution
considerably mystified him. He could not understand why the
Englishman should retire so tamely from the argument when he had
undisputable evidence to support his case.
Von Giespert was on the point of shaking hands with himself and
abusing some of his crew--an indication that he was regaining his
normal state of mind--when Strauss announced that the _Titania_ had
turned sixteen points to starboard and was again making for the
island.
"We'll fight her," declared von Giespert vehemently, for he realized
that the game was a desperate one. "Serve out the arms, Herr Strauss.
Himmel! What would I give now for a submerged torpedo-tube? Would
that she piled herself upon the reef. She nearly did it last time."
"Harborough is more cautious this time," observed Strauss. "He's
coming in under power."
"He is, curse him," growled the other.
The two Germans watched in silence as the _Titania_, with her exhaust
chortling noisily, passed through the narrow gap and starboarded
helm, steering for the opposite part of the lagoon to that where the
_Zug_ lay at anchor. That was another puzzler to the already
bewildered von Giespert.
Presently the yacht reversed engines and lost way broadside on to and
at about a mile from her rival. Then, to the consternation of the
crew of the _Zug_, a large gun, of a calibre certainly not less than
4.7 inches, was ominously visible betwixt fore- and main-masts.
Simultaneously, and without any preparatory signal, a hoist of the
letters VOX--"I am going to semaphore to you"--fluttered from the
_Titania's_ main truck.
Slowly, reluctantly, the answering pennant was displayed from the
_Zug_.
"I thought you informed me that yonder yacht was unarmed," exclaimed
von Giespert, turning furiously upon his henchman, Strauss.
"She was when we left Southampton, Herr Kapitan," replied Strauss.
"That I can swear to, because we had her under observation all the
time. Of course, she might have----"
"They're semaphoring," interrupted von Giespert. He himself could not
follow the quick movements of the red and yellow hand-flags, but most
of the _Zug's_ crew could. More than that, they could read the
peremptory message although it was sent in English.
"Hand over my airman, Claverhouse, instantly," it read, "or I will
blow your bridge and charthouse to blazes."
Von Giespert chose the first alternative.
Three quarters of an hour later the _Titania_, with Alec Claverhouse
once more on board, was bowling along at a steady nine knots for Nua
Leha.
Then it was that Harborough, with a playful movement of one hand,
toppled the formidable 4.7 inch gun through the hatch into the
fore-hold. The mounting followed with a distinctly "tinny" sound. The
feat was an easy one, since the "gun" consisted of a twelve-foot
length of stove-pipe, and the mounting a piece of sheet iron and an
empty oil-drum.
"So friend von Giespert is breathing out threatenings and slaughter,
eh?" he laughed. "From what I know of him, his bark is worse than his
bite, but we'll have to watch him pretty carefully in the future."