OVERHAULED
"I BELIEVE we're on a fool's errand," remarked Fielding to the
midshipman.
They were on the bridge; Drake had turned in. It was now two bells of
the middle watch (1 a.m.), and the _Frome_ was still heading westward
as fast as her motors could impart power to the three undamaged
propellers. Beyond the rhythmical purr of the engines, the "swish" of
the water as the destroyer's knife-like bow cleft the waves, and the
mournful slatting of the signal halliards against the mast, hardly a
sound was audible.
"Why, sir?" asked Cardyke, lowering his night-glasses, and stepping
behind the shelter of the "storm-dodgers."
"Why--because I think we are. We ought to have overhauled our quarry
hours ago--certainly before sunset. With lights out, they might
easily alter course, and let us run by them like a blind man past a
notice to trespassers. What's more, we're right out of the beaten
track. All up-Channel traffic will be heading for St. Catherine's
light, and we're well to the south'ard of the Start by now.
"It's a cool bit of work, snapping up a ship almost in sight of
Portsmouth, and in the English Channel, too," remarked Cardyke.
"Yes, and it's the audacity of it all that gives the beggars a chance
of success. But what can be the object of a tramp lumbering along
with a disabled cruiser in tow? She'll be spotted at sunrise, mark my
words; but I'm afraid the _Frome_ won't have a look in. Well?"
The monosyllable was addressed to a seaman who had scaled the
bridge-ladder.
"Message, sir; wireless," replied the man, laconically.
"H'm!" grumbled Fielding, taking the slip of paper. "The admiral
wants to know our position, I suppose. That will mean a recall, and a
wigging for not carrying out orders. I wish we'd crippled the
wireless for a few hours. Take this, Cardyke, and see what it's all
about."
The midshipman took the paper, and entered the little chart-room. The
next instant he was by the sub.'s side.
"She's at it again," he exclaimed. "Here's an urgent call for
assistance from ss. _Yosen Maru_, lat. 50-2-14 N., long. 3-45-9 W.,
steaming NNE.1/4E. Requires urgent assistance. Pursued and fired upon
by large unknown vessel. How's that?"
"Forty miles off, and a general call will bring a dozen vessels to
her assistance," replied Fielding, gloomily. "Cut below and inform
Drake."
Cardyke bounded down the steep ladder, and made his way to the
wardroom. The lieutenant was awake in a moment.
"We've been tricked," he exclaimed. "But we'll be in time yet. Pass
the word for Mr. Black."
Drake was soon on the bridge, and the _Frome's_ course was altered
towards the position given by the _Yosen Maru_. As soon as Black, the
gunner, came on deck, orders were given to clear for action.
The wireless operator repeatedly called up the vessel in distress,
which was known to be a Japanese liner bound for London. But beyond
the first call for aid no message came from the threatened vessel.
The ominous silence told its own tale.
With the spray flying in cascades right over the fore-bridge, for the
wind was now dead ahead, the _Frome_ thrashed her way through the
darkness. An hour and a half passed, then--
"Rocket, throwing blue and red stars, sir," announced one of the men
stationed on the bridge.
"Whither away?"
"Dead ahead, sir. There's another."
"That's the _Yosen Maru_, sure enough," exclaimed Drake. "We'll be in
time, after all."
The grey dawn was paling in the eastern sky as the _Frome_ eased down
within a cable's length of the huge Japanese liner, and a couple of
the destroyer's boats were promptly lowered and manned, Fielding
being in charge of one, and Cardyke of the other.
It was soon evident that the _Yosen Maru_ was helpless and drifting
broadside on to the fairly stiff breeze. Her rudder had been shot
away, and a gaping hole under her counter, a few feet above the
waterline, showed that a shot had been fired with disastrous result.
Her accommodation ladder had been lowered, and no attempt had been
made to haul it up again, so towards this means of entry the
destroyer's boats gave way.
Fielding was the first to board, and at the head of the ladder was
met by a group of calm, imperturbable Oriental officers.
"We have been boarded by pirates, sir," announced one of the
Japanese, in excellent English. "A large cruiser intercepted us and
ordered us to heave-to. We asked the reason, and in reply a shot was
fired across our bows, and another shattered our rudder. Under the
circumstances we could do nothing more than ease down. We were
boarded by a boat's crew, and the villain in charge demanded to see
our papers, pointing revolvers at the passengers and crew to keep
them intimidated. Our purser was compelled to hand over the whole of
the bullion in the strong-room, to the value of three hundred
thousand yen, some of our stores and provisions were stolen, and ten
of our first-class passengers, including General Oki, who is on a
mission to the British Court, and Mr. Hokosuka, the eminent financier
of Nagasaki, were taken out of the ship. Finally having done
considerable damage in our engine-room by means of a charge of
dynamite, the rascals returned to their ship, and steamed off."
"Was the pirate ship alone?" asked Fielding. "And did she clear off
under her own steam?"
"Certainly," replied the Japanese officer. "She headed S.S.W., going
about twenty knots, as far as I could judge."
"I told you we'd been fooled," exclaimed the sub. to Cardyke. "The
_Impregnable_ was not towed away--she managed to raise steam, and
apparently did very well. I'd like to have a few moments with the
skipper of the _Steephill Castle_. The lying rogue is more than
likely in league with these up-to-date pirates."
"Well, gentlemen," continued Fielding, turning to the officers of the
_Yosen Maru_, "we had better be off, and try to overhaul the pirate
vessel. We can do very little by way of assistance to your ship, I
fear."
"Quite true," replied the spokesman. "The weather is moderate, and we
have plenty of sea-room. Before they put our wireless out of gear we
heard that the British cruiser _Dionysius_ was coming to our aid, as
well as the Red Star liner _Scandinavia_."
"Then you'll be well looked after," said the sub. And saluting the
Japanese officers, he descended the accommodation ladder.
"Those rascals are not wanting in cool cheek,--holding the passengers
as hostages, I suppose," commented Drake, when Fielding had made his
report. "Well, I suppose we must call up Portsmouth, and inform the
admiral of what has occurred. But there's nothing to prevent us
overhauling the _Impregnable_. At all events I'll have a shot at it."
This was Drake's chief fault: he was overanxious to make an
individual score. The glory of capturing the _Impregnable_ was to be
the _Frome's_, if possible. The idea of co-operation with the other
British destroyers was distasteful to him. "Alone I did it" was to be
his motto, the "I" including the officers and crew of the little
craft under his command.
As fast as her three undamaged propellers could drive her the _Frome_
tore in the direction the pirate cruiser was supposed to have taken.
Eagerly glasses were brought to bear upon the horizon, in the hope of
discerning a cloud of smoke--the oil-laden vapour from the
_Impregnable's_ liquid fuel.
At eight bells Fielding and Cardyke turned in for a well-earned rest
but their sleep was soon to be rudely disturbed. Just before noon the
slumbering officers were aroused by a messenger with the news that
the _Impregnable_ had been sighted.
"No mistake this time, I hope, sir?" asked the sub., as he swung
himself up the bridge-ladder three steps at a time.
"That's the old _Impregnable_," asserted the lieutenant-commander,
confidently. "The question is how the dickens are we to do the trick?
We can't very well use the quick-firers, or we may bowl over some of
the Japanese hostages. For the same reason we dare not let loose a
torpedo."
"We can hail her, sir, and demand her surrender. If she refuses we
must hang on, call up the other destroyers to our assistance, and
take forcible possession of her."
"Do you think they'll open fire, sir?" asked Cardyke, eagerly.
"Hardly likely, you young fire-eater," replied Drake, with a grim
smile. "They won't risk going so far. They know we have wireless; but
if they thought they could do the trick without witnesses they
wouldn't hesitate to try and sink us."
"They didn't sink the _Yosen Maru_."
"No; that strengthens my opinion that they won't go to extreme
measures. There was none of the cut-throat, walk-the-plank style of
the eighteenth-century pirate about them. No, I don't anticipate much
difficulty but we'll be prepared."
An hour later the _Frome_ was only a mile astern from her chase. The
_Impregnable's_ speed was visibly diminishing.
"They've a cool cheek, by Jove!" ejaculated Fielding. "They've
actually painted another name on her."
"Yes," agreed Drake, who, like his subordinate, was making good use
of his binoculars. "It's _Independencia_. That's Spanish, I believe."
"They're hoisting their colours," continued the sub. "A Brazilian
ensign. Won't do, my hearties. You can't bluff us."
"She's slowed down, sir," exclaimed Cardyke. "Her propellers are
going astern."
"What ship is that?" shouted Drake through a megaphone, as the
_Frome_ slowed down at cable's length on the _Independencia's_
starboard quarter.
"Brazilian cruiser _Independencia_, from Cherbourg for Bahia Blanca,"
was the reply.
"A bit out of your course, old man," muttered Drake. "Stand by, we
are sending a boat."
"For why? We want no communication."
"Then you'll have to want. If you give us any trouble we'll blow you
out of the water," and the lieutenant pointed significantly towards
the foremost torpedo-tube, around which its crew were standing ready
to launch home the deadly weapon.
It was mere bluff on Drake's part. He dared not, as he had said, let
loose a torpedo, and the weapon was only a practice one, its war-head
being stowed away below. But to Drake's satisfaction the captain of
the pirate-cruiser agreed to receive the boat.
"That's good!" ejaculated Drake. "Now, Fielding, off you go. Round up
their gold-braided gentry and lock them up in the chart-room. Take
possession of the bridge, and make them follow in our wake. They are
only milk and water pirates, after all."
"Am I to take away the whaler, sir?" asked Cardyke.
"Very good. But when Mr. Fielding has taken the necessary steps to
secure control over the prize, you will return--you understand?
Good--now look alive, or we'll have someone else's finger in the
pie." And Drake gave a hasty, comprehensive glance astern, heaving a
sigh of relief that the horizon was unobscured. Here was the
_Frome's_ chance, he meant to make good use of it.
The mid. was wearing his dirk--the practically useless emblem of
authority--and in addition he buckled on a holster containing a
Service revolver. Both boats' crews, armed with rifles and
bayonets--for the old British cutlass that worked such doughty deeds
in days gone by is now a thing of the past--tumbled into the little
craft as they lay alongside.
"Give way!" ordered Fielding, and the order was repeated by Cardyke
in the whaler.
With less than a dozen yards separating the two boats the boarders
pulled lustily towards the gigantic cruiser as she lay rising and
falling slightly to the Channel rollers.
There was no accommodation ladder, that article having been unshipped
before the vessel was put up for sale, so Fielding's boat ran
alongside the starboard quarter, where a number of "chocks" afforded
a rough and ready sort of ladder. The bow-man laid hold of a
torpedo-boom bracket with his boathook, and the sub. prepared to
ascend, Cardyke's craft lying just astern.
On the _Independencia's_ deck no one was visible save a quartermaster
who was leaning over the stanchion-rails. Having no man-ropes to
assist him, Fielding's task was an awkward, not to say dangerous,
one. He was half-way up the thirty-odd feet of freeboard, with a
couple of bluejackets at his heels, when a noose rope was adroitly
thrown over his shoulders, and jerked tight. Simultaneously a lariat
descended into the whaler, caught Cardyke round the waist, and before
any of his men could prevent it, the mid. was jerked up into the air.
With a crash two pieces of iron were dropped into the boats, staving
out their garboards.
The pirate cruiser's propellers began to churn the water, and the
_Independencia_ gathered way. The bow-man of each boat endeavoured to
secure a hold, but the drag of the water-logged craft was too great.
[Illustration: A NOOSE WAS ADROITLY THROWN OVER HIS SHOULDERS AND
JERKED TIGHT.
[_Page_ 62.
]
The predicament was an ignominious one. The boats' crews were
swimming around their swamped boats, their officers were prisoners in
the hands of the men they had hoped to capture, and the _Frome_, ere
she could give chase, had to pick up the immersed bluejackets.
Meanwhile, the _Independencia_, steaming at twenty knots, was rapidly
leaving the destroyer astern, while Drake could only shake his fist
in impotent rage.