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[Illustration: "Dave caught at the knife-wrist."
_Frontispiece_]
Dave Darrin on Mediterranean Service
OR
With Dan Dalzell on European Duty
By
H. IRVING HANCOCK
Author of "Dave Darrin at Vera Cruz," "Dave Darrin's
South American Cruise," The West Point Series,
The Annapolis Series, The Boys of the
Army Series, Etc., etc.
Illustrated
P H I L A D E L P H I A
HENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY
COPYRIGHT, 1919, BY
HOWARD E. ALTEMUS
CONTENTS
PAGE
CHAPTER I--GREEN HAT, THE TROUBLE-STARTER 11
Dave Darrin and Dan Dalzell, while ashore at
Gibraltar, have an exciting experience with a spy
and stir up a deep mystery.
CHAPTER II--DAN'S THIRTY-THREE-DOLLAR GUESS 27
Admiral Timworth solves the mystery for the ensigns
and amazes them very much.
CHAPTER III--THE STARTLER AT MONTE CARLO 43
Danny turns a trick on a brother officer. Ashore at
Monte Carlo the young ensigns find the makings of
future trouble.
CHAPTER IV--MR. GREEN HAT'S NEW ROLE 55
Dave loses a human trail and saves a human life.
Then the plot begins to thicken.
CHAPTER V--DANNY GRIN FIGHTS A SMILE 70
Mr. Green Hat sets a trap at the gambling resort,
into which Ensign Dalzell smilingly walks.
CHAPTER VI--DAVE RUNS INTO A REAL THRILL 78
A desperate plot to involve his country heard by
Dave Darrin, who acts swiftly on the information he
has obtained.
CHAPTER VII--THE ADMIRAL UNLOADS HIS MIND 87
Called before the Admiral, the young officers make
their report. The former sends a wireless to
Washington, later summoning the ensigns to his
quarters for secret orders.
CHAPTER VIII--ON LIVELY SPECIAL DUTY 96
A delicate international situation is explained to
Dave and Danny, who are then ordered ashore at
Naples on a special and perilous mission.
CHAPTER IX--M. DALNY PLANS A TRAGEDY 102
Darrin meets one of the men he is looking for. As a
result of that meeting he and Dan are sentenced to
death.
CHAPTER X--TREACHERY HAS THE FLOOR 116
Enticed away for a drive, the Naval officers find
themselves in a disreputable section of Naples and
on the threshold of a tragedy.
CHAPTER XI--HEMMED IN BY THE BRAVOS 124
Dave and Dan are attacked by a mob of Sicilian
bravos and fight a desperate battle to save their
own lives.
CHAPTER XII--EVIL EYES ON SAILORMAN RUNKLE 132
The young officers now discover the real reason for
the attempt on their lives, but, though they do not
know it, fresh perils await them.
CHAPTER XIII--ORDERS CHANGE IN A MINUTE 138
Able Seaman Runkle, bearing an important
communication from Darrin to the Captain of the
U. S. S. "Hudson," gets into serious difficulties.
CHAPTER XIV--DAN HAS VERY "COLD FEET" 151
Beset by spies, the two young officers set out on a
long journey after an exciting start, later finding
that they have been guilty of a grave oversight.
CHAPTER XV--AT THE AMERICAN EMBASSY 161
Dave and Danny arrive in Paris, where they are the
guests of the American Ambassador. Darrin trails an
international plotter and makes an important
discovery.
CHAPTER XVI--"SEEING" THE PARIS APACHES 179
The young ensign, after picking up a valuable clew,
is attacked by savage Paris Apaches, who, angered by
his defense, determine to take his life.
CHAPTER XVII--DAVE'S GUESS AT THE BIG PLOT 189
The details of a plan to involve the United States
in war with England are unfolded to his Admiral by
Ensign Dave.
CHAPTER XVIII--SURIGNY'S NEXT MOVE 198
English and American officers join hands and one
gets a remarkable message from an international
plotter as the trail grows hot.
CHAPTER XIX--TRUTH, OR FRENCH ROMANCE 207
Dave meets an acquaintance and listens to an
astounding confession.
CHAPTER XX--THE ALLIES CLEAR FOR ACTION 213
"A submarine will sink the British battleship
to-night," is the startling information imparted by
Dave to his companions.
CHAPTER XXI--MAKING STERN WORK OF IT 223
The young American Naval officer in command of a
boarding party on the plotter's yacht, is neatly
trapped.
CHAPTER XXII--AFTER THE PEST OF THE SEAS 233
Ensign Darrin and his crew on the Navy launch make
an exciting discovery after accomplishing a
brilliant capture.
CHAPTER XXIII--THE PUZZLE OF THE DEEP 240
While engaged in a thrilling chase after an undersea
boat the launch's company find the tables
unexpectedly turned on them.
CHAPTER XXIV--CONCLUSION 249
The pursuit comes to a stirring finish, with Able
Seaman Runkle's reputation saved and Ensign Darrin
highly honored.
DAVE DARRIN
ON MEDITERRANEAN SERVICE
CHAPTER I
GREEN HAT, THE TROUBLE-STARTER
"Dan," whispered Dave Darrin, Ensign, United States Navy, to his chum
and brother officer, "do you see that fellow with the green Alpine hat
and the green vest?"
"Yes," nodded Dan Dalzell.
"Watch him."
"Why?"
"He's a powerful brute, and it looks as though he's spoiling for a
fight."
"You are not going to oblige him, are you?" asked Dalzell in a
whisper, betraying surprise.
"Nothing like it," Darrin responded disgustedly. "Danny Grin, don't
you credit me with more sense than that? Do you imagine I'd engage in
a fight in a place like this?"
"Then why are you interested in what the fellow might do?" demanded
Ensign Dan.
"Because I think there is going to be a lively time here. That fellow
under the Alpine hat is equal to at least four of these spindling
Spanish waiters. There is going to be trouble within four minutes, or
I'm a poor guesser."
"Just let Mr. Green Hat start something," chuckled Ensign Dalzell in
an undertone. "There are plenty of stalwart British soldiers here, and
'Tommy Atkins' never has been known to be averse to a good fair fight.
The soldiers will wipe up the floor with him. Then there is the
provost guard, patrolling the streets of Gibraltar. If Mr. Green Hat
grows too noisy the provost guard will gather him in."
"And might also gather us in, if the provost officer thought us
intelligent witnesses," muttered Darrin.
"That would be all right, too," grinned Dan. "There is bound to be a
British army officer in command of the provost guard. As soon as we
handed him cards showing us to be American naval officers he'd raise
his cap to us, and that would be the end of it."
"I don't like to be present at rows in a place of this kind," Ensign
Darrin insisted.
"Then we'd better be going," proposed Ensign Dalzell.
The place was Gibraltar, and the time nine o'clock in the evening. The
two friends were seated well back in one of the several Spanish
vaudeville theatres that flourish more or less in the city on the
Great Rock, even in such times as this period of the great European
War.
The theatre was not a low place, or it would not have been permitted
to exist in Gibraltar, which, even in peace times, is under the
strictest military rule, made much more strict at the beginning of the
great war. The performance was an ordinary one and rather dull. At the
moment three Spanish women occupied the stage, going rather hopelessly
through the steps of an aimless dance, while three musicians ground
out the music for the dancers. The next number, as announced on a card
that hung at one side of the stage, was to be a pantomime.
One particularly unpleasant feature only was to be noted in the place.
Wines and liquors were served to those who chose to order them,
Spanish waiters passing up and down the aisles in search of custom.
Mr. Green Hat, to the knowledge of Ensigns Darrin and Dalzell, had
been a much too frequent customer. He was now arguing with two waiters
about an alleged mistake in the changing of the money he had handed
one of them. From angry remonstrance Mr. Green Hat was now resorting
to abusive language.
"I'd like to implant a wallop under that rowdy's chin," muttered Dan
Dalzell, as he started to rise.
"Don't try it," warned Ensign Dave, as he, too, rose.
Just then the lightning struck; the storm broke.
With an angry bellow, Mr. Green Hat leaped to his feet, knocking down
one of the waiters. Four others rushed to the spot. The five promptly
assailed Mr. Green Hat, and were swiftly reinforced by the one who had
been floored.
But the stalwart, active brawler proved to be too much for the
combined force of the waiters. As if they had been so many reeds, Mr.
Green Hat brushed them aside with his fists.
"Grab the bloomin' rotter and throw 'im h'out!" bellowed a "Tommy
Atkins," as the British soldier is collectively known.
A new note, in a decidedly American tone of protest, rose above the
uproar.
"How dare you? What do you mean, fellow?" demanded a young man in a
gray traveling suit, glaring up from the floor, to which he, an
unoffending occupant of an aisle seat, had suddenly been hurled.
It was too much for Dan Dalzell, who promptly attempted to seize Mr.
Green Hat as that individual, with the momentum of a steam roller,
rushed up the aisle.
Dalzell reached out a hand to grip Mr. Green Hat by the collar. All
too promptly a heavy fist smote Dan in the chest, knocking him back
into the arms of Dave Darrin. Dave himself could not act quickly
enough to avenge the blow that had been dealt his chum, because Dan's
body blocked the way.
Four or five British soldiers at the rear of the little theatre tried
to intercept Mr. Green Hat as he dashed up the aisle. Three of the
"Messrs. Atkins" went to the floor, under the seats, while the others
were brushed aside, and Mr. Green Hat reached the street.
"Stop that thief!" roared the young man in the gray suit. "He has
robbed me!"
By this time Dalzell was again on his feet and out in the aisle. He
sprinted for the street, followed closely by Dave Darrin. The young
man in the gray suit, his face pallid, plunged after the young naval
officers.
"You're an American, aren't you?" called Dave, over his shoulder.
"Yes," answered he of the gray suit, "and in official life at
Washington, too. That scoundrel has robbed me of something of value to
the United States government."
That was enough for Darrin and Dalzell. Though the charge might prove
to be false, it was enough to cancel Dave's scruples against
fighting.
Out into the street ahead of them ran a waiter, who had taken no part
in the scrimmage, waving his arms and shouting:
"_Esta direccion!_" ("This way!")
"_Sigue andando!_" ("Keep right on!") roared Danny Grin, darting down
the street at a hard pace.
But a moment later both naval officers, followed by the young man in
gray and the waiter, came to a halt, for, directly ahead of them, on
the well-lighted street, suddenly appeared a patrol detachment of the
British provost guard.
"Did you stop the fellow who ran this way, sir?" hailed Ensign Darrin,
as he recognized the uniform of the British infantry officer in
command of the detachment.
"We didn't see any man running this way," replied the British
lieutenant, smartly returning the salute that Ensign Darrin had given
him.
"Didn't _see_ any fellow running?" repeated three Americans, in tones
of bewilderment.
"We were chasing a thief, sir," Darrin continued, "and this waiter
told us that the fugitive ran this way."
"I--I thought he did," stammered the waiter in Spanish, though it was
now plain that he understood English.
In deep disgust and with dawning suspicion, Dave Darrin glared at the
waiter until that fellow changed color and trembled slightly. Dave
was now certain that the waiter, probably by previous arrangement, had
shielded the escape of Mr. Green Hat.
Turning to the English officer, Dave quickly recounted what had
happened. At the same time he introduced himself and Dan as American
naval officers, and both tendered their cards.
"And you, sir? Who are you, and what did you lose?" inquired the
British officer, turning to the young man in the gray suit.
"May I answer that question to an officer of my own country?" appealed
the young man in the gray suit.
"Yes," assented the British officer, after keenly regarding the
stranger who claimed to have been robbed.
"Will you step a few yards down the street with me?" urged the unknown
American, addressing Dave.
"Certainly," Darrin nodded, for he saw insistent appeal in the
stranger's gaze.
"Mr. Darrin," began the stranger, using the name he had heard Dave
announce in the introductions to the Britisher, "do you really belong
to the American Navy?"
"I do, indeed," Darrin answered. "I am attached to the battleship
'Hudson,' now lying in this harbor."
"Then I will introduce myself," continued the young man in the gray
suit. "My name is George Cushing. Do you recognize the meaning of
this?"
"This" proved to be a small gold badge, revealed by Cushing as he
turned back the lapel of his coat. It was a badge worn by men
belonging to a special branch of the secret service of the American
Department of State. The members of this special service are usually
found, if found at all, on duty in foreign countries.
"I know the badge, Mr. Cushing," nodded Dave Darrin. "Now, what have
you to tell me?"
"That big man with the green hat must have started that fight with the
waiters in the theatre to cover his intended attack on me," Cushing
replied. "At the moment of knocking me down, he snatched from my coat
pocket and made off with a most important document."
"Then you almost deserved to lose it, sir," replied Darrin sternly,
"as a punishment for wasting your time in such a place as that
theatre."
"I must see the American admiral as soon as possible," urged Cushing,
ignoring Darrin's reproof. "But first of all, I must ask you to pass
me safely by that provost guard, or I might be detained at a time when
I cannot afford to lose a single instant. You will vouch for me,
won't you, Mr. Darrin? Here are my formal credentials," continued
Cushing, producing and unfolding a wallet that contained properly
sealed and signed credentials from the American Department of State.
"The paper that was stolen from you did not in any way relate to the
defenses and fortifications here at Gibraltar, did it?" Dave asked.
"Not in the least," Cushing replied promptly.
"You give me your word of honor for that?" Dave asked bluntly.
"Do you believe I'd waste my time on such rubbish as that?" demanded
Cushing, scornfully. "Why, every civilized government on earth
possesses accurate plans of the fortifications at Gibraltar! I give
you my word of honor, Mr. Darrin, that the paper stolen from me did
not in any way relate to the Gibraltar fortifications."
"Then I'll do my best to get you by the provost guard," Ensign Darrin
promised, turning to lead the way back.
"Sir," Dave announced to Lieutenant Abercrombie, commanding the
provost guard detachment, "I beg to report, on what I regard as the
best of authority, that there is no reason why my countryman, Mr.
Cushing, should be detained by you."
"Then that of which he claims to have been robbed is nothing that
could officially interest me?" pressed the British officer.
"I am certain that the matter could not interest a British officer,
except in his desire to see a thief caught," Ensign Darrin vouched.
"That is all, then," replied Lieutenant Abercrombie. "Gentlemen, you
are at liberty to proceed on your way."
In the meantime the Spanish waiter had slipped back to the theatre.
Dave and Dan saluted, the Englishman doing the same. Then Lieutenant
Abercrombie gave each of these brothers in arms a hearty handclasp.
The men of the provost guard parted to allow the three Americans to
pass on their way.
"And now where do you wish to go, Mr. Cushing?" Dave inquired, after
they had passed the British provost guard.
"I suppose you expect me to search for the thief," rejoined the man
from the State Department. "But that would now be worse than a waste
of time. Gibraltar, quaint Moorish city that it is, is so full of
holes in the wall that it would be impossible to find the thief, for
he will not venture out again to-night. The best thing I can do will
be to go straight to the American admiral, and you gentlemen, I
imagine, can take me there."
"A launch will put off from the mole for the flagship at ten
o'clock," Dave informed him. "We may as well go down to the mole and
wait."
Twice, on the way, after leaving the more crowded parts of the city
behind, the three were challenged by English sentries invisible in the
darkness.
"Who goes there?" came the sentry's hail in each instance.
"Officers from the American flagship," Darrin answered for the party.
"Pass on, gentlemen," came the response out of the darkness.
At all times strict watch over all comers outside the British army
service is kept at Gibraltar, and after dark this vigilance is
doubled.
"On a moonless night like this, one would imagine that Gibraltar, save
for the few blocks of 'city,' held few human beings," murmured Dan, as
the three continued on at a quiet walk toward the water front. "One
gets the impression that there are but a few sentries, sprinkled here
and there, yet we know there are thousands of British soldiers
scattered over this rock."
"Hardly scattered," smiled Dave Darrin. "Except for the guard, men and
officers are alike in barracks, and many of the barracks are at rather
long distances from the fortifications."
Nor are the fortifications to be found along the water front. Back on
the great hill of rock are gun embrasures, often cut into the face of
the rock itself. Back of the embrasures are galleries cut through the
stone, and here, in time of siege, the soldiers would stand behind the
huge guns.
Gibraltar's harbor is small, though large enough to hold a great
fleet. In the days when cannon had shorter range than now, a British
fleet might have hidden in the harbor and been secure against all the
fleets of the world, for the guns of the huge fortress could have sunk
the combined navies of the world, had they attempted to enter the
harbor. In these modern days Gibraltar is not so secure, for the
heights of Algeciras, in Spain, are only about seven miles away. If
Spain were at war with Great Britain, or if any other power took the
heights of Algeciras from Spain, guns could be mounted on those
heights that would dominate the harbor of Gibraltar. None the less, as
long as war exists and the huge stone height of Gibraltar remains, the
impression of strong military force will abide with the rock.
Down at the mole a British sentry stopped the trio. Near him stood a
corporal and three other soldiers.
"American officers and a friend," replied Ensign Darrin, when halted
by this sentry. Then the trio advanced when ordered. Lieutenant
Totten, from the 'Hudson,' stepped forward, peered at Darrin and
Dalzell, and said to the corporal:
"I recognize these gentlemen as officers of ours."
"And the friend?" inquired the corporal.
"The friend is an American citizen who has business with Admiral
Timworth," Dave stated.
"Then it is all right," Lieutenant Totten assured the corporal.
Whereupon the British corporal permitted Cushing to step out on the
mole with his companions, Darrin and Dalzell.
"Which is the flagship launch?" asked Darrin.
"The rearmost," answered Lieutenant Totten. "Ours is the only launch
here. The two other launches belong to the warships of other powers."
Cushing, while this brief conversation was going on, had walked
rapidly along the mole until he reached the farthest launch.
"I want you!" he shouted, bending over suddenly.
He had found and seized by the coat collar the man with the green hat.
Dave and Dan rushed to the spot, hardly knowing what they could do, as
they did not want to see the representative of the American State
Department lack for backing.
"Pull Cushing away from that fellow," ordered Totten.
"Is that an official order?" Dave flashed back, in a whisper.
"It is," nodded Totten, and faded back into the blackness of the
night.
Dave bounded forward. He saw that the launch was one belonging to some
liner or merchant ship in the harbor. Three or four men belonging in
that launch had leaped to the rescue of Mr. Green Hat. Dave, with one
tug, tore Cushing away.
Mr. Green Hat fell back in the launch. Two sailors belonging to that
craft cast off the lines at bow and stern, and the launch glided out
into the harbor.
"Why didn't you help me, instead of putting the double cross on me?"
Cushing demanded, angrily.
"I had my reasons," Ensign Darrin replied, briefly.
"They must have been good ones," muttered Cushing.
"All aboard for the flagship!" announced Lieutenant Totten, in a quiet
tone.
"Come along, if you're going out with us," Darrin urged Cushing.
The passengers for the flagship launch were speedily aboard. Other
officers were there who had been ashore for the evening.
As the launch was cast off she glided almost noiselessly across the
smooth water of the harbor, followed closely by the shifting rays of a
British searchlight on shore. Ever since the great European war had
started searchlights stationed on shore had followed the movements of
every craft in the harbor at night. Beyond, the flagship's few lights
glowed brightly. In a few minutes the party was alongside.
Dave and Dan, after saluting the officer of the deck, and reporting
their presence on board, went at once to Dave's quarters.
"There was a good deal of a mix-up, somewhere," Dan announced, at
once. "Why should Totten order you to drag Cushing away from Mr. Green
Hat, when that rascal had robbed Cushing of valuable government
papers?"
"It's too big a puzzle for me," Ensign Darrin admitted, promptly. "But
Lieutenant Totten is my superior officer, and the responsibility
belongs to him."
For a few minutes the two chums chatted. Dalzell was about to say good
night and go to his own quarters, when an orderly rapped at the door,
then entered, saluting.
"The admiral's compliments, gentlemen," said the messenger. "The
admiral wishes to see Ensigns Darrin and Dalzell at once."
"Our compliments, and we will report at once," Dave answered. Both
young officers were now in uniform, for Dan had left his in Dave's
quarters before going ashore, and the chums had changed their clothes
while chatting. It now remained only for Dave to reach for his sword
and fasten it on, then draw on white gloves, while Dalzell went to his
quarters, next door, and did the same.
"What can be in the wind?" whispered Dan. "This is the first time that
Admiral Timworth has ever expressed any desire to see us. Can it be
that we bungled in some way with the Cushing business?"
"I'm not going to waste any time in guessing," replied Ensign Darrin,
as they stepped briskly along, "when I'm going to have the answer
presented to me so soon."
Then they halted before the entrance to the admiral's quarters, to
learn if it would be agreeable for the admiral to receive them at
once.