CAPTURED.
An hour after sunrise the "Aphrodite" came to the surface. The rain had
ceased, the mists had rolled away, and the slanting rays of the sun,
already powerful, beat fiercely down upon the coffee-coloured surface of
the river. There was no sign of the "Pride of Rhodesia." She had taken
herself off betimes.
"I hope she has continued her investigations down stream," said Captain
Restronguet. "It was a lucky chance that Jones mentioned to you about
not considering the Zampa worthy of his notice. We'll just have a look
round and see if the 'Vorwartz' has found room enough to stow herself
away in that little ditch."
"A wireless message has just come through, sir," said Devoran. "The
'Swallow,' 'Puffin,' and 'Sandpiper,' three stern-wheeler gunboats from
Lake Nyassa, have descended the Shire and were reported to the Admiralty
as having reached Sena yesterday."
"The more the merrier," commented his superior grimly. "They ought to
be here this afternoon if they kept under way all last night. We must
bestir ourselves. I think before we do anything else we ought to put
Kenwyn ashore. You see that knoll on our left, Devoran? It stands
fairly high, and should be pretty healthy; in daytime, at all events.
We'll land him and his two nurses and pick them up on our return."
Captain Restronguet spoke as calmly as if he were going on an excursion
instead of about to engage in a desperate encounter with his implacable
foe. Hythe understood his manner better by this time. He knew that
when Captain Restronguet meant business he always adopted a resolute
bearing. The magnetic personality of the man more than half won his
battles.
An awning was rigged in the whaler, and under this, Kenwyn, lying in his
cot, was placed. Mylor and Lancarrow accompanied him, while the boat's
crew, thoroughly disinfected to prevent contagion, rowed them to the
steep bank of the isolated hill the captain had pointed out. The ascent
took some time, and the boat's crew had received instructions to rig up
a tent and make everything snug for the patient before returning.
Looking through their binoculars Captain Restronguet and Hythe watched
the tedious procession. At length Kenwyn was carried to the summit and
placed in the shade of a solitary tree. Apparently this site did not
suit, for Mylor was observed to be pointing to a clump of
densely-foliaged trees on the north side of the knoll. The boat's crew
raised objections, since time was precious, and the argument ended by
Mylor and two others carrying the tent across to the clump and leaving
the others with the sick man. Before Mylor gained the desired position
the rest picked up the cot and followed.
"I can see the objection to Mylor's plan," remarked Captain Restronguet.
"They will be hidden from the river everywhere except from this bearing.
However, it is well to windward, and ought to be fairly pleasant under
the shade of the trees. But I wish those fellows would bestir
themselves a little more."
Presently Mylor disappeared from view behind the trees. He had not been
gone very long before he returned to his companions running as hard as
he could go. A few words passed and the whole crowd, leaving Kenwyn
lying in the shade, doubled off behind the clump.
"Now what's up," muttered the captain impatiently. "I wish I had sent
Devoran with them to keep them together. They are like a pack of
schoolboys out of bounds."
Back came the men, never pausing till they reached the brink of the hill
on the river side. Here Mylor, standing well apart, began to "call-up"
the "Aphrodite" by semaphore.
"Acknowledge, Mr. Devoran," said Captain Restronguet.
Clambering on to the top of the conning-tower the first officer
signalled that attention was being paid to the message.
"'Vorwartz' is lying on the other side of the hill," semaphored Mylor.
"What's that? Impossible!" exclaimed the captain, for both he and Hythe
had read the message correctly. "Ask them to explain more fully."
"'Vorwartz' is in a river flowing behind this hill."
"Boat's crew to return instantly," ordered Devoran at Captain
Restronguet's request. "Leave Kenwyn and his two men."
"I hope they didn't let those on the 'Vorwartz' see them," said Captain
Restronguet. "If it be the 'Vorwartz'--and I have no reason to suppose
that there is another submarine beside her and the 'Aphrodite' on the
Zambezi--we have just saved ourselves from being nicely fooled. We might
have been searching the tributaries on the right bank till Doomsday."
"And the 'Pride of Rhodesia' is devoting her attentions to the right
bank also," added the sub.
"Let her," said Captain Restronguet with a hearty laugh. "This seems
almost too good to be true."
Bending to their oars and heedless of the blazing sun the whaler's crew
brought the boat back at breakneck speed. Almost before her way was
checked as she came alongside Captain Restronguet, Hythe, and five of
the crew leapt on board. They had taken the precaution to arm
themselves, for it was quite possible that some of Karl von Harburg's
men had gone ashore and had already sighted the "Aphrodite" lying in
mid-stream.
Up the hill the landing party toiled, and crossing the plateau gained
the clump of trees on the landward side. Here they hid, while Captain
Restronguet and the sub reconnoitred by means of the binoculars.
Yes, there was no longer any cause for doubt. The twin conning-towers
and a portion of the upper deck of the "Vorwartz" were just visible
above the reeds that fringed the narrow river. She was floating high,
all her ballast tanks having been started. Two of the hatches were
flung back but no signs of any of the crew were to be seen.
"She's hard aground, I think," observed Hythe. "The river has fallen in
spite of the rains, and she's fairly caught."
"I wouldn't like to say that such is the case," replied Captain
Restronguet. "It seems to me that they are lying low: shifting some of
their booty to a safe hiding-place. At all events I don't feel inclined
to take the 'Aphrodite' up the stream. I'll get Devoran to lie off the
junction of this river with the Zambezi. If the 'Vorwartz' attempts to
escape he can easily sink her in shallow water. Meanwhile I'll have the
field gun landed. Firing capped shell she will be able to hull yonder
craft through and through. All the same I cannot account for the lack of
signs of life aboard."
Captain Restronguet left nothing to chance. In order to guard against a
possible surprise he had outposts placed at proper distances from his
main body. Hythe volunteered to superintend the landing of the
field-gun, and in less than an hour that piece of ordnance was by dint
of sheer hard work brought ashore and hauled to the top of the hill.
Here it was placed in position, carefully screened by the trees, and its
muzzle pointed menacingly upon the visible part of the "Vorwartz."
Another hour passed. Still no signs of activity were noticeable on
board the rival submarine.
"Would you mind taking two men with you and creeping down as near as you
can get to the 'Vorwartz,' Mr. Hythe?" asked the Captain, who was
beginning to get impatient. "Take every precaution to keep hidden from
view and do not use your fire-arms save as a last resource."
"Very good, sir," replied Hythe.
"I need hardly remind you that I want evidence. Observe traces of
footmarks on the banks. They ought to tell whether the crew have landed.
If they have put their precious cargo ashore there must be traces of
where the heavy chests and bags were hauled over the banks; the reeds
will be trampled down, and so on."
Had Hythe not been a sailor he would have made an excellent
backwoodsman. Knowing the risk of appearing on the skyline, he led his
little band down by the remote side of the hill, and creeping through
the bushes at the base gradually worked round in the direction of the
river in which the "Vorwartz" lay.
It was risky work, for the lower ground was marshy. Poisonous snakes
darted across their path, lizards, more repulsive than dangerous, lay
basking in the sun right in their way, while myriads of flies of great
size buzzed incessantly over the men's heads, till the tortured three
could scarce resist the temptation to raise their arms and beat off
their unwelcome attendants. Once a heavy body crashed through the
brushwood, scattering the reeds in all directions and uprooting young
saplings like ninepins. Hythe had just time to see that the creature
was a huge rhinoceros.
Straight towards the "Vorwartz" the creature tore, then plunging into
the opposite stream swam boldly across to the opposite bank. Although
it made enough noise to be heard for half a mile away the crew of the
"Vorwartz" showed no sign of activity. The submarine lay as deserted
and silent as the city of the dead.
"Steady, there," cautioned Hythe as one of his companions started
forward with disregard to caution. "They may be luring us on. We are
near enough at present."
Concealing themselves in the long grass fringing the river, even at the
risk of fever, the three waited and watched. The "Vorwartz" was lying
close to the bank, the channel evidently trending close to the eastern
side of the stream, and there being a total absence of mud in the
vicinity, the submarine could not have found a better landing-place.
She was secured fore and aft with ropes made fast to the trunks of trees
growing close to the water's edge. No anchor had been run out into the
stream and consequently the submarine had swung well in. A fall in the
level of the river had left her fairly hard aground with a slight list
to port.
That men had landed during the heavy rains was quite evident by the fact
that the stiff clay, now burned to the hardness of a brick, was covered
with footprints pointing in all directions, but although Hythe made a
semi-circular patrol almost from the brink of the stream past the
"Vorwartz" and back to the river again he could find no trace of human
beings having strayed more than fifty yards from the submarine.
"Strange," he muttered. "The craft looks deserted and there are no
signs of the rascals making off by land. They couldn't very well travel
by air, so the only solution is, unless they are still on board, that
they have gone by water. How? By boat or walking in their diving
dresses? By boat, I suppose, since if they decided to abandon the
vessel they would naturally take part if not all of their precious booty
with them."
At length so convinced did the sub become that the "Vorwartz" was in
truth deserted that he felt sorely tempted to take possession of her.
But his sense of discipline prevailed. He realized that temporarily he
was under Captain Restronguet's orders and to Captain Restronguet alone
ought the honour to be given to be the first to board.
He was on the point of ordering the men to retire when a violent
rustling in the reeds attracted his attention. Either a human being or
an animal was approaching. He motioned to his companions to be on the
alert. Holding their rifles at the ready the two men waited.
Suddenly a man lurched forward from the edge of the reeds. He was
literally in rags, fragments of blue clothing scarcely concealing his
massive limbs. He was hatless, a strip of dirty white linen alone
protecting his head from the pitiless rays of the sun. In the holster
of his belt was a revolver, while his right hand grasped a magazine
carbine.
"One of the villains; shall we nab him unawares, sir?" asked one of
Hythe's men in a whisper.
The sub shook his head. The fellow was armed; he might not be alone,
while the discharge of a fire-arm might give the alarm to a still
unsuspecting foe. Better to watch and see what the fellow was up to.
The new-comer lurched as if spent; but without any attempt to conceal
his movements he made straight for the "Vorwartz." At the edge of the
bank he hesitated, walked to and fro as if looking for a shallow spot or
a means of clambering up the side of the vessel. Finding none he hurled
his carbine against the submarine's side, shivering the stock into
fragments. Then uttering a demoniacal yell he broke into a ribald song
in German.
The man was mad.
"Karl von Harburg?" whispered Hythe interrogatively.
The seaman nearest him shook his head. He knew the captain of the
"Vorwartz" well by sight during his stay in Sumatra. This fellow was a
stranger.
"Heave a rope!" hailed the German in his native tongue. "Heave a rope!
I want to get on board and fetch more gold. Yes, more gold, I say.
I'll carry another load of it myself. Fritz took two shares; why
shouldn't I?"
Receiving no reply the maniac whipped out his revolver and emptied the
contents of the chambers against the metal plating. The noise of the
firing was heard by Captain Restronguet and the main body. They could
not see the German's approach by reason of the intervening fringe of
long grass; but suspecting that Hythe had been attacked they raced down
the hill to his aid.
Springing to his feet Hythe signed to them to continue cautiously, but
the madman, although he must have heard the noise of the new arrivals,
paid no attention. He was still cursing imaginary comrades for their
laxity in not giving him a means of getting on board.
"What has happened?" asked Captain Restronguet breathlessly.
"One survivor only, I think," replied Hythe. "There he is. He's
absolutely off his head."
"Are you sure there are no more on board?" asked the captain.
"Not certain, but I don't think there are. Do you wish me to make that
fellow a prisoner or wait till he's on board? He hasn't reloaded his
revolver and he's thrown his carbine away."
"We'll wait," said Captain Restronguet decidedly. "Perhaps there are
others on board and they've quarrelled. That may be the reason why they
are lying low and won't let this fellow on board. Now look at him!"
The maniac put one foot in the water with the intention of wading close
to the submarine's side, but at the contact with the fluid he leapt
back, held his foot with both hands and hopped about uttering discordant
shouts as if the water pained him. Then, calming down a little, he
seated himself on the shore and began to sob like a child.
"Now's our chance," whispered Captain Restronguet. "We must risk a few
rifle shots from on board. You three men--that will be enough. Now
follow me and get him on his back before he's aware of it."
Noiselessly the three men followed their captain. Forty yards of open
ground separated them from their intended captive. Nearly half this
distance was covered when the madman suddenly rose and looked over his
shoulder. His wild glance fell upon his would-be assailants.
"Bowl him over," shouted Captain Restronguet, breaking into a run.
The German waited apathetically till the nearest of his foes was within
ten yards. Then, uttering a wild unearthly laugh, he turned and dashed
headlong into the river. Half a dozen strokes brought him to the stern
of the submarine. Here he tried to haul himself up, clinging tenaciously
to the slight support afforded by the upper edge of the propeller
brackets. Baulked in this direction he slipped back into the water and
swam to the other side of the "Vorwartz."
By this time the whole of the landing party arrived on the scene. Half
a dozen powerful men tailed on to the stern warp till it was almost as
taut as a bar of steel. Two others, one being O'Shaunessey, grasping
the rope with both hands and throwing their legs round it began to make
their way towards the submarine; but before they had swung themselves
over half the distance the maniac appeared on deck.
Once more drawing his revolver, from which the moisture dripped
copiously, he steadied it in the crook of his arm and pressed the
trigger. The hammer clicked harmlessly on the empty chambers. With a
snarl of rage the German hurled the useless weapon not at the two men
hanging on to the rope, but at the group ashore. It whizzed perilously
close to Captain Restronguet's head, bouncing on the sun-baked mud.
"Attract his attention," ordered Captain Restronguet. "Try to entice
him towards the bows and give those fellows a chance to board."
Picking up lumps of hard mud the "Aphrodite's" men opened a heavy yet
comparatively harmless fusillade upon the solitary figure upon the deck
of the "Vorwartz." Still keeping up his discordant yells the madman
stooped and picked up an object at his feet. With wellnigh superhuman
force he hurled it at his assailants. The missile fell at Hythe's feet.
Something prompted him to stoop and examine it. It was an ingot of pure
gold.
"By Jove!" he exclaimed. "I never had gold thrown at me before!"
His remark attracted the attention of the men nearest to him.
"Keep it up, old sport," shouted Carclew. "We don't mind."
The next instant he had cause to regret his words, for a lump of the
precious metal, hurtling through the air with tremendous force, hit him
fairly in that part of his anatomy commonly known as "the wind." For
the next ten minutes Carclew lost all interest in the proceedings.
Meanwhile O'Shaunessey, unobserved by the madman, succeeded in
clambering over the stern of the "Vorwartz." Here he waited till his
comrade rejoined him, and together they stealthily crept towards the
German.
The fellow was in the act of hurtling another missile when O'Shaunessey
sprang on him from behind, flung his powerful arms round the madman's
head and pressed his right knee into the small of the man's back.
Simultaneously the Irishman's comrade grasped the astonished German just
below the knees, and with a tremendous crash the captured man fell upon
the metal deck. Even then his captors had no easy task, for the maniac,
powerful under ordinary circumstances, now possessed the strength of
ten. His right hand gripped O'Shaunessey's calf till the Irishman
bellowed with pain. For a few moments it looked as if the madman would
be more than a match for his two antagonists till O'Shaunessey's
companion, loth to run any unnecessary risk, planted a heavy blow on the
point of the madman's chin. The fellow's resistance ceased. He lay on
his back groaning dismally, while the Irishman deftly bound him hand and
foot with a couple of silk handkerchiefs.
"All clear now, sorr," shouted O'Shaunessey. "Sure, you can come aboard
aisy and comfortable. We'll heave a line."
Looking about the Irishman discovered a wire ladder and a couple of long
boat-hook staves. Lowering the former he swarmed down and succeeded in
passing the end of one of the boat-hooks ashore, keeping the other end
on the bottom rung of the ladder. The second one formed a handrail, and
along this precarious bridge, which sagged to such an extent that those
making use of it were ankle deep in water, Captain Restronguet, Hythe,
and four of the "Aphrodite's" crew made their way.
"At last, sir," exclaimed Hythe.
"It is yet too early for congratulations, Mr. Hythe," replied the
captain. "We have made an easy capture, but until I am face to face
with my enemy, Karl von Harburg, my mission is not at an end.
Nevertheless, we have much to be thankful for. Polglaze, bring that
boat-hook aft."
The man did as he was ordered. Drawing from his pocket a small
neatly-rolled bundle of silk Captain Restronguet unfolded it. It was
his white and green ensign with the initials "J. R." upon it. For want
of halliards the flag had to be lashed to the stave, which was thereupon
set up on the stern of the "Vorwartz"--a visible token that the rival
submarine was now in the possession of the captain of the "Aphrodite."