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Murphy and the captured Chinese were bound and put aboard the boat. But
first Robbins was apprised. "Black George" had not appeared yet. No time
was wasted detaching the aerial. It was abandoned. Then one of the
sailors, who had been shot in the fleshy part of the right leg and thus
could not maintain the rapid pace of the party, was put at the oars with
instructions to follow down stream until he reached the landing.
With that the others set out at a trot. All were young and active, even
Inspector Burton being still in his thirties and in excellent physical
condition. They were unencumbered with baggage of any sort.
Ensign Warwick in the lead set a killing pace. Jack, Bob and Frank,
however, thanks to their training in long-distance running at Harrington
Hall, were enabled to keep up without difficulty. Inspector Burton
surprised them all by sticking close.
"I've always been a bit of a runner," he explained during one
three-minute halt for the recovery of breath.
So hard did Ensign Warwick push forward that in half an hour they neared
the mouth of the canyon where it broadened out into the little
landlocked harbor. A halt was called. Not a shot had been heard yet.
"Those Chinese we routed," whispered Ensign Warwick, "would give the
alarm that we are behind them if they caught up with 'Black George.'"
"Perhaps they took to the hills," suggested Jack. Inspector Burton
nodded.
"It might easily be that they had a stomachful of fighting," he said.
"They might have decided to save their own skins and let 'Black George'
shift for himself."
"But if they have given warning, we might be ambushed," said Frank. "A
little way ahead there, at the mouth of the canyon, would be a fine
place for an ambuscade."
A distant sound of firing, followed by a pandemonium of high-pitched
yells, shattered the silence.
"They're attacking," cried Ensign Warwick. "Come on. Ambush or not, we
must go forward. Every man for himself and watch the sides of the
canyon. On the run now, fellows. Let's go."
Turning he plunged ahead. Behind him came Inspector Burton and the three
chums. Close on their heels were the fifteen or eighteen young sailors.
There was no ambush after all, and they later learned the Chinese they
had routed at the stockade had fled to the hills without seeking to warn
"Black George" of the Nemesis on his heels.
Dashing out of the canyon, around the sharp turn at its mouth, they came
upon a wild scene. The Chinese coolies in the warehouse were shrieking
in terror, and the sounds of their yells and of the blows they rained
wildly upon the sides of the building came clear to their ears. They
could see three crouching figures before the door, rifles presented,
guarding against any attempt of the coolies to bolt.
The searchlight from the Sub Chaser played over the scene a moment
longer as they watched, bringing it out in sharp relief. Then the light
was swung away and brought to bear upon the trawler. "Black George"
appeared on the deck, firing his revolver futilely at the Sub Chaser.
Ensign Warwick running rapidly reached the pier, with the boys close at
his heels. He dashed out to the Sub Chaser and leaped aboard.
"Beggars must have gotten into the warehouse from the roof," Robbins
explained rapidly to his superior officer. "Stirred the coolies up to
make a break for it, thinking to divert us. Would have done so, too, if
I hadn't had your warning. But we kept the coolies in bounds. Meantime,
the rest of their outfit must have swam out to the trawler. Planned to
set her adrift, I guess. Tide's running out. Heard something that made
me suspicious and put the light on them, as you see. And here you are."
"Good enough," approved Ensign Warwick.
Advancing to the other side of his little craft he called to "Black
George" to surrender.
"If you try to escape," he called, "I'll train a machine gun on you.
Better surrender and avoid bloodshed."
With a curse of rage, "Black George" raised his revolver and fired.
Ensign Warwick leaped aside, as the bullet struck the deck at his feet.
A shot rang out from the Sub Chaser. The revolver spun from "Black
George's" grasp, and he jumped up and down grasping the stunned wrist in
his other hand.
"Who did that?" queried the naval officer.
"I did, sir," said Jack. "I merely shot his weapon away to disarm him."
"Pretty shot," approved Ensign Warwick, while several of the sailors
also murmured approval.
"Folwell, a machine gun is trained on your deck and you cannot escape,"
the naval officer continued. "Our men are waiting ashore, and you cannot
escape by swimming. Call your men on deck. A boarding party is coming
aboard."
"Black George" realized the futility of further resistance, and when
Ensign Warwick with a half-dozen heavily armed men gained the deck of
the trawler he had Engineer MacFinney and eighteen Chinese on deck. They
were searched, and then the Chinese were put in the forecastle under
guard and the two white men were taken aboard the Sub Chaser.
At sight of the three chums, "Black George" cursed bitterly.
"You're the cause of all my troubles," he said. "I should have left you
to the tender mercies of Wong Ho's men back in Chinatown."
"If he only knew how much you three lads have contributed to his
downfall," commented Inspector Burton, as "Black George" was led away,
"he would feel even worse."
Ensign Warwick approached.
"Look here," he said, kindly, "you fellows have had a pretty strenuous
time of it. It's a mild night, and I'm going to keep Folwell aboard
here, bed him down in a hammock, where I can watch him. Do you fellows
object to turning in on the trawler?"
"Not at all," said Jack. "We slept there before, you know."
"Yes, I know. That's why I proposed it now. Well, if you want to turn in
now, I've got the boat ready to lift you over."
Amid a hail of "good-nights" the three chums and Inspector Burton were
rowed to the trawler. Once aboard, they lost no time in straightening
the bunks and tumbling in.
"Way past midnight now," said Bob, examining his watch. "We've got only
a few hours. I, for one, am not going to waste them in undressing."
And, merely kicking off his shoes, he tumbled over on his berth and
almost immediately fell asleep. The others followed suit.