MISFORTUNE
At full speed the Lena continued her voyage through the dense
fog.
"Is there any danger of our colliding with another ship, speeding
along like this without knowing what is ahead?" asked Frank in
some anxiety.
"Certainly," replied Jack. "However, it is a chance we must
take. We know what lies behind, and the way I figure it is that
it is better to take a chance on what may lie before rather than
on what we know lies behind."
"Right," said Frank, and he became silent.
All night the Lena forged ahead at full speed through the fog,
which hung thick and dismal overhead and all about; and all this
time the boys did not leave the bridge.
The men were allowed to rest at their posts, but were kept on the
alert, for, as Jack said, "we must be prepared for anything."
Jack looked at his watch. It was 8 o'clock in the morning; and,
even as he glanced at his timepiece, the fog lifted as suddenly
as it had enveloped them.
"This is better--" Frank began, and broke off with a cry of
amazement.
Not a hundred yards to the leeward his eyes fell upon the dark
hull of the German cruiser which had pursued them the night
before. Evidently the commander of the vessel had anticipated
the course of the Lena and had taken the same route. There is no
telling in what imminent danger the two had been of a collision
during the night, as both had sped along silently, each fearing
to betray his presence to the other.
Jack espied the enemy at the same instant that Frank cried out;
and he acted upon the instant.
Hoarse commands were shouted across the decks of the Lena, and a
moment later her small guns burst into sound. In spite of the
fact that the enemy must have been on the lookout for the Lena,
it was apparent that the Lena had been the first to realize the
presence of the other.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!" spoke the Lena's guns, and the sound
went hurtling out across the sea.
"Crash! Crash!"
At this close range a miss was almost out of the question, and
the Lena's shells crashed into the sides of the German cruiser.
The German vessel staggered and reeled, but in a moment her big
guns answered the smaller caliber ones of the Lena.
The Lena quivered like a human thing under the deadly hail of
fire from the enemy. The great guns raked the merchant ship from
stem to stem, pierced her until her sides resembled nothing more
than a sieve. Men fell everywhere, many prisoners being killed
by fragments. But still the Lena continued to fight back.
Standing upon the bridge Jack directed the fighting of his ship.
He realized in the first moment of contact that the doom of the
Lena was sealed. She was no match for the German cruiser, but,
before going down, it was his intention to do as much damage as
possible to the enemy. And the fire of the Lena was doing
terrific damage.
Men fell on the cruiser as well as on the Lena. Shells crashed
aboard, tumbling down masts, bursting in the mouths of the guns
and hurling showers of iron about. Grimy-faced men ran hither
and thither about the decks of both vessels. They had long since
lost all resemblance to human beings, and all fought like demons.
The German commander did not call upon the British to surrender.
Evidently he did not wish to be bothered with prizes. To sink
the enemy--that was his sole aim.
One by one the guns of the Lena were put out of action, until
finally but two remained to reply to the fire of the enemy.
Slowly the head of the Lena swung round, to permit of these last
two guns being brought to bear.
"Boom! Boom!" They spoke their last message, and two shells
pierced the very heart of the German cruiser.
There was a sudden, terrific explosion. A fierce red sheet of
flame leaped from the German cruiser, and shot high in the air.
The center turret rose with the flame and fell back to the waters
of the North Atlantic in a million pieces.
The magazine of the cruiser had blown up! Her vitals were opened
and the waters engulfed her.
The two lads stood on the bridge of the Lena, open-mouthed, awed
by this spectacle. Both were too surprised to speak. At the
very moment when the battle seemed lost, one well-directed shot
had turned the fortunes of war in favor of the arms of the
British.
At length Frank spoke.
"It is a miracle!" he exclaimed.
"No," replied Jack calmly, "not a miracle; rather, the courage
and bravery of the sons of Britain are responsible for this good
fortune."
He turned his eyes upon the floating wreckage. Not a survivor
was in sight. "Poor fellows!" he said, half aloud, "may they
rest in peace!"
At this moment the chief engineer came rushing on deck. Blood
streamed down his face and one arm hung limp at his side.
"The engines are out of commission, sir," he reported, "and there
is three feet of water in the engine-room. The ship is sinking!"
Jack drew himself up to his full height and shouted out his
orders:
"Man the boats!" he cried.
He called the second and third officers.
"Look after the wounded," he commanded. "See that they are all
placed in the boats. Release the prisoners, but they must shift
for themselves."
"And the dead, sir?" questioned the second office.
Jack lifted his cap from his head.
"The dead," he said softly, "must be left to the mercy of the
sea. We can do them no good."
The second officer saluted and hurried away.
Frank and Jack superintended the lowering of the boats. Each
small craft already contained a quantity of provisions and water,
and, at Jack's command, such small arms as could be hurriedly
secured were thrown overboard. The wounded were lifted gently
into the boats--the dead left where they had fallen. The last
act was to release the prisoners. That was all that could be
done for them.
At last all the boats were manned, and, at a word from Jack, they
put away from the ship. Each boat was crowded, for some had been
damaged in the battle with the German cruiser and made unfit for
use.
Slowly the boats pulled away from the Lena.
"Which way?" asked Frank.
"Due east," replied Jack. "We must be some place off the coast
of France, and, unless a storm arises, we stand a good chance of
reaching land safely."
He cast his eyes toward the Lena.
"And hurry!" he commanded. "The Lena is likely to go down any
moment, and, if we do not put some distance between us, she is
likely to carry us under also."
The men in the boats bent to their work with a will, and soon
they were out of danger.
"There she goes!" exclaimed Frank suddenly, and, standing up in
the boat, he pointed a finger toward the Lena.
Slowly the ship had been settling by the head. Now she sank
lower and lower in the water. A terrible hissing arose and went
forth across the sea. The water had reached her boilers.
Then the bow of the ship climbed clear out of the water, for a
moment pointed almost straight toward the sky--it seemed that
she would turn completely over--then suddenly lurched heavily
forward, and dived.
The water foamed angrily white, parted quietly for the Lena, as
she took her death plunge, rose high in the air; then, its fury
over, closed calmly over her. The Lena was gone.
"And so," said Jack sadly, "goes my first command!"
Frank laid his hand on his friend's arm.
"It's pretty tough," he said, "but there is no use crying over
spilt milk. What can't be cured must be endured, you know."
"You are right," replied Jack, "and the thing do now is to try
and reach land."
Standing up in the boat and shading his eyes with one band he
looked eastward across the water for a long time. Then he sat
down.
"See anything?" Frank asked.
"No."
"Have you any idea how far we are from shore?"
"I don't believe we can be very far away. With clear weather and
steady rowing I believe we should make land within twenty-four
hours, at least."
"Well," said Frank, "when we get ashore, what then?"
"Why," replied Jack, "we must return to London if we can and
report to the Admiralty."
"And then what?"
"Then," said Jack slowly, "I hope we shall once more be assigned
to a ship that is going into battle, that we may avenge ourselves
for the loss of the Lena, and, yes, the death of Lord Hastings!"