ON THE TRAIL
A reply to this message was not long coming. It read:
"Lord Hastings: Sorry you are aboard, but I must sink you."
To this Lord Hastings replied:
"It can't be done."
Now the Emden put about and headed for the Sylph. Quickly also
the Sylph came about and headed westward.
"If he'll only follow long enough, we'll lure him into the path
of some British vessel," said Lord Hastings.
"Well," said Jack, "I don't believe he will. As soon as he finds
he cannot overtake us, he'll continue on his way."
"And he'll try to lose us in the night," said Frank.
"That is my idea," said Lord Hastings. "To prevent that we must
be on the alert continually. We'll follow him for months, if
necessary. At nights we shall have to close up a bit, and take a
chance that they cannot hit us."
It was nearing dusk when the Emden finally gave up the chase of
the Sylph as futile, and once more put about. Immediately also
the Sylph's head came about, and she once more set out, to trail
the German. Occasional messages were exchanged between Captain
von Mueller and Lord Hastings.
Night fell, and now the Sylph began to draw closer to her quarry.
She closed up the distance gradually, until Lord Hastings decided
that they were near enough; and this position the Sylph
maintained, her searchlight playing upon the Emden and making her
as light as day.
All night and all the following day the Sylph followed the Emden.
Several times the Emden put about, and made as if to give chase,
but on each occasion the Sylph also changed her course. The
relative positions of the two vessels remained the same, except
that in the light of day the Sylph put more distance between her
and her quarry.
Night drew on once more, and again the Sylph approached closer.
It was plain that this remorseless pursuit was worrying the
commander of the Emden and that he did not know which way to turn
to avoid his pursuer.
Lord Hastings sniffed the air.
"Feels like there would be a fog tonight," he said. "I hope it
is not so dense as to dim the glow of the searchlight."
But in this he was doomed to disappointment. The fog descended,
but still those on the Sylph could dimly make out the outline of
the Emden. But with the approach of morning, while Jack had the
bridge, the fog suddenly thickened, and blotted out the pursued
vessel entirely.
Quickly Jack summoned Lord Hastings.
Immediately Lord Hastings ordered the searchlight extinguished
and all lights on board put out.
"We don't want to let him know where we are," he said. "I feel
absolutely certain that Captain von Mueller will double back and
try to come up upon us in the fog. We must avoid that at all
hazards, and at the same time must so maneuver as to be near
enough to pick him up when the fog lifts."
Lord Hastings altered the course of the Sylph slightly, but
continued to go forward. Six o'clock came and no sign of the
Emden, and then seven. And then the fog lifted as suddenly as it
had descended, and at that moment there was the sound of a big
gun and a shell whistled over the stern of the Sylph.
A mile in the offing, having put about, was the Emden. She had
maneuvered even as Lord Hastings had figured, and had run clear
by the Sylph in the darkness.
"Full speed ahead!" commanded Lord Hastings.
The Sylph leaped quickly forward, as the bell tinkled the signal
to the engine-room, running rapidly to get out of range of the
Emden's guns and torpedoes.
Several times, without reducing the speed of his ship, Lord
Hastings swerved in his course, and thus spoiled the aim of the
German gunners. And then the Emden's shells began to fall short.
The Sylph was out of range.
For an hour the Emden continued her pursuit, and then once more
put about and herself became the pursued, the Sylph following
relentlessly on her heels.
It was near noon when the wireless operator aboard the Sylph
approached Lord Hastings.
"Have just picked up the Australian cruiser Sydney, sir. I gave
him our identity and Captain Glossop pays his respects to you,
sir."
Lord Hastings jumped to action in a moment.
"Where is he now?"
The operator gave the position of the Sydney.
"A hundred miles away," mused Lord Hastings.
He led the way to the wireless room.
"Send this in code," he told the operator, handing him a slip of
paper on which he had written a few words, "and instruct him to
reply in code."
The operator did as he was commanded.
The reply was plain to Lord Hastings, himself an operator upon
occasion.
"Good!" he said to himself.
He turned to the boys.
"I gave the Sydney our position and told him we were trailing the
Emden. He replied that he would head for us immediately; for us
to keep up the chase and keep him constantly informed of our
position."
"But don't you suppose the Emden has picked up the message, sir."
"Undoubtedly; that is why I sent it in code. Von Mueller may
surmise what we are up to, but he cannot be sure."
That the commander of the Emden had picked up the message became
apparent a few moments later.
"Emden has signaled the Sydney her presence not needed, sir,"
said the operator, "and signed the message Hastings."
Lord Hastings scribbled rapidly.
"Send this," he ordered.
The message read:
"Disregard all communications not in code. Emden trying to throw
you off the track."
The Sydney acknowledged the receipt of this message, and Lord
Hastings and the two lads returned to the bridge.
"What do you suppose Captain von Mueller will do now?" asked
Jack.
"Run as long as he can," replied Lord Hastings.
"However, the Sydney is considerably faster, so it is only a
question of time till we get him."
The Emden now headed east, on a course that eventually would land
her, if she maintained it, somewhere along the Malay archipelago.
The Sylph gave chase.
Continual messages were flashed between Lord Hastings and the
commander of the Australian cruiser, and it became apparent that
the latter gradually overhauling them.
Came a message to Lord Hastings from the commander of the Emden:
"Sorry you were afraid to fight it out."
Lord Hastings wired back:
"I wasn't afraid, but I will take no chance of losing you."
All day and all another night the chase continued; and it was
near noon of the following day that the lookout gave the welcome
cry:
"Ship off the stern, sir!"
Quickly all eyes were turned in the direction indicated. A
smudge of smoke could be seen off the horizon. Came a message
from the Sydney:
"Have sighted you."
But the Sydney was still far in the rear when land came in sight.
"What do you make it, sir?" asked Frank of Lord Hastings.
"I should say it is one of the Cocos Islands group," was the
reply.
The Emden headed straight for it. Two hours later she landed,
and the Sylph stood off.
"Do you suppose Captain von Mueller will desert the ship or sink
her?" asked Jack.
"Not without a fight," replied Lord Hastings positively.
It was three hours later before the Emden lifted anchor and put
to sea again. Those on board did not know it then, but a landing
party from the Emden had destroyed the wireless station on the
island while there.
Slowly but surely the Sydney overhauled the Sylph, and at length
drew up on even terms with her. Then she forged slowly ahead,
drawing closer and closer to her prey.
Now, realizing that escape was impossible, the Emden turned.
Brought to bay, Captain von Mueller had decided to give battle.
"Will we go into action, sir?" asked Jack of Lord Hastings
eagerly.
"Not unless it is absolutely necessary," replied the commander of
the Sylph. "The Sydney can handle the Emden alone."
Both lads were disappointed, for they had felt certain, that when
the Emden was brought to bay they would have a hand in putting an
end to her.
"Well," said Jack, "we can at least see the battle."
"Right," said Frank, and fortifying themselves with glasses, they
took posts of vantage.
Now the Emden steamed forward to meet the Sydney, and the Sylph
hove to. The crew, relieved from duty, scattered about the
decks, seeking advantageous places to witness the encounter.
Slowly the two cruisers approached each other.
The Emden already has been described, and a few words here
concerning the Sydney will not be amiss.
The Australian cruiser Sydney carried a main battery of eight
6-inch guns, thus giving her an advantage over the German ship.
She had a complement Of 400 men. She was 400 feet long and was
much greater in the beam than her antagonist. She carried
several smaller guns and a number of rapid-firers. As did the
Emden, the Sydney carried two submerged torpedoes.
Across the water came the call of a bugle, as the crew of the
Sydney made ready for action. She was almost within range now.
There was no question but that she outranged the Emden slightly,
but the German cruiser was steaming rapidly forward to overcome
this disadvantage as quickly as possible.
Now there was a puff of smoke from the bow of the Sydney.
"Boom!" came the sound of a big gun.
The Sydney, within range at last, had opened the battle.