[Illustration: JACK TURNED HIS WHIP FROM THE BACKS OF THE HORSES AND
LASHED OUT AT THE WOLVES.]
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THE BOY ALLIES
(Registered in United States Patent Office)
In the Baltic
OR
Through Fields of Ice to Aid the Czar
By ENSIGN ROBERT L. DRAKE
AUTHOR OF
"The Boy Allies Under the Sea," "The Boy Allies on the North
Sea Patrol," "The Boy Allies Under Two Flags," "The
Boy Allies with the Flying Squadron," "The Boy
Allies with the Terror of the Seas."
A. L. BURT COMPANY
NEW YORK
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright, 1916
BY A. L. BURT COMPANY
THE BOY ALLIES IN THE BALTIC
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THE BOY ALLIES IN THE BALTIC
CHAPTER I.
ON A RAID.
"Submerge to five fathoms, Mr. Templeton!"
The speaker was Lord Hastings, commander of the British submarine D-17.
Jack Templeton, a British youth and first officer of the under-sea
craft, repeated the command for which he had been waiting now for some
moments.
"Mr. Chadwick!"
Lord Hastings' voice again.
"Sir!"
A third figure, standing upon the bridge--now enclosed as the submarine
sank from the surface--came to attention before his commander. Frank
Chadwick, an American youth and second officer of the vessel, awaited
instructions.
"Everything shipshape?" questioned his commander sharply.
"Yes, sir. Engine-room trouble all repaired, sir."
"Lookout posted forward?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Very well. Ten fathoms, Mr. Templeton!"
Lord Hastings turned from the periscope, through which he had been
peering, and for a moment gazed thoughtfully at his two young officers
before speaking. At last he said:
"Unless something goes wrong we will be in Heligoland within two hours!"
A startling statement, this, to one who did not know the nature of the
man who made it; for it was a fact known to all the world that
Heligoland, the great German fortress that guarded the approach to the
few miles of German seacoast, was one of the strongest in the
world--perhaps as well fortified as Gibraltar itself, and considered by
naval experts equally as impregnable.
Apparently the D-17 was bent upon a perilous venture.
Such, indeed, was the case. The D-17, sister ship to the D-16, in which
Lord Hastings and his two young officers had seen many exciting
adventures, as related in "THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE TERROR OF THE SEAS,"
had left the coast of England the day before, heading straight for the
strongly fortified German base; and now she was almost there.
Just what object Lord Hastings had in view neither Jack nor Frank knew,
for Lord Hastings had not yet taken them fully into his confidence
concerning this expedition. Since leaving England he had been busy in
his cabin almost continuously poring over papers and maps, but both lads
had a pretty shrewd idea that the venture was an important one.
Now Frank asked:
"And what are we going to do in there, sir?"
Lord Hastings smiled.
"What would be your idea about that?"
"Well," said Frank, "there are several things we might do. First, we
might sink a couple of German war vessels. We might try and learn the
lay of the land--perhaps I should say the water--or we might try and get
ashore and so learn other matters of importance. Have I hit it, sir?"
"You have," returned his commander dryly; "you've hit it in more ways
than one. In fact, I may say you have guessed shrewdly all through."
"Then I can do a little guessing, too," declared Jack.
"Well?" said Lord Hastings inquiringly.
"Well," said Jack, "we first shall probably make an attempt to get
ashore, for there we can learn more than we could reconnoitering beneath
the water. That's where we shall try to find our information. And we
shall sink a couple of the enemy on our way out. Am I right, sir?"
"You are," replied Lord Hastings briefly, and turning on his heel he
left the bridge and disappeared in his cabin, only to reappear a few
moments later, charts and papers in his hands, announcing:
"Mr. Chadwick, you will take the wheel yourself. I'll stand beside you
and give my orders. These waters are thickly strewn with mines and we
can afford to take no chances."
Frank obeyed this command without question and Lord Hastings took his
place beside him, first remarking to Jack:
"You will relieve the lookout forward, Mr. Templeton, and keep your eyes
open. I need not mention the need of prompt action should you perceive
danger ahead. Slow down to five knots!"
"Very well, sir."
Jack saluted, and after giving the command that reduced the speed of the
vessel, took himself forward.
There, at the extreme bow, he relieved a sailor and took the watch
himself.
Now the D-17, like her sister ship the D-16, which had been sunk off the
Dardanelles--an accident in which all on board escaped as by a
miracle--was as unlike other under-water craft as day is from night.
In the first place, she was able to remain under water indefinitely. It
was not necessary for her to return to the surface every so often to
replenish her air tanks, for she carried no tanks. The D-17 generated
her air supply from the water, by means of a secret process known only
to high officials of the British admiralty. Also, the D-17 was the last
word in submarine craft in other respects. She had a speed of more than
thirty knots when submerged, could move along even faster upon the
surface of the water, and her bow, a solid piece of substantial glass,
in which reposed a huge searchlight, made it possible for her to pick
her course under the water--something that no other submarine craft was
able to do. For this latter reason she could venture places where no
other vessel would dare.
The huge light flashing in front now, Jack took his stand and stood with
eyes straining into the distance ahead.
And while the D-17 is thus moving toward the strongest fortification of
the enemy, a few words concerning the two subordinate officers aboard
are necessary.
Frank Chadwick, an American youth of some seventeen years of age, found
himself in his present position as a result of a series of strange
happenings. He had lost his father in Italy immediately after the
outbreak of the great war, and while hunting him in Naples, had been
shanghaied aboard an Italian schooner. Here, following a mutiny of the
crew and the death of the captain, he found himself a prisoner,
remaining so until released by Jack Templeton.
The latter's appearance came about in this manner: Jack, the son of an
Englishman, nevertheless had spent most of his life in a little African
coast town. His father died there and Jack found himself sole owner of a
little store, which had almost a native trade alone, though an
occasional ship put in for supplies.
One day a schooner hove in sight. A boat put over the side and its
occupants obtained provisions at Jack's store. In the lad's absence,
they departed without making payment. Jack hurried after them to collect
and climbed aboard the schooner just as she raised anchor. A fight
followed his demand for payment. By some resourcefulness and some good
hard fighting, the lad succeeded in gaining the upper hand. Then he
released Frank, whom he found a prisoner with another, a British secret
service agent.
A series of subsequent events threw the lads into the company of Lord
Hastings, who, taking a liking to them, answered their pleas to be made
sailors by securing them commissions and taking them aboard his own ship
at the opening of the great world war.
Then had followed months of excitement and adventure. They had taken
part in British successes and reverses on all the seven seas. They had
been "in at the death" in the first British naval victory off
Heligoland; they had followed the German cruiser _Emden_, "the Terror of
the Sea"; they had been in action with the British fleet that destroyed
the German squadron off the Falkland Islands in the western hemisphere;
they had seen action in other parts of the globe--at the Dardanelles,
with the Japanese at Tsingchau, with the French in the Adriatic and with
the Russians in the Baltic.
In a word, they were veterans.
Many were the narrow escapes they had had, but they had always survived.
Their latest venture had almost cost Frank his life, for, after the
submarine upon which they sailed had been destroyed, Frank engaged in a
death struggle with a British traitor in the waters of the North Sea and
had won by a scant fraction. He was unconscious when rescued by his chum
and he had remained inactive, as had the others, in England for several
weeks.
But now, the D-17 having been put in service, Lord Hastings had been
named to command her and all were eager to get busy again.
Frank, though sturdy and strong, was by no means a match for his chum, a
powerful and husky young Englishman. Also he was naturally more
hot-headed than his friend, and given to taking foolhardy chances--at
times. Jack's coolness had saved both more than once.
Jack was what Frank called a real fighter and had proved his mettle more
than once since the two had been together. Strong as an ox, he was a bad
customer to tackle in a rough and tumble and he was exceedingly
proficient in the use of his fists. Also he was a fair swordsman and a
fair shot.
It was in the latter accomplishment that Frank excelled. He was a dead
shot with either rifle or revolver, as he had proved in several tight
situations where straight shooting had been necessary. He had never
failed in this respect.
Fortunately, both lads spoke German and French as well as English, and
under Lord Hastings' tutoring, they had also picked up a smattering of
Italian, Russian and Hungarian--not much, perhaps, but enough to carry
on a conversation, although with some difficulty.
At the time the D-17 made her way toward Heligoland, the great war was
almost at a standstill. It seemed that the warring nations had reached a
deadlock that could not be broken.
On sea, of course, the Allies held the whip hand, except for the
submarine warfare instigated by the Central Powers. This, however, due
in a measure to the activities of British under-sea craft upon which
Jack and Frank had served, had been somewhat lessened lately and German
U-boats, as they had come to be known, had not been so active recently.
On land, however, it seemed that neither side had gained much in the
last few months. What advantage there was seemed to have rested with the
Germans, for the Kaiser's mighty drive through the Balkans had
completely crushed heroic little Serbia and had opened a path to
Constantinople for the German hordes. Also it had brought Bulgaria into
the war on the side of the Central Powers, giving them the armed weight
necessary to keep Greece and Roumania from throwing their support to the
Allies, much as they would have liked to do so.
This was the situation, then, when the D-17 steamed slowly toward the
German naval fortress of Heligoland.
As Lord Hastings, standing by Frank at the wheel, gave the course,
avoiding mines as well as he could by the chart that had somehow come
into his possession, Jack retained his place forward in the glass-like
cage, his eyes steadily ahead.
For an hour, perhaps, he sat there, seeing nothing that indicated
danger.
Then, suddenly, his right hand shot out, his finger touched a little
push-button; the throb of the engines ceased as if by magic and the D-17
seemed to halt in her track.
Jack approached Lord Hastings.
"Mine, sir," he said, quietly.