THE FOILED RAID
BEFORE Tressidar could recover himself the second German gripped him
by the throat, at the same time shouting to his prostrate comrade to
bestir himself and find the pistol.
Although his opponent was a heavy, muscular man the British officer,
taken at a disadvantage, did not hesitate to attempt to equalise
matters. In spite of the pressure of the Hun's fingers on his
windpipe, he raised his knees and lashing out literally hurled the
German from him.
Agilely turning over, Tressidar sought to regain his feet, but as he
did so the fellow he had previously felled leapt upon his back,
striking him over and over again with his clenched fists; while the
other man, in spite of being temporarily winded, came again to the
attack.
In the midst of the desperate struggle Tressidar was most agreeably
surprised to hear a voice shouting, "Come on, men. Collar those
fellows."
The impending assistance caused the two Germans to take to their
heels. Without waiting to ascertain the numbers and strength of the
rescue party, they made off, leaving the car and various instruments
behind.
Tressidar regained his feet. He could discern the heavy tread of
approaching footsteps. He hastened to meet his rescuers, until sheer
astonishment brought him up "all standing." The rescue party
consisted of one person--Doris Greenwood.
"Are you hurt, Ronald?" she asked in an anxious whisper.
"No, I don't think so," replied Tressidar. "But why----? I thought I
told you to sheer off."
"It's not insubordination," said the girl. "You are not my superior
officer, you know. I heard the firing and the sound of men scuffling,
so I did my level best to imitate a man's voice, and at the same time
I stamped hard upon the ground. Have they gone?"
"Yes; but if they find out that you're only a girl--a jolly plucky
one, I must say--they may take it into their thick heads to renew the
attack. I'll find that pistol and be on the safe side."
While the sub. was searching for the lost weapon, Doris listened
intently.
"I cannot hear anything of them," she reported.
"That's rather a pity," said Tressidar, as he groped in the prickly
furze. "They may still be hanging round, waiting to stalk us.
Hurrah! I've found it."
His hand had come in contact with the barrel of the pistol. He
withdrew the firearm, to find that it was a powerful weapon of the
automatic type. Examination of the magazine revealed the fact that
there were seven unexpended cartridges.
"Where's your great-coat?" asked Doris.
"I left it down there," replied Tressidar, indicating the dim
outlines of the gorse-bushes on the other side of the road.
"You'll get a fearful cold without it. Go and get it," continued the
girl authoritatively. "We have no sympathy with patients at Auldhaig
Sick Quarters who get pneumonia through their own carelessness."
Tressidar laughed.
"I feel inclined to take the risk," he retorted. "But I suppose I'd
better obey your orders, even if you won't obey mine."
Holding the pistol in readiness for a surprise attack, the sub. stole
cautiously to the place where he had left his great-coat. Without
interruption he regained his property and rejoined his companion,
then he listened intently. Not a sound broke the stillness of the
night.
"Well, we've had to abandon a motor-cycle and side-car and we have a
gorgeous motor-car in exchange," said Tressidar. "I say, I hope you
are not in a great hurry?"
"Of course not," replied Doris with surprise at the question.
"Nursing sisters are not required to be back before nine."
"It may be long after nine," said the sub. seriously. "Stand by while
I shift this car. I'll tell you why presently."
The motor-car being on a slight gradient was fairly easy to move even
without starting the engine.
"Why, you haven't moved it half a yard," exclaimed Doris
"Precisely. That is all that is necessary just at present. Now let me
explain. These fellows were expecting a Zeppelin. It's on its way, I
believe, but there's little or no danger for us, I may say.
Somewhere--in what direction or how far away I don't know--is another
car, showing, I presume, a string of red lights like this beauty.
Viewed from an airship, there will be two lines of red lights
visible. These, if continued indefinitely, will intersect at a
certain spot. There the Zepp. is to drop her bombs; and the desired
place is Sauchieblair Munition Factory. Unfortunately I cannot alter
both bearings, but by clewing this car round a few feet the point of
intersection will be altered at least a couple of hundred yards. I
hope it will be four or five hundred, but it won't do to alter the
bearing too much in case it doesn't cross the other one."
"And then?"
"We must wait until the Zepp. has come and gone. If we abandon our
post our Germans may return and readjust the position of the car.
Hulloa! what's that? There's some one coming. Just get into the car,
Doris. It's a pretty substantial affair, unless I'm much mistaken."
Doris obeyed without demur. Tressidar, with his pistol ready for
instant action, crouched behind the body of the car.
Evidently some harmless individual was approaching. They could hear
footsteps crunching on the hard gravel road, but still, the sub.
could afford to take no risks of a treacherous onslaught.
"Halt!" shouted Tressidar as the man came within ten paces. "Who are
you? What are you doing here?"
The stranger, a big, hulking fellow, halted promptly enough, and in
broad Scotch declared that he was only a shepherd on his way home.
"And I'm a naval officer," announced the sub. "I call upon you in the
King's name to render assistance. Is your sight good? Can you hear
well?"
Receiving a disjointed affirmative reply from the almost dumfounded
shepherd, Tressidar continued:
"That's capital. Now, I want you to stand here and keep a bright
look-out. There are two suspicious characters knocking about. They
are not armed--at least, with firearms, for I've taken the only
pistol they possessed. Directly you spot them--that is, if they make
up their minds to come back--let me know as quietly as possible. Eh,
what's that? You hope they do? Good man! You are a tough customer to
tackle with that heavy stick of yours."
The Scotsman, a brawny specimen in spite of his years, for he was
nearly sixty, nodded his head with a confidence that assured the sub.
of a reliable and energetic ally. Leaving him at his post, Tressidar
returned to the car.
"I fancy I heard firing," he remarked.
"Yes," agreed Doris. "I saw flashes. See, there they are again."
She pointed away to the south-east. The crests of the distant hills
were silhouetted against a succession of pale flashes and the glare
of half a dozen searchlights, while the low rumble of a series of
explosions could just be distinguished.
Then the flashes ceased, although the giant beams still searched the
sky--and searched in vain. The huge target presented by the Zeppelin
had been lost to sight.
"There's something overhead," declared Tressidar. "It's an aerial
propeller, but for a Zepp. it's very subdued. You're not nervous,
Doris?"
The girl smiled.
"Being nervous wouldn't be of any use, so I must be brave," she
replied. "As a matter of fact I am rather enjoying the experience. Do
you think----"
A lurid flash and terrific crash, the sound appearing to emanate from
a spot within a hundred yards from where they waited, interrupted her
words. The flash was followed by two others in quick succession, and
then a perfect hail of high-explosive bombs. The Zepp. was hurling
down missiles as fast as she could from a height of less than two
thousand feet upon what her commander took to be the Sauchieblair
Munition Works. In point of actual fact the bombs were dropping,
thanks to Tressidar's resourcefulness in altering the position of the
leading lights, on the grassland full a mile from the Huns'
particular objective.
For nearly twenty minutes the futile operation of bomb-dropping
continued. Once or twice the sub. turned to look at the shepherd. The
man was gazing stolidly into the darkness with his back turned upon
the German firework display. He had been set a particular task and
whole-heartedly he was carrying it out.
At length, as if suspecting that they were being tricked, the crew of
the Zeppelin ceased hurling explosives. They switched on two powerful
searchlights, which, playing in an almost vertically downward
direction, swept the ground in order to discover the magazine
buildings. To do so the airship had dropped to less than a thousand
feet.
"They'll find the place, I'm afraid," thought Tressidar. "If only our
people had even a couple of anti-aircraft guns----"
The shepherd touched his arm and pointed down the road in the
direction of Auldhaig. Approaching at a furious rate, their presence
only apparent by the noise they made, were several motor-cars armed
with quick-firers on vertical mountings. Others, with travelling
searchlight projectors, accompanied them. The lights were temporarily
screened, since the position of the hostile airship could be fixed by
the fact that she was playing her searchlights upon the ground.
The mobile quick-firers made no attempt to get into action until the
cars were almost abreast of the spot where Tressidar and his
companions were. Had they done so, the chances were that the falling
shrapnel bullets would do considerable damage to the lightly built
roofs of the munition works.
Suddenly six anti-aircraft guns opened fire simultaneously. The air
was torn with the shriek of the high-velocity projectiles and the
sharp reports of the weapons. The explosion of the shells threw a
blaze of light upon the silvery envelope of the gigantic
night-raider. It seemed as if it would be impossible for her to
escape the wide effect of the bursting projectiles.
Doris clasped her hands and waited, fully expecting that the huge
floating fabric would either burst into flame or drop, a crumpled
mass of metal, upon the ground.
The Zeppelin lurched. Her bow part tilted sharply downwards. Her
searchlights were switched off. At the same time the British
searchlights threw their concentrated beams upon their quarry. Smoke
was pouring from the hard-pressed airship, until her outlines were
hidden by the pall of vapour.
Then, to an accompaniment of a perfect tornado of exploding bombs for
the airship had hurriedly thrown out her remaining supply of
missiles, the Zeppelin shot vertically upwards with almost incredible
velocity. Growing smaller and smaller to the sightseers, it gradually
grew more and more indistinct, until the searchlight men were unable
to locate its position. The last seen of her was that she was
travelling slowly in a south-easterly direction.
"Hulloa! What the deuce have we got here?" inquired a deep, hearty
voice. "Car with a blaze of red lights, by Jove!"
Towards the Mercédès car strode a burly, great-coated figure in the
uniform of a lieutenant in the R.N. Air Service. Following him were
seven or eight men from the crews of the motor batteries.
"You have here a car belonging to a couple of German spies," said
Tressidar, advancing to meet the lieutenant.
"Nothing like being candid about the business," rejoined the latter
drily. "And who might you be?"
The sub. announced his name and rank.
"You have a lot to explain," said the Air Service officer. "There
have been cases of Germans masquerading in British uniforms, you
know. You must consider yourself under arrest."
Tressidar raised no objection. It was useless to do so. He realised
that, in the circumstances, the lieutenant was perfectly justified in
what he did. He only wondered how Doris would take it.
Greatly to his surprise he heard the girl laugh merrily.
"Good evening, Mr. Waynsford," she exclaimed.
The young lieutenant, completely taken aback, did not immediately
reply. Striding to the door of the car, he merely returned the
compliment and waited for Doris to continue.
"I can answer for Mr. Tressidar's loyalty," she continued. "You see,
Mr. Waynsford, we are stranded on the hills. We had to abandon a
motor-cycle and we found a motor-car. In fact, Mr. Tressidar captured
it. Now I think I'll let you continue the narrative, Ronald."
"By Jove!" ejaculated the lieutenant. "That was quite a 'cute move on
the part of the spies, Tressidar, and most smart on your part. I
believe we've winged that Zepp. Hulloa!"
A petty officer came up at the double. He was one of the men attached
to the portable wireless telegraphy car.
"The Zepp.'s reported flying low over Saltkirk, sir," he announced.
"She dropped one bomb on a cottage. Woman and four children blown to
bits. The airship was last seen making slowly to the east'ard."
"Very good," commented Waynsford. "We can do no more. Can you pilot
the captured car into Auldhaig, Tressidar?"
"Don't think I'd better risk it," replied the sub. "I'm not used to a
Mercédès. A British-built car is more my mark."
He had other reasons for declining to be his own prize-master. It
would not be fair to Doris to let her risk her life in a strange car
and on a rough, hilly road. On the other hand, he did not like the
idea of letting Lieutenant Waynsford have the pleasure of the girl's
company. Already he was a little jealous of the fellow, he decided.
How did Doris get to make his acquaintance during her as yet brief
stay at Auldhaig?
"All right, then," rejoined Waynsford. "I'll give you a lift in my
car, and get a couple of hands to run the Mercédès to Auldhaig.
'Fraid you'll find rather cramped quarters," he added, as he held
open the metal door in the armoured sides. "The shoulder-piece of the
quick-firer is awfully in the way."
A moment later the cars were jolting and swaying at forty miles an
hour along the road, barely slowing down as they tore through the
crowded streets of Auldhaig, for the Zepp. had brought men, women,
and children from the houses, all eager to hear of the work done by
the anti-aircraft guns.
In this they were disappointed. The gunners, modest when it came to
relating their own deeds, were not inclined to give particulars,
especially as they were not definitely certain as to whether the
Zepp. was crippled.
Having escorted Doris to the gates of the hospital, Tressidar bade
her a hasty farewell and hurried towards the harbour. He had already
outstayed his leave, and although the extenuating circumstances
warranted the breach of discipline, he was anxious to know what was
being done afloat. It was now close upon ten o'clock. At ten-thirty
he was to go on duty in the guard-boat, which at Auldhaig was the
"harbour service" torpedo-boat No. 445, an antiquated craft but quite
good enough for the work allotted to her.
Auldhaig Harbour was now comparatively empty. The armoured cruisers
had left during the afternoon to rendezvous off the Isle of May; the
destroyers had gone to relieve the outer patrol in the Firth of
Forth, and the "opposite numbers" had not yet returned to the base.
The only vessels left were a couple of light cruisers undergoing
refit, four torpedo-boats, and a couple of large fleet auxiliaries.
By this time the steam pinnace had taken the sub. off to the hulk in
which the ship's company of the ill-fated "Pompey" were quartered.
Tressidar was only just able to snatch a hasty meal before the
torpedo-boat was ready to cast off.
Thanking his lucky stars that it was a fine night, although bitterly
cold, Tressidar gained the deck of the waiting craft. As he did so
the officer of the watch came to the side of the hulk and leant over.
"Message just come through, Mr. Tressidar," he exclaimed. "Zeppelin
reported down about fifteen miles south-east of Dunletter Head. All
available craft ordered to proceed and investigate. Good luck!"