THE CAPTAIN'S REVENGE
GERALD'S ruse had been successful. Knowing that the Indians of
Patagonia frequently take prisoners any small parties of the crews of
whaling vessels who allow themselves to be treacherously surprised,
so as to plunder and afterwards hold them to ransom, he reasoned that
the savages would remove their captives to their village directly the
_Olive Branch_ had left the anchorage. Evidently the natives wished
to keep the locality of their village a secret, and only Tregarthen's
scouting instincts had given him the clue.
So the submarine, in which were Lieutenant Palmer and the usual crew
of that craft, was submersed in mid-channel till the canoes attempted
the passage, the result of which was fatal to the savages and nearly
so to the originator of the enterprise.
When Gerald came to himself he found himself lying in the fore part
of the submarine in the company of the still unconscious members of
Slade's force. The fore-hatch had been uncovered to admit the air,
for 'tween decks the atmosphere was almost stifling.
"Well, old fellow, how goes it?" asked Mr. Palmer.
"I feel a bit rocky, but I shall be all right in a minute or two."
"Case for the sick bay, eh?"
"No fear; but it was a narrow squeak. I wonder how I managed to shake
that brute off my back."
"You didn't. If it had not been for Watson noticing that the boat's
head was pointing dead on shore you would not be here. He managed the
rascal very neatly by a tap with a spanner, and grabbed you as you
were on the point of disappearing overboard."
"Where are we now?"
"Brought up at the anchorage. We've telephoned to the _Olive Branch_,
and she's on her way back."
Ten minutes later the cruiser appeared round a bend in the channel,
and without undue delay the submarine was made fast alongside her
parent ship. Stockton and Slade and the surviving seaman were hoisted
over the side and sent below to the sick bay, while Gerald, still
feeling the ill effects of his encounter, hastened to make his report
to Captain Brookes.
"Excellent," was the captain's comment. "By the bye, you appear to
have thoroughly adapted yourself to my views. This is a practical
instance of the extermination of war. But we haven't done yet; I'm
going to send a charge of dynamite ashore, stow it in the centre of
their village, and blow the place to bits."
"Haven't we done enough, sir?" asked Gerald, for, now the excitement
of the struggle was over, the appalling nature of the business was
beginning to assert itself.
"Enough? No! Be thorough--that's my motto. Look here, Mr. Tregarthen,
can you give me one good reason why I should withhold my hand when
dealing with these rascals?"
"Suppose the whole tribe be wiped out--where does the warning to the
others come in? They won't know who is responsible for the act,
neither will they be able to understand why it was done. On the other
hand, if we give these rascals a thundering good fright, they will
have good cause to remember us, and behave better in the future."
Captain Brookes frowned. For the space of a minute he remained gazing
in the direction of the inhospitable shore, then, wheeling swiftly,
looked Gerald squarely in the face.
"Mr. Tregarthen, I don't know why it is, but you are the only man on
the ship that dares to thwart my purpose. Nevertheless, I like you
for your outspoken manner. Now carry on, and let me know what is your
alternative."
"We have not as yet given the ZZ-rays a practical test," remarked
Gerald, tentatively.
"Good gracious! The ZZ-rays!" exclaimed the captain, with
astonishment. "The only argument in favour of the ZZ-rays in
preference to a bombardment is that their action is instantaneous and
consequently painless. Is that your idea of mercy?"
"No, sir. In any case we must land a party to search for our missing
comrades. No doubt we can also 'round up' the savages, since they
won't be in a state to offer much resistance."
"And then?"
"We can land a hundredweight of explosive, place it on yonder rock,
which I believe is plainly visible from the village, and take the
_Olive Branch_ down to the mouth of Desolation Inlet, whence she can
explode the stuff by means of the ZZ-rays."
"In the meantime what will the natives be doing?"
"We can leave a party to keep them under guard. I will undertake that
task if required, sir."
"You have more faith in the infallibility of my invention than I
have," observed Captain Brookes, with a grim smile. "What if I
miscalculated the distance and wiped you out instead?"
"With due precautions there is no risk, sir."
"All right, Mr. Tregarthen. Since you are willing I make no
objection. Only remember, the men required to guard the prisoners--if
we succeed in taking any--must be volunteers, duly warned for the
service."
Meanwhile the submarine had been submersed and housed in its
accustomed berth; the divers had made rapid progress towards
replacing the repaired propeller, and preparations were in hand for
the proposed visit to the native village.
At sunrise on the following morning the launch, with the explosive
safely stowed on board, lay alongside the cruiser. Captain Brookes
signified his intention of heading the landing-party, which consisted
of eighty well-armed men.
"I am going to land on the eastern side of the inlet first," said the
captain. "I mean to visit the site of the ambuscade. This done, we
will cross to the other side and make a survey of the village."
It was some time before the track of the unfortunate expedition could
be picked up, since the snow had obliterated the footprints, and none
of the survivors were sufficiently recovered to accompany the
landing-party.
At length a "blaze" was found, and from that point the direction
taken by the former expedition was followed with little trouble.
Although it was practically certain that all the natives who had
taken part in the treacherous attack had been completely demoralised,
Captain Brookes took no risks. Advanced and rear guards were told
off, the men keeping their arms ready for instant use. In addition,
the silencers had been removed from the rifles.
"Why are those men halting?" demanded Captain Brookes, as the advance
guard came to an abrupt stop.
"They've found something, I think, sir," replied Lieutenant Sinclair.
"Then tell them to continue the advance."
By this means the gap between the three divisions being maintained,
the main body arrived at the spot where their comrades had halted;
then exclamations of rage burst from the lips of the infuriated
seamen, for lying, half covered by a mantle of snow, were the bodies
of the victims of the savages' treachery. "Isn't that enough to knock
the sickly sentimentality out of the most case-hardened
humanitarian?" asked Captain Brookes. "I may be wrong in my opinion,
but with the experience of not only today, but of years past, I feel
convinced that fear is the only means of keeping these savages in
order, and, by Jove, I'll teach them a lesson!"
Having made this unpleasant discovery, Captain Brookes led his men
back to the shore, whence they were transferred to the opposite bank
of the inlet.
Here they again formed up and marched towards the village, which was
cunningly concealed save from one particular direction--namely, from
where Gerald had noticed it from the eastern shore of the creek.
[Illustration: A terrific detonation shook the ground, and a thick
cloud of smoke obscured the view of the pinnacle. In an agony of fear
the natives threw themselves face downwards in the dust.]
Detaching a party of twenty men under Lieutenant Sinclair, with
instructions to make a detour to the opposite side of the village, so
that the savages' retreat would be cut off, Captain Brookes halted
the main body till a prearranged signal was given to show that
arrangements for surprise were complete.
"Now, forward, my lads!" exclaimed the captain, as the report of a
rifle was heard in the distance.
At the double the seamen rushed towards the collection of hovels that
formed the Patagonian village. A few of the natives showed fight, but
the majority fled, yelling with terror, in the direction of the
narrow defile held by Sinclair and his men.
Soon the fugitives were driven back; men, women, and children bolted
to their huts, and the work of capturing the natives began.
The savages offered but little resistance as they were seized and
securely bound. As for the women and children, they stoically
remained with their men-folk and finding that they were not to be put
to death--as they fully expected to be--the savages began to lose
their sullen manner and to take a faint interest in the seamen's
preparations.
On an open space in front of the village the natives were placed--the
men, individually bound and roped together as an additional
safeguard, sitting on the ground in a circle, with the women and
children in the centre.
Meanwhile another party of seamen had carried seven tins of dynamite,
each containing 16 1/2 lbs., to the base of the crag that Gerald had
indicated--at a distance of a mile and a half from the village--and
separated from it by the main channel of Desolation Inlet.
Gerald had detailed his volunteers for the task of guarding the
prisoners, and all the preliminary preparations were now complete.
"Now for a practical test of the ZZ-rays, Mr. Tregarthen," exclaimed
Captain Brookes, as he bade Gerald farewell. "It is now 10.30 a.m. At
noon punctually I shall liberate the electric current from the _Olive
Branch_, at a distance of nine sea miles from yonder crag. You will
please remain here, and on no account release the prisoners till my
return, which, I hope, will be at 1.30 p.m."
"Very good, sir," replied Gerald, with a salute, as the captain
ordered the remainder of the landing-party to fall in.
Meanwhile the divers had been working incessantly, and the propeller
was again fit for its task; the anchor was weighed, and the _Olive
Branch_ once more glided down the waters of Desolation Inlet.
Left in charge of the prisoners Gerald had ample time to reflect upon
the action he had taken. In his anxiety to save the savages from
extermination he had made a somewhat hasty proposal; and now, with
the execution of his plan in progress, the force of Captain Brookes'
objections came home to him.
The hitherto untried ZZ-rays might prove themselves far more
destructive than their inventor claimed; their radius of action might
overlap the area governed by those sinister chequers on the
indicator; the distance and direction of the pinnacle from the _Olive
Branch_ might be misjudged--and then?
Tregarthen glanced at his watch. It was a quarter to twelve.
"Smith!" he called out, addressing one of the petty officers.
"Sir?"
"Pass the word for the men to take off their bandoliers, empty the
magazines of their rifles, and stow the cartridges under yonder
tree."
Without betraying his surprise at the unusual order the man hurried
off to communicate Gerald's instructions. Implicit obedience was
Smith's sheet anchor.
"There, I've taken every possible precaution," mused the young
officer. "Now things must take their course."
As the minutes slowly sped the tension amongst the seamen increased.
Even the savages seemed to have an inkling that something
extraordinary was afoot.
Watch in hand Gerald waited till the long hand pointed at a minute to
the hour.
"Look!" he shouted, pointing to the distant crag.
The natives, although they did not understand the word, followed the
direction indicated, and a tense deathly silence seemed to fill the
air.
Precisely at noon a terrific detonation shook the ground, and a thick
cloud of dust and smoke obscured the view of the pinnacle. When the
cloud had dispersed the rock had completely vanished, only a heap of
boulders marking its position.
The effect upon the natives was astonishing. In an agony of fear they
threw themselves face downwards in the dust, shrieking and moaning in
a most dismal manner. By a pure coincidence the rock that Gerald had
selected for destruction had been regarded by the savages as the home
of the tutelar god of war, and its disintegration had appalled the
superstitious savages far more than any personal chastisement. They
realised that the power of the white man was greater than that of the
deity whom they regarded as their protector in their treacherous
attacks upon harmless trading and fishing vessels that stress of
weather had driven into their harbours.
Punctually at the time stated Captain Brookes returned with the rest
of the landing-party.
By means of signs the savages were told that they were spared on
condition that they refrained from molesting the crews of any ships
that might at some future time visit Desolation Inlet. This they
seemed to understand, and by gesticulations promised to conform to
their captors' commands.
"Cast them adrift," ordered Captain Brookes, then turning to Gerald
he continued: "Well, that's done with. There's not much doubt as to
the efficacy of the ZZ-rays. But the wireless is now in working order
once more, and the first message that I received is one that requires
our urgent presence in the Mediterranean Sea. Until I hear further
details I had better not say any more, but, rest assured, Mr.
Tregarthen, that compared with our next venture, recent events are
mere child's play."
(_To be continued_)
[Illustration: Seated up to his waist in water was the aviator, clad
in an inflated rubber suit. The engine was lost to view, the tips of
the twin propellers just projected above the surface.]
[Illustration: fifth instalment]
BY PERCY F. WESTERMAN
Author of "A Lad of Grit," etc.
_ILLUSTRATED BY E. S. HODGSON_
*Synopsis*
GERALD TREGARTHEN, sub-lieutenant of H.M.S. _Calder_, being on leave,
sails from Poole with his old school-chum Jack Stockton on board the
latter's yacht _Playmate_. In mid-Channel the yacht is run down; the
two friends are rescued, and find themselves on board a mysterious
cruiser--the _Olive Branch_--commanded by Captain Brookes. Finding
that Tregarthen is a British naval officer, Captain Brookes announces
his intention of keeping him on board, and, after due deliberation,
Gerald decides to fall in with the captain's plans, as far as his
sense of loyalty will permit.
Tregarthen is initiated into the secrets of the _Olive Branch_,
including that of the deadly ZZ-rays--an irresistible charge of
electricity whereby the destruction of a hostile ship can be made at
will. Captain Brookes also explains that by the power at his command
he hopes to make war so terrible that no nation will venture to
declare war; thus universal peace will be assured. During the voyage
south a German "tramp" is boarded for the recovery of some plans
which had been stolen by a deserter, and for this action the _Olive
Branch_ is branded as a pirate.
Hostilities break out between Chili and Peru, and Captain Brookes
determines to intervene. The _Olive Branch_ is damaged by a mine, and
while undergoing repairs is trapped by a British squadron. Captain
Brookes is handicapped by a vow never to fire on a British vessel.
By the aid of the Z-rays, however, the _Olive Branch_ escapes, though
not without sustaining injury. The vessel puts into a creek in the
Patagonian coast for repairs. A number of blacks which are
encountered at first appear friendly, but afterwards prove
treacherous, and to cower them Captain Brookes utterly destroys, by
means of the ZZ-rays, a huge rock regarded by the natives as the home
of their god of war. Later the captain receives a message which,
without disclosing particulars, he tells Tregarthen is to the utmost
urgency, and involves immediate action.
[Illustration: chapter XIX]