It was indeed a most unpleasant discovery. The submarine was one of the active "U" boats possessing an enormous radius of action. Her size rendered her incapable of being carried even in sections from one of the German North Sea across Austria to Pola or Trieste; she must, in naval parlance, have made the voyage "on her own bottom". It was indeed a daring piece of work running the gauntlet of the British patrol ships in home waters, passing through the well-guarded Straits of Gibraltar and entering the Mediterranean Sea, which was held almost entirely by British and French war-ships. Unseen, save when receiving supplies of oil and provisions from well-subsidized tenders sailing under a neutral flag, she had reached a secret rendezvous in Asia Minor, and was now within easy distance of the unsuspecting Allied fleets.
If one German submarine could perform this unparalleled feat others could do the same, and a fresh danger menaced the ships that were so persistently hammering at Turkey's gate.
Presently one of the German officers gave vent to an exclamation of satisfaction, at the same time pointing along the mountain path which ended close to where he was standing. The others bestirred themselves, like men who after long waiting have their expectations realized.
The head of the convoy was approaching.
"Well met, von Birmitz!" exclaimed the captain of the convoy to the senior officer of the submarine, who wore the uniform of a lieutenant-commander. "We had your message, but why did you not send a wireless? It would have saved hours."
"It would have been unsafe, my dear von Elbing," replied the German naval officer. "Those cursed Englishmen would intercept the message, and the cat would be out of the bag. But I am right glad to see you, and more especially the stuff you bring."
The military officer laughed uproariously.
"Nothing like being candid," he remarked. "Did you have a good voyage?"
"Excellent. And what is more, we passed within two hundred metres of a British battleship, and she never had the faintest notion that one of our most formidableunterseebootenwas anywhere in the Mediterranean."
"You bagged her, of course?"
"Unfortunately, no. There were too many English destroyers about, and we had not enough petrol to risk being driven miles out of our course. There was sufficient only to bring us here, and here we have been the last three days with the English fleet within easy striking distance, yet we were helpless."
"You will not be for long," rejoined von Elbing, "so the sooner we get to work the better."
"Meanwhile, do me the honour of broaching a bottle of the best Rhine wine," said von Birmitz. "Our boat is but a small one for a man of your build, but with caution you will be safer than in Fort——"
"Nagara," added the other. "You are right. When those English shells begin to fall it is a bit of a tight corner, but fortunately von Biltz and I have a snug and safe retreat."
The officers embarked in the canvas boat and were rowed off to the submarine. Before going below, von Birmitz spoke to a seaman, who instantly semaphored to a German sentry stationed on the high ground at the entrance to the inlet.
Crosthwaite had not noticed the fellow before. He now realized that he had run a great risk of detection, for, in his curiosity to overhear the conversation, he had approached so closely to the edge of the cliff as to be clearly visible from the place where the sentry from the submarine was posted.
The seaman semaphored a reply, which was evidently satisfactory, for, rubbing his hands gleefully, the Lieutenant-Commander followed his guests down the narrow hatchway.
A little later the submarine, the deck of which was previously only just awash, began to rise till she showed a freeboard of nearly six feet.
Dick estimated that she was about three hundred feet in length, and considerably longer than the latest type of British submersible. Her conning-tower was of an acute oval section and apparently spacious. There were two periscopes, while abaft the conning-tower was a light signalling-mast supporting the wireless aerials. Fore and aft were short quick-firing guns mounted on water-tight disappearing platforms, while, owing to freeboard she exposed, the Sub could see the ends of a couple of broadside torpedo-tubes, both within ten feet of the 'midship section.
"She carries six tubes at least," whispered Dick; "two on each side abeam and two in the bows. It's just likely she has a pair of stern tubes also. No wonder she wants a good supply of torpedoes; yet what has she done with those she brought with her? That fellow made no mention of having used any. Hello, she's getting under way."
As he spoke, men hurried up from below. The propeller began to churn and the submarine gathered way. Describing a semicircle she slowed down, while a couple of seamen in the Berthon boat began to run a line ashore. To this was bent a stout hawser, which, as soon as it was made fast to the stump of a tree, was carried to a motor-capstan on deck. Slowly and with extreme caution theunterseebootwas warped close inshore until it was possible for a man to leap from her deck on to dry ground.
It was the only place in the creek where deep water existed close to the shore, for elsewhere the depth shoaled gradually.
The work of replenishing the submarine's stock of petrol proceeded with the utmost dispatch, each large steel drum being carried to the beach by Turks, whence it was whipped on board by means of a light steel crane. The drums were quickly emptied into the vessel's tanks, and the empties taken ashore again and reloaded on the wagons.
Nearly the whole morning was spent in taking on board the supply of petrol. According to Dick's estimate, the quantity was sufficient for a surface run of at least four thousand miles.
After that part of the business was completed, the additional torpedoes were cautiously slung inboard and passed down a long, narrow hatchway. In this operation the Turkish troop took no part. The handling and stowage was performed entirely by the submarine's crew.
In the midst of these operations the seaman sentry began signalling frantically. Summoned from below, von Birmitz hastily appeared, followed by his guest and the other officers of the submarine who were not engaged In superintending the work.
Somewhat ungracefully von Elbing leapt ashore, landing on his hands and knees. He shouted an order to the men of the convoy, hurried up the path, and was soon lost to sight.
Meanwhile the crew of the submarine were hurriedly securing hatches, and lowering the disappearing guns and the wireless mast. In their haste they were unable to pass below four torpedoes lying on deck. These they fastened to ring-bolts by means of stout ropes, then at the Lieutenant-Commander's orders the crew cast off the hawsers and scurried-below.
Twenty seconds later the submarine sank in twelve fathoms of water, till from their elevated position the two British officers could just discern her outlines as she glided towards the centre of the creek.
"They've smelt a rat," declared Dick.
"One of our destroyers, by Jove!" added Farnworth, as a four-black-funnelled, black-hulled craft proudly displaying the white ensign could be seen beyond the barrier of rock that almost closed the narrow entrance.
"We must attract their attention, regardless of the consequences," declared Dick, and springing to his feet he waved the silk handkerchief that had previously rendered good service as an insulator to von Eitelheimer's scabbard.
"Let's fire our revolvers, sir," suggested the midshipman.
"Can but try," replied Dick recklessly. "Only I'm afraid they won't hear; the wind's the wrong way."
Both men emptied their revolvers In the air, but to their intense disappointment the destroyer held on her course without attempting to reply, and presently she was lost to sight behind the rising ground.
"Think that rotten submarine will have a go at her, sir?" asked Farnworth.
"Hardly likely. She'll want to try her luck at bigger game," replied Dick. "But the point is this: we must do our level best to warn our people—and as soon as we possibly can. It will take the German submarine another five hours at least to prepare for sea, and those fellows won't reappear in a hurry until the coast is perfectly clear. The question is, did the troops belonging to the convoy hear our shots? If so, we must look out for ourselves."
"What do you propose, sir?"
"Wait till the submarine resumes loading up, then we'll cut back and see if we can't collar a couple of horses. You'll remember the Turks left their horses hobbled, and there was no one left on guard. Then we'll go all out and make for Kum Kale. If we find the French there, well and good; if not, we must make a raft or sneak a boat, and trust to luck to be picked up by one of our patrol ships."
Cautiously the two fugitives made their way backward along the terrace running parallel to and above the mountain path. After traversing nearly a quarter of a mile they halted abruptly, for seated on a rock by the side of the ridge were two German military officers, who, to pass away the tedious wait, had climbed the hillside and were now enjoying cigars.
"Luckily, we were not making a dash for it," remarked Dick. "But at the same time we did right to make a reconnaissance by daylight. I'm afraid these terraces terminate abruptly, but we'll see."
Accordingly Crosthwaite and his companion climbed to the next ridge. Still not satisfied they ascended to the next, which was about two hundred feet above the one where the two German officers had unwittingly cut off their retreat.
"There's only the road for us," announced Dick after a while. "See, all these terraces end abruptly. There's a precipitous gorge right through the mountain."
"A good thing we didn't try it in the dark, sir," said the midshipman. "A fellow wouldn't be worth much if he pitched over there."
"Well, let's get back to our former hiding-place," suggested the Sub. "It's about time the submarine appeared."
Dick was right in his surmise, for the boat had just emerged from its hiding-place and was being warped in towards the shore.
"Where's von Elbing and his men?" demanded the Lieutenant-Commander of his subordinate. "One would think that the English destroyer was searching for him!"
"He's coming," announced the German sub-lieutenant.
"About time," grumbled von Birmitz. "It will be quite another twenty-four hours before they go to Chanak and back, and we can't move until they do."
The interrupted work was continued, while the German officers chatted on the beach. Presently the seaman stationed on the cliffs as a look-out began signalling, his message being taken down by another seaman on the deck of the submarine.
"Gott in Himmel, what is this?" exclaimed von Birmitz dumbfoundedly, when the message was handed him. "Von Elbing, listen. Our man reports that as soon as we were submerged two German officers began signalling to that cursed English destroyer, and that they even fired shots to attract her attention."
"Impossible," declared von Elbing. "Unless——"
"Unless what?"
"Two English prisoners escaped from Fort Medjidieh. They took the uniforms of Major von Eitelheimer and of one of our second lieutenants."
The Lieutenant-Commander swore loudly.
"It must be they," he declared. "Warn your men, von Elbing. I'll turn out a dozen of my crew, and we'll have a hunt for these troublesome pests. Mark my word, there'll be trouble if we don't settle with them."
"They cannot get far," added von Elbing complaisantly. "If we surround this hill there is no escape except by the road, and that is well guarded. Let us hasten, for it is already late in the afternoon."
Dick nudged his companion.
"Now we're on our mettle," he said grimly. "The fun is about to commence."
"Like hare and hounds, sir," said Farnworth with a forced laugh. "A quarter of an hour's start, and then look out."
"Less than that, I'm afraid," rejoined Dick. "Those fellows won't be long in arming and turning out. We'll take the lowermost terrace. They won't expect to find us there, for naturally they'll think we've scurried towards the higher ground. All we've got to do for the present is to evade those two chaps we saw perched up on the ledge—unless they've been warned."
The fugitives hurried without exchanging further words, keeping close to the cliff so as to escape the attention of the German officers whom they had seen smoking cigars and leisurely surveying the scenery.
Presently Dick pointed upwards. The midshipman nodded. They were immediately underneath the unsuspecting Teutons. Just at that moment half a dozen German seamen from the submarine appeared, advancing in extended order.
Crouching, the fugitives continued their way, but before they had traversed another twenty yards an irregular volley rang out.
"They've spotted us," gasped Farnworth.
The next instant the Sub saw two grey-coated forms hurtling through the air. With a sickening crash they fell almost at the feet of the British officers. The Germans had brought down their luckless fellow-countrymen, who, ignorant of what had happened, had been taken to be the escaped prisoners in their disguise as Teutonic officers in the Ottoman service.
"Cut for it," whispered Dick. "They can't see us from the road. We've another chance."
Both men, bending low, doubled along the terrace till a projecting crag separated them from the scene of the blunder. On and on they ran till they reached the defile that cut through the series of ledges. Fifty feet beneath them was cover in plenty, but every inch of that distance seemed as smooth as a brick wall. It was equally impossible to ascend to the next terrace, for the whole of the last quarter of a mile the cliff assumed an almost perpendicular aspect and was absolutely unclimbable.
"Look, sir!" exclaimed Farnworth, pointing to the road.
Almost abreast of where they stood were three magnificent horses, held by a ferocious-looking Turkish cavalryman. At this point the ground shelved gradually. It would be a comparatively easy matter to gain the road, but the difficulty was that farther along the track was the Ottoman cavalry escort.
"We must risk it," declared the Sub. "It's touch and go."
Boldly leaving their place of concealment and descending the slope, the two fugitives approached the Turkish soldier. The man, knowing nothing of what was taking place at the seaward end of the valley, stiffly saluted the supposed German officers, and when they clambered awkwardly into the saddles he offered no objection, although his face showed unbounded surprise as he was left with only one horse in his charge.
Obediently the captured steeds broke into a canter. Perhaps it was well that they did not gallop, for both officers were indifferent horsemen. Like most seamen they could hold on to practically anything, so they stuck to the saddles and resisted the involuntary inclination to be pitched off into the dusty road.
"Now for it," muttered Dick, as a sharp bend in the mountain path brought them in sight of the mounted rear-guard.
It was an anxious thirty seconds, but before the Turkish irregulars could penetrate the deception the two British officers were through and heading towards the open country.
"BEFORE THE TURKISH IRREGULARS COULD PENETRATE THE DECEPTION THE TWO BRITISH OFFICERS WERE THROUGH""BEFORE THE TURKISH IRREGULARS COULD PENETRATE THEDECEPTION THE TWO BRITISH OFFICERS WERE THROUGH"
"BEFORE THE TURKISH IRREGULARS COULD PENETRATE THE DECEPTION THE TWO BRITISH OFFICERS WERE THROUGH""BEFORE THE TURKISH IRREGULARS COULD PENETRATE THEDECEPTION THE TWO BRITISH OFFICERS WERE THROUGH"
"Enough!" gasped Dick after cantering another two miles. "We'll abandon the gee-gees and trust to our legs. We wouldn't stand a ghost of a chance when those fellows are ordered in pursuit."
Almost pulling their steeds upon their haunches they dismounted, and reluctantly administering a sharp cut with the flat of their scabbards upon the animals that had served them so well, sent them galloping madly in the opposite direction to that of the convoy.
Then, taking a course almost at right angles to the road, the fugitives were soon deep in a scrub-covered expanse of undulating ground.
"A good start," ejaculated Dick breathlessly. "By the time they've discovered their mistake over those two German officers and have explained matters to the Turks, we ought to be well on our way to Kum Kale."
"Twenty-four hours, they said, before the submarine puts to sea, sir," remarked Farnworth. "We ought to do it well before that time."
"I hope so," added the Sub. "By Jove! It will be a serious matter if we don't."
Once more night was drawing on apace, yet, in their ardour to warn their comrades of an unexpected peril, they gave no thought to fatigue. Guided by the stars, the Sub shaped a course which he reckoned would bring them within the district supposed to be held by the French Expeditionary Force. By daylight they should be well within sight of Kum Kale.
"Steady!" cautioned Dick, as they commenced to descend a steep declivity. "I fancy we're close to the sea again."
"I certainly can hear surf," declared the midshipman.
"So much the better unless the coast is very much indented," added the Sub. "We can't be so very far from Yenikeui."
"Hope the Turks aren't there in force, like they were last time, sir."
"Not much fear of that. More than likely we'll stumble across a French outpost."
Down and down they went, till Dick felt certain they had descended nearly five hundred feet. At some distance in front of them rose another line of hills—the last natural barrier before they reached the historic Plains of Troy.
Suddenly the midshipman's foot caught in the exposed root of a gnarled and dwarfed tree, and with a stifled exclamation he pitched upon his hands and knees.
"Halt! Who goes there?" demanded a voice in unmistakable English, so close that the Sub nearly ran upon the point of a bayonet that glittered in the starlight.
"Friends," replied the Sub promptly.
"Maybe," retorted the sentry. "All the same, blessed if I likes the cut of your rig. So hands up, and no blessed fuss or I'll fire."
Obediently Dick raised his grey-sleeved arms, while the midshipman, regaining his feet, followed his example. Then a second figure joined the first, and a torch flashed upon the faces of the two officers.
"Germans, by smoke!" exclaimed the first sentry. "Bloomin' officers, too. I'll take good care these fellows don't give me the slip."
"Bluejackets!" ejaculated the Sub.
"Stow your bloomin' lip," ordered the sentry menacingly.
Dick complied, mentally picturing the seaman's confusion when the identity of the supposed prisoners was established.
In a few seconds half a dozen bluejackets, headed by a sub-lieutenant, appeared on the scene.
"What have we here, Jenkins?" asked the officer.
"Germans, sir. Strolled right on top of me bayonet."
"Good! March them in. I'll question them when we get them on board."
"One minute," expostulated Dick.
"Eh—what's that? You speak English," exclaimed the officer.
"Rather—I am a British officer, and so is my companion."
"Keep off it—bloomin' cheek," interposed the man who had held up the supposed Germans.
"Silence, there!" rapped out the Sub-lieutenant sternly.
Dick gave his name and rank, and that of his brother officer.
"But be sharp and take us on board," he added. "You'll have to send an urgent message to the Admiral. It's a matter of extreme importance."
The sense of caution was deep within the mind of the Sub in charge of the landing-party; and although he complied with Dick's request to hasten, he took good care to have the two grey-uniformed men surrounded by armed seamen until he reached the shore of a creek.
Here, lying about a cable's length off, was a submarine of the "E" type. She was almost awash, her hatches being open, while a skeleton-like framework extended over her contour from bow to stern.
Five minutes later the rescued officers found themselves within the hull of the vessel, where they were quickly able to establish their identity, and the Lieutenant-Commander's face grew grave as he listened to their narrative.
"A 'U' boat in these waters!" he remarked. "Well, I'm not altogether surprised. Luckily, I'm in an independent command, so we'll see if 'dog won't eat dog'. I'll go for her, by Jove! I suppose you could recognize the creek?"
"It's less than twenty miles sou'-east by south, I should think," replied Dick. "Of course I haven't seen the place from seaward, but I think I could spot it."
"Strange!" exclaimed the Lieutenant-Commander when he had introduced himself as Aubrey Huxtable. "I cannot see any opening shown on this chart."
"It would be about there," said Dick, pointing to a position where the coast-line presented an unbroken front. "The mountains on either side are shown, so I feel fairly certain about it."
"Very good; we'll proceed at once," declared Huxtable. "I'd send a wireless to theHammererannouncing your safety, only it would be too risky."
"Exactly what the commander of the 'U' boat said," added the Sub. "Well, after six weeks of it, a few hours more won't hurt."
"Say thirty-six," corrected Huxtable; "that is, unless you have strong reasons for not accompanying us. We were just about to start for a jaunt up the Dardanelles; that is the reason for this gadget," and he indicated the curved latticed girder above his head.
"An idea of mine," continued the Lieutenant-Commander. "It may work all right. The armourer's crew of theTremendousrigged it up. You can see the overhead girder. There are others—one on each side, and at present seven feet below the water-line, and at a minimum distance of eighteen feet from the hull. All three meet at a point bow and stern."
"A kind of rigid crinoline," suggested Dick.
"Precisely. The idea is that if we encounter mines these steel rods will push the cables attached to the sinkers clear of us. Also, if the Turks had laid mines in pairs connected by a horizontal bridle, as I fancy they have, these guides will lift the obstruction clear of the housed periscope or any projection on deck."
"And if the mine explodes?"
The Lieutenant-Commander shrugged his brawny shoulders.
"That remains to be seen. For my part, I fancy that a cushion of water eighteen feet between the point of explosion and the side of our craft will considerably neutralize its effect. My governor was on the staff on theVernonwhen they experimented with the oldResistancein Portchester Creek. He told me most emphatically that a torpedo exploded electrically alongside her extended torpedo-nets did no material damage to the hull. In fact, all the damage caused by the explosion was the unshipping of one bracket of the booms and a rent in the mesh of the nets. So I've pinned my faith on my device, and we are going to test it. Of course, if you wish to be put aboard——"
"Not at all," protested Dick. "I'm perfectly game."
"And young Farnworth?"
"Better ask him, sir," replied Crosthwaite.
Calling the midshipman to him, the skipper briefly outlined his plans and made him a similar offer.
"Only too glad of the opportunity, sir," declared Farnworth, his eyes glistening at the prospect of a daring piece of work.
"I'm glad of it," rejoined the Lieutenant-Commander. "Having completed our fit-up, I was not keen on displaying it to the eyes of the fleet. I'd rather wait until it has proved its merits. Well, we are ready to start. We'll submerge to ten feet, and if you'll stand by, Mr. Crosthwaite, and help me to con her into this secret lair, I'll be everlastingly grateful."
"How do you propose to attack—by gunfire or torpedo?" enquired Dick.
"Oh, torpedo, by all means. Let the Germans know that we can use the 'tinfish' whenever we get something worth going for."
The crew were now at their diving-stations.
Calmly and distinctly the Lieutenant-Commander gave his orders, and with a barely perceptible tilt the submarine dived till the gauge registered the required distance.
It was still dark. Through the periscope, only the rugged outlines of the shore were visible. Distance has to be estimated by the apparent height of the land; while steering a compass course the submerged vessel simply groped along, with her extended periscope rising clear of the turtle-back girder and showing less than two feet above the surface.
"We ought not to be far from the spot now," remarked the skipper after an hour had elapsed. "Do you make anything of it?"
Dick, who had borrowed a razor from an obliging officer and had removed his moustache and stubbly beard, was carefully examining the image in the object-bowl of the periscope. It revealed a seemingly unbroken coast, backed by two lofty mountains, one of which was serrated on its western side.
"That's the place," declared the Sub. "Those ridges are the terraces where we played a novel game of hide-and-seek. That hummock is where the Germans posted a sentry. The entrance is about a cable's length to the left of it."
"Very good; we'll close the shore a bit," said the Lieutenant-Commander; and signing to the quartermaster to starboard the helm till the vessel was eight points off her former course, he ordered speed to be reduced to five knots.
"It's a lucky job there are no currents in this part," commented the skipper. "By Jove, what a hole! and I thought I knew every yard of the coast between Kum Kale and Smyrna."
As the British submarine approached the shore the narrow entrance began to show itself in the form of a gap in the cliffs, backed by the high ground surrounding the inlet. Owing to the submarine's slow speed her periscope hardly made a ripple on the placid surface, yet officers and men were on thorns lest the German look-out would detect the phosphorescent swirl as the vertical metal tube forged gently through the water.
"Let's hope there isn't a bar here," muttered the skipper.
The words were hardly out of his mouth when a dull, rasping sound announced the unpleasant fact that the submarine was scraping over the shingly bottom. To reverse the motors to back off the ledge would mean instant detection.
Ten seconds of breathless suspense followed. During that time the submerged craft was still forging ahead, till without losing way she slid into deep water. She was safely within the secret haven.
"By Jove, I've got her! There she is!" exclaimed the Lieutenant-Commander.
It was now dawn, with sufficient light to discern the outlines of theunterseeboot. She had warped out from her inshore berth, and was now lying at anchor in about the same position as when Dick had first discovered her. Her deck was showing about two feet above the surface. Alongside was the Berthon boat with two men on board. On the submarine the only signs of life were a couple of seamen patrolling the limited extent of deck.
"Stand by—both tubes," ordered the Lieutenant-Commander. He was determined to take no risks of a miss.
The twenty-one-inch gleaming steel cylinders, set to the minimum depth, were already in the tubes. The torpedo gunner and his mate were grimly alert, grasping the ball-ended levers that were to liberate the charge of compressed air.
Slowly, ever so slowly, the British submarine swung to starboard, until her skipper knew that the fixed tubes were pointed straight towards their quarry.
"Ready—fire starboard!"
With a hiss as the air, hitherto compressed to two hundred pounds to the square inch, rushed from its compression chamber, the deadly missile sped on its way. Beyond the swish of the inrushing water that was automatically admitted to compensate the loss of weight caused by the speeding torpedo, not a sound broke the deadly stillness pervaded the interior of the submarine.
Four seconds later a dull roar betokened the fact that one torpedo was sufficient for the work of destruction.
"Blow main ballast tank," ordered the skipper.
No need for caution now. The victor could appear on the surface with impunity. She rose almost vertically, for she had almost lost way. With the water pouring in cascades from her steel deck she flung herself free from the encircling embrace of the sea, and curtsied to the morning air.
Hatches were quickly opened, and officers and men rushed on deck to see with their own eyes the result of their successful work.
Already theunterseeboothad vanished for the last time. An ever-widening circle of sullen water heavily tinged with oil, and surmounted by a cloud of pungent smoke that was slowly dispersing in the calm air, marked the spot where the luckless submarine had plunged to the bottom.
The canvas boat was still afloat. Some distance from the point of impact of the torpedo she had withstood the suction of the sinking vessel, and was now bobbing sluggishly to the undulations caused by the rebound of the disturbed water from the sides of the creek. The two German seamen, staring with wide-open eyes as if terrified by the appalling nature of the catastrophe, were crouching in the Berthon, while through the oil-spread water a third man was laboriously swimming towards her.
"We'll let them go," decided the skipper. "They can tell their pals of the convoy that their second journey is for nothing. Besides, under forthcoming conditions, we have no room for prisoners of war."
"There's another bloke, sir," sung out one of the crew. "He's pretty nigh done for, I'll allow."
The Lieutenant-Commander looked in the direction indicated. A fourth member of the complement of the ill-starredunterseebootswimming listlessly and aimlessly. He was apparently in the last stages of exhaustion, and although his plight was observed by the men in the canvas boat, either they were too callous or too stunned by the after-effects of the catastrophe to attempt to row to his assistance.
"Is there plenty of water, Mr. Crosthwaite?" asked the skipper.
"Plenty, sir."
"Easy ahead," ordered Huxtable. "Stand by with a line, men."
Slowly the submarine approached the drowning man. Too much way would not only be a detriment to his rescue, but would hazard the safety of the vessel.
Two coils of rope were hurled at the luckless German, but although both fell almost within arm's length of him he made no effort to grasp them.
"Good heavens!" ejaculated Farnworth, "he's blind."
"He's going!" shouted a man. "If he gets his head under the oil he'll never come up again."
"Bravo!" exclaimed the skipper as a brawny bluejacket kicked off his sea-boots and, without attempting to rid himself of his fearnought coat and sweater, plunged overboard.
A dozen strokes brought him to the wellnigh unconscious Teuton. Seizing the fellow by the collar, his rescuer towed him alongside the submarine, where willing hands hauled both on deck, the German muttering and gibbering incoherently, not knowing whether he was in the hands of friend or foe.
"Lay on your oars!" shouted the Lieutenant-Commander in German to the men in the Berthon, who were now beginning to pull for the shore.
They only redoubled their efforts; and it was not until the submarine overhauled the boat, and ranged up so close that there was not room to swing an oar, that the Germans sullenly obeyed the summons to surrender.
Their astonishment was great when their disabled comrade was carefully lowered into the boat and they were told to push off. Promptly they obeyed, but as soon as they gained the beach the unwounded men leapt out and hastened up the mountain path. Before a projecting rock hid them from sight they stopped and made derisive gestures at their humane foes, then they vanished from sight.
The skipper shrugged his shoulders.
"Kultur," he remarked. "Those are the fellows who, had we been struggling for dear life, would have jeered at our despairing efforts."
"But what can you expect from a navy that has no honourable traditions, sir?" asked Dick.
The submarine's Lieutenant-Commander sent one wireless message prior to starting on his dash for the Sea of Marmora. Under the circumstances it was desirable, in spite of the chance of its being intercepted by the enemy.
The message was to the Admiral, to the effect that, acting upon information supplied by Sub-Lieutenant Richard Crosthwaite, of H.M.S.Hammerer, who with Midshipman Farnworth succeeded in effecting his escape from the enemy, the officer commanding H.M. Submarine "E—" succeeded in torpedoing and destroying a Germanunterseebootin the neighbourhood of Smyrna; and that he was in possession of information that suggested the anticipated arrival of other German submarines from their North Sea bases.
Back came the reply:
"Admiral heartily congratulates officer commanding 'E—' on his brilliant exploit, and Sub-lieutenant Crosthwaite and Midshipman Farnworth on their escape."
"Good!" ejaculated Lieutenant-Commander Huxtable. "Unship the wireless mast. We won't need that again until we've done something to shake the Turks up."
Running awash, the submarine skirted the shore till the outlines of Kum Kale appeared in sight. Then diving to a depth of eight fathoms, in order to be well clear of the keels of any British battleships cruising in the vicinity, she headed for The Narrows.
With a suddenness peculiar to the Mediterranean a strong wind had sprung up, causing a heavy sea to run at the entrance to the Dardanelles, and as a result the submarine jumped violently in a vertical direction as each wave passed forty to sixty feet above her.
"Thank goodness it won't be for long," remarked the skipper. "It's the current against the wind that makes such a beast of a jump. I wouldn't like to tackle the anchored mines with this tumble on; but you'll find we'll pick up smooth water as soon as we leave Eski Hissarlik on our port quarter."
For three hours the submarine literally groped her way, running at seven knots against a current the velocity of which is rarely less than five. At the end of that interval she showed her periscope with the utmost diffidence. An observation revealed Kephez Point broad on the starboard beam, and the battered fort of Kilid Bahr a couple of points on the port bow.
"We've fouled something, sir," reported the Acting Sub-lieutenant of the submarine, a youngster but recently promoted from midshipman.
"By Jove, we have!" agreed his superior officer, as he glanced through the small observation-scuttle in the side of the conning-tower. "Awkward—confoundedly awkward!"
He was seriously annoyed; not at the immediate danger, but at the failure of his device to ward off obstructions; for in ascending the submarine had risen immediately underneath the anchor-chamber of a mine that had broken adrift, but still retained the metal box containing the depth-regulating mechanism. The anchor-chamber had engaged on the inside of the starboard girder, and what was more, a length of loose rope had trailed aft and was almost within the sweep of one of the twin propellers. In another few seconds the rope would be wound round and round the boss as tightly as a steel hawser.
Promptly the electric motors were switched off. For the time being one danger was averted. It remained to shake the submarine clear of the powerful charge of explosive that was hitched up within seven feet of the conning-tower. One slight tap on one of the many sensitive "feelers" of the mine would result in the total destruction of the submarine and her daring crew.
"Flood auxiliary ballast-tanks," ordered the Lieutenant-Commander.
Slowly, as the water hissed into the strong steel compartments, the submarine sank in a vertical direction. For the nonce her diving-rudders were useless. She was stationary as far as movement in a horizontal direction was concerned.
The officers anxiously watched the hand of the steel indicating the depth. At twelve fathoms the downward movement ceased. The Lieutenant-Commander had hoped that the buoyancy of the mine would release the anchor-chamber from the steel girder that in this instance had proved to be a source of danger rather than a protection; but no—the submerged vessel had drawn both anchor-chamber and mine beneath the surface.
"Prepare to anchor—let go!"
With a sullen roar, intensified by the confined space, the stockless anchor was released from its "housing" at the for'ard end of the keel. Suddenly the studded-linked cable "snubbed" as the flukes obtained a hold; then, anchored at fifteen fathoms beneath the surface, the submarine fretted easily at her cable in the five-knot current.
Again the Lieutenant-Commander peered through the scuttle. At that depth the light that filtered through the water was just and only just sufficient to enable him to discern the deadly object still clinging tenaciously to the submerged craft. Under the action of the current it tilted ominously, though fortunately not sufficiently for any of the projecting "feelers" to come in contact with the metal plating of the anchored submarine.
"We'll stand easy," remarked the skipper to his augmented group of officers. "We're safe enough for the present, only it's a wicked waste of valuable time. As soon as it gets dark we'll ascend and cut the blessed thing adrift."
Half an hour later the officers were sitting down to a hot meal cooked on an electric grill. The repast over, Lieutenant-Commander Huxtable turned to his companion and coolly suggested a hand at bridge.
Dick took a hand with the three executive officers of the submarine, but his luck was out. He could not concentrate his mind upon the game. His eyes were constantly wandering. Almost every minute he glanced at the clock, the hands of which appeared to move with exasperating slowness.
"Come, come!" exclaimed the Lieutenant-Commander. "You'll be cleared out if we go on playing for another hour. Pull yourself together, man."
But the encouragement was thrown away, for although the three submarine officers played with the greatest enthusiasm, Dick made a sorry show.
"Hanged if I can play, sir!" he declared. "I wonder how you can, with that mine alongside."
"You'd soon get used to it," replied the Lieutenant-Commander. "I don't mind admitting that we all feel a bit jumpy at first, but it passes off. But it's after sunset. We'll see what we can do directly we've finished this round—your deal, partner."
The game over, the Lieutenant-Commander returned to his post in the conning-tower. He was hoping against hope that during the interval the buoyancy of the mine might have been sufficient to break the already rotten rope, but on flashing a powerful electric torch through the glass of the scuttle the formidable cylinder could still be discerned.
The order was given to weigh, and under the action of an electric winch the cable came home fathom by fathom until the anchor was once more housed in the recess provided. No longer held, the submarine was drifting backwards in the steady current.
"Blow auxiliary tanks."
Quickly the water ballast was dispelled from the supplementary tanks, and relieved of this weight the vessel slowly rose until her conning-tower and deck were awash.
Opening the hatch, the Lieutenant-Commander, accompanied by a petty officer and a leading seaman, gained the open air, and at once proceeded to remove the deadly mine.
There was a certain amount of reflected glow from the search-light that, once their eyes grew accustomed to the comparative darkness, enabled them to see fairly distinctly.
Clambering cautiously along the horizontal strut that strengthened the curved girder, the men made a careful survey of the metal cylinder before attempting to handle it. Apparently it had been in the water for some weeks, for barnacles and slimy weeds were adhering to its surface. The "horns" or "feelers" were, fortunately, pointing away from the hull of the submarine; nevertheless the task of disengaging the mine without allowing it to scrape or jam against any form of solid resistance was fraught with danger. A slight tap upon one of those numerous spike-like projections would result in death to every man on board.
Examination proved that not only was the mine with its attendant anchor-chamber entangled by means of a hempen rope, but a length of wire had stubbornly intertwined itself round a portion of the girder, so that the mine, swinging towards the metal hull, was practically midway between it and the curved side of the vessel.
"A hack-saw there," ordered the Lieutenant-Commander. "Oil it well, or the rasping will give the show away."
The required tool was quickly forthcoming, and the two men tackled their dangerous task. For twenty minutes they worked desperately, momentarily expecting to be "picked up" by the search-lights that were playing ominously close to the dark-grey hull of the submarine.
"Through, sir," announced one of the men breathlessly. "Shall we topple it over?"
"No, no," replied the skipper hurriedly. "Are you quite sure that everything's clear?"
"Aye, aye, sir."
The mine was now held in position only by the triangle formed by the girder, its horizontal brace, and a two-inch teak plank placed diagonally across the metal work. Fortunately the sea was now calm and the submarine's motion barely perceptible.
"Diving-stations," ordered Huxtable. "It's neck or nothing."
The water-tight hatches were closed and secured, and water admitted into the ballast tanks, both main and auxiliary, for it was her commander's intention to submerge the submarine in a vertical position without having recourse to the use of the propeller and diving-planes. In sinking, the submarine, he hoped, would be automatically freed of its dangerous encumbrance, since the buoyancy of the mine would float it clear when the craft was completely submerged.
Instinctively Dick shut his jaw tightly as he heard the hiss of the water pouring into the tanks. He fully realized the delicate operation, for a list of any magnitude would result in the mine toppling over from its insecure perch as it did so. It was not pleasant to realize that he was in a hermetically sealed steel box with a dangerous neighbour in the shape of seventy-six pounds of gun-cotton.
He glanced at the Lieutenant-Commander, who was peering anxiously through the slit in the conning-tower, and although he moved not a muscle the perspiration was standing out in beads on his temples.
Presently he turned his head.
"At that!" he ordered, addressing the men standing by the valve of the ballast chamber. "Turn horizontal rudders to ten degrees down. Half speed ahead."
A gasp of relief echoed through the confined space. The men gave a cheer. They understood: one danger had been successfully combated.
The steady thud of the throttled-down motors alone imparted the sense of motion as the submarine, fifty feet beneath the surface, resumed her blind grope up The Narrows.
Twice only during the negotiation of that intricate passage did the Lieutenant-Commander show the top of the periscope above water. The first observation revealed the feet that Nagara was well on the starboard hand, and that an alteration of helm was necessary to avoid piling the submerged craft upon shoals that, owing to the irregularity of coast-line, were directly ahead.
The second convinced Huxtable that the course was now practically a straight one for the Sea of Marmora as far as direction went; but he knew that in that stretch of water which lay between him and the inland sea were at least six rows of anchored electro-contact mines.
"A vessel on our port bow, sir," declared Dick, who before the submarine could submerge her periscope had glanced into the object-bowl. It was a picture of darkness which met his eye, but across that expanse of dull leaden colour, that indicated a blend of sea and sky on a rainy night, he had detected a still darker object travelling slowly across the "field" of the periscope, the "iris" of which was opened to its fullest extent in order to admit the maximum amount of light, which was very small.
"A torpedo-boat," decided the Lieutenant-Commander after a brief survey. "She would make an easy target, but we'll let her go. It would mean betraying our presence, and that would never do. One thing she's taught us, that is that the passage through the next mine-field is hard against the Asiatic side. We'll let her pass, and then pick up her wake."
The Turkish torpedo-boat was evidently bound from the neighbourhood of Nagara for the Bosphorus. She was steaming at fifteen knots and, judging by the clouds of black smoke tinged with dark-red and orange flames, was under forced draught.
Unsuspectingly the boat held on her course, little thinking that within two cables' length of her a British submarine was following the phosphorescent swirl that marked her track. Either the men of her watch on deck were lax in their duties or else they devoted their attention to keeping a look-out ahead and abeam, for the cascade of foam that marked the swiftly-moving periscope passed unnoticed.
Ready at the first alarm to tilt the horizontal diving-rudders, Huxtable conned the submarine. He was in high spirits, for the thought that an enemy torpedo-boat was acting as a pilot amused and elated him. Although prepared to take the risk of diving under the mine-field, he fully admitted his preference to be conducted in safety through the danger-zone.
Once the torpedo-boat sharply ported her helm. For the moment it seemed as if the submarine had been spotted, but since no shell was fired from the Turkish craft the Lieutenant-Commander surmised that the change of course had been rendered necessary by the intricacies of the secret passage through the mine-field.
Allowing sufficient distance the submarine followed suit, until the torpedo-boat swung round on her former course. She had cleared the danger-zone, and her imitator had done likewise.
Slowly but surely the Turkish craft was out-distancing the invisible submarine, whose utmost limit when submerged was not equal to that of the torpedo-boat. Half an hour later all traces of her had disappeared. Even the churned wake had blended utterly with the surrounding waves.
The submarine was now about to enter the Sea of Marmora. The search-lights of Gallipoli were broad on the port beam. On the port bow a row of flickering lights marked the camp-fires in the Bulair lines. A triple row of anchored mines had to be avoided before the British craft was clear of the upper reaches of the Dardanelles.
Down she went till the gauge indicated a depth of fifty-five feet, then regaining an even keel she forged slowly ahead, deliberately feeling her way through the black water.
A peculiar rasping, muffled sound attracted Dick's attention. The Lieutenant-Commander heard it too. The two men exchanged glances.
"One line passed," announced Huxtable when the noise ceased. "That was the mooring wire of one of the mines scraping along our protective girders."
Ten seconds later came a similar sound, this time overhead. The submarine was passing under a horizontal bridle connecting two mines.
The arched girder saved her, for had the obstruction caught in the for'ard end of the conning-tower or the housed periscope, the "way" of the vessel would have swung the two mines together with annihilating effects. As it was, the Lieutenant-Commander merely depressed the boat's bows, and without any trouble the submerged craft glided underneath the cable of death.
"Two!" ejaculated the skipper laconically.
Dick's spirits rose rapidly. After all, he reasoned, diving under mines was an exciting form of sport, with very little danger. The operation seemed far less hazardous than running the gauntlet of The Narrows in theCalder.
Suddenly came the dull roar of an explosion. The submarine heeled dangerously, and quivered till it seemed that her plating was on the point of buckling.
Instinctively Crosthwaite grasped the hand-rail of the steel ladder leading to the conning-tower hatch-way. In any case it was a futile action, since there was no possible escape that way. He momentarily expected to hear the rush of water, driven under tremendous pressure into the shattered hull.
The submarine had come in contact with a mine.