His ruminations were interrupted by the appearance of the wireless operator, who reported that both the transmitter and the receiver were out of action, and that the wireless cabin bore signs of having been struck by lightning.
"Can"t you effect repairs?" demanded von Sinzig.
"I am sorry I cannot, Herr kapitan," replied the operator.
"A useful wireless man you are!" commented the count, caustically.
The man saluted and backed away from his chief, congratulating himself that he had come off so lightly. But von Sinzig was rather pleased than otherwise that the wireless was out of action. It furnished him with a good excuse to put a certain little plan into execution.
"Are there any vessels in sight?" he asked.
A look-out man had been scanning the wide expanse of sea for the last ten minutes.
"Nothing in sight, Herr kapitan," he announced.
By this time Z64 was well beyond the storm-area. The sea, now a bare 3000 feet below, was no longer white with angry crested waves, but by the aid of binoculars it could be seen that there was a long swell running.
"Then there"s nothing to be done unless we make use of the Albatross,"
declared von Sinzig. "I will go and look for a ship."
Hans Leutter and those of the crew who heard the count"s resolve received the proposal in stony silence. They all recognised that their kapitan was violating the traditions of the sea and the air by being the first to abandon his command. Of the crew at least four were capable of flying the small but powerful monoplane, so there was no excuse on that score of von Sinzig being the only man able to take the Albatross up.
In obedience to a peremptory order the crew hurriedly prepared the monoplane for her flight. The Albatross, nominally used for starting from and alighting on the ground, was adapted for marine work by having three small floats, the lower portions of which were just above the wheel base line, so that the monoplane could be used either as an ordinary machine or as a seaplane.
In the present circ.u.mstances von Sinzig elected to start from the air.
The Albatross, suspended by a quick release gear from the underside of the "midship gondola, was ready before the airship had dropped to a thousand feet.
"You will be quite safe," reiterated the count. "I"ll send the first vessel I meet to your a.s.sistance. It may be a matter of a few hours.
All ready? Let go."
The monoplane"s motor was already running slowly. Directly von Sinzig felt the Albatross had parted company with her gigantic parent he opened "all out." At a hundred and thirty miles an hour he was soon lost to sight.
"He"s going east by north, I notice," soliloquised Hans Leutter. "I will be greatly surprised if he returns to Z64."
And the count was of the same opinion. He hadn"t the faintest intention of flying back to the airship. Nor was he particularly keen on reporting Z64"s predicament to any vessel he sighted.
He was out to win the Chauva.s.se Prize. The sum went to the man who succeeded in flying round the world in twenty days. There was no stipulation to the effect that only one airship, flying-boat, aeroplane, or seaplane must be used throughout the flight. Therefore, since the goal was within a comparatively easy distance, he hoped to complete the circuit in the Albatross, and thus win the coveted prize.
CHAPTER XXII--THE END OF Z64
"By Jove! Kenyon, what"s that over on our starboard bow?" exclaimed Bramsdean.
Kenneth raised his binoculars and focussed them on a dark object in the direction indicated.
"That," he replied after a brief survey, "is a Zepp. There"s not much mistake about that. She is also in difficulties apparently, since Zepps don"t generally a.s.sume an angle of forty-five degrees. It is also reasonable to a.s.sume that it is Z64, since we know that von Sinzig was keeping a course slightly divergent to ours. The southerly wind has evidently driven her northward."
Fosterd.y.k.e was asleep in his cabin, but upon hearing the news he hurried to the navigation-room.
"Are we Pharisees or Good Samaritans, sir?" enquired Kenyon. "Do we pa.s.s by on the other side, or do we stop to render a.s.sistance?"
"It strikes me that something more than a.s.sistance is required," replied the baronet. "Obviously our friend von Sinzig is out of the running.
His airship is down and out. If there are any of the crew on board, we"ll be just in time to prevent them losing the number of their mess."
Z64 was in a very bad way. The after part of the envelope was half submerged. The rearmost gondola was entirely so. The foremost car was rising and falling owing to the slight buoyancy of the for"ard ballonets. At one moment it was thirty or forty feet above the water, at another it was smacking the surface and sending the spray far and wide.
"Keep to windward," ordered Fosterd.y.k.e.
"There are men still on board," replied Peter. "A dozen more or less are hanging on to the catwalk."
"It"ll be rather a proposition to get them off," said the baronet. "We haven"t a boat; neither apparently have they, and I don"t like the idea of running alongside a half-submerged gas-bag. With this heavy swell there"s no knowing what might happen."
"We might run out a hawser and take her in tow," suggested Kenyon. "I mean, tow her until we get the crew off by means of an endless line."
"Might do," half agreed Fosterd.y.k.e. "It would be decidedly awkward if our head fell away and we drifted in broadside on to the wreckage.
We"ll try it. Tell Jackson to get a hawser ready, and see there is a slip fitted in case we have to cast off in a hurry."
Already several of the ballonets that at first sight seemed beyond repair had been patched up, while the fortunate discovery of two flasks of compressed brodium gave the "Golden Hind" considerable buoyancy, so that she was no longer dependent upon the lift of her six planes. Yet the prospect of having to take on board the weighty Hun crew would seriously threaten the buoyancy of the airship.
"Luckily we are within sight of our goal," said Fosterd.y.k.e. "We can sacrifice a quant.i.ty of our stores. The reserve fresh water tank can be started, too. Two hundred and fifty gallons less of water ought to make a considerable difference."
Leading Hand Jackson, with the help of four or five of the crew, soon made the necessary preparations. By this time the "Golden Hind" had approached to within a hundred yards of the disabled Zeppelin, the crew of which, half in doubt as to what was going to happen, were signalling and shouting frantically for help.
"Rescuing the crew of the _Hilda P. Murchison_ was child"s play to this," commented Kenyon. "Goodness only knows how we are going to establish communication. Her blessed envelope is in the way."
Thrice the "Golden Hind" sailed over her crippled rival. The trailing hawser glided over the rounded surface of the gasbag, but none of the men made any attempt to leave the gondolas and secure the rope. It afterwards transpired that the aluminium envelope was sagging and whipping to such an extent that the vertical shaft through it by which access could be made to the upper surface of the gas-bag was impracticable. Anyone attempting to ascend by that way would almost certainly be crushed to death.
"Can"t the lubbers see the hawser?" asked Fosterd.y.k.e, impatiently. "Or have they all got the wind up so frightfully that they can"t lift a hand to help themselves? Get in that hawser, Jackson. We"ll try approaching to leeward this time and see if they"ve got the sense to veer a rope."
The manoeuvre required very careful execution. The "Golden Hind,"
descending until her fuselage was but a few feet above the sea, approached carefully. She had to be kept under control up to a certain point, when way had to be taken off her. If she stopped too soon, she would drift away before communication could be established; if she carried on even a few yards too much, there was a danger of her overlapping envelope colliding nose on with the wrecked Zeppelin.
This time the Huns showed decided activity. They bent a line to an inflated indiarubber lifebelt and threw the latter into the sea.
Unfortunately, they did not take into account the fact that the Zeppelin was drifting to leeward as fast as the lifebelt. When they realised what was happening one of the crew jumped overboard and towed the line a hundred yards or so away.
"Now there"s a chance of doing something," commented Fosterd.y.k.e, telegraphing for a touch ahead with Nos. 1 and 2 motors.
As the "Golden Hind" pa.s.sed immediately over the life-buoy a grapnel, lowered from the after-part of the fuselage, engaged the rope, and in a remarkably short s.p.a.ce of time a stout hawser connected the British airship with the still buoyant bows of the German.
Fosterd.y.k.e waited until the "Golden Hind" had swung round and was pointing "down wind," then he ordered easy ahead with the two for"ard motors. This gave sufficient tension to the hawser, which was now inclined at an angle of about thirty degrees.
A "s.n.a.t.c.h-block" with an endless line was then allowed to run down to the hawser.
"Now the rest is easy," declared Fosterd.y.k.e, but for once at least he was greatly mistaken.