"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."
d.i.c.k nudged his companion.
"Now we"re on our mettle," he said grimly. "The fun is about to commence."
CHAPTER XIII
Torpedoed
"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 d.i.c.k. "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 d.i.c.k 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 d.i.c.k. "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 a.s.sumed 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 hors.e.m.e.n. 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 d.i.c.k, 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.
[Ill.u.s.tration: "BEFORE THE TURKISH IRREGULARS COULD PENETRATE THE DECEPTION THE TWO BRITISH OFFICERS WERE THROUGH"]
"Enough!" gasped d.i.c.k 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," e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed d.i.c.k 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 k.u.m 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 k.u.m Kale.
"Steady!" cautioned d.i.c.k, 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 d.i.c.k 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 d.i.c.k 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!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the Sub.