Agilely Leslie ascended the swaying rope-ladder, the sub following close behind in case the inexperienced lad should lose his hold. But young Sefton acquitted himself wonderfully. The Huns had no chance of a laugh at his expense.
Contrary to their expectations, the two prisoners were not conducted below. With an armed seaman standing behind them they were stationed on the raised p.o.o.p, from whence they could see as much of the operations as the feeble light permitted.
Promptly hoses were coupled up, pumping volumes of petrol into U99"s tanks. Fully charged acc.u.mulators were hoisted out and lowered down the submarine"s after hatchway, while the for"ard hatch was opened to receive a dozen large torpedoes closely approaching the British 21-inch weapons.
At midnight a wireless operator handed the kapitan of the _Kondor_ a message, the text of which caused the officer to issue a string of orders. Quickly the hawsers securing the submarine to the depot-ship were cast off, and U99, forging slowly ahead, picked up her station in line with the rest of the flotilla. Then, at a given signal, the submarines proceeded in a north-westerly direction, while the _Kondor_ steamed toward the invisible German battleships.
At this stage of the proceedings, Sefton and his brother were ordered below, and placed in a cell on the orlop deck, twelve feet or more below the waterline. In utter darkness, for even the luxury of a single light was denied them, they sat, listening to the plash of the waves against the side, until sleep came as a welcome relief to the strain of the day.
Several times the sub awoke with a start. A nightmare gripped him.
Normally strong nerved, the cramped and dark cell, and the almost certain fate that awaited him should the _Kondor_ be sunk, filled him with vague terrors. In vain he tried to rally himself. The ordeal of the sh.e.l.l-swept bridge of the _Calder_ seemed as naught compared with the gruesome atmosphere of the below-water-line prison.
The hours wore on, but the unexpected torpedo attack was not forthcoming. No thunder of guns broke the almost uncanny silence. No longer the waves dashed themselves against the side plating of the hull.
Only a sullen, rolling motion and the faint tremor of the twin propeller shafting betokened the fact that the vessel was still under way.
CHAPTER XXII--The British Submarines at Work
A succession of long-drawn hoa.r.s.e cheering aroused both Seftons from their light sleep. Leslie"s outstretched hands came in contact with his brother"s face, for, in the utter darkness, only the senses of touch and speech made the twain aware of each other"s presence.
"What"s that noise, Jack?"
"Only the crew getting excited about something," replied the sub inconsequently. At the same time, he felt pretty certain that something in the nature of a successful naval engagement had been responsible for the outburst of noisy enthusiasm on the part of the German crew.
He was not left long in doubt, for the door of the cell was thrown open and a seaman bearing a lantern ordered the prisoners to follow him.
Arriving on the upper deck, the sub discovered that the _Kondor_ had undergone a transformation. Everything that denoted her part as a fleet auxiliary had disappeared. Aft she flew Swedish colours, and a distinctive band encircled her wall sides, with the words: "Gefle--Sverige" conspicuously displayed. Most of the crew had discarded their German uniform, and were rigged out in the cosmopolitan gear usually favoured by merchant seamen.
The crew had ceased cheering, but by their bearing it was quite evident that they were still labouring under the excitement of good news.
Pointing to a notice pinned to a board on the main hatchway, around which several men still lingered, the seaman, who had been told off to guard the prisoners, indicated that his charges should acquaint themselves with the information.
"What"s it all about, Jack?" asked Leslie.
The message was the copy of a wireless report to the effect that German submarines had been successful in torpedoing two British cruisers of the "Chatham" cla.s.s.
"Do you think it"s true?" asked young Sefton anxiously, when the sub had translated the report.
"It may be a case of exaggeration," was the reply. "Of course, it is possible. At any rate, don"t let these fellows see we are down-hearted.
Keep a stiff upper lip, old sport."
Turning their backs upon the distasteful notice-board, the two prisoners strolled to the side, their guard following but making no attempt to prevent them.
The _Kondor_ was not alone. About two miles on the starboard hand, and steaming rapidly, were the two Dreadnoughts that Sefton had noticed on the previous day. Behind were three light cruisers, while, still farther astern, six sea-going torpedo-boats were tearing along in that close formation beloved of German torpedo-flotilla officers.
As the flagship pa.s.sed, she threw out a signal to the disguised _Kondor_, which was quickly acknowledged. At the relative rates of speed, it was certain that the battleships were overhauling the pseudo _Gefle_ hand over fist.
Sub-lieutenant Sefton was witnessing part of the strategy of the German High Seas Fleet. It had ventured out with the express intention of luring Beatty"s squadron in pursuit, knowing that the gallant Beatty would not decline the challenge. But, with admirable discretion, the British admiral made no effort to send the swift battle-cruisers in pursuit, merely contenting himself by ordering the light cruisers and destroyer flotillas to keep in touch with the retreating Huns.
There were risks of mines and torpedoes, but these were unavoidable. By keeping well out of the wake of the German ships, the danger of b.u.mping over a hastily dropped mine was obviated, while a quick use of the helm would enable the swift cruisers to minimize the chances of successful submarine attack.
In the early hours, the British light-cruisers and destroyers encountered the _unterseebooten_ purposely detailed by von Hipper to intercept the pursuing vessels. Three, at least, of the German submarines were sent to the bottom by gun-fire or by use of the ram; but, unfortunately, the _Falmouth_ and _Nottingham_ fell victims to torpedo attack.
Even as Sefton was watching the retreating warships, a column of water was thrown high in the air close to the port quarter of the German Dreadnought _Westfalen_. Before the m.u.f.fled roar of the explosion was borne to his ears, the sub saw the huge battleship reel under the terrific blow.
Regardless of the consequences, he cheered l.u.s.tily; but, thrown into a state of consternation by the magnitude of the disaster to one of their capital ships, the crew of the _Kondor_ made no attempt to hurl the rash Englishman to the deck.
Spellbound, they watched the throes of the stricken Dreadnought, to whose a.s.sistance the six German destroyers were making at full speed.
As for the rest of the German battleships and cruisers, they steamed off as hard as they could, lest a like fate should befall them.
The _Kondor_ slowed down and stood by, making no effort to close to the aid of the torpedoed ship, while two destroyers circled aimlessly in a vain search for the daring British submarine.
Then, very slowly, under her own steam, the _Westfalen_, with a heavy list, crawled toward the distant German sh.o.r.e, the four destroyers in her wake ready to rush alongside, and rescue the battleship"s crew, should the vessel founder.
"Think they"ll get her back to port?" Leslie asked excitedly.
""Fraid so," replied his brother. "She shows no signs of an increasing list. A lot depends upon the condition of her bulkheads. When the _Marlborough_----"
Before the sub could complete the sentence, another cloud of smoke and water shot up alongside the damaged battleship. Lurching heavily, this time to starboard, the _Westfalen_ was hidden from sight by a dense volume of steam and smoke from her engine-rooms.
The attacking submarine had evidently meant to see the job done properly. Mindful of the risk of being sent to the bottom by the attendant German destroyers, the British craft had stealthily exposed her periscope for a brief instant, yet sufficient for her to send a deadly torpedo on its errand of destruction.
By this time the crew of the _Kondor_ had come to the conclusion that their prisoners had seen much more than was desirable. Peremptorily Jack and Leslie were ordered below. The latter, unable to restrain his delight, pointed mockingly at the boastful writing on the notice-board, receiving a brutal kick on his shins for his temerity.
"I don"t mind, Jack," remarked Leslie, when, left alone by their captors, the sub examined the angry abrasion on his brother"s leg. "I"d let them give me another hack without a murmur if I could see another German battleship go the same way home."
After a long interval, a meal consisting of very dry tinned meat and hunks of black bread was provided for the famished prisoners, the unpalatable food being washed down with a pannikin of warm and insipid water.
The unappetizing repast over, the two prisoners were again allowed on deck. By this time there were no signs either of the stricken battleship or her attendant destroyers. The _Kondor_, alone on the wide North Sea, was steaming at about 12 knots on an easterly course. The rest of the crew had by now discarded their German uniforms. There was nothing to denote that the vessel had ever sailed under the Black Cross Ensign of the Imperial German Navy.
Suddenly, and right in the frothing wake of the _Kondor_, appeared two pole-like objects--the periscopes of a submarine. Then, without the hesitancy generally displayed by _unterseebooten_ when about to attack a merchantman, a British submarine of the "E" cla.s.s shook her conning-tower and deck clear of the water. Her hatches were flung open, and a number of duffel-clad seamen appeared. Quickly a light signalling-mast was set up, from which two flags fluttered in the breeze.
There was no mistaking the meaning of that yellow square flag with the black ball, hoisted above a triangular blue pennant with a white spot.
As plainly as if a shot had been fired across the _Kondor"s_ bows, the signal "ID" told her to "stop instantly or I will fire into you".
Besides, it saved ammunition, and the lieutenant-commander of the submarine did not consider the prize worth powder and shot.
But the German skipper was not a man to own that the game was up without making an effort to save himself and his ship. A stumbling-block in his way was Jack Sefton and his brother.
At a sign four burly Huns threw themselves upon the prisoners. For a full minute the sub resisted stoutly, while Leslie put up a tough struggle against odds. Others of the crew came to their compatriots"
aid, and, still struggling, the two captives were taken below and locked in the cell in the for"ard hold.
CHAPTER XXIII--And Last