CHAPTER XXII
THE SHELL-BATTERED HOSPITAL
ON returning to Esbjerg, Tressidar and Fuller bade LieutenantHolloway good-bye and hurried off to the British Consul's office.Acting with the greatest dispatch, that official, having taken downthe officers' sworn statements, communicated by telegraph with theBritish Ambassador at Copenhagen. He, in turn, acquainted the DanishGovernment with the attempt to destroy the "Nordby" by internalexplosion and requested that Otto Oberfurst be arrested.
Already the Danes were too late. The spy, having landed with theskipper of the mined ship, contrived to slip away, and for thepresent all traces of him were lost.
That same evening Tressidar and his chum sailed for England in aDanish mail-boat, arriving at Grimsby without incident.
Here they separated, Fuller proceeding to the Naval Air Station atGreat Yarmouth, while Tressidar made for York in order to catch theScottish express.
Rumours of naval activity in the North Sea urged him northwards withthe least possible delay, but it was not until eight on the followingmorning that the slow "local" crawled into Auldhaig station.
"You've been remarkably quick, Mr. Tressidar," was the seniorofficer's greeting, when the sub. reported himself for duty. "It wasonly an hour ago that we received official news of your escape fromSylt."
"That seems months ago, sir," said the sub.
"No doubt," agreed the rear-admiral. "There's nothing like activityto make the time slip past. Unfortunately we have had little to dohere during the last month. By the bye, the 'Heracles' is cruising.She'll be back, I hope, on Thursday."
"What happened when she chased the German cruiser, sir, might I ask?The last we saw of her was when we were adrift in the cutter."
Tressidar had previously made guarded inquiries, but beyond theknowledge of the fact that the British cruiser had come out "topdog," he could gather nothing definite.
"Oh, the usual," replied the senior officer. "The Hun had theadvantage of speed. The 'Heracles' had to steer a zig-zag course inorder to avoid a submarine. One 'U' boat did, in fact, let loose acouple of torpedoes, but they missed. The German looked like gettingclean away when one of our 'Comus' class came up. You know her speedand you can guess the rest. Anyway, the third shot from the lightcruiser did the trick, and our two vessels between them managed torescue about forty of the Germans. The name of the sunken vessel wasthe 'Dortmunde,' and she was bound for Ireland."
"For Ireland?" echoed the sub. in surprise.
"Yes," continued the rear-admiral. "Unfortunately there's troubleamongst a small section of the extreme Nationalists. The majority ofthe Irish are loyal to the core. I'm an Irishman myself, born andbred in Leinster, so I can speak with authority. At any rate, the'Heracles' nipped some awkward little plot in the bud. Once they'vetried, the Germans will have another shot at stirring up sedition.These Huns are not deterred by failures, dash 'em! Although they funkthe main issue at sea, they still persist in their petty operations,in spite of losses."
"By the bye, sir," said Tressidar, "there's something I wish toreport." And he revealed to the astonished rear-admiral the actualcause of the blowing-up of the "Pompey."
"Bless my soul!" ejaculated the senior officer. "D'ye call that 'bythe bye'? You haven't said a word to anyone about the business?"
"No, sir, not even to the vice-consul at Esbjerg. Only Mr. Hollowayand Mr. Fuller know the secret, and they will take good care not todivulge anything."
"And the spy? Does he know that you are aware of his crime?"
"I think not, sir. He recognised me as one of the 'Pompey's'officers, but I said nothing to lead him to believe I had overheardhis conversation with the mysterious count. He admitted that he was adeserter, and braved it out. Before we could get to business--thediscovery that he had chucked his bomb overboard rather took the windout of my sails--the 'Nordby' bumped into a mine."
"Very good. Now, Mr. Tressidar, will you kindly write out a detailedreport of what occurred between the count and the spy, and I'll seethat it is forwarded to the proper quarter. After that you can standeasy until Thursday. You look as if a good square meal or two will doyou good."
The genial Irishman shook hands with his subordinate and did him thehonour of asking him to dinner that evening. The sub. could notrefuse, although he rather dreaded the ceremonious meal. Also he hadmade other plans, but he realised that it does not do to refuse arear-admiral's invitation.
Arrayed in a borrowed mess uniform, since his gear was, as far as hewas aware, still on board the "Heracles," Tressidar arrived at theadmiral's official residence--a large, old-fashioned mansion standingon the side of a hill overlooking the harbour.
The ponderous repast proceeded slowly and smoothly, course aftercourse was consumed, and by the time the wine was placed upon thetable conversation was flowing briskly.
The room was brilliantly lighted with hundreds of candles, impartingan old-world aspect to the uniformed company. The windows, heavilycurtained, shut out the light mist that was creeping in from seaward.
"Gentlemen!" exclaimed the senior officer, rapping the table with hismallet. "The King."
According to time-honoured custom, when the height of the deck-beamson board a man-of-war prevented the loyal toasts to be drunkstanding, the guests, still sitting, raised their glasses.
Even as they did so a loud crash, quickly followed by another andanother, broke the silence.
"Bless my soul!" ejaculated the rear-admiral. "Those infernal Zepps.No, don't draw the curtains, Garboard. If you want to see the fun, gooutside."
Then with a "Drake touch" he poised his glass.
"Gentlemen!" he exclaimed. "There is yet time to duly drink HisMajesty's health," and the toast was drunk with enthusiasm.
The officers hurriedly prepared to dash off to their variousstations, when the door was thrown open and a messengerunceremoniously approached the senior officer.
"Signal just through, sir," he reported. "German cruisers offAuldhaig."
Such indeed was the case. With a recklessness that outrivalled theirprevious attempts upon the east coast of England, seven largearmoured cruisers, taking advantage of hazy weather conditions andbeing efficiently guarded against surprise by half a dozen Zeppelins,had ventured to the east coast of Scotland. Three small Britishpatrol boats had been sunk before they could give warning, while bythat element of luck that had been responsible for many almostincredible happenings of the Great War, the raiders were able to getwithin effective range of the naval base of Auldhaig without beingdetected.
On the face of it the attack seemed nothing short of suicidal; yetwhen the true facts became known it was evident that the Germans wereacting upon the principle in which a draught-player deliberatelysacrifices one of his pieces to gain two of his opponent's.
The Huns knew that Auldhaig was practically devoid of warships. Thenearest British base where any considerable section of the GrandFleet lay was at Rosyth, and naturally they expected that the giantbattle-cruisers under Jellicoe's orders would issue forth to cut offthe raiders' retreat.
In that case the German cruisers were to do as much damage as theypossibly could to the Scottish north-east coast and turn tail.Although not of the most modern type, they were of a fair turn ofspeed, and with luck might draw the pursuers within range of a numberof submarines, while at the same time Zeppelins would attempt todistract the British by dropping heavy explosives upon thebattle-cruisers.
So much for that phase of the operations. The part played by theGerman warships bombarding Auldhaig was quite subordinate to the mainstrategy and tactics of the hostile fleet. While the Britishbattle-cruisers were in chase of the raiders, a far more modern andpowerful German squadron was to make a dash for the Humber and Tyneports.
From the terrace of the rear-admiral's house Tressidar watched theflashes of the hostile guns. The Germans had it practically their ownway, for, however well protected Auldhaig Harbour was against aerialattack, the place was not armed with heavy gun batteries at allsuitable for repl
ying to the ten- and twelve-inch guns of the Germancruisers.
Relying implicitly upon her steel-clad battleships and cruisers,Great Britain, neglecting the warning of Scarborough and Whitby, hadomitted to provide adequate land defences except at a few of theprincipal naval ports.
And while enormous shells hurtled upon the town and harbour,Zeppelins, fearing little from the anti-aircraft guns, hoveredoverhead. Considering the fury of the almost unimpeded fire, thedamage done was inconsiderable until a shell burst--at least, so itappeared to Tressidar--fairly on the buildings used as the navalsick-quarters. Long tongues of flame leapt skywards, the glarethrowing the surrounding houses into strong relief as the firequickly gained a strong hold.
Without a moment's hesitation the sub. took to his heels and ran inthe direction of the burning building. Here, at least he could be ofservice. As he ran he thanked Providence that Doris Greenwood was noton duty; but there were other delicately nurtured women exposed tothe fury of the hostile shells, as well as perhaps fifty "cot cases,"where patients unable to help themselves were in peril of being burntalive if they had survived the effect of the devastating shell.
Through the gate of the rear-admiral's grounds, where a great-coatedseaman sentry with his rifle at the slope paced imperturbably to andfro, Tressidar ran. He could hear the thud of fragments of metalfalling from an immense height. The air reeked with the acrid fumesof smokeless powder, mingled with the pungent smell of burning wood.
A shell, falling into soft ground less than thirty yards from theroad, burst with an ear-splitting crash. The blast of the explosionhurled the sub. sideways, until he was brought up with his shouldercoming into violent contact with a wooden fence. Fortunately theprincipal direction of the detonation was directed skywards, andalthough fragments of the projectile hurtled past him, Tressidarescaped death or at least serious injury by a hairsbreadth.
The sick-quarters were situated on the outskirts of the town andwithin a hundred yards of the water's edge, whence a pier two hundredfeet in length afforded landing facilities for the boats of thefleet.
As Tressidar drew nearer he discovered, to his great relief, that hehad been mistaken as to the exact spot where the monster projectilehad fallen. Still, the damage done was bad enough, for the shell haddropped in an outhouse close to the main block of buildings. Thedetached portion had been completely pulverised, while a considerablepart of the roof of the hospital had been blown to fragments. Gapingholes were also visible in the walls, while a fierce fire was ragingwithin the building.
It was evident that the ordinary staff was unable to cope with thework of clearing the wards of the patients. Nurses and sick-baymenwere working heroically, their efforts assisted by members of theNational Guard and a few townsfolk whose dread of the German shellswas unable to overcome their energy in rescuing the patients from aterrible death.
Forcing his way through the choking smoke, the sub. toiled like aTrojan, lifting helpless men from beds that were already smoulderingand carrying them out into the open air. Six times he plunged intothe inferno. The floor-board creaked under his feet. Smoke eddiedthrough the gaping seams. Plaster was continually falling throughfrom the shattered and shaken ceilings, while above the roar of theflames could be heard the crash of hostile projectiles that werefalling with terrible rapidity.
"All clear, sir," shouted a blackened and grimy sick-bay steward."That's the lot of 'em."
As he spoke, a portion of the floor collapsed. The man disappearedfrom view into a gaping pit of smouldering debris, almost before hehad time to utter a cry.
Had Tressidar given a moment's thought he might have hesitated, butin an instant he leapt after the luckless man.
He alighted feet foremost upon a heap of charred wood, from which thesmoke poured in thick, eddying clouds. Gasping and vainlyendeavouring to check himself from coughing, the sub. stooped andgroped. His hands came in contact with the unfortunate man, who infalling must have struck his head against some solid object, for hewas unconscious and lying on his back upon the smouldering debris.
Raising the man and hoisting him upon his shoulders, Tressidar lookedround for a means of escape. Apparently there was none. Seven feetabove his head was an irregularly shaped hole, through which he coulddiscern the flame-tinged smoke. A crash announced that anotherportion of the roof had collapsed, and with it a part of the outsidewall. Even had he been missed, the sub. realised that rescue in thatdirection was out of the question.
His lack of knowledge of the plan of the buildings, too, was againsthim. So far as he could make out, he had leapt into a cellar that hadbeen used as a store for hospital goods. Seen through the smoke, theplace appeared to have no exit, yet he argued--the thought flashingacross his mind--that there must be some means of communication apartfrom the hole in the floor that had just been caused by the flames.
Choking and spluttering, his eyes streaming with water from theeffects of the driving particles of hot ashes, Tressidar plunged intothe darkness with his burden lying inertly across his back.
Stumbling between rows of packing-cases the sub: struggled on, untilfurther progress was barred by a solid stone wall. Retreat in thatdirection was cut off. For a few seconds he stood, still half dazedat the discovery, then, turning, he lurched heavily in the oppositedirection.
He was gasping deeply. The lack of pure air and the dead weight uponhis shoulders was telling upon his powerful frame. His lungs seemedon the point of bursting. Yet he gamely struggled onwards.
Over the heap of smouldering rubbish on which he had alighted when hehad made his voluntary leap into the trap he scrambled, fell on hisknees, and with a strenuous effort recovered himself. Beyond wasanother dark, smoke-enshrouded cavity. Was there an exit in thatdirection, he wondered?
Again, almost before he became aware of the fact, his head came incontact with a stone wall. Half turning, he propped his burdenagainst the barrier, and with his disengaged hand fumbled helplessly,pawing the rough masonry like a trapped animal.
A comparatively cool current of air wafted in, temporarily dispersingthe noxious fumes. Eagerly he took in draughts of the life-givingair. His benumbed brain was just able to realise that not so very fardistant was an opening communicating with the outside. But where, andhow large?
He edged away to the right. His hand no longer encountered solidwall. There was a aperture torn by a shell. Beyond was comparativelypure air.
Setting the unconscious man upon the ground, Tressidar crept throughthe narrow opening. Then, gripping his charge by the ankles, hehauled the man, feet foremost, into comparative safety. Utterlyexhausted, he dropped to the ground and waited, breathingstertorously as his sorely taxed strength returned.
The bombardment had now ceased, but overhead the roar of the flamesand the continual crash of falling masonry and tiles proclaimed thefact that the fire was still maintaining a fierce grip upon thebuilding. The trembling of the walls warned the sub. that histemporary shelter was no longer safe.
Dragging the unconscious man--for he no longer had the strength tolift him--Tressidar backed along a passage and up a short flight ofstone steps. Even as he did so, the roof of the cellar in which hehad been so nearly trapped collapsed under the weight of hundreds oftons of rubble.
Just aware that people were hastening to his assistance as he emergedinto the open air, Tressidar relinquished his burden. But for thesupport of two stalwart bluejackets the sub. would have fallen.
Then came the anti-climax. He burst into a roar of laughter as hesurveyed his borrowed mess uniform, now a collection of scorched ragsthat would ill-become a scare-crow.
"Dash it all!" he ejaculated. "Poor old Jimmy's mess-kit."
"Never mind," said a low voice. "After what you've done, Ronald, Idon't suppose he will."
Tressidar looked up. Through the mist that swain before hissmoke-rimmed eyes he saw Doris Greenwood.