CHAPTER XI
FINISHING UP THE WORK
It was not until somewhat late the following morning that CaptainMarcus, accompanied by the commander of the British cruiserDwarf, reached Boak. Frank and Jack were at the little wharf togreet him.
After expressing a few words of commendation for the manner inwhich they had handled their men in the capture of the town, thetwo British commanders took a turn about the village.
"It will be impossible for us to remain here for the sole purposeof guarding these towns," said Captain Marcus. "We have otherwork to do. So now the question arises as to what to do withthem."
"I would suggest," said the commander of the Dwarf, "that we puta prize crew aboard the German merchantman still in Duala, ironour prisoners, put them aboard her and send her home. We canmake a thorough search of the town and destroy all arms andammunition to be found."
"But," said Captain Marcus, "we shall first have to dispose ofthose Germans who escaped to the forest."
"That shouldn't be a hard job," replied the commander of theDwarf, "I do not imagine there are many of them."
"About how many would you say?" asked Captain Marcus, turning toFrank, who, with Jack, had accompanied the two officers on thetour of inspection.
"Not more than a hundred, sir," was the lad's reply.
"Good!" replied Captain Marcus. "Do you feel equal to the taskof rounding them up?"
"Perfectly, sir," Frank made answer.
"So be it, then. You may act at your own discretion; only seethat you make a good, swift job of it."
Frank and Jack saluted and hurried away. Leaving half theirforce to guard the village, the lads, with the other half, whichhad dwindled to less than 100 by now, were soon lost to sight inthe forest. They went quickly, but as silently as they could,for they wished, if possible, to take the foe by surprise.
"This is likely to be, a wild goose chase," declared Jack, when,at the end of an hour of forced marching they had seen no sign ofthe enemy. "There is no telling where the Germans are. Theyknow the lay of the land and we don't. If they continue toretreat, there is no telling where we may come up with them, ifat all."
Frank's lips set grimly.
"We'll get 'em," he said, "if we have to follow 'em clear acrossAfrica."
They continued their march in silence. At length Frank drew hisfriends' attention to the fact that, a little to the left, thegrass had been recently trampled, apparently by a considerablebody of men.
"They can't be far ahead of us," he said. "Evidently they arenot aware they are being pursued, for they apparently have beentraveling slowly."
The British became more wary. Frank divided his men into twobodies, one of which he placed under Jack's command, while hehimself led the other.
For another hour or more they continued, still without sign of anenemy.
The two British forces were now separated by at least a quarterof a mile, when Jack unexpectedly came to the edge of the forest.There, just ahead of him, lay the entire German command in alittle opening surrounded on all sides by large trees.
Jack raised his hand and his men came to a halt. Frank, at thehead of his command, perceived this movement, and also halted hismen. Then he covered the distance to where his friend stoodpeering through the trees as quickly as possible.
Without a word Jack pointed out the Germans. Frank took a quicklook, and together the two boys drew back into the shelter of thetrees. They had not been seen.
"I believe I have a plan that will deliver the whole bunch intoour hands, possibly without bloodshed," said Jack.
"What is it?" demanded Frank.
"Well," said Jack, "you will notice that the opening in which theGermans lie is entirely surrounded by trees. My idea is tocompletely surround them, and, at a given signal, fire a volleyover their heads. Believing that our force is much greater thanit is, and apparently cut off from escape in all directions, theGermans may surrender."
"A good idea," exclaimed Frank. "We will act upon it at once."
Quickly he scattered his men in a wide circle around the Germancamp. Then, when he felt that all was in readiness, he gave thesignal--a shot from his revolver.
Immediately there was a fierce volley from the British, aimedhigh. The German troops sprang to their feet in a moment; then,at a command from their officer, dropped quickly to the groundagain.
Whatever idea Frank had had of a bloodless victory was quicklydispelled, for the German troops--lying flat on their stomachs,fired volley after volley into the woods at their unseenopponents.
This was ineffective, however, because the British were wellprotected by the great trees. At a command from Frank, which waspassed rapidly along the British line, the sailors trained theirrifles upon the enemy and fired.
The effect was fearful. Germans toppled over on all sides, andsome jumped to their feet and ran toward the trees. Bulletsgreeted them from all sides, however, and, after making one laststand, the entire German force threw their weapons to the groundas one man.
"We surrender!" called the officer in command.
Slowly the circle of British emerged from the forest and closedin on them. The German officer delivered his sword to Frankwithout a word; then, at the lad's command, the Britishsurrounded the prisoners and started on their return journey toBoak, where they arrived after a three hours' forced march, andwere greeted with acclaim by the sailors who had been leftbehind. Not a single sailor had been killed in the short butdecisive battle, though two had been wounded.
Captain Marcus, and the commander of the Dwarf also, complimentedthe lads highly upon the quick success of their expedition. Thevillage had been thoroughly searched for arms and ammunitionduring their absence, and all was now ready for a quickdeparture.
"Get the prisoners into the boats, and we will start down theriver at once," ordered Captain Marcus.
This was soon accomplished, and the little flotilla was on itsway back toward Duala. At Duala a second search was made forarms, ammunition and other munitions of war. This done, thecommander of the Cumberland turned to Frank.
"You will go aboard that German merchantman in the harbor," hesaid, "and take her to London. You are in command, and Mr.Templeton shall be your first officer. The others you may selectyourself. A prize crew will be put aboard immediately."
Frank was somewhat taken aback at this good fortune.
"But I am not a navigator," he said in some confusion, wishingnow that he was.
"That makes it different," was Captain Marcus' reply.
"But I am, sir," Jack interrupted. "I have studied navigationfor years."
"Good then!" said Captain Marcus. "In that event, I shallappoint you to take command and your friend as first officer."
"But--" Jack started to protest, when Frank interrupted him.
"I shall be glad to serve under him," he said.
So it was arranged, and several hours later the two lads foundthemselves aboard the German steamer Lena. For the first time inhis life Jack trod the bridge of his own ship, and he could notbut be proud of that moment; Frank, too, was elated at his goodfortune.
With this parting injunction, Captain Marcus dropped over theside of the Lena:
"Make straight for London. Although you carry some guns, ifattacked do not fight back unless absolutely necessary. Show theenemy your heels, if possible. However, if you do have to fight,fight as the true sons of Great Britain."
"We shall, sir," replied both lads grimly, and Captain Marcusrealized that he could not have put the ship in better hands.
From among the crew Jack now selected a sailor named Jennings forsecond officer, and another by the name of Johnson for thirdofficer. There was a hissing of steam from below, slowly thecable was loosened, and the Lena put off down the river.
The two British commanders followed in small boats. At theentrance of the river the steamer slowed down, and the boyswatched the two commanders go aboard their respective cruisers.
A moment lat
er guns on both ships boomed loudly. It was asalute, carrying a cheery "Good luck" to the ears of the twolads. As they sailed out to sea they could perceive that thecruisers also were getting under way, and were heading in thesame direction as the Lena.
The Lena quickened her pace and sped off toward the north,heading for the open water. Night fell and still she steamedrapidly on, the cruisers following in her wake.
Frank took the first watch, and Jack turned in. The sea wasperfectly smooth and the Lena steamed on, rolling gently on theeven swell of the waves.
At 7 o'clock, the sun streaming high in the heavens, Jackappeared on deck. A moment later Frank who had been relieved bythe second officer during the night, also emerged from his cabin.
Both turned their eyes over the stern, where the night before thetwo British cruisers had been following, offering protection inwhatever danger threatened.
The cruisers were not in sight. There was not even a cloud ofsmoke to show their presence anywhere on the wide sea. They hadturned off on another course during the darkness.
"Well," said Jack, "it's up to us to get into port safely. Wehave been thrown upon our own resources."
"Yes," Frank agreed. "Captain Marcus has put great confidence inus. It's up to us to make good."
"Well," declared Jack slowly, "we'll do it."
"Yes," said Frank, "we will!"