CHAPTER VI
THE MYSTERY OF THE IRON CROSS
When Joe came back to consciousness it was with his head poundingterribly, and Lieutenant Mackinson bending over him, swathing his facewith a cool wet cloth, while Jerry and Slim, whom the lieutenant hadwakened, were standing nearby, one holding a basin of water, the other abottle containing a liniment or lotion.
"You've been done up pretty badly," said Lieutenant Mackinson, as Joewent through the painful motion of moving his head from left to right,letting his gaze take in the now lighted wireless room.
"Yes," he answered with an effort. "Nothing serious, though, I guess."And then, full recollection coming to him, "Did he get away?"
"Who?" asked the lieutenant quickly. "Who was it beat you up so?"
"I don't know," Joe answered. "I discovered him in the battery room. Wefought in the dark."
With the aid of the others he raised himself to a sitting posture, thenstood up and walked rather unsteadily across the room, took a long quaffof cold water and dropped heavily into Lieutenant Mackinson's Morrischair.
At the same time he gazed for the first time at what he had been holdingtightly clutched in his right hand ever since the knockout blow had beendelivered. The other three also were staring at it in open amazement.
"What is it?" asked Joe, as the lieutenant crossed the room and took thething from him for a closer examination.
"What is it?" Lieutenant Mackinson repeated. "Why, lad, this is theGerman iron cross! Tell us what happened here."
With the young officer seated before him, and his two pals standing ateither side of his chair, Joe, quietly, quickly and as carefully as hecould, gave them every detail of the occurrence, from the moment he hadfirst heard sounds in the battery room, to the time that the other manran away and he lapsed into unconsciousness.
While Joe was relating his story the lieutenant examined and re-examinedthe iron cross, the bit of broken chain still attached to it, and thepiece of brown woolen army shirt which the lad had torn away with it.As the latter finished, the young officer hurried into the battery room,accompanied by Slim, to make a survey there.
In ten minutes he returned, his face pale, his jaws clenched.
"There must not be a word of this to anyone," he warned them. "I amgoing to report to the captain at once. Someone has been tampering withthe batteries, and he had with him a portable wireless which heevidently intended to attach."
"You're the original little discoverer, all right," said Slim in openadmiration, addressing Joe as the lieutenant hurried from the room. "Andyou certainly were game, to take the beating you did."
"Yes, he punished me some," Joe admitted. "But I got in a little work onhim, too. The only trouble is that I'm afraid I didn't blacken an eye,or break a jaw, or otherwise do any damage that might be apparent and solead to the fellow's discovery."
"The nerve of it, though!" broke in Jerry.
"A German spy, doubtless masquerading as an American soldier, and righthere on a United States transport loaded with fifteen hundred soldiersand tons of guns and ammunition."
"Yes," said Joe contemplatively, "that's the very serious part of itall--the fifteen hundred soldiers and tons of guns and ammunition."
"Sh-h-h-h!"
Slim, who was standing nearest the door, had heard footsteps. A momentlater the lieutenant reappeared, accompanied by the captain of the_Everett_.
When the boys had been presented, the captain abruptly requested Joe torepeat every detail he had told Lieutenant Mackinson. As he did so thecaptain gazed compassionately upon his injuries.
"And where is the instrument that you discovered?" he asked of thelieutenant when Joe had concluded.
The young officer stepped into the battery room, returning with a small,but evidently powerful, portable wireless transmitter and receiver.
"H'm," exclaimed the captain, examining it carefully. "Of German make."
"Exactly, sir," replied Lieutenant Mackinson, "and evidently quitenew--probably never used more than once or twice before."
"This is very serious business," said the captain impressively. Andthen, addressing Joe: "Did you get a look at the other man? Would youknow him if you ever saw him again?"
"No, sir, I did not even get a glimpse of him. But I thought, sir, thatperhaps----"
"Yes," encouraged the captain in a kindly tone. "Go on with yoursuggestion."
"I thought, sir," Joe continued, "that if we could find a man aboardwith his shirt torn in such a way that this piece would fit, andespecially if he had the other end of this chain in his possession, thenit might be pretty definitely assumed that he was the man who was in thebattery room."
"The chain--perhaps," said the captain slowly, "although that seemsdoubtful. As to the shirt, no."
And, unbuttoning his jacket, he produced from beneath it a torn andcrumpled brown woolen shirt.
"We found this about twenty feet from here as we were on our way," hecontinued. "It resembles, but it is not, a regulation army shirt. It isof the same texture and color, but it differs in minor details easilydiscernible. It is my opinion that the man who wore this shirt bought itand wore it for this very purpose, so that, if necessary, he mightdiscard it and still have the one which came to him through theQuartermaster's Department. We evidently have to deal with a very craftyenemy, and one as bold as he is unscrupulous.
"Lieutenant, what do you make of his manipulations in the battery room?"
"There is no doubt in my mind, sir," Lieutenant Mackinson answered,"that he was about to connect up this instrument and then hide it forfuture use where it could not easily be seen."
"I believe you are right," said the captain. "And then what use did heintend to make of it?"
"Evidently his intention was not a loyal or friendly one," the juniorofficer continued. "It would seem to me that his probable purpose was todivulge to German submarines our whereabouts when we came within theirzone."
Apparently the commander of the ship agreed with him, for he made noimmediate answer. For several moments he remained in meditative silence,his brow wrinkled, as though he was turning the whole thing over andover in his mind.
"From the very fact that he wore such a garment," the captain said atlast, "it would seem that this man is among the regularly enlisted menon this ship. However, that is by no means certain. There is thiscertainty, however: If he would go to such desperate lengths once, thereis every possibility that he will do so again--only more cautiously thanbefore, for now he knows that his presence on board is known.
"The most rigid investigation must be started at once, and for that,Lieutenant, I will require your assistance. Leave these young men incharge of the wireless room, unless something unusual or in the natureof an emergency occurs.
"As for you gentlemen," he continued, turning toward the three boys fromBrighton, "you are commanded not to mention a single word about thiswhole occurrence to another soul. If any one should question you, with aseeming knowledge of what happened here to-night, report the matter tome at once."
"Yes, sir," the three boys responded, saluting, and the captaindeparted, motioning Lieutenant Mackinson to accompany him.
By this time Joe was stiff and sore in every joint. Jerry and Sliminsisted that he retire immediately, and helped him off with hisclothing.
Nor was there any objection from Jerry, whose turn in the wireless roomwas to begin then and last until one o'clock in the morning, when Slimsuggested that he would stay on with him, "just to talk things over."
"All right," said Jerry, "and then I'll stay on during your shift, untilJoe relieves us in the morning. We can get a good sleep to-morrow,anyway."
And so the long night began. The dull song of the engines, far, farbelow, became like the monotonous droning of giant bees, and the wash ofthe salt water against the side of the ship was a constantly recurringswash-h-h--swish--swash-h-h--swish as the vessel plowed on and onthrough the darkness, toward the submarine zone and Europe and thebattlefields and the trenches and the m
en--millions of them--of theAllied armies.
It was near midnight, and the boys had fallen silent, Jerry with thewireless headpiece over his ears, Slim standing near the porthole,gazing out at the lone swaying light that indicated the position and theprogress of the cruiser convoy on the port side.
Suddenly Slim whirled around, his face pale, his muscles tense, and witha motion to Jerry signaled silence. As the latter removed the gear fromhis head, Slim tiptoed across the room to him. Placing his lips close toJerry's ears he said: "I thought I heard someone in the battery room.Listen!"
There was no doubt of it this time. Both boys heard the sound. It was ofsomeone softly feeling about, as though in doubt as to his exactposition.
"Quick!" hissed Slim into Jerry's ear. "You get the captain andlieutenant; I'll wait here."
And as Jerry disappeared through the room in which Joe was sleeping, soas not to give suspicion to the man in the battery room, Slim slid intoJerry's chair and centered every faculty upon listening to the almostinaudible movements in the next chamber.
He could tell instinctively that the man was feeling about the wallswith his hands. And not unnaturally, recalling Joe's experience only afew hours before, it gave Slim a creepy sort of feeling.
Then all sound ceased. Try as hard as he would, he could not hear athing. He rose from the chair and went closer to the intervening door.All was silent!
A few seconds later the captain and lieutenant, accompanied by Jerry,came hurrying into the room. Without an instant's delay the captainturned the knob and they entered the battery room, switching on thelight at the same time.
Apparently not a thing had been touched, but the outer door was ajar.The lieutenant jumped to it and peered out, but no one was to be seen.He closed and locked the door and began an inspection of the batteries.
"Everything seems to be all right," he said finally; and then, his eyestraveling to the table, he stopped short.
"The wireless instrument," he gasped. "It's gone!"
"Where was it left?" the captain demanded sharply.
"On that table there," Lieutenant Mackinson answered. "I placed it theremyself, as you probably will remember, just before we went outtogether."
"I remember," the captain admitted.
"That spy has been back," the junior officer continued. "Back in thisvery room after his instrument, and he intends to use it yet if hecan!"