Chapter III Heading]
BORROWED PLUMES
I
The tramp steamer _Elpinike_, bound from the Peiraeus to the island ofTenedos with supplies for the Allied forces, was thrashing its waynorthwards through the blue waters of the AEgean Sea. It was a warm,sunny day; the Levantine crew lolled on the bulwarks, and a mixed groupof passengers was gathered on the after-deck. Three or four Frenchofficers, smoking cigarettes, basked on deck-chairs; several men, whosenationality it were hard to determine, leant in picturesque attitudesagainst the wall of the deck-house; and a couple of Englishmen, wearingoveralls and low cloth caps, and with blackened briar pipes betweentheir lips, sat side by side on the third of the steps leading to thebridge. They eyed with faint amusement the centre of the group, a veryfat man sucking a very fat cigar, who lay back in his creakingdeck-chair and discoursed at large.
Mr. Achilles Christopoulos, as he had announced himself to hisfellow-passengers, was the agent of the charterers of the vessel. Hewas, he assured them, a very busy man. He had broad, bulging, swarthycheeks, a multiple chin, and a heavier moustache than is common amonghis compatriots; for Mr. Christopoulos was, by his own account, a Greekof Greeks. His English was fluent, with little oddities of accent andpronunciation; and after every few words he drew deep, audible gasps forbreath.
"Yes, zhentlemen," said Mr. Christopoulos, waving his cigar towards theEnglishmen and Frenchmen, "my country will remain neutral. Of war wehave had enough; it is time we had a rest. And tell me, why should wepull your chestnuts out of ze fire? Tell me zat? What did you do tohelp us against ze Turks twenty years ago? Nozink. And two years ago?Nozink. We are nozink to you. We wait; zat is our policy; and when zetime comes, why, zen we show ze world we do not forget our history."
"Ah, bah!" exclaimed one of the Frenchmen, flinging a half-smokedcigarette into the sea. "You are egoist, monsieur. Your history--vat?I zink of Pericles; I zink of your patriots since a hundred years. Ah!zat vas not zeir policy."
"But ze time has changed, monsieur. Pericles, he is dead. Ze GermanEmperor, he is alive."
"Conspuez-le!" said the Frenchman.
Mr. Christopoulos smiled.
"Consider with calmness, zhentlemen," he said, as though appealing fromthe excitable Frenchmen to the more stolid English. "Ze Turk, with zeGerman Emperor at ze back, is to-day a new man. Ze King of ze Hellenesknows ze power of Germany. He runs no risks. We have men who areignorant, who do not zink. Zey make a fuss, cry for war; ze king knowsit is foolish, and holds tight ze reins. Greece owes much to Germany,and shall owe more."
The French officers burst into angry declamation. The Englishmen, whohad taken no part in the conversation, listened for a few minuteslonger, then got up and strolled along the deck.
"Talks too much, Teddy," said one of them.
"Let 'em talk," replied the other.
Edward Burton, of the Flying Corps, after several months' exhaustingservice in France, had been invalided home. On reporting himself atheadquarters after his convalescence, he was ordered to the Dardanelles.Taking a P. and O. steamer for Alexandria, he had met on board an oldfriend, Dick Hunter, who had recently come into the corps from a lineregiment, as observer. The supply ship in which they took passage atAlexandria had put into Athens with a broken shaft, and to save timethey had joined the _Elpinike_ at the moment of her leaving port.
The _Elpinike_ was very old, very dirty, very smelly, and very slow,plodding along at seven or eight knots. The two airmen, accustomed toeasy and rapid flights, were thoroughly weary of the voyage by the timethe vessel reached harbour. They found themselves there in the midst ofintense activity, reminding Burton of the bustle and orderly confusionat the bases in France. They reported themselves at headquarters, onlyto learn that, pending the arrival of new machines from England, therewas no seaplane ready for them, and they had to resign themselves tokicking their heels for a time. There was, however, plenty to interestthem. Troops--British, French, and Colonial--were continually arrivingfrom Egypt and departing on transports for the Dardanelles. Warshipscame and went; airmen were present who had reconnoitred for the fleet inthe attacks on the forts, and to discover the strength of the Turks onboth sides of the strait. These retailed their experiences for thebenefit of their comrades newly arrived, who grew more and more eager toset to work.
Now and then they ran up against Mr. Christopoulos, who was quarterednear them, and found it a little difficult to shake off that garrulousman of business. He showed a disposition, they thought, to presume onthe acquaintance made during the voyage from the Peiraeus. As a rulethey gave only perfunctory acknowledgments of his greetings; sometimesthey were unable to escape him.
"You are still idle, zhentlemen?" he said one day. "Zere is a shortageof aircraft, I hear. How provoking!"
"It gives us time to get acclimatised," said Burton.
"Zat is true. It is very fine air. You like ze wine of ze country? Itis very fine. You know, of course, zat here came ze fleet from mycountry for ze siege of Troy. Ah! we Greeks were ten years taking Troy,and I zink you will be ten years taking Constantinople."
"Let's hope not," said Burton. "Your ancestors hadn't aeroplanes, yousee. Our planes will be even more useful than the Wooden Horse."
"Perhaps. And when do you expect to get to work?"
"All in good time."
"You will go to Enos, perhaps?"
"We shall go wherever we are sent. You'll go back to Athens in the_Elpinike_ to-morrow, I suppose?"
"No. My business keeps me here. I am a very busy man."
He went on to describe some of his activities, and the Englishmen,breaking away at last, made but a cool response to his genial "Aurevoir, zhentlemen."
It was ten days before their seaplane arrived. The engine required verylittle tuning up. They made a few trial trips, to accustom themselvesto the atmospheric conditions of the AEgean Sea, and looked forward toan early call to action.
On returning to their quarters one night, they were surprised to see aBritish sentry at the door of the house where Mr. Christopoulos lodged.
"What's up?" asked Hunter, stopping.
"Got orders to guard this house, sir," replied the man.
"What for?"
"A party of us was sent to arrest the chap that lives here, sir--the fatGreek Christopoulos. Don't know what he's been doing; swindlingsomebody, perhaps."
"Did you get him?"
"No, sir. He can't be found."
They passed on, and, after changing, went to the restaurant for theirevening meal. There they learnt that Mr. Christopoulos was suspected ofspying. It appeared that he must have got wind of the order for hisarrest, and had decamped; but his disappearance was a mystery, for novessel had left the island since the morning, with the exception of asmall country sailing-boat. It was conjectured that he had left on oneof the small craft engaged in bringing provisions to the base; butthough several of these had been overhauled at sea by fast despatchboats, no trace of the fugitive was discovered.
Two days later the airmen were summoned to headquarters.
"Your machine is in order?" asked the staff-officer.
"Yes, sir--ready for anything," Burton replied.
"Then you'll ship on board the ----." He named a cruiser lying in theharbour. "There are rumours of a large Turkish concentration at Keshan.You'll find out if they are true. The cruiser will take you up to theGulf of Saros, and you will start your flight from the neighbourhood ofthe coast somewhere south of Enos. The cruiser will await your return."
They hurried down to the harbour. The seaplane was slung on board thecruiser, which steamed away northward, through the huge armada ofBritish and French war-vessels, transports, and supply ships thatthronged the sea. It was an open secret that the preparations for acombined attack by land and sea were far advanced. They heard thedistant boom of heavy guns, which grew louder and more continuous asthey neared the mouth of
the strait. When they opened up the headlandof Suvla Burun the course was altered a few points to the east, andanother hour's steaming across the Gulf of Saros found them some fivemiles from the coast, off Kurukli. Here the cruiser hove-to, and theseaplane was slung out.
The captain had already given the airmen their bearings. North-west layEnos and the river Maritza, with the Bulgarian port of Dedeagatchbeyond. Keshan, their objective, was to the north-east, about thirtymiles distant from the coast.
"I will cruise about for four or five hours," said the captain, "keepingwell out to sea, out of range of the batteries in the Bulair linesyonder." He pointed due east to the neck of the Gallipoli peninsula."You have plenty of petrol?"
"Enough for the job," replied Burton.
"Well, good luck to you. 'Ware shrapnel."
They slipped over the side into their places. Burton started theengine, and, after skimming the surface for a few moments, the seaplanerose like a bird and soared away, ever higher, towards the coastnorthward.