CHAPTER XXIX.
WORK FOR THE SEAPLANES.
"SEND him on board, by all means," said the Captain of the "Meteor,"after the rousing cheer from her crew that greeted the announcementhad died away. "We'll lower a rope and whip him on board in a jiffey.You might then hold your position for ten hours more. I don't supposethe Valderians will risk another assault during that interval. We areabout to take Admiral Maynebrace and his staff back to his flagship.Zaypuru will go too. He will be a strong argument in favour of theValderians asking for terms."
"I doubt it, sir," replied Dacres grimly. "Those fellows in FortVolador ignored his request to cease firing."
"We'll see," rejoined Vaughan Whittinghame.
"Hulloa, there, Gerald, old boy! How goes it?"
This was the Captain of the "Meteor's" greeting to his brother, whofor months past had been in danger of being put to death by anunscrupulous Dictator.
"See you later," was Gerald's equally unconcerned reply, although atheart the brothers were longing to shake each other by the hand."We'll rout out old Zaypuru. He's buried himself under a regularmountain of bedding."
Still in paroxysms of terror the President of Valderia was removedfrom his place of concealment, while General Galento, in almost anequal state of fear, was allowed to remain in his uncomfortableposition.
At the sight of the "Meteor," anchored barely fifty feet above theshattered walls of the Cavarale, with a rope dangling from one of theentry ports, Zaypuru fell on his knees, begging for mercy. The noosedrope had a terrible significance.
"We do not ill-treat our prisoners of war, senor," said GeraldWhittinghame. "Circumstances necessitate your removal from thisdangerous locality to a safer sphere."
But before the President could be ignominiously seated in the bightof the rope a warning shout came from Setchell, who was on duty inthe after-section.
"Look out, sir!" he hailed; "there are half a dozen aeroplanesbearing down upon us."
"Cast off, there!" ordered Vaughan Whittinghame calmly.
The "Meteor" soared skywards, although not so swiftly as was herwont. The heavy drain upon her store of ultra-hydrogen was beginningto make itself felt.
Dacres watched her receding bulk with envious eyes. He would havegiven much to have formed one of the band of aerial warriors; butduty compelled him to remain, an eager spectator of the forthcomingencounter, on the position he had held so doggedly against the gunsof Fort Volador. Setchell had made a mistake in stating the number ofthe hostile aircraft to be half a dozen. There were five of thelatest type of Valderian aeroplanes, each capable of rendering a goodaccount of itself, had they been properly handled.
Hoping to take advantage of the great airship being close to theground, the airmen left Naocuanha, and, flying fairly low, made awide detour so as to approach from a direction whence danger wasleast expected.
Seeing the "Meteor" rise, they too tilted their elevating planes, andin a semi-circular formation rushed at top speed upon this surprisedfoe.
Suddenly the airship's propellers began to run at full speed. She didnot belie her name as she shot forward, firing from her after-guns asshe did so.
The aeroplanes replying with their comparatively feeble automaticguns, were completely outdistanced, till the "Meteor," slowing down,lured them on.
Before the Valderian mosquitoes could approach within range theairship was off again, till she was almost out of sight of thewatchers on the Cavarale. Dacres understood her tactics. VaughanWhittinghame wanted to entice the biplanes away from the vicinity ofthe Cavarale, whose garrison would otherwise be at the mercy of theaviators. On the other hand, he dared not risk an attack at aneffective range, owing to the fact that, in addition to Rear-AdmiralMaynebrace and his staff, the "Meteor" carried Antoine de la Fosseand his son, and also the two men from the British merchant vesselwhose arrest by Zaypuru had been the commencement of the dispute.
Presently the "Meteor" was observed to be returning towardsNaocuanha, the five aeroplanes hanging on in pursuit. When within amile of the Cavarale she rose to an additional height of two thousandfeet. The biplanes, fearing to be annihilated by an aerial bomb,swerved right and left. Doubling like a hare the airship provedconclusively that her turning powers were, in spite of her length andbulk, superior to those of the Valderian aircraft, but owing to herspeed and the smallness of the swiftly-moving targets, she made nopalpable hits with her two stern-chasers.
So intent were the garrison of the Cavarale in watching this aerialsteeplechase that it was not until a loud droning almost above theirheads told them that other aircraft were approaching.
"Take cover as best you may!" ordered Gerald to the Valderian allies.
"Steady on, old man," suddenly exclaimed Dacres. "I think--yes, I amcertain--they are British seaplanes."
"I suppose you know," admitted Whittinghame. "But how will they knowwe are not the enemy? Personally, I've a strong objection to beingblown sky-high by a British seaplane."
"We must risk it. I'll hail. Perhaps they might hear, although thenoise of the propeller--Hulloa! They're swerving."
Paying no attention to the remains of the Cavarale with its occupantswho wore the Valderian uniform, the air-squadron tore to the rescueof their Admiral.
The Captain of the "Meteor" had informed the flagship of thesituation by wireless, and Captain Staggers, who, by virtue of hisseniority, had hoisted the Commodore's Broad Pennant on board the"Royal Oak" during Rear-Admiral Maynebrace's enforced absence, haddispatched six of the seaplanes attached to the fleet to tackle theenemy's air-fleet.
Giving the high-angle firing-guns of the defences of Naocuanha a wideberth, the seaplanes made short work of the distance between Zandovarand the scene of the manoeuvres of the "Meteor" and her attackers.
Now, for the first time in the history of the world, was to be apitched battle between aircraft heavier than the medium in which theysoared. It was to be a fight to the finish: there could be noquestion of surrendering or of giving quarter.
Yet the British Flying Squadron was not one to take an undueadvantage. The aeroplanes, intent upon the "Meteor," were unaware ofthe approach of their new foes; but the officers in command of theseaplanes waited till they were certain that their presence wasobserved by the Valderian airmen.
To escape by flight was impossible. The Valderian airmen, realizingthat their only chance lay in vanquishing their opponents, turned andheaded straight for the seaplanes. On both sides the automatic gunswere sending out small but powerful shells as fast as the delicateand intricate mechanism could admit, yet ninety-nine per cent of themissiles failed to find a billet.
One of the British aircraft was the first to receive a knock-outblow. Hit fairly on the swiftly revolving cylinders it seemed to stopdead. Then, plunging vertically, it fell at a comparatively low rateof speed and with ever-widening circles through space till itsdescent was checked by crashing violently upon the ground.
Ten seconds later a Valderian biplane was literally pulverized by ashell that exploded in her petrol tank. Two more were quickly put outof action, while the fourth, seeing the hopelessness of thesituation, vainly attempted a vol-plane.
With two of her antagonists like avenging angels following her steepdownward glide, the biplane dropped to within a hundred feet of theground without any apparent injury. Then, suddenly tilting beyond theangle of stability, she fell vertically. Under the joint action ofgravity and the traction of her propeller her rate at the moment ofimpact could not have been far short of two hundred miles an hour.
It took all the skill at their pilots' command to save the twoseaplanes from a similar fate. So intent had they been in theheadlong pursuit that they temporarily lost all sense of caution.
The first seaplane succeeded in rising, but the second was not sofortunate. The sudden downward pressure on the planes as the frailcraft changed her direction resulted in the carrying away of one ofthe tension wires. The right-hand plane collapsed like a limp rag,and the seaplane, tilting sideways, fell to the ear
th, her pilotgetting off lightly with a few bruises, while almost by a miracle theobserver escaped injury.
Only one Valderian biplane now remained. Her pilot, whether fromsheer daring or whether he was incapable of realizing what he wasabout, headed straight for the nearest of his antagonists.
The British pilot, equally fascinated by the sight of the hugemechanical bird bearing straight towards him, held on his course. Theslightest alteration to the elevating planes would have resulted inthe seaplane flying either above or under her opponent; butinexplicably the naval pilot made no effort to avoid the collision.
With a crash that was plainly heard by the spell-bound crew of the"Meteor," both aeroplanes met, eight thousand feet above the ground.
The spectators saw both motors, thrown clear of the tangle of strutsand canvas, drop almost side by side, followed by the mangled bodiesof three of the victims. Then, slowly, the lighter debris began tofall, until, some of the spilt petrol catching fire, the wreckageblazing furiously like a funeral pyre, streamed earthwards, leavingbehind it a trail of smoke resembling a gigantic memorial column tothe slain.