CHAPTER XIV
Through Unseen Perils
The submarine's Lieutenant-Commander sent one wireless message prior tostarting on his dash for the Sea of Marmora. Under the circumstancesit was desirable, in spite of the chance of its being intercepted bythe enemy.
The message was to the Admiral, to the effect that, acting uponinformation supplied by Sub-Lieutenant Richard Crosthwaite, of H.M.S._Hammerer_, who with Midshipman Farnworth succeeded in effecting hisescape from the enemy, the officer commanding H.M. Submarine "E--"succeeded in torpedoing and destroying a German _unterseeboot_ in theneighbourhood of Smyrna; and that he was in possession of informationthat suggested the anticipated arrival of other German submarines fromtheir North Sea bases.
Back came the reply:
"Admiral heartily congratulates officer commanding 'E--' on hisbrilliant exploit, and Sub-lieutenant Crosthwaite and MidshipmanFarnworth on their escape."
"Good!" ejaculated Lieutenant-Commander Huxtable. "Unship the wirelessmast. We won't need that again until we've done something to shake theTurks up."
Running awash, the submarine skirted the shore till the outlines of KumKale appeared in sight. Then diving to a depth of eight fathoms, inorder to be well clear of the keels of any British battleships cruisingin the vicinity, she headed for The Narrows.
With a suddenness peculiar to the Mediterranean a strong wind hadsprung up, causing a heavy sea to run at the entrance to theDardanelles, and as a result the submarine jumped violently in avertical direction as each wave passed forty to sixty feet above her.
"Thank goodness it won't be for long," remarked the skipper. "It's thecurrent against the wind that makes such a beast of a jump. I wouldn'tlike to tackle the anchored mines with this tumble on; but you'll findwe'll pick up smooth water as soon as we leave Eski Hissarlik on ourport quarter."
For three hours the submarine literally groped her way, running atseven knots against a current the velocity of which is rarely less thanfive. At the end of that interval she showed her periscope with theutmost diffidence. An observation revealed Kephez Point broad on thestarboard beam, and the battered fort of Kilid Bahr a couple of pointson the port bow.
"We've fouled something, sir," reported the Acting Sub-lieutenant ofthe submarine, a youngster but recently promoted from midshipman.
"By Jove, we have!" agreed his superior officer, as he glanced throughthe small observation-scuttle in the side of the conning-tower."Awkward--confoundedly awkward!"
He was seriously annoyed; not at the immediate danger, but at thefailure of his device to ward off obstructions; for in ascending thesubmarine had risen immediately underneath the anchor-chamber of a minethat had broken adrift, but still retained the metal box containing thedepth-regulating mechanism. The anchor-chamber had engaged on theinside of the starboard girder, and what was more, a length of looserope had trailed aft and was almost within the sweep of one of the twinpropellers. In another few seconds the rope would be wound round andround the boss as tightly as a steel hawser.
Promptly the electric motors were switched off. For the time being onedanger was averted. It remained to shake the submarine clear of thepowerful charge of explosive that was hitched up within seven feet ofthe conning-tower. One slight tap on one of the many sensitive"feelers" of the mine would result in the total destruction of thesubmarine and her daring crew.
"Flood auxiliary ballast-tanks," ordered the Lieutenant-Commander.
Slowly, as the water hissed into the strong steel compartments, thesubmarine sank in a vertical direction. For the nonce herdiving-rudders were useless. She was stationary as far as movement ina horizontal direction was concerned.
The officers anxiously watched the hand of the steel indicating thedepth. At twelve fathoms the downward movement ceased. TheLieutenant-Commander had hoped that the buoyancy of the mine wouldrelease the anchor-chamber from the steel girder that in this instancehad proved to be a source of danger rather than a protection; butno--the submerged vessel had drawn both anchor-chamber and mine beneaththe surface.
"Prepare to anchor--let go!"
With a sullen roar, intensified by the confined space, the stocklessanchor was released from its "housing" at the for'ard end of the keel.Suddenly the studded-linked cable "snubbed" as the flukes obtained ahold; then, anchored at fifteen fathoms beneath the surface, thesubmarine fretted easily at her cable in the five-knot current.
Again the Lieutenant-Commander peered through the scuttle. At thatdepth the light that filtered through the water was just and only justsufficient to enable him to discern the deadly object still clingingtenaciously to the submerged craft. Under the action of the current ittilted ominously, though fortunately not sufficiently for any of theprojecting "feelers" to come in contact with the metal plating of theanchored submarine.
"We'll stand easy," remarked the skipper to his augmented group ofofficers. "We're safe enough for the present, only it's a wicked wasteof valuable time. As soon as it gets dark we'll ascend and cut theblessed thing adrift."
Half an hour later the officers were sitting down to a hot meal cookedon an electric grill. The repast over, Lieutenant-Commander Huxtableturned to his companion and coolly suggested a hand at bridge.
Dick took a hand with the three executive officers of the submarine,but his luck was out. He could not concentrate his mind upon the game.His eyes were constantly wandering. Almost every minute he glanced atthe clock, the hands of which appeared to move with exasperatingslowness.
"Come, come!" exclaimed the Lieutenant-Commander. "You'll be clearedout if we go on playing for another hour. Pull yourself together, man."
But the encouragement was thrown away, for although the three submarineofficers played with the greatest enthusiasm, Dick made a sorry show.
"Hanged if I can play, sir!" he declared. "I wonder how you can, withthat mine alongside."
"You'd soon get used to it," replied the Lieutenant-Commander. "Idon't mind admitting that we all feel a bit jumpy at first, but itpasses off. But it's after sunset. We'll see what we can do directlywe've finished this round--your deal, partner."
The game over, the Lieutenant-Commander returned to his post in theconning-tower. He was hoping against hope that during the interval thebuoyancy of the mine might have been sufficient to break the alreadyrotten rope, but on flashing a powerful electric torch through theglass of the scuttle the formidable cylinder could still be discerned.
The order was given to weigh, and under the action of an electric winchthe cable came home fathom by fathom until the anchor was once morehoused in the recess provided. No longer held, the submarine wasdrifting backwards in the steady current.
"Blow auxiliary tanks."
Quickly the water ballast was dispelled from the supplementary tanks,and relieved of this weight the vessel slowly rose until herconning-tower and deck were awash.
Opening the hatch, the Lieutenant-Commander, accompanied by a pettyofficer and a leading seaman, gained the open air, and at onceproceeded to remove the deadly mine.
There was a certain amount of reflected glow from the search-lightthat, once their eyes grew accustomed to the comparative darkness,enabled them to see fairly distinctly.
Clambering cautiously along the horizontal strut that strengthened thecurved girder, the men made a careful survey of the metal cylinderbefore attempting to handle it. Apparently it had been in the waterfor some weeks, for barnacles and slimy weeds were adhering to itssurface. The "horns" or "feelers" were, fortunately, pointing awayfrom the hull of the submarine; nevertheless the task of disengagingthe mine without allowing it to scrape or jam against any form of solidresistance was fraught with danger. A slight tap upon one of thosenumerous spike-like projections would result in death to every man onboard.
Examination proved that not only was the mine with its attendantanchor-chamber entangled by means of a hempen rope, but a length ofwire had stubbornly intertwined itself round a portion of the girder,so that the mine, swinging
towards the metal hull, was practicallymidway between it and the curved side of the vessel.
"A hack-saw there," ordered the Lieutenant-Commander. "Oil it well, orthe rasping will give the show away."
The required tool was quickly forthcoming, and the two men tackledtheir dangerous task. For twenty minutes they worked desperately,momentarily expecting to be "picked up" by the search-lights that wereplaying ominously close to the dark-grey hull of the submarine.
"Through, sir," announced one of the men breathlessly. "Shall wetopple it over?"
"No, no," replied the skipper hurriedly. "Are you quite sure thateverything's clear?"
"Aye, aye, sir."
The mine was now held in position only by the triangle formed by thegirder, its horizontal brace, and a two-inch teak plank placeddiagonally across the metal work. Fortunately the sea was now calm andthe submarine's motion barely perceptible.
"Diving-stations," ordered Huxtable. "It's neck or nothing."
The water-tight hatches were closed and secured, and water admittedinto the ballast tanks, both main and auxiliary, for it was hercommander's intention to submerge the submarine in a vertical positionwithout having recourse to the use of the propeller and diving-planes.In sinking, the submarine, he hoped, would be automatically freed ofits dangerous encumbrance, since the buoyancy of the mine would floatit clear when the craft was completely submerged.
Instinctively Dick shut his jaw tightly as he heard the hiss of thewater pouring into the tanks. He fully realized the delicateoperation, for a list of any magnitude would result in the minetoppling over from its insecure perch as it did so. It was notpleasant to realize that he was in a hermetically sealed steel box witha dangerous neighbour in the shape of seventy-six pounds of gun-cotton.
He glanced at the Lieutenant-Commander, who was peering anxiouslythrough the slit in the conning-tower, and although he moved not amuscle the perspiration was standing out in beads on his temples.
Presently he turned his head.
"At that!" he ordered, addressing the men standing by the valve of theballast chamber. "Turn horizontal rudders to ten degrees down. Halfspeed ahead."
A gasp of relief echoed through the confined space. The men gave acheer. They understood: one danger had been successfully combated.
The steady thud of the throttled-down motors alone imparted the senseof motion as the submarine, fifty feet beneath the surface, resumed herblind grope up The Narrows.
Twice only during the negotiation of that intricate passage did theLieutenant-Commander show the top of the periscope above water. Thefirst observation revealed the feet that Nagara was well on thestarboard hand, and that an alteration of helm was necessary to avoidpiling the submerged craft upon shoals that, owing to the irregularityof coast-line, were directly ahead.
The second convinced Huxtable that the course was now practically astraight one for the Sea of Marmora as far as direction went; but heknew that in that stretch of water which lay between him and the inlandsea were at least six rows of anchored electro-contact mines.
"A vessel on our port bow, sir," declared Dick, who before thesubmarine could submerge her periscope had glanced into theobject-bowl. It was a picture of darkness which met his eye, butacross that expanse of dull leaden colour, that indicated a blend ofsea and sky on a rainy night, he had detected a still darker objecttravelling slowly across the "field" of the periscope, the "iris" ofwhich was opened to its fullest extent in order to admit the maximumamount of light, which was very small.
"A torpedo-boat," decided the Lieutenant-Commander after a briefsurvey. "She would make an easy target, but we'll let her go. Itwould mean betraying our presence, and that would never do. One thingshe's taught us, that is that the passage through the next mine-fieldis hard against the Asiatic side. We'll let her pass, and then pick upher wake."
The Turkish torpedo-boat was evidently bound from the neighbourhood ofNagara for the Bosphorus. She was steaming at fifteen knots and,judging by the clouds of black smoke tinged with dark-red and orangeflames, was under forced draught.
Unsuspectingly the boat held on her course, little thinking that withintwo cables' length of her a British submarine was following thephosphorescent swirl that marked her track. Either the men of herwatch on deck were lax in their duties or else they devoted theirattention to keeping a look-out ahead and abeam, for the cascade offoam that marked the swiftly-moving periscope passed unnoticed.
Ready at the first alarm to tilt the horizontal diving-rudders,Huxtable conned the submarine. He was in high spirits, for the thoughtthat an enemy torpedo-boat was acting as a pilot amused and elated him.Although prepared to take the risk of diving under the mine-field, hefully admitted his preference to be conducted in safety through thedanger-zone.
Once the torpedo-boat sharply ported her helm. For the moment itseemed as if the submarine had been spotted, but since no shell wasfired from the Turkish craft the Lieutenant-Commander surmised that thechange of course had been rendered necessary by the intricacies of thesecret passage through the mine-field.
Allowing sufficient distance the submarine followed suit, until thetorpedo-boat swung round on her former course. She had cleared thedanger-zone, and her imitator had done likewise.
Slowly but surely the Turkish craft was out-distancing the invisiblesubmarine, whose utmost limit when submerged was not equal to that ofthe torpedo-boat. Half an hour later all traces of her haddisappeared. Even the churned wake had blended utterly with thesurrounding waves.
The submarine was now about to enter the Sea of Marmora. Thesearch-lights of Gallipoli were broad on the port beam. On the portbow a row of flickering lights marked the camp-fires in the Bulairlines. A triple row of anchored mines had to be avoided before theBritish craft was clear of the upper reaches of the Dardanelles.
Down she went till the gauge indicated a depth of fifty-five feet, thenregaining an even keel she forged slowly ahead, deliberately feelingher way through the black water.
A peculiar rasping, muffled sound attracted Dick's attention. TheLieutenant-Commander heard it too. The two men exchanged glances.
"One line passed," announced Huxtable when the noise ceased. "That wasthe mooring wire of one of the mines scraping along our protectivegirders."
Ten seconds later came a similar sound, this time overhead. Thesubmarine was passing under a horizontal bridle connecting two mines.
The arched girder saved her, for had the obstruction caught in thefor'ard end of the conning-tower or the housed periscope, the "way" ofthe vessel would have swung the two mines together with annihilatingeffects. As it was, the Lieutenant-Commander merely depressed theboat's bows, and without any trouble the submerged craft glidedunderneath the cable of death.
"Two!" ejaculated the skipper laconically.
Dick's spirits rose rapidly. After all, he reasoned, diving undermines was an exciting form of sport, with very little danger. Theoperation seemed far less hazardous than running the gauntlet of TheNarrows in the _Calder_.
Suddenly came the dull roar of an explosion. The submarine heeleddangerously, and quivered till it seemed that her plating was on thepoint of buckling.
Instinctively Crosthwaite grasped the hand-rail of the steel ladderleading to the conning-tower hatch-way. In any case it was a futileaction, since there was no possible escape that way. He momentarilyexpected to hear the rush of water, driven under tremendous pressureinto the shattered hull.
The submarine had come in contact with a mine.