CHAPTER XI
BACK AT DORBY TOWERS
Sir Andrew had listened patiently. His had been the grave attitude of aman impressed beyond mere words of agreement or understanding. Hisreading glasses had been thrust aside. His grey head was inclinedtowards his clasped hands, and his broad chin found support upon them.His whole poise was of the closest attention.
"It's like a--fairy-tale," he said at last as Ruxton's story came to anend, and the deep, calm tones of his voice died out.
"Or a--nightmare?"
"Ye-es."
Sir Andrew swung round in his ample library chair and faced his desk.It was the movement of a man stirred out of his customary calm.
Ruxton watched his father closely from his seat on the settle under themullioned window. He was seeking the effect of his story upon a manwhom he knew to be typically British at heart. He had seen it all, hadexperienced it all. His father had not.
Presently Sir Andrew faced him again.
"Now your--purpose," he demanded, with the air of crisp business. "Youwould set out to revolutionize our mercantile marine by the adoption ofthis--submersible."
"As rapidly as is compatible with commercial interests."
"You mean that we are to take the entire risk of the success of thisnew departure?"
"It is our contribution to our country's cause."
Then Ruxton drew a deep breath. He sat up, and his words came swiftly,passionately.
"There must be no hesitation, Dad. The submersible will be no failure.You must see this thing with my eyes, you must understand it with myunderstanding. What I would do is to take upon ourselves this firstburden in the cause of patriotism. We must take the lead, cost us whatit may. If the thing is a failure, then we are so much the poorer inthis world's goods, but we shall have wrought honestly in the cause ofour country. If it is the success I am sure of, then our gain istwofold. But even if the latter is fulfilled beyond my expectations itis not going to be the easy thing it looks. Listen. Hertzwohl believesthat he can completely cover his tracks. I am just as certain that hecannot. Germany will discover the betrayal of her secrets. She willpunish the offender in the complete manner of which she is so great amistress. Then, by every art and wile of which she is capable, by everyruthless persistent purpose for which she is renowned, she will striveto undo the harm already achieved. We shall not be left to peacefulconstruction, if my understanding of the situation is correct. We mayhave to face even personal attack upon our lives and upon ourship-yards. It is with ideas of this sort running through my mind thatI intend to lay the whole matter before the Cabinet. I intend to secureGovernment patronage and protection for this scheme. It is the onlymeans by which we can hope to meet the attack which I am convinced willbe forthcoming from our country's enemies. It is a lot to ask of you,Dad, at your time of life. Did I not know the great strength of yourcharacter, and the extreme loyalty you possess for our country, Ishould have shouldered the whole of this burden myself. As it is I knowthat with all your spirit you would have resented such a course.Therefore I lay it before you."
The older man made no attempt at agreement or denial. He sat drumminghis fingers upon the edge of his desk while his keen eyes twinkled inhis boy's direction. He understood the earnestness of the idealist. Hesaw the purpose in every line of the strong young face. He appreciatedthe perfect poise of the keen, fresh intellect. And for the moment hismind went back to the glimpse of Paradise which had been his during thebrief period of his married life. This son of his was that splendidRussian woman over again, and he was glad. But when he spoke his mannerhad undergone no change from his crisp business practice.
"You would have us build----?"
"Two vessels of three thousand tons each and incorporate them with ourcoastwise fleet. Then two deep-sea craft of say six thousand tons. Iwould lay these down at once. Once their success is proved the planscan be laid open to all our shipping world. When the time comes theGovernment must be induced to foster the new construction by subsidy,and by every other means in its power. But in the first instance wealone must bear the burden and all it involves. If disaster shouldovertake our efforts our justification remains. The days of Britain'spre-war ineptitude are so recent that even an active progressivefailure would be a matter scarcely to be deplored. We must convince theworld of the sincerity of our convictions, and, to do that, we must, ifneed be, risk our entire fortune. The danger we know lies ahead. InBritain it is useless to tell of it. Only our own actions can speak andcarry convictions. It is our plain and simple duty to put our all intothis thing. If it should bring us disaster or even simple ruin, I tellyou, Dad, I would rather spend the rest of my life in honest rags, withthe knowledge that my substance has been absorbed in an endeavor tohelp my country, than claim this beautiful home of ours as a view-pointfrom which to watch the triumph of our country's enemies."
"Ye-es."
The twinkling eyes of Sir Andrew developed a smile upon his ruggedYorkshire features. But it was a smile of sympathy.
"The most thoroughly unbusinesslike transaction I was ever asked tocountenance," he observed drily. "This sort of thing, as you havesuggested, has come rather late in my life. But it only makes me regretmy years. But tell me again of this man. His genius, his curiousattitude of mind have left me rather breathless. This sort of thing ina German----?"
"Pole. There is not a drop of German blood in his veins." Ruxton caughteagerly at the opportunity of the man's defence. "His attitude, hispersonality, has left you no more breathless than it has left me. Dad,I have spent nearly a week in his company, a week spent in contact withthe greatest mind it has ever been my good fortune to encounter. Nor doI think the mind is greater than the soul. Oh, yes, I know what theunthinking would say. They would think and speak of treachery. Theywould spurn the creature who could betray the country which claims him,the country which has bestowed wealth and rank upon him. They wouldtalk of loyalty and honor, and so, in their shallow way, prove the vilething he must be. But I tell you there is something terrible in thedemand for allegiance to a country whose sole aim is conquest in everyphase of life; not the peaceful conquest which springs from the higherintelligence and purity of soul, but the brutal conquest of bloodshed,rapine, and terror. The man who can detach himself from the commonplaceunderstanding of honor, the man whose courage is such that he dares tooutrage such understanding in the cause of humanity, is somethingapproaching my understanding of a demi-god. If Prince von Hertzwohl isa traitor, then I would gladly be branded in a like manner."
The father permitted nothing of the effect of the idealist's words anyexpression. But he was not the less affected by them. However, he stillbent all his mental force upon the practical side of the situation.
"And you believe this man's life will pay for his--for what he hasdone?"
"I am certain of it."
Sir Andrew drew a deep breath. The assurance carried conviction.
"I am so certain," Ruxton added, "that I offered him shelter here."
"He accepted?"
"On the contrary--he refused."
His father's manner softened.
"His courage is almost--tragic."
"Or sublime."
"When were the preparations at this Borga begun?" Sir Andrew asked amoment later.
"During the war." Ruxton gave a short hard laugh. "Borga was purchasedto be used as an alternative base for submarine construction in caseKiel and Cuxhaven should be raided from the sea. Germany, even then,was looking far, far ahead."
"Yes."
For a few silent moments Ruxton's father continued to drum his fingersupon the desk before him. Then his keen eyes were raised againunsmilingly to his son's face.
"And the price? What price does he demand for these plans?" he enquiredsharply.
Ruxton's eyes levelled themselves at his father's.
"There is no price."
The old man's busy fingers became suddenly still.
"No--price?"
"None. They are a gift--in the cause of humanit
y."
Sir Andrew ran his strong fingers through his snowy hair. A whimsicalsmile began to possess his eyes.
"You have left me more convinced than I had thought possible."
"Of the danger?"
"No--of the man."
"I am glad."
"In England, as elsewhere, humanity is generally helped at ourneighbor's expense."
A flash of disapproval leapt into the younger man's eyes.
"If I did not know better, Dad, I should take you for----"
"A cynic," broke in his father. Then he went on explosively. "Believeme, boy, I _am_ a cynic where our country's splendid character, asdepicted in song and verse, and the ha'penny press, is concerned. Onthe subject of our national characteristics the late war was enough tobreak the heart of the veriest optimist. As far as I can see only twothings stood the test of that fire. The fighting power of our peopleand our naval record. For the rest, for the men whose duty it was tosupply the moral support, well----"
He broke off and leant across the desk and picked up the telephonereceiver.
"Hello!" he called. "That you, McGrath? Good. Have you examinedthose----? Yes. Can you come up and talk to us about them at once? Yes.Very well. Please do so."
He replaced the receiver and turned about. His keen eyes were regardinghis son affectionately. There was pride in them, too. His only sonrepresented the whole of his life's interests and ambitions.
"You have most of your life before you. Most of mine is behind me. You,my boy, have been brought up, as far as was possible to me, in all thesimple, beautiful beliefs which belonged to your dear mother. I wasbrought up to the hard life of commercial competition, and all themoral looseness which that implies. As time goes on I fear many of yoursplendid temples and shrines will be shattered. This must be so, and itis right. With the passing of youth you will gain a true perspective ofhuman worth. And when that perspective is attained, if I have anyunderstanding of my own son, he will not be unduly affected by it. Thatperspective is already mine, I believe, and, since I am first andforemost a commercial man, you will forgive me if I reduce myunderstanding to mere percentages. With exceptions, of course, I havefound that human nature's sense of duty is made up of about 75 percent. of regard for itself, 24 per cent. of regard for the duties ofother people towards life, and about 1 per cent. of the milk of humankindness. So that---- Ah, here is McGrath."
Sir Andrew turned sharply from the amused gaze of his son to thenewcomer. Ian McGrath was a powerfully built Scot. The sense ofstrength was displayed in almost every detail of his appearance. In hisshort, bristling, iron-grey hair, his extremely decided, plainfeatures; the deep-set eyes, the long nose; the hard mouth, and harderchin and jaw. Even his build and his gait were loud in their assertionof his normal characteristics. The broad, lean shoulders, and generallyloose-limbed body was propelled swiftly and alertly at all times.
He had thrust his way in without heralding his coming, and he cameswiftly towards his employer's desk. His position as chief engineer andmarine architect to the Farlow, Son and Farlow Line at Dorby left himupon an extremely intimate footing with the heads of the firm.
But just now his manner was even more confident than usual. There was alight almost of enthusiasm in his usually cold eyes. He paused at thedesk and deposited the rolls of drawings he had in his hands upon thetable. Then his eyes turned upon the recumbent Ruxton, and, in amoment, came back almost defiantly to his white-headed chief.
"They're the most exquisitely drawn plans I've ever seen, Sir Andrew,"he said, in a peculiarly metallic voice. "If I believed in genius I'dsay they are the work of one."
"Sit down, McGrath," said Sir Andrew pleasantly. "We've got to have atalk."
Mr. McGrath promptly deposited himself in the nearest chair, and againhis questioning eyes passed from one to the other of his employers.
Sir Andrew drew the plans towards him and idly turned over the sheetsand tracings. He was not considering them. He was thinking. Thinkingrapidly, as was his habit when engaged upon the work of his enterprise.
"This boat has been built and tested. So has the light. Mr. Ruxton hastravelled in a two-thousand-ton boat of this description for nearly aweek. He has witnessed the light in operation."
McGrath's eyes were turned half enviously upon Ruxton. There wassomething bordering upon incredulity in them, too.
"Then they are not some crank's--dreaming?"
"No." Sir Andrew raised his eyes from the drawings, and theirunemotional light held the engineer's.
"These plans are for a two-thousand-ton boat. You will put yourdepartment on them and increase the tonnage to three thousand,approximately. When you have completed the plans we will lay down thekeels of two vessels of that size and proceed with construction withall speed, and--_in absolute secrecy_. So imperative is the latter thatno precaution is too great to take. We will go into other matters lateron."
Sir Andrew's manner was a dismissal, and the engineer rose to depart.He was accustomed to the ship-owner's brevity, and it suited his ownideas of things. But Ruxton detained him. He, too, had risen from hisseat.
"One moment, McGrath," he said quickly. "There is danger--personaldanger in this work. It may even be a matter of life and death to--allconcerned. We shall probably have no peaceful time over this thing. Iexpect that every means--even force--will be used to--wreck us. It isonly right to tell you. Shall you be--willing to undertake it in thecircumstances?"
The engineer regarded him keenly. Then his hard mouth relaxed, and heseemed to lick his lips.
"This danger. Where does it come from?"
"Germany. The German Government."
The Scot's eyes lit. His face contorted, and he gave a short hard laugh.
"I'm more than willing," he said briefly. Then, with a curiousunconcern for the warning, he turned to the drawings and gazed down atthem affectionately. "Man, but they're beautiful. Did you--get them,Mr. Ruxton?"
There was no mistaking the implication.
"They are not stolen, McGrath," said Ruxton quietly. "At least not inthe manner you are thinking. They were given to us by the inventor,whose property they were. But--they represent one of Germany's mosttreasured secrets."
The Scot nodded.
"Fine," he said, and the ring in his voice left the two men more thansatisfied.
Sir Andrew smiled in his most genial fashion.
"Good," he exclaimed. "I shall be free in half an hour, McGrath. We'llgo into details then. Thank you."
The engineer departed as hastily as he had appeared, and Ruxton droppedback into his seat. His father was still contemplating the plans.
At last he spoke without looking up.
"We are committed to it," he said. Then: "I wonder."
Ruxton sprang to his feet.
"I am glad--glad."
Then he moved round and stood gazing out through the leaded window, andhis thoughts went back to the beautiful creature who on that onememorable night upon his beloved Yorkshire cliffs had first opened thedoors of Life to him.