CHAPTER XXV
"Konked Out"
Daybreak found the members of the expedition tired, hungry, andundaunted. The gale had wrought havoc with their resources. In lessthan a minute the work of days had been scattered to the winds, anduntil the remains could be collected and examined not even a roughidea of the state of their provisions and equipment could beobtained.
Long before the waters of the lagoon returned to their usual state oftranquillity, Harborough, Villiers, and Dick Beverley came ashore.They, too, bore traces of the night's ordeal, for every man on boardhad momentarily expected the _Titania_ to part her cables and come upon the beach.
"It might have been worse," remarked Harborough philosophically, ashe surveyed the devastated site of the store-house. "We've had a verysticky time. The motor-boat's gone--torn clean away from her chocks."
"And the cutter," added Beverley. "The remains are lying just beyondthat ledge."
"How did the sea-planes get on?" inquired Villiers.
"Can't say," replied Bobby. "Alec and young Trevear have gone off tosee what's happened."
"There's one thing," remarked Harborough. "We have no further use forthem, and it's merely a question of financial loss. We've to bethankful that we came out with comparatively whole skins. Wonder howthe other fellows fared?"
"What other fellows?" inquired Villiers.
"Our friends the Huns," explained the baronet. "The _Zug_, with herhigh freeboard and being fairly light in ballast, must have felt iteven more than the _Titania_. Directly we get things a bit ship-shapeI'll run across and see if they are all right. Hanged if I like theidea of their being cut off on Ni Telang, even though they didn't actall above board. Well, how about some breakfast, Pete?"
Harborough was not a man to question the workings of Providence, andto moan and grouse because Nature had done her best to wreck hisplans. Adversity only spurred him to greater efforts. Like apunching-ball, he rebounded promptly from the effects of what wouldhave been to the toughest prize-fighter a knock-out blow.
Pete, too, rose to the occasion. Although the kitchen had shared thefate of the store-house, and the remains of the provisions took somefinding, the hungry men were presently sitting down to a hot andappetising repast in which, greatly to Villiers' relief, cold porkdid not figure. But there was a new item on the menu: turtle steak.Pete, wandering along the shore while the others were salving theremains of the cutter, had discovered a fine specimen of a turtle,capsized and lying far above high-water mark.
Breakfast had only just started when Claverhouse and his partyreturned.
"One's gone, sir," he reported, in answer to Harborough's inquiryconcerning the sea-planes. "Turned completely over, and the motor'scrashed through the fuselage. The other is all right. On our way backwe found the motor-boat perched on top of a patch of undergrowth."
"Damaged?"
"Not as far as I could make out," replied Alec. "She is lying withher bows well up, and the after part is full of water."
The meal over, Harborough outlined a plan of action. Until the damagehad been made good, as far as their resources permitted, furtheroperations on the wreck were to be suspended. Another store-house,more solidly constructed, and erected on an enclosed clearing fartherfrom the beach, was put in hand. Griffiths and Bell, assisted byPete, were told off to examine the debris and set aside everythinglikely to be of value. The two Beverleys, Merridew, Vivian, andFontayne were to launch the undamaged boats and to extricate themotor-boat from its unaccustomed berth.
"By the by, Claverhouse," said Harborough. "You will be tuning up ourremaining _Cormorant_, I presume? If she's absolutely inrunning-order, I wish you'd make a trip across to Ni Telang and seehow the _Zug_ stood the gale. Provided she's still afloat, youneedn't have any communication with our friend von Giespert. In fact,if you can contrive to escape observation so much the better. I don'twant them to know we are anywhere in the vicinity."
"I understand, sir," replied Claverhouse. "If they're down and out,we'll give them a leg up; if they aren't, we'll simply let 'em carryon in their own sweet way."
"Precisely," agreed Harborough.
Alec hurried off to carry out his instructions. It was a task afterhis own heart, a fairly-long out and home flight, which in hisopinion was infinitely preferable to doing "stunts" over the lagoon.Assisted by Trevear, he had the planes reassembled and the enginetuned up in less than an hour and a half. Then, with additional help,the _Cormorant_ was launched and given a preliminary flight.
"Good enough, Trevear, old thing!" shouted Alec. "Sorry you aren't inthis stunt. Cheerio!"
The propeller began to revolve; the sea-plane taxied through thewater, turned head on to the light breeze, and "took off" infaultless style.
Claverhouse "turned her nose at it", and rose steadily to a height oftwo thousand feet. Then, following a compass course and allowing forthe slight side-drift, he held on for twenty minutes, at the end ofwhich time he could discern the triple peaks of Ni Telang.
The time of day was favourable for a reconnaissance without runningmuch risk of being spotted, for the sun was now almost overhead andblazing down fiercely. Provided he kept at a sufficient height andslowed down his engine until it "revved" just sufficient to give thesea-plane enough lift to counteract the force of gravity, the trickwas easy.
Passing over the lagoon at an immense height, Alec got his glasses tobear upon the scene beneath. The _Zug_ lay, apparently undamaged, atthe spot where she had dropped anchor at the conclusion of the raceto the the wrong island. Two or three boats lay alongside, but therewere no signs of activity.
"Looks as if they've packed up ready to go home," soliloquizedClaverhouse. "Wonder if they've realized that they've been done inthe eye?"
The answer to that question was, in Parliamentary language, "in theaffirmative", but Alec did not know that. Von Giespert was on the eveof his desperate venture. He had sworn to gain possession of the goldfrom the _Fusi Yama_ at all costs. If he failed, then he would makedoubly certain that Harborough would never get the precious metal toEngland.
Harborough's generous action in sending Claverhouse to ascertain thatthe _Zug_ was safe or otherwise was unnecessary from a life-savingstandpoint. The path of the hurricane had missed Ni Telangaltogether, the outer edge of the comparatively narrow, curved trackpassing not nearer than twenty miles of the _Zug's_ anchorage.
Having completed his observations, Claverhouse turned, and, making along vol-plane, was well out of hearing-distance when he "openedout".
As he did so his trained ear detected an unaccustomed sound. Therythmic roar of the motor was giving place to a decidedly jerkysplutter. Greatly retarding the spark, he attempted to coax theengine to pick up; juggling with the throttle produced nosatisfactory result. The "revs" grew slower and more erratic, untilAlec realized that there was nothing for it but to come down.
The floats struck the water with considerable force. The strutswhipped and groaned, but withstood the severe strain. The _Cormorant_had alighted safely, but was beginning to drift steadily before thebreeze.
"At this rate she'll put me ashore at Ni Telang," thought Alec, as hetook off his gloves, pushed back his goggles, and prepared for adetermined attempt to trace the fault.
He located it quickly enough, but the knowledge disconcerted him. Themagneto had shorted. Possibly the damage had been caused during thegale, but, by one of those extraordinary pranks that magnetos willplay, it had functioned perfectly for several hours before "goingWest".
Claverhouse clambered down to one of the floats and lit a cigarette.
"There's one blessing," he observed to the empty expanse of sea: "NiTelang in 1920 isn't Ostend in 1917. But I'll have to pitch a yarn tovon Giespert, or he'll smell a rat. Wonder what'll happen, though, ifI miss the island altogether?"
At the end of two hours drift he was able to reassure himself on thatscore. Unless there were a decided shift of wind the _Cormorant_would hit Ni Telang or the reef surrounding it. He did not fancy thelatter locality. Even
viewed from a great height the surf did notappear inviting.
"If I could only steer the old bus, I'd make the entrance to thelagoon," he decided.
Juggling with the ailerons seemed a likely solution, but the onlyresult was to cause the machine to dip and have a tendency to turnbroadside on. The hydro rudder, by which the _Cormorant_ could beturned when taxi-ing on the surface, was inadequate while drifting atslow speed.
"The old bus is done for in any case," he soliloquized, and, armedwith a knife, wire-cutters, and pliers he made his way out on one ofthe planes and removed the starboard aileron. This he lashed to adismantled strut, and on taking the improvised paddle to the afterfloat he found that he could keep the sea-plane fairly under controlwith the clumsy steering-oar.
It was not until the derelict was actually within the lagoon that oneof the _Zug's_ crew spotted the unexpected arrival. A boat was mannedand rowed off to the _Cormorant_.
"I suppose I ought to sink the old bus," thought Alec. "If I did, itwould look fishy. After all, I don't suppose they'll be able to makeuse of her."
"Where do you hail from?" inquired the coxswain of the boat. He spokein English, knowing from grim experience of recent history thatEnglish is the master-language of the Pacific, and that German is ata discount.
Claverhouse, with a comprehensive sweep of his arm, indicated a good180 degrees of the horizon.
The German grunted.
"Get on board," he said gruffly.
Nothing more was said until the boat ran alongside the _Zug's_accommodation-ladder. There were plenty of men looking over thebulwarks, but they certainly did not appear to be overburdened withwork.
Von Giespert's greeting of his uninvited guest left no doubt inAlec's mind about his idea of bluff.
"How's Harborough getting on at Nua Leha?" asked the German bluntly.
"Quite well, when I last saw him," replied Claverhouse. "As a matterof fact, he sent me to see how you were getting on."
"Spying, eh?"
"Not at all," corrected Alec. "He thought your vessel might have beendriven ashore in the hurricane last night, and was rather anxiousconcerning your safety."
"He'll have quite enough to do to think about his own safety beforeI've done with him," rejoined von Giespert insolently. "Meanwhile,you'll consider yourself a prisoner, Mr. Whatever your name is. Ifyou give trouble, then we'll pitch you to the sharks."
"Right-o," replied Alec. "You might do me one favour, though."
"What's that?" inquired von Giespert.
"Let Harborough know I'm safe."
The Hun laughed boisterously. He felt that as far as his prisoner wasconcerned he could afford to ride the high horse.
"If Harborough is anxious, he can come here for you," he replied."I'll be more than ready for him."
CLAVERHOUSE STEERS THE SEAPLANE INTO THE LAGOON]