CHAPTER XXVI
Harborough's Ruse
It was not until sunset that Villiers was forced to admit theprobability that misfortune had overtaken Alec Claverhouse. Themajority of the other fellows had already taken pessimistic viewsupon the subject of the airman's failure to return. Even Harborough,although he said little, was far from hopeful. He realized that theresponsibility of the flight rested upon him, and he reproachedhimself for sending Alec on the trip, when, with very little trouble,the _Titania_ might have proceeded to investigate the state of therival expedition.
"Alec knows his job thoroughly," declared Trevear; "if he's beenforced to come down the old bus will float."
"Unfortunately, Nua Leha's dead to windward," remarked Merridew.
"And Ni Telang's dead to leeward," added Beverley. "Of course hemight have found that things were in a bad way with the _Zug_, and inthat case he would have landed to offer assistance."
"It's no use kagging and hanging on to the slack," said Harboroughbriskly. "We'll take the _Titania_ and search for him. Not at once,though. On a night like this it would be like looking for a needle ina haystack. If we start an hour before dawn, it will be daylight whenwe reach the farthest easterly position he's likely to be, aftermaking due allowance for the drift of the sea-plane. Tell off acouple of hands to remain here, Mr. Villiers. The rest will go onboard; they may be more than useful."
With this cryptic utterance Harborough led the way to the boats.Fortunately, there were plenty of tinned and preserved provisions onboard the _Titania_, and she was practically ready for sea at half anhour's notice. Before midnight the remaining boats were hoisted in,the cable hove short, and the sail covers taken off; while, in caseClaverhouse should make for the island during the hours of darkness,the searchlight was run in a vertical direction to serve as an aerialsignpost.
All hands with the exception of the look-out then turned in to makeup much needed arrears of sleep, for neither ashore nor afloat hadthey had a wink of sleep during the previous night, and had beenworking at high pressure during the succeeding day.
At 4 a.m. the duty watch was called, and twenty minutes later the_Titania_ passed through the gap in the reef under power alone.Directly she rounded the north-eastern extremity of the reef allplain sail was made and the heavy oil engines shut down. For thepresent, speed was neither necessary nor desirable.
The first streaks of dawn found the yacht ten miles from Nua Leha,doing about five knots before a steady following breeze. Amerchantman entering the danger-zone during the height of theunrestricted U-boat campaign could not have kept a sharper look-outthan did the crew of the _Titania_ for any sign of the overdue_Cormorant_.
It was noon before the peaks of Ni Telang showed above the bluehorizon. Only once had the _Titania_ altered her course, and that wasto run two miles to the nor'ard to investigate a floating object thatturned out to be a large open crate, possibly washed from the deck ofa tramp during the hurricane.
"We'll pay friend von Giespert a visit," said Harborough. "Probablyhe'll wonder what we want, probably he won't. Time will prove."
The _Titania_ was from two to three miles from the reef when Swaine,who had betaken himself to the cross-trees and was making good use ofhis powerful binoculars, hailed the deck.
"There's the sea-plane, sir," he announced. "Close to the beach,about a hundred yards to the right of that dark bluff."
Harborough, closely followed by Villiers and Bobby Beverley, swarmedup the rigging. There was little doubt about it. They coulddistinguish what looked like the sea-plane, floating head to wind, atabout a quarter of a mile from the _Zug's_ berth. Even as they lookeda wreath of haze drifted down and hid a considerable portion of theisland from view.
"Wonder if von Giespert's spotted us?" said Harborough, as the threemen regained the deck, leaving Swaine to perform the task of conningthe yacht through the passage between the reefs. "They've got the_Cormorant_ right enough, unless our eyesight's very much at fault.Let's only hope that Claverhouse is safe."
Villiers went for'ard to see that the anchor was ready for lettinggo, and the anchor-buoy ready for streaming. He had not been theremore than a couple of minutes before Swaine hailed again.
"Haze's cleared," he reported; "but I can't see the sea-plane."
The anchorage was now clearly visible from the deck, and, as themast-head man had stated, there was not a sign of the _Cormorant_.
"Either she's been spirited away," thought Villiers, "or else we'vebeen victims of an hallucination."
It was a tricky passage into the lagoon, for a fairly heavyground-swell, hardly perceptible off the island, made the _Titania_evince a tendency to yaw just at the critical moment. Scraping aledge of coral by a none-too-wide margin, she gained the shelteredlagoon, rounded-to, and dropped anchor.
Before the canvas was lowered and stowed a boat was observed puttingoff from the _Zug_, but Claverhouse was not one of its occupants.Seated in the stern-sheets in a white drill uniform was von Giespert.
"Good-day, Sir Hugh," hailed the German, when the boat was withintwenty yards of the yacht. "Your visit surprises me. I hope you areaware that the time-limit you imposed is not yet half expired?"
"I am perfectly aware of that, Herr von Giespert," repliedHarborough. "We are here on a very different business. I understandthat one of my sea-planes is here."
"Sea-planes?" repeated von Giespert, with well simulatedastonishment. "I do not understand."
"Let me enlighten you," said Harborough, and proceeded to outline hisversion of what had taken place.
"You are obviously mistaken," persisted the owner of the _Zug_. "Lookwhere you will there is no seaplane of any description here. Perhapsyou are misled by taking that tent for the missing machine. And asregards your aviator, you may accept my assurance that it would be apleasure to me to be able to restore him to you. Unfortunately, sincehe is not here, that is impossible."
Harborough's brows contracted.
"I have the right to search the island," he declared bluntly. "Areyou prepared to give me permission to search your ship?"
Von Giespert assumed an air of injured dignity. Up to the present hehad played his part well, for, the moment the approaching _Titania_had been sighted, he had sent a boat ashore and had quickly scuttledthe _Cormorant_ by the simple expedient of smashing the floats.
"Your request is an insult, sir," he replied. "As such I can onlyrefuse it. To accede would be throwing away my dignity. Remember,that ship flies the German flag, and England is now at peace withGermany. Virtually, the _Zug_ is German territory, and should youpersist----"
"You would resist by force of arms, eh?" added Harborough.
Von Giespert hesitated. To admit that would also be acknowledgingthat he feared the result of the search.
"No, no," he replied; "but I would at once make for the nearest portwhere there is a German Consular Agent and enter a complaint of theoutrage to the German flag."
"Then there is no more to be said," rejoined Harborough, and,ignoring the Hun, he turned and went below.
"We are certainly in a bit of a fix," he admitted, conferring withVilliers and Beverley. "There's something fishy about this business.I'm rather inclined to arm a boat and board the _Zug_, but ifClaverhouse isn't on board then we'll let ourselves in for damages. Icouldn't swear positively that I saw the sea-plane, neither couldyou. We saw something which we took to be the _Cormorant_, and,taking it for granted, we allowed an illusion to get the better ofus."
Both Villiers and Beverley admitted that they might have beenmistaken. The powers of suggestion which had, as they now thought,conjured up the sea-plane, had now destroyed the belief.
"We're wasting time," continued Harborough. "Claverhouse may bedrifting farther and farther away every moment. We'll weigh and run ahundred miles to leeward, if necessary. I won't throw away a singlechance of getting him back."
He went on deck and gave orders for the cable to be hove in. Underthe action of the powerful capstan twenty fathoms came on boardeas
ily and rapidly; then came a decided check.
"Foul bottom," declared Villiers, as he leant over the cathead andpeered into the clear water. "The fluke's caught in a rock, I'mafraid. We'll try tripping the hook."
Accordingly, the nun-buoy was fished on board, and the slack of thestout hempen rope that led between it and the crown of the anchor washauled in until the yacht's bows were right over the anchor.
Every available man tailed on to the rope, but even with the aid of atackle the anchor stubbornly refused to leave the bed of the lagoon.
"And we haven't a diving-dress on board," lamented Swaine.
"I'm not going to borrow one from the _Zug_, in any case," saidHarborough resolutely. "Avast heaving and slack away. I'll get poweron the ship and see what that will do. Something's bound to go."
Something did. With both engines running at full speed, the yachtforged ahead until the cable snubbed and her bows dipped a good twofeet below the water-line. Then with a heavy lurch the _Titania_ heldon, the fluke of her anchor grinding on the coral bottom.
Getting way off the ship Harborough ordered the cable to be hove-in.This time the links came in steadily but slowly. There was more thanthe weight of the anchor at the end of the massive chain.
Suddenly Villiers gave a shout of astonishment.
"At that!" he ordered, and at the same time motioning to the hand atthe capstan to stop heaving. "Evidence!" he shouted. "We've fished upthe remains of the _Cormorant_."
This time there was no doubt about it. One of the flukes was embeddedin the sea-plane's motor, and with it was a large portion of one ofthe wings, a part of the wreckage of the fuselage, and a floatbearing unmistakable signs of being stove in by means of an axe.
"That's conclusive," said Harborough sternly. "Since von Giespertwon't listen to reason, I'll have to teach him a lesson. Get thatpiece of wing aboard for evidence, although I guess he's tumbled toit already. He's been watching us all the time, the blackguardlysweep. We'll bluff him. If that fails, then we'll use force, butonly as a last resource. He's asking for it all the time."
Kaspar von Giespert took more than an interested view of thedevelopments of the next hour. He was considerably perturbed when,through a telescope that decorously protruded through a gap in astorm-dodger, he watched the impromptu salvage operations of thescuttled sea-plane.
He took a more cheerful view of life when the _Titania_ got under wayand proceeded seawards, but at the same time that evolutionconsiderably mystified him. He could not understand why theEnglishman should retire so tamely from the argument when he hadundisputable evidence to support his case.
Von Giespert was on the point of shaking hands with himself andabusing some of his crew--an indication that he was regaining hisnormal state of mind--when Strauss announced that the _Titania_ hadturned sixteen points to starboard and was again making for theisland.
"We'll fight her," declared von Giespert vehemently, for he realizedthat the game was a desperate one. "Serve out the arms, Herr Strauss.Himmel! What would I give now for a submerged torpedo-tube? Wouldthat she piled herself upon the reef. She nearly did it last time."
"Harborough is more cautious this time," observed Strauss. "He'scoming in under power."
"He is, curse him," growled the other.
The two Germans watched in silence as the _Titania_, with her exhaustchortling noisily, passed through the narrow gap and starboardedhelm, steering for the opposite part of the lagoon to that where the_Zug_ lay at anchor. That was another puzzler to the alreadybewildered von Giespert.
Presently the yacht reversed engines and lost way broadside on to andat about a mile from her rival. Then, to the consternation of thecrew of the _Zug_, a large gun, of a calibre certainly not less than4.7 inches, was ominously visible betwixt fore- and main-masts.Simultaneously, and without any preparatory signal, a hoist of theletters VOX--"I am going to semaphore to you"--fluttered from the_Titania's_ main truck.
Slowly, reluctantly, the answering pennant was displayed from the_Zug_.
"I thought you informed me that yonder yacht was unarmed," exclaimedvon Giespert, turning furiously upon his henchman, Strauss.
"She was when we left Southampton, Herr Kapitan," replied Strauss."That I can swear to, because we had her under observation all thetime. Of course, she might have----"
"They're semaphoring," interrupted von Giespert. He himself could notfollow the quick movements of the red and yellow hand-flags, but mostof the _Zug's_ crew could. More than that, they could read theperemptory message although it was sent in English.
"Hand over my airman, Claverhouse, instantly," it read, "or I willblow your bridge and charthouse to blazes."
Von Giespert chose the first alternative.
Three quarters of an hour later the _Titania_, with Alec Claverhouseonce more on board, was bowling along at a steady nine knots for NuaLeha.
Then it was that Harborough, with a playful movement of one hand,toppled the formidable 4.7 inch gun through the hatch into thefore-hold. The mounting followed with a distinctly "tinny" sound. Thefeat was an easy one, since the "gun" consisted of a twelve-footlength of stove-pipe, and the mounting a piece of sheet iron and anempty oil-drum.
"So friend von Giespert is breathing out threatenings and slaughter,eh?" he laughed. "From what I know of him, his bark is worse than hisbite, but we'll have to watch him pretty carefully in the future."