CHAPTER XXX
Von Giespert's Resolve
Kapitan Karl von Giespert, ex-Unter-Leutnant of the now defunctImperial German Navy, was in a very bad temper, which was saying agood deal, since he was rarely in a good one.
He was beginning to realize that his latest bit of dirty work--one ofmany pet schemes--had been a wash-out. The boat containing Straussand three of the crew had not returned. He didn't mind losing the menovermuch, but he regretted his decision to send Siegfried Strauss incommand of the submarine mining expedition; not that he had anyaffection for Strauss, but because Strauss was a capable navigatorand he was not. And it was a long, long voyage back to theFatherland.
After taking several turns up and down the deck, von Giespert wentfor'ard, descended the steep ladder to the fo'c'sle, and thence tothe store-room, where for quite a considerable time he stoodpensively contemplating the for'ard water-tight bulkhead of No. 1hold.
Then he bawled to one of the men to pass the word for the carpenter.That individual arrived at the double, rather breathless andperspiring freely not solely on account of the heat, but inanticipation of a scene with his employer.
"I want you," ordered von Giespert, "to shore up this bulkhead fromthe other side. Use every available baulk of timber. If you wantmore, send a party ashore to fell some trees. I want the job donequickly and properly."
Had von Giespert told the carpenter to construct a ladder long enoughto reach the moon, or given him similar impossible instructions, thelatter's surprise would hardly have been greater. The bulkhead of No.1 hold was of massive construction, and its condition was as good asthe day when the ship was launched.
"It will take a day and a half, Herr Kapitan," replied the carpenter,in reply to his employer's question as to the length of the taskinvolved.
"Then have it done," snapped von Giespert, and hied him to interviewthe chief engineer in his cabin.
"I want steam raised the day after to-morrow," he said. "We'resailing at noon. What's the working-pressure of the boilers?"
The engineer told him.
"No more?" asked von Giespert.
"I might raise another two atmospheres, Herr Kapitan," replied thechief dubiously. "The boilers wouldn't stand that for long."
"They'll have to stand it for an hour," declared von Giespert. "Anhour will be enough for my purpose. I will give you ample warningwhen I require the additional pressure."
His latest project was to sail for Nua Leha, arriving at dawn. If, ashe expected, the _Zug_ were sighted by the look-out of the _Titania_,he would hoist urgent signals--the international NV, signifying"short of provisions". He would then make out that the _Zug_ intendedto anchor within a cable's length of her rival, and, suddenlyincreasing speed and putting her helm hard-a-port, ram the _Titania_full on her beam. And, since he still required the _Zug_ to get himhome, the reason for the shoring up of the for'ard watertightbulkhead was apparent. But at all costs there must be no survivorsfrom the _Titania_.
It was a desperate scheme that gave fair promises of success. The onefly in the ointment was the knowledge that the _Titania_ mounted a4.7-inch quickfirer. Von Giespert did not, of course, know that the"quick-firer" was at that moment performing its ordained task ofcarrying off the smoke of the galley-fire in its humble, yetimportant, capacity of a chimney.
As a counter-measure, if the _Titania's_ gun should be manned andtrained, von Giespert could hoist a "not under control" signal andtrust that the excuse would pass, but he was beginning to have awholesome respect for Harborough. Not once but many times that foolof an Englishman had got to windward of him. It behoved him to actwarily.
Von Giespert was a firm believer in the German equivalent for theproverb "Desperate diseases need desperate remedies". To him the_Titania_ and her crew represented the disease; the _Zug_ was toapply the remedy. At the same time he realized that it was the laststraw, the final desperate plunge of the despairing gamester, stakinghis all upon the cast of the die.
For the greater part of the day the carpenter and his crew toiled inthe burning rays of the sun, hauling and setting in position hugebaulks of timber, supplemented by lengths of stout bamboo, felled andtowed alongside and thence whipped up and placed in the for'ard holdby means of the vessel's derricks. Before sunset the carpenterreported complete, but von Giespert was not satisfied.
He ordered the men to fill sacks with sand and pile them up againstthe timber shores. He meant to make certain of that bulkhead. The_Zug's_ bows might be torn like paper in the projected rammingevolution, but the bulkhead must hold at all costs.
The crew obeyed reluctantly. They were of a type that could be drivenand did not take kindly to being led; but in the matter of beingdriven there could be "too much of a good thing ". And von Giespertfailed to realize the presence of the danger-signal.
Headed by one of the quartermasters, the deck hands came aft in abody and demanded of the now astounded but still mule-headed vonGiespert the reason for this excessive amount of work. They could notsee why the bulkhead should be strengthened, considering it wasstrong enough already, unless some desperate scheme were afloat.
Von Giespert told them. He had to admit failure in the quest of thegold and that his British rivals had both hoodwinked him and securedthe real prize.
"That is all very well, Herr Kapitan," observed the spokesman of thedeputation. "We don't mind taking desperate measures if there'sanything to be got out of it. If we sink the English yacht, how do westand as far as the gold is concerned? And suppose we fail, how do westand then? It will mean penal servitude in an English prison."
"Not at all," protested von Giespert. "If we fail, the responsibilityis mine. You are acting under my orders. If we succeed in sinking theyacht, as I believe we shall, then it's merely a question of divingand recovering the gold. We would know its position to a certaintythis time."
He stopped to make a rapid calculation.
"How do we stand in, Herr Kapitan?" asked one of the men.
Von Giespert, who was on the point of offering twenty per cent of theproceeds, came down to ten. Inwardly he vowed that these swinishfellows of his would pay for their temerity in trying to beard him inhis den.
"Very well, Herr Kapitan," agreed the spokesman. "One tenth of theproceeds in addition to our wages, and you'll please to sign a paperabsolving us from all blame in the matter of the collision."
Muttering angry oaths, von Giespert drew up and signed a document tothat effect and handed it to the leader of the deputation. The menwithdrew, and for the present at least the trouble had blown itselfout.
At eleven on the following morning smoke began to issue from the_Zug's_ funnel. Half an hour later steam was raised, and by noon thesafety-valves were lifting under the internal pressure. The chiefengineer reported that all was ready; but no answering clang of thebridge-telegraph was transmitted to the engine-room.
Von Giespert, on the bridge, was hesitating.
"What is the glass doing?" he inquired.
"It has risen a point since six this morning, Herr Kapitan," reportedthe quartermaster.
Von Giespert shrugged his shoulders. He had not even the excuse ofapproaching bad weather to delay him.
With feelings akin to those of a man about to plunge into icy-coldwater he leant over the bridge stanchion-rail. The bos'un in thefo'c'sle had already shortened cable and was awaiting the command toweigh.
The kapitan nodded. At the signal the steam capstan began to clink.
"Up and down, sir," announced one of the men, and a few moments laterthe rusty stockless anchor came into view.
"Easy ahead."
The _Zug_ began to forge through the placid water, increasing speedas she passed through the gap in the reef.
Von Giespert turned to the quartermaster.
"Ost zu sud," he ordered.
That course, east by south, was the course for Nua Leha.