Boy Scouts in the North Sea; Or, The Mystery of a Sub
Page 23
CHAPTER XXIII
THE MYSTERY OF THE "U-13"
"Ahoy!" his hail rang out over the waters. "Send another boat aboard us.I will transfer the crew of this vessel!"
"Yes, you will!" scornfully replied Jimmie. "You'll do a lot, you will.We have something to say about that!"
"I am more astonished than I can say," the officer replied as he gazed atthe lad. "I had supposed that Boy Scouts would not under anycircumstances lend themselves to a project of an unworthy character."
"Well, who has done all that?" bristled Jimmie, wrinkling a freckled noseat the man. "You're taking a lot for granted, I must say! Who are you,anyhow?"
"You'll find out quickly enough!" was the answer.
Turning at the sound of approaching oars, the officer quickly issued afew short commands.
In obedience to his orders, the boys were required to enter the smallboat without even an opportunity of going below.
"Dodson," ordered the officer, "take a couple of men and search thevessel for others. We were informed there were but five, but they mayhave confederates."
Wonderingly the lads sat in the boat as they were rowed across theintervening distance to the steamer. Scarcely had they set foot on deckbefore a line was passed to the submarine and the vessel was under way,towing their recent habitation.
An orderly conducted the lads directly to the cabin, where they weregreeted by an officer seated at the head of a table. He arose as theyentered and extended a hand to each.
Motioning to seats, the officer again busied himself with some papers onthe table. For some time the boys glanced expectantly at each other,waiting for the officer to open the anticipated conversation.
Impatiently the boys waited, listening to the regular throbbing of thesteamer's propellers that told they were again under way.
At length the silence was broken by the arrival of an orderly. Saluting,he reported briefly to the officer. A nod dismissed him.
"Boys," began the officer in a kindly tone, "we find ourselves ratherpuzzled by some mysterious circumstances which we hope you can explain.Will you assist us?"
"I assume from the looks of things aboard that you are English," answeredNed. "Am I correct?"
"You are. This is a scout vessel doing patrol duty along the coast. Incommon with others, we have been on the sharp lookout for a submarinenamed 'U-13,' which has been doing considerable damage to our shipping.We capture it without difficulty, to find it manned by Boy Scouts insteadof Germans, as we had expected. Can you explain that?"
"Yes!" laughed Ned. "That is easy. The boat you have captured is owned bya private individual named Mackinder, who has been amusing himself in aperfectly innocent pastime. He, like ourselves, is neutral, butunfortunately has gotten into rather compromising situations."
"Mackinder?" repeated the officer, wonderingly.
"Yes, sir," continued Ned. "He rescued us from our disabled submarine. Heis now aboard his vessel with a broken leg."
"We had him brought aboard this vessel, and find that his leg is reallybroken," explained the officer. "But," he continued, "you have not quiteexplained your presence on a submarine."
"That is easy--" began Ned. He was interrupted by a sign from theofficer.
"Just a moment," the other said. "We will have Mackinder in here, andperhaps he can explain a little of the mystery himself."
At a command from the man two orderlies approached. In a few moments theboys observed four sailors bearing a mattress upon which lay their latehost.
At the same moment a group approached from the after part of the cabin.Glancing from one group to the other, the boys rose to their feet withexclamations of surprise.
"Well, Great Frozen Hot Boxes!" cried Jimmie. "How did you get here,Mackinder?"
A man from the small group behind the officer stepped forward, smiling.
"I was picked up by the fishing boat you probably saw when I swam awayfrom the submarine you captured. They transferred me to this craft. Wehave since been looking for you."
"Well, I'm glad to see you, anyway," returned the lad. "But you couldn'tprevent our leaving Holland, even if you did try good and hard. Have youfound that package yet?"
The smile quickly faded from the face of the other.
"No, I haven't," he answered in a low voice. "I find that you boys havegotten me into a lot of trouble, too."
"Trouble?" puzzled Ned. "How have we done that?"
"By secreting that package," explained Mackinder. "You see, I wasdetailed to duty on the Holland frontier. When I saw that package, andknew that you had recently come from the German lines, I assumed, ofcourse, that it contained information for the German submarine that hasbeen causing so much havoc amongst the English shipping. Without waitingfor orders, I tried to follow you and gain possession of the object. Nowit seems I am disobeying regulations by absenting myself from my post ofduty without leave. Further, I was seen aboard or coming from a Germanvessel. Hence circumstances look bad for me. I'm due for a court martialas soon as we land at Margate, which must be close aboard by now."
All were startled to hear a groan escape the man lying upon the mattress.He had raised himself upon one elbow.
"Oh, Robert!" he cried. "Not that!"
"Tom!" gasped Mackinder. Soon the two men were shaking hands at a greatrate, tears in their eyes.
"Boys," Mackinder announced at length, "I must introduce my brother Tom."
"We have had the pleasure of meeting the gentleman," stated Ned. "Infact, we owe our lives to his kindness."
"But, see here," demanded Jimmie, stepping forward, "this needs anexplanation. Which one of you fellows was at the little cabin on theHolland border?"
Tom Mackinder smiled, in spite of the pain of his crushed leg. He turnedhis glance toward his brother, whose hand he held.
"We both were there, Jimmie," he said. "I took the package from thewindow. You see," he continued, "it contained plans of my submarine, withwhich you are familiar. I tried to sell the plans to Germany, but foundthey had beaten me. So upon my return trip I slipped the package intoyour baggage, thinking to escape search and detention at the border. Ihave it here now."
As he ceased speaking he drew from his pocket the same flat package theboys had seen before.
"Hurrah!" cried Jimmie. "Now we can explain how your brother came to becaptured by the Germans, and how under his direction we stole the other'U-13' and escaped from Helgoland."
"If what you say is true, young man," put in the officer, "theanticipated court martial may never convene."
"We can prove it!" protested Jimmie vigorously.
"Then we have solved the Mystery of the 'U-13'!" declared the officer,with evident relief.
"And now we'll head for the little old U. S. A. and peaceful neutrality!"was Jimmie's joyful comment.
"But you'll first arrange to care for your share of the cargo aboard myboat," interposed the injured Mackinder.
He would not entertain any of the objections raised by the boys, butinsisted that they share in the treasure which had been recovered fromthe ocean's grasp.
A few days later as the boys watched the chalk cliffs of Dover slip awayinto the eastern horizon Jimmie turned from the rail of the steamer uponwhich they had taken passage.
"Good by, England, and good by the Mackinders," he said. "I'm glad we areout of the war zone at last and that we solved the Mystery of the'U-13'."
THE END
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