Boy Allies Under the Sea; Or, The Vanishing Submarines

by Clair W. Hayes

  CHAPTER XIII.

  A DESPERATE VENTURE.

  There was not a sound aboard the submarine as _The Hawk_ gratedalongside. To climb aboard the silent vessel, which lay so low in thewater, was a simple task. Lord Hastings went first and Frank and Jackfollowed in order. Behind the latter came Edwards and behind him threesailors, Allen, O'Brien and McDonald.

  For a brief moment they stood silently upon the deck, each with arevolver in his hand. Then Lord Hastings led the way to the conningtower, which was open, and descended. The others were close behind him.

  At the foot of the companionway Lord Hastings paused again, straininghis ears for a sound. None came. He motioned the others to follow himand led the way aft.

  At the extreme afterpart of the vessel he paused before a door on theport side. From within came the sound of voices.

  Lord Hastings laid a hand on the knob and surveyed those behind him.

  "All ready?" he asked.

  "Ready, sir," replied Jack quietly.

  With a sudden movement Lord Hastings jerked open the door and steppedquickly within.

  "Hands up!" he called sharply.

  Four men sat at a table in what appeared to be the commander's cabin.They looked up from their game at Lord Hastings' gruff command andseeing but a solitary figure, all dropped their hands to their side.

  "Hands up!" commanded Lord Hastings again.

  Instead of obeying this command, one man produced a revolver, shouting:

  "There is only one! Shoot him!"

  But Lord Hastings' revolver spoke first and the officer tumbled over.The other three had now drawn their weapons and one fired at LordHastings. The shot went wild and Lord Hastings dropped him with a secondwell-directed bullet.

  At this moment Jack and Frank sprang into the room. They saw LordHastings confronted by two enemies and they acted instantly and beforethe Germans could do so.

  The revolvers of both lads spoke simultaneously and both Germans droppedto the floor.

  Jack sprang back to the door.

  "Stand guard there, men!" he cried. "There may be more of them."

  He jumped back to Frank's side again, fearing that one of the fallen menmight arise and return to the fray. But these fears were groundless. Allfour were beyond human aid, as Lord Hastings found after gazing at eachsharply.

  "Poor fellows," he said sorrowfully, "but it was their lives or ours,and they wouldn't yield. Oh, well----" he broke off with a shrug of hisshoulders and turned to the lads.

  "Search the vessel," he commanded. "There are probably others aboard."

  Jack and Frank hurried away in response to this command. They wentthrough the submarine from stem to stern, but nowhere were they able tofind another living soul.

  "Looks like those were the only ones aboard," remarked Jack.

  "It does," agreed Frank. "Maybe the men in the motorboats were part oftheir crews and they have been lying about here all these days waitingfor them to return."

  "Well, I can't guess the answer," said Jack. "But certainly there is noother German here."

  They returned and reported to Lord Hastings.

  "Very well," said their commander. "Then the best thing we can do is totry and work this submarine back to port. It is an important capture."

  "If you please, sir," said Jack. "I believe I can suggest a better planthan that."

  "And that is----" prompted Lord Hastings.

  "To assume the identities of these German officers, sir. Or notnecessarily to assume their identities, but just to take charge of thevessel as if we had been duly commissioned by the German government.Then we can seek out the enemy's naval base and perhaps gain informationof importance."

  Lord Hastings looked at the lad in amusement for some moments before hereplied:

  "By Jove! You and Frank here do turn up some of the most remarkableideas I have ever heard!"

  "Then you don't think much of the plan, sir?"

  "I think so much of it," replied Lord Hastings, "that I shall act uponit at once."

  Now it was Frank's turn to show his enthusiasm.

  "Hoorah!" he cried.

  "That is," Lord Hastings qualified his statement, "I shall act upon yourplan if Mr. Chadwick here can restrain his enthusiasm. Otherwise, Iwould be afraid to undertake the venture."

  "I'll restrain it, sir," declared Frank, subdued.

  "Good! See that you do," returned Lord Hastings. "Some of these daysthat enthusiasm of yours will get us all into trouble."

  "And what shall we do with these men, sir?" asked Jack, indicating thefallen Germans.

  "Overboard with them, I suppose," returned Lord Hastings. "It's where Iexpect to go when my time comes. It's as good a grave as another."

  "And shall we take their uniforms, sir?"

  "Yes. It may spare some explaining."

  And thus it was arranged.

  Two hours later, following a thorough exploration of the submarine, LordHastings announced that he could navigate it without trouble.

  "Fortunately," he said, "I find that it will be possible for two men tohandle the engine room. We three and Edwards will take our turns at thewheel and doing whatever else is to be done, relieving in the engineroom when it is necessary. Of course we are short-handed, but I believewe can pull through. Perhaps, if we are fortunate enough to fall in withone of the enemy, we can borrow a few men. We can concoct some storythat will pass muster and thus account for the loss of the others of ourcrew."

  Jack smiled.

  "I guess it can be done, sir," he replied.

  The dead Germans had been buried by this time and the three Britishofficers had donned their uniforms, which, fortunately, were not badfits.

  "To tell the truth, I don't care much about these uniforms," declaredFrank, "but if they are going to help out any I suppose I can stand minefor a while."

  "You don't necessarily have to be in love with them," responded Jack.

  "And now, sir," said Frank, "would it not be well to be moving? Theremay be some of these men prowling about the sea some place and they mayreturn."

  "Yes; there is no use lingering here," replied Lord Hastings. "Are themen at their posts?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "Good! Then you may give the signal to submerge, Mr. Templeton."

  "I can give it all right," grinned Jack. "But I don't see what good itwill do unless I obey myself."

  "True," laughed Lord Hastings. "I had forgotten about the tanks. Weshall have to take turns looking after them also."

  "I'll attend to them this time," said Jack, and took himself off.

  Directly the submarine began to sink slowly and at a depth of tenfathoms Lord Hastings called a halt. Then he signalled the engine roomfor twelve knots.

  "Just where are we bound, sir?" asked Frank.

  "Well," said Lord Hastings, "the Germans are understood to haveestablished a naval base at Ostend and I have shaped my course for thatport."

  "And what are we to do when we get there?"

  "Events will have to shape themselves," declared Lord Hastings. "It isimpossible to foretell anything."

  Jack re-entered the room at this moment, and the three held aconsultation, Edwards meantime steering the course that Lord Hastingshad given him.

  And so the submarine continued on its course beneath the sea for therest of the night, running slowly.

  At eight o'clock in the morning, Lord Hastings decided to go to thesurface for a look around. He stopped for a moment, however, just belowthe surface, with the periscope protruding slightly above the water andtook in his surroundings.

  In the distance he made out a coast line, which, according to hiscalculations, should be the coast of Belgium.

  "We should not be more than an hour's run from Ostend," he told thelads. "We'll continue on the surface."

  The submarine was brought clear of the water and continued on her way.

  But there was to be no need of the submarine putting into Ostend. Halfan hour after the vessel had been brought to the surface,
Frank, who wasalone for the moment upon the bridge, made out a second submarineapproaching. Quickly he summoned Lord Hastings and Jack.

  "Well," said Lord Hastings, "here is where we have to do some talltalking, as the Americans would say. He's headed directly for us."

  It was true. The submarines were approaching each other rapidly.

  The enemy slowed down, and in response to Lord Hastings, the capturedvessel did likewise. A voice from a figure on the bridge of the secondvessel came across the water.

  "Who are you?"

  "U-16," answered Lord Hastings, who had gone through the formercommander's papers carefully, "Bernstorff, commanding."

  "Bernstorff," came the surprised response. "Where is CaptainTarlenhein?"

  "If you will come aboard, I will explain," shouted Lord Hastings.

  "Very well."

  A few moments later a small boat left the side of the other vessel andcame toward the U-16.

  "Now, boys," said Lord Hastings quietly, "keep a tight rein onyourselves and leave the talking to me. Say nothing unless you areaddressed. It would not do for us to be tripped up. We would all be putto death as spies."

  The boys nodded their understanding of this order.

  "We'll be as mum as a couple of oysters, sir," declared Frank.

  "I wouldn't know what to say, anyhow," agreed Jack.

  "Sh-h-h," whispered Lord Hastings. "Here he comes."

  The small boat scraped the side of the U-16 at this juncture. A man inthe full uniform of a German lieutenant commander stepped aboard. LordHastings advanced to meet him with extended hand.

  Jack and Frank followed their commander closely.