The Golden Age of Science Fiction Novels Vol 05

by Anthology

  Standing in the conning-tower, Max and Hartog swept the sea and the coastline with their glasses, and at last Max turned to his companion and said-

  "There she is, I think, down yonder- look, that long trail of smoke to the northward close in by the land."

  It was, indeed, the Pilgrim, some five miles from the shore, running along at about eighteen knots an hour, with a considerable volume of smoke coming from the funnel.

  When she came up, and her fittings and crew had been inspected, Hartog had a tete-a-tete with Renault, for the purpose of determining future plans.

  "Well, friend Franz, what do you suggest?" said Renault by way of an opening.

  "Vell, mein friendt, I haf been doing some tinking, and so far as I can see, de best dat ve can do is dis. In de first place, everyting is ready to leave de inlet insides of an hour; secondly, as de Pilgrim has brought out between fifty and sixty recruits, good smart fellows all of dem, mechanics and engineers and some sailors, I tink dat, if ve send Marcel home again mit as small a crew as possible, to get de machines and tings made for de air-ships dat I haf gifen him de plans and drawings for, ve can find men enough now to man de Bremen and take her round de Horn. It vill take us quite a month to get to Utopia, but dat ve cannot help. Ven ve get dere, you can clear dose peoples out."

  "Supposing always that they're there still."

  "It is not unlikely dat dey vill be dere. Dey know dat you had no weapons and no ammunition. Dey vill believe dat you vill go somevere and get dem made, and dey know dat vill take some tree or four monts. Now it vould take dem longer dan dat to build and arm anoter air-ship for demselves, and I don't tink dey vill leave before dey have made one, alvays supposing dat you have successfully destroyed de Nautilus.

  "But, at any rate, I suppose you must haf damaged her very much, and she vill take a long time to repair. You may be sure dat dey vill not go avay mit only de yacht and deir oder steamer, because dey know it vould be perfectly easy for us to lie in vait for dem up near de entrance to de Panama Canal and sink dem bof before dey could say deir prayers. Besides, I do not tink dey vould have room to take de whole lot in de two ships, and you can bet dey vould not leave any behind if dey are such civilised, merciful sort of people as you say dey are. Now, vat do you tink of dat for a scheme?"

  Max, who had been thinking hard while Hartog was talking, saw that under the circumstances there was really no other plan that they could pursue that promised anything like the same safety and reasonable hope of destroying the colony of Utopia, so after a few moments' silence he said-

  "No, I don't see anything else for it. That's the best thing to be done, Franz, and we'll do it. Just send Taxil here, and I'll tell him how to lay the Vengeur on board the Bremen. Then you go and see everything ready to get out."

  "Goot! I tought you vould find dat de best scheme."

  So saying, he left the saloon, and then Taxil came in to receive Max's instructions.

  So perfectly did he carry them out, and so thoroughly had Franz made all the arrangements, that within half an hour the air-ship was lying in her place on the Bremen's deck, properly shored up on dog-leg supports, and yet free to rise at any moment into the air. Her two Maxims had been replaced at the forward ports, and a light quick-firing pneumatic shell-gun, which the Pilgrim had brought out, was mounted aft, so that she was perfectly ready to co-operate with the Destroyer in case any fighting had to be done.

  Twelve men had been left to work the Destroyer, and this, with the recruits, left nearly eighty free to work the big liner. The Bremen had coals enough in her bunkers to run some ten thousand miles at half speed. This, of course, was not enough to take her to Utopia, especially as she might have to do some hard steaming on the way, but this gave them very little anxiety. There was plenty of coal on the sea to be had for the taking. Nothing would be easier than to run down a liner or a cargo boat, or even half a dozen of them, on the route, empty them of coal, and turn them adrift, and this, as a matter of fact, was done no less than four times between the African coast and Cape Horn.

  Before eight o'clock everything was ready. The Pilgrim went out first and ran away to the northward, then the Destroyer stole out to see that the coast was quite clear, and came back to tow the Bremen through the narrow entrance. By nine o'clock they were well clear of the land, and, with no lights showing, they steamed away in company to the south-west.

  Beyond the holding up and plundering of two South American liners and a couple of big ocean tramps, the voyage out was marked by no incident worthy of record, and, on the morning of the fifth of February, the look-outs reported Mount Plato rising out of the unfrequented sea dead ahead to the north-west.

  The Bremen was therefore ordered to go dead slow for the land, and the air-ship rose from her deck to make a reconnaissance of the island, while the Destroyer ran ahead to patrol the outside of the reef. The Britannia had, of course, been taken to pieces and stowed away in the liner's 'tween decks, as it was not intended to make use of her for the present, except for experimental purposes.

  The Vengeur had not floated for long over the familiar landscape of the island of Utopia before Max felt certain that his main fears had been realised. The most searching scrutiny of his glasses failed to reveal a single sign of life. The settlement was there with its outlying houses, but no smoke rose from the chimneys of those in which the cooking for the colony was done. He soared over Mount Plato and Mount Orient and found the craters deserted.

  Then, cursing the promptness and skill with which the colonists must have formed and executed their plans after his departure, he ran the air-ship over the dockyard, only to find the same silence and the same signs of desertion there. Worse than all, the shed in which the Nautilus had been built lay in ruins, the slips were empty, and, with a savage oath breaking from his lips, he was forced to the conclusion that his attempt to destroy her had failed, that the colonists had finished her and taken her away to some unknown destination, and that, therefore, the hitherto incomparable Destroyer was now no longer the mistress of the seas.

  CHAPTER XIV.

  HOMEWARD BOUND.

  IT will now be necessary, in order to preserve the continuity of the narrative, to go back to the evening of the disaster which caused such a dark and sudden cloud to fall upon the hitherto unclouded brightness of life in Utopia.

  Before daybreak on the morning following the discovery of Lieutenant Wyndham lying wounded on the platform in the crater of Mount Orient, and the rescue of Violet from her perilous position on the top of the palm tree, young Markham came galloping up to the crater on pony-back, and had an interview with Adams and Mr. Austen, who were roused for the purpose from the brief slumber into which they had fallen after the distress and excitement of the previous night. So serious was the news that he brought, that they were not long in seeing that he was perfectly justified in taking the step that he had done.

  It will be remembered that he was entrusted with the amusement of the Calypso's crew during the holiday, and in the discharge of this duty he had taken several of them for a run round the reef in the Mermaid, after entertaining them for the greater part of the day, in order that those of them who wished might get a good general view of the island that they were so soon to leave. During this trip, and while the Mermaid was at the eastern extremity of the reef, and over twenty miles from the landing-stages, he had seen the air-ship rise from the crater of Mount Orient and leave the island.

  Bewildered as he had been by an apparition which, as he well knew, meant the disclosure of Utopia's most jealously guarded secret, he had not been long in coming to the conclusion that it could only be explained on the supposition of treason and desertion. Then, instantly, his thoughts had reverted to the Nautilus. If there had been anyone on the island capable of disclosing the secret of the air-ship and stealing her from the colony, was it not also reasonable to suppose that such a traitor would also try to deprive the colonists of the formidable sea-weapon which had so nearly approached completion.

 
; It had taken all his own ingenuity and the authority of Mr. Topline to restrain or in any way satisfy the wondering curiosity of the Calypso's men with regard to the apparition of the air-ship. But this was of insignificant importance in comparison with the undefined, but very certain, fears that he entertained with regard to the safety of the Nautilus. Consequently, he put the Mermaid's head about, and astonished the sailors still further by rushing her back to the entrance to the lagoon in front of the settlement at a good thirty knots an hour.

  It was dark by the time he got back to the dockyard, so, after giving the Calypso's men in charge of the sailing-master, he took the crew of the launch ashore, lighted the electric lamps, and set to work to make an examination, first of the hull of the Nautilus, and then of the dockyard itself.

  For between three and four hours they searched in vain, and then, just as they were about to give up the search and leave the interior of the vessel, Markham's quick ear had caught a sound like the ticking of a clock, faint but regular, in the inmost recesses of the after part of the craft. He saw at once that this was a sound that boded danger, for there was nothing in connection with the work of building that could explain it, so they set to work again with redoubled energy, and not a little anxiety, and at last discovered, close hidden under one of the motor-fuel magazines, a battery and a little clockwork mechanism arranged like that of an alarum clock, which, as after examination' proved, would five minutes later have completed the circuit and sent a spark through the magazine, and produced an explosion which would have blown the after part of the Nautilus to fragments.

  This was of course proof positive of treachery as ruthless as it had been cunning and secret, and gave ample confirmation of Markham's timely apprehensions. The battery was immediately disconnected, and then, leaving two of his companions to explore every other recess of the ship into which a human being could crawl, Markham took the rest, and, after enlisting the assistance of Mr. Topline and the Calypso's men, proceeded to make a thorough and systematic examination of the whole dockyard.

  This precaution, very necessary after what had been found in the hull of the Nautilus, occupied the searchers well through the night, but resulted in no further discovery, and from this fact it was rightly concluded that the traitor or traitors had had no time to plan or execute any further damage. As soon as he was satisfied of this, Markham, without waiting for daylight, had ridden up to Mount Orient and told his story to Adams and Mr. Austen, so that they might lose no time in taking any precautions that they might think necessary. The first thing to be done was to hold a sort of council of war, and to this Sir Harry was invited, in consideration of the offer he had made the evening before to devote his life and his fortune to avenging the misery and suffering that Renault had brought upon his sister and himself.

  Naturally the first question that arose was whether Renault had acted entirely alone, or whether he had had any accomplices on the island. As soon as the lieutenant woke, which he did soon after sunrise, very weak, but in the full possession of his faculties, he was able to answer this question in the negative so far as the carrying off of the airship was concerned.

  He told them that on the previous afternoon he and Violet, when wandering alone, for reasons best known to themselves, in the valley between the two craters, had been unexpectedly accosted by Renault, who appeared to be in his pleasantest and politest mood, and he had led the conversation round to the Nautilus and the lieutenant's offer to take her to sea.

  Then he had told them that he had had a conversation on the subject with Adams and Mr. Austen, and that they had agreed with him that, as the lieutenant had virtually decided to throw in his lot with the Utopians in their campaign against the Destroyer, there was no reason why a much greater secret than that of the existence of the Nautilus should be any longer withheld from him.

  Wyndham had seen instantly what he was driving at, and when Renault at length, without giving any sign that he knew of their knowledge of the air-ship's existence, told him point blank that there was such a craft on the island, and offered to show it to them, there and then, in the crater of Mount Orient, his anxiety to see the wonderful ship at close quarters had got the better of his prudence, and he had accepted the offer without a thought of any ulterior design on Renault's part.

  They had found the air-ship resting on her platform in the crater, and Renault bad taken them on board, showed them the machinery, and explained the working. Then they had gone on deck, Renault having promised to run the ship round the inside of the crater, to give them an idea of the ease with which she could be managed. Just as they were waiting for her to rise from the platform, the lieutenant had felt the stab of Renault's dagger in his back; then came a violent lurch, the air-ship's deck rose beneath his feet, and he was hurled to the ground, and remembered nothing more till he opened his eyes and found Adams and Sir Harry leaning over him.

  Later on in the day, when the whole colony had become aware of the loss that Utopia had sustained through Renault's daring and all too successful crime, a regular council of war was held in Lieutenant Wyndham's room.

  As the Utopians were too sensible to believe that the more talk there is on a problem the more likelihood there is of arriving at a satisfactory solution, the council consisted only of Mr. Austen, Adams, Ambrose Miller, the veteran mariner who had piloted the colonists to Utopia, Sir Harry, and, of course, the wounded lieutenant, who had sufficiently recovered from the exhaustion consequent on his wound to be able to listen a good deal and talk a little.

  As all had thought the question well out beforehand, and as no one had any desire save to find out the best course to pursue, there was very little talking done, and the most of it was done by Adams, who now, as on all important crises in the fortunes of Utopia, acted as the colonists' spokesman.

  "I am afraid there is only one thing to be done," he said, in response to Mr. Austen's request that he should state his view of the case first. "I am afraid it will seem a very extreme view of the case, and, of course, if anyone can suggest another way out of the difficulty that offers the same chance of safety, I shall be most happy to agree with them.

  "So far as I can see, however, this treachery of Renault's has placed everybody in Utopia in a very serious position indeed.

  "The discovery that Markham made in the Nautilus clearly proves that he intended to destroy the only vessel that could compete with the Destroyer. I am afraid there can be no doubt now but that Renault was an anarchist in disguise, and that he came out with us solely for the purpose of getting hold of the secret that Mr. Austen gave us, and also, as events have proved, of stealing the air-ship when it was completed.

  "No doubt he recognised Lieutenant Wyndham, and saw that he might be exposed at any moment, and that, to my mind, is why he took the air-ship for a trial trip that night that the lieutenant and Sir Harry saw her over the hills, and also why he laid his plans hurriedly, and got away with the air-ship, instead of waiting, as I daresay he would have done, to try and corrupt enough members of the colony to help him to steal the Nautilus as well.

  "With the personal violence and the dastardly crime that he was guilty of against Miss Milton and Lieutenant Wyndham, I do not think we have any concern at present-"

  "No," said Sir Henry grimly. "We'll see about that later on when the day of reckoning comes; but we'll have to get on something like equal terms with the scoundrel before that."

  "Yes," continued Adams. "So we can put that aside for the present. Now, obviously, Renault, having got possession of the air-ship, must do one of two things. Either he must content himself with the mischief that he can do after he has got her armed, and run the risk of our building another vessel swifter and more powerful than the one he has stolen, or else he will get her armed, come back here, and exterminate the colony in order to prevent our doing so. To my mind, there is no choice between the two courses. He will certainly come back, and that as soon as he possibly can, therefore the only thing that we can do is to get out of Utopia before he re
turns."

  When Adams ceased, there was silence for two or three minutes. He had suggested the one course that held out any reasonable chance of safety, but it was also a course that meant the abandonment of the colony and all the bright hopes that had grown up round the venture, which had been overwhelmed with such sudden and unexpected disaster.

  They knew that the Utopians had got to love their island paradise so dearly that it would be a terrible wrench for them to leave it, perhaps for ever, at a few days' notice; and so it was in a sadly serious tone that Mr. Austen took up the parable, and said-

  "Yes, I'm afraid there's nothing for it but that. The man who could do what Renault did yesterday is capable of any crime, and I feel certain that he would not scruple even to come back and slaughter every man, woman, and child in Utopia, in order to make sure that he alone possessed the secret of the air-ship's motive power.

  "Our duty, both to ourselves and the world, is now perfectly plain. Whatever sacrifice to our personal feelings, we must leave Utopia at the earliest possible moment. We must finish the work on the Nautilus, and get her home to England to receive her equipment. That done, she must take the water in search of the Destroyer, and not rest until she has found her and sent her to the bottom. Meanwhile - we must have at least a dozen air-ships."