CHAPTER XXII
JUAN CERVILLO KEEPS HIS VOW
SUDDENLY Drake whispered to the artificer-engineer to drive fullspeed ahead, and, springing aft, he thrust the helm hard over.Heeling outwards till her coamings were awash, the _Mosquito_ swunground, then, steadying herself, "planed" swiftly through the waterwith quite two-thirds of her keel in the air. Not till the littlecraft had put a mile betwixt her and the dumbfounded Cervillo did thelieutenant order speed to be reduced.
"Lads," he exclaimed, "we're in luck! We may not find the_Impregnable_, but yonder is the pirate Cervillo. I had mysuspicions, but I managed to get a peep at his lovely features justin time."
"Then they've scuttled the cruiser, sir?"
"Goodness knows. If they've played any dirty tricks with my comradesit will go pretty badly with them. Call up the _Cerberus_, Stevens,and tell them to pile on speed. We'll keep the yacht underobservation until the ship arrives."
"Officer commanding acknowledges, sir," replied the wireless man."Asks for course."
"Tell him nor'-nor'-east, roughly ninety miles; that's good enough,"replied Drake. "The _Gnat_ will pick us up before long, and give the_Cerberus_ our position. By Jove! The _Serena_ is actually trying torun away. All right, my hearties, you're only provoking the fun. Rigout the planes, Blake. We'll dance round her a bit."
Rising obliquely, the _Mosquito_ attained an attitude of 500 ft.,and, circling swiftly over the doomed yacht, soon showed the piratesthe sheer uselessness of seeking safety in flight. Four or fiverifle-shots came from the _Serena's_ decks, but unaccustomed tofiring at a swiftly moving object immediately overhead, and at anunknown height, the men's aim was erratic. Nevertheless, to be on thesafe side, Drake gave orders for the aero-hydroplane to ascendanother thousand feet.
If ever a man was tempted to use the potential weapons at his commandLieutenant Drake was. He knew that the pirates fully now expected anattack from the sky, and since they had not reverted to their formertactics of displaying their prisoners as a human screen, he naturallyand rightly concluded that Fielding, Cardyke, and Coxswain Hardy wereno longer in the hands of the desperate ruffians. But although thedesire to drop a charge of explosives upon the yacht's deck, and blowthe miscreants to a quick and horrible fate, was well-nighirresistible, Drake could not go against his definite orders. Hecould only wait, hoping that he might be able to take an active partin the attack upon the pirate yacht as soon as the _Cerberus_ arrivedupon the scene.
"_Gnat_ coming up, sir," announced one of the men.
Flying at a tremendous speed and at a great height came the_Mosquito's_ consort, but as soon as she spotted Drake's command sheturned and flew southwards in order to get into visible communicationwith the scout. Meanwhile the _Serena_, her funnel emitting densecolumns of flame-tinted smoke, was steaming north-eastwards as hardas she could pelt.
It was a forlorn business, for within forty or fifty miles of her theavenging _Cerberus_ was tearing in her direction at at least fifteenknots more than this yacht; while overhead, like a gigantic hawk, the_Mosquito_ was turning in ever-varying circles above her, so thatnothing short of a dense fog could save the pirates at this juncture.
Cervillo's luck was out. The atmosphere still remained perfectlyclear; night was a long way off. Within another three hours thepirates must either fight to the last, or submit themselvesprisoners.
"There's the _Cerberus_, sir," reported the look-out. "Dead astern."
"Good," ejaculated Drake. "Now the fun will commence in earnest. Tellher that there are no signs of any prisoners, so the sooner she getsthe range the better."
Two hours later the scout came within firing distance. Overhead herfour tenders--for the remaining two aero-hydroplanes had arrived onthe scene--were manoeuvring at a safe altitude in order to observethe effect of the gunfire.
"There she goes!" shouted Drake, as a bright flash came from thefo'c'sle of the scout. With a peculiar screech the twelve-poundershell tore through the air, passed within fifty yards of the fugitiveyacht, as a stern reminder to heave-to, then, ricochetting three orfour times, finally disappeared half a mile ahead of the pursuedvessel.
Doggedly the _Serena_ held on her course. The primeval instinct toflee until actually caught still lingered in the minds of thepirates, but on certain points their opinions were divided. Cervillo,with several of his men, was resolved to die rather than submit tocapture; while Da Silva and the rest of the pirates, still hopingagainst hope, were inclined to give themselves up and trust thatmercy might yet be shown them.
The second shell struck the yacht's fore-mast just below thecross-trees, and with a rending crash the top hamper came tumblingdown. Held by the steel shrouds the shattered timber trailed over theside, the drag in the water causing the yacht to slew round.
Thinking that the pirates had given in and were easing down, the_Cerberus_ withheld her fire. But Cervillo had no intention ofsurrendering. Calling half-a-dozen men to his aid he ran forward andbegan to hack through the lanyards of the shrouds. Desperately themen worked till the obstruction was cast off, and the doomed yachtresumed her flight.
It was not the intention of the _Cerberus_ to sink her prey. Captureat all costs was the order of the captain. There might be prisoners,and more than likely rich booty stowed underneath her hatches. Couldthe _Serena_ be deprived of the means of propulsion the boats of thescout would soon settle matters.
Crash! A shell striking the base of the funnel reduced it to atoms,and, tearing away a portion of the deck and bulwarks, sent a dozen ofthe pirates to their last account. Volumes of smoke poured throughthe aperture where the funnel casings had been. The yacht reeledviolently, then a cloud of steam rushed upwards from her engine-room.One of the cylinders had burst, and the engines were completelydisabled.
The _Serena_ swung sound, and floated motionless on the calm sea. Asfar as could be seen there was no sign of her sinking. Some of themen rushed for the boats, only to be driven back by Cervillo and hisofficers, who, revolver in hand, did not hesitate to check the rushby the strongest measures. Finding that escape was impossible, thepirates were goaded into active resistance, and, with rifles andpistols, they took refuge behind the shattered bulwarks to await theapproach of the scout's boats.
The _Cerberus_ had lost way, and was lying barely half a mile on the_Serena's_ starboard quarter. Into her boats swarmed the activebluejackets, eager to add to the traditions of the Service bycapturing the pirates in the good old-fashioned style.
Secretly regretting that he was not taking an active part in theboarding of the _Serena_, Drake decided not to miss a close view ofthe operations. So the _Mosquito_, her speed reduced until it wasonly just sufficient to enable her planes to resist the action ofgravity, descended to a height of about two hundred feet above thesea, and hovered in circles above the crippled vessel.
So intent were the pirates upon the approach of the boats that thepresence of the aerial craft was entirely forgotten. Drake could seethat Cervillo was pacing the deck in an irresolute fashion. At onemoment he would speak to some of the men and point to theirantagonists, at another he would halt hesitatingly at the top of thecompanion.
Nearer and nearer came the British seamen. Now they were withineffective range of the revolvers. One or two of the pirates stood upready to fire, but Cervillo restrained them, gave one swift,comprehensive glance over the side, and dived down the ladder.
In an instant Drake realised the pirate Captain's intention.
"Back oars all!" he shouted to the boarders. "Back for your lives!"And ordering the planes to be tilted, he placed a safe distancebetween the _Mosquito_ and the _Serena_.
He was barely in time. With a roar and a fierce blast of flame theyacht's magazine exploded. A dense, black cloud of smoke, mingledwith fragments of charred and splintered wood, was hurled high intothe air.
Instinctively Drake thrust over the lever actuating the elevatingplanes, and the aerial craft leapt upwards. The next instant thelittle vessel was enveloped in an eddying vapour, so opaque th
at fromwhere the lieutenant stood the bow was lost to view. For a fewseconds the _Mosquito_ oscillated violently. Fragments of charredtimbers came perilously near the fragile planes. Well-nigh blindedand choked by the dust-laden fumes that, caught by the swiftlywhirling propeller, were dashed into the lieutenant's face, Drakelost all idea of what the _Mosquito_ was doing--whether the vesselwas soaring or plunging disabled towards the sea.
Then it was like a train emerging from a tunnel; the blackness beganto give place to subdued light, till with a whirr the aero-hydroplanecleft the edge of the cloud of smoke, and gained the pure air beyond.
The _Mosquito_ was still ascending, but in her rear, and toweringmany feet above her, rose the dense pillar of vapour that formed thefuneral pyre of the ill-fated _Serena_.
Describing a sharp downward curve, the _Mosquito_ descended till shefloated on the surface of the agitated water. Just beyond the fringeof the smoke were the boats of the _Cerberus_, tossing aimlessly uponthe angry waves, the oars either trailing listlessly over the side,or else projecting at different angles over the gunwales. Their crew,although unharmed by the explosion, had literally been beaten to thebottom of their respective craft, and were still too dazed to realisewhat had happened. But of the _Serena_ and her lawless gang no tracewas to be seen, save a few pieces of timber floating on the surface.Juan Cervillo and his piratical companions had avoided capture, butno more would the modern buccaneer take toll on the high seas. He hadvowed that he would never be taken alive. Unscrupulous though he was,this vow he had faithfully performed.
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