“Are you telling the truth?” growled the German, and his voice betrayed his nervousness.
“He sure is telling the truth! Look behind you and see,” said Fred, and began to laugh in a suggestive way.
This laugh took the German off his guard, and he turned swiftly to see who might be behind him. It was the opportunity that the young captain and the young lieutenant had hoped would come, and, taking a perilous chance, they threw themselves on the back of the German, each at the same time catching hold of a hand that held a pistol. Then Gif rushed in; and between them the cadets succeeded in hurling the fellow, muscular though he was, to the floor.
“Give up!” cried Jack suddenly, and, bringing out his flashlight, he placed the cold glass of the end against the German’s neck.
“Kamerad! Kamerad!” yelled the fellow promptly, thinking that it was a pistol which was pressing upon him, and on the instant he released his hold on the two pistols while he stretched out flat on his chest on the floor of the submarine.
Jack lost no time in picking up one of the pistols, while Fred picked up the other. The flashlight was turned over to Gif, who, meanwhile, had armed himself with a steel bar.
“Now the question is—what are we going to do with this fellow?”remarked Jack, after the short encounter had come to an end. It must be confessed that he and the others were much worked up over the situation, for they had not dreamed of coming in such personal contact with one of the enemy.
“We’ve got to get out of here, and do it quick,” returned Gif. “Those other Germans may come back at any minute.”
“Yes, but we’ll have to take this fellow along,” said Fred. “No use of leaving him here to give an alarm.”
“We’ll gag him!” declared the young captain. And without loss of time the three cadets fixed up a gag such as they sometimes used when they were initiating a new member of one of the secret societies of the military academy. Then the German’s hands were bound tightly behind him, and he was ordered to get up and march.
“Wait a minute,” said Fred. “We’ll have to fix things here so it won’t look suspicious. We’ll make it look as if this chap had just stepped out for some fresh air.”
This was done, and a few minutes later the whole party left the submarine, Gif going ahead and the Rovers following the prisoner, each with a pistol ready for use. In this fashion they passed over the gangplank, and then made their way alongside of the underground pond until they came to the spot where the cadets had first discovered the Germans.
“I don’t believe we ought to leave him here,” declared Jack. “That gag might slip and he might have a chance to make considerable noise, and if he did that the others might take the alarm and sail away before we could get help.”
“We made a mistake!” cried Gif. “I thought we were going to injure some of the machinery, so that they couldn’t use the U-boat.”
“You’re right, Gif! I got so excited I forgot all about that,”declared Jack.
“You can run back now and do it if you want to,” said Fred. “I’ll watch the prisoner.”
The young captain and Gif did as had been suggested. On the submarine they looked over the intricate machinery with care, and presently found some things which they could disarrange and which would probably not be noticed immediately. They went to work with vigor, and came away again in less than ten minutes.
“I guess she’s fixed now,” declared Jack to his cousin, when they had rejoined Fred and the prisoner. “If they start up those engines, that submarine will perform stunts they never dreamed of.”
With the flashlight shining ahead and at times on the prisoner, the Rovers and Gif compelled the German to move along the passageway until they gained the opening near the gully.
“Look out there, will you?” cried Gif suddenly, pointing between the bushes to the bay. “There is a big motor boat cruising up and down! Maybe they can give us aid.”
“It looks to me like a revenue boat,” declared Jack, after a hurried inspection. “Say, maybe they are patrolling the bay!”
“That’s right!”
“I am going to signal to them and find out!” exclaimed Fred; and without waiting for the others to reply, the young lieutenant dashed over the rocks and through the brushwood in the direction of the bay shore. As he did this he took out his handkerchief and waved it wildly, at the same time calling at the top of his lungs.
The motor boat, a long, rakish-looking craft, was cruising quite close to the shore, and presently some of those on board noticed Fred’s call for aid. The motor of the craft was shut off, and the boat drifted up to the shore.
“What do you want?” demanded one of the men on board, sharply.
“We want help, and we want it right away!” declared Fred. And then he added as he got a better view of those aboard the boat: “Are you United States officers?”
“What do you want to know that for?” was the counter question.
“Well, if you are, we want your help, and want it right away.”
“Why? Have you discovered anything unusual?” demanded one of the officers on the boat, and his manner showed his intense interest.
“We certainly have! And more than that, we have made a prisoner—a German.”
“You don’t mean it!” said one of the other men aboard the motor boat, and then looked more sharply at Fred than ever. “We’ll have to investigate this,” he added to his companions.
There were three officers and a crew of eight aboard the boat, which was quickly brought long-side the rock on which Fred was standing. As the officers leaped ashore, the young lieutenant saluted and was saluted in return. Then Fred told who he was and again asked the men if they were United States officers.
“If you’ve got a German prisoner, and you know he is really a German sympathizer, you had better take us to him at once,” said one of the men, and, turning back his coat, he exhibited his badge.
Feeling that the craft was one really belonging to our government and that the officers were Secret Service men, Fred told his story, at the same time leading the way to where he had left Jack, Gif, and the prisoner.
“Bailey was right, after all,” said one of the Secret Service men to his fellow officers. “He always declared that that wrecked submarine was in hiding somewhere around these waters.”
“Then you know about the submarine?” queried Fred quickly.
“If it’s the craft we think it is,” was the reply. “That U-boat had an encounter with one of our submarine destroyers, and in trying to escape we think she hit some of the rocks on the reef beyond here. Some of the naval people were of the opinion that she had gone down, but others thought she had escaped to some base, which, of course, was unknown to our authorities. We have always had a suspicion that there was some sort of a base around here. We were cruising to-day trying to locate it.”
It was decided that the Secret Service men should take charge of matters, and that they would sail to the nearest town on the bay so that they might obtain additional help with which to round up all the Germans and those in league with them.
“This will prove a very important capture,” said Mr. Blarcomb, who was the head officer of the crowd. “And you, young men, can rest assured that you will get full credit for what you have done.”
“If you don’t mind, I wish you would drop us off at our camp,” said Jack. “It will save us a whole lot of tramping.”
“We’ll do that willingly.”
It did not take the motor boat long to cover the distance to the front of the camp where the cadets were in the habit of bathing. A few were now in the water, and they looked in wonder at the sudden appearance of the Rovers and Gif.
“There is Captain Dale now!” cried Jack, when they had landed and the motor boat had gone on its way. “My! won’t he be surprised at the story we have to tell?”
“Maybe he has
already heard it, from Andy and Randy and Spouter,”suggested Gif.
But the old West Pointer had heard nothing, for the others had not yet come in from the forest. He listened in amazement to the story the boys had to tell.
“I would like to be at that round-up myself,” he declared. “I trust that they capture every one of the rascals.” And then he added with a smile: “This is certainly a feather in your caps, lads.”
It was only a little later when the twins and Spouter came in. They, of course, were also excited.
“Got one of the Germans and got the Secret Service men on the trail!”declared Fred proudly.
“Good enough!” cried Andy. “But say! we have got our little story to tell, too;” and then he and the others related what had been discovered at the cabin in the woods.
“This certainly is important,” declared Captain Dale. “Who would ever suppose that Mr. Brown and Mr. Martell were in league with these Germans! They certainly ought to be captured.”
“And I’d like to be there when they are caught,” declared Randy.
“Well, perhaps you will be,” answered Captain Dale significantly.
CHAPTER XXX
AN IMPORTANT CAPTURE—CONCLUSION
Even though somewhat old and likewise rheumatic, Captain Dale was still a man of action, and less than half an hour later he had perfected an arrangement with the Secret Service authorities both at Rackville and at Camp Huxwell. Three automobiles were requisitioned and a detail of sixteen men, accompanied by several Secret Service authorities soon left Camp Huxwell, stopping on the way at the edge of Camp Barlight. They took on board the Rovers and their chums, and likewise Captain Dale, all of whom were anxious to see the wind-up of this remarkable happening.
While still some distance from the cabin, the automobiles were brought to a standstill, and the officers and soldiers, as well as the cadets and Captain Dale, alighted, and all took to the shelter of the brushwood.
A wait of nearly half an hour ensued, and during that time the three automobiles were run deep into the woods, where they would not be noticed by any passersby. Then Randy, who had been sent down the road, came back on the run.
“An auto is coming!” he announced.
He was right, and a minute later, the machine, driven by Slugger Brown, came into sight and ran up to the side of the cabin. Mr. Brown and Mr. Martell alighted, leaving Slugger and Nappy in the car as before.
“Don’t let ’em keep you here all night, Dad!” cried Nappy.
“Make ’em come to terms quick,” said Slugger. “They have no right to hold back on you.”
“You leave this business to us—we know what we are doing,” answered Mr. Brown.
Of course, those who had come to the place from the two camps had not shown themselves. All were secreted behind the trees and bushes on the opposite side of the cabin. Now they watched intently while Mr. Brown and Mr. Martell entered the cabin, and as they did this they noted a steady put-put on the forest road, and soon a motorcycle came into sight, ridden by a middle-aged man carrying a satchel over his shoulder.
“That must be the fellow who went to the bank to get the money,”whispered Andy.
The Secret Service men had arranged their plans with care. At a given signal four of the soldiers from Camp Huxwell surrounded the automobile occupied by Slugger and Nappy, who as before were making themselves comfortable in the tonneau and smoking cigarettes. To say that those two unworthies were surprised, would be putting it mildly. Slugger leaped to his feet in amazement, while Nappy set up a howl of terror, begging the soldiers not to shoot them.
“We haven’t done anything wrong!” howled Nappy. “Please don’t point that gun at me!”
“I don’t understand this,” said Slugger nervously. “There must be some mistake.”
“The only mistake is the one you made, young man,” declared one of the soldiers briefly.
In the meantime there was an interesting scene going on in the main room of the cabin. The German in charge of the place and the fellow who had come in on the motorcycle were talking earnestly to Slogwell Brown and Nelson Martell. The men from New York had a number of documents on a table, and were trying to prove that the Germans owed them over eleven thousand dollars, while the Germans were equally emphatic in declaring that the amount due was less than ten thousand dollars.
“You’ve got to pay the full amount,” growled Mr. Brown. “I won’t take off a cent!”
“That’s the talk!” broke in Mr. Martell. “And you ought not to kick, either. We have taken terrible chances in having these things supplied to you.”
“Yes, and don’t forget that you would never have had this secret base on Barlight Bay if it hadn’t been for me,” put in Slogwell Brown.
“We’re not forgetting anything,” said one of the Germans. “And if you insist upon it that we owe you that amount, we will pay it.”
The man who had come in on the motorcycle had opened his valise, and now he took out several packages of banknotes. Evidently Brown and Martell were to be paid in cash. Probably they had refused to accept anything in the way of a check.
The money had just been paid over and some receipts given when the leader of the Secret Service men gave the order, and the cabin was immediately surrounded.
“Hands up in there, everybody!” was the stern command.
If Slugger and Nappy had been surprised, their fathers were even more so, while the two Germans were taken completely off their guard. Each of the latter was armed, but one look at the United States officers with their pistols and the soldiers with their rifles was too much for them, and with grunts of disgust they threw their hands into the air.
“Who—what—I—er—I don’t understand this,” stammered Slogwell Brown, turning pale.
“There—there—must be—er—some mistake,” faltered Nelson Martell, and then with shaking knees he sank slowly back on a bench.
A brief war of words followed, Brown and Martell doing everything they could think of to explain the situation so that they might not be placed under arrest. But their guilt was so bare-faced that the government officers would hardly listen to them. Both they and the Germans were searched and all their weapons were taken from them. Then the prisoners were handcuffed together, and the officers made a thorough search of the cabin, picking up everything it contained of value. One took charge of the documents found and also the money which had been passed over to Mr. Brown.
“A fine piece of business for a so-called American to be in!” said the head Secret Service man to Brown and Martell sternly. “I wouldn’t be in your shoes for a billion dollars.”
“It’s—it’s—all a mistake. I’ll—er—explain everything later,” said Slogwell Brown weakly.
As for Nelson Martell, he was on the verge of a collapse, and had to be supported when all left the cabin.
In the meanwhile other interesting happenings were taking place in the vicinity of the wrecked submarine. There a number of Secret Service men and other officers of the law under the leadership of Mr. Blarcomb, did what they could to round up all those connected with the U-boat. There was something of a running fight, and quite a few shots were exchanged. In this fight two of the Germans were seriously wounded, and one of the Secret Service men got a bullet through his shoulder. But in the end all of the enemy were captured, and then the authorities took charge of the disabled submarine, and also the underground workshop, where the Germans had been laboring so hard to get their undersea boat once more into shape to sail.
It was after midnight before all these happenings came to an end and the evildoers had either been placed in jail or under a strong military guard. The capture, of course, was kept as secret as possible by the government officials.
“And to think that the fathers of Nappy Martell and Slugger Brown are guilty!” cried Ruth Stevenson, when Jack met her later on and told her some o
f the particulars. “Isn’t it dreadful? What will they do with them?”
“Most likely they will be interned for the period of the war, and maybe they will get regular jail sentences,” answered the young captain.
“And what will they do with Nappy and Slugger?”
“Oh, they will probably be interned also.”
After the men at the cabin in the forest and the Germans from the wrecked submarine had been rounded up, Jed Kessler was called in, and without hesitation he recognized two of the men he had seen at the ammunition plant just before the explosion occurred. One fellow was a clean-shaven man, but it was proved that he was in the habit of wearing a heavy wig and a heavy false beard.
“That fellow is one of the two we saw in New York talking to Mr. Brown and Mr. Martell!” cried Randy. And he was right, as it afterwards proved.
For catching these two men who, it was later proved, had caused the wreckage at the ammunition plant, the reward offered was divided equally between Jed Kessler, the four Rovers and Gif and Spouter, much to their satisfaction.
“This gives each of us a very neat bank account,” declared Spouter.“I’m going to save most of it, but some of it I’ll spend this summer on my vacation.”
“Maybe we’ll all do that,” put in Andy.
From the authorities it was learned that Slogwell Brown had owned a large portion of the shore front lying between Camp Huxwell and Camp Barlight. He had sold all his holdings to the government, but this had not prevented the unscrupulous man from making a deal with some German agents for the use of the cave under the cliff by our country’s enemies.
“He was a rascal both ways,” declared Captain Dale, in talking the matter over with the Rovers. “He took the government’s money at one end and the Germans’ money at the other. It is right that he goes to jail.”
And to jail Slogwell Brown went, accompanied by Nelson Martell, each to serve a number of years at hard labor. Slugger and Nappy were sent to a detention camp in the South; and that for the time being was the last the Rovers heard of them.
The Rover Boys Megapack Page 384