Rounding up the Raider Part 12

Just before midnight the sub set to work with the screw-driver and succeeded in opening the door. Fortunately there was no sentry on the aft-deck on this occasion. Overhead there was a considerable amount of noise going on. It conveyed the impression that there were scores of men hard at work and trying to perform their various tasks with as little noise as possible.

Unseen and unheard, Denbigh gained the deck and mingled with the throng. There were seamen and reservists all hard at it, buckling to in the starlight. Cautiously the sub looked about for a place of concealment, where he could hear and see everything that was going on in his vicinity without much risk of detection.

He glanced up. Overhead were the boats swinging inboard on davits.

Side by side with them, and resting on the booms or transverse steel girders, were some larger boats which could only be hoisted out by means of derricks. Between were several planks and spars lashed to the girders.

Awaiting a favourable chance, Denbigh nimbly ascended the iron ladder on the funnel casing that led to a platform just below the siren.

After climbing a few rungs, he was able to swing himself across to the nearest boat, which was almost as large as a battleship's pinnace. It was roughly forty feet in length, and weighed nearly four tons.

"Look alive, men!" ordered Unter-leutnant Klick in his usual bullying tone. "The whole of the stuff must be sent ash.o.r.e within an hour."

"Two boat-loads full, sir?" asked a petty officer.

"No; one. Get steam on the main hoist and lift out the pinnace."

"Hulloa!" thought Denbigh. "This looks like a proper jamboree. I stand a chance of getting nabbed. I wonder what the idea is of landing a quant.i.ty of gear on a sandbank like Latham Island?"

He heard several men ascending to make ready the slings for hoisting out. Promptly the sub retreated for'ard and crouched in the bows.

Here, unless any material was likely to be stowed in his place of concealment, Denbigh had a fighting chance of escaping detection, for above him was a large grating that fitted between the bows and the for'ard thwart.

"Now, then, Herr Major!" exclaimed Kapitan von Riesser. "Are your men ready? At least twenty with shovels will be necessary."

"I cannot see that it is necessary," objected Major von Eckenstein.

"It is a mere waste of time. I protest against this useless labour, when we ought to be making for the Mohoro River." And the Prussian officer clanked the tip of his scabbard loudly upon the deck, as if to emphasize his protest.

Von Riesser, judging by the sound of his voice, lost his temper.

"Once you are ash.o.r.e, Herr Major, you are in sole command of these troops. Here I am your superior. If I choose to give orders to facilitate our retreat, should it be necessary, it is for you to carry them out. If you refuse, I will place you under arrest and report the matter to the military governor of the colony."

"If you would only explain what you propose to do, instead of giving orders that have no apparent reason, I am willing to a.s.sist you," said the major grumblingly. "This business is evidently the result of a sudden inspiration on your part, and I think it is only just that you should take others into your confidence."

"You are setting a bad example for the discipline of the ship,"

declared the kapitan in a lower tone. "It would be as well if we adjourned to my cabin. When you have heard what is proposed to be done, I think you will agree with me that such a step is certainly necessary."

"Carry on, Herr Klick," continued von Riesser as he moved away. "See that every article enumerated on the list is sent ash.o.r.e. I hold you responsible."

A bare-footed seaman, leaping upon the bow grating, prevented Denbigh hearing more of what was going on below. The fellow bent and groped for the hook of the chain sling. As he did so, his hand was within a couple of inches of the sub's face. The man withdrew his hand so suddenly, that for the moment Denbigh imagined that he had been discovered. Then came the metallic click of the hook engaging with the wire hawser from the derrick.

To the accompaniment of the clank, clank, of the winch and the hiss of escaping steam, the pinnace rose from its resting-place. Swaying gently, it swung outboard and was lowered rapidly into the water.

For the next quarter of an hour the crew were feverishly employed in dumping stores and gear into the boat. There were cans of petrol, that gave Denbigh food for reflection, boxes of provisions, water-beakers, arms and ammunition, sailcloth, and shipwright's tools.

Then came an avalanche of picks and shovels, followed by a crowd of men who, perched in every available s.p.a.ce, swarmed like ants over the deeply-laden boat.

The pinnace was then cast off and taken in tow by a steam-boat.

Denbigh knew this by the thud of the engines, but he was unaware that astern of the pinnace was a twenty-seven-foot whaler.

The pinnace grounded on the lee side of a sandbank, for there was little swell, although on the outlying coral reefs the sea was breaking heavily. Her work for the present done, the steam-boat cast off and returned to the _Pelikan_.

Without loss of time, the crew set to work to unload, and as the pinnace rose higher out of the water during the course of operations, she was hauled closer to the land.

"Everything out?" asked a voice.

"I'll see, sir," replied a petty officer, and kneeling on the bottom boards, he peered under the row of thwarts.

Denbigh shut his eyes and trusted to luck. He knew that once his gaze met that of the searcher, the darkness would not screen him. A long-drawn minute pa.s.sed, and then the man reported that the boat was empty.

"Good; leave a couple of boat-keepers in charge and join the party with the whaler," continued the officer. "If you cannot manage her, ask for additional hands, but I think you will be able to drag her up. The ground is hard and level."

Away went the working-party, leaving the pinnace in charge of two seamen, who, having taken the strain off the bow cables, for the tide was rising, sat stolidly in the stern-sheets.

Above the distant roar of the surf, Denbigh could distinguish the thud of the pickaxes and spades. He would have given a lot to see what the diggers were doing, but the presence of the boat-keepers compelled him to crouch, cramped and cold in the bows. Although the day had been exceedingly hot, the night air was decidedly chilly, the sand radiating the heat with great rapidity the moment the sun set. Clad in light garments, Denbigh shivered and wished that he could stretch his limbs.

The boat-keepers felt the cold, too, for after a little while they began to swing their arms. Finally they jumped ash.o.r.e and began to pace to and fro. Having warmed themselves, the men sat upon the sand, and produced pipes and tobacco. The sub distinctly heard the rasping of matches, and gradually the odour of South American tobacco a.s.sailed his nostrils. The men had begun to talk, desultory conversation soon working up into an animated conversation.

Cautiously Denbigh stretched his limbs. Then waiting until the numbness had practically disappeared, he grasped the gunwale and slowly raised himself until his head was level with one of the rowlocks, the poppet of which had fortunately been removed.

His range of vision was limited. In the bright starlight he could discern the diggers. Already the bulk of the stores were hidden, while at a distance of twenty yards from the cache, other men were excavating a long trench, by the side of which lay the whaler. The depth of the hole was now about five feet, and only the heads of the workers were visible from the pinnace.

The sub waited and watched, keeping a sharp look-out lest the boat-keepers should return. Presently he became aware that his range of vision was changing. The rising tide was swinging the pinnace diagonally with the sh.o.r.e.

Denbigh promptly returned to his lair. He was not a minute too soon, for just as he settled himself the boat-keepers returned and took up the strain on the bow ropes.

"A good rise and fall for neap tides," remarked one of the men. "If we get as much as this tomorrow we ought to be able to cross the bar. I don't fancy having to remain at anchor in this lagoon until the new moon with those English cruisers prowling around."

"Ach, we will take due precautions, Henrich," replied the other. "Once we get inside the reefs we are perfectly safe. It is the run across to the mainland that is the trouble. Come on, let us go back to our snug seat and have another smoke. It is indeed good to be able to tread dry land again, even if it is little better than a sandbank."

The men scrambled over the gunwale, and as soon as they were gone Denbigh took up his former position by the rowlock. He was just in time to see the whaler, lifted by a dozen brawny seamen and soldiers, topple bottom upwards into the trench. Without loss of time the Germans commenced to shovel back the soil. Others joined them, for the task of hiding the stores had been completed, and in a very short s.p.a.ce of time the boat was quite covered, great care being taken to smooth the soft substratum until it showed no sign of having been disturbed.

The sub retreated to his hiding-place, for the men were beginning to return, straggling up in groups of threes and fours. The pinnace was backed out about half her own length and the men waded until they were able to climb on board.

They rowed back to the _Pelikan_. Once on the return journey the bowman, swinging his bare legs, caught Denbigh a blow on the forehead with his heel. Fortunately the fellow did not trouble to investigate, but the sub realized that it was a narrow squeak.

Arriving alongside the pinnace was hoisted out and stowed in its former place. The workers were dismissed, the watch changed, and quietude brooded over the ship.

"Now comes the rub," e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the sub as he crept from his place of concealment. As agilely as a monkey he made his way along the steel beam until he gained the funnel ladder. Then he waited and listened.

All was silence, save for the rumble of the surf and the subdued hiss of steam from the ship's boilers.

Unseen and unheard Denbigh gained the companion and descended the aft-deck. As he did so footsteps on deck told him he was barely in time. Cautiously he lifted the curtain that served to screen the light from the hatchway. The s.p.a.ce beyond was deserted.

Swiftly he tiptoed to the door of the cabin. He tried the handle. The door refused to move. He knocked softly, thinking that O'Hara had fallen asleep. There was no response. Perhaps the Irishman had gone in search of him; but, if so, how could he have secured the door on the inside? Before Denbigh could knock again a steady tread resounded along the alley-way. The sentry on the aft-deck was coming towards him.

CHAPTER X

The Lagoon