The Boy Allies Under the Sea Part 38

But there was no submarine to be found. It had disappeared.

Lord Hastings uttered an exclamation of chagrin.

"They've gone," he said. "Edwards, I guess you didn't hurt Davis very bad. I don't suppose there was a sailor aboard who could navigate the vessel. Davis probably could."

"I'm sorry, sir," returned Edwards.

"So am I," returned his commander. "We'll have to catch that fellow, and it is likely to prove a hard job. However, the sooner we get after him the better."

"And what do you intend to do, sir?" asked Jack.

"We'll take another of these vessels and put to sea again," declared his commander. "We may come up with him sooner than we expect. But--we'll take a British crew this time."

It was now after daylight and Lord Hastings set about his preparations with vigor. Before evening the lads found themselves aboard one of the German submarines that had been captured and brought to the surface. The vessel was manned with a full complement of British underwater sailors.

Edwards was among them.

"We'll go down the river immediately," said Lord Hastings, after a tour of inspection of the vessel, "and when we are at sea we'll fly the German flag. None of our submarines looks anything like this craft, so if we come up with the enemy we will be taken for a German. You may steam at ten knots, Mr. Templeton."

Jack gave the order and the vessel moved down the river.

Shortly after nightfall the submarine, U-6, was proceeding into the North Sea, for it was there that Lord Hastings believed he would be more likely to encounter Davis and the U-16.

"Besides," he explained, "our usefulness is not at an end in the matter of obtaining information from the Germans. We may put into Ostend again if necessary."

All during the night, although Frank, Jack or Lord Hastings was continually on the bridge, they did not encounter anything that looked like an enemy ship, although the U-6 dived several times when it drew close to a British ship of war--one of the blockading fleet Had the submarine approached too closely it would have drawn a shot from the battleship, whose commander could not possibly have known that the German submersible carried a British crew in the service of King George.

The following afternoon, having traveled far toward the east, they were to have an adventure.

Moving slowly along, and presenting the appearance, from a distance, of a little speck upon the surface of the sea, the U-6 continued toward the east. Frank had taken the bridge half an hour before and now was studying a faint smudge on the eastern horizon. A moment later and a second smudge appeared and then a third, to be followed almost immediately by a fourth.

"Strange!" he muttered. "Seems to be coming from the direction of Heligoland. Battleships all right, but the question is, British or German? Must be the latter, though how they figure to run the British blockade is more than I know. However, I haven't heard that any of our vessels are this close to Heligoland. It's too dangerous on account of the German mines."

He summoned Jack, who also gazed curiously at the smoke for some moments; but even while Jack gazed, the dim outline of a large battleship came into sight. Soon a second appeared and then a third.

"Must be German," said Jack. "Call Lord Hastings."

Frank did so and soon the commander of the U-6 appeared on deck.

Lord Hastings wasted no time in fixing the ident.i.ty of the approaching vessels.

"Germans," he said briefly.

"Yes; but where are they going?" Jack wanted to know.

"Probably intend another raid on the British coast," returned Lord Hastings. "By the time they are in waters patrolled by our ships it will be dark, and they hope to pa.s.s them in the night. You haven't forgotten the raid on Scarborough and Hartlepool, have you?"

"No, I haven't," said Jack. "But I don't figure they would have the temerity to try another."

"They seem to have temerity enough to try anything," declared Frank.

"However, I guess it's up to us to stop this raid."

"Right you are, Frank," said Lord Hastings quietly. "It's up to us."

"And how do you figure we are going to get all four of them?" demanded Jack.

"Well, with luck we might do it," replied his commander. "However, it would hardly be necessary for that. If we can sink two the others will turn and run."

"And shall we remain on the surface, sir?" asked Jack.

"No. We'll submerge until we are close to them. Then we can come up safely enough, for they'll believe us friends. We can sink one and get down again in time. Then, taking our calculations as to where they will be, we can come up again and have a try at another. We may as well submerge now."

Jack gave the order, and a few minutes later the U-6 was beneath the water, not even her periscope being allowed to show. Here she remained until Lord Hastings believed the German battleships had approached close enough to be in range of the submarine's torpedoes. Then she came to the surface again.

Lord Hastings had gauged the distance accurately. The German ships were now hard by and steaming swiftly forward. As the U-6 sprang up from beneath the water, there was some excitement aboard the German vessels, which soon quieted, however, as the Germans made out the lines of the vessel and caught the German flag with their gla.s.s.

"We're safe enough," declared Jack. "They take us for one of themselves."

"Much to their sorrow," said Frank.

"All ready below?" demanded Lord Hastings.

"All ready, sir," replied Jack.

"Good. Down with both of you then. I'll be down the moment the first torpedo has been fired, and we'll have to submerge as quickly as possible."

The lads obeyed Lord Hastings' command and took their positions.

"Ready with No. 1 torpedo," came Lord Hastings' command from above.

"Ready, sir," returned Jack, after a quick scrutiny.

"Ready with No. 3 torpedo," shouted Lord Hastings.

"Ready, sir," said Jack, and then exclaimed in an aside to Frank:

"By Jove! He's going to try and get two of them at once."

And such, indeed, was Lord Hastings' intention. The German battleships were so close together that Lord Hastings believed he could strike a double blow successfully and with perfect safety to his own vessel.

Signal flags now were displayed at the masthead of the foremost German battleship and Lord Hastings knew that some answer was expected from the submarine.

"Well, I can't decipher your signals," he muttered, "but I can give you some kind of a reply--which I don't suppose will be much to your liking."

He turned and gave a command to Jack; and Jack, in turn, flashed it upon the electric signal board below with the pressure of a b.u.t.ton beneath his finger.

"Attention!" came the command now, displayed in letters of fire.

Then a brief lapse of time, in which all was silence below.