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@@ -1,43 +1,4 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Secret Service Submarine, by -Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull and Guy Thorne - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The Secret Service Submarine - A Story of the Present War - -Author: Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull - Guy Thorne - -Release Date: August 25, 2012 [EBook #40581] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SECRET SERVICE SUBMARINE *** - - - - -Produced by Mark C. Orton, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -book was produced from scanned images of public domain -material from the Google Print project.) - - - - - - - - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40581 *** THE SECRET SERVICE SUBMARINE @@ -184,7 +145,7 @@ a more than sufficient allowance, and in my second year, having sprained myself badly, I bought a motor car--an expensive Rolls-Royce--on credit, and became a "blood." I could not play games any more, though I was healthy enough, so I used to go constantly to London "to see my -dentist," which, of course, meant dinner at the Cafe Royal, too many +dentist," which, of course, meant dinner at the Café Royal, too many cocktails at the Empire, and a wild rush home in the car to get to College before twelve o'clock at night. @@ -200,7 +161,7 @@ things had been going wrong for years--and there was I, with a game leg, an excellent taste in such dubious vintages as the Oxford wine merchants provide, a somewhat exact knowledge of ties, waist-coats, and socks, a smattering of engineering which I had picked up from my father purely -from a liking of the subject, and, when my bills were paid, exactly L14, +from a liking of the subject, and, when my bills were paid, exactly £14, 7_s._ 3_d._ Knowing nothing whatever of the slightest value to anybody, myself @@ -421,7 +382,7 @@ he wanted to do it on the cheap. I suggested that he should come down to Morstone and stay in the village pub. He was as keen on shooting as I, and he hailed the idea with joy. -He took me to the then depot of the R.N.F.C., at the big _Daily Mail_ +He took me to the then depôt of the R.N.F.C., at the big _Daily Mail_ air-ship shed at Wormwood Scrubbs, and he used every possible bit of influence he had got to get me in. @@ -973,7 +934,7 @@ chin, an odd proceeding enough! We began about the war, of course. Upjelly asked me my impressions of London, and was most interested when I told him of all I had seen going -on at the R.N.F.C. Depot at Wormwood Scrubbs, especially about the great +on at the R.N.F.C. Depôt at Wormwood Scrubbs, especially about the great Rolls-Royce cars and the guns they were mounting on them. I never thought the man took such an interest in anything outside his food and his shooting--if indeed he took an interest even in shooting, which @@ -1030,7 +991,7 @@ sausages and beer about as interesting as ditchwater, must be thorough blighters! However, I changed the subject. "Now, the Navy," I said, "from all accounts, are quite a decent lot of -chaps. What a sportsman von Mueller was till we bagged the _Emden_. He +chaps. What a sportsman von Müller was till we bagged the _Emden_. He behaved like a white man all through, and we let him keep his sword, which I think we were quite right in doing." @@ -1622,7 +1583,7 @@ which she generally wore on a string round her neck, underneath her blouse. I had put thirty shillings each way on "Baby Mine" for the Grand National and it had come off--hence the ring. -"Let me introduce you to my fiancee, Miss Joyce," I said to Bernard. +"Let me introduce you to my fiancée, Miss Joyce," I said to Bernard. He took her hand and bowed over it, looking out of the corner of his eyes at Marjorie. @@ -1745,7 +1706,7 @@ quite forgotten the events of the morning. I cannot tell you what fun the dinner was. The soup was top-hole--mock turtle, and one of Elizabeth Lazenby's finest efforts. Lockhart was a tremendous success as butler, and the "claret wine"--I should have -thrown it at my scout's head at Oxford--tasted like "Chateau la Rose" at +thrown it at my scout's head at Oxford--tasted like "Château la Rose" at least. Bernard and Marjorie made the omelette over my fire, while the rest of @@ -2641,7 +2602,7 @@ vibrated with excitement. The answers came quickly enough. -"_Ja, gnaediger Herr_," or, "_Gewisz, das hab' ich gleich gethan._" +"_Ja, gnädiger Herr_," or, "_Gewisz, das hab' ich gleich gethan._" That presented no difficulties whatever. Upjelly was speaking to someone, obviously an inferior, who replied, "Yes, sir," or, "Certainly, @@ -3087,7 +3048,7 @@ gleamed. My brother turned and dashed out of the cabin, Dickson and I following him. There was a loud shriek, a girl's shriek, and a scuffle, and then my brother said in an angry voice: -"The Fraeulein von Vedal--sent to warn these spies. Bring her down!" +"The Fräulein von Vedal--sent to warn these spies. Bring her down!" Then I began to understand. @@ -3101,7 +3062,7 @@ that she could not stir. Then Bernard took off his hat and made a low, ironic bow. -"Gute Nacht, gnaediges Fraeulein!" he said--I believe it was all the +"Gute Nacht, gnädiges Fräulein!" he said--I believe it was all the German the fellow knew--and then, with a wave of his hand, summoned us to leave the cabin. We did so; he locked the door and ascended to the deck. @@ -3123,14 +3084,14 @@ and Doris answered. We none of us could understand a word of the ensuing conversation, but I reconstruct it here from what was told me afterwards, and I am sure it is accurate enough. -"Who are you, Fraeulein? What have they done to you?" +"Who are you, Fräulein? What have they done to you?" "Hush, they may hear!" "Who are they?" "They are the Police, the English Police. Everything is found out. I am -the Fraeulein von Vedal. My father has been arrested, but I slipped off +the Fräulein von Vedal. My father has been arrested, but I slipped off in these clothes to try and warn you and Admiral Kiderlen-Waechter. He must not be taken if it can be helped. If he escapes, my father says there is yet a chance. He spoke to me in German until the police @@ -3149,20 +3110,20 @@ is here?" "I can't tell, but I don't think so. If only I could get free!" -"Oh yes, Fraeulein, if only you could! As for me, it matters nothing, but +"Oh yes, Fräulein, if only you could! As for me, it matters nothing, but His Excellency must escape. Then he can meet Her to-night and warn Her--even though the precious papers are all lost. He could go off in -Her and escape that way. You know all about Her, Fraeulein?" +Her and escape that way. You know all about Her, Fräulein?" Doris shook her head. "No," she said. "Tell me." -"If they have not told you already, Fraeulein, I must not do so. I am +"If they have not told you already, Fräulein, I must not do so. I am sworn. I thought perhaps you knew everything." "You won't tell me? If I can get away it would be of help for me to know." -"No, Fraeulein; I am sworn and I must obey orders...." +"No, Fräulein; I am sworn and I must obey orders...." "And now I think," said my brother, unlocking the door and speaking in his usual voice, "we've heard as much as we are likely to." @@ -3491,7 +3452,7 @@ Bosustow--all of whom had served with him in his own ship. Below, in the saloon, Doris, old Lieutenant Murphy of the Coastguards, and the two Dickson boys were waiting. -Let me give the very briefest resume of events up to the present. +Let me give the very briefest resumé of events up to the present. Dickson major had fulfilled his trust. He had taken Marjorie Joyce to Mrs. Wordingham at the inn; then he had come to us with the bag of @@ -5044,7 +5005,7 @@ round each other, and one sister held the other close. The bell from the adjacent church tolled for evensong. It was a lovely night, cold and clear with a great, round, green moon. Mrs. Murphy mercifully left them alone. They heard the front door close, and saw her -rolling up the path towards the church, a long, dark facade with lit +rolling up the path towards the church, a long, dark façade with lit windows. As if in a dream, the girls heard the droning murmur of the Psalms. @@ -5347,369 +5308,7 @@ THE END -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Secret Service Submarine, by +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Secret Service Submarine, by Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull and Guy Thorne -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SECRET SERVICE SUBMARINE *** - -***** This file should be named 40581.txt or 40581.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/5/8/40581/ - -Produced by Mark C. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The Secret Service Submarine - A Story of the Present War - -Author: Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull - Guy Thorne - -Release Date: August 25, 2012 [EBook #40581] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SECRET SERVICE SUBMARINE *** - - - - -Produced by Mark C. Orton, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -book was produced from scanned images of public domain -material from the Google Print project.) - - - - - - - - - - - - THE SECRET SERVICE SUBMARINE - - A STORY OF THE PRESENT WAR - - BY GUY THORNE - - - NEW YORK - SULLY & KLEINTEICH - 1915 - - - The verses used as preface appeared in the issue of _Truth_ for 4th - November 1914. They are reproduced here by special and courteous - permission of the Editor. The verses were published anonymously, but - the author has kindly allowed me to mention his name. He is Mr. - William Booth. - - - THE SONG OF THE SUBMARINE - - - This is the song of the submarine - Afloat on the waters wide. - Like a sleeping whale - In the starlight pale, - Just flush with the swirling tide. - The salt sea ripples against her plates - The salt wind is her breath, - Like the spear of fate - She lies in wait, - And her name is "Sudden Death." - - I watch the swift destroyers come, - Like greyhounds lank and lean, - And their long hulks sleek - Play hide-and-seek - With me on the waters green. - I watch them with my single eye, - I see their funnels flame, - And I sing Ho! Ho! - As I sink below, - Ho! Ho! for a glorious game! - - I roam the seas from Scapa Flow - To the Bight of Heligoland; - In the Dover Strait - I lie in wait - On the edge of Goodwin's Sand. - I am here and there and everywhere, - Like the phantom of a dream, - And I sing Ho! Ho! - Through the winds that blow, - The song of the submarine! - - WILLIAM BOOTH. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PART I - - I. REJECTED FOR SERVICE. MR. JOHN CAREY'S EXPLANATION 11 - - II. "THERE IS SOMETHING VERY WRONG ABOUT THIS HOUSE" 23 - - III. BERNARD CAREY, LIEUTENANT-COMMANDER OF SUBMARINES 37 - - IV. DORIS AND MARJORIE GIVE A SUPPER PARTY. THE ARROW - FLIES IN MORSTONE SEA-WOOD 59 - - - PART II - - V. AT MIDNIGHT ON THE MARSHES. THE SECRET OF THE OLD - HULK 77 - - VI. HOW JOHN CAREY FOUGHT WITH THE GERMAN GIANT IN THE - SALOON, AND "MR. JONES" MET UNEXPECTED THINGS IN - THE NIGHT 103 - - VII. THE MURDER OF MR. LOCKHART 122 - - VIII. THE TRUTH AT LAST, THE INCREDIBLE TRUTH! AND HOW - THEY FOUGHT FOR THE SUBMARINE 128 - - - PART III - - IX. OUT IN THE NORTH SEA. PREPARING FOR ACTION 145 - - X. THE SPEAR OF FOAM 154 - - XI. THE SUBMARINE FIGHTS FOR ENGLAND 164 - - XII. THE LAST CHAPTER--IN TWO PARTS-- - DORIS AND MARJORIE HAVE A LATE VISITOR 177 - RETURN OF THE SEVEN HEROES 184 - - - - -[ILLUSTRATION: JOHN CAREY'S MAP OF THE MARSHES] - - - - -THE SECRET SERVICE SUBMARINE - - - - -PART I - - - - -CHAPTER I - -REJECTED FOR SERVICE. MR. JOHN CAREY'S EXPLANATION - - -On thinking it over, I date the extraordinary affairs which so thrilled -England and brought me such undeserved good fortune from the day on -which I tried to enlist. - -The position was this. My father was an engineer with a small, but -apparently thriving, foundry at Derby. My mother died and my father sent -me to Oxford, my younger brother, Bernard Carey, being an officer in the -Navy. At Oxford, I was one of that perennial tribe of young asses who -play what used to be called the "Giddy Goat" in those days with the -greatest aplomb and satisfaction to themselves. I was at a good -college--Exeter--for originally we were west-country people, and all -sons of Devon and Cornwall go to Exeter. - -I was immensely strong and healthy. I did not row, but played Rugby -football, being chosen to play in the Freshmen's match, and -subsequently got my "Blue." I did no reading whatever. My father gave me -a more than sufficient allowance, and in my second year, having sprained -myself badly, I bought a motor car--an expensive Rolls-Royce--on credit, -and became a "blood." I could not play games any more, though I was -healthy enough, so I used to go constantly to London "to see my -dentist," which, of course, meant dinner at the Café Royal, too many -cocktails at the Empire, and a wild rush home in the car to get to -College before twelve o'clock at night. - -When any musical comedy company visited Oxford, I, in company with my -friends, used to invite the ladies of the chorus to tea. I did all the -silly things possible, got sent down for a term, and eventually only -just managed to scrape through a pass degree, after being ploughed -several times in this or that "Group." - -Then my father died, and it was found that he had nothing whatever to -leave us. His works were in the hands of his creditors--it seems that -things had been going wrong for years--and there was I, with a game leg, -an excellent taste in such dubious vintages as the Oxford wine merchants -provide, a somewhat exact knowledge of ties, waist-coats, and socks, a -smattering of engineering which I had picked up from my father purely -from a liking of the subject, and, when my bills were paid, exactly £14, -7_s._ 3_d._ - -Knowing nothing whatever of the slightest value to anybody, myself -included, I naturally decided to devote my attention to the education -of youth. My "Blue," short as the time was that I enjoyed it, would be -an asset, I imagined; and, for the rest, to teach urchins their Latin -grammar for a few hours a day could not be a very arduous occupation. - -Accordingly, I went to see a suave gentleman in the Strand, who received -me courteously, but without enthusiasm. This gentleman was one of the -mediums by which those who would instruct the young find a field for -their activities. I paid him a guinea, I think it was, and he then took -down my qualifications. - -When I mentioned my "Blue" with pride, he shook his head. - -"My dear sir, 'Blues' are now a drug in the market," he said. "Surely -you read the daily papers, especially the _Daily Wire_"? - -"No," I replied, "I am no bookworm." - -He coughed rather nastily and I began to get irritated with the fellow. - -"Then I must explain," he continued, "that there has been a great outcry -against over-athleticism in the public schools, in all schools, in fact, -and I fear your 'Blue' is not worth ..." - -"Quite so," I broke in; "'not worth a damn,' you were going to say." - -"I was going to say no such thing, Mr. Carey," he replied stiffly. "At -any rate, we will do our best for you. You cannot hope for more than a -private school at first, and your success in the profession you -have--er--chosen, will depend entirely upon your success in a -comparatively humble sphere." - -A week afterwards, I received two or three little forms telling me to -apply to various headmasters. - -Prospects were not cheering, and the salaries offered would about have -kept me in cigarettes at Oxford. To cut a long story short, I eventually -became third master--there were only three of us--in Morstone House -School in Norfolk, at a salary of eighty pounds a year and all -found--except washing. - -Morstone House School was a sort of discreet modern edition of Dotheboys -Hall. I do not mean to say, of course, in these enlightened days, that -the boys were starved or ill-treated. But everything was cut down to the -very margin--to the margarine, as my colleague Lockhart, who was a -cripple, and a wit--the Head got him cheap for that--would occasionally -remark. - -For two years I remained at Morstone, a miserable enough life for an -ex-blood, you will say--only there were consolations. One of them, and -to me it was a very great one indeed, was that Morstone was situated in -a remote village on the east coast, on the edge of vast saltings or sea -marshes intersected by great creeks of sullen, tidal water. It was five -miles to the nearest little town, Blankington-on-Sea, and as lonely a -place as well could be conceived. Nevertheless, these vast marshes -stretching for many miles on either side formed one of the finest -wild-fowl districts in the whole of England. I was, and always had been, -passionately fond of shooting. I had saved my guns from the wreck, and -the whole of my leisure time in winter was taken up with perhaps the -most fascinating of all sports. - -The wild geese would fly at night over the lonely mud-flats with a noise -like a pack of hounds in the sky. Duck of all sorts abounded, teal, -widgeon, mallard, and the rarer pintail and even the crested grebe. -There were plenty of snipe, stint, golden plover and shank--in short, it -was a paradise for the sportsman. I kept fit and well from the first day -of August to the last day of February. My work at the school was easy -enough, and I had an absolutely absorbing pursuit to take me out of -myself and make me forget what a very sorry part I was playing in the -battle of life--for I think it only due to myself to remark that I was a -young ass without being a fool. This is a nice distinction, but there -are those who will understand my meaning. - -The second consolation--I do not put it second because it was the lesser -of the two, but from a somewhat natural reluctance to speak of it until -the last necessary moment--was Doris. - -This brings me to that extraordinary man, my chief. I am not going to -discount the interest of this narrative by saying too much of this -gentleman at the outset. His name is familiar enough to England now. I -will merely describe him and his surroundings. - -The Headmaster of Morstone House School was Doctor Upjelly. His -qualifications for the position he held were, to say the least of it, -peculiar. He was "Doctor" by virtue of a German degree obtained during -what must have been a singularly misspent youth--they are coarse brutes -at these German universities, or I should be the last to refer to early -indiscretions!--at Heidelberg. Love of teaching he had none. Love of -money seemed to be his predominating characteristic, though he was as -keen on wild-fowling as I was myself. This was the only thing that made -me regard him as human--that is to say, at the beginning. - -What Doctor Upjelly's early life had been, nobody knew. He had travelled -much abroad, at any rate, and spoke French, German, and Italian -fluently. He had been in England for a great many years, the last six of -which he had spent at Morstone House. He had purchased the school from -the decayed clergyman who ran it before him, and seemed to be perfectly -contented with his life, though he often made visits to London and -occasionally entertained visitors at Morstone. He had married an -Englishwoman in Germany, we always understood, a lady with two daughters -by a former marriage, Doris and Marjorie Joyce. Doris was twenty-two and -Marjorie twenty-one. They lived at Morstone and kept house for their -stepfather, supervised the school accounts, and generally did work which -ought to have been done by the matron, a sinister old hag called Mrs. -Gaunt, and apparently the only person in whom Doctor Upjelly ever -confided. - -To say that Doris and Marjorie hated their stepfather would be to put -it with extreme mildness. They were both young and high-spirited girls, -and they would have left him like a shot had it not been for some -promise extorted from them by their dying mother, which they felt bound -to observe. This was Mrs. Joyce's only bequest to her daughters, and, -like most promises given to a semi-conscious person probably quite -unaware of what she is saying, about as cruel and immoral a thing as -ever bound quixotic inexperience. - -Old Upjelly was a tyrant. He did not interfere in the affairs of the -school much--that was to his daughters' and the masters' gain, to say -nothing of the wretched boys. But the girls were forced to lead a -semi-monastic life. They were not allowed to accept invitations to -tennis parties at local rectories, or even to play duets at the nasty -little schoolroom concerts which were always being got up by fussy -parsons' wives. And most of all, they were not allowed to have anything -to do with the assistant masters. - -Now, as both Doris and Marjorie, of whom I naturally saw a great deal, -confided to me, they had never wished to have anything to do with the -assistant masters until my arrival. This did not make me vain, in view -of my two other colleagues and of some who had preceded me and of whom I -had heard. - -The first master, who lived in a cottage in the village with a wife as -senile and decrepit as himself, was the Reverend Albert Pugmire. In dim -and distant days, he had held various curacies, from which he had been -politely requested to retire owing to a somewhat excessive fondness for -Old Tom Gin. I understand there had never been any actual inhibition on -the part of a justly outraged bishop, but Mr. Pugmire, at any rate, had -become chief drudge to Doctor Upjelly. - -Pugmire was about sixty-two. In appearance he was exactly like one of -those tapers with which one lights the gas, thin, white, ghostly, except -for one vivid splash of colour, a nose resembling nothing so much as a -piece of coral, which he averred was the result of indigestion. He -really was a classical scholar of remarkable attainments. He would even -teach a boy who wanted to learn, and once, when the son of a local -clergyman with a taste for the classics wormed his way into the horrid -old man's confidence, I remember with what a thunderclap of amazement it -came upon us all when this young Philips gained an open scholarship at -Magdalen. The event was so unprecedented that I saw Doctor Upjelly at a -loss for the first time in his life. He did not know what to say, and -that night old Pugmire had to be carried home. The affair, however, soon -sank into oblivion and was never mentioned. - -The second master, who taught such mathematics as each imp condescended -to learn, was poor little Lockhart, a misshapen bundle of bones, as -hollow and bitter as a dried lemon. When a baby, his nurse, during a -heated altercation with the cook, had thrown him at the latter lady, and -the poor chap had never known any happiness since. He had an income of -his own of about a hundred a year and was able enough in his way, but he -was too acid for ordinary intercourse--though, as will presently appear, -he had unsuspected qualities. - -Then I came, the ex-Blue with the game leg. - -Having said so much, it will be fairly obvious that the second -consolation I have mentioned in my life was Doris. - -The Great War broke out and, in common with every other decent -Englishman of my own age, I heard the call of the country. I am not -going to sentimentalise about this--there is no necessity--but, of -course, I was keen as mustard to go. - -I was exactly six feet high; my eyesight was far above the average--the -man who does most of his shooting at twilight, by moonlight, or in early -dawn and at long ranges, has far keener sight than most men. My teeth -were so good that I could eat Upjelly's mutton with ease, if not with -satisfaction. As far as personal strength went, I was as strong as a -bull--indeed, if the music halls had remained in their pristine -simplicity and had not been given over to the elaborate spectacle, I -could have earned a living as a weight-lifter in a leopard skin and pink -tights; but, and here was the thing that made me lie awake at night -grinding my teeth and cursing fate--not knowing what she had in store -for me--there was my leg. - -Now, I could walk and outwalk most men I knew on the marshes, the most -difficult form of progression probably known to man, as anyone who has -tramped the thick, black mud and the marrum grass well knows. No -professional wild-fowler from Stiffkey or Cockthorpe could outdo me. -Yet, when I went to Norwich and offered myself for the East Norfolk -Territorial Battalion, a fool of a doctor in goggles, with whom I -wouldn't have cleaned my ten-bore, rejected me at once, despite all I -could say or do--and, what is more, told me that I would have no -possible chance elsewhere. I told him what I thought of him, and nearly -cried. Then I went out into an adjacent pub, had some beer, and cursed -bitterly, until the recruiting sergeant whom I had first interviewed, -likewise in search of beer, happened to come into the private bar. He -was a decent sort of johnny and told me a few eye-opening things about -doctors. He said that he would be proud to have me in his company, and -he gave me an invaluable tip. Finding out that I knew something about -engineering, he suggested that I should go to London and try and get -into the Royal Naval Flying Corps. At that time, the great fleet of -armoured motor cars was being got ready. I could drive a car with any -man and I was a fairly good motor mechanic. - -My brother, Bernard, was, as I said, in the Navy. He was, by this time, -Lieutenant-Commander in the submarine section, and he was in London, -having been shot in the arm during a little scrap off Heligoland. - -I got leave from old Upjelly, who, for some queer reason or other, did -not seem to take to the idea of my enlisting--though, heaven knows, he -had never shown any appreciation of my services--and went up to town. I -found Bernard just out of hospital. He had to rest for another month, -and, as he had hardly any money beyond his pay and special allowances, -he wanted to do it on the cheap. I suggested that he should come down to -Morstone and stay in the village pub. He was as keen on shooting as I, -and he hailed the idea with joy. - -He took me to the then depôt of the R.N.F.C., at the big _Daily Mail_ -air-ship shed at Wormwood Scrubbs, and he used every possible bit of -influence he had got to get me in. - -The naval people were all awfully jolly, but regulations were strict, -and though they moved heaven and earth for me, it could not be done. - -I said good-bye to my brother, who was to come down to Morstone almost -immediately, and one dull, bitter afternoon in the middle of December, I -found myself in a third-class carriage going home--once more a hopeless -failure. - -I could see old Upjelly's mocking sneer, I could hear little Lockhart's -titter; old Pugmire would say, "A gin and soda is clearly indicated in -this crisis." And Doris--what would Doris say? - -Well, Doris, poor Doris, would weep. She would know it was not my fault, -dear little girl, but she would weep. And for many days I should read my -newspaper, which arrived in the evening, over the fire in my -sitting-room in the north wing at the end of the dormitory, and if I did -not weep too, it would be because I was a man and not a girl. Other -people would be doing glorious things. Two-thirds of the men of my own -college were already either at the front or in training. Some smug, who -could not get into the second fifteen at Exeter, would become D.S.O. or -V.C. Morstone would be full of farm lads, who had gone out louts and -come back wounded heroes. And for me, only what some priggish hymn or -other describes as "the daily round, the common task," how damnably -common, only I myself knew. - -The afternoon, as I have said, was dark and lowering, and as I changed -at Heacham for the local train, a bitter wind, which cut like a knife, -swept over the vast flats, straight from Heligoland, the Kiel Canal, and -the tossing wastes of the North Sea. - -We crawled along slowly, stopping at half a dozen stations, until, with -a groan, the train drew up in the God-forsaken little terminus of -Blankington-on-Sea. The sea was two miles away over the mud flats, and -Blankington consisted of an enormous church, five maltsters' yards, a -few fly-blown shops, and seventeen public-houses, where the townspeople -and labourers on the weekly market day defied the marsh fogs with ardent -spirits. - -Wordingham, the husband of the woman who kept the Morstone Inn, was -waiting with his dog-cart. I hoisted in my kit-bag and jumped up beside -him and we started off. It was pitch dark, and we had five miles to go -along a level road. - -On the right were huge fields of barley stubble, all in the great shoot -of the Earl of Blankington, whose yearly head of "birds," as partridges -are called in Norfolk, to say nothing of pheasants, was second only to -that of Sandringham itself, not so very far away. To the left were a few -more fields where some plovers wailed mysteriously, "it's dark and -late," or "it's late and dark," and beyond, the vast creeks and saltings -towards the ocean. Even as we got out of the little town, I heard the -great boom of a double ten-bore far away. Well, I could at least go back -to my wild-fowling, and Wordingham told me that the geese were working -backwards and forwards in skeins of at least a hundred, right over the -Morstone miels. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -"THERE IS SOMETHING VERY WRONG ABOUT THIS HOUSE" - - -We bowled along through the night, and I turned up the collar of my -thick ulster, for it was bitterly cold. - -"Well," I said, "any news, Wordingham?" - -Wordingham was a big, strong, nut-brown, silent man, who took time -before he spoke. At last he did so, but without replying to my question. - -"My missus," he said slowly, "has got the parlour behind the bar ready -for your brother, sir. It is a snug, ship-shape little place, and we -will do our best to make him comfortable. And if you and I can't show -the Captain a bit of sport, well, there's no one in this part of the -country who can." - -"Good," I said. "My brother has still got a month to get thoroughly fit -before he goes back to join the North Sea Squadron. I want him to have -as much shooting as possible." - -Wordingham nodded and flicked up his horse. He was a well-known -wild-fowler in East Norfolk and, if report spoke true, a very skilful -poacher too. The marshes were free to everyone, right up to where the -sea came on rare spring tides. Wordingham had an excellent mahogany -punt, with a long, black-powder gun, and he would often get as many as -thirty brace of duck at a single shot after hours of cautious -water-stalking. - -But, apart from the wild birds of the saltings, Morstone was in the very -heart of one of the most famous shoots in England. The villagers were -poachers to a man, and it was well known that fast motor cars often made -sudden appearances at night, whereby the poulterers of Leadenhall Market -were greatly enriched next morning. Many and many were the "old things" -that found their way into the capacious side-pockets of my friend--"old -thing" being the local name for hare, a word which is never spoken aloud -in a Norfolk village by those who find it "their delight of a moonlight -night," &c. &c. - -I thought none the worse of Sam Wordingham for that. I had no big shoot -and no expensive machinery of game-keepers and night-watchers to keep -up. I, myself, was a bit of an Ishmael, to say nothing of a lover of -sport. - -"I am sure we can do my brother very well," I said. "It is a fine -fowling year with all this cold, and there are a lot of worthy fowl -about, as many as I have ever seen. But has there been no news in the -village since I left?" - -"You will be surprised to hear as the Doctor himself dropped in to the -private bar yesterday evening." - -"Doctor Upjelly?" - -Sam nodded. "It was about nine o'clock. Mr. Pugmire was settin' by the -fire, not to say boozed, but as is usual about nine o'clock. 'Muzzy' is -how I put it. Thinks I, 'Here's the Doctor come after Mr. Pugmire,' -though I never knew such a thing in all these years before, and everyone -knows Mr. Pugmire's little failings, the Doctor included." - -"Was it that?" - -"No, it weren't," and Sam turned his big, brown face toward me. - -I knew Sam. Many and many a midnight had we spent together waiting for -flighting time. I forbore in anticipation. - -"'E sets himself down and 'e calls for a bottle of strong, old -ale--fowlers' tipple. 'E nods quite pleasant to Mr. Pugmire, what was -looking at him like a cat looks when you catch it stealin' cream. -'Pugmire,' says he, 'you will join me in a little refreshment?' But the -old gentleman, he was too scairt, and 'e mumbles something and shuffles -off 'ome--and I'll lay that's the first time Mr. Pugmire has been 'ome -partly sober this year. Then the Doctor, he makes 'imself very pleasant, -'e does. My missus comes in and he begins asking about--what do you -think 'e arst about, sir?" - -"I haven't an idea." - -"About the Captain, about your brother." - -I was startled. I hadn't told the Doctor that my brother was coming to -stay in the village--it was no business of his, and we had few -confidences on any subject. Lockhart knew and, of course, Doris and her -sister, but they were not likely to have said anything. - -"What did he want to know?" I asked. - -"Where he was sleeping, and if we were going to make the gentleman -comfortable, and if he had a taste for shooting, had I heard? Regular -lot of questions!" - -"Well, it's very kind of the Doctor to take an interest in my brother," -I replied. - -"Very, sir," Wordingham answered dryly. "Mr. Jones, he came down last -night at ten o'clock, came down from London in his motor car, 'e did. -He's at the school now, or leastways, with this tide and the moon -getting up in an hour or so, he will be out on the marshes with the -Doctor. I heard tell that they was to be out all night. Bill Jack -Pearson, from the school, 'e told me." - -Again there was silence, while I thought over this little bit of -information, for anything is news in such a stagnant hole as Morstone. -Mr. Jones was a friend of the Doctor's who often came to see him. He -was a short, sturdy, red-faced man with bright blue eyes and a very -reserved manner. We always understood that he was in business in the -city, and well-to-do. Like the Doctor, he had a passion for -wild-fowling, or that, at any rate, was supposed to be the reason for -his visits, though Doris had more than once hinted to me that she -thought Marjorie, her younger sister, was a bit of an attraction too. - -"Ever been out with Mr. Jones, sir?" Wordingham asked. - -"Not I. Why, I've only been out with the Doctor once in all the time -I've been at Morstone. He seems to prefer to be alone." - -"Aye, he's a solitary man, is the Doctor. On that time you went out with -him, did you get anything, sir?" - -"I got a couple of brent geese, but the Doctor was not in form at all -and missed his one chance when they came over." - -"Now, would you be surprised, sir, if I was to tell you that the Doctor -is one of the worst shots in the parish?" - -"I should be very surprised indeed. Why? He gets awfully good bags night -after night--whenever he goes out, in fact." - -"You know Jim Long up at Cockthorpe?"--he was mentioning a famous -professional wild-fowler who lived by supplying the markets with duck -and taking out sportsmen from London over the difficult and intricate -marshes at night. - -"Of course I do. Been out with him lots of times." - -"Well, sir, don't say as I told you, don't mention it to Jim and don't -mention it to a living soul, but I found out only last month, accidental -like, that Jim's been supplying the Doctor with teal and widgeon and -grey geese and plover and what not for goodness knows 'ow long. 'E -leaves a nice little bag in the Doctor's old hulk in Thirty Main Creek, -and the Doctor finds 'em there and brings 'em home. And, what's more, -Mr. Jones, 'e can't shoot for nuts, neither. I've see'd 'im firing off -their guns, to get 'em dirty, from the deck of the hulk!" - -At this I began to laugh, though the news was a bit of a shock to me, -for I had always regarded the Doctor and his friend as true sportsmen. I -saw no reason to disbelieve what Wordingham had said, for he was not a -man who spoke rashly, and, comic though the business was, I could not -help that sort of odd discomfort one feels when an illusion is -shattered. The only good thing I knew of Upjelly was now a thing of the -past. Of course, I had heard of the type of sportsman who buys a creel -of trout at the fishmonger's on his way home, or gets his pheasants at -the poulterer's--about the cheapest and nastiest form of vanity that -exists, I should think. But I had never heard of anything of the sort in -connection with wild-fowling; and indeed, a man who, night after night, -will go through the extraordinary discomforts, the freezing cold, the -occasional real danger, the weary hours of waiting in the dark, merely -to get a reputation as a fowler, must be king and skipper of all the -humbugs and pretenders since Mr. Pecksniff himself. - -I had little more conversation with Sam, his news occupied all my -thoughts and for a time I forgot my own troubles. I remember thinking, -in a childish sort of way, what a rag it would be to stalk old Upjelly -one night, and catch him in the very act. What a hold I should have over -him afterwards! - -We approached the village. The wind cried in the chimneys of the houses -with a strange, wailing note. The moon just peeped out behind the gaunt -church tower, amid the scud of ghostly clouds, and its light grew -brighter as we turned to the left towards the school itself. At the same -moment, the wind, smelling salt of the marshes and of the open sea a -mile beyond, and carrying particles of sand, struck me with its full -force, so that I had to bow my head. - -In three minutes we were at Morstone House School. It was a long, low -building of considerable extent, shaped like the letter L. The shorter -arm was three storeys high and was the Doctor's own quarters, together -with his cook, housemaid, and the old matron, Mrs. Gaunt. The longer -wing contained the schoolrooms on the ground floor, a bare apartment -known as the dining-hall, and two dormitories in each of which there -were about fifteen boys, the whole school consisting of some fifty boys, -thirty of whom were boarders. This part of the building was only two -storeys high, save at one end, where there was a small tower. Just -outside each dormitory was a master's sitting-room and bedroom. One of -these was mine--the top one--the other, down below, that of Lockhart. - -There were three main entrances to the school. One, the front door, in -the middle of the longer portion of the building, another, a small door -in the angle, used only by the masters, and the Doctor's private -entrance, opening out into his garden on the other side of the block. - -It was just ten o'clock as I drove through the playing fields and on to -the gravel sweep in front of the house. Bill Jack Pearson, the school -porter, opened the masters' door and took my bag. He was a pleasant, -cheery fellow, who liked me. - -"Well, Bill Jack," I said, "everything all right?" - -"Everything all right, Mr. Carey. The Doctor and Mr. Jones, who came -last night, have gone out towards Cockthorpe. The geese are working -there, and they won't be back till dawn. There's some supper in your -room, and I've lit the fire." - -Then I asked a question which the porter quite understood. - -"And Mrs. Gaunt?" - -"The old cat's gone to bed, sir," he said in a lower voice. "I've just -come from the Doctor's kitchen, and Cook told me." - -I passed through the little paved lobby which led to the long corridor -of class-rooms, and hurried up the bare, wooden stairs. There was a good -fire in my room and the lamp was lit upon the supper-table, where a jug -of beer flanked a cold wild goose--and ordinary mortals who have not -tasted that delicacy have missed a lot. - -I took off my coat, went into my bedroom and washed my hands, peeped -into the dormitory, where only a single lamp was burning dimly and all -the boys seemed asleep, and then returned. - -As I closed the door and saw my own familiar things around me, the -remembrance of what had happened came over me in a great flood. I -groaned aloud. Upon the walls, washed with terra-cotta, were my college -groups, reminding me of Oxford and happier days. There were some silver -cups upon a shelf. In a glass-fronted cupboard by the side of the -fireplace were my guns. Over the mirror on the mantelpiece was a faded -blue cap, and on the writing-table was a pile of filthy, dogs-eared, -little exercise books, in which reluctant urchins had been scribbling -attempts at Latin prose. - -I bit my lip hard and sat down to supper, which did not take more than -five or six minutes. Then I prepared myself for something that was yet -to come. - -Against the wall by the window was a bookshelf containing the few -volumes I possessed and such schoolbooks as I used in my work. I took -down Smith's classical dictionary, and Liddell and Scott's Greek ditto, -and, inserting my hand in the place this left, withdrew a pleasant -little instrument which I had bought for twenty-seven-and-six--see -advertisement in the _Strand Magazine_--from a scientific toy-shop in -Holborn. This was known as "Our Portable House Telephone," and, not to -elaborate the mystery, a little wire ran out of my window, through the -ivy, and round the angle of the building to the Doctor's block, where it -found unobtrusive entry through another window. At this end was an -instrument exactly like the one I held in my hand, but which rested in a -hole made in the plaster of the wall and was concealed by that touching -engraving, "The Soul's Awakening." I had fixed up the whole thing myself -some two months before, when the Doctor was away in London, Mrs. Gaunt -at market in Blankington-on-Sea, and the boys engaged in a paper chase. - -Doris was waiting, of course. - -"Dearest, so you've got back--I heard the trap!" - -"Yes; can you come?" - -"In a minute. The connecting door to the school is locked, but I made -Bill Jack lend me his key." - -"Right-O!"--and I waited breathlessly for Doris. - -I daresay such a proceeding as this may strike the ultra-proper with -dismay. But we loved each other, there was no harm in it, and, besides, -what the deuce were we to do? It was the only way we could meet at all, -and even then, it only happened now and again. - -The door of my sitting-room opened without a sound and Doris entered. -Doris's hair is dark red, and, when it is down, it reaches almost to -her heels. Titian red, I believe, is the right name for it, though I'm -sure I don't know why. Her eyes are dark blue, like the blue on the wing -of a freshly killed mallard--I am not good at this sort of thing, but -she is a ripper. Directly she had closed the door, which she did -noiselessly, she saw from my face what had happened. I felt a rotten -tout, I can tell you, to stand there, chucked again. - -"Well, here I am," I said, "returned empty, declined with thanks, His -Majesty having no use for my services! Same old game, Doris dear, and if -they lose the war now, they can't blame me!" I spoke bitterly, but -lightly also; yet when Doris put her arms round my neck and I held her -close, when I could feel warm tears upon my cheek, I was as near -breaking down as I have ever been in my life. - -"Never mind, Johnny darling, never mind," she whispered, "I love you -just the same--you've always got me--and it isn't your fault. You've -tried as hard as you possibly can to go." - -She could only stay a quarter of an hour; it wasn't safe longer. -Marjorie was keeping cave, for the sisters occupied the same room. I -told her everything as shortly as I could, and with a sigh, we both -agreed that we must make the best of it. She wanted me to go, she longed -for me to go, I knew that. What patriotism there was in Morstone House -School was confined to the boys and to the Doctor's stepdaughters. -Upjelly himself seemed to take very little interest in the -conflagration of the world, or, if he did, he never showed it. But I -knew as well as I knew anything that Doris would rather have had me go -to the Front and get a bullet through my head than that I should stay at -home; which, I may remark, is the right sort of girl. - -"Well," she said at length, "let us hope the Germans invade us--it will -be somewhere about here, I suppose, if they do--and then you can have a -smack at them with your single eight-bore, Johnny; that would be -something, wouldn't it?" - -She told me the news of the school, such as it was, and then, with a -final kiss, we separated and I was left alone. - -The bitterness was still in my heart, a deep sort of fire at the bottom -of everything which I can't put into words--like the gentlemen in the -boys' historical novels, who always begin: "I am but a plain, unlettered -yeoman, and more handy with the sword than with the pen"--you know what -I mean. Still, I was a man and a strong one, and an Englishman whose -brother was fighting for his King. I did not know before that life could -hurt so badly as it was hurting now. For nearly an hour, I suppose, I -walked up and down my room, until the fire grew low and the wailing of -the wind outside seemed to speak of disaster and complete the innuendo -of the time. - -And then, quite suddenly, I do not know what it was, my spirits began to -clear. It was like a thick sea-mist on the marshes, which hangs like a -dull, grey blanket for hours, with the birds calling all round, only you -cannot get a shot at them. Suddenly the sun, or a puff of wind, makes -the whole thing roll up like a curtain, and you see a herd of curlew or -a wisp of snipe quite close to you. That is how I felt. I caught sight -of my face in the glass, and I was surprised. It was positively -glowing--just as if I had been made Commander-in-Chief of the R.N.F.C. -and Admiral Jellicoe had asked me to come and have a drink. - -I am not used to analysing my feelings, which seem to me like -chemicals--the more you analyse them, the worse they smell; so I could -not account in the least for this sudden change. - -Well, I was wondering at it and thinking that I had better turn in -before I got the black dog on my shoulders again, when there was a tap -at the door, and in shuffled little Lockhart. He had a bottle of whisky -under one arm and a syphon under the other, and he looked, as usual, -like a plucked spring chicken that had not been properly fed--bones -sticking out everywhere. - -"Thought perhaps you hadn't any whisky," he said--and then, "Hallo! -pulled it off this time?" He was looking at my face. - -I started, because there was something in his voice I had not heard -before, and something in his eyes I had not seen. - -"My dear chap," he went on, banging down the whisky on the table and -holding out his hand. "I can't tell you how glad I am!" - -Well, this made it rather hard. Of course, I had to tell him that I had -got the kick out again, but I didn't feel the depression coming back, -all the same. What I did feel, though, was a sudden liking for the odd -little fellow who was my colleague. We had always got on well enough -together, never had rows or anything of that sort, but he was too -cynical for me as a rule. In five minutes, however, I found myself -sitting on one side of the fire--which we made up--with Lockhart on the -other, talking away as if we had been intimate friends for years. - -By Jove, how the little fellow came out! If his body was maimed and -crippled, he had a big soul, if ever a man had. I can recognise -beautiful English when I hear it or read it. This man seemed inspired. -His talk of England and what we were going through and of what we still -had to go through was like that wonderful passage in Richard II which I -had been trying to make my idiot boys learn for rep. He was so awfully -kind and sympathetic, too. He said all that Doris had said, though in -quite another way. It was like a wise man, who had known and done -everything, comforting one. - -When he had finished, and sat looking at the fire, I had to tell him -what I felt. - -"I'm awfully indebted to you, Lockhart," was what I said. "You've pulled -me together and made a man of me again, and I can't thank you enough. -I'm afraid we haven't been such friends as we ought to have been"--and I -held out my hand. He took it and there was a strained smile upon his -wizened little face. - -"Carey," he said, "don't you be downhearted, for you are going to have -your chance yet, unless I am very much mistaken." - -"What do you mean?" I asked, for there was obviously something behind -his words. - -For answer, he did a curious thing. He slipped out of his arm-chair, -hopped across the room like a sparrow, and as quietly, and opened the -door, looking into the passage. Then he closed it and came back into the -middle of the room. - -"In the first place, John Carey," he said, "I mean that there is -something very wrong about this house." - - - - -CHAPTER III - -BERNARD CAREY, LIEUTENANT-COMMANDER OF SUBMARINES - - -I had just finished my tub the next morning, and was about to shave, -when there was a knock at my bedroom door. The school porter came in -with a message--"the Doctor sends his compliments, sir, and will you -give him the pleasure of your company at breakfast this morning?" - -This was quite unusual on the part of my chief. He always breakfasted -alone in his own house; even his daughters did not share the meal with -him. Lockhart and myself breakfasted with the boys--that is to say, we -sat at a table at one end of the room, while old Mrs. Gaunt, the matron, -presided over the bread-and-scrape and the urn of wishy-washy tea which -was all the boarders got, unless they provided delicacies for -themselves. - -About half-past eight, I went downstairs, round the rectangular wing, -into the Doctor's garden, and knocked at his front door. I was almost -immediately shown into the breakfast-room, a comfortable place, with a -good many books and a fine view over the marshes. - -Old Upjelly was standing upon the hearthrug as I entered, and I must -describe for you a very remarkable personality indeed. - -The Doctor was six feet high and proportionately broad. He was not only -broad from shoulder to shoulder, but thick in the chest, a big, powerful -man of fifty years of age. His face was enormous, as big as a ham -almost, and it was of a uniform pallor, rather like badly-cooked tripe, -as I once heard Lockhart describe it. A parrot-like nose projected in -the centre of this fleshy expanse; small, but very bright eyes, sunk in -caverns of flesh, looked out under bushy, black brows which squirted -out--there is no other word. He was clean-shaved and his mouth was -large, firm and curiously watchful, if I may so express it. Upjelly -could make his eyes say anything he pleased, but I have always thought -that the mouth is the feature in the human face which tells more than -any other. And if Upjelly's mouth revealed anything, it was -secretiveness, while there was a curious Chinese insensitiveness about -it. Lockhart, who had rather a genius for description, used to say that -he could conceive Doctor Upjelly locking himself up in his study and -sitting down to spend a quiet and solitary afternoon torturing a cat. - -He greeted me with his soft, rather guttural voice and with something -meant for an expansive smile. - -"Ah, here we are," he said, "and tell me at once, Mr. Carey, if you have -been successful in your application." - -Of course, I was quite prepared for this question and briefly related -the facts of the case, explaining that even my brother's influence had -failed to secure my entry into the Royal Naval Flying Corps. - -"I am truly sorry," he said, with the unctuous manner he reserved for -parents, "truly sorry; but you must remember, Mr. Carey, that 'they also -serve who only stand and wait.'" And as he said it, or was it my fancy, -there came a curious gleam into those little bits of glistening black -glass he called his eyes. - -A minute or two afterwards, and just as the maid was bringing in various -hot dishes, the door opened and Mr. Jones entered. - -I had been introduced to Mr. Jones some months before, though neither he -nor Upjelly had ever invited me to shoot with them. I had only met him -for a few minutes and had never formed a very definite opinion about him -one way or the other. - -He shook hands with me kindly enough, and I noticed how extremely firm -and capable his grip was. It was not at all the sort of grip one would -expect from the ordinary city man, though, of course, nowadays everybody -plays golf or does something of the kind, even in business circles. - -Mr. Jones' face was clean-shaved, too, and rather pleasant than -otherwise, though it was somewhat heavy. His eyes were bright blue, his -hair, thinning a little at the top, a light yellowish colour. He walked -with a slight roll or, shall I say swagger?--I really hardly know how to -describe it--which somehow or other seemed reminiscent, and he spoke -almost pedantically good English. When I say good English, I mean to say -that he chose his words with more care than most Englishmen do--almost -as if he were writing it down. - -We sat down to breakfast, and I saw at once that neither Doris nor her -sister were to be there. The meal was elaborate; I had no idea Upjelly -did himself in such style, for except at Oxford or Cambridge, or in big -country houses, breakfast is not generally a very complicated affair in -an ordinary English family. The coffee was excellent--there was no -tea--and there was a succession of hot dishes. I noticed, however, that -Mr. Jones took nothing but coffee, French rolls--I suppose the Doctor's -cook knew how to make them--and a little butter. And I noticed also -that, after all, he could not be of very great importance or good -breeding, because he tucked his table-napkin into his collar round his -chin, an odd proceeding enough! - -We began about the war, of course. Upjelly asked me my impressions of -London, and was most interested when I told him of all I had seen going -on at the R.N.F.C. Depôt at Wormwood Scrubbs, especially about the great -Rolls-Royce cars and the guns they were mounting on them. I never -thought the man took such an interest in anything outside his food and -his shooting--if indeed he took an interest even in shooting, which -Wordingham's story of last night led me to doubt. - -Somehow or other, I was convinced that Upjelly did not care either way -about my failure to enlist. He said the conventional things, but I knew -he was inwardly indifferent. It was not the same with Mr. Jones, whom I -began to like. He seemed genuinely sorry. - -"I can understand, Mr. Carey," he said, "that you have been extremely -disappointed. I can sympathise with you most thoroughly. It is the duty -and the privilege of every man who is capable of bearing arms to fight -for the Fatherland which has given him birth." - -Of course, this was a bit highfalutin, but he meant well. - -"Thank you," I said, "it certainly has been pretty rotten, but perhaps I -may get something to do yet. I would give anything just to have one go -at those swines of Germans! You saw what they did yesterday at the -little village of Oostcamp, in Belgium?" - -"We must not believe all we read in the papers, Mr. Carey," Upjelly -said, wagging his head and piling his plate with ham--the beast ate -butter with his ham! - -"I know," I replied; "of course, it is not all true, but there have been -enough atrocities absolutely proved to show what utter soulless beasts -the Germans are. It is a pity that we are not at war with a nation of -gentlemen, like the French, if we have to be at war at all!" - -The Doctor flushed a little. I suppose he thought I was too outspoken. -"I have lived much in Germany in my youth," he said, "and always found -them most hospitable and kind. You must not condemn a nation for the -deeds of a few." - -"Well, you may have been in Germany," I thought, "but you can't explain -away Louvain, for instance, or lots of other places!" - -Still, it was not my place to shove my oar in too much, and I turned to -Jones. - -"What do you think, Mr. Jones?" I asked. - -He hesitated for two or three seconds, as if he was trying to make up -his mind. "No one deplores certain incidents in Belgium more than I do," -he said at length, "but we must hope that, as Doctor Upjelly says, there -is a brighter side to the picture. You must remember that even a German -probably loves his country just as much as an Englishman." - -Well, of course I knew that was all rot. I had never been in Germany, -but people who let a chap like the Kaiser rule them and who live on -sausages and beer about as interesting as ditchwater, must be thorough -blighters! However, I changed the subject. - -"Now, the Navy," I said, "from all accounts, are quite a decent lot of -chaps. What a sportsman von Müller was till we bagged the _Emden_. He -behaved like a white man all through, and we let him keep his sword, -which I think we were quite right in doing." - -Mr. Jones smiled suddenly, revealing a row of very white and even teeth. -"You," he began, "I mean we, are an arrogant people, we English!" and he -chuckled as if he were amused at what I had said. "I quite agree with -you, however," he went on, "that the German naval officer is a fine -fellow. Your brother, by the way, is in our Navy, isn't he?" - -"Yes," I said; "he was wounded in a little affair off Heligoland the -other day. But he is getting fit now. Oh, by the way, Doctor, he is -coming down here to get some shooting. He is going to stay at the -Morstone Arms." - -"So I heard," Upjelly answered--the old fox, I thought I was going to -catch him out!--"I went in there last night, a thing I don't often do, -in order to see if I could find old Mr. Pugmire, and I heard from Mrs. -Wordingham. I shall hope to have the pleasure of making his acquaintance -when I return." - -"You are going away, Doctor?" - -"Yes. That was one of the things I wanted to see you about. Mr. Jones -is very kindly going to drive me up to town in his car this morning, and -I shall be away for a couple of days. I want to leave you in charge as -my representative." - -"But Lockhart----" I began. - -"Mr. Lockhart is not quite as capable of keeping discipline in the -school as you are, Carey." - -"Thank you very much, sir," I replied; "I will do my best." - -The meal continued and we all got on very well. Upjelly seemed really -interested in my brother and, after a cigarette, when I rose to go into -school, both he and Jones shook me very cordially by the hand. - -As I was leaving the room, I noticed one curious thing. There was a -little writing-table by the door and on it I distinctly saw the Navy -List for that month, obviously fresh from London. What old Upjelly could -want with a Navy List, a book which, of course, I had upstairs, I could -not conceive, and it gave me food for thought, especially in view of -what I shall have to relate very shortly. - -At the eleven o'clock break, when the boys had come out and were punting -about a soccer ball in front of the school, I saw Mr. Jones' big green -car, with himself at the wheel and the Doctor by his side, come round -the house and start off for London. - -I felt as if a great oppression was removed. My brother would arrive -that afternoon; Upjelly was out of the way; I was in charge of the whole -place. It would be hard if I did not see more of Doris than I had been -able to do for months past. - -We went into school again. I was taking what, in a pitiful attempt at -persuading ourselves we were a public school, we called the Sixth Form, -in Virgil. My boys, there were about ten of them, were a pleasant enough -set of lads, ranging from fifteen to the two eldest boys, both of whom -were seventeen. They were twins, Dickson max. and Dickson major, the -sons of a poor clergyman near Norwich, who could not afford to send them -to a better school. They had tried for entrance scholarships at Repton -and at Denstone, but had failed, and at all that concerns books or -learning were rather duffers. Yet they were clever boys in their way, -good sportsmen and, despite a perfectly abnormal talent for mischief, -could be depended on in the main. I liked them both and I was sorry for -them. Their one hope was that the war would last long enough for them to -enlist, for their father was too poor even to pay the necessary expenses -to send them into the Public Schools Corps, where lads of such physique -and cheery manners could have been sure of a welcome. - -"_Per varios casus, per tot discrimina rerum_," droned out Dickson max., -in painful endeavour to bury a dead language in the very stiff clay of -his mind. "Through various causes ..." - -"Now how can you say 'causes,' Dickson? You know perfectly well what it -is that Aeneas is saying. He is exhorting his followers to press -towards Rome against all sorts of bad luck. '_Casus_' should have been -translated 'chances.' '_Per tot discrimina rerum_' is, of course, -'through so many changes of fortune.' Imagine Aeneas is Sir John French, -pressing onwards to Berlin." - -It was fatal; that gave the signal. - -"Sir," said Dickson major instantly, "did you see any of the Royal Naval -Flying Corps in London?" - -Dickson max. put down his Virgil. "Is it true, sir, that they have got a -hundred armoured motor cars, each one with a maxim gun on -it?"--questions from eager faces were fired at me from all parts of the -room. - -I trust I am no precisian, as the people in Stevenson's stories are -always saying, and I confess that, for the next quarter of an hour I -held forth in an animated fashion about all that I had seen and done in -London. After all, it is the duty of a schoolmaster to encourage -patriotism, isn't it? I was just describing some of the new aerial guns -that we are mounting on some of the principal London buildings for the -defence of the city against Zeppelins, when there was a most appalling -crash and howl outside in the corridor. - -There was dead silence for an instant, then I jumped down from my desk -and rushed out. An unpleasant, almost a terrifying spectacle met my -eyes. Old Mrs. Gaunt, the matron, was rolling upon the flags of the -corridor like a wounded ostrich, yelping, there is really no other word -for it, as if in agony. Her face was pale as linen and her mouth was -twisted. She was obviously in great pain. - -"Whatever has happened?" I said, trying to help her, but as I lifted the -old thing by the shoulder she shrieked loudly and I had to lay her down -again. - -"My leg's broken!" she cried, "my leg's broken! One of those filthy boys -left his ball about, and I trod on it"--and indeed I saw, a few yards -away, the white fives ball which had been the cause of her disaster. - -The porter was summoned, we improvised an ambulance somehow, and took -the poor old thing to her room in the Doctor's wing, Doris and Marjorie -attending to her, while the porter rushed off on his bicycle for the -nearest doctor. - -In about an hour the doctor came. It was perfectly true, Mrs. Gaunt had -broken her leg. It was a simple fracture and, as the Doctor told me -afterwards, the woman was as tough as an old turkey, but she would be -confined to her bed for a fortnight at least, and the injured limb was -already encased in plaster of Paris. - -It was strictly against the rules for any boy to leave a fives ball -about. An accident had nearly happened once before for the same reason. -At lunch, I conducted a stern inquisition as to the culprit's identity. -It was Dickson max., who owned up at once, and I told him to come to my -room after the meal. - -I could not very well cane a boy of seventeen who would have been at -Sandhurst if his people could have afforded. Besides, I was too -inwardly grateful to him to have the slightest wish to do anything of -the sort. I gave him a thousand Latin lines and told him to stay in that -afternoon, which was a half-holiday, and on three subsequent halves, and -I am sorry to say that he grinned in my face as I did so. It was not an -impudent grin, or I should have known how to deal with it, but it was -one of perfect comprehension, and I fear I blushed as I told the young -beggar to clear out as quickly as possible. - -Certainly the fates were working well for me, though I had, even then, -not the least idea of what an eventful day this was to prove. Nothing -came to tell me that I was already embarked upon the greatest enterprise -of my life. I was to know more before night. - -Now one of my most cherished possessions at that time was a motor -bicycle. It was of an antiquated pattern and more often in the workshop -than on the road. Fortunately, such engineering knowledge as I had -enabled me to tinker at it for myself. To-day, though it had recently -been running with a most horrid cacophony resembling the screams of a -dying elephant and a machine gun alternately, it would still get along, -and I mounted it for Blankington-on-Sea to meet my brother Bernard. - -I put it up at the hotel--I saw the yard attendant wink at the stable -boy as he housed it--ordered a trap and went to the station. The train -came in to time and my brother descended from a first-carriage. I had -seen him in London only a day before, and despite his natural annoyance -at the failure to get me into the R.N.F.C., he had been particularly -cheery. As we shook hands and the porter took his kit-bags and gun-cases -to the trap, I saw that he had something on his mind. He hardly even -smiled. I jumped to a wrong conclusion. - -"Bernard," I said, "would you like a whisky-soda before we start? You -look as if you had been enjoying yourself too much last night." - -He shook his head. "No peg for me, thanks; let us get on the road." - -We went out of the station together and as we came into the yard he said -in a low voice: "I have a deuce of a lot to tell you, but not now." - -Then we started for Morstone. - -Little more than an hour later we were seated in the parlour at the inn. -A comfortable fire glowed upon the hearth and sent red reflections round -the homely room, lighting up the stuffed pintail in its case, the -old-fashioned, muzzle-loading marsh gun over the mantelpiece, the -gleaming lustre ware upon a dresser of old oak, and an engraving of old -Colonel Hawker himself, the king of wild-fowlers and a name to conjure -with in East Anglia. Upon the table was a country tea, piping hot scones -made by good Mrs. Wordingham, a regiment of eggs, a Gargantuan dish of -blackberry jam. - -"By Jove, this is a good place!" Bernard said. "Two lumps and lots of -cream, please. Look at this egg! Upon my word, I would like to shake by -the hand the fowl that laid it!" - -We made an enormous meal and then, as he pulled out a blackened "B.B.B." -and filled it with "John Cotton," my brother began to talk. - -"We are quite safe here, I suppose?" he said; "nobody can overhear us?" - -"Safe as houses." - -"Very well, then; now look here, old chap, you noticed I seemed a bit -off colour when you met me. Well, I'm not off colour, but I've had some -very serious news and, what is more, a sort of commission in connection -with it. After I saw you off yesterday I went to the Army and Navy Club. -There I found a letter from Admiral Noyes, written at the Admiralty and -asking me to call at once. I was shipmate with Noyes when he was captain -of the old _Terrific_, and he has helped me a lot in my service career. -It was he who got me transferred into Submarines--where, you know, I -have made a bit of a hit. Well, now Noyes is Chief of the Naval -Intelligence Department. He sent for me and asked me a lot of questions, -specially about Kiel and the Frisian Islands. I was at Kiel for the -manoeuvres two years ago and I know all that coast like my hat. I -didn't quite see the drift of his questions until he told me what was -going on. It seems"--and here Bernard's voice sank very low--"it seems -that, recently, there has been a tremendous leakage of information to -the enemy--Naval information, I mean. We have our people on the -look-out, and there is no doubt whatever that, during the last two -months, over and over again the German ships have got information about -our movements." - -"I know. There is a whole lot about it in the _Daily Wire_: flash -signals from the Yorkshire coast at night, round about Whitby, and so -on." - -"Oh yes, I saw that too; but the leakage is not there, my boy. That's -newspaper talk. The Admiralty know to a dead certainty that the leakage -is going on in East Norfolk, round about here." - -I whistled. "I don't see how that can be," I said. "There is no wireless -station anywhere near. The few boats that come into Blankington-on-Sea -are only small coasters and they are very carefully scrutinised; and as -for flash signals, I am out on the marshes nearly every night, the -foreshore is patrolled by sentries, and nothing of the sort has ever -been hinted at." - -"Exactly; that is the point. But that there is a leakage and that it is -doing irreparable harm, you may take as an absolute certainty. Noyes -knew that I was coming down to Norfolk for a rest and for some shooting. -When I applied for leave, I had to state my destination and so forth. -Noyes got hold of it by chance and sent for me, knowing he could trust -me. The long and short of it is, Johnny, that I have got a roving -commission to keep my eyes very wide open indeed, to see if I can't find -something out. Don't mistake me. This is not a mere trifling matter. It -is one of the gravest things and one of the most perfectly organised -systems that has happened during the war. Why," he said, bringing his -fist down upon the table so that the cups rattled, his face set and -stern, "the safety of the whole of England may depend upon this being -discovered and stopped!" - -"But surely," I asked, "they have had people down here already?" - -Bernard nodded. "Oh yes," he said, "the coastguards are specially -warned, there have been thorough searches, quietly carried out, reports -are constantly made from every village by accredited agents--and the -Admiralty has not a single clue. Now, old chap, if you can help me, and -if we can do anything together, well, here's our chance! There won't be -any difficulty about your getting into the R.N.F.C., or any other corps -you like, if we can only throw light upon this dark spot." - -I caught fire from his words. "By Jove!" I cried, "if only there was a -chance! I would do anything! But I know every man, woman, and child in -this village and the surrounding ones. There is not one of them capable -of acting as a spy. There are no suspicious strangers. Even the -wild-fowlers who come down here are all regular and known visitors, -above suspicion." I said this in all good faith, and then, suddenly, a -light came to me like a flash of lightning, and I rose slowly from my -chair. Bernard told me afterwards that I had grown paper-white and was -trembling. - -"What is it?" he said quickly. - -"I hardly dare say," I replied. "It seems wild foolishness and yet----" - -He waited very patiently, and still I could not bring myself to speak. -Then it was his turn to take away my breath. He leant forward on the -table and pulled out a pocket-book. - -"Supposing, John," he said, "that you have been living in a fool's -paradise for months. Supposing that, by some means unknown to me and the -Admiralty, unknown to anyone, you are actually living in the centre of a -cunningly woven web of espionage, whose strands reach from Berlin to -Wilhelmshaven, from Kiel to London!" - -He took a piece of paper from his pocket-book. I saw that there were -figures upon it, not letters, but he read it as if they were print. - -"'Paul Upjelly,'" he said, "'Paul Upjelly, Ph.D.; English subject; -possessed of private means; has been for eight years headmaster of -Morstone House School; habits'--h'm--h'm--you know all about his habits, -John--'man whose past cannot be traced for more than ten years; known to -have lived in Germany in youth; no suspicion at present attaches.'" - -"What on earth does this mean?" I gasped. - -"It only means that in this pocket-book I have lists of forty or fifty -people round these coasts who might or might not be in the pay of -Germany. There is not the slightest suspicion attaching to any one of -them, but I saw you stand up suddenly and grow pale--well, I played into -your strong suit, that was all. Was I right?" - -"Last night," I said, "I had a very curious and significant talk with a -brother-master of mine, whose name is Lockhart." - -"Get him to come here and have a chat as soon as possible." - -"That isn't necessary, because Upjelly is away in London and an old -beast of a housekeeper he keeps, who tells him everything, is in bed -with a broken leg. We can go up to the school all right, and I -particularly want to introduce you to Miss Joyce, who is--er----" - -He nodded. "I know," he said. "You bored me to tears about the young -lady last time I saw you. Delighted to meet her. We will toddle up to -the school as soon as ever you like and I will hear what Mr. Lockhart -has got to say. I suppose you can trust him?" - -"I am absolutely certain of it," and, with that, things began to fall -together in my mind as the glass pieces in a kaleidoscope fall and make -a pattern. I mentioned the Navy List that I had seen at breakfast that -morning, and I told Bernard what Wordingham had told me concerning the -Doctor's knowledge of his visit. - -A gleam came into his eyes. "Ah!" he said, very softly, and that was -all. - -We got up to go, and as Bernard walked across the room to find his -overcoat, for night had fallen and it was bitter cold, I exclaimed -aloud. I knew what had puzzled me at breakfast when Mr. Jones came into -the room. He walked exactly like my brother. If you go to Chatham, -Portsmouth, or Plymouth, almost every other man in the street walks -like that. - -We went straight to the school, only a quarter of a mile away, and -entered by the masters' door. I lit the lamp in my sitting-room, put on -some coals, and rang a bell which communicated with the upper boys' -room, where they were now at preparation. In a minute, there was a knock -at the door and Dickson max. entered. - -"Dickson," I said, "I want you to find Mr. Lockhart and ask him if he -would be so very kind as to come to my room--oh and, by the way, this is -my brother, Commander Carey, Dickson." - -The boy grew pale for an instant and then flushed a deep, rosy red. He -was a cool young wretch as a rule and I had never seen him so excited -before. I loved him for it. The boys knew all about my brother. They had -read of his exploits in the Submarine E8. I was always being pestered -with questions about him. - -Bernard shook hands. "I am glad to meet you," he said. - -Dickson was tongue-tied, but he gazed with an almost painful reverence -at Bernard. - -"Oh, sir," he stammered, "oh, sir"--and then could get no further. In -desperation he turned to me. "I've done five hundred of the lines, sir," -he said. - -"Oh well, you needn't do any more," I answered. - -"And please, sir, I've taken some more snapshots which I think you might -like"--and with that the lad pulled out a little bundle of recently -developed and printed photographs--he had a small kodak--and laid them -on the table. Then he bolted and we could hear him leaping downstairs, -bursting with the great news. - -"He's got it badly," I remarked--"hero worship." - -"Jolly good thing," my brother answered. "Lord, I remember when I was a -midshipman of signals, how I worshipped the flag-lieutenant. I ran after -him like a little dog, and I thought he was God. Healthy!" - -We sat without speaking, waiting for Lockhart. My brother took up the -little bundle of snapshots and looked through them. Then we heard a -shuffling footstep in the passage and Lockhart entered. I introduced him -and we shut and locked the door. Bernard looked the little man up and -down for a minute or two, talking on indifferent subjects. And then, as -if satisfied, he plunged into business. He didn't tell my colleague all -that he had told me, but he told him enough to set Lockhart quivering -with eagerness and excitement. - -"You shall hear all I know, Commander Carey," he said. "After all, it -isn't much, though"--he hesitated for a moment and then began: - -"This man, Upjelly, our chief, is absolutely unfitted to be a -schoolmaster. He takes not the slightest interest in the school. John, -here, has found out, what I long more than suspected, that the Doctor's -wild-fowling is really a colossal pretence." - -"Does the school pay?" my brother asked. - -"Just about. There may be a small profit, but not enough to keep any man -tied down here if he has the slightest ambition or is anybody at all. -And, you haven't met the Doctor, but you may take it from me that he is -no ordinary man. There has always been an air of mystery and -secretiveness about him. He neither asks nor gives confidences. It -struck me from the very first that he was a man with an absorbing mental -interest of some sort or other. What was it?--that is what I asked -myself. - -"Three weeks ago, the Doctor had a guest. It was a Mr. Jones, who -frequently visits him, apparently for the shooting. My bedroom is on the -floor below this. As you see, I am a cripple and an invalid. I often -pass nights of pain, when I cannot sleep. On one such night, three weeks -ago, the window of my bedroom was open and I lay in the dark. About -half-past three in the morning I heard footsteps on the gravel outside, -and the Doctor's voice. The night was quite still, though pitch dark. -Then I heard another voice which I recognised as that of the man Jones. - -"The voices drew nearer until the men were almost underneath my window. -They were coming back from the marshes. I only know a few words of -German, but I recognise the language when I hear it. They were speaking -German." - -My brother nodded. - -"That Jones," I put in, "I have already told you, Bernard, was here when -I arrived last night. He left for London this morning, taking the -Doctor up with him in his car." - -"Four days ago," Lockhart continued, "I wanted some waste paper to wrap -up a pair of boots I was sending to be mended. I was in my room and I -told one of the boys of my dormitory to go downstairs and get some. It -was about nine o'clock at night. The boy brought back two or three -newspapers. One of them was the _Cologne Gazette_, very crumpled and -torn, but with the date of only five days before. I have got it locked -up in my writing-desk. - -"To-day, being a half-holiday, I thought I would go out for a walk upon -the foreshore. An overcoat rather impedes my movements, though I have to -wear one sometimes. I thought I would take a scarf instead. I went into -the hall, knowing that my scarf was in the pocket of my overcoat, and -felt for it. The hall is rather dark and I could not see very well what -I was doing. What I brought out of the pocket in which I felt was not my -scarf, but--this!" - -Lockhart quietly laid something upon the table, and we bent over to look -at it. To me, at any rate, it was an extraordinary object. It was a sort -of cross between a large watch and a compass, with a curious little -handle. There were letters or figures, for a moment I could not say -which, in a double row round the dial. - -"Can you tell me what it is?" - -My brother was shaken from his calm at last. He gave an exclamation. - -"Yes, I can!" he said. "I know very well. But first, when was this -photograph taken?" - -With dramatic suddenness, he held out one of Dickson's prints. It was a -picture of Mr. Jones' motor, with that gentleman at the wheel and the -Doctor sitting on the far side, taken that very morning as they left for -London. - -"This morning," I said. "That is the Doctor and Mr. Jones going off to -town." - -"Mr. Jones at the wheel?" my brother asked. - -"Yes, that is the fellow." - -"Let me get it quite clear. The man, you say, walks like me?" - -"Yes." - -"Ah!" said my brother again, and his eyes had the look of a bloodhound -on a leash. "And now I will proceed to explain to you the use of this -pretty thing." - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -DORIS AND MARJORIE GIVE A SUPPER PARTY. THE ARROW FLIES IN MORSTONE SEA -WOOD - - -"This," said my brother, "is what is known as Charles Wheatstone's -Cipher Instrument. It is a machine for writing in cipher. You see it has -a sort of watch-face, which has the alphabet inscribed round its outer -margin in the usual order, plus a blank space. A second alphabet is -written on a card or paper and attached to the watch-face within the -first alphabet. This has no blank space, and so there are but twenty-six -divisions as against twenty-seven in the outer ring. Two hands are -attached which travel at different speeds when the handle is turned. -Accordingly, each time the long hand is carried forward to the blank -space at the end of a word, the short hand will have moved forward one -division on the inner ring of letters. Then a word is chosen as a key, -written down in separate letters and the remaining letters of the -alphabet are written in order beneath it. I'll show you. Suppose, for -example, we choose the word 'English,' thus." He took a pencil and -scribbled for a moment upon the back of one of Dickson's photographs: - - ENGLISH - ABCDFJK - MOPQRTU - VWXYZ. - -"Now, if you read these letters downwards, you get this arrangement: - - EAMVNBOWGCPXLDQYIFRZSJTHKU. - -"This cryptographic alphabet is written on the inner card of the -instrument, beginning at a point previously agreed on. Then, when a -despatch is to be translated into cipher, the long hand is moved to that -letter in the outer alphabet, and the letter to which the short hand -points in the inner ring is written down. I need not go on, but I am -sure the principle will be clear to you. These machines are in use in -our Secret Service. But what I should like to point out to you in regard -to this example is that the alphabet here _is in German_." - -[Illustration: THE CIPHER MACHINE THAT MR. LOCKHART FOUND] - -We all looked at each other in silence. - -"That is conclusive proof," I said at length. "Of course, you will have -Doctor Upjelly arrested directly he comes back." - -"_And_ thank you!" said my brother. "So kind of you to put up your -little turn, Johnny! Will you have a cigar or a cocoanut? My dear boy, -if we had this man arrested, ten to one his tracks would be absolutely -covered and we could prove nothing. Don't you see, what we want to do is -to catch him in the act, to find out what he does and how he does it. No -such rough and ready methods!"--his voice became very grave and stern. - -"Quarter-deck!" I thought to myself. - -"This has not got to be taken lightly," he went on. "I believe that fate -has put my finger upon the very pulse of what has been puzzling the -Admiralty for weeks. I honestly believe that here, in this lonely house, -is hidden the intellect of the Master Spy of Germany. We are up against -it. We must work in silence and in the dark. The slightest slip would be -fatal. I cannot exaggerate the importance of this affair, nor," he -concluded, looking keenly at Lockhart and myself, "nor the danger." - -Little Lockhart's face positively brightened at this. "Danger!" he -cried, as if someone had made him a present. "Then I shall be able to do -something to help! We shall all be able to do something and----" - -Lockhart started and broke off. At that moment, from behind Smith's -classical dictionary and Liddell and Scott's Greek ditto there came a -faint, muffled whirr. - -"Good God, what's that?" said Lockhart. - -"Oh, it's all right," I answered, and I expect I looked about as big an -ass as I felt. "That is--er--a little contrivance of my own. By the way, -you fellows must keep it absolutely dark." - -To say that they watched me with interest is to put it mildly. I -withdrew "Our House Telephone, Not a Toy, 27_s._ 6_d._ net" from its -hiding place. Doris was speaking. She knew that my brother had come and -she was dying to meet him. Old Mrs. Gaunt was sleeping peacefully; in -fact I fear, so prone are all of us to error, that Doris had -administered just twice the amount of opiate that the doctor had -prescribed. - -Doris suggested that she and Marjorie should come at once to my room. -They also suggested that we should dine there, with the connivance of a -friendly housemaid. I told her to hold the line for a minute, and -explained. - -My brother's face lost all preoccupation. He was a naval officer, you -will remember, and, though a distinguished one, was as young gentlemen -in that Service usually are in both age and inclination. - -"Can a duck swim?" said my brother. - -"Well, I'll go," Lockhart remarked, with just a trace of his old -bitterness. - -"You sit where you are, old soul," I told him. "Bernard, both the girls -are only stepdaughters of the Doctor, who, they have told me, did not -treat their mother very well and who is a perfect tyrant to them. -They're as true as steel; I can answer for them. They will be of -tremendous help." - -"Leave it all to me," he replied. "I am skipper of this from now -onwards. You follow my lead." - -A minute or two afterwards the girls came in. Doris, as I have already -explained, was as pretty as Venus, Cleopatra, and Gertie Millar all in -one, and she only beat Marjorie by a short head. All the other girls -I've ever met were simply "also ran." - -Marjorie's hair was black. She was a brunette with olive-coloured skin -and green eyes, like very dark, clear emeralds. She was extraordinarily -lovely. Indeed, all three of us had seriously considered starting a -picture postcard firm, with the girls as models and I to manage it, so -that Doris and I could get married and have Marjorie to live with us. -Rather a good scheme, only it would have needed at least two hundred -pounds capital, which we hadn't got! Doris had on her engagement ring, -which she generally wore on a string round her neck, underneath her -blouse. I had put thirty shillings each way on "Baby Mine" for the Grand -National and it had come off--hence the ring. - -"Let me introduce you to my fiancée, Miss Joyce," I said to Bernard. - -He took her hand and bowed over it, looking out of the corner of his -eyes at Marjorie. - -Little Lockhart gasped. "Babe that I am!" he said, "blind mole! To think -that I have lived in this house with young John Carey for so long, the -house honeycombed with secret wires, and an illicit engagement in -progress under my nose, and I knew nothing of it!" - -"Well, you are not the only person, Mr. Lockhart," Marjorie said. "And -now I am going to fetch up dinner. Cook is out for the evening. Amy is -in the plot. We've got soup--only tinned, but quite nice; there's a -round of cold beef; and we will make an omelette on John's fire." - -"I'll come and help you carry the things," said my brother, and they -left the room as friendly as if they had known each other for years. - -"Well, what do you think of my brother?" I asked Doris. I'm afraid my -arm was round her waist and I had forgotten Lockhart. - -"I'm decidedly of the opinion," she said, "that Commander Carey knows -more than enough to come indoors when it rains." - -Lockhart here revealed qualities of an unsuspected nature--I had never -really appreciated Lockhart until the night before. - -"I happen to have, locked up in the cupboard of my sitting-room," he -said, "a bottle of claret wine and a bottle of sherry wine. I will go -and fetch them to grace this feast." - -"You nasty, horrid villain, so you drink in secret, do you?" I remarked. - -"Only Bovril, but please don't let it be known," was the reply, and then -Doris and I were alone. - -I have never been one of those people who kiss and tell, so I will pass -over the next minute; but after some business of no importance, she put -her hands on my shoulders and looked me straight in the face. - -"John," she said, "there is something up!" - -"What do you mean?" - -"I don't exactly know, but there is something up. I can feel it--and -something has happened, too, that I have got to tell you about. Before -the Doctor left this morning, he told Marjorie that Mr. Jones had fallen -in love with her and that she would have to marry him after the war was -over, when he has straightened out his business affairs." - -"Good Lord!" I said, "that thing? Why----" - -"What have you got against him?" she asked quickly. "He's wealthy, the -Doctor says, he has got good manners; of course, he's older than -Marjorie, but he's not an old man. I thought you said you rather liked -him?" - -"I did say so, and I liked him better than ever after meeting him this -morning. You know I had breakfast with the Doctor?" - -"I know, and there is something up. Something to do with your brother--I -am certain of it. But why do you object to Mr. Jones for Marjorie?" - -"What does Marjorie say herself?" - -"She told the Doctor"--the girls would never call the Doctor -"Father"--"that if Mr. Jones had a million a minute and was the last man -left on earth after a second flood, she would rather spend her life in -the garden eating worms than marry him!" - -"Marjorie's plenty of pluck," I answered, "and is obviously of romantic -temperament. Anyone else in the wind?" - -"Anyone else?" she said, with a bitter note in her voice, "whom do we -ever see? We live as prisoners here, as you very well know, Johnny, and -if it were not for you I should long ago have jumped into Thirty Main -Creek and ended it all." - -I held her close to me. "Dear," I said, "it will all come right, I am -certain. Somehow or other, we shall be able to be married soon, and then -you need never see Morstone or the Doctor any more." - -"I love Morstone," she replied. "I love the lonely marshes and the -bird-noises and the great red dawns and the sweet salt air, but"--she -shuddered--"that fiend who married my poor dear mother and drove her to -death, I would see burnt to-morrow without a pang of remorse. He has -been worse lately, John, far worse. Mrs. Gaunt has been put to watch us -like a spy. I can't tell whether he suspects anything about you and me. -He may or may not. At any rate, there is something going on which -frightens me. I've no doubt you will think me quite hysterical, quite -foolish, and I feel it rather than know it, but I am frightened. Only -this morning, the Doctor said things to dear Marjorie which were awful. -He caught her by the arm and twisted it when she defied him, and his -voice was so ugly and cruel, it seemed so inhuman, that I felt as if -someone had put ice to the back of my neck. Oh, take me away soon, take -Marjorie away too!" - -She clung to me in a passion of appeal, and then and there I resolved -that, come what might, we would marry and leave this ill-omened and -mysterious place. - -"What a long time they are!" Doris said after a moment or two, when I -had soothed her. "Oh, here they come!" - -But it wasn't, it was only Lockhart, who knocked at the door loudly and -waited for several seconds before coming in with his contribution to the -dinner. - -"I'll run down and hurry them up, as there is no one about," I said. - -"You'll do nothing of the sort!" she replied quickly. "Really, what a -babe you are, John!" - -I was just the least bit in the world offended, not seeing why I should -not hurry up the truants, especially as I was extremely hungry again; -but they came at last, carrying two piled trays of provisions. I had -never seen Marjorie look prettier. Her eyes were brighter than ever, and -she showed not the slightest trace of unhappiness. Obviously, she had -quite forgotten the events of the morning. - -I cannot tell you what fun the dinner was. The soup was top-hole--mock -turtle, and one of Elizabeth Lazenby's finest efforts. Lockhart was a -tremendous success as butler, and the "claret wine"--I should have -thrown it at my scout's head at Oxford--tasted like "Château la Rose" at -least. - -Bernard and Marjorie made the omelette over my fire, while the rest of -us sat waiting and Lockhart and I smoked a cigarette. Marjorie ordered -my brother about most unmercifully. Suddenly, it was nearing a critical -moment and both of them were crouching over the pan, I happened to turn -my eyes in their direction. They were not looking at the omelette at -all. They were looking at each other and their faces were almost solemn. -Then it burst upon me and I fear I was indiscreet. I said aloud: "The -very thing! Oh, my holy aunt, the very thing!" - -They whipped round. - -"What is?" Bernard asked. - -"Why, the omelette, you blighter!" I replied, and kicked Doris under the -table. She understood at once. Girls are so quick, aren't they? - -When we had eaten the omelette and the round of cold beef had "ebbed -some," as I once heard a Rhodes' Scholar say at Oxford, my brother rose, -glass in hand. - -"Mr. Vice," he said, "the King!" - -I had dined in the wardroom with Bernard when he was on board the -_Terrific_, and I knew what to do. - -"Ladies and gentlemen, the King!" I said, and we drank that loyal toast -in silence. Somehow it altered the mood of each individual. A gravity -fell upon us, not sadness or boredom, but we stopped to think, as it -were. Only two hundred miles away, over the marshes and over the sea, -the great German battleships were waiting. Nearer than Penzance is to -London, the armies of England at that moment were shivering in the -trenches round Ostend. And in Morstone House School--what was there that -hung undefined, but heavy and secret, like a miasma upon the air? - -Then Bernard said: "Miss Joyce, I have taken the liberty to bring you a -little present from London." - -"'Doris,' please," she answered. - -"Very well then, Doris. It is a bracelet, a little affair of turquoises -and pearls, to commemorate our meeting and in the hope that you will -always be a good girl and love your brother-in-law." - -"Oh, Commander Carey!" - -"'Bernard,' please!" - -"Well then, Bernard, how sweet of you!" - -Poor Doris, and Marjorie too, were not in the way of getting many -presents. Upjelly saw to that! - -My brother put his hand in his pocket, and then into another pocket, -finally into a third. He hesitated, he stammered, and looked positively -frightened. It was the first and last time I ever saw the old sport -thoroughly done in. - -"Damn!" he said, and then grew more embarrassed still. "I am the biggest -fool in the Service. I remember now I left the case on my dressing-room -table at the Morstone Arms." - -Poor little Doris's face fell. She could not help it. But I had a bright -idea. - -"Oh, that's all right," I said. "There's a certain young imp of mine -called Dickson max----" - -"Dear boy!" Marjorie murmured, and my brother looked at her quickly. - -"He's seventeen, and quite trustworthy," I went on. "He will be delighted -to run and fetch it. Anything to be out of school at night!--and as I -am headmaster of this East Anglian Eton, I can do as I like. I will ring -for him." - -Lockhart looked slightly upset, but I didn't care. - -"But I thought," my brother remarked, "that this was somewhat in the -nature of a--well, shall we say 'secure-from-observation' dinner party." - -"Oh, Billy Dickson won't breathe a word," Marjorie said emphatically. - -"Well, you command this ship," my brother said, "and it is up to you. -Certainly I should like to send for the bracelet, and if you don't keep -Whale Island discipline aboard, it's not my affair." - -I rang for Dickson max. He arrived, knocked at the door, stepped in, and -then his eyes grew very round indeed, but he said not a word. I told him -what was wanted and asked him if he would go. - -"Rather, sir," he said, "I would be only too delighted." - -I gave him the key of the masters' door. - -"It's a bitter cold night," my brother put in, "supposing you take my -coat and this shooting hat. It'll keep you as warm as toast." - -Of course Dickson max. would have scorned the idea of an overcoat under -ordinary circumstances, though Bernard didn't know that. But the -opportunity of wearing the ulster of a Wing-Commander of Submarines, who -had been wounded off Heligoland, was too much for the youthful mind. He -flushed with pleasure, and I won't swear that, as he went out into the -passage, he didn't salute. - -I went downstairs with him, helped him on with the big coat--he was the -same height as Bernard and much the same figure--and pressed the -heather-mixture shooting hat on his head. - -"Now scoot as hard as you can go," I told him, opening the door, and he -was gone like a flash into the dark night. - -When I got back there was a curious silence. Somehow or other we none of -us seemed to know what to say. I can't account for it, but there it was. -It was then that my brother came in and I found a side of him I had only -suspected but never seen before. - -Leaning forward in his chair, he began to talk very quietly, but with -great earnestness. I saw what he was up to. He was leading the -conversation very near home indeed. It was astonishing how he dominated -us all, how we hung on his words and how the sense of sinister -surroundings grew and grew as he spoke. - -It was the girls who responded. The skill with which he introduced the -subject was enormous, but they were marvellously "quick in the uptake." -It was Marjorie who leant forward, her great eyes flashing and her lips -compressed to a thin line of scarlet. - -"Commander Carey," she said, "don't think that I or my sister are -entirely ignorant that there is something very wrong about this place. -You have turned our thoughts into a new channel." - -She was wearing a blouse with loose sleeves, ending in some filmy lace. -Suddenly, with her right hand, she pulled up the left-arm sleeve. There -were three dark purple marks upon her white arm. - -"That was this morning," she said, nodding once or twice. "And now speak -out, if you have anything to tell us, about the man who killed my mother -as surely as if he did it with a gun, and who has done his best to ruin -the lives of my sister and myself. Speak without fear!" - -Then Bernard, in crisp, low sentences, told the girls and Lockhart -exactly what he believed. The wind howled outside and hissing drops of -rain fell upon the window-pane. The fire crackled on the hearth, the -smoke of our cigarettes rose in grey spirals in the pleasant, lamp-lit -room. It was a strange night, how fraught with consequences to England, -the two beautiful girls, the little cripple, the third-rate -schoolmaster, and even the young naval officer himself, did not know! - -"It has long been suspected," my brother concluded, and his voice sank -almost to a whisper, "that one master-mind has been behind all the -German espionage, both before and during the war. There is in existence, -our Intelligence Department has had indubitable evidence of it, a King -of Spies, so subtle of brain, so fertile in resource, that, even now, we -cannot find him. We do not know for certain, but it is rumoured that -this man's real name is Graf Botho von Vedal, though what name he passes -under now none can say." - -Doris's eyes clouded. She seemed as if she was making an effort of -memory. - -"Was he once 'Wirklicher Geheimrat'--Privy Councillor to the German -Emperor?" she asked. - -Bernard stared at her. "So I am told," he said. "What do you know about -him?" - -"I can't tell you," she answered with a dazed look upon her face--"some -childish memory. The name was familiar. My sister and I speak German as -well as we speak English, you know." - -"If I could put my finger upon that man," my brother continued, "then -one of the gravest perils to which England lies open at the moment would -be removed." - -"Where is he?" Lockhart asked, speaking like a man in a dream. - -We all looked at each other, and there was dawning consciousness and -horror in every eye. - -"Yes," came from my brother at length, and as he spoke he withdrew one -of Dickson's little photographs from his pocket--I hadn't seen him put -it there--"and also, what is Admiral Kiderlen-Waechter doing in -England?" - -We all knew that name. The papers had been full of it at the beginning -of the war. Kiderlen-Waechter was the chief of the German Submarine -Flotillas. It was owing to his ingenuity and resource that ship after -ship of our gallant Navy had been torpedoed, even in the Straits of -Dover themselves. - -"What do you mean?" I gasped. - -"What I say, John. For, unless I am much mistaken--of course, I may -easily be mistaken--the gentleman who drove away with Doctor Upjelly to -London this morning is that very man." - -"Mr. Jones?" Marjorie cried. "The man the Doctor swore that I must marry -when the war is over?" - -Bernard's eyes blazed. "What?" he said quickly, "I heard nothing of -that!" - -The two were looking at each other very strangely when there was a knock -at the door. It opened and Dickson max. came in. - -He went up to my brother and put down a little case of red morocco by -his side. - -"There you are, sir," he said. - -I looked up sharply. There was something unusual in the lad's voice. He -caught hold of the back of Lockhart's chair and swayed as he stood. Then -we saw that beneath the upturned collar of the overcoat one cheek was -all red and bleeding. There was a line across it like the cut from a -knife. - -"What on earth is the matter?" I cried, in great alarm. - -"Oh nothing, sir," he answered, "only as I was coming through the Sea -Wood--I took the shorter way--I thought I heard someone behind me. I -turned round, and just as I did so there was a noise like a banjo -string, and something went past my head singing like a wasp. Then I -found my cheek all cut." - -"What did you do? Who was it?" - -"I plunged into the bushes, sir, but could not find anyone. Then I -pulled out my electric torch, and, sticking in the trunk of a tree, I -found this." - -The boy unbuttoned his coat and held out a long, slim shaft. It was an -arrow, such as is used in archery competitions, but the edge had been -filed sharp. - -"Some silly blighter trying to frighten me," said Dickson max., and -then, with a little sob, he fell in a faint upon the floor. - -I bent over him and forced some wine between his lips. Bernard looked -round the room with a set, stern face. - -"They are not losing any time," he said quietly. "You see, they know -that I am here, already." - - NOTE.--For convenience sake I end the first portion of this - narrative at this point. It divides itself into three parts quite - naturally, as I think my readers will agree when they have read it - all. At any rate, on this night was formed that oddly assorted, but - famous, companionship which led to such great results. We swore no - oaths, we made no protestations. There was no need for that. - - -END OF PART I - - - - -PART II - - - - -CHAPTER V - -AT MIDNIGHT ON THE MARSHES. THE SECRET OF THE OLD HULK - - -Doctor Upjelly returned on the afternoon of the third day after he left -for London. Directly I heard his trap drive away and knew that he was in -his study, I went into his house and knocked at the door. - -"I have very grave news to tell you, Doctor," I said. - -He started. I distinctly saw him start and he flashed a quick look at -me. One might almost have thought that he was frightened, but he -swallowed something in his throat and his voice was calm and cold as -ever when he answered. - -"And what is that, Mr. Carey?" - -"I am sorry, I am very sorry, to say that Dickson max. has run away." - -There was a momentary silence. I could almost have sworn it was one of -relief on the big man's part. - -"What do you mean, Mr. Carey? Ran away from school?" - -"Yes. He got out of his window on the very night you went. We did not -discover it until the next morning. We scoured the country round, -thinking it was merely a mischievous escapade, but found no traces of -him. I then thought it my duty to acquaint his father at once, so I went -to Norwich on my bicycle during the afternoon of the day after the -discovery. To my immense surprise, I found the boy there. He had walked -to Heacham station and taken the train. He stated that he was tired of -school and it was his intention to enlist. His father seemed to concur -in the view after we had had a long talk together. Of course, I -endeavoured to get the boy back, for the sake of the school, but it was -useless. Mr. Dickson seems a weak sort of man, and he says that he is -going to do his best to get an equipment and pay what is necessary for -Dickson to join the Public Schools Corps." - -The Doctor, who was sitting down, his hand clutching a little brown -travelling-bag on the table near him, did his best to show some concern. -It was poorly done, however, and I could see that he did not care a rap -one way or the other. - -"I hope you don't blame me, sir?" I said, "but I could not have foreseen -anything of the sort. It has never happened before." - -"No, no. Not in the least, Mr. Carey. I am sure you acted most promptly -and wisely in going at once to the boy's father. And his brother?" - -"His brother is still here and steadfastly refuses to say anything about -the affair. As far as I have been able to find out, he was quite in -ignorance of his brother's intentions." - -"Well, well. Of course, I am sorry to lose the boy, but I like his -spirit," said Doctor Upjelly, without a gleam in his eyes or any warmth -in his voice. "After all, perhaps he will be better employed in -defending his country than in learning Latin grammar here--have a cigar, -Mr. Carey." - -He handed me his case, a most unusual proceeding. - -"And how is your brother?" he said. "I trust he is benefiting by our -pure air and that you have already been able to show him some sport." - -I shook my head. "There is another strange thing I have got to tell you, -Doctor," I replied, pretending to be busy with the lighting of my cigar, -though I took very good care to watch his face reflected in the mirror -over the mantelpiece. What I saw was significant. Now, indeed, the -little black eyes gleamed for an instant, and the big, cruel mouth -twitched--once. I felt, as surely as if I had been told, that Upjelly -knew something of what had happened on the night of his departure. - -"Yes," I said, "a most unfortunate affair! My brother was coming up to -see me at the school during preparation and I had previously directed -him to follow the short cut through the Sea Wood. It was quite dark, and -as he was coming along, finding his way as well as he could, a most -unprovoked attack was made upon him." - -"An attack, Mr. Carey? You surprise me! Who could attack anyone on our -marshes?" - -"That is just what I cannot understand. He says he heard a sort of -twanging noise, unlike anything he had ever heard before. Then something -struck him on the cheek, cutting it deeply. He shouted and ran about in -the dark, but could hear no sound, nor could he find anyone. He arrived -at the school with a bad cut on his face, bleeding profusely. I bandaged -it up as well as I could, gave him a little whisky-and-water, and then -accompanied him home, taking my ten-bore with me, though we went by the -road. Nothing happened, and the thing is a complete mystery. My brother -is, of course, not in a very good state of health after his wound. He is -confined to the inn, and will be so for some days, so I fear he will get -very little shooting at present. He's afraid of the cold getting into -his cheek." - -"Dear me, dear me, what an extraordinary occurrence! Confined to the -inn, you say?" - -"For at least another week, if he is wise." - -I could have sworn the great, fat face wrinkled with relief, and after -we had discussed the incident for some little time, the Doctor advancing -all sorts of ingenious theories, I turned to leave. Just as I was going, -he asked me if I were going to shoot that night. I said that I should -very much like to, as the geese were working well and there were reports -of many widgeon about. Still, I thought it my duty to be with my -brother; so that, after preparation, I was going down to the inn and -should stay there for some time. - -"Quite so, quite so," Upjelly replied. "I am sorry for both of you in -losing your sport; but certainly you ought to be with your brother." - -"I thought of staying till late, if you don't mind," I said. "He is -rather feverish." - -He swallowed the bait like a fat trout. "All night, if you wish," he -said, "all night. You will certainly not be wanted here. Yes! A good -idea! Why don't you get Mrs. Wordingham to put you up a bed?" - -"If you really think I can be spared?" - -"My dear Carey, on an occasion of this sort it is a pleasure for me to -dispense with your services--not that they will be wanted in any way, -for I don't suppose any more of my young ruffians are likely to run away -to enlist." - -"Then thank you very much; that is what I will do." - -"Yes, by all means. And, for my part, I think I shall go out and try my -luck. I must see if I can't shoot for both of you and bring back a goose -or two." - -Then I went away. - -Lockhart and I had tea with the boys as usual. There was an air of -suppressed excitement in the dining-hall. The exploit of Dickson max. -had fired the imagination of everyone, though possibly a keener observer -than was among his companions might have detected a suppressed and -unholy joy in Dickson major, which was not entirely due to his brother's -escapade. I had always thought that a weak spot in our plan. If the -Doctor had known anything at all about the characters of his pupils, he -would have realised that where Dickson max. went, Dickson major went -too. Fortunately the Doctor did not. - -At half-past eight I dressed in fowling kit, a grey sweater, a coat of -nondescript colour, grey flannel trousers, and great thigh boots for the -marsh. My headgear was an old, dun-coloured shooting hat, the lining of -which could be pulled down to make a mask for the face, with two holes -to see through; for it is essential to the wild-fowler to wear nothing -too light or too dark, to show no glimpse of a pink face, because the -wild goose, as even the greatest big-game hunters of the day allow, is -the wariest of all created things. Then I took my heavy ten-bore, with -its dulled barrels and oxydised furniture, slipped my three-inch brass -"perfects" loaded with B.B. into my pockets, and telephoned to Doris. - -It was all right. The Doctor was in his own room having supper, and -Marjorie was with him. It was impossible that he could see me leave in -fowling kit, and in a moment more I had wished my dear girl good-night -and was out in the dark. - -The wind cried in the chimneys of the old house with a strange and -wailing note. The moon was not yet up, and the far-distant sea drummed -like an army. As I turned towards the Sea Wood, some great night-bird -passed overhead with an eerie cry, like a man in pain. - -For myself, my heart was beating rapidly, my teeth were set and I felt -nothing of the cold. To-night, if ever, we were to discover the secret -of the marshes. My brother had taken the helm of the ship, and his -decks were cleared for action. His foresight and resource were -admirable. Nothing escaped him, and we were meeting the dark plot with -another which allowed nothing to chance. This is what had happened. - -We patched up Dickson max. as well as we could--the cut was not -deep--and then my brother took him into Lockhart's room. What he said to -the lad I did not know, even now I do not know, but they came back with -the boy's eyes sparkling. He walked like a man--in those ten minutes -something had transformed him from a laughing schoolboy into a different -being. We took him at once to the Morstone Arms, and there my brother -spent a long time with Sam Wordingham and his wife. They were as true as -steel, this worthy couple. They were not told everything, but it was -explained to them that this was "Government business" of the highest -importance, and that in the King's name they must aid Bernard in every -possible way. - -It did me good to see Sam's nut-brown face hardening into resolve, and -the excitement in his eyes. Dickson was put to bed in an attic of the -rambling old inn and the door was locked. - -Before it was light that morning my brother stole out, walked five miles -in the opposite direction to Blankington-on-Sea, caught the fish train -from a village in the neighbourhood of Cromer, and was in London at the -Admiralty by mid-day. He returned in a fast motor car that night. The -car was housed in the garage of the Lieutenant of Coastguards at -Cockthorpe, four miles away. It was to be ready for any emergency, and -by eleven o'clock my brother was back at the Morstone Arms. - -On the morning of that day, I indeed went to Norwich on my snorter. She -seemed to rise to the occasion, for she did the forty miles to Norwich -in two hours and without any mishap. I interviewed the Rev. Harold -Dickson and swore him to secrecy, and I never saw a parson more -delighted. His sons were true chips of the old block, and after lunch at -the "Maiden's Head" the clergyman almost cursed his age and cloth that -he was not also available for the service of his country. - -Finally, and this provision of my brother was extraordinarily wise, as -it afterwards appeared--though he could have had no idea of what we were -to discover at that moment--three of the crew of his own submarine, all -recovering from wounds, but all taught and handy men, were, even now, -upon their way from Harwich to lodge unobtrusively at the coastguard -station at Cockthorpe, where they could await Bernard's orders. - -I went through the Sea Wood, towards the inn. This was a place that had -been planted to shelter the cultivated fields behind from the keen marsh -winds. As one advanced into it from the coast side, the furze, among -which innumerable rabbits played, gave way to elders and other hardy -shrubs. It was about a quarter of a mile long and not more than two -hundred yards in breadth. The timber was all stunted and bushy, the -undergrowth was rank and thick. The trees led a life of conflict; they -were accustomed to swing there all night long in fierce winter tempests; -it was a remote and savage place, where even the pheasants of Lord -Blankington hardly ever came. - -I pressed through the narrow path until I came to a little open space, a -cup or hollow through which a sluggish stream wound its way on to the -marsh. Here, the bushes were thicker than ever and the stream widened -into a pool covered with innumerable water-hen that made cheeping noises -in the night. It was covered with them as I came up noiselessly; one -could see the little black dots upon the livid, leaden expanse. - -I sat down, looked at my watch--I had a fowlers' watch with what is -called the "radium dial" that showed the time in any darkness--and found -it was just half-past nine. Waiting till a gust of wind had died away, I -whistled the first three bars of "It's a long way to Tipperary." There -was no response and I whistled again. The last note had hardly shivered -away when I felt a hand upon my shoulder and I jumped like a shot man. - -"It's only me, sir," sounded in my ear with a triumphant chuckle; "I -stalked you pretty well, didn't I, sir?" - -"You young devil!" I replied, "you nearly frightened me out of my life!" - -"I thought I would try and see what I could do, sir," said Dickson max. - -He was in a black suit. I fear it was his Sunday-best. He wore no collar -and his face and hands were covered with burnt cork--a grimy, sooty -apparition the young imp looked, but, nevertheless, one couldn't have -seen him a yard away. - -"You've done very well," I said. "Stick to it. The Doctor isn't such a -marshman as I am, and if you come up to him like that--well, you won't -have a difficult task. You know where I and my brother will be?" - -"Yes, sir," he whispered--"in the gun-pit at the head of Garstrike." - -"Right you are. Now out along as quickly as possible and bring us news -by midnight if you can." - -"I am going to lie in the rhododendrons in the Doctor's garden," he -said. "He's sure to come out by his private door, and I'll follow him to -Heligoland if necessary." - -I gave him a pat on the back, and as I looked round he had already -melted noiselessly into the dark and I was alone. - -In the inn I found my brother. The kitchen was full of labourers -drinking their last pint before closing hour at ten. In the private bar -old Pugmire was babbling over his gin, but in the sitting-room beyond, -with curtains drawn, Bernard was all ready for the enterprise, dressed -just as I was. - -"Well?" he asked. - -"It's all serene. I've met Dickson and he is watching the Doctor now. In -about three-quarters of an hour the inn will be closed and all the men -gone home. Then we can set out." - -Mrs. Wordingham came in with two bottles of that famous strong ale -which is kept for twenty years and which is the best antidote against -the cold of the marshes known to the wild-fowler--only an amateur takes -spirits upon the saltings. - -We drank it in silence. - -"I don't know what is going to turn up to-night," said Bernard. "I trust -to your knowledge of the marshes implicitly. But remember this, old -soul, it is not a lark of any sort. We shall be in the gravest danger. I -cannot exaggerate the importance of what we are doing. The Admiralty -itself is waiting for news. I am not dramatic in any way, Heaven knows! -but I'll let myself go for a minute. I believe, John, that it may well -be that we two, and the others who are helping us, hold the destinies of -England in our hands. God grant that we shall be successful!" - -"I think we shall." - -"I believe we are on the right track. But there is one thing I want to -say. Supposing, just supposing, that one of us does not come back -to-night, and assuming it is me"--here Bernard hesitated and looked at -me rather ferociously. - -"Well?" - -"Well, just give this to Miss Marjorie Joyce, will you?" He pulled a -signet-ring from his little finger, a ring that had been our governor's. - -I told him to keep his hair on and that I would. - -At a quarter past ten we slipped out of the big door of the inn, skirted -the Sea Wood without entering it, and went down upon the foreshore. It -is necessary that I should give you some idea of the famous Morstone -marshes, and to the description I will add a rough-drawn map which will -help to make things clear.[1] - -[Footnote 1: See Frontispiece.] - -If you look at the map of England, you will see Wells marked at the top -right-hand corner of the Wash. Then comes a long, blank space till you -get to Sheringham and finally to Cromer. Blankington-on-Sea was the next -town to Wells on the west. Then five miles east of it comes Morstone. So -much for our geographical position. - -Looking north, there was nothing between us and Iceland; looking a -little north-east, we were only three hundred miles from Cuxhaven, about -three hundred and twenty miles to Heligoland, and nothing like that to -the Frisian Islands just below the mouth of the Kiel Canal. So much for -that, and now to be more local. - -From the foreshore, it was about a mile and a half over the marshes to -the sea at low tide. At ordinary high tide it was about a mile. With -spring tides and a rare off-sea wind blowing due north, the marshes were -covered right up to the foreshore. This happened about twice in the -year, and then they were only covered for a depth of about five or six -feet, if that. The foreshore, as it is called, is a somewhat misleading -term. It did not in the least resemble what one generally associates -with the word. It was simply a grassy bank covered with furze bushes and -with a grass road going right along it. The coarse grass sloped down -till the mud was met. Now this mud was a sort of turfy peat on the -surface, covered with marrum grass. One could walk on it with perfect -safety, it was as hard as an ordinary field, but it was everywhere -intersected with creeks of varying depth. Some of these were little -runnels a foot deep, some of them had steep sides of ten or twelve feet -and were crossed by narrow planks in permanent position. The sides were -of mud as black as a truffle--I have really no other simile which so -exactly fits the case--and at the bottom was two or three feet of water -covering softer and more dangerous mud. - -At high tide these deeper creeks had seven or eight feet of water in -them. Then, at various points upon the marsh, were creeks which were -really like tidal rivers, only that they ended at the foreshore, as a -railway line ends at a terminus. These were huge trenches, wider than -the widest canal, some of them seventy or eighty yards across. The walls -of mud were precipitous, twenty and even thirty feet high. The largest -of these had many feet of water in them at all states of the ebb and -flow, but when the tide was full they were almost brimming and could -have floated a fair-sized ship. - -Anything more utterly desolate and forlorn, even on a bright, sunlit -day, than these sullen, winding waterways, so far from the habitations -of man, can hardly be conceived. They were the haunt of innumerable -fowl. Herons stood on the brink and transfixed flat-fish with their -long, spear-like beaks. The wild duck gathered in the little bays and -estuaries formed by their convolutions. The red-shank and the -green-shank whistled over them at all hours. - -The two largest creeks of all were known as Garstrike and Thirty Main. -It was from the heads of these waters that the gun-punts started on -their dangerous nightly mission, following this or that creek in and -out, wherever there was water. Garstrike had always ten feet of water in -it at low tide, but Thirty Main was the largest by far. It stretched -straight away from the sea to the foreshore. There was always at least -thirty feet of water in its black, evil-looking depths. At high tide, -sixty would have been nearer the mark. It wound among the marsh, the -centre of endless smaller creeks which ran into it, the great ganglion -of the whole system of nerves. - -It was the study of months to know the marsh. Death had come to many -fowlers there who did not know its complexities and who omitted to carry -an illuminated compass for night work. Many men had been cut off on an -island of mud covered with the purple sea-thistles, the bronze-green -marrum grass, and the rank vegetation of the saltings. And some had been -waiting in a minor creek when the tide came fast and swift through all -the intricate waterways, who were unable to climb the steep sides of -slippery mud, and so met their fate. - -We crossed the foreshore in a minute and a half and came down upon the -mud. The frozen grass crackled under our boots like little rods of -glass. The shallow pools were all frozen over as we made our way round -the curving shore of Garstrike. - -We were on the right bank, and here and there we had to go along some of -the smaller creeks that flowed into it. It is no joke to walk over a -twelve-inch plank in the pitch dark with a ten-foot ditch of mud and -water below. As an old marshman, I was used to it, though I had known -many new-comers give these bridges a miss at the first start off. But -Bernard skipped over like a bird, and after a quarter of a mile or more -of slow progress, aided by my illuminated compass and a faint, ghostly -light from the rising moon, we got to the gun-pit marked upon the map. - -Immediately to our left was a low punt-house dug into the steep mud-bank -of Garstrike and entered at the shore end by a rough ladder. The pit was -five feet deep; there was a rough board for a seat and there was about a -foot of water in the bottom--rain-water, which had fallen during the -last few days. This, however, was nothing, and we scrambled in and sat -down. - -I had taken my ten-bore to the Morstone Arms, but Bernard had told me to -leave it there. He had given me a heavy Service pistol, which fired ten -shots in as many seconds, together with an extra clip of cartridges for -the magazine. He had another in the pocket of his coat. - -So we sat and waited. Bent on more pleasant business, we should have had -our guns ready in our hands, waiting for the sound of birds flighting -overhead as the moon rose, coming from the sand-banks out at sea inland -to the stubbles. But now our ears were tuned to a different music, and I -am not ashamed to say that I heard some artery within me beating like a -drum. - -It was a solemn hour and strange indeed was the business we were upon. -The whole marsh was alive with voices. There was the long, hushed roar -of the sea, the fifing of the wind, and then the countless cries of the -night-birds. A great heron flapped away somewhere over Thirty Main, with -its hoarse "frank, frank"; there was a rustling whistle far overhead as -a company of widgeon flashed by at thirty miles an hour; a paddle of -duck were quacking somewhere on the other side of the creek; and then, -faint at first, but growing nearer and nearer, came that sound which, to -the wild-fowler, is the finest in the world and which many and many a -man and woman has said to be the strangest sound in nature. - -The wild geese were coming. I can never think of that sound without a -tightening of the muscles, almost a lump in the throat. It is like a -vast pack of ghostly hounds up in the sky, which cuts into the night -like nothing else can do, and instinctively I felt for my gun. But it -was not to be that night. They passed over us not more than eighty yards -high--well within the range of a heavy gun--and the noise was deafening -in our ears as the great wedge-shaped formation sped by. - -"By Jove, that's good!" I heard Bernard whisper. - -It was the one chance of the night. No more geese worked our way, and -for an hour we sat motionless, growing colder and colder, but patient -still. - -Then, at last, there was a low whistle and a crouching figure appeared -on the edge of the pit. - -"I've followed him, sir. He came out of the school with his gun and went -straight on to the foreshore. He walked for nearly a mile towards -Cockthorpe. I crouched behind the furze bushes and he never saw me. He -was walking very fast. He passed the head of Thirty Main and then went -down on to the mud, following the bank until he came to the Hulk. The -bridge was out and he went on board. Then he pulled it up--and there he -is now. I saw a light struck and a candle lit from one of the windows in -the side. Then something was pulled over it, and I came away here as -fast as I could." - -"The Hulk!" I said. "Of course, I might have thought of that before!" - -"What is it?" Bernard asked. - -"It is the hulk of an old coaster of about eighty tons. It is -permanently moored in Thirty Main Creek. Upjelly bought it for twenty -pounds some two years ago and has had it fitted up. In the summer he -sometimes camps out there. In the winter he uses it as a base for -shooting on the marshes. There are three or four on the saltings between -Wells and Cromer." - -"Then we must go there at once. How can we approach it?" - -"It is moored some three yards from the shore--there is deep water right -up to the banks on either side of Thirty Main Creek. It's reached by a -light bridge and a handrail, which anyone on board can pull up after him -by means of a derrick on the stem of the old main-mast. If we were to -approach over the mud, we should hear nothing, but we can go by water -and get to the far side. Wordingham's punt is ready in the house close -by. It will take us half an hour poling up to Garstrike and then back -again down the long, winding creek of Morstone Miel. That brings us out -into Thirty Main Creek--which we can cross and hug the opposite side. -The Hulk lies in a little bay. When we get nearly there, we shall have -to paddle, just as we 'set to birds.' We shan't make a sound, and we -ought to hear something or see something if there is anything to be seen -or heard." - -"You'll let me come with you, sir?" Dickson asked eagerly. - -I shook my head. "It's a two-handed punt," I said, "and there's no room -for anybody else--you ought to know what a fowling punt is by this time. -It's dangerous enough for two experts. No, Dickson, you've done very -well indeed and I'm proud of you. You must cut home now as quietly as -possible and go to bed at the Morstone Arms. Whatever you do, don't show -your face at the window in the morning. I'll come and tell you -everything." - -I could see the boy was very disappointed, but a word from Bernard -comforted him. - -"You're a first-class scout, Dickson," he said; "I wish I had you on -board my ship. If you obey orders as you have been doing and anything -comes of this business, I'm not at all sure that I can't promise you a -billet." - -If Dickson flushed under his burnt cork, I did not see it, but his voice -was tremulous with joy. There was no mistake about it this time. He -saluted, and in a moment more was gone. - -"Now," I said, "come along. You don't understand punt work, do you, -Bernard?" - -"No," he said, "only shore shooting. I've been in some queer craft in my -time, but here 'you 'ave me,' as the cabman said. You must be skipper of -this cruise!" - -We hurried over the few yards separating the pit from the punt-shed. I -went down the ladder first and unlocked the door. We found ourselves in -a long, narrow shed with a little landing-stage along one side and some -lockers above it fixed to the wall. In the middle lay the punt, painted -a dull green-khaki over its mahogany, almost invisible at night. The big -gun stretched out far over the bows; everything was ship-shape and in -order, for Wordingham was a tidy man, and this punt, which with its gun -had cost a hundred and fifty pounds, had been given him by a wealthy -fowler, an officer in the Guards, who loved to come down in peace time -for a week on the waterways of East Anglia. - -"Now," I said, "be careful. You get forrard and lie down on your -stomach. Yes, that's it; brace yourself against the recoil piece of the -gun. Lie as if you were going to fire it when we come within shot of -birds on the water. That'll trim the boat. I'll punt until we get near. -Then I'll in-pole and paddle. Remember you mustn't move and you mustn't -make a sound." - -We glided out on to the black water of Garstrike Creek. The banks -sheltered us somewhat from the wind, but it was nearly high tide and -every now and again a freshet sent waves lapping against the low sides -of the punt; and occasionally a cupful of water or a lash of spray came -over. My brother told me, long afterwards, that it was one of the -strangest experiences of his life, and I suppose that the first night in -a punt must indeed be that to the tyro. To me, it was ordinary enough, -but my blood ran fast and free as I realised that we were out for bigger -game than geese or duck to-night. - -Our progress will be seen by the dotted line upon the map. We went up -Garstrike, keeping close to the right bank. Then, quite suddenly, the -smaller miel opened out. We made a sharp turn, and now the banks were -scarcely more than two yards from us on either side, while punting was -easier owing to the shallow water. At low tide, it would have been -almost impossible to go from Garstrike to Thirty Main. We followed the -sinuous turnings of the small creek for some twenty minutes, in and out -between the black walls, like people walking in some dark alley. Then -Miel Creek opened out and we shot on to the broad waters of Thirty -Main. - -Here we were on what seemed a wide river. There was an immediate sense -of space and freedom and the sea became more choppy. Punting was -impossible. I knelt down and with infinite caution stretched myself upon -my stomach, my head between my brother's legs. Then I got out the -paddles, which were small implements held in the hand, in shape -resembling nothing quite so much as a pair of large butter pats, or -shall I say a couple of ladies' hand-mirrors. With my arms over the -side, I gradually propelled the punt round the curve where, in a little -bay, the Hulk was lying. It is thus one approaches the "paddle" of duck -or geese upon the water for the last hundred and fifty yards. Progress -is by inches. The long grey punt steals noiselessly towards its quarry -until the supreme moment when the gunner pulls the lanyard, the pound -and a half of shot speeds upon its mission, and the punt rears like a -horse. - -But there was to be no roar or concussion to-night. - -The moon was now high, though it was obscured by driving clouds. There -was only a faint and phosphorescent radiance. This was all the better -for our purpose, and anyone upon the look-out could hardly have -distinguished the grey thing creeping towards the Hulk with such -infinite slowness. - -We drew nearer and nearer. Thirty yards ... twenty ... ten. Then I -stopped paddling. It was full high tide, absolutely dead; that moment -when flow and ebb alike are suspended. - -We came alongside the high walls of the old ship without a sound, our -hands fending the punt from its curved, barnacle-studded timbers. Long -swathes of green weed hung from the sternpost as we edged our way round -to the port side. - -Now I had never visited the Doctor's Hulk. When I first went to Morstone -I thought it strange that he did not ask me, but he had never done so -and the matter passed from my mind. I knew nothing, certainly, of its -internal arrangements. At the same time, I had been over a similar hulk -moored off Wells-next-to-Sea, which belonged to a wealthy maltster -there, and I knew that the same carpenter had fitted up both boats. From -what I remember, there was a cabin built out on deck with a glass roof, -while the hold below had been fitted up partly as a winter smoking-room -and dining-room, partly as berths for sportsmen who wished to sleep -after their toil. - -I was quite right. The old portholes of the boat had all been done away -with, but a large square window, some four feet above our heads, bulged -in the side of the Hulk. No light could be seen, but the top of the -window was open, and, even as we glided up, a whiff of cigar smoke came -out and we heard the murmur of voices. - -The murmur of voices! The Doctor was not alone upon the old coaster. -Something was brewing within its sea-worn timbers. We were nearing the -heart of the mystery at last! - -Instinctively, we both stood up. The punt rocked perilously, but we -steadied it by holding on to the lower part of the window. Once, it -nearly slipped away from beneath our feet and my brother crouched down -again and caught at a great clump of barnacles, motioning me to listen. - -For a moment or two I could hear nothing but a guarded rumble--it was -like voices heard by chance through a telephone. Then the wind happened -to drop and they became quite clear. - -I started with surprise, for, though I could see nothing, I was certain -that there were three people on board the Hulk. Upjelly's cool, incisive -tones struck immediately upon the drum of the ear. Then came another -voice, a hoarse, rough voice which I did not know; and finally a third -that I did. - -It was the voice of Mr. Jones, and I bent down and whispered to my -brother. - -Then, as I rose again and listened with my very soul, I shivered with -disappointment. - -The people within were speaking in a language I did not understand--save -only a very few words. They were speaking in German! - -It seemed that Upjelly was giving instructions of some sort or other. -His voice had a ring of command in it that I had never heard before. It -was like a hammer on an anvil, and unless I was much mistaken, it -vibrated with excitement. - -The answers came quickly enough. - -"_Ja, gnädiger Herr_," or, "_Gewisz, das hab' ich gleich gethan._" - -That presented no difficulties whatever. Upjelly was speaking to -someone, obviously an inferior, who replied, "Yes, sir," or, "Certainly, -I have already done it." - -Then Jones cut in, and here again I noticed an entire change in the -quality of the man's voice. It was not Jones speaking now, it was the -renowned Kiderlen-Waechter, of whom my brother had spoken three nights -ago, or I would have eaten my hat. There was no mistaking the keen, -arrogant note of command. The bland Mr. Jones never spoke like that, -though the voice was the same. Then I distinctly heard the sound of a -door either being shut or sliding in its grooves. There was the splutter -of a match, the sound of a gurgling syphon, and, to my intense relief, -Doctor Upjelly and his unseen companion began to speak in English. - -"No, it's impossible. I have, in my safe at the school, all the plans. -Our secret service on this coast has been working untiringly. For three -days at least, after to-morrow night, the plans will hold good. In them -is the station of every patrolling ship, full maps of this part of the -coast, the disposition of forces--everything necessary for the Admiral. -The tide to-morrow night will be even higher than it is now. The moon is -waning; weather conditions point to a dark, tempestuous night to-morrow. -She will come and take you away with the plans." - -"Which I shall deliver to the Admiral within twenty-four hours, for the -rendezvous is arranged, and I shall meet him in the middle of the North -Sea." - -"I shall be sorry to lose you, Admiral Kiderlen-Waechter." - -"It will only be for a time. I shall soon return--as you know." - -There was a sound of laughter, low, guttural, and strong. - -"And what will you do, von Vedal?" - -"To-morrow night I shall be with you, as you know, and see you go. Then -I shall take my stepdaughter to London, to the house you know of, where -I shall await you. The issue will not be long and you can claim your -reward. I shall leave the school, ostensibly for a day or two, but it -will never see me again, as you can understand. Fritz has put that -meddling Commander Carey _hors de combat_--the arrow was a clever idea -and no one suspects. As a matter of fact, I don't suppose for a moment -that his visit was anything but just what it appeared to be--for -purposes of rest and a little sport and to see his brother. _Gott im -Himmel_, what fools these people are! Now, take for example that brawny -young donkey, Mr. John Carey, my assistant-master. He fancies himself in -love with my elder stepdaughter, Doris." - -"And he may well be so, for she is a beautiful and charming young lady. -Would I not do anything in the world for her sister?" - -"Oh well, yes; I forgot, von Waechter. Love is not an event that has -occurred to me. But this young Carey has actually rigged up a telephone -between his room and Doris's. It is the most transparent device. I knew -all about it twenty-four hours after it was done. I shall leave Doris -behind at the school, and if this young lout cares to marry her and -become headmaster of Morstone College, I'm sure he is very welcome--that -is, provided there is any Morstone College left in three days from now." - -"I will see to that. I rather like that boy, and a detachment of our -marines shall guard the place and keep it from harm. That is all, I -think." - -"That is all." - -"What time is it?" - -"It's one o'clock--a little too early to go home. We must go upon the -marshes and fire a few shots. I have already three duck to carry home as -the result of our labours. But let us have another cigar and wait for -twenty minutes." - -Again there was the striking of a match. - -"Fritz will be all right, I suppose?" said Waechter. - -"He will be perfectly all right. Not a soul suspects that there is -anyone on board this Hulk, and he's well hidden in the fo'c'sle. A -faithful fellow that!" - -"You would say so if you had seen him as I have! He is the cleverest -engineer in the whole of our Submarine Service, cunning as one of your -own wild geese, and absolutely to be depended upon--unless ..." - -"Unless?" - -"Well, I'm a good judge of men, and we must take people as we find them. -Chief-officer Fritz Schweitzer is a perfect spy and a first-class -officer of submarines. Awash or under the surface, he knows no fear. But -a little, able-bodied seaman, six weeks ago at Kiel, gave him a -thrashing in a Bierhalle till he wept. One thing we must remember -to-morrow--everything must be said in German. I like to talk English, as -you know. It pleases me to be taken for a sedentary city gentleman, it's -my little vanity, von Vedal, but, for safety's sake, to-morrow night, -when She comes ..." - -"Quite so. Have you finished your cigar? Then let us go up on deck and -see what the night is like." - -There was a slight grating sound and an almost imperceptible swish as -the gun-punt swung away from the side of the Hulk, swept round the -miniature headland and raced for the mouth of the Miel Creek. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -HOW JOHN CAREY FOUGHT WITH THE GERMAN GIANT IN THE SALOON, AND "MR. -JONES" MET UNEXPECTED THINGS IN THE NIGHT - - -It was five o'clock, low tide in the marsh creeks, and snow was falling -lightly. - -At high tide, the Doctor's Hulk rose considerably _above_ the bank of -Thirty Main Creek. It was three yards from the solid mud of the -salting, and when the bridge was dropped one went up an incline to reach -the deck. - -Now it was low tide. The deck of the hulk was a good five feet below the -margin where I stood with my brother. It was still only three yards -away--nine feet--nothing to a very moderate athlete. - -By four o'clock the evening had come. By five it was dark as midnight. -Bernard turned behind us to where two people were waiting. - -"You quite understand?" he said in a low voice. - -I did not turn round; for certain reasons I could not. - -"Ready?" Bernard asked. - -"Yes, old cock," I answered, "and I hope you can jump it!" - -I was on my own ground. I had won a lot of pots in the long jump at -Oxford. I thought I should rather snaffle Bernard on this job, which was -wicked enough. We went back ten yards for the run. The snow was still -falling softly and thickly. There was the deep ditch between the bank -and the deck of the dim, desolate old Hulk. It looked very ugly, and as -I held up my elbows and started the run off, I heard a stifled noise -behind me. I knew what it meant, but I would not listen. This was no -tune for sentiment. - -I took off on the very edge of the yielding mud-bank, leapt downwards in -a great curve, lighted full over the bulwark of the Hulk with a thud, -slid forward on the ice-bound deck, and was brought up short against the -cabin. I wheeled round as a man does after a long slant at Murren. The -whole thing did not take more than a second or two. - -Turning, I saw Bernard in the air. He lighted as I had done, but his -foot slipped before he got his balance and he fell heavily, striking his -head against the stump of the main-mast which, with a yard shipped, was -used as a derrick to raise the bridge to the marsh. - -He fell with a noise like a sack of potatoes. I went up to him, tried to -raise him, and found that he was unconscious. Something like warm -varnish was oozing out of his head. My fingers dabbled in it. What I -thought does not matter. If he was dead, he was dead, though I was -pretty certain a tough old bird like Bernard was only stunned. But I had -my orders, and I left him where he lay. - -I stood up upon that slippery deck and pulled out my magazine pistol. I -looked round. There was nothing whatever to be seen but the softly -falling snow. I tried a low whistle to the people on the bank, but there -was no answer. - -It is a good thing to be under discipline. I had my orders, I waited, -listened, and heard nothing. Then I crept aft to where a big -glass-roofed cabin had been built out on the deck. There was no light -shining through the roof. The door was locked. I listened and there was -no sound save the soft, falling noise of the snowflakes. - -It was forrard, then, that I must go; and, treading with the greatest -caution, I crept towards the bows of the old ship. The fo'c'sle hatchway -loomed up before me. With cold, tingling fingers I felt for the door. It -opened in the middle, in the usual way, and the hinges swung back as if -they had been well oiled. Before me was the companion ladder--a dark -well. With my pistol in my hand, I went down the stairs as noiselessly -as a cat. I had only got to the bottom when a warm, stuffy smell came to -my nostrils. I was in a triangular space roofed by heavy bulkheads. It -was not quite dark, for a long rod of yellow light came from behind the -stairs, where there was a door. I went up to it and listened. Everything -was perfectly silent. - -Then I pushed open the door and entered. What I expected to see, I -cannot say, but I was prepared for almost anything. What I did see was -entirely unexpected. - -I found myself in a long saloon lit by a swivel lamp hanging from the -roof. Dark crimson curtains were drawn over windows and possible -portholes. The floor was covered with a faded Turkey carpet. Here and -there a mirror was let into the wall. I saw a case of books and an -excellent photogravure of the King, over a little grate in which glowed -a fire of smouldering coke. There were two or three basket armchairs -padded in cretonne. There was a central table, two little -smoking-tables, and a sort of buffet at the side of a further door. Upon -the buffet were glasses, syphons, and various bottles. There was a box -of cigars upon the central table and a silver cigarette-box upon one of -the smaller ones. I had come into a little, luxuriously furnished -club-room, which struck upon the senses with an irresistibly homely and -pleasant note as I looked round in wild amazement. There was even a -brass kettle on a trivet by the fire, which was singing melodiously to -itself. I stared round the place like a child, and caught sight of my -face with open eyes and dropping jaws in one of the looking-glasses. -What was I doing here? What had I tumbled into? What?... - -I came back to myself just in time. There was a loud and sudden creak, -the yawn of a partly open door. Then--Bang! - -The gilt-framed mirror in which I had been gazing at myself smashed in -the centre and starred all round, as something whizzed past my head with -a ricochet. - -Instinctively I crouched down upon the carpet, wheeling round as I did -so. - -The door at the opposite end of the saloon had been slid back. In the -rather dim light from the hanging lamp, I saw a great, bearded, -whiskered face, red, and framed in a fury of lint-coloured hair. It -seemed just like a gorilla turned white and malevolent in a sudden ray -of sunshine. - -There was another deafening explosion: One! Two! Three! and the furious -noise in the confined space of the cabin filled me with something of its -own rage. I saw red. The warm and evil silence of this comfortable place -had frightened me far more than this onslaught. Unharmed, I leapt to my -feet. - -As I did so, I saw that the man in the dark oblong beyond was feverishly -pressing a clip into his magazine pistol. He would be at me again in a -second, but I caught up one of the smoking-tables, heavy as it was, and -charged him. - -The table was iron, covered with beaten copper. I ran at the creature -like a bull, and as he advanced a yard into the room I was on him with a -frightful crash and down he went. - -I fell also on to the tripod of the table and bruised myself badly, but -I was too angry to think of that. I tore my shoulder from it and flung -it to the other side of the saloon. The man growled like a mastiff, half -rose from the floor, and then I had him by the throat. - -I am a strong man; I think I said that at the beginning of this -narrative. What I mean is that I could out almost any Sandow pup in no -time. But as I caught this hairy-faced creature by the throat and felt -his arms seeking for mine, then I knew that I was in for the time of my -life. My hands sank into the great, muscular system of his neck. My -thumbs were pressed on each side of the Adam's apple--Japanese -fashion--and my fingers were feeling upwards for the final pressure on -the jugular vein. - -But, with all my weight upon him, he was so strong from the waist up, -there was such a resilience in the massive torso, that he rose slowly, -as if pressed by some hydraulic piston. As he rose, my legs slithered -backwards. I tried to get some purchase with my toes to force him back, -but it was useless. He came up almost to a sitting posture. Great hairy -hands felt for my ears, and for a moment I thought it was all U.P. - -Then I got my right leg under his left and heaved over. - -We were upon our sides, the German uppermost, my hands still choking his -life out of him. Naturally, in that position, my grip was bound to -loosen. I could put no weight into it. But his arms were all sprawling. -One was partly under himself and partly under me, the other beating me -like a flail upon the ribs. I felt the sweat pouring from his face on to -mine, and he smelt horribly of garlic. It was just touch and go. - -Suddenly I whipped my numbed hands from the fellow's throat, slithered -my arms down the front of his body, and gripped him round the lower ribs -with a hug like a bear. - -Of course, this was my long suit. There are not many people who can -stand my affectionate embrace, especially when I am fighting for my -life! I heard one rib crack, and I laughed aloud. I tightened the vice, -and as the second went I knew it was all over. The brute made a noise -exactly like the water running out of a bath, a sort of choked, -trumpeting noise. His body grew limp. I disengaged myself and rose -unsteadily to my feet. - -Wow, but I had had it! The beastly smoking-room waltzed round me; I -staggered to the buffet like a drunken man. My hands were dark crimson. - -Old Upjelly and his confederates were accustomed to do themselves well. -I realised it as my eye fell upon the row of bottles--therein was much -balm in Gilead. There was a long-necked one with "Boulestin" upon the -label. I pulled out the cork at a venture and drank deep. It was just -what I wanted. It was cognac, and my eyes cleared and my arms stopped -trembling. - -I do not suppose the whole affair had lasted for more than three -minutes, and as I came to myself I realised the necessity for instant -action. My late adversary was lying at the other end of the saloon, his -head rocking in the open door which led to his own quarters. He was not -unconscious. He frothed at the mouth like I once saw an old pike I -caught with a spinner in the Broads. His eyes were red and glazed, and -he breathed like a suction pump gone wrong. I saw he was harmless as far -as further aggression went, but I thought it as well to make sure. I -took the bottle and poured as much as I thought right into the chap's -mouth. Then I snatched the cloth from the centre table, tore it into -strips, rolled it up, and tied Master Fritz Schweitzer round the ankles. -I pulled him to the wall and propped him up. I knew two of his ribs were -broken, and I felt for his collar-bone. That, as it happened, was not -broken. It did not matter much anyway if he died, though he was a long -way from that. Still, we wanted him; so I took the cork out of the -brandy bottle, wrapped it up in my handkerchief to make a sort of pad, -shoved it in his mouth, and tied the end of the handkerchief round the -back of his head. Then, when I had secured his hands, I felt we were -getting on very well and I took a long breath. - -I hurried up the companion-way to the deck. The keen night air, the -still falling snow, made me sway for a moment like a drunken man. I -heard a distant shout from the bank beyond, and with the shout was -mingled a high, treble note. That pulled me together more than anything -else, and I remembered what a perfect beast I had been not to let them -know. Of course, they must have heard the shots and been in an agony of -fright. - -"Cheery-O!" I shouted. "Everything is all right, and I'll let down the -bridge in a minute." - -Then I stumbled aft to find my brother. - -The fight in the cabin could not have been as long as I thought, for -Bernard was just sitting up and rubbing his head. Incidentally, he was -swearing sweet wardroom oaths to himself. - -I forbear to reproduce them; they can only be indicated here. - -"Help me up.... Have we made too much noise?... Have they heard us -below?" - -"That's all right, old soul," I said. "Feeling better now?" - -"Don't talk so loud, you fool!" he hissed. "You'll spoil everything!" - -"It's all right, old soul. I've said a few words to the crew. Now help -me to lower this gangway." - -Bernard never said a word of protest. He somehow felt it was all right, -and in a minute more we had knocked the catch out of the toothed wheel -which lowered the gangway and I let it gently down by the greased -halliards. - -Dickson max. came over first. Somebody followed him, so like Dickson -max. as makes no matter. This someone, a slim boy in appearance, put its -arms round my neck and nearly sobbed. - -"It's all right, dear," I answered; "we've won the first trick. Now you -and your knowledge of German come in. Remember you are on the King's -service." - -I do not know whether it was that or her relief at seeing me safe -again--for both Doris and Dickson max. had heard the shots and the -dulled noise of the fight below--but my girl pulled herself together in -a moment. - -Little sportswoman! she nipped down into the saloon quicker than Dickson -max., whose Sunday suit she was wearing. Bernard and I would not have -brought her into this business for anything had she not volunteered. But -she _would_ come when she knew the truth. Neither of us knew German. It -was essential that we should have someone with us who did. And in the -wild welter of those momentous three days, I am afraid our sense of -proportion was lost. We were all young. We were all out to save England -if we could. This is my apology for Doris being with us. I shall not -repeat it. The end justified the means so unforgettably, so gloriously. - -The man, Fritz Schweitzer, was still unconscious. He lay like a log, -bound and gagged, and an unpleasant sight, too. I felt rather proud of -my work as I looked at him, but Doris ran forward. - -"Poor fellow!" she said, "I must do what I can for him." - -"Not now, please," Bernard answered quickly. "The first thing to do is -to search ship. Remember that you heard nothing of Kiderlen-Waechter, -who is waiting till midnight for Upjelly. The presumption is that he was -to stay on board, yet we have seen no sign of him. Up with the -drawbridge at once, John and Dickson, and then come back to me." - -We tumbled up the companion and in a minute had raised the creaking -bridge. It was impossible for anyone lurking on the ship to have got off -in the short time we had been. - -"Now then," Bernard said, when we got back to the cabin, "get out your -pistol, John, and you and Dickson search this Hulk thoroughly. Miss -Joyce will stay here with me. I wish to speak to her. Report to me at -once." - -We went through the narrow door from which Schweitzer had fired at me, -and found ourselves in a small compartment in the bows of the boat. -There was a cooking-stove, some pots and pans, some shelves of groceries -and tinned goods, and a berth with tumbled, frowsy blankets, where the -German had obviously been sleeping. Nothing there; and again traversing -the cabin, we went up on deck. - -The deck-house, as I have said before, was locked, but my weight soon -disposed of that obstacle and, flashing my electric torch, with my -pistol ready, I entered. - -The place was simply a storeroom. There were eel spears, some leather -cartridge magazines, a couple of old "cripple-stopper" guns, and so -forth. Only one thing I noticed, and that was a new, stout rope-ladder, -with bamboo rungs and zinc hooks at the top. Finally, we prised open an -old hatchway and peered down into the musty darkness of the bottom part -of the Hulk. Dickson ran and fetched the rope-ladder and I went down -first. There was nothing whatever to be seen but the bare timbers of the -ship. Everything had been gutted and there was a most horrible smell -from a foot or two of bilge-water. It was certain that no one lurked -unsuspected on board. - -When we went down again to the cabin, I saw an extraordinary thing. My -brother had picked up what remained of the table-cloth, had twisted it -into bands, like what I had used on Schweitzer, and was tying up Doris! -Her hair was down, too, flowing in a great mass below the shooting-hat -she had worn. - -"What on earth are you doing?" I asked. - -"Shut up," he said, "you will see in a minute. Now, Miss Joyce!" - -With her arms tied closely behind her, her feet free, Doris smiled and -went out of the cabin. - -"Now for this swine," said my brother, and taking the soda-water syphon -from the table, he squirted it with great force and precision into the -wretched Schweitzer's face, till his beard looked like the fur of a -water-rat and his eyes opened slowly. - -"Take off the gag," said my brother. - -I did so. - -"Now prop him up in a sitting position--yes, get one of those -cushions--that's it." - -Then Bernard put some brandy into a tumbler and held it to the fellow's -lips. He sucked greedily and gave a great groan. - -Suddenly, as we stood there, there was a slight thud and patter of feet -upon the deck above. We all heard it distinctly, and the German's eyes -gleamed. My brother turned and dashed out of the cabin, Dickson and I -following him. There was a loud shriek, a girl's shriek, and a scuffle, -and then my brother said in an angry voice: - -"The Fräulein von Vedal--sent to warn these spies. Bring her down!" - -Then I began to understand. - -Doris fought like a cat. She was almost too realistic; but we hauled her -down into the cabin. - -"Tie her up," said my brother in a hoarse voice of command. - -We tied her up, sitting her in an arm-chair, and reefing our ropes so -that she could not stir. - -Then Bernard took off his hat and made a low, ironic bow. - -"Gute Nacht, gnädiges Fräulein!" he said--I believe it was all the -German the fellow knew--and then, with a wave of his hand, summoned us -to leave the cabin. We did so; he locked the door and ascended to the -deck. - -"Now then," he whispered, "let down the drawbridge with as much noise as -possible and then go over it. Directly we are on the other side, we must -take off our boots and creep back down to the cabin door." - -"What a ruse!" I heard Dickson max. say to himself in an ecstasy of -joy--he was given to using words from the more highly coloured adventure -books he read--"Oh, my aunt!" - -We managed it beautifully, and got into the little space at the foot of -the companion, outside the cabin door, with hardly a sound. - -Doris was sobbing bitterly and there was a low growl from the gigantic -German, which resolved itself into words at last. Then the sobs ceased -and Doris answered. We none of us could understand a word of the ensuing -conversation, but I reconstruct it here from what was told me -afterwards, and I am sure it is accurate enough. - -"Who are you, Fräulein? What have they done to you?" - -"Hush, they may hear!" - -"Who are they?" - -"They are the Police, the English Police. Everything is found out. I am -the Fräulein von Vedal. My father has been arrested, but I slipped off -in these clothes to try and warn you and Admiral Kiderlen-Waechter. He -must not be taken if it can be helped. If he escapes, my father says -there is yet a chance. He spoke to me in German until the police -silenced him. They do not understand our tongue, these dogs of English." - -"His Excellency has gone with his gun upon the marsh. He wished to pass -the time until midnight, when the Graf von Vedal was to arrive with the -papers. He will be back at seven. I was about to prepare his coffee, -which takes a long time, for His Excellency is very particular. Now what -shall we do? Have they gone?" - -"I think so. I heard them let down the bridge." - -"And so did I. But they can't be far away. Do they know that the Admiral -is here?" - -"I can't tell, but I don't think so. If only I could get free!" - -"Oh yes, Fräulein, if only you could! As for me, it matters nothing, but -His Excellency must escape. Then he can meet Her to-night and warn -Her--even though the precious papers are all lost. He could go off in -Her and escape that way. You know all about Her, Fräulein?" - -Doris shook her head. "No," she said. "Tell me." - -"If they have not told you already, Fräulein, I must not do so. I am -sworn. I thought perhaps you knew everything." - -"You won't tell me? If I can get away it would be of help for me to -know." - -"No, Fräulein; I am sworn and I must obey orders...." - -"And now I think," said my brother, unlocking the door and speaking in -his usual voice, "we've heard as much as we are likely to." - -We all trooped into the cabin and, taking out his pocket-knife, Dickson -max. cut the cloth strands which held Doris in the chair. - -The German's face grew dead white. His jaw dropped, his eyes blazed like -flames; he gave a roar of baffled fury and strained at his fastenings -with gigantic strength, the muscles at his temples standing out like -blue cords. I never before or since saw such hideous rage. - -"Stop that!" my brother said, whipping out his revolver and pointing it -straight at the fellow. - -It was of no use, however. Again that gigantic bellow swelled out into -the night. Dickson saved the situation. There must be something in these -boys' books after all, for I never saw a gag more quickly and deftly -inserted. - -"And now, tell us exactly what you have learnt, Miss Joyce," Bernard -asked. - -She did so in a very few sentences, putting up her hair at the same -time, standing before the mirror which Schweitzer's pot-shot at me had -cracked. Strange creatures girls are! - -"Half-past six," said Bernard, looking at his watch. "Now for the -Admiral. Get that drawbridge up again." - -We did so, and shortly after my brother joined us. - -"There will be some signal," he said; "one of us must personate that -brute down below. You are the biggest, John, and the broadest." - -"There's an oilskin and a sou'wester hanging in the man's bunk, sir," -said Dickson. - -"Just the thing. Cut along and fetch them." - -I rigged myself up in these clothes as well as I could, and went down -again into the cabin, from where I was to emerge at the signal. - -"We must manage it as best we can," said my brother. "Dickson and I will -go and hide behind the deck-house. When you hear the signal, whatever it -is, he will whistle or something, then come up heavily and let down the -bridge. He is sure not to speak loudly, so if he asks a question, just -growl out something so that he can't hear it till he gets on deck. -Remember he has got a gun, and grapple with him the moment you can. We -will be with you in a second." - -I sat and waited, smoking one of the Doctor's cigars and with a -brandy-and-soda in front of me--I did not see why I shouldn't. My ears -were wide open, but everything had gone so well up to the present that I -did not remember any uneasiness or fear. I was just wondering whether I -should light another cigar when I heard something so silvery sweet and -unexpected that I jumped. - -Somewhere out in the night, close by, came the silver pipe of a whistle. -I never heard anyone whistle so musically before or since. It was the -"Lorelei" that I heard, the sweet, plaintive music of the Rhine maiden. -I cannot explain it, but it gave me a lump in my throat. - -At the sound, the bound giant struggled violently, but he made little or -no noise, and what he did was drowned by my heavy footsteps as I walked -through the cabin and stumbled up the companion. - -On the shore, three yards away, was a figure in fowler's kit, which I -had no difficulty in recognising as that of my friend Mr. Jones. I heard -him say something, but there was a good deal of wind all round and I -ignored it, letting down the drawbridge slowly for him to come on board. -It had hardly bridged the chasm when he stepped briskly on to it and -came over like a flash. He had his gun on his left shoulder, and he -handed it to me, saying something in German. I took it with my left -hand, stepped aside for him to pass, and then kicked him smartly upon -the shin. It is an invaluable dodge; a West-end Bobby told me of it; and -down he went full length on his face with an oath. - -Well, the rest was not difficult. My fourteen stone was on the small of -his back in a minute. My brother, who had employed the interval of -waiting in discovering a coil of wire, had his hands whipped round -behind his back in no time, and Dickson max. sat on the wretched -Admiral's head as if he had been a horse. We left his feet free, because -we wanted to get him down into the cabin. I held him by the shoulder -while my brother pressed the barrel of his Mauser pistol--one of the few -good things that ever came out of Germany, by the way--into the nape of -his neck. He came like a lamb and we sat him down in the same arm-chair -that Doris had just occupied. The wire came in very handy indeed. We -made a cocoon of it round him until he could not stir hand or foot. - -"And now," my brother said, "our next guest will not be here for some -little time. Supper is, I think, clearly indicated. Doris, supposing you -and Dickson see what the galley has to offer--some tinned food, I think -you said, and coffee? Excellent. Meanwhile, I and John will talk to this -gentleman." - -Von Waechter--I call him this for short; people should not have such -beastly long names--von Waechter glanced slowly round the cabin, taking -in everything. He saw Schweitzer lying gagged upon the floor, the -smashed mirror, the bottle of cognac, everything, and I will do him the -justice to say he never moved a muscle of his face. - -"Well now, sir, you will understand that the game is up," said my -brother quietly. - -The man nodded in a meditative sort of way, as if he was considering -whether that was true or not. - -"Ah, my friend Mr. John Carey!" he said. - -"Yes, Mr. Jones," I answered, "and this is my brother, Commander Carey, -of His Majesty's Navy." - -Von Waechter bowed as well as he was able. "Ah," he said, "I am a -prisoner of war, I see." - -My brother shook his head. "I'm afraid not, sir," he replied; "I'm -afraid you are a captured spy." - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE MURDER OF MR. LOCKHART - - -Doctor Upjelly, or the Graf von Vedal as my readers may choose to think -of him, never came to the Hulk that night. - -If this is not the most sensational part of my narrative, it is -certainly the grimmest. It must be told quickly. It is too horrible to -linger upon. - -I was not there myself, but I put it down from the words of an -eye-witness. - -The reason that I was able to be out on the marsh at five o'clock -without suspicion was that, early in the morning after my brother and I -had overheard everything in the gun-punt, I went to the Doctor and asked -for a day off. I said I was going to London to have a final shot at -enlisting. I knew from what I had heard him say to Kiderlen-Waechter -that it did not matter twopence to him either way, whether I went or -stayed. He, himself, was making all preparations for flight. He gave me -leave quite readily. - -Before I pretended to go I told Lockhart everything. It was arranged -that he and Dickson major, whom he was to take into his confidence to a -certain extent, were to watch the Doctor with the utmost care. - -I drove to Blankington-on-Sea in Wordingham's trap, went a station or -two up the line, was met by the Admiralty motor car, made a great -circuit of country, and got back to Cockthorpe within four hours. - -Meanwhile Lockhart and Dickson major watched the Doctor. This is the -story, the horrible story. - -Doris slipped out without notice, dressed in Dickson max.'s -clothes--that has already been explained. The late afternoon went on. -The boys finished their work, played a dreary punt-about of football, -and came in to tea. Lockhart was in charge. - -After tea, 'prep.' began. Old Pugmire had shuffled off home. Old Mrs. -Gaunt was still groaning in bed. At eight-thirty the younger boys went -up to their dormitories, only four of the elder ones remaining -downstairs. Lockhart left them to their own devices--they were roasting -chestnuts, I heard--and waited in his own sitting-room. - -At nine o'clock, Marjorie Joyce came hurriedly from the Doctor's wing -and tapped at Lockhart's door. The Doctor had told Amy, the housemaid, -to light a fire in his bedroom. He said that he would have much writing -to do and that when it was finished he would go out upon the marshes to -shoot, as usual. - -I can picture the scene quite well. Pretty Marjorie, panting, with wide -eyes, in the door of Lockhart's sitting-room; the staunch little man, -keen as a ferret, wondering what this meant. He knew from me, of course, -that Upjelly was to go to the Hulk that night with his _dossier_ of -plans and betrayals. - -They sent for Dickson major from the senior boys' room. They were -closeted together for nearly ten minutes. Then Marjorie led them quietly -from the school-wing into the Doctor's house. - -The Doctor, at that moment, was having supper by himself. He would not -be upstairs for quarter of an hour. Marjorie showed Lockhart and the lad -to the big bedroom with the dancing fire upon the hearth. Dickson major -had a nickel-plated revolver, of which he was very proud. - -"If anything happens, sir," he said, "I can do him in with this." - -Then Dickson major was put under the bed, where he lay, grasping his -revolver, keen as mustard, glad to be in the mysterious business of -which he had been told so little and in which his elder twin was so -actively engaged. - -A tear comes into my eye as I think of that quiet bedroom and those two -poor conspirators waiting for von Vedal, doing their little best, such -as it was. - -There was a big, green curtain, running on rings, in an alcove of the -bedroom. Behind this, the headmaster of Morstone kept a lot of clothes -which he never wore and never even looked at. Here the ardent cripple, -Lockhart, was ensconced. - -There is something comic in the business--the schoolboy and the -ferret-faced master hidden in this fashion. I think that all sinister -tragedies have their bizarre element of comedy--comedy to change so -swiftly into horror. - -In twenty minutes the Doctor came up. He strode into the room with a -firm step, carrying a brown leather bag, which he placed upon the table -by the fire. Then he locked the door. He took off his coat, warmed his -soft, pink hands at the fire, unlocked the bag, spread a mass of -documents from it upon the table, and began to write steadily. - -There was a round clock upon the mantelpiece which ticked incessantly. -It was a quick and hurried tick that came from the clock, and sometimes -it seemed to be accentuated, to be a race with Time; at others, it was -slow as the death-watch. - -The Doctor wrote on. He covered sheet after sheet with swift, easy -writing. When each sheet was done, he blotted it and added it to the -pile on his left hand. - -He had written for three-quarters of an hour, and the hidden watchers -had made no sound whatever, when the big man suddenly jumped up from the -table. They heard his chair crush over the carpet; they heard him sigh -deeply, as if with relief. - -Then Dickson major, peeping under the valance of the bed, saw his -headmaster go to the mantelpiece, open a box of cigars, select one and -light it. It was a long, black, rank Hamburg weed, and the pungent smoke -curled round the room as the man stood with his back to the fire, -looking down upon the table. - -The smoke went round and round. It grew thick. It curled and penetrated -everywhere. It penetrated behind the green curtain where, in an agony -of rheumatism and tortured bones, little Lockhart was standing. - -Lockhart coughed. - -The boy underneath the bed was watching all this. He saw the Doctor turn -quietly and swiftly towards the alcove. He took three soft steps, pulled -the curtain aside, and drew Lockhart out. - -It was horrible. Von Vedal said nothing at all. His great hand descended -upon the shoulder of the cripple and he drew him into the middle of the -room--into the full light of the lamp--looking down at him with a still, -evil scrutiny. - -Lockhart spoke. He did not seem a bit afraid. His curious voice jarred -into the quiet, firelit room with almost a note of triumph in it. - -"You've found me, Doctor Upjelly; but you've lost everything, Graf von -Vedal!" - -Dickson said that the Doctor, bending lower, turned Lockhart's face -upwards with his disengaged hand, pulling it towards the light. The boy -was paralysed. The fingers of his right hand grew cold and dead. The -revolver lay in them like a ton weight. He could not move or cry out. He -could do nothing. - -With the greatest deliberation, von Vedal took Lockhart by the throat. -He felt in his trouser pocket and pulled out an ordinary penknife. Still -clasping his prisoner, he opened the blade with his teeth; and then, -without the slightest haste or sign of anger--I cannot go on, but there -was a thud and the gallant little cripple lay writhing on the floor. - -Von Vedal peered over the edge of the table at him for a moment, and -then pushed him gently away with his foot. Then he sat down and began to -write again. - -It was as if he had brushed away a fly. - -He wrote on, and the boy beneath the bed fainted dead away. When again -the poor lad's eyes opened, he saw the great, white face bent over its -papers, the firm hand moving steadily from left to right, heard the -resolute scratch and screech of the pen as it traversed the pages. But -he saw also that the huddled heap upon the floor was moving slowly. - -With infinite effort, though without a sound, the cripple's arm crept -down the side of his dying body. With infinite effort, and with what -agony none of us will ever know, Lockhart withdrew the pistol with which -I had provided him. He could not lift his arm, but there was movement in -his wrist. Slowly, very slowly, the hand rose from the floor. - -The flash and crash were simultaneous. Upjelly's mouth opened wide. He -tried to turn his head and could not. He coughed twice and then sank -quietly forward upon the records of his treachery. - -The shot broke the nervous bonds in which young Dickson had been held. -He scrambled up from beneath the bed. He ran round the table with -averted eyes and bent over Lockhart. There was a little hissing noise, -like a faint escape of gas. Dickson bent his ear to the mouth of the -dying man. - -"Take Miss Marjorie to Wordingham--Inn--village. Gather up--all those -papers. Put them in bag. After--Miss Marjorie--Inn--run--fast as you -can--to--Doctor's--old Hulk--Thirty Main. Give everything--Mr. Carey. -Good-bye, boy...." - -One last gasp, and the word "England!" sighed out into the bedroom. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE TRUTH AT LAST, THE INCREDIBLE TRUTH! AND HOW THEY FOUGHT FOR THE -SUBMARINE - - -Just after midnight, my brother and myself sat crouching behind the -bulwarks of the Hulk. - -It was the weirdest hour, the strangest scene, that my eyes had ever -looked upon. Snow was falling fast, and yet, somewhere above, there was -a moon. It was all white and ghostly-green, shifting, moving, unreal, as -befitted the horrors which pressed us close. Yet we were exultant; I can -testify to that. "The Judge was set, the doom begun"; in our hearts was -the fiery certainty of success. - -In the deck-house were Bernard's three men, Scarlett, Adams, and -Bosustow--all of whom had served with him in his own ship. Below, in the -saloon, Doris, old Lieutenant Murphy of the Coastguards, and the two -Dickson boys were waiting. - -Let me give the very briefest resumé of events up to the present. - -Dickson major had fulfilled his trust. He had taken Marjorie Joyce to -Mrs. Wordingham at the inn; then he had come to us with the bag of -papers. He had told us everything. All we told Doris was that her sister -had been taken to the inn and that her stepfather was arrested at the -school. We had to keep Doris with us for a time, but old Lieutenant -Murphy, who was now entirely in our confidence, would take her back to -the village when the adventure of the night was over. His car was -waiting there and Doris and Marjorie would both find refuge with Mrs. -Murphy at Cockthorpe. - -The prisoners, Kiderlen-Waechter and the German boatswain, had been -moved into the galley, where one of the lads was watching them. - -It was cold beyond thinking. The snow fell softly on us till we were -blanketed with white. Bernard was whispering. - -"You see, old John, I look at it this way. When we searched -Kiderlen-Waechter an hour ago we found the signal. Doris translated it -for us. The lamp is lit in that box they fitted up so carefully in the -bows. It can only be seen straight up the Creek. They'll make for that." - -"What do you think it is?" - -"They've spoken of it as 'She'--it's a boat, of course. I should say -either one of those wretched little coasters, or possibly even a -fishing-smack. She'll stand a mile out at sea and they'll row into the -Creek with a longboat, for the plans. There is a huge manoeuvre -on--what it is we can't tell yet, and it's touch and go to-night whether -we snooker them or whether we don't. You are ready for anything?" - -"Anything! So old Upjelly's dead, and poor little Lockhart!" - -"He died for his country, as you and I may do to-night, old John. Shed -the sentimental tear on some future occasion. What?" - -His voice rose a little. Scarlett, who was on the look-out, had crept -along the deck and touched Bernard on the shoulder. - -"Come forrard, sir, if you please," the man said in a hoarse whisper. He -could hardly get the words out, and at first I thought his teeth were -chattering with cold, but it was not so. - -We crept to the bows of the Hulk and peered over the broken, rotting -taffrail. Two feet below was the beam of the signal lamp shining up the -creek towards the sea. The snow had temporarily stopped in this part of -the marsh and the moon was bright. Thirty Main stretched away ahead as -far as we could see, two hundred yards long and a hundred wide, of -black, gleaming steel. The tide was full at flood. - -Scarlett handed my brother a pair of night-glasses. Bernard gazed -through them for twenty seconds, and then they fell softly on the deck. - -"Oh God!" he said in a low voice, "so it is _that_, and I never thought -of it before! Fool! Fool!" - -I stared out also, not daring to say a word. No man can see better at -night than I. What _was_ that? Something slowly floating down the centre -of the creek, a black, oblong patch. Was it two or three duck swimming -landwards with the tide? - -Then the black patch lifted itself from the water. It seemed to have a -long, narrow tail--the whole thing was curiously distinct in the -moonlight. In a second I realised that something was _being pushed up -from below_. I had never seen anything like it before. I experienced -that hideous sensation in the pit of the stomach that comes to people -who are face to face with the unknown and the unexpected for the first -time in their lives. All this happened in half a minute. The black, -oblong thing was now high in the air on the end of a pole which came -straight up through the middle of the creek. Something else was rising, -a black hump, which grew and grew, until a grey tower stood -there;--stood there but moved slowly towards us--or did it begin to -recede? - -I heard Bernard's voice: "Stand by the lamp!" - -"Aye, aye, sir!" - -Scarlett was bending low over the bows of the Hulk. In the middle of the -waterway something long and lean was showing. There was a soft, metallic -clang, and then, from the centre of the dark, floating object, a light -flashed quickly, three times. Immediately I heard the click of the -shutter of our own lamp and saw the occulting beam below flash and -disappear in answer. - -I knew, I think in some subconscious way, I must have known from the -very first. The whole thing, in its magnificent and unsuspected daring, -its malevolent simplicity, struck me like a blow. This was a German -submarine; this was the channel by which the Master-Spy, von Vedal, and -his agents had been sending information to the enemy! On my own quiet -marshes, in Thirty Main Creek! - -"One of their 'D' class, sir; same as our 'E.' Crew of fifteen, no -quick-firing gun, and probably wireless. Handy little craft, sir!" - -"They'll be coming aboard in a minute, Scarlett." - -"Aye, aye, sir. If you look, sir, you'll see they are getting one of -those collapsible boats up. New thing, sir, and very handy. Holds six. -Ah!" - -I could see quiet and purposeful activity round the conning-tower of the -submarine. A group of dark figures was silhouetted in the moonlight, and -presently a little boat, like a bobbing cork, lay by her side. - -Three men got into it and it pushed off. It went towards the other side -of Thirty Main. - -"Concealed moorings, sir," Scarlett whispered. "They've been here -before. It's dead water, and the ship'd drift, if ..." - -I heard no more. I watched breathlessly. The boat went to the far side -of the creek and remained there for nearly two minutes. If there was a -cable, I did not see it, but presently the boat turned and came rapidly -towards the Hulk. - -"John, take him quietly to the cabin and shove him in--it's the -Commander coming aboard," my brother added. "Scarlett, get back into the -deck-house and light that lamp. Mr. Carey is dressed like the German -boatswain, and he will show the officer straight into the deck-house. -It's ten to one the sailors won't come up. Remember to do your job -without the slightest noise--you, Adams, and Bosustow." - -"Out him, sir?" - -"I'm afraid so. There is no other way. Directly it is over, take off his -clothes and bring them down into the cabin. Mind the men in the boat -hear nothing." - -"Aye, aye, sir." - -Then my brother turned to me. The boat was now almost by the side of the -Hulk. - -"You understand, John?" he said. - -I touched his arm, afraid to speak. - -"Then go and get the rope-ladder." - -I stepped to the deck-cabin and saw the three sailors standing round it -among the litter of shooting gear. A smoky lamp hung from the ceiling. -Scarlett passed me the ladder. I took it and went to the side--my -brother had disappeared. - -There was a low hiss seven feet below. I hissed, too, fixed the ladder -hooks, and dropped the rest of it. One of the sailors caught it, while -the other steadied the boat, and a slim man of just over middle height -came up like a cat. He wore some sort of dark uniform, what it was I -could not see. The collar was turned up round his face, which appeared -to be clean-shaved. - -I saluted and stepped towards the deck-house. He followed me without a -sound. - -Then I tapped on the door, which opened immediately, and as it did so I -shot him in with a smart blow between the shoulder-blades. There was -just one little gasping sound, and that was all. The door closed gently. -The two sailors below in the boat sat quietly enough. I went down into -the saloon. - -Quick as I was, my brother was before me. He was talking earnestly to -Doris in a low voice. I stood at the door at attention, and I think I -never saw a stranger scene. - -Old Lieutenant Murphy, in uniform, was seated at the table. His nostrils -were opening and shutting in his tanned face. He was exactly like an old -dog brought to the hunt for the last time. The door into the galley was -half open. Dickson major stood there with a magazine pistol in his hand. -Dickson max. sat opposite the lieutenant, his face a mask of -determination and strength. It was wonderful. - -"You quite understand, Doris? You can be brave?" - -"I quite understand, Bernard." - -"Then we will wait a minute. Sit down, John." - -We all sat down--waiting. One minute--two minutes passed. Then came a -light tap upon the door. It opened and Scarlett entered. His face was -rather red, and he breathed heavily. On his right arm he carried a -bundle of clothes. - -My brother looked at him with a lift of the eyebrows, and Scarlett -nodded, placing the clothes on the table. - -"Go through these clothes, Lieutenant," Bernard said. Then he turned to -Scarlett and whispered. - -The man saluted and disappeared. A few seconds after, my brother -beckoned to Doris. - -"Now, then," he said, "be brave!"--and then, turning to me, "Stand out -of sight on deck, John, and be ready to help." - -We crept up on deck. To my unutterable surprise, Doris went to the side -and leant over. She spoke in German and in a very low voice. - -"She's telling them that they're to come up on board and have a drink," -my brother said. - -The two figures below rose with alacrity. The first one ascended the -ladder as Doris whipped down the hatchway into the cabin. The second -sailor followed his companion. - -I was not called upon to help, thank Heaven! Scarlett, Adams, and -Bosustow rose from nowhere. - -"That accounts for three," said my brother, but I turned my head away -not to see what was going on. - -When we were again down in the cabin I was shaking like a leaf. - -"Drink this," Bernard said sternly, "and pull yourself together. It is -War, don't you understand that, man?" - -Doris was leaning over the table by the side of Lieutenant Murphy. In -front of her was a paper. The lovely face, oddly boyish under its cap, -was wrinkled with scrutiny. - -"It is special orders," she said at length, "addressed to Admiral -Kiderlen-Waechter. The plans are to be taken on board the submarine at -once." Her voice broke for the moment, but she made a great effort at -control, and the next words came from her slowly and distinctly. To me, -I think to all of us, they were like the strokes of a tolling bell. - -"_The German battleship, Friesland, has eluded our Fleet in the North -Sea. Our Fleet has been decoyed towards the Scotch coast by a sortie of -the enemy from Kiel. The battleship is approaching this part of England. -She is attended by destroyers and submarines. She is convoying three -troop-ships, each of which contains two thousand German troops. The -rendezvous is for two o'clock to-morrow afternoon, when Captain von -Benda is to deliver my stepfather's plans to the German Admiral. The -landing of the raiding force is to be effected on these marshes some -time during to-morrow night._" - -"To-night," said my brother, looking at his watch and snapping it into -his pocket. - -Then there was a dead silence. - -Bernard sat down at the table and buried his head in his hands, -motioning us to be silent. For fully five minutes he remained thus, and -what was going on within his mind I could but faintly guess. I knew, at -any rate, and so, I think, did old Lieutenant Murphy, how enormous and -incalculable were the issues that hung upon the decision of the young -Commander, whose face was hidden from us. - -When Bernard looked up again his eyes were very bright and he was -smiling. - -"Go on deck, John," he said, "and order the men to come down." - -They came down, and Scarlett had upon his arm another bundle of clothes. - -"Attention!" said my brother. - -The three sailors stood stiffly by the door. - -"Dickson major!"--Dickson major came out of the galley. - -"Dickson max.!"--the elder brother sprang to attention also. - -"John!"--I stood as stiffly as the rest. - -"These men are under my orders, and they will go to death with me. You -three are different. There is no time to explain everything now, but -there is just a chance of saving this country from disaster. It is only -a chance, mind. It is a forlorn hope. We may fail in half an hour: we -may fail in twenty-four hours. In fact, it is almost certain that we -shall. Still, are you coming?" - -Well, of course there wasn't any palaver about that. It was settled in a -minute. Then Bernard turned to old Murphy. - -"Lieutenant," he said, "I am sorry that we are not going to have you -with us, but you've got plenty to do ashore." - -"I'm damned sorry too, sir, for, by George, I'd like to have a smack at -'em before I die!" - -"You may yet. Now, please take your instructions. You know the marsh. -Get off with Miss Joyce as quickly as possible. Take her to join her -sister at the Morstone Arms. Then call up the coastguard for miles -round. Come here to this Hulk--you won't see us in any case--and have -the prisoners secured safely. Then send these despatches." - -My brother sat down and began to write in cipher on leaves torn from his -notebook. He looked up once. - -"John," he said, "suppose you go up on deck with Doris. Make not the -slightest noise, but make your adieux." - -We stole up, and I held my girl in my arms for a minute. She did not see -the dark stains which splashed the snow upon the boards. - -"Good-bye, dear," I said. "Remember that I loved you more than anything -else in the whole world!" - -Oh, she was wonderful! "Of course, I shall always remember how you left -me to-night," she whispered. "But you are coming back. Something tells -me that. Yesterday I was a quiet girl living an ordinary life. To-night, -nothing can disturb me, nothing can frighten me. I have supped too full -of horrors, dear John, but I am glad, and proud and happy!" - -It is hardly necessary to say more. Within five minutes the old -lieutenant and my girl had passed away like ghosts from the near shore -and I was down in the cabin again. - -Bernard was taking off his clothes and putting on those of the dead -captain of the submarine. Scarlett and Adams were already dressed in the -uniform of the German sailors. Bosustow stood in his shirt and drawers, -and so did my two school-boys. - -"You see, it's like this, Johnny," Bernard said. "As far as we can -judge, there are about twelve men in that submarine. We've got to kill -them; there is no other way. We've got to take that submarine out into -the North Sea and we have got to fight her ourselves. The Germans will -be looking out for us. They will think us their despatch boat right -enough. We may be able to stop them before our own supports get out of -Harwich, for Lieutenant Murphy will be telegraphing all over the country -within two hours. It is touch and go, but we've got to do it." - -There was an odd, dual sound, instantly suppressed. I looked sternly -towards the end of the saloon. It came from Dickson max. and Dickson -major, and if it was not a chuckle of intense and supreme delight, it -was a strangled "hooray." The three sailors standing at attention moved -not an inch, but I caught Scarlett winking at his right-hand man. - -Bernard smiled grimly for an instant. I knew the signs. He was really -happy. Then he went on. - -"Now, Scarlett and Adams will row the boat to the submarine. I shall sit -in the stern impersonating the captain, who has recently been killed in -action"--and, to my surprise, Bernard saluted. "You will be in the bows, -John, and they may take you for that fellow, Schweitzer, in there. -Bosustow, and Mr. Dickson, and Mr.----" he looked inquiringly at Dickson -major. - -"Harold," was the reply. - -"Oh yes, Mr. Harold Dickson will swim in the wake of the boat. We have -eight magazine pistols. Three will be in the sternsheets. The -brevet-lieutenants and the petty officer"--you should have seen my lads' -faces as they were commissioned!--"will swim to the ladder on the -submarine's quarter and follow us down. But be careful that, in the -rough and tumble, you don't shoot any of the first attacking party. Is -all clear?" - -"Certainly, sir," said Dickson max., with a sublime and effective -impudence I could never have compassed. Already, in his magnificent -mind, Dickson max. trod the quarter-deck and wore a sword. And the -curious thing was, as we all crept up to the deck, that those tried -veterans, Scarlett, Adams, and Bosustow, accepted the situation without -a doubt. - -Then we started. My brother gripped me by the hand as I went down the -ladder, and it was the only sign of emotion that he showed. - -"Good old John!" he whispered. "I've sent Marjorie a message by Doris." - -The submarine lay in the middle of the Creek, a hundred and fifty to two -hundred yards away. As our boat drew near, the moonlight became -obscured and there was a sudden drift of snow. We shot alongside, and -there was a gleam from a lantern shining down upon us. - -It showed me a curving steel ladder, which went up over the fish-back of -the thing to a long, low deck with a light railing running round it. Two -men were standing there, and as we made fast, one of them came half-way -down the ladder and held out his hand to me. I took it, stumbled for an -instant, and found myself upon the steel platform. At my back, the -conning-tower rose eight feet high above me. Within three yards was an -oblong hatchway, from which a faint, orange light came upwards, turning -the snowflakes to dingy gold. - -Scarlett was beside me in a second. I took the man nearest and caught -him by the throat. He had no time to gasp or cry out. I pressed him back -over the rail, which held--Krupp steel, I suppose. There was a slight -"snick"--it was not that of breaking metal--and I shot the sailor over -the far side, where he sank like a log. - -Then I turned. A furious and silent fight was going on between Scarlett -and the other seaman. They swayed and rocked this way and that. They -panted just like the sound of a bellows blowing up a fire. I waited, -trying to get in a grip. Figures moved past me and disappeared down the -hatchway, but I hardly saw them. Scarlett swung his enemy towards the -conning-tower, and then I got my chance. I "collared him low"--Rugger -three-quarter style--and brought him down upon the deck. The man gave a -loud shout, but it was drowned by a furious noise below. There was no -more necessity for silence. I pulled out my pistol and there was an end -of the German. Scarlett jumped up like a gymnast, and together we heaved -the body overboard. - -"The swine's bin and bit my ear!" said Scarlett. "Now then, sir, come -on!" and he swung himself over the hatchway and dropped. - -I followed. It is impossible to describe what I saw--at any rate, my pen -is not equal to the task. For a moment, I was blinded by brilliant -light, through which a multitude of figures danced and leapt, like -people in a dream. My ear-drums were almost split by the noise. There -was a horrible, bitter smell in my nostrils, and my throat felt as if I -was swallowing a bullet of lead. - -Then, as things cleared, and I suppose it could only have been an -instant before they did so, I found myself in a gleaming tunnel, -surrounded by unfamiliar machinery. - -A man lying within three yards of me, his face like wet, red velvet, -suddenly jerked up his body like a marionette. His arms shot out, there -was a deafening explosion, and something rang behind my head like a gong -smitten without warning. I shot him in the body, and then I saw three -dripping figures growling and worrying upon the floor like wolves. They -rolled about with a crash and clank of metal until the great arm of the -Cornishman, Bosustow, rose and fell three times like a flail. - -At the far end of the tunnel, there were more reports, and then I saw my -brother walking along a sort of grating and coming towards me. - -Everything seemed to rock and dissolve. I fell back against an upright -of some sort or other and my senses nearly went. I thought I was in bed -at Morstone House School and the seven-o'clock bell was tolling. - -Once more, things cleared. Everything gradually became distinct. The -infernal noise, the wild welter of sound, was hushed. Only two yards -away from me, a man dressed as a sailor was kneeling before my brother, -who held a pistol to his head. The man's hands were held up, his face -was a white wedge of terror, and a constant stream of words bubbled from -his livid lips. - -"Yes, sir. Karl, sir. Coming, sir. Porterhouse steak, sir, what you -always used to like. No, sir--Swiss really--not a German. Oh, Captain -Carey, don't kill me, sir"--the voice rose into a shriek of agony--"_I -am Karl, sir!_"--the words came in an ecstasy of conviction. "Karl, -head-waiter at the Portsmouth Royal! Why, sir, you've tipped me half a -crown twenty times. Oh, sir ..." - -My brother's face seemed cut in granite, but he began to laugh. - -"Tie this up!" he said, and Adams ran forward--Adams was all black and -red and his clothes were torn. - -Then Bernard turned to me. - -"By God!" he said, "we've done it, John, we've done it so far!" - -Then I realised that, save for the whining creature being trussed upon -the grating, the crew of the German submarine were all dead. - -"Mr. Dickson!" - -"Sir!" - -"Instruct the boatswain to pipe all hands tidy ship." - -It was the man Adams who, fumbling in his clothes, produced a whistle -which shrilled loudly and acted as a strange tonic to us all. - -"I give you quarter of an hour," Bernard said. "Bodies to be heaved -overboard; gratings to be swabbed as well as possible in the time. Get a -hose overboard, Mr. Dickson, and have the hand-pump manned." - -Then Bernard took me by the arm and led me up the slippery ladder. We -stood upon the long, narrow deck, and the snow fell over us like a -mantle. - -"Now, old boy," he said, "pull yourself together. All has gone well, but -in half an hour we must be out in the North Sea, five fathoms deep. Feel -a bit sickish? Oh, you'll get over that in a few minutes. We have only -just begun." - - -END OF PART II - - - - -PART III - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -OUT IN THE NORTH SEA. PREPARING FOR ACTION - - -The bees were humming through the orchard with a long, droning sound as -I lay in the hammock of my old home, once more a careless boy. My eyes -were closed, but the bright sun shone upon my face, and Peters, my -father's old butler, was coming over the grass to tell me that tea was -ready. - -He touched my arm. - -It was not Peters; it was a pale, clean-shaved fellow with an obsequious -manner, who held a wooden bowl of steaming milk and coffee in his hands. -I sat up and rubbed my eyes. The deep, droning noise, which had seemed -like the bees of childhood in my dream, was the noise of engines not far -away. I had slept three hours in the hammock, as my brother had -insisted, and here was the captured German waiter bringing me coffee. I -took it, but half-awake, and watched the man go to two other hammocks -which stretched away in front of me. The Dickson boys tumbled out of -them and I became fully conscious of where I was. - -For the moment, but only for a moment, I was unmanned. The horror of all -that we had been through so recently rolled over me like a flood. The -shambles that the submarine had become, the ruthless killing of fourteen -men--the horrible little snick as I broke the back of my own victim!... - -But it passed. The coffee was excellent and invigorating, and in a -minute I tossed the empty bowl into the hammock and stood upon a steel -grating, looking about me with wide eyes. - -At that moment my brother came up, walking briskly, like a man at home. -He seemed changed in some way, and I realised what it was--the policeman -on his beat, and unbuttoned and at ease, the parson in his pulpit or -trimming roses in the rectory garden, are two very different people. - -"Where are we?" I said. "What has happened?" - -"You've had a very good sleep, John. You went off like a log directly I -had the hammock slung. It was necessary, too, or you'd never be fit for -what is coming." - -"Have we started?" - -"Started!" he grinned. "We're thirty miles away from Morstone Marshes, -abreast of Skegness, I should judge, which, as far as I can calculate, -is about sixty miles to the westward--and heading straight out into the -North Sea. We're just crossing the line of the Rotterdam boats from -Hull." - -"But there is no movement!" - -"No, my son, because we're twenty-five feet under water, that's why. -Now, you had better come and look round the boat; I shall have to -explain everything to you and show you what you will have to do later -on." He turned to the Dicksons. "You come, too," he said, "and if ever -the three of you have your wits about you, have them now. You've got to -learn in an hour or two what it takes an ordinary seaman six months to -learn--or part of it, at any rate." - -I am not going to describe everything I saw in detail. This is a story -of action, and I always skip the descriptive parts in books, myself. The -Johnnies only put them in to fill up. I expect they are paid so much a -page, if the truth were known! Still, I must try and give some picture -of the strange and unfamiliar world in which I found myself. Here I was -sailing under the sea for all the world like someone in Jules Verne, -experiencing something that only the tried men of the navies ever know. - -I was in a long, narrow tunnel, most brilliantly lit. The air was warm -and close, tainted a little with a faint suggestion of chemical fumes. -It was rather like being in a chemist's shop in winter time when a large -fire is burning. - -Immediately to my right, the German waiter was busy over a little -electric stove, in a doorless compartment not bigger than a bathing -machine, Pots and pans hung above him and there were shelves covered -with wire netting containing stores of food. We passed him, and I -judged, from the breadth from side to side, that we were standing almost -in the middle of the submarine. - -Upon white-painted gratings, my brother's sailors moved here and there -with bare feet, quiet and alert in their jumpers. The light was caught -by, and reflected again, from innumerable pieces of shining machinery, -brass and silver and dull bronze. There was a tension both of physical -atmosphere and mental excitement, strange and unnatural to me, but which -those who go beneath the waters and explore the mysterious deep always -have with them. - -We walked down a central gangway and stopped by two powerful gasolene -engines, one on each side--long, lean, polished monsters, that lay -inert, but ready to leap into action on the turn of a switch and the -pulling of a lever. - -"Those are the engines which run the boat when we are on the -surface--'awash,' we call it. We can do seventeen knots then--I am -assuming that this German boat is about equal to one of our own of its -class, though I have already come across several remarkable improvements -in her. We are running now by electric motor and doing about twelve -knots, which is first-class, but I'm pushing her along for all I know." - -We passed onwards and to where Bosustow stood beaming over three great -purring, spitting dynamos, a piece of cotton waste in one huge paw. - -"Oh, they're daisies, sir," he said, as he patted coils of insulated -wire in an ecstasy of appreciation. "They can show us something, sir, -the Germans can. The sleeve that carries the commutator is keyed to the -armature shaft on an entirely new system; it's a fair miracle of -ingenuity. But where they beat us hollow is in the accumulators. I've -not had time to inspect them thoroughly, but if we get out of this, then -the whole of our system will have to be altered." - -We all bent over a rail towards the great accumulator tanks below, and I -felt a faint, acrid odour rising up from them. - -"You're smelling electricity, sir," said Bosustow to me. Then he turned -to a big, table-like switch-board which controlled the flow of current -from below and commanded all the electrical machinery on board. He -fingered the big, vulcanite handles as if he loved them and stroked the -shining flanged rim of the volt meter as a mother strokes her child. - -"Now Mr. Carey understands something about machinery, Bosustow," said my -brother. "You can trust him to follow out your directions without making -any blunders, I think. John, your station will be by Bosustow until you -are wanted forrard, but there is no need for you to stay now. There is a -good deal more that I must say." - -All the voices were sharp and staccato, my own sounded like that in my -ears when I answered. They echoed and rang in the heavy air of the -sealed, steel tube, voices that were not quite free and natural, for -all their readiness of tone. - -We turned and went forward again, passing an open doorway and a few -steps which led upwards to the conning-tower. The gangway ran at each -side of it. - -The long, tunnel-like vista grew narrower and the roof began to slope -downward to a point. In front of us, in the extreme bows of the boat, -were two huge, circular steel doors, like the doors of a safe, clamped -and locked by an intricate mechanism. - -"These are the mouths of the torpedo expulsion tubes," said Bernard. "We -carry six torpedoes, I am glad to find--two more than I should have -expected in a boat of this size--and, by Jove, we shall want 'em! If we -throw away a single one, the game will be up, I expect. The torpedoes -are run into these tubes along steel rails. They're discharged from the -tubes by compressed air from the air tanks below. I see here the -pressure is several thousand pounds to the square inch. In some boats we -send out the tin fish by exploding a few ounces of cordite, but the air -is the better way." - -He turned to where Scarlett was busy and I saw a submarine torpedo for -the first time. I confess there was a little inward shudder as I looked -upon the deadly thing that could send the largest battleship afloat to -the bottom in a few minutes. It was like a huge fish of steel with a -large propeller at one end. - -"These are beauties," Bernard said, "and to think that we are going to -have the chance of using them against their original owners!" He -chuckled. - -"The propelling engines," he went on, "are inside--for you must remember -that a torpedo is a little ship in itself and is not a projectile at -all. There are three hundred pounds of trinitrotoluene in this -beauty--we've done away with the old-fashioned gun-cotton now--and she's -got a range of seven thousand yards--over four miles, Johnny, my boy! -Now, Mr. Dickson and Mr. Harold Dickson, you will stay here with -Scarlett. It will be your part, when we go into action, to fire these -torpedoes. There ought to be six or seven of you to do it. There are -only three, and two of you are quite untrained. Scarlett, get to work at -once and give these gentlemen a practical drill. Show them exactly what -they will have to do and explain the orders that will come from me. Miss -out anything superfluous; remember we've hardly any time. Just teach -them what is absolutely necessary." - -"Aye, aye, sir!" said Scarlett, and as we turned back I heard him at -once beginning his lecture. - -And now we came to the most interesting part of that world of marvels, -to the _brain_ of the submarine. Adams stood in the first stage of the -conning-tower, his hands upon a little leather-covered steering-wheel. -In front of him was a gyroscopic compass and a row of speaking-tubes. A -light threw a bright radiance upon a framed chart hanging on the wall, -marked everywhere with faint purple pencil lines. - -Bernard glanced at the compass and gave the man a few directions. Then -we went up a short ladder of half a dozen rungs into the highest chamber -of all. - -It was perfectly circular. There was just room for two or three people, -and the steel roof was two feet above our heads. A great tube came down -through the roof and disappeared beneath the open grating of the floor. -It was like the mast of a ship going through the cabin down to the very -gar-board strike. There was a row of brass clock-faces with trembling -needles and oddly shaped gauges, in which coloured liquid rose and fell. -The whole ganglion of nerves met here in the cerebellum of the ship, and -at a glance its commander knew exactly what she was doing, her speed, -her depth below the surface of the water, the pressure--a thousand other -things which I am not competent to name. The whimsical idea came to me -that it was like lifting up the top of a man's head and seeing the -thoughts which controlled every motion of his body. - -There were charts, also, spread upon a semi-circular shelf of mahogany, -with dividers, compasses, and a large magnifying glass. - -Fastened to the wall, just above this shelf, was something that touched -me strangely. It was a photograph in a silver frame, the photograph of a -young, light-haired girl, and upon it was written in German, "_An meinem -lieber Otto_." - -Bernard saw it too and sighed. "It's the skipper's girl," he said. -"Poor chap! he'll never see her again in this world! It was an ugly -death to die, John!" and his voice had a note of deep feeling in it. -"But it had to be, and Scarlett told me that he didn't know what hurt -him. - -"Now," he continued, "I'm going to show you something." He pulled out -his watch and then, leaning over to the wall, he snapped over something -like the stunted lever of a signal box. Then he pressed a button and a -bell rang somewhere far down below. A hoarse voice sounded in our ears -from a speaking-tube, and there was a quick, throbbing, pumping sound -from the column in the wall. - -Looking down, I saw that immediately below us was a circular white -table. I put my hand on it and it was painted canvas, dazzlingly white. - -"The periscope is going up," my brother said. "It should be light, -now--watch!" - -There was a click and the lamp in the roof went out. We were in -darkness. A slight creaking sound, a movement of my brother's arm, and -there flashed down, in clear light upon the table, a picture of the -upper seas. - -Forty feet above, the eye of the submarine surveyed the dawn, and in -that still box where we stood, we saw it also. - -Dawn upon the waters! A tossing grey expanse of waves. It was like the -film of a cinematograph, only in colour, and as Bernard turned the -wheel, picture after picture glided over the table--the most incredible -thing! - -Not a sail was in sight. The North Sea was an empty, tossing waste of -waters in the cold light of the winter's dawn. - -The dawn of--what? - - - - -CHAPTER X - -THE SPEAR OF FOAM - - -"A little fresh air is clearly indicated," said my brother, "and after -that, when I've attended to another little matter, a good breakfast. -Some of us may be taking our next meal in Fiddlers' Green, which, they -say in the Navy, is nine miles to windward of hell, though I hope not." - -He switched on the light again and went to the side table, where there -was a complicated array of wheels and levers, all of which were -duplicated in the chamber immediately below and by means of which the -Commander, watching the picture of the periscope, could control every -movement of the boat with his own hands if necessary. - -He pulled a lever and a bell clanged. At once the loud purring of the -electric engines ceased. - -Bernard pulled over another and larger lever with both hands. I suddenly -felt myself slipping backwards, until I fetched up against the wall of -the conning-tower, narrowly missing the opening to the steersman's -chamber. - -"By Jove! I forgot to tell you," said Bernard. "You see, I've stopped -the electric engines and jammed over the horizontal rudders. We're -slanting up to the surface--look!" - -Immediately in front of me and a little above my head, I now saw round -portholes filled with amazingly thick, toughened glass. These had been -quite black and had escaped my notice before. Now, as I watched, they -grew a little lighter. Click! and the lamp went out. The portholes were -grey now, grey melting into green, which grew brighter and brighter -until it turned into a froth of soda-water, and then there was nothing -but white sky. There was a slight jerk and the floor seemed to right -itself. - -"We're just awash now, but we'll get above water." - -Again the ring of a bell, an order through a speaking-tube. After that -came a clang of machinery and an extraordinary bubbling, choking noise, -like a giant drinking. - -"Just blown out the water tanks, old soul. Feel her lift? Now her -whale-back is above water and we'll go and say good-morning to the sun, -which I perceive is very kindly beginning to show himself. But before -that ..." - -He shouted another order and there came a deafening din from below. -Bang! Bang! Bang! till the whole steel hull quivered. - -"That is the surface engine starting. It'll be all right in a minute," -and even as he spoke, the noise subsided into a regular throb. It was -for all the world like a motor car starting on bottom speed and then -slipping into top gear. - -Scarlett came hurrying up into the conning-tower and he and my brother -unlocked the sliding hatch. In a minute we had emerged into the keen air -of the morning. How fresh and sweet it seemed to me it is impossible to -say. The sun was rising. The bitter cold of the marshes had gone. The -small waves were flecked with gold as we stood upon the wet steel plates -and drank in the air as if it had been wine. - -"An ideal day for a submarine action!" Bernard said, rubbing his hands. -"There's just enough ripple on the surface to make us difficult to -detect, and yet it is smooth enough to give me a clear view. This boat -is beautifully trimmed, she doesn't roll a bit. I'll send those boys up -in a minute or two, but meanwhile I've got to play a bit of bluff. A lot -depends on it." - -I nodded. It was not my place to ask questions. - -"You see," he went on, "of course the German battleship expects us. I -know exactly the spot in the North Sea where we are supposed to pick her -up some time after lunch--provided, of course, that the Germans have -carried out their plans successfully and our scouts really have been -decoyed away. It is part of a huge scheme. - -"Well, assuming that their own plans are successful, they will be on the -look-out for us and they'll send us a wireless message when we're within -close range. This will be some prearranged signal, a single letter -repeated a certain number of times or something of that sort, so that -any of our ships picking it up would not know what it meant. We've got a -wireless mast on board which can be shoved up at will and there's a -complete installation in a little room down below next to the cook's -galley. Unfortunately there is not one of us who knows anything about -wireless. Bosustow is a capable electrician and could control the -machinery, but he can't understand the signals. Therefore, when we sight -the _Friesland_--and I want to get as near her as possible so as to make -no mistakes--we must signal with flags. - -"I've got their signal book and in it is a special code made for this -occasion. The flags are in the flag locker all right, but I don't -understand a word of German and none of us here do, so I'm going to put -the fear of God into our friend, Karl of the Portsmouth Royal. A lot -depends on that. - -"Just skip down, young John, and tell Scarlett to bring him up here." - -"Aye, aye, sir!" I said--it came to me quite naturally, I didn't think -about it--and I climbed down into the interior of the submarine. - -Scarlett was standing by the starboard torpedo tube, while the Dickson -brothers, with their backs turned to me, were chuckling delightedly. I -heard a fragment of the conversation. - -"... and so, sir, I ses to the gal, Molly her name was, they used to -call her the belle of South-sea pier, 'Molly,' I ses, 'you're a little -bit of all right, but ...'" - -I cut short that anecdote. My pedagogic instincts awoke and I forgot -that the Dicksons were now brevet officers of the King. - -A sharp order did it. The two lads turned away and began to be -ostentatiously busy, while Scarlett, his face did not belie his name at -that moment, pattered along the grating, caught hold of the ex-German -waiter with unnecessary roughness, and kicked him towards the ladder of -the conning-tower. - -I went up first, and when Karl emerged he stood to attention with a very -pale face, though I did not miss a quick glance round the horizon. My -brother was looking down upon a shining magazine pistol in his hand. - -Then he raised his head and his voice grated like a file. - -"Look here, you Karl, or whatever you call yourself, you're a spy!" - -There was a torrent of expostulation. "No, sir, not a spy; I never was -that. I was a reservist in our Navy. I was called out and I had to go. -I'm a prisoner of war, sir, that's what I am." - -My brother shook his head. "You can't prove that," he said, "and the -circumstances are most suspicious. I spared you last night, thinking you -might be useful, and you certainly made some very good coffee this -morning. But I've come to the conclusion ..."--he lifted the pistol. - -I had had my brother's word for it that Karl was an excellent -head-waiter. My own observations showed me that he was a coward, for he -fell on his knees and tears began to stream from his eyes. My brother -spat over the side in disgust and I kicked the fellow up to attention -again. - -"Well, I'll give you one more chance before shooting you out of hand. -You must come down with me and translate the German in the Flag Signal -Book. You must tell me all you know about the plans of your late -commander. Then, if you make us a good breakfast--I thought I saw some -tinned sausages and some marmalade in your rack--I may possibly not -shoot you, though I shall tie you up when we go into action. At any -rate, you will have the same chance as the rest of us." - -The fellow's gratitude was painful to see. He was all smiles and -obsequiousness at once, and so that little matter was concluded -satisfactorily. - -We had our breakfast, and an excellent one it was, all sharing alike. -Afterwards I went up on deck with the Dicksons. - -We saw the sails of two trawlers a mile away on the port bow, but save -for them the sea was deserted. The boys were in high spirits. Not a -thought of what was to come troubled them for a moment. "Just think, -sir," said Dickson max., "what a bit of luck to be in for a rag like -this!" But I won't recount any more of their joyous prattle. It was real -enough. They had not a trace of fear, but underlying everything there -was a deep seriousness that had made them men in a few short hours. - - * * * * * - -For two hours I worked hard with Bosustow at the engines. There was -lots to do. The gauges of the petrol tanks needed attention. There were -many details which would only interest an engineer were I to recount -them. - -At a quarter to twelve I went forward with my brother. We were still on -the surface--heading fast for our destination--and saw the port and -starboard torpedo tubes loaded. It was astonishing how the Dicksons had -picked up something of their work, and Bernard was very pleased. - -At twelve we lunched and a tot of rum was served out to the three -sailors. Everything was now ship-shape. We were all dressed in uniforms -of the dead crew. We tied up Karl and lashed him securely in his galley. -Then, Adams being at the wheel in the lower portion of the -conning-tower, my brother assembled us aft, by the clanging petrol -engines. - -"In ten minutes," he said, "I shall sound 'Prepare for action,' and from -that time onwards you will be at your posts. I believe we are going to -surprise the Germans and surprise the whole world. I believe we are -going to save England from this raid. But we've got to remember that we -may not pull it off. I am very pleased, more than pleased, with all you -have done. I never want to command a better crew. It is the best scratch -crew in naval history. We are only seven and we ought to be fifteen, but -that does not matter. We have shown it does not matter, already. Now -before we get to quarters I think we ought to remember what day this is. -It happens to be Sunday." - -I am ashamed to say we all looked up in surprise, but so it was. - -"Well," my brother continued, "by good luck, I happen to have a -prayer-book in my pocket and I am going to read a bit of the service and -the ninety-first psalm." - -Very straight and stiff, he pulled out a battered little book and began. -This is not a scene I wish to linger on, but you will understand my -reasons. - -After the last sonorous Amen, Bernard said: - -"Well, we've said our prayers and we've thought of our wives and--and of -our girls. That is all I have got to say." - -He nodded to Scarlett and a shrill whistle--the trumpet of the -Navy--rang and rattled through the tube. - -The two boys and Scarlett went forward to the torpedoes. Adams was -called down from the steering wheel to assist Bosustow at the engines. -My brother ordered me up into the conning-tower by his side. - -"You'll be of more help to me here," he said. "I shall control the ship -entirely myself, but I may want your assistance. Watch me carefully in -case I have to go below at any moment." - -At twelve-thirty precisely, the gasolene engines were stopped. Bernard -filled the tanks, slightly deflected the horizontal rudders, and we -dived into the smooth, green wall of an approaching swell and sank to -ten feet. The light was switched off, the periscope rose, and we bent -over the white table, white no longer. - -At five minutes to one the picture of the empty sea was altered. Our -range of vision was about two miles, and at that distance to the -north-east we observed a cloud of smoke upon the horizon. - -"There she is!" I said, and put my finger upon the rapidly growing -smear. - -Within twenty minutes, a large battleship raised her hull, making -directly towards us. We altered our course a little, and as we swerved I -could see she had four funnels which grew larger every moment. Of her -accompanying flotilla and of the transports we could see nothing at all. - -Then we rose to the surface. - -Our short-handedness became apparent at once. Adams had to be called -from the engines to stand at the wheel. Scarlett and my brother went on -deck as I was useless at the manipulation of flags. It was a critical -moment. - -"I am determined to take no chances," Bernard said; "that is why I am -risking signalling. We could probably get her without showing at all, -but as she expects us and will lay to for us, we can make it absolutely -certain." - -He had the signal book, over which he had pencilled translations of the -German, in his hand. - -"That flag, Scarlett--'wireless out of order,' it means." - -That flag ran up a steel halliard bent to the top of the conning-tower. - -"Ah, they see us!" - -Scarcely three-quarters of a mile away, the great battleship was moving -at a snail's pace. Her decks were crowded with men--in the clear -sunlight I could see every detail. A piece of bunting ran up her mast in -a ball and opened to the breeze. - -"I'm damned if I know what it means, but it's obviously all right. Now -then, Scarlett, the black flag with the white stripe. That means 'am -successfully bringing despatches'--got it?--good!" - -There was another signal from the battleship, to which we had now -approached within half a mile. The smoke from her funnels had almost -ceased. She was lying to and waiting. - -Slowly we forged onwards. Then came a sharp order. We jumped back into -the conning-tower and the sliding hatchway closed. Scarlett had gone -like a flash to his torpedo tubes, and we dived. We sank in just a -hundred and fifty seconds. - -"Good!" said Bernard, as the periscope panted up and the battleship lay -on the table before us. - -The hum and tick of the electric motors began again. Bernard turned his -wheel and the picture of the battleship opened out in full broadside. - -"They don't know what to make of it," he remarked, to himself, rather -than to me. "Now, I think--steady--steady ..." - -The ship grew larger every moment, higher and higher. It seemed as if -she was rising out of the water. - -"Now!"--he leant over a speaking tube. - -He had hardly given his order when a bell rang smartly, close by my -head. I heard staccato voices below in the bows of the submarine, and -then the clang and swish of the discharge. We were only three hundred -yards away. A white streak appeared shooting towards the monster, like a -spear of foam. It was so quick that I could hardly have followed it with -my finger upon the table. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -THE SUBMARINE FIGHTS FOR ENGLAND - - -Can you imagine a narrow belt of foam, rushing over the sea like a live -thing with irresistible and sinister suggestion of _something_ terrible -below? That is what I saw as I stared down at the toy theatre, the -little, coloured microcosm. - -Then the inevitable happened. _Der Friesland_ was struck full amidships. -A wall of white water rose up out of the sea. Above it, in an instant, -spread a huge black fan of smoke, dark as ebony against the sun. At that -moment, my brother put the helm hard down and we flew off at an angle. -Even as we did so, it seemed that the side of our ship received a -terrific blow. We lurched in the conning-tower; we were flung against -the starboard wall. There was a nerve-wracking pause, and then, with a -jerk, the submarine righted herself, simultaneously as the faintest -indication of a mighty explosion fell through the water and came through -our armoured walls. - -"Too close!" my brother gasped. "I ought to have allowed for these -German torpedoes--look, John, look!" - -The recoil from the explosion of _Der Friesland_ had nearly sent us to -the bottom, but we were righted again, and we saw upon the table, -quivering and indistinct, a piteous mass of unrecognisability, wreathed -in black fumes, from which flared out angry bursts of fire, like -Vesuvius in eruption. All this horror was sinking--sinking into the -table, it seemed. Blazing all over, broken in two, the wreck of the -monster went lower and lower in the water. - -She was done. Bernard gave a great sob, and then hoarse orders rang -through the submarine. - -Within two minutes we were upon the surface. The hatch was open. My -brother and myself stood there, gasping in the sunlight at the ruin we -had made. The sea was covered with debris and dotted with the heads of -swimming sailors. There was one boat afloat, crammed with men, under -whose weight it hesitated, trembled, and sank like a stone, as we looked -on. - -"Good God!" I cried, "can't we help them, Bernard?" - -"No can do," he answered, in Navy slang. "It can't be done, old soul. -That's that. I'm damned sorry though." - -We were rolling in a grey sea, churned by the monster's dying struggles. -It was a desolate waste, patched with horror. Far away, on the port -bow, something small and blurred was showing. It was either smoke or the -hull of a big ship. - -"The first transport!" Bernard said. "We had better be ..." - -He did not finish his sentence. Something shrieked overhead like an -invisible express train. There was a sound like a clap of thunder, and a -fountain of spray rose a hundred yards away from us. - -We wheeled round. Not quarter of a mile away, and heading straight for -us, we saw two immense, white ostrich feathers, divided as by the blade -of a knife. Each instant they grew larger. - -One of the convoying destroyers had made a grand detour and was coming -for us at the charge. - -Then, I cannot say when or how, there was a sound like two great hands -clapping together in the air above us. Instantaneously, the plates of -the deck and conning-tower rang like gongs, followed by little splashing -sounds, as if someone was throwing eggs. - -I had no idea what it was. "What the devil ..." I was beginning, when -Bernard explained. - -"Shrapnel," he said, and held out his left arm to me. It ended in what -looked like a bundle of crimson rags. - -"Damn the blighters!" he said, "they've blown off my left hand. Quick, -John, or we shall lose the trick. Your handkerchief!" - -I pulled it out mechanically. - -"Knot it round my arm--yes--there--just above the wrist. Thank God -you're strong! Now then, you've got to twist it. Got anything for a -lever?" - -The only thing I could find was a silver-mounted fountain pen, a -Christmas present from Doris the year before. I whipped it into the knot -of the handkerchief, turned it round and secured it. The whole thing did -not take more than ten seconds. I had hardly finished, when Bernard -skipped inside the conning-tower. I followed him. The hatchway slid into -its place with a clang, and as we heard another terrific explosion above -us, I wrenched the rudder lever over, Bernard signalled below to fill -the tanks, and through the portholes I saw the welcome green creep up, -the light disappear, and felt the gratings sinking beneath my feet. I -shouted down for Dickson--the first name I could think of. - -Dickson max. was up in a second. - -"Get the bottle of rum," I said, "the Captain's hurt." - -It came. I held it to my brother's lips. He took a little and gave one -deep groan. - -Dickson max. stood like a statue. He never asked a question. It was -wonderful. - -"Who fired that torpedo?" Bernard asked. - -"I did, sir. Mr. Scarlett showed me how." - -"You will be pleased to know, Mr. Dickson, that you have sunk the German -battleship, _Der Friesland_, with probably a thousand souls on board. -This will be remembered." - -"You are hurt, sir?" - -"Get down to the torpedo tubes. Load the empty one and stand by for -orders." - -Dickson vanished. - -"Are you all right?" I asked. - -"Right as rain. Now then, we've got to find those transports. I took -their bearings before we sank. Meanwhile I think we'll get a little -deeper, out of harm's way." - -He told me what to do. I pulled the necessary lever and spoke orders to -Bosustow at the engines. The needle on the manometer quivered and rose. -We went down to thirty feet. Immediately, it seemed as if the world -above, the noise of battle, everything, faded away. We were buzzing -along in the depths of the sea, just as we had been, intact, unhurt, -until I looked at Bernard's hand. He was rather pale, but as pleased in -face as if he was just tumbling into the "Sawdust Club" at Portsmouth. - -"I say," he said, "won't the daily papers spread themselves over this!" - -Somehow or other, a beastly little fly must have got into the -conning-tower. It settled on me. I put up my hand to brush it away. My -hand came back--pink, and I stared stupidly at it. - -"You silly blighter!" my brother said, "didn't you know you'd lost half -your ear?" - -I suppose we ran, deep under water, at the top speed of which the motors -were capable for at least another ten minutes. Adams was called up to -the wheel and Bernard went down. I stood where I was until the man -below shouted up. "Captain calling for you, sir!" - -I tumbled down into the centre of the submarine, looking first aft to -where the huge Cornishman, Bosustow, was quietly moving about his -engines. - -"Forrard, sir," said Bosustow, and I hastened round the gangway towards -the bows. Scarlett, the Dicksons, and Bernard were standing by the -torpedo tubes. Bernard turned to me. - -"That concussion has snookered our tubes a bit," he said. "You see we -aren't quite accustomed to this new German mechanism. Scarlett says, and -I quite agree, that it's a toss up if we can make correct aim under -water. I think we shall have to go for that transport on the surface." - -He looked at me with quick interrogation. I knew what he meant. Already -we had done more than anyone in the world would have thought possible. -It was no time for sentimentalism or heroic thoughts, and we knew that, -whatever happened, we had earned imperishable fame. We were safe now. -Should we run another risk? That was what my brother was asking me. Even -his iron nerve doubted itself for an instant. - -"The only thing I can see to do," I answered, "is to let 'em have it in -the open--out of the trenches, bayonet attack, what?" - -"My own opinion entirely, sir," said Scarlett. "Damn it, begging your -pardon, sir, we've not 'alf give 'em it yet!" - -For a moment my brother's glance rested on the two eager boys. Was he -justified in flinging them to death after they had done so much, behaved -so splendidly? - -They knew it. By some intuition, the young devils saw it at once. - -"Oh, let's have another smack at them, sir!" they said in chorus. - -Without another word, Bernard limped along the gratings and I helped him -up into the conning-tower again. We rose to the surface. - -The stars in their courses fought for Sisera! When we went out on deck, -the first transport was scarcely a mile away from us on the starboard -quarter. We had judged it to a tick. - -But she was no longer heading west. She had turned tail. She was a -Hamburg-Amerika liner converted to a transport, and thick black smoke -poured out of her four funnels as she raced back towards Heligoland and -safety. - -"She's got nearly three thousand troops on board, I'll bet you a -manhattan," Bernard said. "We _must_ get her, we simply must!" - -Turning to the west, we saw at least five destroyers rushing for us like -express trains. Whether they had seen us come up or not I cannot tell, -but they knew well enough what our manoeuvre would be, and they were -not a mile and a half away. - -"Get down. Tell Bosustow to cram it all on. Increase the spark. We've -got to do twenty knots if we scrap the whole thing." - -I was there in a moment, I told Bosustow what the skipper had said. The -big man was quietly chewing tobacco, and he spat down on the -accumulators as he made a motion to salute. He moved like a slug over -his roaring engines, but even as he did so, the angry hum, the muffled -explosions, rose into a steel symphony like Tchaikovsky's "1812"! I felt -the ship leap forward like a whippet out of leash. When I stumbled up on -deck again, the wind was whistling all round the conning-tower. It blew -my cap off into the sea. - -We gained, we gained enormously, but so did the pursuing destroyers. - -We soon knew that. There were sounds behind us like a little street-boy -whistling to a friend. They were firing their bow machine guns, taking -no careful aim, at the fearful pace they were going, but all around us -fountains of foam rose in the sea as we plunged onwards. - -"You know, John," said my brother, "it's a difficult thing for any -gunners at all to fire their bow chasers at a little bobbing thing like -a submarine. Of course, they may get us with a lucky shot, but I don't -think they will." - -They didn't. - -The great liner saw us coming and slanted off obliquely to the north. It -wasn't any use at all. We had the heels of her, though we knew that at -any moment our engines might give out, owing to the fearful strain we -were putting on them. - -It was Scarlett who fired the torpedo--"must let the old blighter have -his chance!" my brother said--and it went straight and true to the -_Princessin Amalia_, as we afterwards learned she was. - -I think that was the worst of all. We torpedoed her from six hundred -yards. There was no explosion, as there was in the case of the -battleship. We could see everything far more distinctly. She simply -broke in two and sank in three minutes, defenceless, impotent. - -"Poor chaps!" I said, as we watched. - -"Fortune of war!" Bernard answered--"Yes, poor chaps! At the same time, -remember that they're the same sort of fellows who have been crucifying -flappers in Belgium and taking out the whole male population of harmless -villages and shooting them before breakfast. They would have been doing -that all over Norfolk in thirty hours, if"--he paused--"if you hadn't -been rejected by the R.N.F.C. and also been the right hand of the late -lamented Doctor Upjelly. We must get down quickly, or else ..." - -He had turned and was holding his binoculars to his eyes. - -"Good heavens!" he said, "what's that?" - -I turned, and I saw that the five destroyers were sweeping away in a -great curve to the north. They were pursuing us no longer. - -"What is it?" I cried. - -The answer didn't come from my brother, though I heard it plainly -enough. It was like thunder many miles away--a huge, dull boom such as I -had never heard before. - -"Why, they're running!" - -"I should rather think so, old soul!" - -"Are they afraid of us? What is that noise?" - -"That, my dear young friend, unless I am very much mistaken, is -one of the twelve-inch guns of His Majesty's ship, _Vengeance_. -Cruiser-battleship, young John. I happen to know she's been lying off -Harwich for the last week, waiting orders. Our friend, Lieutenant -Murphy, has sent my wires to good purpose, and 'now we shan't be long!'" - -Again the great, menacing boom, but this time we saw something. - -From the deck of a submarine the range of vision is only two miles. The -last destroyer was almost disappearing on the horizon, when she suddenly -jumped out of the sea and fell to pieces like a pack of cards. - -"That's old Snorty Bethune-Ranger!" my brother said, wagging his head -gravely. "Best gunner commander in the fleet, and I know he's on board -the _Vengeance_. Now don't you think we'll have the boys up and let 'em -chortle a bit?" - -"I'll go and call them." - -I was just going in when I was gripped by the arm so hard that I winced. - -"Look there!" said my brother. - -I followed his pointing right arm and saw something far up in the sky, -something like a crow, which grew larger every second. - -"One of their hydroplanes, off the deck of the second transport. She's -going to try and drop bombs on us." - -"Will she do it?" - -"Can a duck bark?" Bernard answered contemptuously. "Of course, she may -be lucky, but it's never happened yet. The worst of it is that they can -see us thirty feet below the surface. Still, old sport, she can't do -much--hear her coming?" - -I did. There was a noise like a motor-bicycle in the sky, and the crow -grew to an eagle, developed into an aeroplane, such as I had seen so -often in the illustrated papers. - -"I suppose we'd better submerge, though I don't want to run from a -beastly mechanical kite, after sinking Kaiser Bill's lovin' enthusiastic -soldiers, all in the box, complete, one shilling! I say, John, would you -like a little bit of sport?" - -"What do you mean?" - -"Well, I don't suppose this fellow is going to do us any harm, and any -way, it's a toss up. Now you rather pride yourself as a wild-fowler, -don't you?" - -"If I hadn't been a wild-fowler," I said, "we shouldn't have been where -we are now." - -"Quite so. Now, there's a rack of excellent rifles down below, and -dozens of clips; see if you can't pick this Johnny off." - -He bellowed down through the hatch. - -"Bring up a magazine rifle and some ammunition. Look sharp!" - -I got the rifle in a few seconds. I think we were both perfectly -reckless. I know I was. I laughed as I tucked the gun into my shoulder. -There was a complicated arrangement of sights, but I never even snapped -up the foresight. It did not seem worth while; the mark was so big. - -The hydroplane fetched a sweep of quarter of a mile round us, and then -came head on. I could see the pilot distinctly and, a little below him, -the gentleman who was getting ready to drop his bombs. - -It was quite delightful. They were not going at a higher speed than a -flock of widgeon. To me, it was child's play. - -I plugged the bomb expert with the second shot. Then, and I really -rather pride myself on what I did next, I hit the long, sausage-like -petrol tank and ripped it up. There was a huge roar, an overhead -explosion, and as the whole beastly thing turned a somersault and fell, -I am pretty certain, too, that I put the pilot out of his pain with my -last shot. - - * * * * * - -We were surrounded by ships--they had come racing north out of Harwich -just in time. The big _Vengeance_ was still booming away, but two -snaky-like destroyers were coming up hell for leather and a big seven -thousand ton cruiser was not more than three hundred yards from us. - -Puff! puff! A white pinnace, with a shining brass funnel, swirled round -and came up on our quarter. My brother and myself, together with the -two Dickson boys, were standing by the conning-tower. - -The pinnace was full of men. It was steered by a youngish-looking, -clean-shaved officer, wearing the badges of a lieutenant. - -Adams, Scarlett, and Bosustow were over the side in a minute, a coil of -rope ran out, boat-hooks appeared from nowhere. There was a subdued hum -of chatter, as the men from the cruiser greeted the three heroes of the -submarine. - -Then I heard a sharp and rather squeaky voice. - -"Hallo, Whelk!" it said. - -Bernard leant over the rail; he was nearly done, but he found voice to -answer that hail. - -"That you, Reptile?" he muttered, "you are more like a stuffed frog than -ever!" - -Such are the greetings and amenities of the Navy. But the last thing I -remember hearing that afternoon came from the lieutenant in charge of -the pinnace. - -"I say, excuse me for mentioning it, but 'well done,' you fellows!" - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -THE LAST CHAPTER--IN TWO PARTS - - -PART I.--DORIS AND MARJORIE HAVE A LATE VISITOR - - NOTE.--I have certainly written this chapter--with a pen, that is. - Neither my brother's wife nor my own actually set down a word of - the following. I am not responsible, and I will say no more. You - will understand why when you have read this last chapter. If I were - the usual sort of poopstick that often lurks behind such a story, I - should say: "This is put in at the request of my friends." It is - not. It is done simply to tell you the end of our little affairs, - and rather more with my heart in my mouth than my tongue in my - cheek.--J. C. - -It was Sunday night in Lieutenant Murphy's house at Cockthorpe. The -wires had worked. By dawn there was an army of police from Norwich in a -fleet of motor cars. They invested Morstone House School. Old Mr. -Pugmire, startlingly sober for once, was placed in charge of the -boarders, who were all sent home during the course of the next day. -Another, and more dangerous reprobate, Mrs. Gaunt with the broken leg, -was interrogated by a stern-faced inspector in the presence of a doctor. -The hag had been in von Vedal's confidence for years. The police learned -much. - -By ten o'clock, others than the County Police had arrived. There were -clean-shaved, quiet-mannered officials from the Admiralty. There was a -lean, elderly gentleman in khaki, with the red band round his cap and on -his shoulders which pronounced him of the War Office Staff. - -Admiral Kiderlen-Waechter and the man, Schweitzer, were in Norwich -Castle by eleven. The whole countryside and coastline buzzed like -swarming bees. A detachment of Territorials patrolled the village. -Nobody knew anything at all of what had really happened, but everyone -was very excited. All the local people agreed that there had not been a -Sunday like this for many years! - -Doris and Marjorie Joyce were at Cockthorpe, in the Lieutenant's house. -They were being looked after by Mrs. Murphy, a jolly old Irishwoman with -all the tact and humour of her nation--a woman who knew when to foil -hysteria with a jest, to hearten a girl with a sharp word, and, when the -final interrogation was over, to invite the warm relieving flood of -tears with the instinctive motherhood of one who nightly prayed to Mary -to pray for those in distress. - -The girls were troubled very little. The Lieutenant of the Coastguards -had seen almost everything. There would not be an inquest for two or -three days. They had made their statement to a courteous person from -London. They were to be left in peace. - -After lunch the old lady came to them--came to the little sitting-room -which opened out of the bedroom she had given them. - -"Now, my dear children," she said, "ye'll just take off your stays and -pull down your hair, and I'll tuck ye in under the eiderdown, and ye'll -sleep!" - -She had two tumblers in her plump hands, upon which sparkled many -rings--the Irish carbuncles, which are so much larger and more brilliant -than mere rubies, the Ballysheen emeralds, "which you can only find at -Ballysheen, me dear, and glad the jewellers of Regent Street would be if -they could get a supply of 'em! Faith! and the doctor has given me this -for you. Bromide to calm the nerves--not that I ever had any nerves, -meself, when I was your age! But I never had a crool stepfather lying -dead in an adjacent village, nor was mixed up with spies, though in the -Sin-fein riots of '84--Marjorie, me darlint, take your shoes off. Now -then, I'll tuck ye both up and pull down the blinds to keep out the -sunlight, though it's shutters I would be putting up when I was a gurl!" - -It was like a fairy story, and Mrs. Murphy was the good Mrs. -Bedonebyasyoudid: "The children sank into a deep, dreamless sleep." - -Poor dears, how they must have wanted it after all they had been -through! I can see them lying there.... - -(Excision by censor and pencil note in the margin of the manuscript: -"John Carey, you liar, don't obtrude yourself and your sickly -sentiments.") - - * * * * * - -It was about six when Doris and Marjorie awoke. They came out of the -bedroom into the sitting-room adjoining. A bright fire burnt upon the -hearth with that clear redness which indicates a dry and frosty night. -On a little table there was an equipage of tea, and a copper kettle sang -gently. - -These two girls were essentially healthy and plucky. The semi-imprisoned -life they had led at Morstone House School had broken nothing of their -spirit. The death--the righteous execution--of the man who had hurried -their mother into her grave affected them not at all. They were too -brave and fine to affect an emotion that they did not, could not, feel. -All that had happened in the large, L-shaped house was hideous and -horrible, yet not to be overmuch remembered or deplored. - -They had another subject of discussion, these two beautiful sisters. - -"Doris, it was desperate from the first." - -"Yes, it was, Marjorie." - -"Then, do you think----?" - -"That they will come out all right, you mean?" - -"Yes, do you?" - -"My red-haired sister," Doris answered, "if you go on like this I'll be -bound to bite!" - -"Of course, Commander Carey knows all about submarines, and he's one of -the bravest officers...." - -"Yes, I rather like Bernard myself." - -"You _rather like_ him, Doris!" - -"Well, you haven't known him as long as I've known John. What price -Johnny, my sweet young sister, and what about the bold, brave Dickson -max. and Dickson major?" - -They kept it up for a minute or two very well, and then their arms went -round each other, and one sister held the other close. - -The bell from the adjacent church tolled for evensong. It was a lovely -night, cold and clear with a great, round, green moon. Mrs. Murphy -mercifully left them alone. They heard the front door close, and saw her -rolling up the path towards the church, a long, dark façade with lit -windows. - -As if in a dream, the girls heard the droning murmur of the Psalms. -Their thoughts were far away with a little band of heroes. There was a -long pause--it must have been the sermon--and then came a deep, swelling -sound. The congregation were singing the last hymn, and it was "for -those in peril on the sea." - -They clasped hands and went to the window, opening it wide to the -moonlight. The simple, familiar music flooded into the room. - - * * * * * - -Bang! Bang! Bang! The door burst open. It was midnight, and Mrs. Murphy, -in an appalling night-cap and a magenta dressing-gown, was standing by -the girls' beds. - -"Get ye up! Get ye up!--no, don't bother about your hair, it's well -enough as it is. The Saints be praised--hush, ye'll not say a word, for -I'm a good Protestant here, for Murphy's sake, and an old gazaboo the -clergyman is, to be shure!--but there's a gintleman come down in a big -automobile to see you. Wirra, phwat news!" - -While she was shouting and gesticulating, the old lady had pulled Doris -and Marjorie out of their beds, and was wrapping them up in their -dressing-gowns with shaking fingers. - -"News?" Doris gasped--"news of John?" - -"News that'll shake England, aye, and Doblin too, to its foundations." - -"Bernard?" Marjorie said unsteadily. - -"Ye'll kindly come along with me," said Mrs. Murphy, and a strange -procession went down the stairs into the hall. - -The three servants of the house were bundled into one corner, and the -less said about their attire the better. Lieutenant Murphy, in his -uniform, was trying to light candles, and his wrinkled face was brighter -than the flaring, smoking lamp which hung from the ceiling. In the -centre of the hall was a tall, clean-shaved, youngish-looking man. He -held a cocked hat in one hand and wore a uniform of dead black-blue. - -Directly the old lady rolled down the stairs, followed by the frightened -girls, this new-comer made a step forward. His manners were perfect, and -he bowed as if he were at Court. - -"Miss Joyce?--Miss Marjorie Joyce?" - -"Faith, and they're the same, the very gurrls!" said Mrs. Murphy. - -"I am sent by the First Lord, ladies, to give you some news, which I -understand will be most welcome. Lieutenant-Commander Bernard Carey, Mr. -John Carey, the two young gentlemen named Dickson, and Commander Carey's -three sailors, Scarlett, Adams and Bosustow, have covered themselves -with glory." - -Doris was splendid. - -"Ah!" she said, "we were waiting for this, my sister and myself. Are -they, are they--?" She could not go on. - -"Madam, they are all safe and sound. Commander Carey is slightly -wounded--that is all. They have engaged in action with the great German -battleship, _Der Friesland_, and sunk her. They have sunk a transport. -They have evaded a flotilla of German destroyers. In short, they have -saved England. Our flotilla came up just in time. The Admiralty have had -wireless messages during the whole of the afternoon." - -Hitherto, the officer--he looked thirty-five, was really fifty, and the -son of a duke--had spoken formally. - -"Then?" Marjorie sighed. - -"Then, it just amounts to this. No more glorious deed had ever been done -in the whole history of our Navy, from the days of Sir Francis Drake -down to this moment. I was privileged to be at the Palace a few hours -ago when the news was brought. Each member of the crew of the submarine -is to receive the Victoria Cross. It is not only by order of the First -Lord of the Admiralty, but also by express command of His Majesty that -I have motored down here to-night to bring you the news. My instructions -are to ask you if you will accompany me to-morrow to Harwich, for we -expect and hope that, during the earlier part of the afternoon...." - -"They will come back!" Marjorie shouted. - -"Precisely," said Lord William, "and, of course, you must be there to -meet them!" - -"Gurrls, I'll chaperone ye! Now, get back to bed, and sleep--if ye can. -Shure, and I'm ashamed of ye appearin' in such dishybayle!" concluded -the merry old lady, with a wink. - -She stood at the foot of the stairs and hooshed her young charges away. - -Then she turned to her guest. - -"Ye'll forgive an old woman appearin' like this," she said simply. -"Pathrick, take Lord William into the dining-room, and we'll make him -some supper in a moment. We're all friends in the Navy." - -Her voice changed and became very grave. - -"Blessings on you," she said, "that have brought the good news to this -house and to those dear gurrls this night!" - - -PART II.--RETURN OF THE SEVEN HEROES - -It was a tall man with black hair, dark eyes and a pinched face. His -black, clerical clothes were rather rusty in the bright morning -sunlight, though they were his best. - -"The young beggars!" he said, "the young beggars!" and there was a catch -in his voice. "A commission for both of them and a special allowance, -did you say, Lord William?" - -"The Admiralty could do no less, Mr. Dickson. We want a thousand lads -like yours, if we could only get them. Not that any officer of their age -in the Navy wouldn't have done the same, but their names will be for -ever glorious in the history of the service. It is a feat that England -will never willingly forget. You know that they, as well as the rest, -are to have the Victoria Cross?" - -Mr. Dickson stared, as if he saw something at a great distance. - -"No," he said, "I didn't know that--er--excuse me for a moment." - -The clergyman turned away to the window of the Admiral's office, which -overlooked Harwich Harbour, and his shoulders were shaking. "_Lord, now -lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word: for -mine eyes have seen----_" - -"Shure, and they can't be long now, the Admiral says," came from Mrs. -Murphy, sitting in the Admiral's chair, at the Admiral's table, with all -sorts of confidential documents spread in front of her. - -"Pathrick is to have the rank of Captain for the part he's tuk in it, -though that was pure luck and him being on the spot. And, bedad, we'll -have that motor cyar--and I never did see why a mere Docthor's wife like -Mrs. Pestle, and him little better than a vetherinary surgeon, should -keep a cyar when an officer in His Majesty's Navy couldn't!" - -The Admiral in command at Harwich, a grizzled sailor who had been called -up from his peaceful Devon home to leave his pheasants and fat cattle, -came into the room, rubbing his hands. - -"Well, they'll have the reception of their lives, young ladies," he said -beaming; and, with a clank of his sword as he sat down, "Mrs. Murphy, if -you attempt to read any of the papers on that table, I shall regretfully -be compelled to have you shot, which will mar the festivity of the -occasion! My dears, a special train full of journalists has just come -down from town. There are thousands of people flocking to the quays in -the spaces provided, and what the papers are saying about our friends -will astonish you." - -He produced a copy of the _Daily Wire_ and opened it, while they all -crowded round to look. Modern journalism had secured a triumph. Short as -the time had been, there were columns and columns of description of the -events at Morstone of which hardly anybody had been allowed to know -anything--and the Battle in the North Sea, about which nobody knew but -the Admiralty. - -There were portraits of the two Dickson boys, each apparently about -twelve years of age and in broad Eton collars. There was a truculent, -prize-fighting individual, with distinct side-whiskers, labelled, "Mr. -John Carey, M.A., the heroic schoolmaster who slew the Master-spy, -'Doctor Upjelly,' with his own hands." A smudge on the top of a uniform -represented Lieutenant-Commander Bernard Carey--also "heroic," with -sundry other adjectives; and if those excellent Plymouth ladies, Mrs. -Bosustow, Mrs. Scarlett and Mrs. Adams, had seen the people represented -in the newspaper as their lords and masters walk into Paradise Row, -Devonport, they certainly would not have known them. - -Doris gasped. "To call that _John_!" she said; "what a wicked libel! -Couldn't the editor be arrested?" - -"An editor is one of the people whom nothing can arrest," said the -Admiral. "'_In rebus desperatis remedia desperata_,' which means 'What -the public wants, the public must have, however short the time in which -to fake it up.'" - -There was a knock at the door, and a young officer entered, saluting. - -"Destroyers sighted, Sir," he said, not without an appreciative glance -at the two pretty girls close by. He handed a piece of paper to the -Admiral, adding: "Just come in by wireless from the _Arethusa_, Sir." - -The old gentleman with the pointed beard and clanking sword read it. He -chuckled. - -"Well," he said, "the public is going to have some fun for its money, -for Commander Carey is coming into harbour on board _his own_ boat. Now, -then, suppose we all go out to the signalling station at the end of the -Mole and get the first sight of them?" - - * * * * * - -Half a dozen clouds of black smoke upon the horizon, growing larger and -larger every minute; a great murmur of the crowd; officers in dress -uniform with binoculars at their eyes; a group of journalists in hard -felt hats, making notes!... - -Now the destroyers can be seen in a half-circle, with three great ships -in the background. - -"The Transports!" the Admiral said--"from seven to eight thousand -Germans in them--what a haul! Look, Mrs. Murphy, that is the Cruiser -_Arethusa_ by the side of them. I expect they had a handful in disarming -all those chaps, and they must be pretty short-handed on board the whole -flotilla, for they'll have had to send a lot of men aboard those two -liners. Fine boats, the new light cruisers, _Captain_ Murphy?" - -The old lieutenant of Coastguards flushed with pleasure. - -"Never had a chance to go to sea in one of them, Sir," he said--"long -after my time, I am sorry to say." - -"Look!" Marjorie whispered to Doris, "they're opening out. Isn't it -wonderful? How near they're getting! It's just like a figure in the -Lancers." - -Doris did not answer for a moment. Then she said:--"What's that, right -in the middle?" - -The Admiral overheard her. - -"You've quick eyes, young lady," he answered; "that, unless I am very -much mistaken, is a certain Submarine, lately in possession of the -Kaiser, and which people are talking about a good deal just now!" - -It was so. The destroyers slowed down, and made a great lane upon the -sea. In the centre of this lane was something infinitely small, a black -speck, like a cork floating on the water. - -It grew and grew. - -Then, from somewhere not far away, there was the heavy boom of a gun. -Immediately, the air was rent with a noise like hundreds of bellowing -bulls as all the ships at anchor opened their steam-sirens until the -very stone quays trembled. - -The cheers of thousands of voices, the wild tossing of hats into the -air, the fluttering of hand-kerchiefs like sudden snow; and then, the -Submarine, its whale-back ploughing through the Harbour waters, a white -wake of foam behind it, came into full view. From the periscope -fluttered two little flags, black and white. In half a minute the -cheering, delirious crowd saw what they were. - -"The skull and cross-bones, by Jove--two of 'em!" said a young -lieutenant on the Admiral's Staff to his friend, a newly promoted -Commander. - -"So it is! How on earth did they get those on board a German submarine?" - -"Someone of resource on board has spent a happy hour or two on the -cruise home." - -The young gentleman was right, but he did not know that Dickson max.'s -shirt and the back of Dickson major's coat were the materials used by -Mr. Scarlett, who was very handy with his needle. - -"Here they come!" - -"Here they come!" "Here they come" "Hurrah!" "Hurrah!" - -Bang! went a whole salvo of guns. Upon the deck of the Submarine was a -little group of four figures, and, if the truth must be told, four -dirtier and more shame-faced human beings have rarely made a public -appearance. - -"Those must be the boys," the lieutenant shouted in his friend's ear. - -The other nodded. He was staring at the Submarine. - -"By Jove!" he cried, "there's the 'Whelk,' the good old Whelk! Look at -him! We were at Osborne together, and he always swore he liked the -beastly things--so the name stuck to him. That other chap must be his -brother, I suppose--the schoolmaster Johnny." - -"Good old Whe-e-lk!" he shouted, his hands to his mouth. - -The lieutenant had never been shipmates with Bernard Carey. Also, his -eyes were elsewhere. He twitched his friend's arm. - -"I say," he said, in an awed voice, "look at the faces of those two -girls!" - -The Commander did so. - -"Lucky old Whelk!" - - -THE END - - Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co. - Edinburgh & London - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Secret Service Submarine, by -Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull and Guy Thorne - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SECRET SERVICE SUBMARINE *** - -***** This file should be named 40581-8.txt or 40581-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/5/8/40581/ - -Produced by Mark C. 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Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - http://www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/40581-8.zip b/40581-8.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 7e075fa..0000000 --- a/40581-8.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/40581-h.zip b/40581-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 47bd7b8..0000000 --- a/40581-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/40581-h/40581-h.htm b/40581-h/40581-h.htm index db14546..25587fc 100644 --- a/40581-h/40581-h.htm +++ b/40581-h/40581-h.htm @@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" /> <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> <title> The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Secret Service Submarine, by Guy Thorne. @@ -179,48 +179,7 @@ table { </style> </head> <body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Secret Service Submarine, by -Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull and Guy Thorne - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The Secret Service Submarine - A Story of the Present War - -Author: Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull - Guy Thorne - -Release Date: August 25, 2012 [EBook #40581] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SECRET SERVICE SUBMARINE *** - - - - -Produced by Mark C. Orton, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -book was produced from scanned images of public domain -material from the Google Print project.) - - - - - - -</pre> - +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40581 ***</div> <div class="figcenter"> <img src="images/tp.jpg" alt=""/> @@ -383,7 +342,7 @@ a more than sufficient allowance, and in my second year, having sprained myself badly, I bought a motor car—an expensive Rolls-Royce—on credit, and became a "blood." I could not play games any more, though I was healthy enough, so I used to go constantly to London "to see my -dentist," which, of course, meant dinner at the Café Royal, too many +dentist," which, of course, meant dinner at the Café Royal, too many cocktails at the Empire, and a wild rush home in the car to get to College before twelve o'clock at night.</p> @@ -399,7 +358,7 @@ things had been going wrong for years—and there was I, with a game leg, an excellent taste in such dubious vintages as the Oxford wine merchants provide, a somewhat exact knowledge of ties, waist-coats, and socks, a smattering of engineering which I had picked up from my father purely -from a liking of the subject, and, when my bills were paid, exactly £14, +from a liking of the subject, and, when my bills were paid, exactly £14, 7<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i></p> <p>Knowing nothing whatever of the slightest value to anybody, myself @@ -620,7 +579,7 @@ he wanted to do it on the cheap. I suggested that he should come down to Morstone and stay in the village pub. He was as keen on shooting as I, and he hailed the idea with joy.</p> -<p>He took me to the then depôt of the R.N.F.C., at the big <i>Daily Mail</i> +<p>He took me to the then depôt of the R.N.F.C., at the big <i>Daily Mail</i> air-ship shed at Wormwood Scrubbs, and he used every possible bit of influence he had got to get me in.</p> @@ -1172,7 +1131,7 @@ chin, an odd proceeding enough!</p> <p>We began about the war, of course. Upjelly asked me my impressions of London, and was most interested when I told him of all I had seen going -on at the R.N.F.C. Depôt at Wormwood Scrubbs, especially about the great +on at the R.N.F.C. Depôt at Wormwood Scrubbs, especially about the great Rolls-Royce cars and the guns they were mounting on them. I never thought the man took such an interest in anything outside his food and his shooting—if indeed he took an interest even in shooting, which @@ -1229,7 +1188,7 @@ sausages and beer about as interesting as ditchwater, must be thorough blighters! However, I changed the subject.</p> <p>"Now, the Navy," I said, "from all accounts, are quite a decent lot of -chaps. What a sportsman von Müller was till we bagged the <i>Emden</i>. He +chaps. What a sportsman von Müller was till we bagged the <i>Emden</i>. He behaved like a white man all through, and we let him keep his sword, which I think we were quite right in doing."</p> @@ -1833,7 +1792,7 @@ which she generally wore on a string round her neck, underneath her blouse. I had put thirty shillings each way on "Baby Mine" for the Grand National and it had come off—hence the ring.</p> -<p>"Let me introduce you to my fiancée, Miss Joyce," I said to Bernard.</p> +<p>"Let me introduce you to my fiancée, Miss Joyce," I said to Bernard.</p> <p>He took her hand and bowed over it, looking out of the corner of his eyes at Marjorie.</p> @@ -1956,7 +1915,7 @@ quite forgotten the events of the morning.</p> <p>I cannot tell you what fun the dinner was. The soup was top-hole—mock turtle, and one of Elizabeth Lazenby's finest efforts. Lockhart was a tremendous success as butler, and the "claret wine"—I should have -thrown it at my scout's head at Oxford—tasted like "Château la Rose" at +thrown it at my scout's head at Oxford—tasted like "Château la Rose" at least.</p> <p>Bernard and Marjorie made the omelette over my fire, while the rest of @@ -2852,7 +2811,7 @@ vibrated with excitement.</p> <p>The answers came quickly enough.</p> -<p>"<i>Ja, gnädiger Herr</i>," or, "<i>Gewisz, das hab' ich gleich gethan.</i>"</p> +<p>"<i>Ja, gnädiger Herr</i>," or, "<i>Gewisz, das hab' ich gleich gethan.</i>"</p> <p>That presented no difficulties whatever. Upjelly was speaking to someone, obviously an inferior, who replied, "Yes, sir," or, "Certainly, @@ -3300,7 +3259,7 @@ gleamed. My brother turned and dashed out of the cabin, Dickson and I following him. There was a loud shriek, a girl's shriek, and a scuffle, and then my brother said in an angry voice:</p> -<p>"The Fräulein von Vedal—sent to warn these spies. Bring her down!"</p> +<p>"The Fräulein von Vedal—sent to warn these spies. Bring her down!"</p> <p>Then I began to understand.</p> @@ -3314,7 +3273,7 @@ that she could not stir.</p> <p>Then Bernard took off his hat and made a low, ironic bow.</p> -<p>"Gute Nacht, gnädiges Fräulein!" he said—I believe it was all the +<p>"Gute Nacht, gnädiges Fräulein!" he said—I believe it was all the German the fellow knew—and then, with a wave of his hand, summoned us to leave the cabin. We did so; he locked the door and ascended to the deck.</p> @@ -3336,14 +3295,14 @@ and Doris answered. We none of us could understand a word of the ensuing conversation, but I reconstruct it here from what was told me afterwards, and I am sure it is accurate enough.</p> -<p>"Who are you, Fräulein? What have they done to you?"</p> +<p>"Who are you, Fräulein? What have they done to you?"</p> <p>"Hush, they may hear!"</p> <p>"Who are they?"</p> <p>"They are the Police, the English Police. Everything is found out. I am -the Fräulein von Vedal. My father has been arrested, but I slipped off +the Fräulein von Vedal. My father has been arrested, but I slipped off in these clothes to try and warn you and Admiral Kiderlen-Waechter. He must not be taken if it can be helped. If he escapes, my father says there is yet a chance. He spoke to me in German until the police @@ -3362,20 +3321,20 @@ is here?"</p> <p>"I can't tell, but I don't think so. If only I could get free!"</p> -<p>"Oh yes, Fräulein, if only you could! As for me, it matters nothing, but +<p>"Oh yes, Fräulein, if only you could! As for me, it matters nothing, but His Excellency must escape. Then he can meet Her to-night and warn Her—even though the precious papers are all lost. He could go off in -Her and escape that way. You know all about Her, Fräulein?"</p> +Her and escape that way. You know all about Her, Fräulein?"</p> <p>Doris shook her head. "No," she said. "Tell me."</p> -<p>"If they have not told you already, Fräulein, I must not do so. I am +<p>"If they have not told you already, Fräulein, I must not do so. I am sworn. I thought perhaps you knew everything."</p> <p>"You won't tell me? If I can get away it would be of help for me to know."</p> -<p>"No, Fräulein; I am sworn and I must obey orders...."</p> +<p>"No, Fräulein; I am sworn and I must obey orders...."</p> <p>"And now I think," said my brother, unlocking the door and speaking in his usual voice, "we've heard as much as we are likely to."</p> @@ -3704,7 +3663,7 @@ Bosustow—all of whom had served with him in his own ship. Below, in the saloon, Doris, old Lieutenant Murphy of the Coastguards, and the two Dickson boys were waiting.</p> -<p>Let me give the very briefest resumé of events up to the present.</p> +<p>Let me give the very briefest resumé of events up to the present.</p> <p>Dickson major had fulfilled his trust. He had taken Marjorie Joyce to Mrs. Wordingham at the inn; then he had come to us with the bag of @@ -5257,7 +5216,7 @@ round each other, and one sister held the other close.</p> <p>The bell from the adjacent church tolled for evensong. It was a lovely night, cold and clear with a great, round, green moon. Mrs. Murphy mercifully left them alone. They heard the front door close, and saw her -rolling up the path towards the church, a long, dark façade with lit +rolling up the path towards the church, a long, dark façade with lit windows.</p> <p>As if in a dream, the girls heard the droning murmur of the Psalms. @@ -5555,389 +5514,6 @@ girls!"</p> <p class="center">Printed by <span class="smcap">Ballantyne, Hanson & Co.</span><br /> Edinburgh & London</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Secret Service Submarine, by -Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull and Guy Thorne - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SECRET SERVICE SUBMARINE *** - -***** This file should be named 40581-h.htm or 40581-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/5/8/40581/ - -Produced by Mark C. 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