CHAPTER VI
TRAPPED
Midshipman Cardyke was soon hauled upon the quarter-deck of the pirate cruiser, and, in spite of his struggles, was secured by half-a-dozen ruffians. His revolver and dirk were taken from him, then he was lashed to one of the quarter davits, and left in that ignominious position to reflect upon the circumstances under which he had been snared.
He knew that his captors had a definite object in securing him to the davit. He was in full view of the Frome, and his late comrades could easily distinguish him through their binoculars. A hasty glance over his shoulder revealed the fact that there were several of the passengers of the Yosen Maru, and some of the crew of the Dutch tugs, in equally exposed positions. It was obviously intended that they were placed there in order to prevent the British destroyer from opening fire upon her gigantic antagonist.
In the meantime Fielding was causing his captors a good deal of trouble. He had contrived to take a turn round a projection on the ship's side with the line that had caught him; and although his assailants hauled on the rope till it was on the point of breaking, they could not succeed in landing their bag. Neither could the sub. disengage himself from the toils of the running bowline, for his idea was to slip out of the noose and cast himself into the sea, trusting to be picked up by his own craft.
As for the two men who had followed him, one had leapt back into the swamped whaler. The other stuck gamely to his superior, and Fielding, looking down, recognised the man as Tom Hardy, the coxswain of his boat.
"Get out of this, Hardy," exclaimed the sub., breathlessly. "Strike out for it. The Frome will pick you up."
"Orders is orders, sir," replied Hardy. "You said as how I was to follow you, and here I am. Besides, I'm not much of a hand at swimming, sir."
"All right!" said Fielding, grimly. "But you'll find yourself in a bit of a fix."
The sub. appreciated the coxswain's devotion; for Hardy was an excellent swimmer in spite of his statement to the contrary, and was willingly surrendering his chance of escaping from the doubtful hospitality of the pirate crew.
All the while there was an incessant jabbering going on above, the Dagoes shouting and dancing about on deck, enraged at the stubbornness of their principal captive.
"Can you get at my revolver, Hardy?" asked the sub., who had been vainly attempting to free his arms sufficiently to reach the weapon in his holster.
"I'll try, sir; but what for? They'll plug you, sir, sure as fate."
"We'll put a bullet through this line, and swim for it."
"What about Mr. Cardyke, sir?"
"Cardyke? Has he been caught too? That alters the case. Where is he?"
"Hauled aboard."
"I hope the villains haven't hurt him. Look here, Hardy, I'm going to make a dash up and over the side. Follow me as smartly as you can. Good heavens! What have they done to young Cardyke?"
For, happening to look up, Fielding saw the mid. lashed to the davit. Thinking that the pirates were about to drop the lad, bound as he was, over the side, the sub. was seized with a sudden and desperate resolution.
The men on deck had desisted hauling upon the rope. With a smart jerk Fielding unhitched it from the eyebolt that had proved such a stumbling block to his captors, then scrambled swiftly and agilely up the remaining distance of freeboard.
In a trice he was over the stanchions, and before the olive-coloured mob could realise it, the sub. was in the midst of them, hitting out with his fists with terrific force. In this he was ably seconded by the coxswain, and for a few moments it seemed as if the two Britishers would clear the quarter-deck.
The Dagoes rallied, and, unfortunately for Fielding, although he had freed his arms from the bowline, the noose had slipped as far as his ankles. A lithe and muscular Algerine seized the end of the rope, and Fielding, his legs literally jerked from under him, fell heavily on the deck.
For another fifteen seconds Hardy stood over the prostrate body of his officer, holding out like a bersark. Luckily the sub. had not used his revolver, nor had Hardy drawn his bayonet. The pirates seemed unwilling to do injury to the officer, but their consideration was not extended towards the gallant and devoted bluejacket. A Spaniard, advancing stealthily from behind, dealt the coxswain a heavy blow across the head with a hand-spike, and Hardy fell to the deck.
"You no play fool wid me. Me Juan Cervillo, capitan ob dis ship," announced the head of the lawless mob, standing in a tragedian's attitude, with arms folded and chest expanded, before the overpowered sub. "You jus' behave. No hurt."
Fielding did not reply. He was humiliated. One thing he regretted in particular was that in his headlong rush his iron knuckles had not come in contact with Cervillo's sleek, oily features.
At a word from the pirate captain the sub. was carried up to the after-bridge, and ignominiously secured to a semaphore post. Here he was left to enjoy his surroundings as best he might, and reflect upon his undignified position.
Meanwhile some of the crew were holding a consultation as to what was to be done with the still unconscious Hardy. Some advocated dropping him overboard, others, judging the British bluejacket by the low standard set up by the renegade petty officer who acted as quartermaster, were of the opinion that if the coxswain recovered from the crack over the head he might become a useful member of the crew. So Hardy was lifted and unceremoniously carried for'ard.
With anxious gaze Cardyke watched the rapidly receding destroyer. He could see her manoeuvring slowly through the water, her two remaining boats being engaged in the work of picking up the swimmers. Drake was paying dearly for his disinclination for co-operation: two officers and the coxswain missing, two boats and the men's rifles hopelessly lost, and his reputation very much at stake.
"I wish the Frome would blow this vessel out of the water," thought the mid., but instantly it occurred to him to wonder what would happen to Fielding and the rest of the captives if the destroyer did open fire. Beyond doing damage to the unarmoured portion of the pirate ship, the Frome's comparatively light ordnance would make little or no impression upon her gigantic antagonist.
"She's following us, by Jove!" exclaimed the mid. "I wish I had a pair of binoculars, and was able to use them. I wonder what Drake is going to do?"
Yes, the Frome was tearing along, yet gaining slowly, for the stokers of the Independencia were toiling their hardest, pumping crude petroleum into the complex array of burners. Columns of black smoke, tinged with flame, shot from the tall funnels of the cruiser. Every possible inch that could be got out of her was made use of. Her neglected engines were beginning to run more smoothly. She might hold her own, or might even shake off the pursuing destroyer.
The midshipman could not help noticing the lack of discipline amongst the motley crew. Seamen, with a couple of revolvers stuck in their belts, and cigars in their mouths, would stroll aimlessly along the quarter-deck, give a glance at the British destroyer, and curtly question their officers as to the position of affairs. Some of the latter were not above accepting cigars and cigarettes from the men. The officers were decked out in gaudy uniforms, while the men wore coarse canvas jumpers and trousers. Some wore canvas shoes, others rope-soled boots, but the majority went bare-footed. The only person who seemed to be able to exercise any real authority was Juan Cervillo.
Nearer and nearer drew the Frome till she was but a couple of miles astern, steering a course well on the Independencia's port quarter, and studiously avoiding her wake. The destroyer did not court further trouble by running over a grass hawser or other obstruction purposely thrown over by the chased ship.
Cardyke felt much easier in his mind when he saw that the Frome was gaining. He had such a supreme faith in his comrades that he felt certain that rescue was merely the question of a few hours at the very outside. Of what was to be done to effect this desirable business he had no idea; but it would be managed all right. Before sunset he would be having dinner in the destroyer's wardroom.
Presently Cervillo climbed up to the after-bridge, and, taking his stand close to where Fielding was secured, watched the destroyer through a telescope. After a lengthy examination he called to one of his officers, who in turn gave voluminous directions to a party of seamen. In a leisurely manner they began to bring up ammunition for some of the quick-firers mounted amidships on the starboard side of the ship.
Cardyke could see that the muzzles were depressed and trained slightly abaft the beam; but unless the cruiser ported her helm it would be a matter of impossibility to fire upon her pursuer.
Bang! A sharp report, followed by a shrill screech of the projectile, announced that the Frome had opened fire with one of her foremost guns. The missile struck the water at less than two hundred yards to starboard, threw up a column of water thirty feet in the air, and ricochetted thrice ere it dipped for the last time.
It was purposely aimed wide of the chase, but it showed that the destroyer meant business.
Unswervingly the Independencia kept her course; the Frome settled down to the same rate, and kept her station at less than eight hundred yards on the cruiser's quarter. Four more shots came from the British destroyer, then she ceased firing, holding doggedly on to the chase. The prominent positions occupied by the pirates' hostages rendered shell fire upon the Independencia out of the question, and Juan Cervillo knew that for the time being he held the whip hand.
But the tenacious dogging of his vessel by the British destroyer was a serious business. Unless pursuit could be shaken off, the Frome, by the aid of the wireless, would bring a cordon round the modern buccaneer long before she had done anything like the damage she wished to do. Already, no doubt, other warships were steaming under forced draught to settle accounts with the filibustered battle-cruiser. The Frome must be put out of the running.
It was now half-an-hour after sunset. The horizon was quite uninterrupted, grey sea met grey sky in an unbroken line, and the outlook promised dirty weather on the morrow.
Having satisfied himself that no other vessel was in sight, Cervillo descended from the after-bridge and entered the conning-tower. An order to the quartermaster made that worthy put the steam steering-gear hard over, and as the Independencia swung round at right angles to her former course, one of the quick-firers let fly a plugged shell.
Cervillo's idea was merely to cripple the destroyer by sending a non-explosive shell through her engine-room. He was very chary of going to extreme measures, not that he was averse to committing murder, but he had a wholesome respect for the British Navy. The partial disablement of the Frome would give him another start in his piratical career. But unfortunately Cervillo's action had far more disastrous effect than he had anticipated.
The missile sheared its way through the thin steel plating of the destroyer like an arrow fired through a sheet of brown paper. It struck one of the cylinders of the motors, fracturing it into fifty pieces. The petrol caught fire, and, leaping in a cascade of flame, ignited the main tanks in the double bottom.
The motors stopped spasmodically. The engineer-lieutenant and his staff had barely time to rush through the small manhole and gain the deck ere the 'midships section of the ill-fated Frome was a mass of flames. With the utmost discipline the crew lowered the remaining boats, and, deeply laden, they pushed off, leaving Drake, the gunner, and about a score of the crew clustered for'ard. Luckily the destroyer kept head to wind, which, in a manner, preserved those on the fo'c'sle from being slowly roasted to death.
Horror-stricken, Cardyke watched the enactment of the tragedy. By the glare of the burning petrol, that shot skywards to a height of over one hundred feet, he could see the boats, deeply laden, lying on their oars, and the knot of brave men gathered around their rash but intrepid commander.
Suddenly there was an explosion as the sea burst through the heated plating. The pillar of flame died out, stifled in the cloud of smoke and steam, but the burning petrol floating on the water, spread in all directions, spurts of fire rising and falling intermittently till darkness and the increased distance hid the awful scene from the midshipman's view.