CHAPTER XVII
TOUCH AND GO
Snatching up a revolver Fielding left the cabin and made his way along the half-deck till he reached the foremost ladder. Here were standing nearly a dozen men ready to repel the threatened attack. The American had spoken truly. Already there was a strain upon the tackles, and the metal covering was just rising from the coamings. The pirates were evidently trying to uncover the hatchway without alarming their foes.
Jumping on the ladder Fielding waited till there was sufficient room to thrust the muzzle of his revolver under the rising metal plate. He fired, but whether the shot found a billet or otherwise he knew not, for the men hauling at the tackles instantly let go, and the ponderous mass of metal fell with a clang. Simultaneously all the electric light in the after part of the ship went out; the pirates had cut the wiring. Lamps and candles were hastily procured, and as there were plenty in the store-room there was no cause for economy in this respect; while with the ice that Hokosuka had gathered almost at the cost of his life there was sufficient water to last nearly a fortnight.
Finding the partially liberated captives were on the alert the pirates desisted from making attempts upon the hatchway that night, and in consequence Fielding was able to divide his command into two watches, one of which could turn in while the other stood by ready for any emergency.
The pirate captain undoubtedly meant to attempt all artifices to recapture the prisoners solely on account of the bulk of the booty that was stored on the orlop-deck. Were it not for that important factor Cervillo would not hesitate to seize the first vessel he came across, transfer the remainder of the booty and crew to her, and scuttle the Independencia, without thought of mercy towards the men who had baulked him. But his greatest desire was to recover, by stratagem or force, the precious metal stored in the after part of the cruiser. Just before dark the voice of the pirate was heard speaking to them.
"Señor Englishman," he began. "We are in difficulty. The ship is in danger of sinking."
"Is she?" asked the sub. with well-affected surprise. He knew perfectly well that had the Independencia really been on the point of foundering the pirates would be in a panic.
"To save your lives, señor, is the wish of me, Juan Cervillo. So if you come up we put you away in boats."
"I've no doubt you'd be most pleased to put us away," replied Fielding. "Where are your boats? Have you enough for the crew? And do you think boats would stand much chance of being picked up in these seas?"
"Me find a ship."
"Then we'll wait till you do, especially if the ship is a British cruiser."
"You refuse?"
"Absolutely."
"Den I pour petrol into cabins, and set fire. You dogs will burn to death."
"Very considerate of you to provide us with heat in this cold atmosphere," replied Fielding, coolly. "Now, listen, Señor Cervillo: you will not dare to use so much as a litre of petrol. I'll tell you why. We know that most of the gold you precious scoundrels have collared lies on the orlop-deck."
Fielding paused to let his words sink in. Cervillo gasped with fury. He had vainly consoled himself that the treasure had escaped the notice of the men whom he hoped to use to further his ends.
"And so," continued the young British officer, "we've made up our minds that if you attempt any of your dirty, underhand tricks we will open the cover of the submerged torpedo-tubes and sink the ship. Then where will you be? And what good will the stolen treasure do you?"
"Señor, I swear to you——"
"Don't waste your breath, you scoundrel!"
"Señor, hear me. Give up the gold, and you will be on shore placed, with not one hair of your head——"
"Scalped, eh? Now look here, you rascal: At the first sign of treachery down goes the Independencia to the bottom of the sea."
Juan Cervillo, baulked, and powerless to gain his end, made his way for'ard to his temporary quarters, that, contrasting unfavourably with his cabin, served to increase his discomfiture. During the rest of that short night the pirate captain racked his brains to devise some scheme to save himself and secure the treasure. He realised that Fielding and his associates held the whiphand. He knew enough of Englishmen in general to feel sure that the sub. would keep his word, and scuttle the ship should things go badly with them.
Day dawned, but still the fog held. The Independencia was still floating idly on the ocean. All her boilers were allowed to cool down save two. The reserve of oil fuel was running short, and only by the strictest economy could another four hundred miles be got out of the ship.
Like a caged tiger Juan Cervillo paced his limited quarters. The Englishman was the source of all the difficulty, he assured himself again and again. But for that obstacle that stood in his path, the villain would make good his escape, and leave his companions in infamy to their fate.
Yes, the first step was to regain possession of the bullion in the after store-room. Then he could form his plans to get the stuff safely ashore at the expense of his companions.
Presently Cervillo opened the door and looked out. The upper deck was almost deserted. Few of the crew could stand the numbing effects of the Arctic weather. Pacing up and down on the lee side of the quarter-deck was a muffled figure that Cervillo recognised as his minion Da Silva. The pirate captain beckoned, and his lieutenant hastened towards him. Both men entered the cabin that Cervillo had been obliged to occupy, and the door was shut and bolted.
"I've been striving to find a means of recapturing those insolent dogs," began Cervillo, jerking his thumb in the direction of the after end of the ship. "Caramba! It must be done! But how? Can you suggest anything, Da Silva? You were ever a man of resource.
"We managed it before with chloroform," began the lieutenant.
"That will not do. They are too astute to be caught twice that way. No, Da Silva. They warned me that if I used my usual methods they would scuttle the ship—and, think, the gold goes with it!"
"Will they dare do it—don't they value their lives?"
"I cannot take the risks. I would not give that much for the whole lot of them"—and Cervillo snapped his fingers contemptuously—"but they have the wealth that is ours by right of conquest. They are desperate men. If they should sink the ship what chance have we in our shattered boats in this fearful sea of fog and ice?"
"I would suggest that we bring forty or fifty men aft, and hold them ready to open fire; warn our men first, so that no more panic may take place—they were quite out of hand yesterday—then raise an alarm that the ship is sinking, and every man is to save himself. Those Englishmen and their companions will bolt from below like startled rabbits, and we can mow them down as soon as they are all clear of the hatchway."
"But if we fail?" asked Cervillo, dubiously. "If only one man survives and runs below again he would open the valves before we could stop him."
"Then why not drop a charge of dynamite through the ventilator? The damage would be great, but not enough to sink the ship, and you would have the whole crowd of them removed without any trouble at all. We settled thrice that number in the Plazza of Barcelona."
"No," replied the Spanish captain. "That also will not do. Could I be sure of wiping out this nest of hornets with one blow I would not hesitate. But without doubt they would not be all close together. Some would be down in the after-hold. I should be greatly surprised if that English officer has not given every man instructions as to what is to be done should anything happen to him. It's the gold that keeps our hands behind our backs; but for that——"
"Then why not offer them a share of the gold, and a passage in the first ship we fall across? There are whalers to be met with in these seas, I believe. The rest would be simple. Once you had them off the ship there is no reason why you should abide by your promise—dead men tell no tales." And Da Silva grinned sardonically.
Cervillo shook his head.
"These men seem different to others I have met," he remarked. "They stoutly refuse to discuss terms. No, Da Silva, that will not do. Your plan of raising a false alarm seems to be the most likely. As soon as this accursed fog lifts we'll try it. It is worth the risk."
"The fog is lifting now," said the lieutenant, opening the scuttle and looking out.
Da Silva spoke truly. The belt of fog was dispersing, and already the sea was visible for a distance of nearly four hundred yards—a greyish, sluggishly heaving expanse dotted here and there with masses of floating ice of various shapes and sizes.
"Then we'll make our preparations, Da Silva. Please warn the crew that a false alarm is to be raised, and order them to muster aft with rifles and revolvers."
While the lieutenant was carrying out his chief's instructions Juan Cervillo made his way to the fore-bridge. It was now sufficiently clear to see a considerable distance. The Independencia was floating idly in an almost circular basin of mountainous masses of ice, some of the jagged peaks rising four hundred feet or more in the air. Had she been steaming she would have rammed the floating ice-barrier again. The only way of escape was to turn and run southward, between the horns of the almost encircling field of ice. To Cervillo's heated imagination it seemed as if the surrounding bergs were already converging to imprison the partially crippled cruiser.
Apart from the peril the grandeur of the scene was almost beyond description. The sun, that even at midday was low in the heavens, was still hidden behind the pinnacles of the berg, its feeble rays gilding the minaret-like projections, and causing them to scintillate gorgeous shafts of light. At frequent intervals masses of ice, slipping from the gradually melting mountain, would descend with a rumble resembling thunder, crash into the sea amid a cauldron of foam, or splash into fragments against a lower projection on the face of these stupendous precipices. A vessel coming within reach of these Titanic missiles would be instantly pulverised.
Cervillo realised the danger. All thought of carrying out his plans for the capture of Fielding and his companions must, for the time being, be set aside. The escape of the cruiser from the ice prison that threatened her must be the first consideration.
With great difficulty the engineers and stokers performed their tasks, and at a leisurely five knots the Independencia headed for the open sea. Every now and again one of her propellers would drive its blades into a mass of ice, the jar sending a quiver through the ship, till Cervillo, fearing that the two outside propellers might be irreparably damaged, ordered steam to be shut off from the cylinders actuating them, keeping the two inside "screws," which were partially protected by a twin rudder, revolving at a comparatively low rate barely sufficient to give the vessel steerage way.
Nearer and nearer the Independencia approached the gap in the almost encircling walls of ice—a channel less than a quarter of a mile in width, and flanked by lofty, overhanging precipices. It seemed from a distance that the gap was even less than it actually was, so high were the glacial cliffs on either hand.
Suddenly the cruiser struck; not violently, but sufficient to make the fact known to all on board. Her forward part, drawing 7 ft. of water more than her normal draught owing to the flooding of her fore compartments, had struck a ridge of submerged ice.
This time there was hardly any panic amongst the polyglot crew. The men were almost too apathetic to care for anything short of sudden, real danger. The engines were reversed, and almost without an effort the Independencia glided stern foremost off the reef. Soundings were taken, revealing a depth of only eight fathoms. Then the truth became apparent.
The Independencia was barely floating in a vast depression in the ice-field. The Bergs were really part of one extensive sheet of ice, twenty, thirty, or perhaps even more miles in length, and less than a dozen feet under her keel was a bed of ice possibly a thousand feet thick between her and the floor of the ocean.
It was indeed a strange freak of fortune that had guided the cruiser betwixt those icy portals in the fog. Now came the question: Had the bed of the glacial lagoon risen and decreased the depth, and did a barrier of shallow water lie between her and the open sea?
Three times the cruiser essayed to pass the shoal, each time bumping slightly. The fourth time, by keeping 300 yds. to starboard of the point where the vessel had touched the first time, Cervillo contrived to clear the danger, only to be confronted by another; for so close was the Independencia to the berg that one tremendous mass of ice fell within a hundred yards of her starboard side.
It was touch and go. On the one hand the risk of grounding badly on the shoal of ice, on the other the danger of being smashed by the sudden fall of the overhanging face of the glistening mass of congealed water. But Cervillo kept his head, and standing by the quartermaster compelled him to steer as close to the cliffs as possible, and after a quarter of an hour's suspense the Independencia gained the open sea.
The ship was in a bad state, for she was leaking badly, the inrush being barely kept under control by the powerful centrifugal pumps. She was down by the head; her fuel was running short, and the provisions, except those stored aft, were sufficient only for another ten days. No wonder, then, that the pirate captain was anxious to recover the booty, and save himself as best he might.
[Illustration: AFTER A QUARTER OF AN HOUR'S SUSPENSE THE "INDEPENDENCIA" GAINED THE OPEN SEA.]
Not until the cruiser had left the ice-field a good twenty miles astern did Juan Cervillo proceed to put into operation the plan that Da Silva had suggested. The men detailed to form the firing-party were ordered on the quarter-deck, but to the captain's surprise all the seamen and many of the engine-room staff came tumbling aft, all armed to the teeth.
"What is the meaning of this, men?" shouted Cervillo, as he faced the mob of olive and black-featured seamen.
The question was almost unnecessary. He realised that it was a case of mutiny.