CHAPTER V
The Encounter with a Spy
With hardly a sound Sub-lieutenant Webb made his way to the side of his sleeping chum, and roused him effectually and silently by the simple expedient of grasping him firmly by the hand.
"'Ssh!" cautioned Tom.
Side by side the two officers crawled to a place of vantage from which the three men could be kept under observation.
"By Jove!" thought Osborne. "Two German officers and our old pal Alfonzo. Jabbering away in German, too; and I don't understand the lingo. Now if they were to try Spanish——"
"Ach, friend Georgeos Hymettus!" exclaimed the senior Hun officer in execrable English. "Your German a disgrace is. You kultur have neglected. We confused are in your explanations. Therefore, since we talk not Spanish nor Greek it will be more easy to talk in der accursed English. You say you no haf der list of ships?"
"No," replied Perez, or, to give him his true name, Hymettus. "It no safe. Me no trust ze writing. Carry all here," and he tapped his forehead significantly. "S'pose me caught and nodings found in ze writing. Zen, nodings doin' as ze Englise say."
Thereupon, with great fidelity the Greek spy named the British war-ships on the station and their probable destinations. One exception was the Portchester Castle. Either the name had slipped his memory, or else he was ignorant of her presence in the Bay of Gibraltar. He then proceeded to detail the names of British and foreign merchantmen at Gib. and their probable date of departure, which information the Germans jotted down in a notebook.
An off-shore wind, rustling across the sand-dunes, rendered a considerable portion of the following conversation inaudible, but the chums could see that a sum of paper money changed hands.
"U-boat officers!" whispered Webb, taking advantage of the hush of the grass. "Game to tackle them?"
"Yes, I'm game," replied Osborne, "but it can't be done yet. I'll explain later. Steady!"
The spy and the Huns were on the point of separating.
"Till Friday," cautioned the senior German officer. "Meanwhile tell Gonales dat we be off Alminecar on Wednesday, an' dat we vos have more petrol. Leben Sie wohl, Georgeos. Do not from dis place move make until twenty minutes."
The Huns moved off diagonally in the direction of the shore. Before they had gone very far two greatcoated seamen jumped to their feet and saluted. Osborne, then, was wise in not attempting to tackle the officers, since there were members of the submarine's boat's crew within easy hailing distance. Silently the Germans pushed off in a collapsible canvas boat, and were rowed seaward until they were lost to sight and hearing of the British officers.
True to his instructions, Georgeos Hymettus remained at the spot where he had parted with his uniformed confederates. He was stealthily counting the notes he had received as the price of his espionage, as if to make sure that he had not been cheated by his Teutonic paymasters. Rapidly Osborne revolved the situation in his mind. With the assistance of his chum the capture of the solitary spy ought to present no special difficulties; but, having laid him by the heels, the question arose, what could they do with him? The spy was in Spanish territory, and, if the facts became known, his arrest constituted a breach of neutrality. Again, between them and the Neutral Ground were the Spanish Lines, through which it would be almost a matter of impossibility to conduct the captive without detection by the Civil Guards. On the other hand it would be a thankless task to give the Greek over to the Spanish authorities. Not only would it mean delay, when it was imperative that Osborne and his chum should return to the ship as soon as practicable, but the chances were that the Spanish officials would refuse to keep the fellow under arrest, since he had been merely engaged in conversation with two subjects of a friendly power. In Spain, especially in the southern part, the officials are notoriously pro-German, having succumbed to the wiles and pecuniary charms of the Hun agents.
"I'll risk it," decided the Lieutenant. "Even if we don't succeed in planting him down in Gib. it will give him a rare fright."
He pointed towards the unsuspecting Greek. Webb nodded. Stealthily the twain advanced, treading on the soft sand and avoiding contact with the dry driftwood that abounded in the grass.
Without warning Georgeos Hymettus turned and saw two forms approaching through the gloom of the starlit night. He took to his heels, doubtless imagining that he was about to be attacked by some of the numerous robbers who, under the guise of beggars, infest the countryside.
Swift of foot though the Greek might be, the two Englishmen were swifter. Before the fugitive had covered a hundred yards he realized that escape by means of flight seemed hopeless.
He was almost on the point of stopping and feigning surrender when Osborne's foot tripped over a projecting stone, sending the Lieutenant sprawling in the grass. Webb, springing aside to avoid the prostrate form of his chum, shouted to the spy to give in.
Promptly the Greek held both hands, with the fingers outspread, high above his head.
"That's sensible," declared Tom, and incautiously he turned to see how his companion was progressing. Like a flash of lightning the spy's right hand sought his voluminous sash, and grasping a long, keen-bladed knife he slashed viciously at the Sub's chest.
Springing backwards Webb avoided what would otherwise have been a fatal blow. As it was, the sharp steel ripped his coat from lapel to waist, while so much energy had Georgeos put into the blow that his arm swung outwards behind him.
The Sub was quick to counter. Throwing himself upon the ground, he gripped his antagonist by the ankles. With a crash the fellow measured his length on his back, while Webb, following up the attack, seized him by the throat.
Over and over the two rolled, Hymettus striking blindly with his knife, while Tom, shifting one hand, strove to pin the spy's right arm to his side and render him incapable of dealing further dangerous, but fortunately ineffectual, blows.
By this time Osborne had regained his feet, and was awaiting an opportunity of coming to his chum's assistance. It was no easy matter, for in the starlight it was hard to distinguish betwixt friend and foe as they writhed and rolled in a close embrace.
The glint of steel prompted Osborne to take the risk. At any chance moment a thrust might bury the weapon in Webb's body. Both combatants were obviously becoming exhausted. Their quick breaths sounded like those of a pair of dogs spent after running a long distance, while, in addition, the Greek was snarling like a wild beast.
Grasping a favourable moment, Osborne took a flying kick at the knife as for a brief instant it paused in mid-air. The weapon flew a dozen yards, the bright blade twirling and scintillating in the dim light ere it vanished from sight in the soft sand.
With the loss of the weapon the Greek ceased to offer resistance. Upon that knife he had relied to win clear; it was the mainstay of his defence.
"What you was do?" he whined in broken English, for he had already recognized his assailants. "Me harmless Spanish caballero."
"We'll see about that," retorted Osborne. "The question is: are you coming quietly or are you not?"
"Where?" asked the spy.
"To Gibraltar."
"What for ze reason?"
The Lieutenant thought it best to ignore the question. With Webb's assistance he set the spy upon his feet, securely bound his arms behind his back by means of his shawl, and, cutting off a portion of the latter, effectually gagged the prisoner.
Osborne listened intently. There was nothing to show that the Spanish Civil Guards had been alarmed by the noise of the struggle. Everything seemed quiet. There was a fair chance of being able to pass the captive through the Spanish Lines without detection, especially as it was now close upon dawn and the sentries apt, in consequence, to relax their vigilance.
All went well until the two officers and their prisoner were within fifty yards of one of the guard-houses that mark the termination of Spanish territory and the commencement of the Neutral Ground. There were no signs of any of the sentries; and Osborne was beginning to congratulate himself upon the successful issue of his attempt, when a cock-hatted, gaudily uniformed man sprung seemingly from the ground.
Levelling his rifle he called upon the British officers to halt, following up this order by a warning shout to others of his comrades within the block-house.
"It's all right," declared Osborne in his halting Spanish. "We're bringing back a deserter."
"Do not be in a hurry," was the exasperating reply. "Have you any papers bearing the Alcalde's signature for the prisoner's removal?"
The thought flashed across the Lieutenant's mind that it was more than likely that none of the Spanish guards could read. Education in Spain, he remembered, is in a very backward state, barely ten per cent of the population being able to read or write. As president of the mess on board the Portchester Castle he had in his possession several receipted bills. The most imposing of these he produced for the Civil Guard's inspection. At the same time he noticed that others of the Spaniards were about to remove the gag from the spy's mouth.
"Get them to hang on a minute, old man," he exclaimed, addressing Webb. Then tendering the document to the inquisitive soldier, he ostentatiously displayed a handful of coins.
The natural cupidity of the man was unable to resist the bait. "Palm oil" would have done the trick had not the spy contrived at that moment to slip the bonds that secured his wrists. With a deft movement he produced the bundle of English Treasury notes that had been paid him by the German submarine officers, at the same time fumbling with the knot that held his gag in position.
Before Webb, whose attention had been centred upon restraining the rest of the Civil Guards, could prevent it, the spy had freed himself from the gag, and was protesting in voluble Spanish that he was an Andalusian who had been kidnapped by English brigands.
Hopelessly outbidden, for the Greek was doling out pound notes in a most lavish fashion, Osborne realized that he had been beaten at his own game. The climax came when Georgeos Hymettus scattered a handful of paper money in the dim light, and while the Spanish troops were scrambling for the spoil he took to his heels.
Since it was useless to follow, Osborne and Webb watched him till he vanished in the darkness. Then silently they waited until the morning gun from the citadel announced that the fortress of Gibraltar was open until the setting of the sun.
"A pretty pickle!" remarked Osborne. "Nothing done, your undress uniform ripped to ribbons, the spy gone, and we ourselves have to face the music for having overstayed our leave. Rotten, I call it!"
"Don't know so much about that'," remarked Webb, the cheery optimist. "We've discovered something that will be of interest to the authorities, and, after all, we've had quite an exciting adventure. Some night, eh, what?"