“Everyone out!” cried Tim. “Joe, you’re to issue arms at once. Then Commander Ford wants to see you on deck.”
“Glory be,” croaked Joe. “It must be the Iron Mate. Maybe I’ll get a chance to unlimber my gun after all.”
They tumbled into their clothes and went forward where Joe issued ammunition belts and revolvers. A stack of rifles was placed in a special rack in the control room with a box of ammunition beside them. The S-18 was getting ready for trouble.
On deck Joe Gartner tore the tarpaulin off the four inch gun. From the depths of the S-18 a half dozen shells were brought on deck and the gun was trained on the cluster of lights.
The sky lightened and a few minutes later the tense group on the deck of the S-18 made out the outlines of the ship which was beyond the reefs. It was the Iron Mate, rolling gently in the swell.
Through field glasses they could see men clustered along the rail of the tramp steamer and Tim thought he could see Sladek on the bridge. The first move was up to the Iron Mate and it was not long in coming. From the far side of the steamer came the roar of an airplane engine and the seaplane took wing, its colors flashing in the bright rays of the sun.
“Better get ashore at once and have your own plane ready to take off,” Commander Ford advised Tim. “Take Pat with you and be sure that you have a light machine gun.”
Pat got the gun and plenty of ammunition from Joe Gartner and they tumbled into one of the small boats and started for shore.
Out to sea the other plane was climbing rapidly, circling over the Iron Mate. It was up 2,000 feet by the time Tim and Pat reached the Sea King and had torn off the motor coverings and loosened the moorings.
Tim piled into the after cockpit and snapped on the starter. The motor awoke with a roar and he warmed it up thoroughly, keeping an eye on the plane above. There was little wind and he could take off in a straight dash across the water.