Less than an hour after Flanso's return Trentham set off with Grinson and half a dozen natives, among whom was Lafoa, for the cove. They marched cautiously, in case any of Hahn's party were still lingering in the forest; but the Germans had evidently been daunted and had returned to their base.
Trentham had decided to make for the spot where he had organised Meek's release. While affording a good post of observation, it was difficult of access from the beach, and even if discovered by the enemy he would have plenty of time to escape into the forest behind. He gave a wide berth to the sentry-box above the cove, crept round through almost impenetrable thickets, and had nearly reached the slope strewn with boulders when there came faintly on his ear the characteristic rattle of a donkey-engine.
'The Raider 's back in the cove, Grinson,' he said.
'Ay, ay, sir, and hoisting coal, seemingly.'
Bidding Grinson keep the natives under cover near the head of the slope, Trentham stole forward, dodging among the boulders, until he reached a point where he could peep over at the cove beneath without much risk of being detected. The Raider was anchored almost in the same position as when he had last seen her; smoke was pouring from her funnel. There was much activity both on deck and on the shore. The donkey-engine was lifting, not coal, but stores from the ship's boats lying under her side. Men were carrying boxes and bales from the shed to the shore. Everybody was moving with an air of bustle and haste. It was impossible to doubt that the vessel was about to leave the cove: the settlement was to be abandoned.
An hour or two earlier Trentham would have rejoiced to know that the Raider was departing. But at this moment he felt only annoyance, disappointment, positive anger. Within a few short hours Hoole, unless baulked by ill-luck, would guide a British vessel to the cove, and the Raider would meet a well-deserved fate. It seemed that the Germans had taken alarm on seeing their seaplane flying eastwards, obviously under other than German control. They had suspected the nature of its mission, and having a wholesome dread of what might befall them, had determined to forestall the inevitable. With all his heart Trentham wished that he could hold the vessel at her anchorage. But he could do nothing to interfere with the bustling preparations below. The Raider was getting up steam; the stores were being methodically hoisted and stowed; before very long the vessel would disappear round the horn of the cove, and he could only watch her impotently.
'Flanso's people won't be bothered any more; that's one good thing,' he thought, as he began to climb up the slope. Picking his way, he stumbled, and clutched at one of the boulders to maintain his footing. The rock swayed slightly. Trentham stood still for a moment, resting his hand on it. An observer would have noticed that his brow suddenly cleared, his eyes danced, a flush spread over his cheeks. Then with quick movements, yet careful to keep under cover, he clambered up and rejoined Grinson. There was a brief, rapid conversation between them. Grinson's broad face expressed in turn surprise, doubt, determination, glee. Lafoa was given an order. Then, while Trentham directed them from the cover of the trees, the others quickly rolled a number of the largest boulders to a part of the slope which, as nearly as he could gauge the position, was directly above the Raider. It was no easy matter to move unseen from the sheds. Some of the most promising of the boulders had to be neglected. But the noise below was great enough to smother the sounds of the men's swift movements, and they were not interrupted. Presently, over a space of more than a hundred yards, there were ranged in three orderly rows, each row being about twenty paces from the next, a collection of rocks of all shapes and sizes and weights, from knobs of a few pounds to boulders so heavy as to need the united efforts of several men to move them. One of these, indeed, almost escaped from the grasp of the three men handling it, and Trentham felt a cold thrill at the imminence of a premature descent. But Grinson's brawny arms arrested the monster in the nick of time, and he secured it temporarily by means of smaller rocks wedged between it and the earth. Blowing hard, he came to Trentham's side.
'"Shust in time!" as old Trousers would say, sir,' he remarked. 'All's ready, but I won't answer for what 'll happen when you say "go."'
'We must do our best and trust to luck.'
'That's not my meaning, sir. It's these 'ere ugly mugs. They 've had no drill, d' ye see. Might as well be horse marines, in a manner of speaking.'