Before they had gone fifty yards Aubyn noticed that the boat was leaking badly. Already the water was above the floor boards. One of the men was obliged to use the baler vigorously, while the others kept to their oars, the sub. holding the boat on her course by means of considerable lee helm.
"Lay on your oars, men," exclaimed Terence, and leaning over the side he was just in time to grasp the hair of a scorched and blackened German bluejacket as he was sinking for the last time. Two more men were rescued, one stark naked, save for an inflated swimming collar; the other wounded in half a dozen places by pieces of flying metal.
So intent were the crews of the numerous boats upon their work of saving life that they failed to notice a new peril. Only a warning shout from the quarter-deck of the "Arethusa" recalled them to the fact that they were not fighting civilized foes but enemies whose methods of waging war were on a par with those of the old Red Indians, the ferocious Boxers, or the fanatical tribes of Somaliland.
Overhead was a Zeppelin, accompanied by a couple of German waterplanes. Although it must have been perfectly obvious to the observers that the British tars were rescuing their beaten foes, the aircraft began a rapid bombardment with bombs.
One missile, fortunately without exploding, dropped an oar's length from the "Livingstone's" boat. Others, detonating with a sharp crack, assisted in sending a score or so of the "Bluecher's" crew to their death.
Filled with fury, that during the engagement had been foreign to them, the British tars were compelled to relinquish their task of saving life. Back to their respective ships they rowed, and a hail of projectiles was launched against the treacherous Zeppelin and her consorts.
This was more than the unwieldy gas-bag could stand. Circling and ascending higher and higher she flew out of the danger zone and made off back to Heligoland.
But the engagement was not yet over.
From the flagship of the admiral commanding the destroyer flotillas came a signal:—
"Proceed to N.E. and engage enemy-destroyers and submarines."