Captain Ramshaw resisted the inclination to answer. Obviously the taunt was meant as an insult. More, it suggested the possibility that hostile commerce destroyers had marked the "Saraband" with her precious cargo as a most desirable prey. Without another word he left the cabin, signing to the quartermasters to double-lock the steel door.
The captain was convinced that he had made an important capture. From the documents found in von Eckenhardt's cabin it was clear that the prisoner was a major in the Prussian Guards, and that he had been detailed for secret service to report upon the military and political situation in South Africa. Von Eckenhardt's instructions were written in guarded language and signed by the initial X. Captain Ramshaw had yet to learn who the mysterious X was, and the most important part he played in the extensive and highly active espionage system fostered by the Government of the German Empire.
CHAPTER VI.
AN OCEAN DUEL.
The new course taken by the "Saraband" was in accordance with the instructions given by the lieutenant of H.M.S. "Padstow." Avoiding Las Palmas the vessel made for the African coast, making a landfall in the neighbourhood of Cape Verd. Thence by a judicious use of his coal, and by hugging the shore as close as possible without risk of grounding on the outlying shoals, Captain Ramshaw hoped to bring his command safely into Gibraltar.
At nights all lights were screened. Board of Trade regulations in the matter of the use of navigation lamps were deliberately ignored. The "Saraband," at a steady seventeen knots, forged blindly ahead through the black waters.
During this anxious period Captain Ramshaw rarely quitted the bridge. If he did so it was only for a few minutes. When compelled by the demands of nature to rest, he slept on a deck-chair in the chart-room, ready at an instant's notice to give orders for the safety of the ship.
On the second night after the meeting of the "Padstow" the quartermaster had just reported four bells—the actual ringing had been dispensed with as a matter of precaution—when a wireless S.O.S. call was received.
It was Terence Aubyn's watch. Promptly the young officer informed the skipper of the call—a summons for aid that is never ignored by the vessels that are within range of wireless.