Outlined as they were against the ruddy glare it was impossible to distinguish them, but as the British seamen ran forward to bear them into safety the men raised their arms appealingly.
"Help, kamarade, help!" they cried.
"Germans!" ejaculated Armstrong. "Where are our fellows?"
Denbigh could not give an answer. A glance in the direction of the wall of fire, now less than a quarter of a mile distant, told him that life was impossible in front of that barrier unless the fugitives were already in sight. But they were not The sub set his jaw tightly.
"Where are the others—and the British seamen?" he asked in German of one of the men. The other was beyond speech.
"All gone! All gone!" replied the German.
"There's another, sir!" exclaimed a petty officer.
"Come on, stick it!" shouted half a dozen lusty voices in encouragement.
The third man was evidently in the last stages of exhaustion. He was gasping for breath as he ran, but the hot acrid air was fast choking him. He flung his arms above his head and pitched upon his face, with the burning embers dropping all around him.
A cloud of eddying smoke enveloped him. Then a gust of wind cleared the pall of vapour. The wretch was writhing. His clothes were smouldering as he lay helpless in the withering grass.