Travelling at high speed the patrol boat heeled violently to starboard, so much so that the Moke was within an ace of being shot out of the cockpit, while the bowman, his curiosity aroused by the unwonted change of direction, thrust head and shoulders out of the oval-shaped hatchway in the fore-deck.
"See to that chap, Slogger!" shouted the Moke, all need for silence being past.
Pistol in hand the sub leapt from the cockpit, making his way along the narrow waterway by the wall of the motor-room coaming, and levelled his weapon full at the bowman's head.
"Rechts Sie unter!" ordered Farrar in his execrable German.
Whether the Austrian seaman understood the words or not, the sub's gesture was sufficient. Taken completely at a disadvantage the broad-shouldered sailor withdrew his head and shoulders and disappeared from view.
In a trice the sub shut and secured the metal lid of the aperture. He guessed that the boat was built with water-tight transverse bulkheads, and in that case there was no direct communication between the fore-cabin and the motor-room.
The mechanician remained to be dealt with. Had not it been for the fact that the bowman began to shout and hammer at the steel partition the former would have "carried on" in blissful ignorance of the change of masters; but hearing the clamour he began to climb through the narrow opening which gave access to the open air.
The sub, on his way aft, turned just in time to see a powerfully built man grasping a heavy spanner. Promptly he levelled his pistol, but the fellow showed no sign of temerity. He was all but clear of the hatchway when Farrar, hesitating to shoot a man labouring under a great disadvantage, struck him fairly between his eyes. Like a felled ox the Austrian tumbled inertly upon the deck, with his legs dangling down the motor-room hatchway.
"Beastly inconsiderate of him," exclaimed the sub, addressing his chum. "He's chucked his hand in, so I suppose I must take on his job. Push Little Willie into the cabin and come and bear a hand. The boat will take care of herself for a brace of shakes."
The coxswain suffered himself to be precipitated unceremoniously down the three metal-edged steps of the companion-ladder, and under lock and key in the cabin he was left to puzzle his addled brains over the obvious disadvantage of German domination, for he had not yet "tumbled to" the true cause of the fracas. Consoling himself that the onus of the affair rested upon the shoulders of the military authorities for having ordered him to embark the truculent and domineering Prussians, he decided upon the policy of passive resistance.