"No, sir," replied Burgoyne. "At least, not to my knowledge. I've seen almost every battery, and they are armed with 6-inch and 4.7-inch naval guns."
"The Malfilio when under the Russian flag had four submerged torpedo tubes," continued the Commodore. "Do you happen to know if she has any torpedoes on board?"
"I cannot say, sir," replied Alwyn. "I was never on board; but, as the result of conversation with survivors from the Alvarado and Kittiwake, I know that she never employed these against any of the three vessels captured by her up to the time I left the island. She carries a small seaplane for scouting purposes."
On the evening of the eighth day after leaving Sydney the squadron, maintaining a speed of eighteen knots, arrived at the rendezvous fifteen miles due south of the secret base.
For the whole of the night vessels cruised east and west, turning sixteen points at the expiration of each hour. No steaming lights were shown; the ships were cleared for action and the guns' crews slept by their guns. No wireless was permitted. The destroyers were ordered to stand in pursuit of any vessel that might be sighted, acting upon the supposition that the pirate island was well out of the regular steamer tracks, and signal to her to stop instantly and disclose her identity. If the command were disobeyed the delinquent was to be torpedoed.
But nothing occurred to necessitate this drastic step. The night wore on without anything of a suspicious nature being reported.
At the first streak of dawn two scouting aircraft rose from the deck of the seaplane carrier, and disappeared in the direction of Ramon Porfirio's stronghold. In two hours they were back again, having made an exhaustive survey of the island, without, apparently, being spotted by any of the garrison.
They reported that there were two merchantmen and four schooners lying in the harbour, but the Malfilio was not visible.
A council of war was held to decide upon the course to be pursued. Some of the officers were in favour of attacking the island at once; others advocated the finding and destruction of the pirate cruiser as the first phase of the operations, backing up their arguments with the theory that if Porfirio discovered that his base were captured he would steam away at once to an unfrequented part of the Siberian coast. He might, then, have to run the Malfilio ashore, but there would remain the discouraging knowledge that the arch-pirate was still at large.
The Commodore fell in with the second suggestion, and decided to keep his flotilla out of sight of the secret base, and to keep a sharp look-out for the pirate cruiser by means of destroyers and aircraft, the light cruisers being stationed as previously arranged, one to the east and one to the west of the island.