CHAPTER XIII
The "Sunderbund's" Life-boat
The latitude and longitude given showed that the attack upon the mail-boat had occurred close to the Tripolitan coast off the province of Barca, a desolate country on the western frontier of Egypt. At the time of receiving the message the Portchester Castle was twenty miles S.E. of Cape Sidero, in the island of Crete, and roughly 250 miles from the scene of the disaster.
Immediately upon receipt of the wireless the armed merchant-cruiser set off at full speed to carry out instructions. A message from the Restormel announced the fact that that vessel was eighty miles to the westward.
"Glass tumbling down as if someone had knocked a hole in the bulb," remarked Osborne. "We're in for a spell of very dirty weather before very long. The Sunderbund's boats won't stand much chance in the heavy seas one meets with in the Eastern Mediterranean, and heaven help them if they are cast ashore. They've an even chance of death by starvation—that is, if they survive the landing through the breakers—or captivity in the hands of the Senussi."
"I thought that those fellows had been knocked out long ago," remarked Haynes.
"Yes, as far as the Sollum district is concerned," replied the Lieutenant. "But, unfortunately, numbers of these undesirables have made their way westward into the fringe of the Tripolitan desert. They have, apparently, lost their Turkish officers, and are acting as banditti. From all accounts they are well armed with modern rifles, although their field-guns and machine-guns were captured several months ago."
The barometer had given a certain warning of bad weather, and before many hours had elapsed it was blowing hard from the east'ard. The sun set in a ragged bank of indigo-coloured clouds. The wind whistled shrilly through the armed merchant-cruiser's rigging, and the spindrift began to fly in heavy masses over the weather bow.
Morning brought no improvement in the weather. In fact it looked worse, for the waves were so heavy that the Portchester Castle had lost a quantity of deck gear, while two of the boats had been "stove in" at the davits, owing to the gripes being carried away under the hammer-like blows of the green seas.
"Not much chance for the Sunderbund's boats," said Haynes. "They couldn't possibly make headway against this tumble. They'd be swamped to a dead cert."