Trent merely shrugged his shoulders. If his commander had a bee in his bonnet it was not his place, as a junior officer, to argue; so he held his peace and thought the more. The Berthon having been launched, Lawless dropped in and started to pull towards the apparently disabled steamer with powerful, noiseless strokes, having taken the precaution of muffling the oars. The distance between the Knat and the steamer having been considerably lessened by this time, it was not long before the Lieutenant reached her. He had rowed in a direct line with her stern, that he might not be observed by any possible look-out aboard, and at length he rested on his oars and turned round to make observations.
"Phew!" he whistled softly.
Floating on the water alongside the steamer, and screened by her hull from the observation of those on the war vessels, was a large waterplane. As far as he could make out, it had accommodation for two men, but what attracted his attention most was a machine, in appearance not unlike a very small inverted howitzer, and evidently designed for aiming bombs. There was no one in the waterplane, and for a moment Lawless thought of rowing with all speed to the Mars and warning her captain; but a moment's reflection told him that it was more than likely that she would have passed him before he could get near, and, in any case, the warning might by that time be too late.
"I'll have to trust to luck, that's all," he muttered.
How he was going to prevent the airmen from carrying out their plans, the nature of which he had very little difficulty in guessing, Lawless had no very clear idea; but, after a moment's consideration, he shipped his paddles, and slipped noiselessly into the water. A few strokes brought him alongside the steamer, and then, keeping well under the shadow of her hull, he continued swimming until he was able to reach one of the wire stays on the floating machine. So far he had escaped notice.
He had no sooner secured a firm hold on the waterplane than a man, suspended by a rope from one of the steamer's derricks, swung outboard and gently lowered himself into the seat of the machine. Then another man followed, and, after an interchange of remarks in a language which Lawless had no difficulty in recognising, the two airmen took their seats, and the engines were set going. A second or two afterwards the waterplane began to glide off, and the Lieutenant found himself being dragged through the water.
The weight of his body, in addition to the resistance of the water, caused the thin steel wire to cut into his hands; and, in order to get a firmer and less painful grip, he threw his arms over the narrow end of the car. As he did so, the waterplane rose in the air, with the result that it dipped and swerved so violently owing to the sudden shifting of his weight that Lawless thought it was going to capsize. The pilot, however, righted it with wonderful skill, but at the same time his companion caught sight of the Lieutenant hanging on.
For a moment he stared in blank astonishment at the dark figure dangling beneath him, and then, evidently under the impression that it was one of his compatriots who had somehow contrived to get into this awkward position, he leant over and extended his hand. Lawless gripped it, and, with a tremendous effort, managed to lift himself up and throw his legs over the canoe-shaped body, so that he sat astride facing his unknown helper.
"Look here——" he began thoughtlessly, and then stopped. It occurred to him, too late, that his speech had betrayed his nationality, and therefore his motives.
The other seemed to grasp the situation in a flash, and, before he had time to consider what to do next, Lawless found himself looking straight into the barrel of a revolver. But the sight of the weapon had the same effect upon him as a douche of cold water has upon a swooning man. It restored his presence of mind, and his brain worked with lightning-like rapidity.