Buster fired a blank charge and hoisted an International signal ordering her to heave-to.
The junk was in no hurry to reply. Maynebrace gave them time, and visualized the crafty pirates poring over the signal book.
When she did reply she hoisted a yellow flag over one with two yellow and two black squares.
“QL, sir,” reported the yeoman of signals. “Reports she’s infected.”
“Does she?” remarked Maynebrace drily. “We’ll prescribe for her; give her something to rid her of plague! She’ll have to show her tongue first, though!”
Buster altered course and closed her distance. When still a good half mile away the pirates could no longer resist the inclination to display their war-like character.
A fierce burst of machine-gun fire was directed against the destroyer. It plastered the gun-shields of the for’ard quick-firer, and would have struck down any of the crew who had incautiously remained in view. A few feet higher, and the traversing hail of bullets would have swept the bridge.
Maynebrace was no longer in doubt. He was loath to employ high explosive shells; not that he had any wish to spare the pirates, but because he wanted the junk badly!
He ordered the Lewis-guns to open fire in order to beat down the hail of hostile bullets, and then shouted through the voice-tube for the bow gun to try two rounds of gas shells.
Both projectiles got home, the actual impact making two jagged holes in the junk’s upper-works; but the liberation of the gas did the trick very neatly.