Davis had won-fairly and cleanly-there
was no doubt about that.
But Jack and Lord Hastings wasted
no time in considering the merits of the encounter.
Each sprang forward and bent above the lad. Lord
Hastings raised the boy’s head to his knee.
“Water,” he said to Jack.
The latter hastened to get it, and
after a few drops had been sprinkled over his face,
Frank opened his eyes. He glanced up curiously
at Lord Hastings.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“What’s happened?”
“Matter is,” returned
Jack quietly, “that you have just been convinced
that you are not such a terrible fighter as you have
been thinking.”
“You mean he licked me?”
demanded Frank, suddenly realizing just what had happened.
“He did,” returned Jack
dryly; “and he did a pretty good job of it.”
“But I tell you I had him,”
cried Frank. “One more blow and-and -”
“The one more blow didn’t land,”
replied his chum.
“But I tried -”
“Yes, you tried, all right.
I saw you. You just missed him and then he landed
on you-twice, and hard. That’s
why you’re here.”
“He couldn’t do it again,” said
Frank feebly.
“Maybe not and maybe yes,”
said Jack. “However, you’re not going
to have another trial. You’ve been licked,
and licked good and proper, and that’s all there
is to it. See if you can get up now. I’ll
take you to our own quarters.”
Frank pulled himself to his feet,
and, leaning on Jack, walked from the room.
Davis now had donned his coat and
stood near as the two passed out. There was a
sneering smile on his puffed face, and he spoke.
“Perhaps you fellows will pay
a little more attention to me when I say something
after this,” he muttered.
Jack whirled on him sharply.
“See here,” he said quietly,
“if you make any trouble in the future I’ll
take you in hand myself. You’ll find that
the result will be somewhat different.”
“So?” sneered Davis, feeling
not a little proud of himself. “You are
at liberty to try at any time. Right now, eh?”
He made as if to discard his coat.
Flushed with victory, he manifested no doubt that
he could handle Jack as well as Frank.
In spite of himself, Jack was forced to smile.
“We won’t fight now,”
he said quietly. “You’re not in condition
in the first place. But when you have been fixed
up, I just want to tell you not to trifle with me.”
“Threats, eh?”
“Call them what you please.
I don’t want to have to spank you, but I may
have to. Don’t bother me, that’s all.”
He helped Frank from the room without
another word. Lord Hastings, about to leave the
room, stopped for a word with Davis.
“Just a word of advice,”
he said. “As you know, we are on a perilous
duty. Any more trouble and I’ll have you
ironed if necessary. You’re in no position
to make a nuisance of yourself.”
Davis made no reply. He recognized
Lord Hastings’ authority to do as he said and
he was smart enough to say nothing. Lord Hastings
left Davis with the sailors.
An hour after leaving the spot where
the U-16 had so recently sent a German submarine to
the bottom, Lord Hastings again gave the command to
come to the surface; and the vessel proceeded then
upon the top of the water.
Frank and Jack, tired out, had retired
for a brief rest before their services would again
be required; but had they been in Davis’ cabin
they would have overheard a strange conversation.
Davis and three of the German sailors
were engaged in a deep and apparently serious discussion.
They talked in subdued tones and cast occasional furtive
glances at the door. Occasionally the three nodded
their heads affirmatively as Davis talked, each occasionally
volunteering a few words himself.
“Then you are with me?” asked Davis at
length.
The men nodded.
“Good. But we shall have
to bide our time. A false step and it would be
the end of all of us. This Commander Bernstorff,
I should say, is a bad man to fool with. But
once we can get him in our power and silence the others,
we can make something of ourselves.”
“Yah!” muttered one of
the sailors. “What is this war to us anyhow?
You are English and we are German; but what of it?
Why should we take orders from such men as Herr Commander
Bernstorff and others of his kind?”
“Why, indeed?” echoed another.
“You are right,” said
Davis. “Now, when we take possession of
this vessel we will be our own masters. No one
to tell us what to do. We won’t have to
risk our lives for some one else’s gain.
And what booty we can get shall be evenly divided
among us. There is rich prey upon the sea.”
“But first,” said one
of the sailors, “to come into possession of this
vessel, we shall have to dispose of Commander Bernstorff,
his lieutenants, and others of the crew.”
“How,” exclaimed one of
the others suddenly, “how if some of the others
would join us? I have no doubt they would if approached
in the right way.”
“We don’t want too many,”
protested the third. “The fewer of us, the
fewer to share in the spoils.”
“True enough,” said Davis,
“but we must have men enough for a crew.
I, of course, shall command. You three will be
my officers. We must have a crew.”
“How about the English sailors?”
asked one of the Germans. “They must be
dissatisfied. Here they are prisoners and will
be kept under guard until the end of the war.
Certainly they should be willing to join us. It
will mean freedom and a share in the rich spoils.”
“With which to retire when the
war is over,” put in another. “Why,
we can go to America and live at ease for years to
come.”
“Which is my plan exactly,”
declared Davis. “Yes, we must have a crew.
Hans, do you think you could approach these prisoners?”
“Leave that to me, sir,”
replied Hans with an evil wink. “I think
I can convince them, sir.”
“Good; but in the meantime,
do not talk this among yourselves. I believe
we had better wait until after the end of the expedition
we are now on. Vigilance, probably, will relax
then. In the meantime, we must try and show ourselves
to be perfectly loyal to the Kaiser.”
“Very well, sir.”
“All right then,” said
Davis. “You fellows clear out now.
I want to get a little sleep.”
Silently the three conspirators made
their way from the traitor’s cabin. No
one saw them go and the success of the plot seemed
assured as the U-16 continued on her journey, Lord
Hastings, Frank, Jack and the other British aboard
unaware and unsuspecting.
Shortly after dusk of the night upon
which the German under-sea fleet expected to spring
its coup, the U-16 lay upon the calm surface of the
water still some distance from the point set for the
gathering of the submarine flotilla at the midnight
hour, and likewise a considerable distance from Dover.
Explaining his reason for stopping
here, Lord Hastings said: “There may be
British patrol boats about-probably are.
I want you boys to remain in charge here, while I
take a boat and try to reach the British authorities.”
“One of us had better go along, sir,”
declared Frank.
Lord Hastings considered this a minute.
“I don’t know but you
are right,” he finally said. “Frank
shall go. Jack will take command in my absence.”
He addressed the latter. “Arm
Edwards and our other men,” he continued, “though
do it unknown to the Germans. I don’t altogether
trust this Davis. Of course he is in the pay
of the Germans; but once a traitor always a traitor.
Watch him closely.”
“I’ll watch him,” said Jack quietly.
“Very well. Frank and I shall leave at
once.”
Lord Hastings ordered a small boat
over the side, the two jumped into it and rowed rapidly
away, leaving Jack to pass the word among the crew
that Commander Bernstorff had gone on a little scouting
expedition.
For half an hour Lord Hastings and
Frank rowed along without incident until they could
see a few dull lights in the distant town of Dover.
“Seems to me there is a terrible
lack of vigilance hereabouts,” declared Frank.
“It does look that way,”
Lord Hastings admitted. “However -”
There came a sudden interruption-the
sound of a shot, and a bullet whistled overhead.
“Not such a terrible lack of
vigilance, either,” remarked Lord Hastings.
“I wonder where that shot came from?”
He gazed about but could see nothing
in the darkness. Came a second shot from behind
him, and turning, the two saw a little motorboat that
had crept up behind them unnoticed.
“We surrender!” called
Lord Hastings, fearing to take a chance that the next
shot would miss.
The motorboat came toward them quickly.
“Who are you?” demanded
a figure standing in the bow, and at this distance
Lord Hastings could dimly make out that the man wore
a British uniform.
“Friends,” was the reply.
The British officer peered at them
sharply, then noticed their German uniforms.
“Friends, eh,” he said;
“in those uniforms. Not likely. Climb
into my boat.”
Lord Hastings and Frank obeyed without
a word, and at a command from the British officer
the motorboat put about and headed shoreward.
“Where are you taking us?” asked Lord
Hastings quietly.
“None of your business,” was the sharp
response.
“So?” said Lord Hastings
quietly. “I would advise you to speak more
respectfully. I would not like to report you.
I asked you a civil question and I would appreciate
a civil answer.”
“Well, I’ll tell you,
seeing that you are so anxious,” replied the
officer. “I am taking you to Admiral Fischer,
at Dover, who, most likely, will know better how to
attend to your case than I do.”
“Most likely,” repeated
Lord Hastings. “And how long before we may
expect to see the admiral?”
“About half an hour.”
“Good!” And Lord Hastings
whispered to Frank: “Plenty of time.
Fortunately I am well acquainted with Admiral Fischer.”