Читать книгу Two American Boys with the Dardanelles Battle Fleet - Sherman Crockett - Страница 8

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Jack had their course changed a trifle so as to bear direct for the source of that long ray of brilliant light.

“See if you can find a sheet, or anything white, that can be fastened up to show we do not mean to offer resistance,” he told Amos, who soon had the “flag of truce,” as he called it, in place.

“Seems to me, Jack, that if we mean to give the captain his chance to get away we ought to be doing it before that light gets us,” suggested Amos, when he had once more joined his chum.

“It is a bit dangerous,” the other admitted, “but if worked right, it might be done.”

“We could let them come up, one at a time, and climb into the boat, after we made sure they carried no weapons,” suggested Amos.

Jack weighed the chances. To be on the safe side he knew they would be wise to let things go as they were and trust to the officer on the boarding boat to let them keep their word to the men. Jack thought a good deal of his word, which, once given, he would dislike to see broken.

“I guess Captain Zenos must be a well-known character among the commanders of the Allied vessels,” he mused. “As he’s probably run more than a few cargoes of high explosives past their lines they would like to wind up his career. You see, he has caused a heap of damage by means of the shells he’s smuggled across; and they would want to shoot him. We’ll give him a chance, Amos.”

On his part Amos was not unwilling. Ever since he had seen the utterly fearless way in which the smuggler and gun-runner had dashed into that hold, not knowing but what the expected explosion might come at any second, the boy had conceived a certain amount of admiration for him.

“But we’ve got to be mighty careful, Jack,” he warned the other. “These men are desperate, and not to be trusted.”

“We’ll risk that, Amos. Now, attend to me, and keep your pistol ready for use at a second’s notice.”

He pounded on the hatch.

“Hello! down below!” Jack called out.

“What do you want now?” demanded a voice which they recognized as belonging to the gun-runner captain.

“We are close to the fleet, and, being afraid that they might want to hold you and your men, we would be willing to let you drop into the small boat and row away, if you agreed to certain conditions.”

The man on the other side of the closed hatch seemed to ponder over the proposal. Evidently he realized that the boys meant to do the right thing, being a little afraid that after having given their promise of immunity they could not “deliver the goods.”

“I understand what you mean,” he presently called out. “What do you want us to promise you, lad?”

“First that you will pass up every weapon you have on your persons. Then, one by one, we will let you come on deck, and get into the boat towing astern. We will stop the engine so you may have no trouble. When all are aboard the rope will be cut, and you can lose yourselves in the darkness. The sea is nearly calm so there need be no trouble about getting ashore. What do you say? You will have to hurry, for at any minute now the searchlight will pick us up.”

“What you say sounds to me like you meant to do the right thing,” called the captain. “Loosen the hatch on one side, and we will hand over our firearms. Then, as you say, we can crawl out, one by one, and take our places in the small boat.”

Jack believed that his plan was working out finely. At the same time not for one moment was he disposed to relax his vigilance. He even managed to keep the man at the wheel under his eye, as the fellow easily saw.

They loosened the fastenings of the hatch and raised one side a few inches. A formidable six-shooter was thrust through, of which Jack immediately took possession. It was followed by two others, showing that some of the sailor men had made it a practice to go armed.

“That is all the firearms we have, I give you my word,” said the captain.

“Then let one of the men creep out, and tell him he must get into the small boat without losing a second of time. Also warn him, Captain, that we will shoot at the first sign of treachery.”

Presently a man’s head appeared in view, and then he commenced to crawl out of the narrow opening. The boys kept him covered, and once he gained the deck he was made to scuttle along, clamber over the stern, and take his place in the tender that had been towing behind all through the voyage. It was amply large enough to hold the five men without peril of being overcrowded.

No sooner had they disposed of this man than a second was allowed to come up; after him came the third sailor, with Captain Zenos himself bringing up the rear.

The daring blockade-runner instantly saw the flash of the searchlight and must have realized that the American boys meant to treat him fairly. The loss of his boat may have been a bitter pill for him to swallow; but he was accustomed to taking things as he found them.

“You have hit me a hard blow,” he told Jack. “If ever I get a chance to turn the tables on you, I will; but I want to say you are brave boys, and I admire your pluck. I was always told American boys beat the world that way. We may meet again some of these days. Good-night!”

With that he, too, clambered over the side and took his place in the small boat.

“Have you room for one more, Captain?” asked Jack, and upon receiving an affirmative response he turned to the man at the wheel, saying: “Here, you, get aboard with the rest. We might as well make a clean sweep while we’re about it. I’ll take charge of the wheel when we start again. I know enough about engines to run a tub like this.”

The last of the blockade-runners did not wait upon the order of his going. He seemed only too well pleased to accompany his chief. The prospect of being left behind to fall into the hands of the enemy was not attractive to him.

As soon as this fellow had taken his seat in the boat, Amos, who was hovering nearby, cast the painter off, and immediately the small craft fell astern, for the powerboat still had some headway.

“Bully for us!” exclaimed Amos. “We’re now monarch of all we survey, Jack! And of all the adventures that have come to us since striking Europe this night is going to stand near the head.”

“Don’t crow,” warned Jack. “The Indian should never shout till he is in the woods, or the white man till he is out of them. We’ve got some troubles still ahead of us. I’m going to start up the engine, and keep moving straight toward that war vessel.”

“I think it must be a battleship, Jack, or a big cruiser, from the size of the searchlight. Now that I look around I can see a whole lot more of the same kind of lights roving around further on. Yes, we’ve struck the battle fleet at anchor as sure as anything. If only Frank is somewhere close by and safe, I’ll be satisfied.”

Jack had by this time succeeded in getting the engine started. As he had said, he knew considerable about running engines whether connected with motorboats, automobiles or motorcycles, having had a fair amount of experience with them all.

They constantly decreased the distance separating them from the source of that dazzling light, which for the most part played in the other direction.

Then all at once it began to circle in their quarter.

“She’s going to hit us, I reckon, Jack!” called out Amos, who stood forward and eagerly watched every little thing that occurred.

Even as he spoke the glare of the searchlight came in his eyes, causing him to drop his head. Apparently those aboard had strong glasses and must have instantly discovered the Greek powerboat, for the light remained stationary.

“I hope they don’t turn one of those big sixteen-inch guns loose on us,” ventured Amos, a little uneasily.

“No danger of their wasting a shell on such small game as this boat,” Jack assured him, “when they have need of all they own to smash the fortifications of Gallipoli and the Asiatic mainland. I rather guess we’ll be seeing one of those fleet destroyers dashing this way, to find out who and what we are.”

“Well, our white rag shows up as plain as daylight, and it ought to tell that we don’t mean them any harm,” said Amos, relieved; though he had to immediately laugh at the idea of that miniature boat being a menace to a super-dreadnaught.

Five minutes later, as they continued to advance, they discovered some object approaching at furious speed. Then, as it came in range of the searchlight, the boys saw that it was a torpedo-boat destroyer painted a gray color that could not be told from the surface of the sea at a certain distance.

“We’d better pull up, hadn’t we, Jack?” asked Amos. “They’re whooping it up direct at us. I hope they don’t mean to cut through this poor boat like a knife would a cheese. Me for the water if it looks that way, for there might be a great old blow-up if there’s any dynamite below deck here.”

Jack did shut off the power, although he had no idea anything serious was impending in the way his companion hinted.

Coming at the rate of thirty miles an hour it did not take the destroyer long to arrive within hailing distance of the Greek craft.

“I am sending a boat aboard to find out who and what you are, and why you venture in this forbidden zone!” roared a voice through a megaphone.

“Glad to know it, sir!” called Jack; and possibly the fact that the words were spoken in clear English must have surprised the commander of the torpedo-boat not a little.

Immediately the boys discovered a small boat dancing over the waves, propelled by a motor, and occupied by a number of sailors as well as an officer. It soon came alongside and one of the men sprang aboard, after which the officer followed suit.

He stared hard at the two lads as though hardly able to believe his eyes.

“Where is the crew of this boat?” he asked.

“I’ll tell you,” replied the boy, with a smile. “They originally consisted of seven Greeks and a captain. His name was Captain Zenos, and most likely you have heard about him. Three of the crew we left on an island about fifteen miles or so back there. The rest of them, with their skipper, we allowed to go off in their small boat, because we had given them our word of honor they should not be made prisoners of war if they promised not to blow up the boat when we had them shut down in the hold.”

The man in uniform leaned forward and took another searching look at Jack and Amos.

“Do you mean to tell me, boy,” he demanded, as though unable to believe his ears, “that you two alone and unaided captured Captain Zenos, who is known to be a dare-devil if ever one lived, and his entire crew of seven men?”

“We are not boasting, sir, but that is the truth. We knew the hold was filled with explosives, for I examined it after taking passage aboard this boat. So we fixed it that smoke issued forth, and this so frightened some of the crew they jumped overboard. But the captain was made of better stuff, and with three of his men he went below to put out the fire or die in the attempt. That was when we clapped on the hatch, and held them prisoners. It was all easy enough, and things worked without a single hitch. And now we want to hand this prize of the gun-runner over to the Allies.”

The officer who had come from the torpedo-boat destroyer held out his hand impulsively; for he was British and could appreciate valor wherever he found it.