Chapter TWENTY-SIX

Over in Honolulu Howard Redmond had gradually become aware of a feeling, more important but not nearly as thrilling as his adventure on the sky pirate’s remarkable airplane. It was a feeling destined to change the entire course of his life. It came during the period of impatient waiting while trying to overcome red tape and get official action that would help him to return to Patrocinio Island, and when it became part and parcel of his consciousness he realized that a mighty change had taken place in his whole being.

For the past three months he had led a life of such intense action and adventure, that he had had no time for aught else. The delays he had experienced in Honolulu had caused him to concentrate his thoughts upon Mary Ingleton who was languishing in the power of the pirate Levanter upon an island far removed from civilization, and had intensified his desire to rescue her at all hazards. While dwelling upon this problem the conviction suddenly came over him that his desire to rescue her was not prompted by the mere sense of chivalry in aiding a woman in distress, but that his feelings toward Mary were entirely above that. For several days he was in a daze, trying to define these feelings. He turned all the forces of his mind upon his problem in an effort to analyze it, but failed; then in the very moment of failure a new intuitive power he had suddenly gained spread before him the cause of his new sensation. He was in love! In love with Mary Ingleton!

This sudden realization had a profound effect upon Redmond. He was in all respects a typical man of the air. Women had always played a natural but quite incidental part in his existence. They were a necessary part of his life and surroundings insofar as all human association is necessary. His whole attention had always been concentrated upon the details, both technical and practical, of his chosen profession. He was a stolid individual, naturally shy and bashful in the presence of the other sex. There was not the slightest thing in his make-up that would suggest the “ladies man”, in fact he was the very antithesis to all that is implied by the comprehensive phrase.

His relationship with Mary Ingleton had been thrust upon him by the force of circumstances, and his attitude toward her had always been extremely diffident. He had made his perilous voyage on the Pacific in the small open boat as a matter of duty. His anxiety to return and assist her had at first been governed by the same feeling, but the delay in getting started had rapidly developed the change that her entry into his life had caused.

Now for the first time in his life he experienced the pangs and pleasures of the feeling which he defined as love. It tempered his impatience with tenderness while all the time growing in intensity. It enthroned within his heart the picture of the girl he was anxious to succor and cast about her the halo of purity and charm.

While he was still kicking his heels in the office of Captain Smith, the naval commandant, waiting for the official action which would send him back as fast as a cruiser could carry him to the woman whose influence had worked such a wondrous change within him, in strolled Kenneth Fitzgerald, who was just convalescing from the effects of the battle with the pirate and the violent emotions which he experienced during the period of the battle. It was his first day out of the hospital. He had been informed of the arrival of Redmond in Honolulu and of the manner in which the officer of the airship Wilbur Wright had been picked up at sea. He had also been told in substance the story Redmond had brought back from Levanter’s base.

As Fitzgerald entered the room, still feeble from the effects of his lengthy illness, Captain Smith looked up and walked over to greet the air commander. After a brief conversation he turned to Redmond and said:

“Redmond, I want you to meet Wing Commander Fitzgerald. He is the man who commanded our air forces in the fight with Levanter.”

Then with a smile and knowing wink he added innocently enough:

“And I can whisper to you confidentially that he is madly in love with the young lady you are anxious to rescue.”

It was then that jealousy laid its bitter grip upon Howard Redmond for the first time in his eventful life. He grasped the hand that Fitzgerald extended to him with such force that the latter winced with pain.

“Good Lord!” he exclaimed weakly though smilingly, “you nearly broke my hand,” then with an apologetic air he continued: “I’m still pretty sick you know.”

It was several seconds before Redmond dared trust himself to speak. During that brief period his mind was consumed with many bitter thoughts. He knew that Fitzgerald had known Mary for a long time, that they had been passengers together on the ill-fated Wilbur Wright, and Mary had often spoken of him on the island. Now he had been told by Captain Smith that Fitzgerald loved her. Apparently it was an open secret and therefore Mary must know it too.

Did Mary love Fitzgerald? That was the question with which jealousy now tortured him. As the thought entered his mind with the full force of its possibilities he looked into the eyes of his unwitting rival and then remembered what Fitzgerald had just said:

“Excuse me,” he replied, “I was so busy thinking of getting back to assist Miss Ingleton that I didn’t realize what I was doing.”

As he spoke a momentary flush of red tinged Redmond’s tanned and weather-beaten face. The suffusion was caused by his natural ingrained honesty which rebelled at the untruth he was uttering. It was the first time in his life he had ever dissembled his real feelings, and the novelty caused him to blush with shame.

All this was unnoticed by Fitzgerald, who replied easily enough, “Oh, that’s alright. I know how you feel. My God, I feel worse. I’m dying to go with you, but the doctors here won’t let me. I’m not only anxious to help Mary, but I have a great score to settle with Levanter, and by God I intend to make him pay in full.”

“It’s just as well you can’t go,” said Redmond, “because it would only add to our difficulties. I know the island thoroughly, and it would be much better if I went alone. I’ve been trying to convince Mr. Ingleton of this, but he will not listen to me, so I’ve got to take him along. It will seriously handicap me.”

Redmond had scarcely finished talking when the door opened and Arthur Ingleton entered.

“That’s funny,” said Fitzgerald to the newcomer, “we’ve just been talking about you.”

“I hope it was nothing bad,” replied Ingleton laughingly. Then, before he could say anything further, Captain Smith, who had been talking over the telephone, came over and said:

“I’ve got some good news for you, gentlemen. I just got word from the cable operator that he had received a message from Washington authorizing me to send the cruiser Farragut to Patrocinio Island and take both of you there.”

“Have they worked out a plan?” asked Redmond eagerly.

“Yes, the message outlines the plan of action. Captain Moore has been chosen because he is familiar with the waters around the island. He is to take you there and arrange to arrive off the island at sundown, then row you ashore and land you on the beach Redmond has described. Captain Moore is to come within sight of the cove at a certain time each night that you and he will arrange. Then if you have any information to give him, Redmond can send it by means of a small portable reflected wave wireless set he will give you. If it is important enough Captain Moore will send it to us by wireless, using the special naval code. All the details you can arrange with him.”

“You are not going to put a blockade around the island then, Captain?” inquired Redmond.

“No,” replied Captain Smith, “it has been decided best not to do this until everything is in readiness to attack the pirate with every possibility of success. What do you propose to do after you get on the island?”

“Well,” said Redmond, “I think it would be best to get Miss Ingleton away from it the first possible chance we have. I think that I ought to have a boat left at the cove where we land. There is plenty of opportunity to hide it there in the vegetation, and the crew of the cruiser can help us to drag it ashore. If the cruiser is going to remain within steaming distance all the time, I would suggest that a light boat be left with us, one that we could readily carry and launch.”

“Oh, certainly,” said Captain Smith, “everything possible will be done to assist you. Captain Moore will be given instructions to give you anything you need, and give you every possible assistance that he can. I would suggest that you confer with him and arrange all your details together. By the way, if you are successful in getting Miss Ingleton off the island would you be willing to remain there afterwards and give us whatever information you could gather about the pirate, until we have captured him?”

“Why, I would be delighted to do that,” Redmond answered, “first efforts, however, will be directed toward getting Miss Ingleton away from the island. You can understand that, of course. After that I will do everything that I possibly can to get information for you that may be of use in your operations against him.”

“We appreciate your offer,” said Captain Smith. “We will keep in touch with you at all times, and if it is necessary for you to remain on the island after Miss Ingleton has been taken off, you may rest assured that we will stand by you all the time.”

Immediately after this conference Redmond tried again to dissuade Mary Ingleton’s father from accompanying him to the island. He brought every argument that he could think of to bear in the attempt to discourage the former secretary of the navy from making the trip.

“It would be just as well if you went with us on the cruiser and remained aboard while I went ashore,” he said to Ingleton. “You would be fully posted there as to what was taking place, and you could be ready to come ashore at a moment’s notice if it were necessary for me to have assistance. But don’t you see how much it will add to the danger if you come ashore with me right away. It will make it so much easier for the pirate or his men to discover us. Not only that, but in case there is a chance of getting your daughter off the island, it will add to the dangers of our trip in the small light boat, before the cruiser picks us up.”

“I appreciate all your arguments,” replied Ingleton, “and in a way I am convinced that you are right. But I can’t bring myself to stand idly by while knowing that she is in danger. No, it is useless for you to plead with me. My mind is fully made up, and I am going to the island with you, or else I go there alone.”

Seeing the futility of further argument, Redmond dropped the entire matter and began to make his own arrangements for the trip to Patrocinio Island. He got into communication with Captain Moore and discussed with him the details of the arrangements between them that were to be carried out after Redmond had been landed on the island.

It was agreed that Redmond should be at the cove each evening at nine o’clock and that he would rig up his portable wireless set and call the cruiser with it until he got a response. This would only be done in case he had a message of importance to deliver. Each evening at nine o’clock the cruiser would steam within five miles of the island. At all other times she would be just below the horizon but within a convenient radius.

As soon as the details of the trip had been completed the cruiser Farragut left Honolulu with Redmond and Arthur Ingleton aboard as passengers. It was decided to proceed to Patrocinio Island at cruising speed, and it was estimated that the voyage would take about three days. It was timed so that the cruiser should arrive off the southern shores of the island after sunset. Captain Moore was then to take his vessel within a mile of the beach, and a detachment from his crew in a long boat would row Redmond and Ingleton ashore in a small light boat and give them assistance in hiding the small boat in the vegetation ashore, after which the crew would return to the cruiser. As soon as the two men had landed they were to proceed to the little cave where Redmond had lived during the period he was on the island and spend the night there. The following morning they were to go to the meeting place at the rock where Redmond had always met Mary Ingleton and wait there for a possible chance of getting her attention again.

At five o’clock on the evening of the third day out from Honolulu the engines of the cruiser Farragut suddenly slowed down and in a few minutes stopped altogether. Redmond who was walking along the quarterdeck with Arthur Ingleton immediately turned to his companion and said:

“Well, I guess we are almost within sight of our destination. The engines have just stopped, and I imagine that means Captain Moore is going to wait for sundown before he proceeds any further.”

Ingleton’s face lit up with a greater animation than he had displayed in months.

“Let’s go forward and see whether we can make the island out,” he said eagerly.

Redmond assented to this, and the two made their way forward into the sharp bows of the cruiser. After they got there both men strained their eyes at the horizon. A few moments later Redmond, who had picked up a pair of glasses, said:

“I can just see the island faintly. If you look through these glasses, sir, you will observe what looks like a small cloud directly to the north of us. That’s it.”

Ingleton took the proffered glasses and peered through them intently. While he looked Redmond said:

“I’ll go aft and ask Captain Moore what his plans are. I guess he will land us immediately after sundown, which will be in another hour’s time. We’ll probably have dinner before he puts us ashore. I’ll be back shortly if you want to remain here.”

“Alright,” replied Ingleton, “I think I’ll remain here for a while. I am anxious to see what the island looks like as we get nearer to it before dark.”

Redmond turned round and went aft, leaving his companion standing on the quarter deck. The cruiser still had considerable way on and was moving through the water at about ten knots an hour. No effort had been made to check the vessel’s momentum, after the engines had been stopped. Captain Moore had simply signalled down to stop the engines and was now allowing the headway to carry his vessel forward.

In less than an hour the blazing sun would disappear below the western horizon, and then night would descend over the sea with the suddenness known only in tropical regions. As soon as darkness had cast its obliterating mantle about them, Captain Moore planned to run his vessel within a mile of the beach, which was now within sight through the marine glasses. After that he would land his passengers.

As Redmond reached the companion-way leading to the bridge the roaring crash of a mighty explosion rent the stillness of the summery sea and arrested his progress. For one fleeting second a blinding flash eclipsed the brilliance of the sun and illuminated the forward part of the ship in its consuming rays. Pausing involuntarily upon the stairway, Redmond looked toward the bows of the cruiser. As he turned the vessel shook violently from stem to stern in a sickening, vicious vibration, which seemed to wrench it plate from plate. It was as though some volcanic agency had seized it in a destroying grip and was rending it apart.

Stupefied by the very suddenness of the catastrophe, Redmond could not remove his eyes from the deck before him. Automatically they recorded upon his active brain a moving picture of the vivid scene that was enacted within the brief measured space of two seconds. As he looked he saw the figure of the former Secretary of the Navy outlined in sharp contrast by the blinding rays of the flash which accompanied the explosion. Then, before he could draw a breath, he saw Ingleton’s arms shoot upwards involuntarily. He saw the figure of the man he had just left sway unsteadily for a moment and then crash helplessly to the deck. Then suddenly the spell that had held him in frozen immobility ended, and he rushed forward blindly, to the man he had just seen fall.

For a few moments chaos reigned upon the war-vessel. Upon the bridge Captain Moore had been struck in the arm by a piece of flying metal and painfully injured. Ignoring this, he remained at his post, and with trained calmness of a naval officer and leader, quietly ordered the bugler to sound the call “Collision quarters.” Like magic the discipline of the navy exerted itself and quickly brought order out of the chaos. Rapidly and steadily each man went to his station, while officers who were detailed by the commander went forward to ascertain the cause and effect of the explosion.

Before they had received their orders, however, Redmond had reached the bows of the ship and was bending over the prostrate form of Arthur Ingleton. He raised the head of the former naval chief in his arms and did the best he could to restore consciousness. While he worked, the ship’s surgeon arrived and quickly examined the injured man. Redmond watched him a few moments and then said:

“Is he badly hurt, Sir?”

“So far as I can see,” replied the medical officer, “he has not been seriously injured. He was knocked unconscious by the shock of the explosion. That in itself is pretty bad and will take a long time for recovery, but I don’t think he has got any broken bones or internal injuries. It’s too soon to tell though. I’ll have him removed to the sick bay right away.”

While this was being done the officers who had been examining the bows of the cruiser to find out the nature and extent of the damage completed their task and returned to the bridge where they reported the result of their examination to the captain.

“It looks as though we had struck a mine, sir, there’s a big hole in the bows,” the senior officer reported.

“It must be one of that pirate’s mines,” exclaimed the captain. Then he cried: “Where’s the bo’s’n? Send him here.”

“Here, sir!” replied the bo’s’n, saluting as he came upon the bridge.

“Have you taken any soundings for’ard?” asked Captain Moore.

“Yes, sir!” answered the bo’s’n.

“What do you find?”

“Number one compartment is flooded, sir. Water is pouring into number two, but we can’t find at what rate yet.”

“Will she stand up?” queried the captain sharply.

“Don’t know yet, sir. The men are taking soundings again now. We are watching number three. The water’s pouring in very rapidly, and she’s down by the head.”

“Alright,” added the captain, “report back to me as soon as you find out at what rate it’s coming in.”

Then turning to the chief executive officer, he ordered:

“Put out the lifeboats and have the crew stand by. Order the fires shut off down below. Have everything in readiness in case she shows signs of going down, and wait for further orders, in case we have to abandon ship.”