Chapter XVIII: The Rivals Pass Through the Suez Canal

Four days later, with her accumulators charged to their fullest capacity, the "Aphrodite" arose from her anchorage in the Dardanelles.

During that period, although wireless messages were being received with almost monotonous regularity, no definite news had come to hand with reference to the movements of the "Vorwartz."

True, the captain of the Russian battleship, "Imperator Pavel," sent a wireless message to Sevastopol, which was in turn transmitted to St. Petersburg and thence to the world in general, to the effect that at eight a.m. on the morning of the 6th he had sighted a submarine eighty miles S.S.W. of that Crimean port. Having orders to sink the "Vorwartz" without warning, the Russian officer caused a heavy fire to be opened upon the submarine with the "Imperator Pavel's" twelve and three-pounder quick-firers. Every one of these guns that could be brought to bear--eighteen out of forty--joined in the racket, and confident of having destroyed the modern buccaneer, the Russian battleship returned to Sevastopol.

Captain Restronguet received this intelligence with mixed feelings. He had his doubts. He knew that the rapid firing of the Russian fleet was notoriously ill-aimed and inaccurate; he knew also that with a battleship in the vicinity Karl von Harburg would hesitate to bring his craft to the surface. If, however, the news was correct he was saved a lot of trouble, and was now at liberty to return to his base in the Dutch East Indies. Nevertheless he regretted, in no small measure, the fact that he had not been able to achieve the distinction of sinking the "Vorwartz" under conditions favourable to the lives of her crew.

An hour or so later the stalwart Cornishman executed a dance in his cabin, much to the astonishment of Hythe and Kenwyn who happened to be present.

The report of the captain of the "Imperator Pavel" was replied to by a demand from the Bulgarian Government to know why the Russians had fired upon one of their vessels. It appeared that a submarine had been ordered and built at Ansaldo's Works at Sestri, Italy, for the new Bulgarian Navy, and having finished her acceptance trials was returning to Varna. She was running on the surface and made no attempt to alter her course, or to act in any way that might be regarded as suspicious; but when passing the "Imperator Pavel" at a distance of two miles, the Russians greeted her with a sudden and totally unexpected volley of quick-firing shells.

The Bulgarian submarine quickly dived. According to the estimate of the Italian contractors' representative who was on board, not less than one hundred and twenty shells were fired, of which not one did the slightest damage beyond cutting away the ensign-staff.

"Those Bulgarians will make a fine business of this, Hythe!" exclaimed Captain Restronguet. "With Russia on bad terms with Austria and Germany the Balkan States can pull the Bear's tail as much as they like. And trust any of the Balkan States for that; they would draw blood out of a stone if they could. But some day the Powers will settle down harmoniously, and the successors to the Turkish Empire in Europe will have to knuckle under somewhat."

"You don't seem very partial to the Balkan States, sir," remarked the sub.

"Partial? By Jove, I wish I could be! We had a very good specimen the other day in the person of that rascally skipper of the Greek tramp. The stalwarts of ancient Greece would turn in their graves could they but realize to what depths their so-called descendants have fallen. Well, Kenwyn, what is it now? Another purposeless message?"

"I think not, sir," replied the second officer, handing his chief the latest "wireless" received on board.

This time, instead of executing a dance, Captain Restronguet very nearly lost his temper.

"That rogue von Harburg has done me very neatly this time, Hythe!" he exclaimed. "He never was in the Black Sea, that's my belief. Here's a message announcing that the 'Vorwartz' has passed through the Suez Canal."

"Surely that's impossible!"

"Well, then, there's the message. It is from an exceptionally trustworthy agent. I say, Mr. Kenwyn, just reply, will you? And ask to be kept in touch with events."

"Very good, sir," replied the second officer, withdrawing.

"I am anxious to know how a submarine could pass through the Canal without being detected and stopped," remarked the sub, who entertained grave doubts as to the authenticity of the wireless message, especially after the "Imperator Pavel" affair.

"So am I, Mr. Hythe," rejoined Captain Restronguet, who had now recovered his customary coolness of mind. "So am I, since where the 'Vorwartz' can go the 'Aphrodite can go also."

"You mean to traverse the Suez Canal?"

"By fair means, or failing that by foul. Otherwise it would mean that we have to circumnavigate the African Continent, and in the time we were so occupied what would Karl von Harburg be doing?"

Within twenty minutes of the receipt of the momentous news the "Aphrodite" was abreast of the classic Isle of Tenedos, bound for Port Said. All the while she had remained in the Dardanelles, although within a few miles of the seaport of Gallipoli, she had refrained from giving any signs of her presence. But at the moment of departure Captain Restronguet could not resist leaving his card in the shape of one of his green and white buoys on which were painted his customary compliments.

During the run across from Gallipoli to Port Said a complete text of Karl von Harburg's feat, as reported in the _Egyptian Monitor_, was transmitted by Captain Restronguet's agent for the information of his employer.

It was indeed a daring coup on the part of the German renegade.

Early one morning the "Vorwartz," running light, brought up between the breakwaters that, extending nearly two miles from shore, mark the Mediterranean entrance to the Canal. Here, landing a party of armed men, he took possession of the two lighthouses, and terrified the lightkeepers into submission. He compelled them to ascertain by telegraph what vessels had entered the canal during the previous twenty-four hours and what were expected. Finding that there were no armed ships between Port Said and Suez, and none within easy steaming distance of the latter port, he resolved upon the desperate enterprise of passing through at full speed. To keep submerged would mean loss of time and possibilities of running aground in the Bitter Lakes.

Thus, almost before the Canal authorities at Port Said recovered from their astonishment that a strangely-constructed vessel should have passed into the Canal at several knots above the regulation speed and without paying the customary dues, the "Vorwartz" was well on her way to Ismalia.

In the Little Bitter Lake her luck deserted her, for in attempting to pass a lumbering Dutch tramp steamer, the "Vorwartz" struck upon the sand on the west side of the Canal.

Meanwhile the telegraph had not been idle. It was rightly conjectured that the mysterious craft was that of the modern buccaneer, and a battery of Egyptian artillery had been ordered from Cairo. The artillerymen were sent by train, the route being so roundabout that several hours elapsed before the men and guns detrained at the nearest station, where they were separated by a fresh water canal and a stretch of desert from the spot where the "Vorwartz" had grounded.

It was fortunate for the 'Gippy artillery that Karl von Harburg did not possess the same potential means of offence as did the captain of the "Aphrodite," otherwise the charged shells in the limbers might have exploded with disastrous results. Eventually, after great exertion, the blacks got their guns into position and prepared to hull the helpless submarine. Just then a heavy sandstorm swept down. The breech-blocks of the quick-firers had to be promptly covered up to prevent the ill-effects of the sand upon the delicate mechanism. When the storm ceased the "Vorwartz" was once more afloat and hidden by the sand hills.

Only one course remained for the British officer in charge of the Artillery to take. That was to regain the railway and entrain for Suez, where another chance of cutting off the submarine's retreat was left. But once again the troops were foiled, for before they reached Suez, the "Vorwartz" had passed Port Ibrahim, the Red Sea entrance to the Canal.

Now was Karl von Harburg's opportunity to enrich himself with the plunder from helpless liners and merchantmen. The Red Sea was practically denuded of men-of-war. A pair of obsolete gunboats lay off Suakin. They were not capable of doing more than twelve knots, and could be regarded with contempt. A British third-class cruiser, one of the units of the East Indies squadron, was stationed at Aden, while the remainder of the squadron was at Bombay, with the exception of a second-class cruiser that could not well be withdrawn from the Persian Gulf, without the risk of allowing dangerous cargoes of rifles to be "run" by the Arab dhows that were ever awaiting their opportunity for the hazardous yet profitable business.

Upon the arrival of the "Aphrodite" at Port Said, Captain Restronguet was literally received with open arms by the harassed and distracted Canal officials. The presence of the "Vorwartz" in the Red Sea meant a far greater loss to them in due and tolls than while she was in the Levant, and even then there had been an appreciable falling off in the receipts. Without the faintest delay Captain Restronguet received permission to take his wonderful submarine through the hundred miles of artificial waterway, special facilities being granted so that no undue delay would be experienced. It was generally recognized that if anyone had the honour and distinction of ridding the seas of a danger and a pest that man was Captain Restronguet.

The "Aphrodite" made the journey on the surface and by night. She was twelve hours behind her rival. Fortunately it was bright moonlight, and aided by the powerful search-light on board and the electric arc lamps that had recently been placed on the banks of the canal, the passage was performed most expeditiously. At every town and village crowds assembled to cheer the modern magician. At Ismalia the Khedive's band, sent specially from the palace at Cairo, serenaded the "Aphrodite"; the shipping at Port Ibrahim hailed her approach with a deafening salute upon their syrens; and just as dawn was breaking the submarine, having accomplished the trip in less than seven hours, slipped gracefully under the waters of the Gulf of Suez.

Captain Restronguet's spirits rose. He was flattered with the reception accorded him by the Canal authorities. He realized that, instead of being regarded with suspicion, the world was beginning to appreciate his services to mankind.

"We'll have him right enough," he remarked confidentially to Devoran. "There's a faint tremor noticeable on the detector that cannot mean anything but the presence of the 'Vorwartz.' I have been officially informed that no Government submarine is within a thousand miles of us."

"How far do you think the vessel is, sir?" asked Hythe.

"The detector is sensitive to anything of that nature within a hundred and twenty miles, but, of course, the actual position of the chase cannot be fixed with any degree of accuracy at that distance. But as soon as we approach within twenty miles of von Harburg's counterfeit presentment of my submarine, the position of the 'Vorwartz' will be accurately recorded on the chart controlled by the electric detector."

During lunch the wireless room reported that a vessel was sending out calls for urgent aid, and in response to a request for further details came the startling news that the Dutch liner, "Noord Brabant," had been forcibly boarded by the crew of the "Vorwartz" fifteen miles due east of Wadi Jemel. Several of the Dutchmen had been wounded when attempting to resist; the strong-room had been forced, and nearly ten thousand pounds worth of gold had been removed. Not satisfied with this, Karl von Harburg discharged a torpedo at the ill-fated "Noord Brabant," which, exploding under her starboard quarter, completely flooded the after compartments. Leaking badly, for the shock had strained the water-tight bulkheads, the liner headed slowly for Sherm Sheikh, an inlet in the mainland, where her captain hoped to run her aground on the mud and sand that form the bottom of the cove.

"Here we are," exclaimed Captain Restronguet, running his finger over the chart of the Red Sea. "Ninety miles from Wadi Jemel; three hours run at our maximum speed. Keep her going for all she's worth, Kenwyn. I'll be with you in the conning-tower in less than ten minutes. Let the 'Noord Brabant' know we're on our way, and keep me informed of how she's progressing."

While the "Aphrodite" tore on her errand of mercy, Carclew was keeping vigilant watch upon the electric detector; but, to the disgust of all on board, instead of the "Vorwartz" making her presence felt more strongly the sensitive current grew more and more feeble. Was it possible, then, that the "Vorwartz" was able to attain a much greater speed than her rival, and in consequence slipping farther and farther from the doggedly-pursuing avenger?

Just as Captain Restronguet, accompanied by his guest, was about to proceed to the conning-tower, a final message came from the ill-fated "Noord Brabant"--"Sinking; are taking to the boats."

But the "Aphrodite" was not the only vessel hurrying to the rescue. The P. & O. Liner, "Persia," a magnificent internal-combustion propelled ship of 40,000 tons, that had been built to "knock spots off" the largest North German Lloyd boat on the Australian route, was returning on her maiden voyage. Warnings of the presence of the "Vorwartz" had been given her. Her cargo was a precious one; moreover she carried His Majesty's mails; but at the urgent call of distress all other considerations were set aside.

The officers of the "Persia" knew the risks they were running. It was recognized that Karl von Harburg would not attempt to attack or intercept the liner unless the "Vorwartz" were submerged, consequently the speed of the submarine would then be considerably lower than that of the liner. The "Persia" being a subsidized vessel under the recent Admiralty regulations, had a large percentage of Royal Naval Reserve officers and men in her crew; she was armed with light, quick-firing guns, and, in fact, was a powerful "protected" cruiser.

Owing to the danger the captain and the first officer were both on the "Persia's" bridge. Elaborate precautions had been taken to keep the news from the passengers, but, as is frequently the case, the intelligence was soon common property. That night no one went to bed; since it was within the bounds of possibility that in the event of being torpedoed by the ruthless "Vorwartz" it would be necessary to take to the boats. All lights were carefully screened; yet in spite of these preparations the "Persia" had the narrowest escape in her career.

Unseen and unheard by the officers of the watch, a torpedo discharged from the lurking "Vorwartz" glided within ten feet of her rudder. Just at daybreak the "Aphrodite" sighted the boats of the ill-fated "Noord Brabant." Towed by two motor pinnaces the life-boats, crowded with passengers, were slowly making their way northward. The "Aphrodite" had arrived in the very nick of time, for the sudden change from intense darkness to daybreak revealed the fact that three suspicious-looking Arab dhows were making ready to pounce down upon the unarmed boats.

"Red Sea pirates, by Jove!" exclaimed Captain Restronguet.

"Certainly looks like it, sir," replied the sub. "It's a curious fact, but our cruisers systematically search every little harbour on the Arabian coast and find nothing beyond a few dhows owned by Arab traders whose papers are quite in order. But once let a vessel go ashore or get into difficulties, armed dhows, manned by cut-throat Arabs, gather round like flies about a honey-pot. Goodness only knows where they come from."

"I'll tell you where they'll go to if they don't pretty soon sheer off," rejoined Captain Restronguet grimly.

"Are you standing in pursuit, sir?" asked Devoran.

"Impossible under present circumstances, Mr. Devoran. Look, those motor-boats cannot make headway against wind and sea. They have too much to tow. Another hour will see the whole swarm of boats smashed to firewood unless we do something."

The "Noord Brabant's" boats were indeed in a perilous position. Those provided with oars were two overcrowded to allow the rowers to materially assist; waves were repeatedly breaking over the deeply laden boats, and every available article that could be used as a baler was pressed into use. All the while the flotilla was slowly drifting shorewards, the rearmost boats being almost inside the broad expanse of broken water.

Bringing the "Aphrodite" head to wind Captain Restronguet ordered a heavy grass warp to be veered out by means of a barrel. This one of the motor launches secured and made fast, while the second slipped half of the boats and transferred them to the care of the first towing craft. With a reduced number of boats in tow the second pinnace was then able to make headway.

"Easy ahead!" ordered the "Aphrodite's" captain, and with a long string of boats straining at the hawser the submarine, still on the surface, forged ahead.

"Steady, sir," ejaculated Kenwyn. "We're pulling them under."

Such was the case. The speed of the "Aphrodite" was sufficient to cause sheets of solid water to fly over the bows of the Dutch boats. To reduce speed was impossible, since that would have meant a backward movement on to a lee shore.

"Have we any oil to spare on board?" asked the sub.

"We might manage a barrel of lubricating oil," answered Captain Restronguet. "A good idea of yours, Mr. Hythe."

To attempt to hoist a heavy barrel of oil with the "Aphrodite" rolling like a barge would be hazardous both to the barrel and the men engaged in sending it up the hatchway. Accordingly the barrel was tapped and the centrifugal pump, worked by one of the auxiliary motors, threw the heavy oil over the side. Soon, instead of a turmoil of white crested wind-swept waves a broad belt of sluggishly heaving water trailed in the wake of the "Aphrodite," and through this patch of comparatively calm sea the boats of the "Noord Brabant" were towed in safety.

Long before the barrel of oil was exhausted the flotilla was clear of the broken water close to the land, and the risk of being swamped was reduced to a minimum.

"Now what's to be done," asked Kenwyn of Hythe, as the two stood on the wake of the after conning-tower watching the procession of boats. "We must return to Port Ibrahim with this little mob, I suppose?"

"If we do we'll have our work cut out," replied the sub. "As soon as we make for that port the wind will be broadside on, and the boats will again be in danger of swamping. All the oil we have on board would not save them, since it would drift to lee'ard. No, the only way I can suggest--and Captain Restronguet is apparently of the same opinion--is that we plug head to wind until some vessel comes along and picks up the survivors."

Just then the "Aphrodite's" wireless picked up a general message sent out by the "Persia" to the effect that she was going at full speed to the scene of the disaster.

Captain Restronguet's face lighted up when he heard the good news.

"We shall now have a free hand," he remarked. "But at the same time it is a mystery to me how our detector has failed to record the presence of the 'Vorwartz.'"

"Perhaps she has cleared off due south, while we are heading due west," suggested the chief officer.

"That is the only explanation, Mr. Devoran. It is five hours since the apparatus, sensitive enough in all purpose, has recorded any movement. Well, Carnon?"

"'Persia' in sight, sir," replied the quartermaster, who had taken up his position, telescope in hand, on top of the fore conning-tower.

"Capital!" exclaimed Captain Restronguet. "She'll be close alongside within half an hour. Pass the word to the leading boat, Mr. Devoran, and tell them to stand by ready to cast off."

Rapidly the "Persia" approached, then, laying-to to windward of the string of boats, waited for them to be towed under her lee. Boat after boat discharged its band of passengers, the empty craft being turned adrift, and within half an hour of the liner's arrival five hundred Dutchmen had found shelter under the Blue Ensign.

Great though the attention was towards the rescued men the chief object of interest to the British passengers and crew of the "Persia" was the strangely unfamiliar outline of the "Aphrodite." Much had been heard of the mysterious submarine, the avowed rival of the piratical "Vorwartz," and now the liner's people had a unique opportunity of viewing her at close quarters.

When the work of transferring the rescued Dutchmen was completed Captain Restronguet took off his cap and saluted the captain of the huge liner. Simultaneously a tremendous burst of cheering came from throats of hundreds; and with the echoes of the prolonged chorus of welcome and approbation ringing in their ears, the crew of the "Aphrodite" quietly yet majestically disappeared beneath the waves.