An hour after sunrise the "Aphrodite" came to the surface. The rain had ceased, the mists had rolled away, and the slanting rays of the sun, already powerful, beat fiercely down upon the coffee-coloured surface of the river. There was no sign of the "Pride of Rhodesia." She had taken herself off betimes.
"I hope she has continued her investigations down stream," said Captain Restronguet. "It was a lucky chance that Jones mentioned to you about not considering the Zampa worthy of his notice. We'll just have a look round and see if the 'Vorwartz' has found room enough to stow herself away in that little ditch."
"A wireless message has just come through, sir," said Devoran. "The 'Swallow,' 'Puffin,' and 'Sandpiper,' three stern-wheeler gunboats from Lake Nyassa, have descended the Shiré and were reported to the Admiralty as having reached Sena yesterday."
"The more the merrier," commented his superior grimly. "They ought to be here this afternoon if they kept under way all last night. We must bestir ourselves. I think before we do anything else we ought to put Kenwyn ashore. You see that knoll on our left, Devoran? It stands fairly high, and should be pretty healthy; in daytime, at all events. We'll land him and his two nurses and pick them up on our return."
Captain Restronguet spoke as calmly as if he were going on an excursion instead of about to engage in a desperate encounter with his implacable foe. Hythe understood his manner better by this time. He knew that when Captain Restronguet meant business he always adopted a resolute bearing. The magnetic personality of the man more than half won his battles.
An awning was rigged in the whaler, and under this, Kenwyn, lying in his cot, was placed. Mylor and Lancarrow accompanied him, while the boat's crew, thoroughly disinfected to prevent contagion, rowed them to the steep bank of the isolated hill the captain had pointed out. The ascent took some time, and the boat's crew had received instructions to rig up a tent and make everything snug for the patient before returning.
Looking through their binoculars Captain Restronguet and Hythe watched the tedious procession. At length Kenwyn was carried to the summit and placed in the shade of a solitary tree. Apparently this site did not suit, for Mylor was observed to be pointing to a clump of densely-foliaged trees on the north side of the knoll. The boat's crew raised objections, since time was precious, and the argument ended by Mylor and two others carrying the tent across to the clump and leaving the others with the sick man. Before Mylor gained the desired position the rest picked up the cot and followed.
"I can see the objection to Mylor's plan," remarked Captain Restronguet. "They will be hidden from the river everywhere except from this bearing. However, it is well to windward, and ought to be fairly pleasant under the shade of the trees. But I wish those fellows would bestir themselves a little more."
Presently Mylor disappeared from view behind the trees. He had not been gone very long before he returned to his companions running as hard as he could go. A few words passed and the whole crowd, leaving Kenwyn lying in the shade, doubled off behind the clump.
"Now what's up," muttered the captain impatiently. "I wish I had sent Devoran with them to keep them together. They are like a pack of schoolboys out of bounds."
Back came the men, never pausing till they reached the brink of the hill on the river side. Here Mylor, standing well apart, began to "call-up" the "Aphrodite" by semaphore.
"Acknowledge, Mr. Devoran," said Captain Restronguet.
Clambering on to the top of the conning-tower the first officer signalled that attention was being paid to the message.
"'Vorwartz' is lying on the other side of the hill," semaphored Mylor.
"What's that? Impossible!" exclaimed the captain, for both he and Hythe had read the message correctly. "Ask them to explain more fully."
"'Vorwartz' is in a river flowing behind this hill."
"Boat's crew to return instantly," ordered Devoran at Captain Restronguet's request. "Leave Kenwyn and his two men."
"I hope they didn't let those on the 'Vorwartz' see them," said Captain Restronguet. "If it be the 'Vorwartz'--and I have no reason to suppose that there is another submarine beside her and the 'Aphrodite' on the Zambezi--we have just saved ourselves from being nicely fooled. We might have been searching the tributaries on the right bank till Doomsday."
"And the 'Pride of Rhodesia' is devoting her attentions to the right bank also," added the sub.
"Let her," said Captain Restronguet with a hearty laugh. "This seems almost too good to be true."
Bending to their oars and heedless of the blazing sun the whaler's crew brought the boat back at breakneck speed. Almost before her way was checked as she came alongside Captain Restronguet, Hythe, and five of the crew leapt on board. They had taken the precaution to arm themselves, for it was quite possible that some of Karl von Harburg's men had gone ashore and had already sighted the "Aphrodite" lying in mid-stream.
Up the hill the landing party toiled, and crossing the plateau gained the clump of trees on the landward side. Here they hid, while Captain Restronguet and the sub reconnoitred by means of the binoculars.
Yes, there was no longer any cause for doubt. The twin conning-towers and a portion of the upper deck of the "Vorwartz" were just visible above the reeds that fringed the narrow river. She was floating high, all her ballast tanks having been started. Two of the hatches were flung back but no signs of any of the crew were to be seen.
"She's hard aground, I think," observed Hythe. "The river has fallen in spite of the rains, and she's fairly caught."
"I wouldn't like to say that such is the case," replied Captain Restronguet. "It seems to me that they are lying low: shifting some of their booty to a safe hiding-place. At all events I don't feel inclined to take the 'Aphrodite' up the stream. I'll get Devoran to lie off the junction of this river with the Zambezi. If the 'Vorwartz' attempts to escape he can easily sink her in shallow water. Meanwhile I'll have the field gun landed. Firing capped shell she will be able to hull yonder craft through and through. All the same I cannot account for the lack of signs of life aboard."
Captain Restronguet left nothing to chance. In order to guard against a possible surprise he had outposts placed at proper distances from his main body. Hythe volunteered to superintend the landing of the field-gun, and in less than an hour that piece of ordnance was by dint of sheer hard work brought ashore and hauled to the top of the hill. Here it was placed in position, carefully screened by the trees, and its muzzle pointed menacingly upon the visible part of the "Vorwartz."
Another hour passed. Still no signs of activity were noticeable on board the rival submarine.
"Would you mind taking two men with you and creeping down as near as you can get to the 'Vorwartz,' Mr. Hythe?" asked the Captain, who was beginning to get impatient. "Take every precaution to keep hidden from view and do not use your fire-arms save as a last resource."
"Very good, sir," replied Hythe.
"I need hardly remind you that I want evidence. Observe traces of footmarks on the banks. They ought to tell whether the crew have landed. If they have put their precious cargo ashore there must be traces of where the heavy chests and bags were hauled over the banks; the reeds will be trampled down, and so on."
Had Hythe not been a sailor he would have made an excellent backwoodsman. Knowing the risk of appearing on the skyline, he led his little band down by the remote side of the hill, and creeping through the bushes at the base gradually worked round in the direction of the river in which the "Vorwartz" lay.
It was risky work, for the lower ground was marshy. Poisonous snakes darted across their path, lizards, more repulsive than dangerous, lay basking in the sun right in their way, while myriads of flies of great size buzzed incessantly over the men's heads, till the tortured three could scarce resist the temptation to raise their arms and beat off their unwelcome attendants. Once a heavy body crashed through the brushwood, scattering the reeds in all directions and uprooting young saplings like ninepins. Hythe had just time to see that the creature was a huge rhinoceros.
Straight towards the "Vorwartz" the creature tore, then plunging into the opposite stream swam boldly across to the opposite bank. Although it made enough noise to be heard for half a mile away the crew of the "Vorwartz" showed no sign of activity. The submarine lay as deserted and silent as the city of the dead.
"Steady, there," cautioned Hythe as one of his companions started forward with disregard to caution. "They may be luring us on. We are near enough at present."
Concealing themselves in the long grass fringing the river, even at the risk of fever, the three waited and watched. The "Vorwartz" was lying close to the bank, the channel evidently trending close to the eastern side of the stream, and there being a total absence of mud in the vicinity, the submarine could not have found a better landing-place.
She was secured fore and aft with ropes made fast to the trunks of trees growing close to the water's edge. No anchor had been run out into the stream and consequently the submarine had swung well in. A fall in the level of the river had left her fairly hard aground with a slight list to port.
That men had landed during the heavy rains was quite evident by the fact that the stiff clay, now burned to the hardness of a brick, was covered with footprints pointing in all directions, but although Hythe made a semi-circular patrol almost from the brink of the stream past the "Vorwartz" and back to the river again he could find no trace of human beings having strayed more than fifty yards from the submarine.
"Strange," he muttered. "The craft looks deserted and there are no signs of the rascals making off by land. They couldn't very well travel by air, so the only solution is, unless they are still on board, that they have gone by water. How? By boat or walking in their diving dresses? By boat, I suppose, since if they decided to abandon the vessel they would naturally take part if not all of their precious booty with them."
At length so convinced did the sub become that the "Vorwartz" was in truth deserted that he felt sorely tempted to take possession of her. But his sense of discipline prevailed. He realized that temporarily he was under Captain Restronguet's orders and to Captain Restronguet alone ought the honour to be given to be the first to board.
He was on the point of ordering the men to retire when a violent rustling in the reeds attracted his attention. Either a human being or an animal was approaching. He motioned to his companions to be on the alert. Holding their rifles at the ready the two men waited.
Suddenly a man lurched forward from the edge of the reeds. He was literally in rags, fragments of blue clothing scarcely concealing his massive limbs. He was hatless, a strip of dirty white linen alone protecting his head from the pitiless rays of the sun. In the holster of his belt was a revolver, while his right hand grasped a magazine carbine.
"One of the villains; shall we nab him unawares, sir?" asked one of Hythe's men in a whisper.
The sub shook his head. The fellow was armed; he might not be alone, while the discharge of a fire-arm might give the alarm to a still unsuspecting foe. Better to watch and see what the fellow was up to.
The new-comer lurched as if spent; but without any attempt to conceal his movements he made straight for the "Vorwartz." At the edge of the bank he hesitated, walked to and fro as if looking for a shallow spot or a means of clambering up the side of the vessel. Finding none he hurled his carbine against the submarine's side, shivering the stock into fragments. Then uttering a demoniacal yell he broke into a ribald song in German.
The man was mad.
"Karl von Harburg?" whispered Hythe interrogatively.
The seaman nearest him shook his head. He knew the captain of the "Vorwartz" well by sight during his stay in Sumatra. This fellow was a stranger.
"Heave a rope!" hailed the German in his native tongue. "Heave a rope! I want to get on board and fetch more gold. Yes, more gold, I say. I'll carry another load of it myself. Fritz took two shares; why shouldn't I?"
Receiving no reply the maniac whipped out his revolver and emptied the contents of the chambers against the metal plating. The noise of the firing was heard by Captain Restronguet and the main body. They could not see the German's approach by reason of the intervening fringe of long grass; but suspecting that Hythe had been attacked they raced down the hill to his aid.
Springing to his feet Hythe signed to them to continue cautiously, but the madman, although he must have heard the noise of the new arrivals, paid no attention. He was still cursing imaginary comrades for their laxity in not giving him a means of getting on board.
"What has happened?" asked Captain Restronguet breathlessly.
"One survivor only, I think," replied Hythe. "There he is. He's absolutely off his head."
"Are you sure there are no more on board?" asked the captain.
"Not certain, but I don't think there are. Do you wish me to make that fellow a prisoner or wait till he's on board? He hasn't reloaded his revolver and he's thrown his carbine away."
"We'll wait," said Captain Restronguet decidedly. "Perhaps there are others on board and they've quarrelled. That may be the reason why they are lying low and won't let this fellow on board. Now look at him!"
The maniac put one foot in the water with the intention of wading close to the submarine's side, but at the contact with the fluid he leapt back, held his foot with both hands and hopped about uttering discordant shouts as if the water pained him. Then, calming down a little, he seated himself on the shore and began to sob like a child.
"Now's our chance," whispered Captain Restronguet. "We must risk a few rifle shots from on board. You three men--that will be enough. Now follow me and get him on his back before he's aware of it."
Noiselessly the three men followed their captain. Forty yards of open ground separated them from their intended captive. Nearly half this distance was covered when the madman suddenly rose and looked over his shoulder. His wild glance fell upon his would-be assailants.
"Bowl him over," shouted Captain Restronguet, breaking into a run.
The German waited apathetically till the nearest of his foes was within ten yards. Then, uttering a wild unearthly laugh, he turned and dashed headlong into the river. Half a dozen strokes brought him to the stern of the submarine. Here he tried to haul himself up, clinging tenaciously to the slight support afforded by the upper edge of the propeller brackets. Baulked in this direction he slipped back into the water and swam to the other side of the "Vorwartz."
By this time the whole of the landing party arrived on the scene. Half a dozen powerful men tailed on to the stern warp till it was almost as taut as a bar of steel. Two others, one being O'Shaunessey, grasping the rope with both hands and throwing their legs round it began to make their way towards the submarine; but before they had swung themselves over half the distance the maniac appeared on deck.
Once more drawing his revolver, from which the moisture dripped copiously, he steadied it in the crook of his arm and pressed the trigger. The hammer clicked harmlessly on the empty chambers. With a snarl of rage the German hurled the useless weapon not at the two men hanging on to the rope, but at the group ashore. It whizzed perilously close to Captain Restronguet's head, bouncing on the sun-baked mud.
"Attract his attention," ordered Captain Restronguet. "Try to entice him towards the bows and give those fellows a chance to board."
Picking up lumps of hard mud the "Aphrodite's" men opened a heavy yet comparatively harmless fusillade upon the solitary figure upon the deck of the "Vorwartz." Still keeping up his discordant yells the madman stooped and picked up an object at his feet. With wellnigh superhuman force he hurled it at his assailants. The missile fell at Hythe's feet. Something prompted him to stoop and examine it. It was an ingot of pure gold.
"By Jove!" he exclaimed. "I never had gold thrown at me before!"
His remark attracted the attention of the men nearest to him.
"Keep it up, old sport," shouted Carclew. "We don't mind."
The next instant he had cause to regret his words, for a lump of the precious metal, hurtling through the air with tremendous force, hit him fairly in that part of his anatomy commonly known as "the wind." For the next ten minutes Carclew lost all interest in the proceedings.
Meanwhile O'Shaunessey, unobserved by the madman, succeeded in clambering over the stern of the "Vorwartz." Here he waited till his comrade rejoined him, and together they stealthily crept towards the German.
The fellow was in the act of hurtling another missile when O'Shaunessey sprang on him from behind, flung his powerful arms round the madman's head and pressed his right knee into the small of the man's back. Simultaneously the Irishman's comrade grasped the astonished German just below the knees, and with a tremendous crash the captured man fell upon the metal deck. Even then his captors had no easy task, for the maniac, powerful under ordinary circumstances, now possessed the strength of ten. His right hand gripped O'Shaunessey's calf till the Irishman bellowed with pain. For a few moments it looked as if the madman would be more than a match for his two antagonists till O'Shaunessey's companion, loth to run any unnecessary risk, planted a heavy blow on the point of the madman's chin. The fellow's resistance ceased. He lay on his back groaning dismally, while the Irishman deftly bound him hand and foot with a couple of silk handkerchiefs.
"All clear now, sorr," shouted O'Shaunessey. "Sure, you can come aboard aisy and comfortable. We'll heave a line."
Looking about the Irishman discovered a wire ladder and a couple of long boat-hook staves. Lowering the former he swarmed down and succeeded in passing the end of one of the boat-hooks ashore, keeping the other end on the bottom rung of the ladder. The second one formed a handrail, and along this precarious bridge, which sagged to such an extent that those making use of it were ankle deep in water, Captain Restronguet, Hythe, and four of the "Aphrodite's" crew made their way.
"At last, sir," exclaimed Hythe.
"It is yet too early for congratulations, Mr. Hythe," replied the captain. "We have made an easy capture, but until I am face to face with my enemy, Karl von Harburg, my mission is not at an end. Nevertheless, we have much to be thankful for. Polglaze, bring that boat-hook aft."
The man did as he was ordered. Drawing from his pocket a small neatly-rolled bundle of silk Captain Restronguet unfolded it. It was his white and green ensign with the initials "J. R." upon it. For want of halliards the flag had to be lashed to the stave, which was thereupon set up on the stern of the "Vorwartz"--a visible token that the rival submarine was now in the possession of the captain of the "Aphrodite."