Motor Matt's Close Call; or, The Snare of Don Carlos
Page 15
CHAPTER XIV.
RUNNING THE BATTERY.
Signs of activity showed around the fort as the _Grampus_ rushed downtoward it. Soldiers with rifles appeared on the walls, and the muzzlesof the cannon were being slowly depressed in order to get the boatunder a drop fire.
"They're going to let us have it--hot blocks, matey!" called Ferral,still working with the flag.
"Get the bunting up and return below!" ordered Matt.
"I suppose you think, matey, that you're the only one who's privilegedto show himself while the rebels are shaking out their loads at us."
"I don't want you to expose yourself to needless danger, Dick," saidMatt.
"Danger!" Dick gave vent to a scornful laugh. "I don't think thegreasers can shoot. Let's give 'em a chance at us and see if----"
Dick was interrupted by a hoarse boom!
Four cannon commanded the river side of the fort, and four the bayside. It was one of the guns on the river side that had spoken. A roundshot plunged into the water on the port side of the boat, sending ajet of spray high into the air.
"I told you so!" yelled Dick, and shook his fist at the fort.
As he looked upward he saw three soldiers on the wall getting ready toshoot.
Boom! Boom!
Two more cannon were fired, almost at the same time. The solid shotplunged into the water altogether too close to the boat for comfort.
"Up with the colors, Dick!" shouted Motor Matt; "let's see if they darefire on that flag!"
Dick hauled up the flag. As the gay little banner caught the breeze andopened out, a crack of rifles was heard from the fort.
The flag fluttered sharply.
"What do you think of that!" roared Dick, once more shaking his fistupward in the direction of the fort; "they've put a hole through theflag. Oh, strike me lucky! If it was the British flag they treated likethat, an army would march through the country before the scoundrelswere a month older."
"They're an irresponsible lot, anyhow," said Matt. "Besides, we've gotGeneral Pitou below, and General Mendez will have an easy time of itwhen he gets here with his army. The uprising is as good as squelched.If anything----"
A perfect roar of guns echoed from the hill. With a crash the periscopemast went by the board, and the round shot caused the water to bubbleand boil all around the submarine.
"They've got a grouch against that periscope, old ship!" laughed Dick.
"We'll have to have a new mast and ball as soon as we get back toBelize," said Matt.
Just then he guided the _Grampus_ in a wide sweep around the headlandto the left of the river mouth.
"A moment more," said Dick, "and we'll have the town between us and thefort. They're slow at loading those old carronades. Never saw so manybutter fingers! Those fellows' hands must be all thumbs. If----"
Dick did not finish his sarcastic remarks. Just then there was atremendous explosion just behind the submarine. A column of water arosehigh in the air and, descending in a huge wave, carried the stern ofthe boat under and threw the bow high in the air. The water all aroundwas a veritable caldron.
Frantic cries came from within the hull. Matt, owing to the almostvertical inclination of the steel hull, was hurled out of the conningtower and came into violent collision with Dick, who was clinging witha life-and-death grip to the flagstaff guys.
For a second the _Grampus_ heaved and tossed on the troubled waves,then righted herself buoyantly and drove ahead.
Matt picked himself up and climbed hastily back into the conning tower.He was sore and bruised, but he realized that he could not leave thesubmarine to steer herself.
"What was that, old ship?" cried Dick, rising to his knees and liftinga pale face upward.
"It must have been a submarine mine," answered Matt, in a voice thatshivered perceptibly.
"A mine!" returned Dick. "But it exploded _behind_ us! If we set itoff, why didn't it explode under us and blow us to smithereens?"
"It must have been a mine of the floating variety--a contact mine whichwas out of working order. We passed over it; and then, when we weresafely out of the way, the pesky thing let go."
Dick Ferral's face grew even paler than it had been. As the dreadimport of Matt's words dawned on him, he realized the close call thesubmarine and all her passengers had had.
"Dowse me!" Dick muttered, getting slowly to his feet and rubbing hishead, "I never want to get so close to kingdom come as that again! Why,Matt, we couldn't have done that trick once in a thousand times."
"We did it this time, anyhow," answered Matt quietly. "A miss is asgood as a mile, Dick. Better go below and explain to our friends."
Dick staggered back and climbed into the tower, and his face was stillwhite as he dropped off the ladder into the periscope room.
Clackett, Speake and Ysabel crowded around him.
"What happened?" cried Clackett. "The old catamaran turned a regularhandspring; then she stood on her propeller for about a minute andseemed to be thinking of going down to stay."
Dick explained in a low voice what had happened, sitting on the lockerand almost overcome by the narrow escape of the boat and her livingcargo.
Speake began to shake; Clackett rubbed a dazed hand across his eyes;and Ysabel, dropping on one of the low seats, buried her face in herhands.
"Matt!" she gasped, looking up; "how can he stay up there in theconning tower after such a hairbreadth escape as that?"
"Matt?" returned Dick. "Why, he's as calm as a day in June. He's noteven ruffled. He----"
"Listen!" called Clackett. "Matt's saying something."
"Speake!" came the voice from the conning tower.
"Aye, aye, sir," answered Speake.
"Get to work on your electric stove, providing it wasn't smashed bythat somersault we turned, and see if we can't have a piping-hot meal.Ysabel will help you."
"That's what he's thinking of," muttered Dick, "something to eat. Well,my old raggie has got more nerve than I have."
While Speake and Ysabel were getting supper ready, Dick and Clackettwent into the prison room and looked at the men confined there.
They were all lying in an indiscriminate heap near the after bulkhead.
There was a chorus of wild gurgling behind the gags, and Dick andClackett set to work and laid the prisoners around the room insomething like order. The overturned cots were placed upright, andPedro was laid on one, and the unknown member of Fingal's gang wasplaced on the other. Fingal and the general were left lying on the hardfloor.
"The general," remarked Clackett, poking him in the ribs with the toeof his boot, "was goin' to take care o' us in a summary fashion. Hecouldn't hardly wait till nightfall, the general couldn't. Ain't he anice-lookin' specimen, Dick?"
"He's the worst-looking swab I ever saw!" averred Dick. "He was allsword and spurs, and he didn't know how to use 'em. That's the reasonhe got captured. I guess he'll be hung, fair enough. He ought to behung, anyhow, and he would have been if he had fallen into the hands ofGeneral Mendez. We ought to have put him ashore to take the place ofGaines. We robbed the soldiers of one victim, and we should have giventhem another."
"I tell ye what we ought to have done," averred Clackett.
"Out with it, mate."
"We ought to have laid all these here prisoners out on the deck when wewas passing that fort."
"Sink me," cried Dick, "but that was a bright idea. But," and Dick'sface fell, "like a good many bright ideas it came too late."
"With them fellers on the deck," said Clackett, waxing eloquent overhis afterthought, "I'll bet somethin' handsome we could have run pastthat fort and never been fired at once."
"Like enough. But we're past the fort, and we're right side up withcare, and we've got Motor Matt to thank for it all. Let's go back andsee how near it is to supper time."