CHAPTER XII.
A BRUSH WITH THE ENEMY.
Lord Hastings turned to the operator with a smile.
"Tell him to blow away!" he said, and the operator departed, grinningbroadly.
The first shades of darkness were now beginning to encircle the littlevessel.
"The enemy has the range of us," said Lord Hastings to LieutenantEdwards, as a second shell whistled over the bow of the vessel, kickingup a great splash in the water.
"Yes, sir," was the reply; "our guns are ineffective at this distance."
Under Lord Hastings' command, the _Sylph_ came about, and headed back inthe way she had come.
"What would you say she is making?" asked Lord Hastings of LieutenantEdwards, indicating the approaching German cruiser.
"About twenty-one knots, sir."
"Good. Set our speed at twenty-four, then."
"Very good, sir."
The _Sylph_ seemed to leap forward. Then Lord Hastings took the time toexplain his plans.
"We don't want to run entirely away from her," he explained. "We want tokeep just enough ahead of her so she will continue the chase. Darknesswill be upon us in an hour. I should like to capture that cruisersingle-handed, and some method may present itself. But in the meantimewe must keep out of range of her big guns."
The _Sylph_ gradually drew away from her pursuer. When the distancebetween the two vessels was such that Lord Hastings deemed accurateshooting by the German impossible, the speed of the _Sylph_ was reducedto twenty-one knots.
These relative positions the two vessels maintained until darkness fell;then the glare of a searchlight aboard the German fell upon the _Sylph_and lighted her up like day. So the chase continued for another hour.
Suddenly the wireless operator came on deck, and rushed breathlessly upto Lord Hastings.
"I have just picked up the British cruiser _Lancaster_," he cried. "Itold her we were being chased by a German cruiser, and she is coming toour aid. She gave her position as twenty miles west of us, sir."
"Good," replied Lord Hastings. "Keep in touch with the _Lancaster_."
The operator departed.
"How is she headed?" demanded Lord Hastings of Lieutenant Edwards.
"Due west, sir," was the reply.
"Make it west by south," ordered Lord Hastings.
"Very good, sir!"
Gradually the _Sylph_ bore off toward the south, the German cruiserstill in pursuit.
For more than an hour the chase continued, the _Sylph_ still keeping thesame distance ahead of the German. Then from the northwest came thedistant flash of another searchlight.
"Ship off the starboard bow, sir!" came the cry of the lookout.
"Slow to fifteen knots!" came Lord Hastings' order, and there was aperceptible diminishing in the speed of the _Sylph_.
Still the German cruiser came on, quickly reducing the distance betweenthe two vessels. Then, suddenly, the light that illumined the _Sylph_disappeared; the searchlight on the German had been turned in anotherdirection.
"She has sighted the _Lancaster_, sir," said Lieutenant Edwards.
"So she has," replied Lord Hastings. "Bring the _Sylph_ about, and makeyour course north by east, Lieutenant Edwards."
"Very good, sir," was the lieutenant's reply, and the _Sylph_ came aboutquickly.
Hardly had the little vessel laid herself out on her new course, whenLord Hastings' voice rang out:
"Full speed ahead!"
The _Sylph_ jumped forward like some live thing, and headed in thedirection of the German cruiser, still bearing somewhat to the south.
Frank and Jack watched all these maneuvers with the greatest ofinterest. When the word was passed that the vessel approaching was aGerman cruiser, the boys had been greatly excited; and, when the _Sylph_had turned and fled from the enemy, their disappointment knew no bounds.
"Great Scott!" Frank exclaimed. "We are running away!"
"I don't believe Lord Hastings is the man to run very far," Jackreplied. "Besides, you can see as well as I can that the _Sylph_ is nomatch for the German. She would shoot us out of the water before sheapproached within range of our guns."
"Perhaps so," returned Frank, "but just the same I would rather fightthan run away from that cruiser, big as she is."
"I feel the same way. But 'discretion is the better part of valor,' youknow. Besides, I believe Lord Hastings has some scheme in his mind."
"Well, I hope so," declared Frank.
The boys had spied the distant light of the approaching _Lancaster_practically at the same moment as had the lookout; and, when the _Sylph_once more came about and headed toward the German cruiser, Jackexclaimed:
"What did I tell you? I said Lord Hastings wasn't the man to run far, nomatter how great the odds against him."
"You are right," was Frank's reply. "It looks as though we were to see alittle action."
"Yes, and it's likely to be a pretty sizable fight, or I miss my guess,"returned Jack.
For fear of giving notice of their approach to the enemy, who nowapparently had forgotten the existence of the _Sylph_ in the approach ofthe _Lancaster_, the call to quarters was not sounded on the _Sylph_.Upon orders of Lord Hastings, Frank and Jack went quietly about theship, summoning the men to their posts.
There was not a light upon the _Sylph_ as the little vessel bore downupon the enemy. The searchlight of the _Lancaster_ now enveloped theGerman, and the searchlight of the latter now played upon the swiftlyoncoming British cruiser.
On the _Sylph_ everything was ready for the struggle. The perfectlydrilled crew had cleared for action in no time. Lord Hastings andLieutenant Edwards made a round of inspection, and spoke inspiring wordsto the members of the crew.
"Remember the words of Lord Nelson," cried the former, "'England expectsevery man to do his duty!'"
A cheer was quickly silenced when Lord Hastings raised his hand forquiet.
"Our chance of coming out of this engagement alive," Lord Hastings saidto the gun crews, "is that you make every shot count. A vital spot mustbe hit at the first fire. The enemy's great guns would tear us topieces. If we can take them by surprise, we have more than an evenchance of success."
Lord Hastings returned to his place on deck.
Nearer and still nearer the _Sylph_ crept toward her foe; and now thespeed was reduced to fifteen knots.
"Another ten minutes and we shall be near enough to strike," declaredLord Hastings to the group of officers about him. He turned to Jack andFrank. "Take your posts," he said, "and keep me informed if we arestruck and what damage is done by the enemy's fire."
Frank and Jack descended to the lower deck--now converted into the gundeck. Both lads were trembling with eagerness and excitement.
"How do you feel, Jack," asked Frank, "scared?"
"No, not exactly," was the reply. "I feel rather funny, though."
"Same here," said Frank, "but I guess we'll get over that as soon asthings break loose."
"Yes; and they're about due to break," declared Jack.
Members of the gun crews joked each other good-naturedly, as they waitedfor the command to fire.
And still there was a death-like silence on the _Sylph_.
"Great Scott!" exclaimed Frank at last. "This is the longest ten minutesI ever saw!"
"Don't you worry," replied Jack, "they'll be over----"
Then suddenly it came. Even from where they stood, the boys could hearthe clear, quiet voice of Lord Hastings:
"Lieutenant Edwards, you may fire at will!"
The Boy Allies on the North Sea Patrol Page 12
