CHAPTER XIII.
THE BATTLE!
There was an instant of awful silence; then came the command:
"Fire!"
There was a horrible noise, louder by far than the loudest clap ofthunder; the _Sylph_ quivered, then seemed to leap back. The big guns onthe starboard side of the little vessel had poured forth their volley.
So close had the _Sylph_ approached to the enemy without beingdiscovered that a miss was impossible; and the suddenness of thisunexpected attack took the Germans completely off their guard. Therecame a voice from above:
"A hit! A hit!"
The _Sylph_ now shook and trembled continuously, as broadside afterbroadside was poured into the enemy, first from one side and then fromthe other, as the little vessel maneuvered, presenting first one sideand then the other to the enemy.
Although taken practically unprepared, the Germans had no mind to giveup without a fight. One of the shells from the _Sylph_ had passedthrough the cabin of the commander, leaving death and ruin in its wake;a second tore a great hole through the smokestack, and she had beenpierced in other vulnerable spots.
The marksmanship of the British gunners was superb!
But now the Germans had brought their big guns to bear on the littlevessel. There was a gigantic boom, followed immediately by the sound ofa great crash. The shell had struck one of the guns of the _Sylph_,blowing it to pieces.
There was a shower of iron, and men fell on all sides as it rained uponthe deck. At Gun No. 2 the gunner crumpled up and fell to the deck justas he was about to fire.
"Report this to Lord Hastings!" cried Jack to Frank, and the latterrushed upon deck.
Jack leaped to the gun and touched it off with his own hand. His actionwas rewarded by a great shout from on deck, followed by a terrificexplosion.
Another German shell struck the gun deck of the _Sylph_, and againseveral men went to the deck. But as they fell others jumped to taketheir places, Jack among them.
For another few minutes the battle raged without cessation. Jackcontinued to work like a Trojan; Frank, returning from above, where hehad reported to Lord Hastings, saw his friend running, shouting,fighting with the others, stripped to the waist.
With a shout, Frank rushed to his side, arriving just in time to touchoff a gun as the gunner fell beside it.
Then, suddenly, there came from above the command:
"Cease firing!"
As if by magic the night became still. After the great noise andconfusion of the battle the sudden stillness was so intense that theboys' ears hurt. Then they made their way to the deck.
And what a sight met their eyes!
Before them the sea was covered with a mass of wreckage. The statelyGerman cruiser of a few minutes before was like so much floating debris.
"Great Scott!" exclaimed Jack. "Did we do all that?"
"I guess we did," replied Frank.
"Mr. Chadwick! Mr. Templeton!" came the voice of Lord Hastings. "Youwill man two of the boats at once and pick up as many as possible ofthose poor fellows in the sea!"
The lads rushed to obey this order, and soon were busily engaged inrescuing the German sailors clinging to the debris and swimming about inthe water.
For almost an hour they rowed about, picking up the unfortunate Germans.
Although a mass of wreckage, the German cruiser had not yet sunk, but itwas plainly apparent that it was settling rapidly. On the bridge Jackmade out the form of a man in uniform. It was undoubtedly the commander.
"By George," declared Jack, "we must get him off!"
"It's no use," spoke up one of the German officers who had been pickedup. "He refused to leave the ship. We tried to prevail upon him to jump,but he said he would stick to his post."
"Even so," replied Jack, "we must make an effort to save him."
"It's useless," repeated the German.
The little boat was rowed closer in spite of the German's words, andJack called to the German commander:
"Jump, sir, and we will save you."
The German looked at the lad, but made no reply, and Jack repeated:
"Jump. We will get you all right."
Slowly the German commander drew a revolver, and, pointing it at theboat, exclaimed:
"Keep away, or I shall fire!"
As Jack did not immediately order his men to move away, the Germanofficer in the boat exclaimed:
"You would better do as he says. Besides, the ship will sink in amoment, and the suction will draw us under if we do not move from here."
At the same moment Frank, returning to the _Sylph_ with his boat filledwith survivors, called:
"Get back quick, Jack, or you will be drawn under!"
Jack looked once more at the German commander, who still stood withleveled revolver, and then turned to his men:
"Give way!" he commanded, and the little boat headed once more for the_Sylph_.
The small boat withdrew from the danger zone none too soon.
When still a few yards from the _Sylph_, Jack turned his face toward thesinking cruiser. As he did so, the sinking craft gave a convulsiveshudder, then the sea closed over it. The last thing that Jack saw wasthe commander, standing calmly on the bridge, awaiting the end. He wentto his death with bared head, standing at attention. Jack will rememberthe sight till his dying day.
"A brave man!" was all he said, lifting his cap from his head.
Back on the _Sylph_, Frank and Jack learned that the casualties in thebattle had been comparatively slight. Ten men had been killed andtwenty-two wounded. Two of the latter were not expected to live. TheGerman shells had done considerable damage to the _Sylph_, particularlyupon the gun deck. Lord Hastings declared, however, that this could bepatched up with very little difficulty.
It was during a talk with Lord Hastings, while the commander of the_Sylph_ and the two boys watched the approach of the British cruiser_Lancaster_, that Jack learned just what an important part he had playedin the engagement.
"It was a single shot that put the German out of business," declaredLord Hastings. "It was just after the first fire from the German hit us,killing some of the gun crew."
Jack looked surprised, but said nothing.
"A second later," continued Lord Hastings, "there was a single shot fromthe _Sylph_. The shell penetrated to the magazine on the cruiser, and itexploded. Although the Germans fought for some time thereafter, that wasthe shot that decided the battle; it was the shot that sunk the ship."
He turned to Jack. "You were in the gun room at the time," he said; "doyou know who fired that shot?"
"Yes, sir," replied Jack, in some confusion.
"Who was it, then?"
"I fired it, sir!"
"What!" exclaimed Lord Hastings and Frank in the same breath.
"Yes, sir, I fired it; but it was just luck that I hit anything."
"A shot like that can hardly be called luck," replied Lord Hastings.
"Well, it was luck as far as I am concerned," said Jack. "The gun hadalready been sighted. I just touched it off when Mitchel fell to thedeck."
"The hand of Providence has surely been with us this night," declaredLord Hastings.
A sailor approached with a message.
"A message from the wireless room, sir," he said.
Lord Hastings took the paper he extended. He read aloud:
"Your report received. Congratulations on your gallant victory. We are proud of you all, and are sorry we could not be in at the death. Stand by, I am coming on board. Will relieve you of your prisoners.
(Signed) "CAPT. T. T. MAYFAIR, "Commanding H. M. S. _Lancaster_."
Lieutenant Edwards approached at this juncture and saluted.
"A boat from the _Lancaster_ is coming alongside, sir," he reported.
The Boy Allies on the North Sea Patrol Page 13
