The Boy Allies in the Baltic; Or, Through Fields of Ice to Aid the Czar
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JACK TURNED HIS WHIP FROM THE BACKS OF THE HORSES ANDLASHED OUT AT THE WOLVES.]
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THE BOY ALLIES (Registered in United States Patent Office) In the Baltic
OR
Through Fields of Ice to Aid the Czar
By ENSIGN ROBERT L. DRAKE
AUTHOR OF "The Boy Allies Under the Sea," "The Boy Allies on the North Sea Patrol," "The Boy Allies Under Two Flags," "The Boy Allies with the Flying Squadron," "The Boy Allies with the Terror of the Seas."
A. L. BURT COMPANY NEW YORK
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Copyright, 1916
BY A. L. BURT COMPANY
THE BOY ALLIES IN THE BALTIC
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THE BOY ALLIES IN THE BALTIC
CHAPTER I.
ON A RAID.
"Submerge to five fathoms, Mr. Templeton!"
The speaker was Lord Hastings, commander of the British submarine D-17.
Jack Templeton, a British youth and first officer of the under-seacraft, repeated the command for which he had been waiting now for somemoments.
"Mr. Chadwick!"
Lord Hastings' voice again.
"Sir!"
A third figure, standing upon the bridge--now enclosed as the submarinesank from the surface--came to attention before his commander. FrankChadwick, an American youth and second officer of the vessel, awaitedinstructions.
"Everything shipshape?" questioned his commander sharply.
"Yes, sir. Engine-room trouble all repaired, sir."
"Lookout posted forward?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Very well. Ten fathoms, Mr. Templeton!"
Lord Hastings turned from the periscope, through which he had beenpeering, and for a moment gazed thoughtfully at his two young officersbefore speaking. At last he said:
"Unless something goes wrong we will be in Heligoland within two hours!"
A startling statement, this, to one who did not know the nature of theman who made it; for it was a fact known to all the world thatHeligoland, the great German fortress that guarded the approach to thefew miles of German seacoast, was one of the strongest in theworld--perhaps as well fortified as Gibraltar itself, and considered bynaval experts equally as impregnable.
Apparently the D-17 was bent upon a perilous venture.
Such, indeed, was the case. The D-17, sister ship to the D-16, in whichLord Hastings and his two young officers had seen many excitingadventures, as related in "THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE TERROR OF THE SEAS,"had left the coast of England the day before, heading straight for thestrongly fortified German base; and now she was almost there.
Just what object Lord Hastings had in view neither Jack nor Frank knew,for Lord Hastings had not yet taken them fully into his confidenceconcerning this expedition. Since leaving England he had been busy inhis cabin almost continuously poring over papers and maps, but both ladshad a pretty shrewd idea that the venture was an important one.
Now Frank asked:
"And what are we going to do in there, sir?"
Lord Hastings smiled.
"What would be your idea about that?"
"Well," said Frank, "there are several things we might do. First, wemight sink a couple of German war vessels. We might try and learn thelay of the land--perhaps I should say the water--or we might try and getashore and so learn other matters of importance. Have I hit it, sir?"
"You have," returned his commander dryly; "you've hit it in more waysthan one. In fact, I may say you have guessed shrewdly all through."
"Then I can do a little guessing, too," declared Jack.
"Well?" said Lord Hastings inquiringly.
"Well," said Jack, "we first shall probably make an attempt to getashore, for there we can learn more than we could reconnoitering beneaththe water. That's where we shall try to find our information. And weshall sink a couple of the enemy on our way out. Am I right, sir?"
"You are," replied Lord Hastings briefly, and turning on his heel heleft the bridge and disappeared in his cabin, only to reappear a fewmoments later, charts and papers in his hands, announcing:
"Mr. Chadwick, you will take the wheel yourself. I'll stand beside youand give my orders. These waters are thickly strewn with mines and wecan afford to take no chances."
Frank obeyed this command without question and Lord Hastings took hisplace beside him, first remarking to Jack:
"You will relieve the lookout forward, Mr. Templeton, and keep your eyesopen. I need not mention the need of prompt action should you perceivedanger ahead. Slow down to five knots!"
"Very well, sir."
Jack saluted, and after giving the command that reduced the speed of thevessel, took himself forward.
There, at the extreme bow, he relieved a sailor and took the watchhimself.
Now the D-17, like her sister ship the D-16, which had been sunk off theDardanelles--an accident in which all on board escaped as by amiracle--was as unlike other under-water craft as day is from night.
In the first place, she was able to remain under water indefinitely. Itwas not necessary for her to return to the surface every so often toreplenish her air tanks, for she carried no tanks. The D-17 generatedher air supply from the water, by means of a secret process known onlyto high officials of the British admiralty. Also, the D-17 was the lastword in submarine craft in other respects. She had a speed of more thanthirty knots when submerged, could move along even faster upon thesurface of the water, and her bow, a solid piece of substantial glass,in which reposed a huge searchlight, made it possible for her to pickher course under the water--something that no other submarine craft wasable to do. For this latter reason she could venture places where noother vessel would dare.
The huge light flashing in front now, Jack took his stand and stood witheyes straining into the distance ahead.
And while the D-17 is thus moving toward the strongest fortification ofthe enemy, a few words concerning the two subordinate officers aboardare necessary.
Frank Chadwick, an American youth of some seventeen years of age, foundhimself in his present position as a result of a series of strangehappenings. He had lost his father in Italy immediately after theoutbreak of the great war, and while hunting him in Naples, had beenshanghaied aboard an Italian schooner. Here, following a mutiny of thecrew and the death of the captain, he found himself a prisoner,remaining so until released by Jack Templeton.
The latter's appearance came about in this manner: Jack, the son of anEnglishman, nevertheless had spent most of his life in a little Africancoast town. His father died there and Jack found himself sole owner of alittle store, which had almost a native trade alone, though anoccasional ship put in for supplies.
One day a schooner hove in sight. A boat put over the side and itsoccupants obtained provisions at Jack's store. In the lad's absence,they departed without
making payment. Jack hurried after them to collectand climbed aboard the schooner just as she raised anchor. A fightfollowed his demand for payment. By some resourcefulness and some goodhard fighting, the lad succeeded in gaining the upper hand. Then hereleased Frank, whom he found a prisoner with another, a British secretservice agent.
A series of subsequent events threw the lads into the company of LordHastings, who, taking a liking to them, answered their pleas to be madesailors by securing them commissions and taking them aboard his own shipat the opening of the great world war.
Then had followed months of excitement and adventure. They had takenpart in British successes and reverses on all the seven seas. They hadbeen "in at the death" in the first British naval victory offHeligoland; they had followed the German cruiser _Emden_, "the Terror ofthe Sea"; they had been in action with the British fleet that destroyedthe German squadron off the Falkland Islands in the western hemisphere;they had seen action in other parts of the globe--at the Dardanelles,with the Japanese at Tsingchau, with the French in the Adriatic and withthe Russians in the Baltic.
In a word, they were veterans.
Many were the narrow escapes they had had, but they had always survived.Their latest venture had almost cost Frank his life, for, after thesubmarine upon which they sailed had been destroyed, Frank engaged in adeath struggle with a British traitor in the waters of the North Sea andhad won by a scant fraction. He was unconscious when rescued by his chumand he had remained inactive, as had the others, in England for severalweeks.
But now, the D-17 having been put in service, Lord Hastings had beennamed to command her and all were eager to get busy again.
Frank, though sturdy and strong, was by no means a match for his chum, apowerful and husky young Englishman. Also he was naturally morehot-headed than his friend, and given to taking foolhardy chances--attimes. Jack's coolness had saved both more than once.
Jack was what Frank called a real fighter and had proved his mettle morethan once since the two had been together. Strong as an ox, he was a badcustomer to tackle in a rough and tumble and he was exceedinglyproficient in the use of his fists. Also he was a fair swordsman and afair shot.
It was in the latter accomplishment that Frank excelled. He was a deadshot with either rifle or revolver, as he had proved in several tightsituations where straight shooting had been necessary. He had neverfailed in this respect.
Fortunately, both lads spoke German and French as well as English, andunder Lord Hastings' tutoring, they had also picked up a smattering ofItalian, Russian and Hungarian--not much, perhaps, but enough to carryon a conversation, although with some difficulty.
At the time the D-17 made her way toward Heligoland, the great war wasalmost at a standstill. It seemed that the warring nations had reached adeadlock that could not be broken.
On sea, of course, the Allies held the whip hand, except for thesubmarine warfare instigated by the Central Powers. This, however, duein a measure to the activities of British under-sea craft upon whichJack and Frank had served, had been somewhat lessened lately and GermanU-boats, as they had come to be known, had not been so active recently.
On land, however, it seemed that neither side had gained much in thelast few months. What advantage there was seemed to have rested with theGermans, for the Kaiser's mighty drive through the Balkans hadcompletely crushed heroic little Serbia and had opened a path toConstantinople for the German hordes. Also it had brought Bulgaria intothe war on the side of the Central Powers, giving them the armed weightnecessary to keep Greece and Roumania from throwing their support to theAllies, much as they would have liked to do so.
This was the situation, then, when the D-17 steamed slowly toward theGerman naval fortress of Heligoland.
As Lord Hastings, standing by Frank at the wheel, gave the course,avoiding mines as well as he could by the chart that had somehow comeinto his possession, Jack retained his place forward in the glass-likecage, his eyes steadily ahead.
For an hour, perhaps, he sat there, seeing nothing that indicateddanger.
Then, suddenly, his right hand shot out, his finger touched a littlepush-button; the throb of the engines ceased as if by magic and the D-17seemed to halt in her track.
Jack approached Lord Hastings.
"Mine, sir," he said, quietly.