CHAPTER XVI
THE FIGHT ON THE U-87
In the meantime, members of the crew hearing the commotion on deck, rushedup to see what was going on. Seeing their commander struggling with anenemy, they hurried across the deck.
Jack saw them coming out of the tail of his eye. It was not time tohesitate and the lad knew it.
With his arms still wrapped about the German commander, Jack struggled tothe rail and leaped into the sea. Down and down he went, never for amoment relaxing his hold on the German. Then they came to the surface.
With a sudden jerk the German freed himself and aimed a heavy blow atJack. This Jack dodged and sought to regain his hold on his foe. But theGerman wriggled away and struck out for the submarine.
In the meantime, Captain Griswold of the Ventura had been watching thestruggle as his vessel sped away from the scene. There was a strange lightin his eyes and he muttered to himself. At last he muttered animprecation.
"He's a brave boy," he said. "I can't run away and leave him like that."
He brought the head of the vessel around in spite of the protests of someof the passengers, and headed back for the submarine.
"Man the forward gun there!" he cried.
For the Ventura, like other allied ships plying in the seas in those days,carried small guns for defensive purposes. The gun crew sprang to obeythis order and the gun was trained on the submarine.
"Fire!" shouted Captain Griswold.
"Crash!"
The gun spoke and a geyser of water was kicked up just beyond thesubmarine.
At this point the officer left in command of the submarine seemed torealize his own danger. He sprang to the conning tower, unmindful of thefact that his commander was struggling in the water.
"Down, men!" he cried.
But it appeared that the German sailors were made of sterner stuff thanwas the officer. They refused to go below until their commander had beenbrought safely aboard. In vain the officer pointed out their danger.
Jack struck out after the German commander as the latter swam for thesubmarine. The lad was a powerful swimmer and he felt confident he couldovertake the man before help could reach him.
The destroyer Essex had now drawn close. Frank had been afraid to order ashot at the submarine for fear the shell might hit Jack in the water.
"Take the bridge, Mr. Hetherton!" he cried. "Lower a boat, men!"
The boat was lowered in a trice and Frank and a score of sailors sprangin. The launch darted toward Jack at full speed, Frank standing erect andwith the quartermaster at the rudder.
They were close enough to see the struggle between Jack and the Germancommander in the water. Frank saw the man break loose from Jack and strikeout for the submarine. He saw Jack make after him, and he saw somethingmore.
Half a dozen German sailors leaped into the water and made for Jack, whoapparently did not realize his own danger, so interested was he in thepursuit of the German commander.
"Faster!" cried Frank, and drew his revolver.
Now, for the first time, Jack realized his danger. But it was too late todraw back, and it is doubtful if he would have done so anyway.
"I'm going to get that fellow," he gritted between his teeth, referring tothe German commander.
One of the German sailors struck at the lad with a knife. Jack caught theman's arm with his left hand and twisted sharply. There was a snap, andthe knife dropped into the water. The sailor uttered a cry of pain andturning, struck out for the submarine with his good arm.
Two sailors now beset Jack on either side, and the German commander turnedto renew the struggle.
"Kill him!" he cried angrily.
One of the sailors raised himself high in the water, and a knife flashedabove him.
"Crack!"
A revolver spoke sharply and the knife dropped from limp fingers.
Frank, standing erect in the Essex's launch, had fired. Now, as has beensaid, Frank was a crack shot, and in spite of the pitching of the smallboat, his aim had been true. The bullet had struck the German sailor's armjust below the elbow, shattering the nerve.
Perceiving the approach of reinforcements, at an order from theircommander, the Germans turned and swam rapidly toward the submarine. Thesailors reached the vessel and climbed aboard. Their commander didlikewise.
Unmindful of the cries of his friends behind him, Jack also laid hold ofthe edge of the submarine and drew himself, dripping, aboard the vessel. Asailor near the conning tower raised his revolver in deliberate aim.
"Crack! Crack!"
Two revolvers spoke almost as one, the first Frank's, the second that ofthe sailor who aimed at Jack. But Frank's bullet went home, thusdeflecting the aim of the man who covered Jack, and the German's bulletwent wild.
The commander of the submarine, at this juncture, losing his temper atbeing pursued to the very door of safety, turned and sprang for Jack witha wild cry. He was a big and powerful man, and as he wrapped his armsabout Jack, the lad staggered back.
But he recovered his balance in a moment and struck out with his rightfist. Struck in the stomach, the German grunted and stepped back.
Now the remainder of the German crew came pouring on deck. At the sametime Frank's launch grated alongside and his men poured a volley of riflebullets into the enemy. The latter turned and scampered for safety belowdecks.
Jack, still struggling with the German commander, paused and looked aroundlong enough to cry:
"After them, Frank! Don't let them shut you out."
Frank understood and led his men toward the conning tower at a run. Mostof the enemy were already inside and descending, but Frank arrived in timeto prevent the closing of the conning tower, which would have permittedthe submarine to submerge, leaving the struggling figures in the water.With the conning tower open, it was, of course, impossible for the U-Boatto submerge, for she would have been flooded immediately.
Frank's men made prisoners of the half a dozen Germans who had not time toget below, and then the lad ran over to help Jack.
"Keep away, Frank," said Jack. "I've got this fellow, and I hope hedoesn't give up too easily. We've heavy accounts to settle with him."
The big German showed no symptoms of giving up. He lashed out with botharms and Jack was kept busy warding off the blows. But the Germancommander was a novice at this sort of fighting, while Jack, only a yearor so before, had won the heavyweight boxing championship of the Britishnavy. So there was no doubt in Frank's mind as to the outcome. He and hismen formed a circle around the struggling figures, at the same timeguarding the conning tower to prevent the enemy from closing it.
"Shoot the first head you see down there," Frank enjoined the men he lefton guard, and he knew they would be only too glad to obey this order.
Jack, with a smile still on his face, permitted the German commander towaste his energy in ineffective blows. Then Jack stepped forward anddelivered a heavy blow to the man's mouth. The German staggered back. Jackdoubled him up with a left-handed punch to the pit of the stomach, thenstraightened him with a second hard right to the point of the chin.
The German commander reeled backward. Jack followed up his advantage, andfor the space of a minute played a tattoo on the man's face with bothfists. Then he stepped back, and as the German came toward him, the ladmuttered:
"I guess this has gone far enough. Now for the finish."
He started a blow almost from the deck, and putting his full force behindit, struck.
"Crack!"
The blow could be heard even aboard the Ventura, which had approachedclose by this time.
The German commander seemed to stagger back all of ten paces, the Britishsailors scurrying back to keep out of his way. Then the man fell, his headstriking the deck with a sickening thud.
"There," said Jack, "I guess that will settle you. Tie him up, men."
A wild cheer had burst from the sailors as Jack delivered the finishingtouch. None of these men had ever seen Jack in action before, and it wasonly natur
al that they should be greatly impressed at this exhibition oftheir commander's prowess.
"By glory! What a blow!" one of them exclaimed. "Did you see it, Tom?"
"Did I?" exclaimed the man addressed as Tom; "did I? I'll say I did, and Ithought I was pretty handy with my fists. But not against Captain Jack,not for me."
As bidden by Jack, the sailors rolled the German commander over and boundhim. Then they carried him to the Essex's launch and threw him in, nonetoo gently, either, for there was no man there who had not a disgust forGermans, German tactics and everything German.
"Now," said Frank to Jack, "I guess we may as well stand clear and let theEssex pour a few shells into the vessel, eh?"
Jack shook his head.
"No," he said, "we shall take possession of the vessel. Call down belowand see if the Germans will surrender."
Frank approached the conning tower and called down.
"Hello!" he shouted.
There was no response.
"Hello below!" he shouted again in German.
"What do you want?" came a sullen voice from below.
"We're in possession of this vessel now," said Frank. "Come up here andsurrender."
"We'll stay where we are," came the reply after a brief pause.
"But you can't man," exclaimed Frank. "Don't you know when you have beencaptured."
"We'll stay here awhile," said the spokesman of the sailors.
"But you can't stay there forever, and you can't submerge," said Frank."Come up and surrender."
To this the lad received no response. Frank reported to Jack.
"So they won't surrender, eh?" said Jack. "Then we'll go down and getthem."
"Rather risky, Jack," Frank warned.
"So it is," Jack agreed. "So's the whole war. But wait. We'll see."
Boy Allies with the Victorious Fleets; Or, The Fall of the German Navy Page 16
