CHAPTER XXVI.
BY ORDER OF THE KING.
Alice Beulow had been the first to see Frank as he jumped over the rail of the Alto. As he rushed toward her captors she had sent up a fervent prayer of thanks. Various emotions were depicted in her face as the lad struggled with the traitor who had almost succeeded in lying her life away.
When the sailor had brought his rifle to bear on the lad, and the girl saw him pull the trigger, her strong will had finally given way, and she fell fainting to the deck. She was revived at length and carried to her cabin, still under arrest.
Frank also had been arrested by command of Captain Johnson, and confined. Half an hour later, however, the commander ordered him brought to his cabin, and had the lad relate the full story of Lieutenant Taylor’s treachery and the details of the first British naval victory off Helgoland.
“I am inclined to believe your story,” said the captain, when Frank had concluded. “I am now going aboard the Sylph to pay my respects to Lord Hastings, and you and Miss Beulow shall accompany me. You will consider yourself under arrest, however, until I have seen Lord Hastings.”
Half an hour later the three were ushered into Lord Hastings’ cabin aboard the Sylph, where the little scout cruiser’s commander lay propped up in bed.
A few words sufficed to clear up the situation so far as Captain Johnson was concerned, and then the latter took Frank by the hand.
“You are a gallant lad,” he said, “and I am proud to know you. My prophecy is that you will not long remain a midshipman.”
Frank thanked the commander of the Alto, and, at a nod from Lord Hastings, which indicated that the latter desired to be alone with Captain Johnson, Frank and Alice Beulow made their way to the deck.
Outside the captain’s cabin they ran into Jack, who had been eagerly waiting to learn what all the trouble was about. Alice soon explained the situation to him, and then Jack did a dance of enthusiasm about the deck.
“So you killed the traitor, eh?” he said at last, coming to a stop in his contortions. “Good for you! I should like to have done it myself. You are a brave chum, old man, and I am glad to have you for one.”
“No more glad than I am to have you for a chum,” replied Frank. “I have done nothing you wouldn’t have done had you been in my place. It was simply luck, that’s all.”
“It was a brave action,” put in Alice Beulow, “and for the second time I owe you my life. The debt, I fear, can never be repaid.”
“It was nothing any other fellow would not have done,” protested Frank modestly.
“But tell me how you happened to arrive so opportunely,” demanded Alice.
“Well,” said Frank, “after the battle, our first thought was of you. We had heard, just before our wireless apparatus was put out of commission, of your arrest, but, until after the battle, we could do nothing.
“Since noon yesterday we have been scouring the sea for the Alto, and we were beginning to fear that we should not locate you in time. The loss of our wireless came near proving fatal. It was early this morning when we finally made out what we felt sure was the Alto.”
“He doesn’t tell you, Miss Beulow,” Jack broke in, “how he stood watch all that time without a wink of sleep; and that but for the keenness of his eye we should probably have missed you.”
“Well,” said Frank, “I could do nothing less. But that’s all there is to the story. Now, Miss Beulow, will you tell us your experiences aboard the Alto?”
The girl complied, and the boys listened with the greatest of interest.
“The cowardly traitor!” exclaimed Jack, when she concluded. “I should like to have got my hands on him!”
“He will bother no one else,” said Frank simply.
A moment later Captain Johnson emerged from Lord Hastings’ cabin. Before leaving the Sylph he again approached Frank and shook hands with him.
“If I can ever be of service to you,” he said, on taking his departure, “command me. I shall never forget that your bravery alone saved me from putting an innocent girl to death!”
Frank thanked the gallant commander, and the latter disappeared over the side with a backward wave of his hand.
Soon the Sylph was under way again, speeding swiftly toward the far distant western horizon. For a long time, Alice Beulow, Frank and Jack leaned over the rail of the little cruiser, gazing at the swiftly passing greenish water. Then the three were summoned to Lord Hastings’ cabin.
The commander of the Sylph, still propped up in bed, greeted Frank with a smile, and, beckoning the lad to him, gave his hand a hearty clasp, in spite of his apparent feebleness.
“Captain Johnson has told me of your gallant action aboard the Alto,” he said; “and I add my praise to his. It was a brave deed.”
Frank passed the compliment off modestly, and Lord Hastings continued:
“I shall see that your conduct does not go unrewarded. But what I summoned you all here to say is that we are returning to London.”
“To London!” exclaimed Jack, in surprise.
“Yes. There the Sylph will undergo the necessary repairs, which probably will take a week. At the end of that time I hope to have recovered to such an extent that we shall be able to put to sea immediately. I feel much stronger the last few hours.”
“And then back to Helgoland,” said Frank.
“No,” replied Lord Hastings, “I think not. I believe that our next cruise will be in the Mediterranean.”
“The Mediterranean!” exclaimed Jack. “Why not the North Sea? Don’t you think there will be more fighting there, sir?”
“Not immediately,” was the reply. “After the blow we have just inflicted upon the German fleet I believe it will be some time before the enemy will venture forth again.”
“Then there is no likelihood of Admiral Jellicoe’s forcing a battle by going in after the Germans?” queried Frank.
“I fear that would be suicide. The guns of a fortress, you know, are of much heavier caliber than it is possible to mount upon a war vessel. Besides, the harbor is mined, and there would, I am afraid, be but slight hope of success for British arms in such a venture.”
“And yet,” said Frank, with a smile, “there was a certain American admiral in the Civil War who said something about paying no heed to the torpedoes when he steamed into Mobile Bay.”
“Yes,” admitted Lord Hastings, “and there was another American admiral who also disregarded the mines at Manila. But don’t you fret,” he continued, “you will find that Admiral Jellicoe is of the same caliber, should he deem such a venturesome exploit essential.”
“I am sure of it,” agreed Jack. “From what little I saw of him the other night, I am willing to bet that he is not the man to shirk a necessary task because of danger.”
“I agree with you,” said Frank.
“I didn’t call you here to discuss warfare,” said Lord Hastings, after some further conversation along this line, “but rather to find out what we shall do with Miss Beulow.”
“I am perfectly willing to abide by whatever decision you may reach,” said the girl, with a smile. “I am sure you will not find me hard to please.”
“What would you suggest, sir?” asked Frank.
“Well,” said Lord Hastings, “as you boys know, I am a married man. I am sure that my wife would be glad to have Miss Beulow make her home with her until such time as she can get into Germany with safety.”
“But I can impose no further upon your generosity,” protested the girl. “You have been too good to me now.”
“Tut, tut,” chided Lord Hastings, “it will be no imposition. Besides I am sure it is only a question of a few weeks until some arrangement will be made whereby German subjects in England and British subjects in Germany will be furnished means of returning to their native lands. Now, what do you say to my plan, Miss Beulow?”
“I am sure she will accept,” said Frank eagerly.
For several moments the girl did not speak.
“Yes,” she said at length; “I shall accept; and I thank you, Lord Hastings, for your kindness.”
This matter having been settled, Lord Hastings announced that he thought a good nap would do him good, and the young folks went on deck to enjoy the sunshine. Later in the day Lord Hastings was also able to be on deck, and, while the Sylph slipped rapidly along through the water, entertained the others with accounts of his travels.
Toward sunset Frank made out what appeared to be land.
“What land is it?” he inquired of Lord Hastings.
The Sylph’s commander took his glasses and carefully observed the land through the hazy atmosphere.
“It must be the coast of Denmark,” he replied, after a moment’s hesitation, “although I did not realize that we were that far north. We must have sailed considerably off our course.”
Night came on and still the Sylph continued her homeward journey without interruption, although a watch for evidence of any German vessel was being carefully kept.
It was while at supper that the peaceful calm on board was rudely broken.
From on deck came the sound of scuffling feet, followed by shouts and at length a shot. Then came the sound of running feet, a moment of silence, followed again by a volley of pistol shots.
Lord Hastings arose slowly to his feet and made his way on deck, closely followed by Frank and Jack.
“What’s the trouble?” demanded Lord Hastings, approaching a group of sailors, who stood at the rail, firing into the water.
One of the men stepped forward.
“It’s that traitor. Hardy, sir,” he replied.
“Hardy!” exclaimed Lord Hastings. “What about him?”
“He has escaped, sir.”
“What!”
“Yes, sir.”
“But I ordered him put in irons and carefully guarded.”
“And he was, sir. I can vouch for that.”
“Then how did he escape?”
“I don’t know, sir; but he freed himself of his shackles in some manner. There he goes now, sir, in the motor. You can just make him out.”
“How is it that you did not recapture him before he could get away?” demanded his lordship.
“Well, he came upon us all of a sudden like, sir. He knocked two men down before we knew what had happened. Then he put the boat over the side and jumped in. I took a shot at him, as he jumped, but missed. He must have started the engine the moment he struck the boat, for he was moving in a jiffy. We all ran to the rail, and fired several shots at him, but it doesn’t look like we hit him.”
Here Jack broke into the conversation.
“Why can’t I take the other boat and go after him?” he demanded. “I am sure I can overhaul him before he has gone very far. And, when I do—well, I’ll bring him back, all right.”
Lord Hastings hesitated for one moment.
“All right,” he finally said. “Take five men with you, and hustle.”
“I am going, too,” Frank broke in.
“Not much,” said Jack. “You have had all the glory. It’s time for me to get into this game.”
In almost less time than it takes to tell it, the second launch had been lowered and, with Jack at the steering wheel, was off in the darkness after the traitor. The powerful searchlight on the little boat lighted up the sea for a long distance ahead, and at least a mile away Jack could make out the craft in which Hardy was heading for the Danish coast.
“Well,” said Jack to himself, “it’s up to me to catch him, and I won’t come back till I do.”
Lord Hastings had told him that the Sylph would remain where she was until he returned.
Under Jack’s orders the launch was leaping ahead at full speed, and after an hour it became apparent that the pursuers were gaining slightly.
“At this rate,” said Jack to himself, “we won’t overhaul him before daylight. But we shall keep after him as fast as we can.”
And keep after him they did; but their efforts to catch the traitor were doomed to disappointment, the two launches were so nearly matched.
The night now grew blacker, as it always does just before dawn, and now the headlight on the pursuing launch, besides showing Jack the escaping fugitive, also showed him the outline of the coast less than half a mile ahead of the fugitive.
With the first sight of the coast Jack uttered an exclamation of dismay, although he did not slacken the speed of the launch, which continued to creep closer and closer to the fugitive.
As the first, faint streak of dawn appeared in the sky, Hardy ran his boat close to shore and, standing erect, jumped headlong into the water. A moment later and he reappeared and struck out for land.
Now that his quarry was safe ashore, Jack approached more cautiously, for he was not minded to run his little craft upon a rock. But when the pursuers were finally able to land Hardy had disappeared in the distance.
Jack turned to his men.
“You will stay here until I return,” he informed them. “I may be gone a long time—there is no telling. Wait for me an hour after nightfall, and if I have not then returned you will go back to the Sylph. Do not come ashore, for this is neutral ground,” and the lad hurried in the direction in which the fugitive had disappeared.
“If I can catch him before we are discovered,” he told himself, “he’ll come back all right. If not, well, I don’t know. If discovered I suppose we shall both be disarmed and interned,” for Jack was not unfamiliar with neutrality laws, and he realized that if discovered he would probably not be allowed to leave the country until the war had ended.
But if Jack had expected to overhaul the fugitive and take him back to the Sylph without trouble, he was doomed to disappointment. As he hurried on through the little woods there was the sudden sound of a shot, and a bullet whistled over his head.
The lad sprang behind a tree and quickly drew his revolver.
A moment later there was a second shot, and Jack saw a flash from behind a tree scarcely a hundred feet away. He aimed quickly at an arm which extended from behind the tree and fired. A howl of pain rewarded him; but Jack was too wary to step from behind his shelter, although he looked cautiously in the direction of his enemy.
As he surmised, it was the traitor Hardy who had shot at him. The fugitive now lay sprawled on the ground, and even from where Jack stood he could hear the man’s moans. The bullet had struck him in the elbow—on the “crazy bone.”
Jack stepped quickly from behind his tree and rapidly crossed the distance that separated him from his wounded enemy. As he came close, Hardy suddenly sprang to his feet and, unable to bring his revolver to bear quickly enough, struck a savage blow at the lad.
Jack dodged the blow and promptly sent his fist between the other’s eyes, knocking him to the ground in a sprawling heap.
“I guess that will teach you I am not to be fooled with,” he said angrily.
The lad stooped over and lifted his unconscious enemy to his own shoulders.
“Now to get back to the launch before I am discovered,” he said, and, turning, he started off rapidly in the direction from which he had come.
But he was not to carry his task to a successful termination so easily; for hardly had he gone fifty feet, when he was brought to an abrupt pause by the sound of a harsh command:
“Halt!”
Turning, the lad dropped his burden to the ground and, after a moment’s hesitation, threw his hands above his head.
“This is what I call tough,” he muttered.
For, not fifty yards behind him, and approaching at a run, came an officer with leveled revolver, and behind him a squad of soldiers.