The Boy Allies with the Terror of the Seas; Or, The Last Shot of Submarine D-16 Read online

  THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE TERROR OF THE SEAS

  Or

  The Last Shot of Submarine D-16

  by

  Ensign ROBERT L. DRAKE

  Author of"The Boy Allies on the North Sea Patrol""The Boy Allies Under Two Flags""The Boy Allies with the Flying Squadron"

  A. L. Burt & CompanyNew York

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  Copyright, 1915By A. L. Burt Company

  THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE TERROR OF THE SEAS

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  Contents

  I. UNDER THE SEA. II. THE D-16. III. THE ENGAGEMENT. IV. A DARING PLAN. V. TROUBLE ON BOARD. VI. THE SPY. VII. DEATH OF THE SPY. VIII. HELIGOLAND. IX. A DESPERATE VENTURE. X. IN THE KIEL CANAL. XI. AT CLOSE QUARTERS. XII. CAPTURED. XIII. A SUBMARINE RAID. XIV. THE ESCAPE. XV. INTO THE BALTIC. XVI. IN TROUBLE AGAIN. XVII. PETROGRAD. XVIII. A PLOT. XIX. THE PLOTTERS FOILED. XX. BOUND WESTWARD AGAIN. XXI. A NEUTRALITY VIOLATION. XXII. IN THE MEDITERRANEAN. XXIII. THE CHASE. XXIV. OFF FOR THE DARDANELLES. XXV. IN THE DARDANELLES. XXVI. SCOUTING. XXVII. A DESPERATE UNDERTAKING. XXVIII. A CAPTURE. XXIX. THE LAST SHOT OF THE D-16.

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  THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE TERROR OF THE SEAS.

  CHAPTER I.

  UNDER THE SEA.

  "One!"

  The speaker was Jack Templeton, an English youth and first officer ofthe British submarine D-16, Lord Hastings, commander.

  Frank Chadwick, an American lad about the same age as Jack, the secondofficer of the under-sea fighter, laid his hand upon his friend's arm.

  "Let me take a look," he said.

  Jack relinquished to his chum his place at the periscope, and the latterpeered into the instrument long and earnestly.

  Into the periscope--which protruded slightly above the surface of thewater while the submarine was still submerged--came the vision of asinking warship, and the sight, enlarged by powerful binoculars, wasapparent to Frank's eyes.

  "She's done for, all right," he said quietly, turning away at length."Pretty good shooting, I should say."

  "One torpedo only," replied Jack briefly.

  "You may give the signal to rise, Mr. Templeton," said a third voice,and Lord Hastings, commander of the submarine, stood before them.

  Jack turned away in response to this command.

  Another moment and the pumps were at work, forcing the water from thetanks. Gradually the submarine began to rise, and at last rode quietlyupon the surface of the North Sea.

  Followed by Jack and Frank, Lord Hastings led the way up through thelittle conning tower, opened now that the submarine was above water, andfrom there to the bridge, only a few feet above the surface of the sea.Here all turned their eyes toward the east, where, less than half a mileaway, a German ship of war was slowly sinking by the head.

  "A good shot, Mr. Templeton," said Lord Hastings, turning to Jack.

  "Pretty fair, sir," was the latter's modest reply, for he had launchedthe torpedo with his own hand.

  Aboard the sinking German vessel all was confusion. Men rushed hitherand thither in wild excitement. Officers shouted hoarse commands. Menscrambled wildly about and jumped madly for the life boats as they werelaunched. So great was the panic that two of the small boats wereoverturned and the men thrown into the sea.

  "They'll be drowned!" exclaimed Frank. He turned to Lord Hastings."Cannot we rescue them, sir?"

  "It is impossible," was the quiet response. "We have no room for them.We are carrying a full crew, as you know, and have no room for anotherman."

  "But it is terrible to let them drown," protested Frank.

  "True," replied his commander, "and yet think how some of our merchantvessels have been sent to the bottom without warning and their crews toa watery grave, noncombatants though they were. It is retribution; noless."

  Frank was silent, but he stood watching the struggling German sailorswith an anxious eye.

  Now the officers aboard the sinking vessel had succeeded in gaining somesemblance of order from the confusion that had reigned a few momentsbefore, and the enemy was going about the work of launching the boatsmore coolly and successfully.

  At last all the boats and the crew had left the ship--all but one man,who still stood calmly upon the bridge. This was the commander, who,rather than leave his ship, was preparing to go down with her. In vaindid his officers from the boats call upon him to jump. To all theircalls he turned a deaf ear, and stood calmly at his post, with foldedarms.

  Now the sinking vessel began to settle more swiftly. Suddenly she seemedto leap clear of the water, there came a thundering roar, and then,seeming to despair of her efforts to keep afloat, she dived, in anothermoment she disappeared and the waters of the North Sea closed with anangry swirl over the mighty German warship and her gallant commander.

  "Well, she's gone," said Jack quietly.

  "Then we may as well go also," declared Lord Hastings. "Shape yourcourse due west, Mr. Templeton."

  "Very good, sir," replied Jack, saluting, and he disappeared below.

  Lord Hastings and Frank continued to peer at the flotilla of Germansmall boats, which, at a command from the officer in charge, had shippedtheir oars and were pulling toward the east with lusty strokes.

  "I hope they make land safely, or are picked up," said Frank.

  "So do I," replied his commander. "Come, we shall go below."

  The D-16 again on her way, Frank betook himself to his own quarters,which he and Jack shared together. Here he was surprised to see thelatter cutting a notch on the side of the highly polished small table inthe center of the cabin.

  "What are you doing there?" he asked in surprise. "What are you cuttingup that table for?"

  "Well," said Jack, "in reading some of your American literature, Ilearned that every time one of your wild westerners killed a man he cuta notch on his gun. I'm following along the same lines, only I intend tocut a notch on this table every time we sink one of the enemy."

  "Quite an idea, that," said Frank. "But when you say you read that stuffin American literature, you are wrong. I won't deny that you have readit, but I'd call it American fiction, not literature."

  "Never mind," said Jack, "it'll answer my purpose, whatever you callit."

  "Guess I'll turn in for a couple of hours," said Frank. "I'm feelingrather tired."

  "Help yourself," replied his friend. "I want a few words with LordHastings."

  He left the cabin, while Frank, kicking off his shoes and removing hiscoat, threw himself down on his bed, and in a few moments was fastasleep. As he is taking much needed repose, we will take the time tointroduce these two lads more fully.

  Jack Templeton, the son of an Englishman, had spent the better part ofhis life in a little village on the north coast of Africa. His father,who owned a small store, had been his only instruct
or, but in spite ofthis the lad had been given a first-class education. He was well read inliterature and history, could pass muster on almost any other subjectand was well posted on current events.

  Jack's father had been taken suddenly ill and after a protractedsickness died. Jack took charge of the store. One day a ship put intothe harbor and several sailors landed, went to the store and procuredprovisions. In Jack's absence, they departed without making payment.

  Jack returned a little while later, and when he learned what hadoccurred, he put off in a small boat after the ship, which he reachedbefore she could get under way.

  Now Jack, though young in years, was a stalwart lad. He stood above sixfeet, and was built proportionately. The sailors laughed at him when hedemanded payment and a struggle followed. By exerting his powerfulstrength and some resourcefulness, Jack succeeded in overcoming thecrew.

  It was then that he learned there were two prisoners aboard the ship.These he released. They proved to be Frank Chadwick and a British secretdiplomatic agent.

  Frank, who had been in Germany when the great European war broke out,had become separated from his father after getting over the border intoItaly. In Naples one night he had gone to the aid of a sailor on thewater front and saved him from injury at the hands of three others.

  The sailor whom Frank had rescued showed a queer sense of gratitude byhaving him shanghaied aboard a small schooner. Here, under the sternrule of an American skipper, he had become one of the crew. The crewmutinied, killed the captain, and, binding Frank securely, threw himbelow with the other prisoner, the diplomatic agent.

  Jack's unexpected appearance upon the scene was indeed a welcome sightto both. Upon learning the nature of the work upon which the secretagent was bound, the two lads had volunteered to help him out. Thisoffer was accepted, and thus both found themselves principal figures ina diplomatic coup that broke up the Triple Alliance and took the supportof Italy away from Germany and Austria.

  It was while with the secret agent that they had met Lord Hastings, andit was through the good offices of the latter that they finally foundthemselves attached to the British fleet as midshipmen. Lord Hastingshad taken an instant liking to the lads and had them attached to hisship. Later they had been commissioned lieutenants.

  Jack and Frank had seen considerable fighting. It was through theirstrategy that the British had won their first sea victory, off the coastof Heligoland, when four of Germany's most powerful sea fighters hadbeen sent to the bottom. They had saved the British fleet from possibleannihilation by being fortunate to discover a spy.

  The two lads, since the war began, had seen service in many waters. Theyhad been on patrol duty off the west coast of Africa; they had servedunder the French flag when, under the tricolor, they had delivered asevere blow to the Austrian fleet in the Adriatic; they had trailed theGerman cruiser _Emden_, nicknamed the "terror of the sea," through theIndian ocean, and had been present when she was finally sunk by theAustralian cruiser _Sydney_; they had taken part in sinking the Germanfleet in the South Atlantic, off the Falkland islands; they had beenaboard a British submarine that sank three Turkish cruisers in thePersian Gulf; they had seen the capture of the German fortress ofTsing-Tau, in China, by allied British and Japanese troops, and finallythey had been instrumental, while in London, of exposing a plot thatwould have been a severe blow to Great Britain, and of capturing asecond German spy and a British traitor, who stood high in the regard ofWinston Spencer Churchill, first lord of the Admiralty.

  Three times the ships to which they were attached had been sunk, andthey had had many narrow escapes. Once Lord Hastings had gone down withtheir vessel, and the lads had believed him drowned, but he escaped andthey encountered him weeks later.

  When their last craft had been sunk, upon the boys' suggestion, LordHastings had requested command of a submarine, and when they had onceagain set forth, it was in the D-16.

  And as the D-16 was something absolutely new in the way of submarines, afew words concerning it are necessary here.