Part 35 (1/2)

Shortly after two o'clock on the afternoon of the 30th the _Orion_ returned to her consorts with the news that the Russian fleet was forty miles off the land, heading straight for Aberdeen, and that there were no other wars.h.i.+ps in sight as far as could be seen to the southward. From this fact it was concluded that the Russians had escaped the notice of the North Sea Squadron, and so would only have the force defending Aberdeen to reckon with.

Even had they not possessed the air-s.h.i.+p, this force was so far inferior to their own that there would be little chance of successfully defending the town against them. They had eleven battles.h.i.+ps, twenty-five cruisers, eight of which were very large and heavily armed, and forty torpedo-boats, to pit against the little British force and the two forts.

But given the a.s.sistance of the _Lucifer_, and the town practically lay at their mercy. They evidently feared no serious opposition in their raid, for, without even waiting for nightfall, they came on at full speed, darkening the sky with their smoke, the battles.h.i.+ps in the centre, a dozen cruisers on either side of them, and one large cruiser about a mile ahead of their centre.

When the captain of the _Ascalon_, who was in command of the port, saw the overwhelming force of the hostile fleet, he at once came to the conclusion that it would be madness for him to attempt to put to sea with his eleven s.h.i.+ps and six torpedo-boats. The utmost that he could do was to remain insh.o.r.e and a.s.sist the forts to keep the Russians at bay, if possible, until the a.s.sistance, which had already been telegraphed for to Dundee and the Firth of Forth, where the bulk of the North Sea Squadron was then stationed, could come to his aid.

Five miles off the land the Russian fleet stopped, and the _Lucifer_ rose from the deck of the big cruiser and stationed herself about a mile to seaward of the mouth of the river at an elevation of three thousand feet. Then a torpedo-boat flying a flag of truce shot out from the Russian line and ran to within a mile of the sh.o.r.e.

The Commodore of the port sent out one of his torpedo-boats to meet her, and this craft brought back a summons to surrender the port for twelve hours, and permit six of the Russian cruisers to fill up with coal. The alternative would be bombardment of the town by the fleet and the air-s.h.i.+p, which alone, as the Russians said, held the fort and the s.h.i.+ps at its mercy.

To this demand the British Commodore sent back a flat refusal, and defiance to the Russian Commander to do his worst.

Where the _Ithuriel_ and her consorts were lying the hills between them and the sea completely screened them from the observation of those on board the _Lucifer_. Arnold and Tremayne had climbed to the top of a hill above their s.h.i.+ps, and watched the movements of the Russians through their gla.s.ses. As soon as they saw the _Lucifer_ rise into the air they returned to the _Ithuriel_ to form their plans for their share in the conflict that they saw impending.

”I'm afraid we can't do much until it gets a good deal darker than it is now,” said Arnold, in reply to a question from Natas as to his view of the situation. ”If we take the air now the _Lucifer_ will see us; and we must remember that she is armed with the same weapons as we have, and a shot from one of her guns would settle any of us that it struck. Even if we hit her first we should destroy her, and we could have done that easily yesterday.

”It has felt very like thunder all day, and I see there are some very black-looking clouds rolling up there over the hills to the south-west. My advice is to wait for those. I'm afraid we can't do anything to save the town under the circ.u.mstances, but in this state of the atmosphere a heavy bombardment is practically certain to bring on a severe thunderstorm, and to fetch those clouds up at the double quick.

”I don't for a moment think that the British will surrender, big and all as the Russian force is, and as they have never seen the effects of our sh.e.l.ls they won't fear the _Lucifer_ much until she commences operations, and then it will be too late. Listen! They've begun.

There goes the first gun!”

A deep, dull boom came rolling up the hills from the sea as he spoke, and was almost immediately followed by a rapid series of similar reports, which quickly deepened into a continuous roar. Every one who could be spared from the air-s.h.i.+p at once ran up to the top of the hill to watch the progress of the fight. The Russian fleet had advanced to within three miles of the land, and had opened a furious cannonade on the British s.h.i.+ps and the forts, which were manfully replying to it with every available gun.

By the time the watchers on the hill had focussed their gla.s.ses on the scene, the _Lucifer_ discharged her first sh.e.l.l on the fort on Girdleness. They saw the blaze of the explosion gleam through the smoke that already hung thick over the low building. Another and another followed in quick succession, and the firing from the fort ceased. The smoke drifted slowly away, and disclosed a heap of shapeless ruins.

”That is horrible work, isn't it?” said Arnold to Tremayne through his clenched teeth. ”Anywhere but on British ground would not be so bad, but the sight of that makes my blood boil. I would give my ears to take our s.h.i.+ps into the air, and smash up that Russian fleet as we did the French Squadron in the Atlantic.”

”There spoke the true Briton, Captain Arnold,” said Natasha, who was standing beside him under a clump of trees. ”Yes, I can quite understand how you feel watching a scene like that, for country is country after all. Even my half-English blood is pretty near boiling point; and though I wouldn't give my ears, I would give a good deal to go with you and do as you say.

”But you may rest a.s.sured that the Master's way is the best, and will prove the shortest road to the universal peace which can only come through universal war. Courage, my friend, and patience! There will be a heavy reckoning to pay for this sort of thing one day, and that before very long.”

”Ha!” exclaimed Tremayne. ”There goes the other fort. I suppose it will be the turn of the s.h.i.+ps next. What a frightful scene! Twenty minutes ago it was as peaceful as these hills, and look at it now.”

The second fort had been destroyed as rapidly as the first, and the cessation of the fire of both had made a very perceptible difference in the cannonade, though the great guns of the Russian fleet still roared continuously and poured a hurricane of shot and sh.e.l.l into the mouth of the river across which the British s.h.i.+ps were drawn, keeping up the unequal conflict like so many bull-dogs at bay.

Over them and the river hung a dense pall of bluish-white smoke, through which the _Lucifer_ sent projectile after projectile in the attempt to sink the British ironclads. As those on board her could only judge by the flash of the guns, the aim was very imperfect, and several projectiles were wasted, falling into the sea and exploding there, throwing up mountains of water, but not doing any further damage. At length a brilliant green flash shot up through the smoke clouds over the river mouth.

”He's. .h.i.t one of the s.h.i.+ps at last!” exclaimed Tremayne, as he saw the flash. ”It'll soon be all up with poor old Aberdeen.”

”I don't think so,” exclaimed Arnold. ”At any rate the _Lucifer_ won't do much more harm. There comes the storm at last! Back to the s.h.i.+ps all of you at once, it's time to go aloft!”

As he spoke a brilliant flash of lightning split the inky clouds which had now risen high over the western hills, and a deep roll of thunder came echoing up the valleys as if in answer to the roar of the cannonade on the sea. The moment every one was on board, Arnold gave the signal to ascend. As soon as the fan-wheels had raised them a hundred feet from the ground he gave the signal for full speed ahead, and the three air-s.h.i.+ps swept upwards to the west as though to meet the coming storm.

CHAPTER x.x.xII.

THE END OF THE CHASE.