Part 18 (2/2)
But there was always the dominating factor--men, not s.h.i.+ps, win battles.
The British seaman, with the glorious traditions of centuries behind him, is in every way superior to the brute who mans the fleet of the Black Cross Ensign.
Then the general found himself mentally kicking himself for not sharing in the admiral's optimism.
”Sefton's right,” he concluded. ”When we get more news we'll find that all's well.”
At Gloucester the admiral sent off a telegram, bought four different papers, scanned the bulletins in the windows of the publis.h.i.+ng offices, and found himself little wiser than before; but at Worcester, where the motorists stopped for lunch, they found the outlook much brighter.
Steps had already been taken to counteract the depressing effects of the preliminary official announcement of the Battle of Jutland. The loss of the _Warspite_ and _Marlborough_, both s.h.i.+ps having been claimed as sunk by the Germans, was categorically denied, and a statement of the British vessels, known to be sunk, given. Enemy s.h.i.+ps, aggregating in tonnage more than that of our losses, were claimed only when definite reports of their fate were received, from which it was now evident that, far from being a German victory, the honours rested with the fleet under Jellicoe's command.
At the post office Admiral Sefton obtained a wire, sent in reply to his telegram from Gloucester. It was from an old s.h.i.+pmate, now holding an appointment at Whitehall, and was as follows:--
”Vessel in question has not returned to base.”
Without a word the admiral handed the buff paper to his friend. Hardly a muscle of Crosthwaite Senior's weather-beaten face moved as he read the momentous but indefinite news, although the ”vessel in question” was the T.B.D. _Calder_, and both men had similar personal interests in the matter.
For the moment private considerations held supreme sway. The two men mutually extended their right hands and exchanged sympathetic grips.
”If they are knocked out, it was in the thick of the sc.r.a.p,” declared General Crosthwaite. ”I'll stake my all upon that.”
”_Dulce et_----” began the admiral, then, coming to the conclusion that he was a trifle premature, he exclaimed: ”Dash it all, Crosthwaite, strange things happen at sea! They may turn up after all.”
”It's the suspense,” added Crosthwaite. ”Look here, I'll take the car right slap on to Edinburgh, and go on to Rosyth. Are you game?”
”Carry on,” said Admiral Sefton. ”I'm with you.”
CHAPTER XVI--The Struggle in the Mountain Pa.s.s
Near the summit of Blackstone Edge, an unfrequented road running at a height of between 1200 and 1300 feet over the serrated Pennine Hills, five men were lying upon the short, dark-green gra.s.s in a slight hollow within ten yards of the highway. There was little about their appearance that demanded attention. A casual observer might in pardonable error have taken them for a party of Lancas.h.i.+re mill operatives out for a day's enjoyment.
At intervals one of the party would roll over on his side, produce a pair of prismatic gla.s.ses from his pocket, and peer with considerable caution over the ridge of the hollow, focusing the binoculars upon the winding ribbon-like ”slag” road that ascended steeply from the town of Rochdale, the factory chimneys of which were just discernible through the murky Lancas.h.i.+re atmosphere. Then, with a guttural grunt that betokened disappointment, he would replace the gla.s.ses and relapse into a stolid contemplation of his silent comrades. The hot sun pouring pitilessly upon the heavily-clad men did not tend to improve their physical comfort. Several times they cursed the tormenting flies, expressing their murmured epithets in the German tongue.
At last one of the men spoke.
”Are you sure that he is coming this way, Hans?” he asked, addressing the man with the binoculars. ”Perhaps he has taken it into his head to take the other road--the Stanedge Pa.s.s, it is called.”
”These Englishmen are so pig-headed that they rarely change their minds,” replied Hans. ”It is often as well that they do not. I have it on excellent authority that he leaves Liverpool at nine, addresses a conference at Bolton at eleven, and receives a deputation at Rochdale at two. Now, is it conceivable that he would go a roundabout way to Halifax when this is the shortest and easiest route?”
”He may take the railway train,” suggested another of the band, as he s.h.i.+fted an automatic pistol from his hip pocket, where it seriously interfered with his ease, to his breast coat pocket.
”Knowing our man as I do,” declared Hans, ”I do not think it likely, unless his motor breaks down over these atrocious cobbled roads. No, I think we are soon to meet our expected visitor. Now, are you all thoroughly acquainted with your duties? There must be no failure. Even partial success is not sufficient. Complete obliteration of the man, a final disappearance, is what is required, and what must be accomplished.”
A resolute chorus of a.s.sent rose from the four subordinates. Their leader, levelling his binoculars, studied the road for the twentieth time.
The five were members of a German Secret Service agency. Provided with registration cards, obtained with the greatest ease, since no attempt had been made to verify the particulars demanded by law; speaking English with a flawless Lancas.h.i.+re accent, members of a trade union, and fully conversant with the peculiarities of industrial life, the men were able to carry on their nefarious scheme with little risk of detection.
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