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The Floating Press - F. Westerman Percy

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130 pages

English

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Former Royal Navy officer Percy F. Westerman captivated a generation of young readers with his series of juvenile action-adventure tales based on his own wartime experiences. Rounding Up the Raider is chock-full of the unexpected plot twists, thrill-a-minute battle scenes, and heroic deeds that catapulted Westerman's books to literary acclaim.

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Children's

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Publié par	The Floating Press
Date de parution	01 août 2013
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781776528523
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0134€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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ROUNDING UP THE RAIDER
A NAVAL STORY OF THE GREAT WAR
* * *
PERCY F. WESTERMAN

*
Rounding Up the Raider A Naval Story of the Great War First published in 1916 ISBN 978-1-77652-852-3 © 2013 The Floating Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. While every effort has been used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in The Floating Press edition of this book, The Floating Press does not assume liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in this book. The Floating Press does not accept responsibility for loss suffered as a result of reliance upon the accuracy or currency of information contained in this book. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Many suitcases look alike. Visit www.thefloatingpress.com
Contents
*
Chapter I - The Captured Liner Chapter II - The Last of the Nichi Maru Chapter III - On Board the Raider Chapter IV - Threatened Chapter V - The Pursuit of the Pelikan Chapter VI - The Decoy Chapter VII - Foiled by a Collier Chapter VIII - Reinforcements Chapter IX - The Midnight Landing Chapter X - The Lagoon Chapter XI - Denbigh's Plan Chapter XII - A Perilous Journey Chapter XIII - Nocturnal Investigations Chapter XIV - A Neglected Warning Chapter XV - Armstrong's Part Chapter XVI - The Disaster to the Myra Chapter XVII - A Bid for Freedom Chapter XVIII - Disappointment Chapter XIX - "Our Luck's Out" Chapter XX - Adrift in the Indian Ocean Chapter XXI - Von Eckenstein's Surprise Chapter XXII - The Monitors in Action Chapter XXIII - How the Pelikan Surrendered Chapter XXIV - The Landing-Party Chapter XXV - Accounted For
Chapter I - The Captured Liner
*
"Fifteen days more and then Old England once again!" exclaimed FrankDenbigh.
"And bonnie Scotland for me!" added Charlie Stirling.
"You'll not be forgettin' 'tis Ould Oireland I'm bound for,"remonstrated Pat O'Hara, purposely dropping into the brogue.
The three chums had just been reading the "miles made good"announcement that, printed in English and Japanese, was daily exhibitedin various parts of S.S. Nichi Maru .
"Hostile submarines permitting," remarked Denbigh with a laugh, afterhe had taken good care that no lady passengers were within earshot.
"Rot!" ejaculated Stirling. "We've cleared them out of the Channelpretty well. It's part of the work of the British Navy under—"
"Stop it!" interrupted O'Hara good-humouredly. "I know what you weregoing to say: that old tag from the Articles of War. I propose thatevery time the word submarine is mentioned by anyone of us while onboard this vessel the delinquent shall be suitably punished as soon asthe sun's over the fore-yard."
"Hear, hear! I second that," agreed Stirling. "No more 'shop'. We'llget plenty of that in a few weeks' time. I fancy My Lords won't let uskick our heels in idleness for long, and honestly, the sooner we settledown to business the better."
The three chums were Sub-lieutenants, homeward bound from a portion ofa certain group of islands off the coast of New Guinea, having tillrecently the high-sounding title of the Bismarck Archipelago. Theyouthful but none the less glorious Australian Navy had quickly changedthe colour of that portion of the map, but the climate was a moreformidable foe than the former German garrison. Thus the three youngofficers, who had been "lent" to the recently-formed navy, had themisfortune to be stricken with fever.
After a long convalescence, which by a pure coincidence lasted almostexactly the same time in each of the three cases, Denbigh, Stirling,and O'Hara were ordered to return to England and to resume their dutieswith the navy of the Motherland.
They had travelled by an intermediate boat to Singapore, whence, inorder to save delay, they had proceeded by a Japanese liner, the NichiMaru , bound from Nagasaki to London. It was a case of misdirectedzeal, for, owing to the torpedoing of a large Japanese liner in theMediterranean, the Nichi Maru had been ordered to take the longerpassage round the Cape instead of the usual route via the Suez Canal.
"Hulloa! What's the excitement?" enquired Denbigh, pointing in thedirection of the bridge. The chums had gained the promenade deck,whence most of the navigating bridge of the liner could be seen. Therewas evidently something to warrant his exclamation, for the dapperlittle Japanese officer of the watch was steadily keeping hisbinoculars upon some distant object.
"There's a smudge of smoke away to the nor'east'ard," announcedStirling. "The mild excitement of sighting a vessel will help to pushthe hands of the clock. Now if someone will kindly suggest asweepstake on the nationality of yonder craft—"
The door of the wireless room opened. The sharp peculiar cackle of theinstruments announced that an exchange of messages was in progress. Amessenger made his way to the bridge. Almost immediately after, thecaptain hurried from his cabin. Evidently "something was in the wind",for the appearance of the imperturbable commander of the Nichi Maru at this time of day was rather unusual.
"We're altering helm," declared O'Hara after a brief interval. "Sincewe can speak with that vessel without the necessity of having to close,it points to something of the nature of a serious mishap."
The rest of the passengers were now making their way on deck. By aninexplicable intuition the presence of the still invisible vessel hadmade itself felt. None of the officers had communicated the news thatthe Nichi Maru was in touch with another craft, yet in five minutesthe decks were crowded with a medley of Europeans and Asiatics.
"Do you know what is wrong, sir?" asked Denbigh, addressing one of theJapanese officers who happened to be making his way aft.
The Jap shook his head. Like most of the Nichi Maru's officers hespoke English. The question was plain to him, but with Orientalreticence he politely evaded it.
"I'll get my glasses," announced O'Hara.
"And mine, while you are about it," said Denbigh.
"And mine, too," added the Scot.
O'Hara quickly returned with the desired articles. Bringing theirbinoculars to bear upon the smudge on the horizon the three Subs madethe discovery that there was a two-masted, three-funnelled vessel lyingapparently hove-to. Smoke was issuing from her after-funnel in denseclouds, that rose slowly in the still sultry air.
"She's flying an ensign," remarked the Irishman.
"Yes, straight up and down like a wet dishclout," added Stirling. "Forall the good it's doing it needn't be there."
"Perhaps her propeller shaft is broken," suggested one of thepassengers, an English merchant who had given up a good position inTokio to return home in order to "do his bit".
"Hardly," replied Denbigh. "She's bound to be a twin screw, and itisn't likely that both engines would break down."
"I don't know so much about that," said O'Hara, pointing aft, where acrowd of Japanese seamen were engaged in preparing a large flexiblesteel hawser. "It looks as if we were going to take her in tow. Andit's a long, long way to Las Palmas, worse luck."
"She's a Dutchman," declared Stirling. "I can make out the red, white,and blue ensign. I wouldn't mind betting she's one of the Rotterdamand Batavia liners."
The three British officers relapsed into silence, devoting their wholeattention upon the disabled liner which was now momentarily loominglarger and larger as the Nichi Maru hastened to her aid.
Presently the engine-room telegraph bell clanged and the Japanesevessel's engines began to slow down. Two of the boats were swung outready to be lowered, while the four ship's surgeons stood by, ready tobe taken to the helpless Dutchman.
"Bad boiler-room accident," exclaimed one of the European passengers,who had learnt the news from a Japanese petty-officer.
"Boiler accident be hanged!" ejaculated Denbigh, excitedly. "We'redone in, you fellows. That vessel's no Dutchman."
As if in confirmation of the Sub's announcement the tricolour ofHolland was smartly lowered, its place being taken by that shame-facedand palpable imitation of the good old British White Ensign—the BlackCross of Germany. Simultaneously portions of the vessel's platingswung outboard, revealing a battery of six fifteen-centimetre Kruppguns.
" Nichi Maru , ahoy!" shouted a guttural voice in English, for the twovessels were now within megaphone-hailing distance. "Surrenderinstantly, or we send you to the bottom."
There was a pause, while the officer who had shouted the message wasbeing prompted.
"Make no attempt to use your wireless," he continued. "That will notsave you. It will make things very bad for you. Stand by to receive aprize crew."
Although completely surprised by the dramatic turn of events, both thecrew and passengers of the Nichi Maru remained perfectly calm. Thecaptain, a descendant of the knightly Samurai of Old Japan, was on thepoint of ordering full speed ahead, with the object of ramming theperfidious vessel and sending both ships to a common destruction; butthe knowledge that the safety of nearly a thousand non-combatants, manyof them women and children, would be in dire peril through such an actcompelled him to submit to the inevitable.
Humanity, not fear, had conquered the courteous and lion-hearted yellowskipper.
Boats were lowered from the German auxiliary cruiser—for such sheundoubtedly was. Into them clambered a number of motley-garbed menarmed with rifles and automatic pistols. But for their modern weaponsthe boat's crew might have come from the deck of an Eighteenth-Centurybuccaneering craft.
"I say, you fellows," said O'Hara, "I'm off below."
"What for?" asked his companions in surprise. Not for one moment didthey imagine that the Irishman was showing the white feather, but atthe same time they were mystified by his announcement.
"To get into uniform," he replied. "Those skunks won't find me inmufti."
"Right oh!" declared Denbigh. "We'll slip into ours, too."
In a few minutes the chums had changed into their naval uniforms. Bythe time they reg