The Fight for Constantinople: A Story of the Gallipoli Peninsula Page 11

  CHAPTER XI

  A Modern Odyssey

  Farnworth regained his feet with great agility and assisted Dick torise. Feeling considerably shaken by his unexpected tumble, the Subwas temporarily winded. For the moment he imagined that his ankle hadbeen sprained, and on placing his hand upon that part of his leg hemade the discovery that it was bleeding freely.

  "By Jove, sir!" whispered the midshipman, "we've had a narrow squeak.Look!"

  The reflection from the search-light made it possible to discern theirimmediate surroundings. The pit had vertical sides and measuredroughly thirty feet by ten, and was about eight feet in depth. It hadbeen covered by a thin layer of rushes supported by slender poles, butthe fall of the two officers had resulted in the collapse of thegreater part of the covering of the booby-trap. But what hadoccasioned Farnworth's exclamation was that the floor was plentifullystudded with sharp wooden spikes, and it was only owing to the factthat Dick and his companion had stumbled over from the innermost sidethat they had escaped being impaled. Had they been members of anattacking force and had fallen into the trap while advancing againstthe fort, they would almost to a certainty have been transfixed by thewicked-looking spikes.

  "We have," assented Crosthwaite dryly, "judging by the state of vonEitelheimer's trousers. One of the spikes has ripped them prettybadly, and, what is more, has given my ankle a little gash. Hope togoodness the beggars haven't poisoned the spikes!"

  "I'll give you a leg up, sir," suggested the midshipman. "We'll haveto go jolly slow till we get outside the earthworks. The whole placeis a honeycomb of death-traps."

  "No, I'll give you a hoist--I'm heavier than you," said Dick. "Waittill I've knocked a bit of thatch off at the end of the pole. It willserve as a guide."

  Having done so, the Sub bent down while his companion clambered on hisback. Farnworth was then able to raise himself on to the brink of thebooby-trap and gain the upper ground. Then, lying at full length, heattempted to help his comrade up, but without success. The sides ofthe pit afforded no foothold.

  "Can you dig out a niche with your sword, sir?" he asked.

  "I'll try; but the stuff's so infernally soft," declared Dick. "Hallo,what's up now?"

  "Turks!" announced Farnworth.

  At that moment a search-light, that for the last ten minutes had beendirected skywards, flung its rays athwart the ground, and themidshipman's grey uniform was shown up as if made of silver. To escapedetection was impossible, for about a dozen Turkish infantrymen were atthat moment hurrying towards the outlying trenches. With the outcomeof local knowledge they were shaping a course to clear the edge of thepitfall.

  Quickly Farnworth made up his mind and acted promptly. With acommanding gesture he stopped the men and ordered them to approach.This they did smartly and without suspicion. A corporal in charge ofthe party saluted, and, shouting an order to his men, brought them upwith some semblance of order.

  Imperiously the midshipman signed to them to assist his companion outof the pitfall. This they did with extreme alacrity, prompted by fearof their supposed German officers. Having regained his temporaryfreedom, Dick, without any attempt at thanks, ordered them in German toreplace the dislodged cover to the pit. One of the Turks understoodsufficient German to know what was required; the squad set to work,while Dick and his companion unconcernedly walked off.

  "We must trust to luck not to find a German in this section of theadvanced trenches," said Dick as they drew well clear of the scene oftheir late misadventure. "We'll have to risk it, for there's no otherway."

  Cautiously picking their path between numerous rifle-pits and concealedmachine-guns, the two fugitives made for a part of the defences where agap appeared to exist between the trenches. Here men were hard at workunder the direction of Turkish officers. The latter saluted as thesupposed German officers approached, but made no attempt to conversewith them. Instead they urged their men to greater efforts, as ifeverything depended upon satisfying their Teutonic masters in the artof war.

  By this time the Allied air squadron had disappeared. Withoutsustaining injury, and having done considerable damage to FortMedjidieh, the sea-planes returned to their parent ship, the _ArkRoyal_. Once more the Turkish search-lights directed part of theiractivities to sweeping the surrounding country.

  Arriving at the farthermost line of trenches, Dick coolly mounted theparapet and took a careful survey of their general direction andcharacter. He noticed that they were extraordinarily deep and narrow,so that unless a shell actually pitched into a trench the danger to theTurkish defenders was comparatively small. Another matter whichattracted his attention was the number of machine-guns. Not only werethere dozens concealed a hundred yards or so to the rear of theforemost trenches, but the parapets of the trenches fairly bristledwith these deadly weapons. Roughly, there was one to every five yards,each gun being protected by a heavy V-shaped shield. The Turks hadthoroughly mastered the principles of modern warfare under Europeanconditions, and the task of the Allied Expeditionary Force was to be avery stiff one.

  The Sub and his companion quite realized the extreme risk they wererunning. To be captured in the disguise of German officers meant anignominious death as spies, but their audacity completely disarmedsuspicion. To all appearances they were zealously visiting the Turkishtroops engaged in perfecting the landward defences.

  After a lengthy survey Dick leisurely descended the low parapet, and,accompanied by the midshipman, strolled towards the soldiers engaged inerecting barbed-wire entanglements in front of the trenches andclearing away the brushwood that might afford cover to an attackingforce.

  Then, watching their opportunity, the twain walked steadily past theworkers and gained the comparatively open country.

  Since an attack was not for the present expected, no outlying picketshad been posted. On descending a slight irregularity in the terrainDick and the midshipman found themselves out of the direct glare of thesearch-light, while every step took them farther and farther away fromthe scene of their captivity during the last six weeks.

  "Which way now, sir?" asked Farnworth.

  "Due east until it gets light. Then we'll have to lie low during theday, and shape a course for the neighbourhood of Kum Kale as soon as itbecomes dark again."

  "I'm beginning to feel jolly hungry, sir."

  "And so am I," admitted Dick. "The problem of how we are to attend tothe victualling department must not be lost sight of. But for thepresent we must put as great a distance as possible between us and ourpursuers--and I hope they won't look for us in this direction."

  On and on they plodded steadily, maintaining silence and strainingtheir ears for sounds of human beings. Being night the peasantry tookgood care not to be about, for the civilian population, consistingalmost entirely of old men, women, and children, had been warned of thedanger of being in the vicinity of the defences after sunset.

  "Something moving," reported the midshipman, "and precious close, too."

  The two officers halted and listened intently.

  Not so very far away on their right front came a succession of softthuds, as if caused by someone dropping a number of sand-bags withconsiderable regularity.

  "Camels," whispered the Sub.

  He was right. A convoy bearing supplies was on its way from theinterior towards the Dardanelles forts. They passed along a roughtrack within fifty feet of the spot where the officers lay hidden--ahundred or more patient beasts heavily laden, and in charge of a numberof natives. About a dozen Bashi Bazouks, fierce-looking fellows whoseweapons gleamed in the dull light, served as an escort.

  The fugitives waited until the sounds of the passing convoy had diedaway.

  "Bear more to the left," whispered Dick. "We're converging too muchupon a hill road. We'll have to foot it pretty briskly, for it must besunrise within an hour."

  "Isn't it about time we discarded our rotten togs?" asked Farnworth,whose whole being felt repugnance at the idea of having to don thedishonour
able uniform of Germany.

  "They'll come in useful again before very long, unless I am muchmistaken," declared Dick. "Now, steady. We're beginning the ascent ofBiyuk Dagh. We'll be fairly beyond pursuit now, I fancy."

  "I feel as if I'd like to burst into song out of sheer delight, afterbeing cooped up for nearly six weeks," declared Farnworth.

  "No, don't," said Dick hurriedly and with well-feigned anxiety. "Itwould be hard luck to pile the whole of the agony upon me: wait tillyou're back in the gun-room."

  The midshipman smiled grimly. He had a most atrocious voice when itcame to singing, and he knew it. Far from being sensitive on thepoint, he took the Sub's banter in good part.

  Up and up the fugitives toiled, until from sheer breathlessness theywere compelled to throw themselves upon the ground. The sight that mettheir was superb.

  The whole of The Narrows and a large portion of the rest of theDardanelles was plainly visible: a narrow silvery streak under thebeams of innumerable search-lights. Beyond, also marked by the sourcesof dozens of slowly-swaying beams of light, were the forts on theEuropean side, backed by the lofty hills of the narrow Gallipolipeninsula. Twenty miles away a regular galaxy of light marked theposition of the Allied fleets, the search-lights of which keptceaseless watch and ward against any possible, nay probable, attempt onthe part of the Turks to assail them by means of their destroyers andtorpedo-boats.

  "Reminds me of Spithead on review nights as seen from the top ofPortsdown Hill," declared Farnworth. "I wish I were there now! No, Idon't. I'd rather be over there."

  And he pointed in the direction of the British fleet, amongst whichlay, as far as he knew, the old _Hammerer_.

  "Better be moving," suggested Dick.

  Although he said nothing about the matter to his companion, he wasbeginning to become painfully aware of the injury to his ankle. Solong as he kept in motion the injury troubled him but little; duringhis enforced rest it began to burn and throb. The pangs of hunger werealso making themselves felt. With the rising of the sun he knew thatanother discomfort--thirst--would be added to their lot.

  Long before the fugitives reached the summit of the steep mountain,dawn was upon them. With a rapidity that almost equalled the shortnessof the tropical break of day, it grew light; then above the crest of ayet unsurmounted hill rose the sun.

  "Phew! It is hot," ejaculated Farnworth, opening his greatcoat. Thenhe stopped and burst out into laughter.

  "We are a proper pair, sir," he exclaimed.

  Their faces were grimed with dirt and dust; their grey uniforms werediscoloured with mud and rent in several places, owing to theirencounter with the prickly bushes. Dick's rough-and-ready "shave" withthe scissors had left enough bristles to give him a truly ferociousappearance, while Farnworth's face was streaked with dried blood fromseveral scratches he had received during the hazardous journey fromFort Medjidieh.

  Acting upon their previous plans the two officers "laid low" during thegreater part of the day. Fortunately they were able to assuage theirthirst at a rivulet that trickled down the mountainside, but the pangsof hunger had become most acute.

  Although there was plenty of activity in and around the forts, therewere no signs of life in the vicinity of the fugitives; so at aboutfour in the afternoon--according to Crosthwaite's estimate from theposition of the sun--they resolved to run the risk of detection andpush on in search of food.

  An hour's steady walk brought them to a rough mountain track. Thisthey followed by a parallel course, not daring to keep to the path, andafter twenty minutes they came in sight of a village.

  It was a miserable collection of hovels, situated in a narrow valley,yet it boasted of a small mosque with a slender minaret. There were nosigns of any men, but, in the rough pasture close to the hamlet, veiledwomen were tending flocks of sheep and goats.

  "We'll tackle the business openly," declared Dick. "If we tried tosneak up to the nearest hut and collar some grub there might be arumpus. If, on the other hand, they think we are German officersthey'll be only too glad to provide us with food in order to get rid ofour presence."

  Pulling themselves together the two pseudo-German officers swaggeredboldly into the village. From barred lattices, yashmaked women peepedtimorously. A few ragged children scampered off, crying loudly at thesight of the Franks. Half a dozen lean dogs quarrelling over a heap ofgarbage directed their attention with savage growls to the strangers,until Dick drove them off by planting a well-aimed stone in theleader's ribs.

  Hearing the commotion, a dignified old man came from one of the largerof the houses close to the mosque. He was the imaum or priest. With acourteous salutation he invited the supposed German officers to enter,but before crossing the threshold he signified that they would have toremove their boots.

  Nothing loath, Dick and the midshipman complied. A youth brought abasin of water, a towel, and two pairs of soft-leather slippers. Theneedful Eastern ceremony of washing the feet of distinguishedtravellers was fully appreciated by the tired wayfarers.

  Entering the house, the officers were regaled with a repast of roastedgoat's flesh and cakes made of flour and millet, with unsweetenedcoffee and curdled milk. The men attacked the meal ravenously, whilethe imaum, seated tailorwise on a low divan, watched them with studiousgravity.

  "Medjidieh?" asked Dick after they had satisfied their hunger.

  The old man pointed in a westerly direction, and said something to theyouth. The latter immediately picked up his sandals and made for thedoor.

  Gravely saluting the hospitable Mahommedan priest, Dick and themidshipman took their departure. Peremptorily dismissing the lad whohad been sent to act as a guide, the officers retraced their stepsuntil a ridge of intervening ground hid them from the village.

  "Decent old sort," commented Farnworth. "I wonder if he would havebeen so awfully keen in giving us grub if he knew who we really were?"

  "Can't say," replied Dick. "One thing: hanged if I could bring myselfto a display of Prussian arrogance, but by not doing so I might begiving the show away. Now we'll work our way round the village andresume our former direction. I made out we were on the way toMedjidieh. That ought to throw any possible pursuers off the track."

  Skirting the village necessitated a wide detour, but before sunset thefugitives calculated that they had put twenty miles between them andtheir prison-fortress. It ought to be fairly safe to attempt a dashfor the coast in the neighbourhood of Kum Kale.

  The heat was now terrific in spite of the altitude, so Dick suggestedthat they should have "watch below" until the sun had sunk considerablyin the heavens. A thicket afforded a complete shelter from thepitiless rays, and with a blissful disregard of the danger fromscorpions and other reptiles the two officers crept into the shade andwere soon sound asleep.

  Suddenly they were awakened by the dull buzz of an aerial propeller.Crawling from their place of repose, Dick and the midshipman saw aFrench monoplane flying barely two hundred feet above the ground.

  "We'll try and attract that fellow's attention," exclaimed Dick. "Idon't suppose he can give us a lift, but he may be able to----"

  There was no time to complete the sentence. Dashing out in the open,the Sub waved his arms, shouting at the top of his voice:

  "A nous, camarade. Nous sommes Anglais."

  Overhead swept the aeroplane. The observer leant over the chassis andcritically surveyed the two figures in German uniforms. He shoutedsomething, but the words were unintelligible, although he coulddistinctly hear the Sub's call for aid.

  "Nous sommes prisonniers Anglais--prisonniers ?chapp?s!" bawled Dickfrantically.

  The Frenchman again waved his hand. The monoplane calmly continued itscourse, then, majestically circling, it began to descend.

  "Hurrah!" shouted the midshipman. "Who says the age of miracles haspassed?"

  Even as he spoke an irregular volley burst from a slight depression inthe ground about five hundred yards from where the officers stood.Sharply ba
nking, the aeroplane rose to a safe distance, dropping a bombas she did so, then began to retrace its course.

  "Look out!" exclaimed Dick warningly, as the monoplane passed nearlyoverhead.

  Almost at the first report of the rifles the fugitives withdrew fromtheir exposed position. They were now in danger from anotherdirection, as Dick had foreseen.

  A small black object dropped from underneath the chassis of theaeroplane. Rapidly gathering speed it fell within twenty yards of theSub and his companion. It was a bomb; but owing either to faultymechanism or to the fact that it alighted on soft sand, it failed toexplode, otherwise the officers would have been blown to pieces.

  "What luck!" muttered Farnworth. "I suppose those fellows took us fora pair of treacherous German skunks. It wasn't their fault."

  "Anyhow, I'm not going to wait till those chaps come up toinvestigate," added Dick, referring to the still invisible riflemen."So here's off! Keep to the dip in the ground and avoid the sand. Wedon't want to leave our tracks."

  Breaking into a steady run the fugitives hurried away from thedirection of the interrupters of their peace of mind. Already themonoplane was a mere speck in the distance.

  "Take cover!" hissed Dick breathlessly. "They're on our track."

  Once again the two comrades sought shelter in a thicket. They were nota minute too soon, for amid a cloud of dust about fifty Turkishirregulars galloped madly down the path. They were armed with Mauserand Mannlicher rifles and carbines, and in addition a regular armouryof revolvers and knives, while several wore long curved swords. Someof them had been wounded by the explosion of the bomb, and rode withthe blood streaming down their faces. Yet each man urged his steed toits utmost capacity as if with a set purpose, and hardly looking to theright or left they passed by, leaving only a cloud of suffocating dustthat hung listlessly in the still, hot air.

  "I thought they were after us," said Dick, after a safe interval hadelapsed, "but I think I'm mistaken. They've some other little game on."

  "Perhaps they didn't see us at all," suggested Farnworth.

  "Pretty well certain they didn't, for by this time all the Turkishtroops in the district must have heard of our escape and of ourdisguises. Well, let's carry on."

  For several hours they plodded wearily along the steep mountain path,their senses keenly on the alert, since they now knew that cavalry werein the vicinity. It was somewhat disconcerting to know that a body ofirregulars lay between them and the coast, but both Dick and themidshipman were curious to know why these horsemen had hurried in thedirection of Kum Kale, since they were not sufficiently numerous toconstitute a danger to any considerable force.

  Happening to look over his shoulder, the Sub saw that another body ofmen was overtaking them.

  It was a mixed column of horse and foot, accompanied by wagons--in facta small convoy.

  "If we strike away to the right we'll miss them easily, sir," suggestedthe midshipman.

  Dick shook his head.

  "We'll only get 'bushed' at night, that is if the stars are hidden," hesaid. "Besides, we're pretty well done up; so we'll lie low and letthese fellows pass. I'm rather anxious to see what they are up to."

  The convoy was still a long way off, the advance-guard being quitethree miles from where the officers stood. It was slowly making itsway up the mountain side, the moving line resembling a huge snake as itwound along the intricate path.

  "We're safe enough here," announced Dick, when they had taken up theirposition between two fantastically-shaped rocks about fifty yards fromthe road.

  The overhanging mass afforded complete shelter from the sun, while thebroken ground in the rear would afford excellent cover in case they hadto put a greater distance between them and the approaching convoy.

  "Bluejackets!" exclaimed Farnworth.

  "You're right," agreed Dick quietly. "Some of them are, at all events.This looks interesting."

  It took more than an hour for the convoy to get abreast of the placewhere the fugitives lay concealed. The column was headed by a dozenTurkish irregular cavalry, similar in appearance to those who hadpassed earlier in the day. Following them came a company of infantry,escorting a number of open wagons drawn by small, hardy-looking ponies.The wagons were heavily laden with tins of petrol. Following them wereabout fifty bluejackets, not of the Ottoman navy, but in the rig of theImperial German navy. They were accompanied by five or six Germanofficers in white-duck uniforms, all of them mounted. At some distancein the rear came six trucks each containing four large torpedoes, whilethe convoy terminated in another troop of Turkish horsemen.

  "Fishy, very fishy!" declared Crosthwaite after the column had passed."Petrol and torpedoes."

  "Suggestive of submarines, sir," remarked Farnworth.

  "Exactly. Now the question is, where are those fellows taking thatgear to? Even supposing the French had evacuated the district aroundKum Kale, there would be no particular object in taking them there. Asubmarine could take in her stock of torpedoes at Constantinople, andbe piloted through the mine-fields in The Narrows. They might be enroute for Smyrna, but, since there is a railway available, it doesn'tseem at all likely. Evidently a hostile submarine is operatingoutside."

  "A German?" hazarded Farnworth.

  "I hope not; but there is no saying what these fellows will be up to.Everything seems in their favour in that direction. They can torpedoour ships, and we have nothing afloat to go for in return. Still, insinking their submarines we haven't done so badly, and I guess whilewe've been cooped up here our fellows have nabbed a few more. Anyway,it would be interesting to find out where those torpedoes are going. Ivote we follow at a respectable distance until dusk, and then close onthem a bit."

  "I'm game, sir," consented the midshipman.

  While daylight lasted they had no difficulty in following the trail.They were in luck's way, for they found a haversack containing somedates and half a loaf. The food, washed down by a little spring water,revived them considerably, the midshipman declaring that he felt"absolutely bucked".

  Towards sunset Dick gave the word for an increased speed, and beforedarkness set in they were within two hundred yards of the slowly-movingrear-guard. By dint of taking cover and advancing with the utmostcaution they managed to keep in touch with the object of theirinvestigations.

  At about midnight the Turco-German force halted. It was evident thatthey feared no surprise, for fires were lighted at a safe distance fromthe explosives, and the men were permitted to smoke and talk freely.The irregulars dismounted and, having hobbled their horses, joined theothers around the fires.

  It was now bitterly cold, and the glow of the burning wood wastantalizing to the worn and tired Sub and his companion. Well it wasthat they had not discarded the German greatcoats, otherwise theirlimbs would have been numbed by the fall in the temperature.

  They welcomed the order to resume the march with far more eagernessthan did the men to whom it applied, for Dick could hear the Germanofficers rating both their own countrymen and the unfortunate Turks.

  Judging by the position of the Pole Star, Dick knew that the convoy wasproceeding in a south-easterly direction. The course would bring themto the sea-coast some distance to the east of Kum Kale and not far fromthe Bay of Yenikeui, where the Sub's whaler had met with misfortune.

  "We may be able to get in touch with one of our patrol boats," heremarked. "If so, we'll be taken off; but first, by Jove, I want tofind out the meaning of this nocturnal jaunt!"

  Twice the British officers had to fall behind and make a detour roundisolated villages, since it was obviously too risky to follow theconvoy direct; but so slow was its progress that they were able tore-establish the same relative distance.

  "The sea," whispered Dick, "I can hear it."

  "And I can smell it," declared Farnworth as he sniffed at theunmistakably salt-laden atmosphere.

  "We're up a tremendous height. Quite a thousand feet, I shouldimagine. We'll have to make sure those fellows don
't halt theirrear-guard."

  For the next two miles the path was steeply on the down grade. Roughas it had been before, it now almost impassable. The Sub wondered howthe Turks contrived to transport the heavy load of petrol and thetorpedoes without risk of upsetting the former and damaging theintricate mechanism of the latter. He could hear the grinding of thewheels over the loose stones and the groaning of the axles of theburdened vehicles, interspersed with the jabbering of the Turkishdrivers and the guttural of the German officers.

  "That's done it!" whispered Dick, laying a restraining hand upon themidshipman's arm. "They've posted a picket. Let's get back a bit anddiscuss matters."

  "Couldn't we scale the side of the ravine?" asked Farnworth. "If so,we can work our way round and still keep the fellows under observation."

  "Must, I suppose," replied Dick. "It's literally neck or nothing if wemiss our footing. Thank goodness, it's a starlit night."

  Up and up they climbed, frequently having to make their way in ahorizontal direction to avoid an unsurmountable barrier. The cliff wascomposed of a series of terraces, the ledges being thickly covered withbushes and coarse grass.

  "Way enough!" exclaimed the Sub in a low voice. "Keep to this ledge asfar as it goes."

  Forcing their way through the brambles, with a reckless disregard forthe uniforms of von Eitelheitner and his fat satellite, Dick and themidshipman found themselves on the brink of a precipice. Two hundredfeet below them the stars were reflected in a placid sheet ofland-locked water. Beyond the barrier of lofty rocks could be heardthe sullen murmur of the open sea.

  "No signs of the convoy, sir," said Farnworth.

  "No, they've kept wonderfully quiet the half-hour. I hope we haven'tarrived at the wrong rendezvous."

  As he spoke a light blinked solemnly from some floating object in thecentre of the lake or creek, whichever it happened to be, for no signsof any communication with the sea was to be seen in the darkness.

  "Ha!"

  The Sub's short, sharp ejaculation was the only indication of hissatisfaction. He knew now that his efforts had not been in vain. Hewas on the eve of an important discovery.

  "What do you make of it, sir?" whispered Farnworth.

  "Submarine!" replied Dick briefly.

  He was right. It was a submarine signalling with a flashing lamp. Hewished for dawn, for it was impossible to distinguish her in thedarkness.

  Thrice she called--and called in vain. No answering signal came fromthe spot where the mountain path debouched into the narrow sandy beach.

  "Hope she won't clear out," soliloquized the Sub. "I'd like to have agood look at her. By Jove, it's getting light!"

  The reflection of the stars no longer scintillated in the water.Wreaths of vapour--the mists of morning--were slowly eddying from thesurface. Away to the east the stars were paling under the influence ofthe dawn.

  Soon the details of the land-locked estuary became visible. There wasa narrow gap in the high ground that communicated with the ?gean Sea.On the opposite side of the creek were a couple of deserted huts and aruined building, that was formerly a mosque, standing in an isolatedposition on the summit of a rounded hill. Owing to the mists, thewaters of the creek were hidden from sight.

  "Look, sir!" whispered Farnworth, who, lying at full length, wasexamining the beach.

  Standing at the water's edge were two German naval officers. A fewfeet away from them a collapsible boat of the type used in the Germannavy was drawn up on the beach, with three bluejackets standing rigidlyat attention by its side.

  Just then a gentle zephyr rent the veil of mist.

  Dick gasped in astonishment. Well he might, for floating serenely onthe surface was a submarine: not one of the Turkish navy, but one ofthe most modern of the German _unterseebooten_.