The Dreadnought of the Air Page 17

  CHAPTER XVII.

  ZAYPURU'S BOLD STROKE.

  MEANWHILE, events were moving quickly in the Republic of Valderia.The demands of the British Government for satisfaction had beenrigorously pushed forward, but the prisoners had not been released,nor was there any apology tendered.

  President Diego Zaypuru was biding his time. Although desirous ofmeasuring steel with the British he was loath to act until RenoDurango was back at Naocuanha. He had been advised that the Mexicanwas on his way via Brazil, and that his arrival would be a matter ofa few days. Durango was the President's right hand, although, did butZaypuru know it, the "right hand" was not desperately enamoured withthe task before him.

  When Durango heard of the disagreement between Great Britain andValderia, he cursed the stupidity of the Dictator of the Republic. Hecould clearly foresee the result: Valderia would be beaten. Willinglywould he have turned back and left Zaypuru to meet with his deserts,but for the fact that he had vast interests in the Republic. To do sowould mean financial ruin, and to a man of unbounded cupidity theidea was unthinkable. He decided that he must run the risk, lay hishands on as much of his wealth (and, incidentally, other peoples') ashe possibly could, and make use of the airship which had beenconstructed from the plans stolen from Gerald Whittinghame to getclear of the sinking ship of State.

  Zaypuru miscalculated the British temperament. He was firmlyconvinced that as long a as he delayed negotiations the BritishGovernment would be content. His plans, however, received a nastyshock when the Republic was peremptorily informed that diplomaticrelations with Great Britain were broken off, and that a Britishfleet under the command of Rear-Admiral Maynebrace was to proceed atonce to Zandovar, the port of Naocuanha, and obtain immediatesatisfaction, or else the town was to be shelled.

  As the situation stood Zaypuru knew that it was a race between theBritish Admiral and Reno Durango. If the former appeared at Zandovarbefore Durango reached the capital the President would have to giveway. That would result in another revolution. On the other hand, ifthe Mexican arrived first, Zaypuru would have sufficient confidenceto resist.

  Immediately upon receipt of the intelligence that a rupture hadoccurred, the "Meteor"--having been previously granted a letter ofmarque--set out for South America.

  Vaughan Whittinghame also realized that there was a possibility ofhis having to choose one of two alternatives, unless by a luckystroke he could carry off two projects simultaneously. His duty tohis country urged him to attempt the capture of Durango and therecovery of the submarine plans. Fraternal devotion called upon himto effect the rescue of his brother before he fell a victim to thevindictive President.

  It fell to Dacres to suggest a plan.

  "Let's collar the Mexican, by all means, if we can," he urged."Without him that Zaypuru fellow will be tied up in knots. Once weget Durango in our hands the President will think twice beforeproceeding to extreme measures with your brother."

  "But you are not taking into consideration the effect of theappearance of the British fleet," objected Whittinghame.

  "Including my late ship," added Dacres. "Yes, there, again, is acomplication. If Zaypuru shows fight there'll be short work made ofZandovar, but I doubt whether there will be sufficient seamen andmarines to undertake a march on the capital. Personally, I fancy thatwhen the President realizes that we mean business he'll knuckleunder."

  "I hope he does," agreed Whittinghame; "but that won't prevent usfrom collaring Durango. Those submarine plans must be recovered,Dacres. As I said before, the bother won't end with Valderia, if therascal takes it into his head to open negotiations with one of theGreat Powers."

  Flying at a great height and avoiding the regular steamship routesthe "Meteor" arrived off the coast of Brazil one day before the timethe "Maranhao" was expected.

  Waiting till it was dark the airship passed inland and before morningbroke she was hovering over the desolate country in the neighbourhoodof Salto Augusto, a town in the province of Matto Grosso andapproximately sixteen hundred miles west of Pernambuco.

  It had never been Whittinghame's intention to effect Durango'scapture on Brazilian territory. Wireless information from hisbrother's trustworthy agent at Naocuanha had been received to theeffect that the airship built according to the plans stolen fromGerald Whittinghame was to leave Valderia for Salto Augusto, andthere to take Durango on board.

  Here, then, was the "Meteor's" opportunity. She was to lie in waitfor her rival and imitator, to which the name "Libertad" had beengiven. When it could be safely assumed that Durango had joined theValderian airship the "Meteor" was to stand in pursuit until bothcraft were out of neutral territory. Then Whittinghame could andwould act.

  For five days the "Meteor" waited and watched, floating practicallymotionless at an altitude of fifteen thousand feet, at which height,unless deliberately sought for, she would escape observation. Duringthat time no information came from Naocuanha announcing the departureof the "Libertad"; but other news, quite as momentous, reached him bythe aid of wireless from the Valderian capital.

  In less than a week events had moved rapidly. As soon as it wasdefinitely known that Admiral Maynebrace's squadron was actually onits way to Zandovar, the fighting nature of the Valderians showeditself. They were not without a considerable reserve or cunning; for,realizing the impossibility of their one Super-Dreadnought making astand against the predominant ships of the "Royal Sovereign" class,they promptly sold the battleship to Peru.

  Peru had for years past sought to purchase a Super-Dreadnought, withthe idea of forming a fleet superior to that of Chili. She was onlytoo glad of the chance to buy the Valderian battleship at aremarkably low price.

  The destroyers and submarines upon which President Zaypuru reliedproved to be a broken reed. The Valderian crews--never seamen bychoice or instinct--refused to put to sea when they were ordered tomake a surprise attack upon the British fleet. The destroyers, mannedby skeleton crews, were thereupon sent to Callao, there to beinterned till the hostilities ended; while the submarines were keptin the harbour of Zandovar in the hope that they might be able toinflict damage upon the ships under Admiral Maynebrace's command.

  On the morning of the 21st of July, corresponding to the second dayof the "Meteor's" vigil at Salto Augusto, the British fleet came insight of Zandovar. The battleships were in two columns in "lineahead" formation, led respectively by the "Repulse" and "Royal Oak."Overhead flew the six seaplanes attached to the squadron, their dutybeing to watch for the presence of hostile submarines, whosemovements could be easily discerned in the clear waters of thePacific.

  At first the British tars were under the impression that theValderians would not fight, but when a shell from one of thebatteries whizzed past one of the seaplanes the delight of the crewsof the warships showed itself in three hearty cheers. The signal toopen fire was hoisted on the flagship, and without further ado theeight battleships began the bombardment.

  Grimly workmanlike looked the floating monsters. Stripped for thefray, the top-hamper sent down, boats and combustible gear droppedoverboard, they showed no dash of colour except the White Ensigns, ofwhich each ship displayed three flown in positions where they wouldnot effect the training of guns. Everything else that was visible onthese modern leviathans was painted a dull grey; and in a very shorttime from the opening of the bombardment that grey was merged into ashapeless blurr by the haze from the cordite.

  The noise was deafening. Punctuating the loud detonations of thefourteen-inch guns could be heard the sharp bark of the quick-firers,the scream of the hurtling projectiles, and not unfrequently theappalling crash as the Valderian shells struck the steel plating ofthe British warships.

  For a quarter of an hour the batteries replied vigorously. Generallyspeaking the aim of the Valderian gunners was erratic, but oneunlucky hit brought the aftermast of the "Renown" crashing down onthe deck, completely putting out of action the guns on the two afterturrets. The flagship had her bridge shot away and the foremostfunnel demolished early in the action,
while the "Royal Oak" wasconsiderably damaged by a twelve-inch projectile that, finding itsway into one of the nine-inch-gun casemates on the starboard side,disabled every man of the gun's crew.

  At the end of half an hour the Valderian fire was very feeble. Theearthworks of the forts were practically levelled. Wherever one ofthe huge shells struck the ground it burst and tore a deep pit, intowhich, as often as not, the nearmost gun and its mountings promptlytumbled. Many of the projectiles, flying high, dropped into the townand did enormous damage. The submarines, lying in the inner harbour,were quickly sunk by gun-fire; and within an hour of firing the firstshot the resistance on the part of the garrison of Zandovar ceased.

  Admiral Maynebrace promptly gave the order to cease fire, and beforethe haze had cleared away, the seaplanes dashed forward toinvestigate. Soon they returned with the information that thebatteries were completely knocked out of action and that a stream offugitives were observed making towards Naocuanha by road and rail.

  As soon as the boats of the fleet were brought alongside theirrespective ships preparations were made to land a force of seamen andmarines and occupy the town. It was a needless task, for anycommunication between the Republic and the victors could be receivedwith equal facility on board the flagship; but Admiral Maynebrace,with the idea of making a display, resolved to land and hoist theBritish colours over the ruined forts.

  One of the principal fortifications--Belgrano--stood on lofty groundin the rear of the town, but it had not escaped the hail ofprojectiles. Owing to its elevation it could be seen from the capitaland on that account Maynebrace determined to take possession of itand hold it with a strong force in the event of an attack on the partof the Valderian army before Naocuanha.

  The advance guard, composed of Royal Marine Light Infantry, traversedthe narrow deserted streets without seeing a sign of any livingValderians. By the time they reached Belgrano the main body of theinvaders reached the plaza, or open square in the centre of the town.Pickets were posted to command the various approaches, and dueprecautions having been taken, the Admiral and his staff proceeded tothe fort of Belgrano.

  Amid ringing cheers the Union Jack was hoisted over the capturedmound that a short time before had been a strongly fortifiedposition. Light field guns and maxims were brought up and trained tocommand the road to Naocuanha, and the force of occupation preparedto receive either an attack or--what was more likely--a proposal foran armistice. About an hour before sunset Admiral Maynebrace made hisway towards the harbour, intending to return to the flagship. He wasaccompanied by his secretary and flag-lieutenant, and escorted by aguard of marines.

  The Admiral was in high spirits. Throughout the whole of his careerhe had never smelt powder in real earnest until this eventful day. Hewas close upon the age limit, and now he had survived the action andhad the honourable distinction of having won glory for the King andcountry before being relegated to the limbo of retirement.

  His pleasing reveries were suddenly interrupted by hearing a furiouscommotion. He was dimly conscious of hearing the marine officer givea hurried order to his men to face about, while from one of thenarrow streets issued a number of horsemen. They were not members ofthe regular Valderian army, but rough-riders from the grass countryof the middle plateau, men who had practically lived in the saddlefrom childhood.

  Before the marines could fire a shot the avalanche of men and horseswere upon them, through them, and off out of sight between themassive stone buildings. And with them were carried the Admiral andhis staff, prisoners in the hands of the enemy.

  In vain the marines fired their rifles in the air to warn theoutposts. The latter, imagining that an attack was impending fromwithout, stood to their arms, while dashing along with loose rein andunspared spur rode the daring horsemen with their captives, neverslacking pace until they drew up outside the plaza of Naocuanha.

  It was certainly a daring and well-executed plan on the part of thePresident. With these important hostages he realized that the outlookfrom his point of view had considerably improved. The British forcein possession of Zandovar was too small to advance upon the capital,and weeks would elapse before reinforcements could be sent fromEngland. During that interval he might be able to make satisfactoryterms.

  Under the circumstances Zaypuru felt it safe to allow the airship"Libertad" to leave the country and pick up his adviser, RenoDurango.