The Dreadnought of the Air Read online

  CHAPTER III.

  REMOVED FROM THE NAVY LIST.

  "WELL?" asked Eccles, as Sub-lieutenant Basil Dacres came off to theship at the expiration of his leave.

  "Ripping time, by Jove! I'll tell you about it when you've done yourtrick. Is the commander below?"

  Receiving an affirmative reply the sub made his way to CommanderBourne's cabin, bubbling over with suppressed excitement.

  "I've done it, sir," he announced. "Spoofed the whole jolly lot ofthem, Admiral included."

  "Hope you've covered up your tracks?" asked his superior anxiously.

  "Rather! I snubbed Garboard, twitted Oxley and played the verydickens with the flagship's midshipmen. It was hot work, though.Fancy spending a couple of hours on a day like this with a pillowstuffed under your waistcoat, and false moustaches tickling likebilly-ho."

  Bourne laughed heartily as Dacres related the details of the joke hehad played, but his face grew serious as he remarked:--

  "'Pon my word, Dacres, I'm rather sorry I let you carry out this madprank, after all. It's bound to leak out."

  "It may, sir. If it does the flagship's people won't say much. Theless they say the better, for they will be the laughing-stock of thesquadron."

  "I don't know so much about that," rejoined the commander. "You see,we must do our best to keep it to ourselves. The culprit must bescreened. If there is a row, of course I must own up to my share."

  "You must do nothing of the sort, sir," said the sub firmly. "This ismy pigeon, you know. Anyway, they haven't tumbled to it yet, and whenthey do they'll have to go a long way to spot me."

  During the First Dog Watch the commander told the captain, wholaughed till the tears rolled down his mahogany-coloured cheeks. Thechaplain had it third hand from the skipper, and passed the news onto the ward-room. As for the gun-room they heard it directly fromDacres.

  So far so good. Loyalty to a brother officer joke a sure bond thatthe joke against the unpopular flagship would be kept a secret. ButJones, the captain's valet, heard his master and the padre laughingimmoderately--was human enough to put his ear to the keyhole of thecaptain's cabin. In less than an hour the whole of the lower deckheard the yarn, and Mr. Dacres was unanimously acclaimed a"thunderin' brick."

  Everything passed off quietly until the following afternoon. It wasthe calm before the storm.

  Basil Dacres had just completed his trick as "Duty Sub," and wasenjoying a cooling glass of lime juice in the gun-room when asignalman knocked at the door.

  "Chit for Mr. Dacres, sir," he announced.

  The sub held out his hand for the folded slip of paper. His intuitiontold him that something was amiss: it was.

  "Flag to officer commanding H.M.S. 'Royal Oak.' Mr. Basil Dacres,sub-lieutenant, is to report himself on board the flagship as soon aspossible."

  Dacres said not a word to his messmates, but the deep flush thatswept over his bronzed features told its own tale.

  Without waiting to give explanations or to receive condolences oradvice the sub hurried off to his cabin and changed into No. EightRig. In the midst of the operation Commander Bourne entered. He had,in the course of his duty, initialled the message and guessed itspurport.

  "Look here, Dacres," he exclaimed impulsively, "I'm going with you.There's bound to be a most unholy bust-up, I'm afraid; but I mean tostand by you."

  For a moment the sub hesitated. He quite realized the need of afriend to back him up during the coming ordeal, but his independencequickly reasserted itself.

  "I don't think you need, sir," he replied. "You see, it may besomething else. In any case, I'd much rather I went through bymyself."

  "You would?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "But, look here, Dacres----"

  "It's no use, sir. I'll stick to it somehow. What's the good ofgetting other men mixed up in this affair when one can bear thebrunt. Sharing the blame will not make things any easier for me, I'mafraid. After all, I had a rattling good time."

  There was a ring of determination in the sub's voice that compelledhis superior officer to give way.

  "Very well, then," said Bourne reluctantly. "You go alone. But, markyou, if there's to be any serious bother I, as your commander and afellow conspirator, will stand by you."

  "All right, then, sir," replied Dacres, "that's agreed. If I am indanger of going under I'll look to my superior officer forassistance."

  Just then Eccles and Plumbly, the assistant paymaster, entered thecabin and expressed their intention of "standing in."

  "Standing in--what about?" demanded Dacres.

  "About hoaxing the flagship, of course," replied Eccles.

  "You've done your part of the business," retorted the sub, "now letme carry on with mine. For one thing I'm not sure that the Admiralwants me in connexion with that affair. How on earth could he findout? Now sheer off, there's good fellows, and let me finishdressing."

  Young Alderney was midshipman of the duty boats, and on the run tothe "Repulse" he added his condolences till Dacres peremptorily cuthim short. The sub hated outward expressions of sympathy almost asmuch as he detested formal praise. He vastly preferred in matters ofthis sort to be self-reliant.

  Gaining the quarter-deck of the flagship he saluted with the utmostcoolness, and turned to follow the lieutenant who was to escort himto the Admiral's cabin. Three or four youngsters, whom he recognizedas being members of the French instructor's class, were on deck,evidently anticipating his discomfiture. Something about his bearingimpelled them to return to the shelter of the after barbette, feelingrather sorry for the man who had so recently "pulled their legs."

  Vice-Admiral Maynebrace was alone. He had sent his secretary away onsome convenient duty, and well-nigh bursting with indignation hestood prepared for the fray.

  "Well, sir," he began, as soon as the door was closed. "Do yourecognize this?"

  And he held up the pseudo Jean le Plaisant's card.

  "Yes, sir," answered the sub calmly.

  "Then, perhaps, sir, next time you have an opportunity to impersonatea French professor you might have the sense to remember that_litterateur_ is spelt with a double 't.' Had it not been for theperspicuity of the officer of the watch your senseless joke mighthave passed off undetected--at least for a time. Now, sir, you, onyour own confession, have been guilty of the heinous offence ofbringing his Majesty's uniform into contempt. A senseless joke, sir!There are no extenuating circumstances."

  Admiral Maynebrace paused to recover his breath. He had completelyforgotten his early days, when, a ringleader of a little mob ofmidshipmen from the guardship, he had gone ashore at Southampton inthe small hours of the morning and had artistically decorated the twolions guarding the historic Bargate. Dacres had heard of the episodeand how young Maynebrace was jockeyed out of what promised to be aserious scrape; and he was half tempted to remind his superior ofthat little delinquency, but the sub had steadfastly made up his mindnot to say a word save to reply directly to questions put to him.

  The Admiral had fully expected that the culprit would metaphoricallygo down on his knees and beg for pardon, but he had mistaken Dacres'character. The sub's silence and coolness goaded him to a furtheroutburst.

  "Confound you, sir!" he roared. "You're a discredit to the Service,sir. You have two alternatives: either to stand your trial bycourt-martial for unbecoming conduct, or to send in your papers. Youunderstand?"

  "Yes, sir," replied Dacres.

  The pros and cons of the two alternatives flashed through his mind ina brief instant. He was fully convinced that the old martinet meantto have him kicked out of the Service. A court-martial could butbring in a verdict of guilty and with no extenuating circumstances.The publicity and disgrace were most undesirable. By resigning hemight be able to make a fresh start in another sphere, without thetaint of ignominy. His father's words, "Unless you stop this sort ofthing there'll be trouble. It will end in your being court-martialledand kicked out of the Service. And, by Jove! if you are, don't lookto me for sympathy," came hom
e with redoubled force.

  "I'll send in my papers, sir," he said steadily.

  The Admiral looked searchingly at him as if to detect any signs ofremorse in his words. There were none.

  "Very good," he replied with an air of finality. "You may go, sir."

  Vice-Admiral Maynebrace spent a restless night. Possibly it was thetropical heat, but more than once he thought of the young officerwhose career was in jeopardy.

  "If only the young fool had said he was sorry," he soliloquized, "Iwould have let him down lightly. Hang it! I'll send for him again inthe morning and see if he's amenable to reason."

  But when morning came, before the Admiral could carry out his goodintention, Sub-lieutenant Basil Dacres' papers, duly annoted by hiscaptain, were sent to the flagship accompanied by a writtenapplication for the young officer to be allowed to withdraw from hisMajesty's Service.

  The receipt of this document was received by both ships with feelingsof regret. The officers of the flagship, in spite of the fact thatthey were indignant at the prank that had been played upon them, weregood-natured fellows. They fully expected that the culprit would"climb down" and apologize for his delinquency; but they weremistaken. They had misjudged Dacres' peculiar temperament, for thesub, regarding himself as being with his back to the wall, was asobstinate as the proverbial mule. Now that the sub had taken thedesperate plunge, they felt genuinely sorry.

  As for the ship's company of the "Royal Oak" they were all completelytaken aback. Dacres was a favourite with his brother-officers andwell-liked by the Lower Deck. It seemed incomprehensible that theAdmiral should take such a strong step; but it was not the first timethat drastic measures were the result of comparatively slightoffences against discipline.

  At the eleventh hour Admiral Maynebrace sent a message to the "RoyalOak" to ask whether Sub-lieutenant Dacres had reconsidered thematter. In vain Captain Staggers tried to reason with hissubordinate.

  "Look here, Dacres," he said kindly. "Think over this affair.Remember your career is at stake. It was a silly thing to do toattempt to hoax the flagship, in spite of the circumstances. Ofcourse you realize that we were in sympathy with you, but that was amistake. If you think you are going to come out 'top-dog' in yourdifference with the Admiral the sooner you put that idea out of yourhead the better. I don't believe in the whole of naval history that ajunior officer has done so with any degree of success. You see, it'sagainst all principles of discipline."

  "Thank you, sir," replied Dacres, "but I'm afraid you cannotunderstand my motives, and I cannot very well explain. All the same,I don't wish to withdraw my resignation; and as to scoring over theAdmiral, well, the idea never entered into my head until youmentioned it. But I may, even yet," he added.

  Nettled by the sub's refusal, the Admiral used the power entrusted tohim under the revised King's Regulations. He accepted Dacres'resignation, without having to wait for Admiralty authority; andbefore noon on the same day Dacres ceased to be an officer of hisMajesty's navy.

  "Look here, Dacres," exclaimed Commander Bourne impetuously, "you'rea young rotter. You remember what I said: 'If there's any seriousbother I, your commander and fellow conspirator, will stand by you.'To that you agreed; so I'm off to the flagship to bear my share ofthe brunt."

  Dacres looked at the commander for a few moments, then, doing what hewould not have dared to do but an hour previously, he tapped himfamiliarly on the shoulder.

  "Look here, Bourne," he said, "you are no longer my superior officer,so the deal's off. If you attempt to put your finger in my pie I'llgive you the biggest hiding you've ever had in your life. So don'tmake matters worse, and I'll be thankful to one of the best pals I'veever had in the Service."

  Bourne agreed reluctantly. He had fully intended to interview theAdmiral, but now he was somewhat relieved to find that Dacres hadvetoed the proposal. The commander's prospects were no longer indanger; and since Bourne's chances of promotion depended solely uponmerit--for he had no outside influence--he was genuinely grateful forthe principal culprit's magnanimity.

  That same afternoon the squadron, with the exception of the "RoyalOak," weighed and proceeded to sea. The "Royal Oak" had developedslight engine-room defects and was left behind in order to effectnecessary repairs.

  Thus an opportunity occurred of giving a demonstration that otherwisecould not have taken place; for as Dacres went over the side of thebattleship for the last time the officers turned out on thequarter-deck to bid him good luck, while by a purely spontaneousimpulse the men gave three rousing cheers for the youngster whom theycould no longer regard as one of the ship's company of H.M.S. "RoyalOak."