The Sea-girt Fortress: A Story of Heligoland Read online

  CHAPTER V

  A Discovery

  SUB-LIEUTENANT Jack Hamerton was fairly well-informed as far asBritish naval officers go, and his information regarding the islandfortress of Heligoland was fairly extensive, but he still had a lotto learn.

  He knew the history of the island from its capture by the Britishfrom the Danes in the first decade of the nineteenth century. Fornearly ninety years Heligoland existed as a British possession, itssafety entrusted to a handful of coastguards, its ordering to aBritish governor, and its spiritual welfare to a Lutheran pastor. Uptill 1850 the then pastor used regularly to offer up a prayer in thepresence of his flock that a storm might arise to cast a valuablewreck upon the cliff-bound coast, for the Frisian inhabitants ofHeligoland were to a great extent dependent upon the unlawful harvestof the sea.

  As for the governor, his office was little more than a sinecure, oncethe regulations forbidding gaming were enforced. It was said that oneof these officials was responsible for the introduction of rabbitsupon Sandy Island, in order that his guests might while away theotherwise tedious hours by indulging in a little shooting. To-day,where the twelve-bores of the sportsmen used to bowl over harmlessrabbits, enormous Krupp guns, on disappearing mountings, arecunningly concealed in strongly protected pits, for Sandy Island--nowknown as Sandinsel--has been artificially increased until it isnearly twice as large in extent as Heligoland itself.

  Even Heligoland has undergone a complete metamorphosis. The littlered sandstone rock, barely three-quarters of a mile in length and aquarter of a mile in breadth, had long been threatened withdestruction by the action of the sea. Neglected under British rule,the island seemed fated to be wiped off the map, for after everyheavy storm huge masses of sandstone would slide into the ragingwaters.

  But directly Heligoland became a German possession prompt steps weretaken to prevent further inroads of the ocean. The worthless rock wasdestined to be one of the most powerful fortresses in the North Sea,and a perpetual thorn in Britannia's side. Accordingly a massive seawall of granite was built to encircle the island and baulk thebillows of the German Ocean. This done, the work of fortifying theisland with modern weapons was begun, and had been rapidly yetsecretly carried out.

  The British Government was cognizant of the fact that Krupp guns hadbeen mounted, presumably equivalent to the nine-inch weapons. But itdid not know that the ordnance consisted chiefly of fifteen-inchguns, conveyed under the most elaborate conditions of secrecy to theisland.

  His Majesty's Intelligence Department knew of an ammunition tunnelpiercing the island from north to west; it knew nothing of thepresence of vast artificial caves filled with oil fuel, withdischarging pipes capable of supplying a fleet of the largestbattleships with crude petroleum in the minimum of time.

  The British Admiralty official charts and sailing directions gave thedepth of the anchorage in North Haven at less than four and a quarterfathoms anywhere south of a line drawn due east of Nathurn, thenorthernmost extremity of Heligoland. By the same authority themaximum depth in South Haven, and within a mile of the Unterland, wasgiven as three and three-quarter fathoms. In reality, thanks tostrenuous dredging operations between the two islands, a fleet of thedeepest-draughted battleships could lie at anchor, protected from allwinds by the enormous harbour works that had sprung into existenceduring the last fifteen or twenty years.

  The natural features of Sandinsel Island were favourable for thiswork, for stretching in a north-westerly direction for almost threemiles were a number of rocky ledges, many of their points drying atlow tide. Already the Olde Hoven Brunnen and the Krid Brunnen wereconverted into firm ground faced with granite or ferro-concretewalls, while the work of reclaiming the Witt Klif Brunnen wasactively progressing. Although Sandinsel had already outgrown itscompanion isle in point of size, reclamation works were in a state ofactivity at Heligoland itself. Wharves extending nearly a mile fromSathurn--the southernmost limit of the original rock--formed anefficient breakwater to South Haven; and the area thus enclosed hadbeen adapted for the purpose of berthing twenty submarines and eightyfirst-class torpedo boats and destroyers attached to the Heligolandcommand.

  The submarines were the latest creations of the renowned KruppGermania yard--large, speedy, and capable of operating within athousand miles of their base without having to be dependent uponfresh supplies of gasoline. Submerged, they could travel a distancethat would bring them within striking range of any port on the eastcoast of Great Britain. They were armed, in addition to the fourtorpedo tubes, with two fourteen-pounders on disappearing mountings,and, as Hamerton had discovered, with high-angle pneumatic guns, soas to be able, even when submerged, to attack aircraft with a greatpossibility of success.

  Undoubtedly the new Heligoland was a strong fortress for defence. Itwas more: it was a base for offence, for why were ocean-goingdestroyers and submarines stationed there if their sole duty was todefend the comparatively short stretch of coast line that forms theGerman Empire's bulwark on the North Sea?

  Heligoland, like the newly created fortresses of Borkum andWesterland Sylt, was a menace, directed principally against GreatBritain and the British Empire.

  And by a strange freak of navigation the _Diomeda_ had dropped anchorin South Haven. Possibly had the lighthouse been showing its powerfullight Hamerton might have picked up his position even in the thick,drizzling rain; but, in accordance with notices supplied to marinersby the German Admiralty, the light was extinguished whenever nightoperations were in progress in the vicinity of Heligoland. Theleading lights on Sandinsel and the lamps at the extremities of theMoles had likewise been temporarily discontinued; yet in spite ofthese disadvantages, the German authorities had the mortification ofknowing that a small craft, unpiloted and unseen, had crept up to theanchorage in the dead of night.

  On the face of it there could be no other explanation than that thecrew of the yacht were spies. The failure on their part to show alight under the bowsprit by night, or hoist their national ensign tothe masthead by day, was in itself suspicious; and, left to their ownresources in their temporary prison, Hamerton and Detroit agreed thatthe action of the German authorities was to a certain extentjustifiable.

  "Directly we explain matters to the commandant we'll be released,"said Hamerton; "but I don't see the fun of having to giveexplanations to that arrogant sweep of a major."

  "Nor I," added Detroit. "And I guess I'd just like to have half adozen rounds with that yellow-haired lieutenant. I'll bet the otherfellow is having a high old time rummaging our belongings."

  The Sub did not reply. Again the thought of what might happen if thecompromising Schwartz-Kopff torpedo book were discovered flashedacross his mind. He almost wished that he had tossed the thingoverboard, for he had not had an opportunity of reading it andcommitting the salient facts to memory, and its recovery by theGerman authorities would mean not only that the information was lostto the British Admiralty, but that the crew of the _Diomeda_ would beplaced in a very awkward predicament.

  "It's real rotten being hung up here," continued the American. "See,the sun is shining again." He pointed towards the single-barredwindow four feet above their heads, through which the sunshine wasstreaming brilliantly. Even as he spoke the shaft of light wassuddenly obscured, and a dull whirring sound came from without.

  "Here, give me a leg up!" exclaimed the Sub. "Bend down, and I'll getupon your back."

  Detroit immediately complied, and with considerable agility Hamertonclambered on to his friend's shoulders.

  With hardly an effort the muscular American stood upright, in spiteof the Sub's bulky proportions, and Hamerton was able to grasp thebars of the window and look out.

  He was not disappointed in what he saw. An enormous military Zeppelinhad just descended, and was being guided by several hundred soldiersalong the sandy stretch between the Unterland and the sea. Theafterpart, with the twin propellers and rearmost nacelle, was alonevisible from the Sub's outlook. The car contained a Kruppseven-point-five-centimetres automatic gun,
firing twelve-poundershrapnel shells specially intended for use against hostileaeroplanes. At a range of four thousand yards the flying portions ofthe shell covered a radius of twenty yards, while the disturbance ofthe air caused by the explosion of the projectile was calculated toimperil the equilibrium of any heavier-than-air craft within ahundred yards of the point of detonation.

  On the upper side of the rounded aluminium envelope was a smallplatform on which stood another automatic gun on a vertical mounting,so as to be able to fire at any aeroplane that might venture toassail the Zeppelin from above.

  To each of these platforms were attached two small cigar-shapedballonettes, fitted with life-lines. These were obviously intended toact as aerial life-buoys should disaster overtake this mammoth of theair; but what struck Hamerton most forcibly was the sight of a coupleof officers standing in the rearmost nacelle and actually smokingcigarettes.

  "These fellows have a supreme faith in the nonporosity of theirgasbag," he thought. "With that immense volume of hydrogen, and thefate of previous Zeppelins in their minds, I am surprised that theydare risk such a thing. I wonder if they've discovered another gas ofthe same or greater lifting-power than hydrogen? Or perhaps some ofthe German savants have found a means of rendering hydrogennon-inflammable. I'd like to find out, by Jove!"

  The Zeppelin came to a standstill with her nose almost touching theWaalhorn monument, and her tail within a few feet of the disusedlifeboat slip. With the utmost celerity several lengths of hose werecoupled up, and the work of replenishing the petrol tanks was begun.The two officers who were smoking descended from the nacelle andwalked away in the direction of the Oberland, a mechanic gave thesignal, the hoses began to swell, and the liquid, under the force ofgravity, poured into the storage tanks.

  The sound of approaching footsteps caused Hamerton somewhatreluctantly to descend. Detroit, red in the face, had already begunto realize that, muscular though he was, the Sub's weight could notbe borne with equanimity.

  The door was unlocked and thrown open. A file of marines withside-arms entered, headed by a sergeant. Without a word the mensurrounded the two prisoners; the non-commissioned officer pointedmeaningly towards the open door.

  Through the cleanly kept streets of the Unterland the two comradeswere hurried, then up the zigzag path communicating with the plateauknown as the Oberland, where the larger portion of the residentialbuildings was situated. Hamerton recognized the old and the newlighthouses and the Bull Beacon from sketches on the Admiralty chart;but he was somewhat surprised to find that even in the short journeybetween the Unterland and the Government House there were no lessthan ten large guns in armoured casemates, searchlights galore, and anetwork of ammunition lines, on which ran trucks actuated by electricpower.

  In front of the Government House stood a lofty flagpole, from whichfluttered the German national ensign. One thing he remarked was thatevery passer-by saluted the emblem of the Mailed Fist.

  "Guess I'll bet you a dollar we're free in less than twenty minutes,"said Detroit to his comrade, as they were marched up the stone pathtowards the commandant's dwelling.

  Before Hamerton could make any remark, one of the hitherto silent andstolid marines turned his brass-helmeted head and added: "I don'ttink!"