Only in the face of this demonstration5 did Madden realize that a great German naval6 stratagem7 hinged upon the fate of the little English boat. The slow, clumsy little Vulcan would decide the fate of millions of dollars worth of English shipping8. The little vessel9 was freighted with huge consequences.
At first glimpse of the battle line, the Vulcan had sheered about, and now rushed northward10, stringing her black smoke flat behind her. Up from the south, the submarine followed on the surface, although she could not make as good time through the weed as did the Vulcan. However, the burden of destroying the English craft had been transferred to the cruisers that came rushing forward at at least twenty-five knots an hour.
As Madden stood on the bridge in the skirling wind, the little Vulcan, the seaweed drifts and the cruisers reminded him of nothing so much as a rabbit flying across cotton rows in front of four greyhounds; only here there were no friendly briar patches or fence corners in which to double or hide. Never had the Sargasso appeared so vast, so empty, so brilliant, so hot.
"Any chance?" he shouted to Caradoc above the rumble11 of machinery12 and the whistling of the wind.
"Improbable."
"Lloyds would hardly insure us," admitted the commander dryly.
At that moment, as if to lend point to the remark, came a sharp clap of thunder off their port bow. Madden whirled quickly. A ball of white smoke, the size of a balloon, drifted up in the air a quarter of a mile distant.
The American stared at the smoke quite wonderstruck, then looked around at the distant ships that had not yet topped the horizon.
"Did they shoot this far?"
"A request to heave to."
"Are you going to do it?"
At the bursting of the shell, the men on deck came walking aft to the superstructure, with the apprehensive14 gait of men getting under shelter from blasting operations.
Caradoc leaned over the rail of the bridge. "Greer!" he shouted, "go to the flag locker15, get out a union jack16 and show our colors on the peak!"
The men pulled up at this, and half a dozen men, two or three of them crippled, hurried to carry out the order. In a few minutes they came running back on deck with the flag. They tangled17 the sheets after the manner of landsmen, but finally the red pennant18 traveled skyward. There was a brief hoarse19 cheering from the cockneys.
The flag was scarcely at the peak, when above the throb20 and rumble of the machinery, Madden's ear caught a queer droning noise, and a moment later came a deafening21 crash about two hundred yards to the starboard. The water beneath it was beaten to a foam22, while another balloon of smoke slowly expanded and thinned in the breathless air. A long time after the bursting of the shell, Leonard heard the grumble23 of the cannon24 that had fired it."
"Now, lads," shouted Caradoc, "go below and bring up some rockets!"
The men set off with a will, but Madden viewed the situation without any thrill of patriotism25 to gild26 a death under the union jack. The cruisers were slowly coming into full view. Through his glasses he could now see their turrets27 and the black gun ports.
"What's the idea, Smith? You can't fight with rockets?"
"Some English vessel may see us," answered Caradoc shortly.
Madden was still more astonished. "What good would that do?" he called above the wind. "She'd be captured, too."
"Certainly," agreed the Englishman brusquely, "but if she had a wireless, she might report the situation to the Admiralty before they sank us."
Madden removed his binoculars28 and stared at his friend. "Are you staking your life on as long a chance as that?"
"My boy," said Smith, in an oddly matured tone, "when the safety of one's country is at stake, one man's life doesn't amount to that!" he snapped his fingers. "If there's a point to be gained, you accept any chance automatically—or no chance at all."
The American returned no answer, but there flashed into his mind the legend of the Tyrian who beached his galley29 in order to save the secret of Cornwall. Caradoc's narrative30 was oddly prophetic of the fate of the Vulcan. And Madden wondered with a quirk31 of grim humor if there were a foreigner aboard that Tyrian's galley, and what he thought about the sacrifice.
There was another jagged report as a shell burst just aft the tug, then a missile of some thousands of pounds shrieked32 through the air just above the stumpy masts and filled the sky with fire and thunder a hundred yards ahead.
Out of the cabin came the rocket bearers, quite over their fright by now, and acting33 with the nervous steadiness which acute danger brings. One of the sailors from the regular crew of the tug moved along the rail, mounting the fire signals one after the other for shooting. Immediately behind him came Hogan, using his one good hand to fish matches from his watch pocket and light the fuses.
The first rocket lit with a sputter35, for a moment its fiery36 blowing filled the deck with smoke, then it darted37 skyward, with a tremendous swis-s-sh! Up, in a long black column it went, into the very heart of the hot brazen38 sky, then it exploded with a faint pop, and a black head of smoke expanded at a prodigious39 height. In the midst of the smoke-filled deck, Hogan was applying his match to another. So as the tug plowed41 forward, tall slender pillars of smoke, crowned with swelling42 palm-like heads, arose to dizzy heights out of her path.
By this time huge shells were bursting about the Vulcan with crashing monotony. Sometimes the dodging43 little vessel ran through the pungent44 gases of the shells that were sent to destroy her. Now and then the giant missiles exploded under water and sent furious waterspouts leaping over her decks. Something touched the top of her steel mainmast and snapped it off as if it were a straw. A few minutes later the crew had cleared the union jack from the wreckage45 and had it flaunting46 defiantly47 from the forepeak.
It was an odd defiance48, a tugboat's challenge to a German battle line. The nibbling49 of a mouse once set a lion free. Here was a mouse endeavoring to net a whole herd50 of lions.
The cruisers did not overhaul51 the little vessel as rapidly as Madden had anticipated. The Vulcan skurried through the seaweed fields, dodging this way and that in order to take advantage of every lane of open water, but the unwieldy battleships could not accept small advantages, and were forced to plow40 straight ahead, through weed or wave as it came.
Thus the cruisers still fired at extreme range, and the tug escaped destruction as a gnat52 might jiggle between raindrops and survive a summer's shower.
Amid steady crashes, Madden awaited stoically for the shot that would erase53 the Vulcan from the face of the sea. There came another splintering shock; the upper half of the foremast made a curious jump, and came down with its rigging and plunged54 overboard in the rushing water. The obstruction55 instantly choked down the tug's speed. Every man in the crew seized axe56, saw, anything, and rushed forward in a fury of impatience57, hacking58, chopping, sawing, working through the wreckage and cutting the ropes with jackknives, in an effort to clear the tug of debris59. After an intolerable while, the last ratlines snapped like pistol shots, the whizzing end of a rope struck a sailor and laid him out as if clubbed, then the foremast fell away and the Vulcan rushed forward again.
"Look ahead, Madden!" shouted Caradoc in the uproar60. "We've got to run among thicker fields than these!"
By this time the tug's rockets were spent and the German cruisers were rushing down a line of gigantic smoke-palms that were planted by the little vessel.
"You might as well surrender," called the American coolly. "You won't find a merchantman if you go in thicker fields—you know that."
"Surrender!" bawled61 Smith. "Do you think they shall have this tug to haul their prizes? Let 'em sink us, and then pick us up in boats! Look ahead!"
The American turned his binoculars obediently and scanned the west and north. His eyes traversed skein after skein of the brilliant colorful patternings, but he was unable to find a very closely netted region. He was about to announce his discovery to Caradoc when his lense focussed on another grim menace almost dead ahead.
He stared at it with a curious dropping of hopes that he had not suspected were in his breast.
What he saw was another fighting top. That pertinacious62 submarine had apparently63 surrounded the elusive64 Vulcan with German fighting ships.
Leonard removed his field glasses and stood for a full minute filled with a keen frustration65. The splitting din34 about him roared on uninterruptedly, and yet somehow he had been hoping the Vulcan would escape.
"What do you make of it?" bawled Smith, who had been watching the submarine, which was once more drawing dangerously close.
"We can't go in this direction, Smith!" shouted Leonard hopelessly. "There are more ships in that direction."
"Yes, fighting tops!"
Both lads focused in the new direction.
"Those Germans do everything thoroughly," shouted Leonard, "even to sinking a tug!"
But instead of despairing, Caradoc, after a single glance, rushed over to the speaking tube to the boilers67. He blew the whistle shrilly68, then folded it back and screamed down.
"Malone! Malone! Malone!"
"Give her all steam possible! Blow her up! Speed her, man, speed her!"
"Very well, sir!" returned the same voice.
"Caradoc! Caradoc! Are you insane!" bawled Leonard. "Do you imagine you can outrun two squadrons of German cruisers?"
"German cruisers! That's England's line of battle, Madden! England! Old England! God let me get to them and tell 'em what I know, then I don't care what happens!"
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1
sector
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| n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形 | |
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beetle
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| n.甲虫，近视眼的人 | |
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tug
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| v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船 | |
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4
wireless
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| adj.无线的；n.无线电 | |
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demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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stratagem
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| n.诡计，计谋 | |
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shipping
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| n.船运（发货，运输，乘船） | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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10
northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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rumble
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| n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说 | |
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12
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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13
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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14
apprehensive
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| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
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locker
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| n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人 | |
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16
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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17
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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18
pennant
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| n.三角旗；锦标旗 | |
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19
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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throb
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| v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动 | |
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21
deafening
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| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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22
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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23
grumble
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| vi.抱怨；咕哝；n.抱怨，牢骚；咕哝，隆隆声 | |
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24
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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patriotism
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| n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义 | |
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gild
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| vt.给…镀金，把…漆成金色，使呈金色 | |
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27
turrets
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| （六角）转台( turret的名词复数 )； （战舰和坦克等上的）转动炮塔； （摄影机等上的）镜头转台； （旧时攻城用的）塔车 | |
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28
binoculars
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| n.双筒望远镜 | |
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29
galley
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| n.（飞机或船上的）厨房单层甲板大帆船；军舰舰长用的大划艇； | |
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30
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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31
quirk
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| n.奇事，巧合；古怪的举动 | |
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32
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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din
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| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
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35
sputter
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| n.喷溅声；v.喷溅 | |
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36
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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38
brazen
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| adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的 | |
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prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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40
plow
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| n.犁，耕地，犁过的地；v.犁，费力地前进[英]plough | |
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41
plowed
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| v.耕( plow的过去式和过去分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过 | |
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42
swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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43
dodging
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| n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避 | |
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44
pungent
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| adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的 | |
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45
wreckage
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| n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏 | |
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46
flaunting
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| adj.招摇的，扬扬得意的，夸耀的v.炫耀，夸耀( flaunt的现在分词 )；有什么能耐就施展出来 | |
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47
defiantly
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| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
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48
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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49
nibbling
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| v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的现在分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬 | |
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50
herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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51
overhaul
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| v./n.大修，仔细检查 | |
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52
gnat
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| v.对小事斤斤计较，琐事 | |
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53
erase
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| v.擦掉；消除某事物的痕迹 | |
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54
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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55
obstruction
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| n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物 | |
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56
axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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57
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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58
hacking
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| n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动 | |
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59
debris
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| n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片 | |
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60
uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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61
bawled
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| v.大叫，大喊( bawl的过去式和过去分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物） | |
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62
pertinacious
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| adj.顽固的 | |
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63
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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64
elusive
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| adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的 | |
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65
frustration
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| n.挫折，失败，失效，落空 | |
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66
warships
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| 军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只 | |
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67
boilers
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| 锅炉，烧水器，水壶( boiler的名词复数 ) | |
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68
shrilly
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| 尖声的； 光亮的，耀眼的 | |
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69
muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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