THE STOLEN SUBMARINE

Auckland Star, Volume XXXV, Issue 207, 30 August 1904, Page 6

THE STOLEN SUBMARINE

By GEORGE aBXFFXTH.

BOOK ill. CHAPTER XII. CLIMBING DOWN. noTv. gentlemen, what Tβ to be dour- about this development?" said Sir Victor to Sir Julius and Randal Ackertjirin, who had accepted his invitatoin to talk matters over at his oftice. ''It cerlainly seems to mc a trifle awkward. Here F have gambled on peace and you have gambled on war, and now it looks sis though Mr. Billyer is going to give us pearc or war just a3 he pleases." •■WpII," said Randal, "I must say that if this story about the airship and the .=ilent bombardment of Niu-chwang, Harliin, and Vladivostock is true, and I supy>ofr. it is, the sooner- that we go into <r>me olbrr line of business the better. J ll lip kicked if I like the tone of the mail's message n little bit." "But what does he mean about being held personally responsible?" said Sir Julius unoasily. "A man who can blow fortresses and railway statione to pieces without oven being seen would be a very nnsfy customer to tackle under any circumstances. Why. if the fellow got the lit on him he might drop one of his infernal shells on the roof of the Bank nf England itself, and as for individual that would be a mere bagatelle to him." "Well," «aid Randal. "I don't see "what there is to prevent a, fellow like fhat doing exactly what he pleases. Personally, I feel very much inclined to make terms. After all. millions aren't murh srood to anyone if you feel that your life i=; at the mercy of a fello.w who can come sailing through the skies, drop a bomb on you, and disappear into thin air. "What do you think, Sil - Victor?" ""Pretty much the same," he replied, '"and I admit that I am entirely of your opinion as to making terms if we can, but," he continued, "I am afraid with Sir Julius the matter stands rather differently. In other words, it is rather iooto personal." 'Might I ask what you mean?" asked Sir Julius, turning sharply round. Tho moment of possible revenge had arrived, and Sir Victor did not hesitate to take advantage of it. :.- ''There's that rather unfortunate coa- j dition that you made with mc as to the | compulsory return, etc., of my sister-in-law. I am afraid you were a. little hasty there. You see this man Hillyer, who has so unexpectedly and unpleasantly come to the front in this war, and ap-j pears to be lord of the air and all the j rest of it, happens to be very much in love with Mrs Arthur Erskine's sister, and if he gets back all right from the war is froing to marry her. Naturally, he wouldn't have very much consideration for you in that case.' , '"By Jove. Julius, that sounds rather awkward, doesn't it?" said Randal. "AnH 3 rlon't suppose either of us quite saw it j in Ihat "light before. You see, it has I now become a c|iiestion of family honour with the gentleman, and I should say that this particular gentleman would be rather a difficult person to argue with. I suppose it's too late to apologise, even if you could apologise for a thing like that. And then, what about your little arrangements with the Courts of Berlin and St. Petersburg? 1 don't suppuse we need make any secret of that now with Sir Victor, since we all seem to be pretty much in the same boat?" Sir Julius took one or two turns up and down the room, pulling his moustache and audibly gritting his teeth. '"Yes." he said in a distinctly uneasy tone. "I don't think there's much else for it but surrender, but at the same time there's something else to be considered. What are our august patrons going to do about it? If we let those loans fall through at the last moment. it'll be a veTy heavy loss. They may not be inclined to take the thing as quietly as we should do. You see, there's no sentiment in business. The man vbo mixes sentiment up in his business never makes money, because the other fellow gsts in front of him; Lut money-making isn't like running an empire, after all." "Don't you think you had better take a trip to the Continent to-night, Julius?" said Randal, "and explain matters as completely as you can?" "That's not a bad idea," replied Sir Julius. "Anyhow, I shall be in a posi-J lion to put the truth as it is more 1 plainly than anyone else, I think, and then there's that, little affair of yours, {■Mr Victor —I mean the affair of the submarine. She has evidently been making a good deal of trouble out there, and if we, as I may tell you we arc jroing to. try and make peace where all our interests were for war, don't you Hiink that you might take a run over 1o Paris and explain matters after some fashion to the French Government? "You see. we don't know what this fellow Hillypr may have been telegraphing to the British Government, because he's evidently free of the Japanese censorship, and if the British Government get hold of the idea that this craft which has cleared the Japanese ships out of Chemulpho or sunk them is the lost French submarine L'Anonyme, illnatured diplomatists may jump to the conclusion that France knew more about the "transfer than she admits, and then ■uhere's I'entente cordiale* , " Tt was a distinctly awkward situation, and no one saw its awkwardness more clearly than Sir VictoT. He knew that. these two men had him completely in their power, and that if hf did not do a.* was su<r<»pst.fid. or rather commanded, they would do it for him. Altogether tho situation was becoming n LTpat deal too complicated to be pleasant when the. tension was relieved to a certain extent by a knofk at the door tand. in obedience to a "come in" from Sir Victor, the entrance of Mr Hawkins, who was, curiously enough, the uncle of •flic chief engineer who was just then driving thp Marian through the air in search of the Sokold.

Atfftw of "The Aac«l «r*h» l«voU*fon, M "Brothers or th» Chain," •• n» White Wtteb of Km/Gar," "The WoHd Masters," etc.

"Cablegram, Sir Victor, if you. please, I through Eastern Telegraph Company. I thought you -would like to see it at once." '■"Quite right, Hawkins. Let's have it," said Sir Victor, somewhat impatiently. "That will do. I -will let you know if there's an answer." He tore the envelope open, and when the clerk had closed the door behind him he said to his guests: "Possibly this may throw some light on the situation, it's a wire in my own cipher from our mutual friend Dr. Chen-Yu, from Nagasaki, and very probably contains the latest news that ia any use to us. If you will light a cigar and sit down for a few minutes, I will translate it for you." There was about a quarter of an hour of somewhat tense silence, broken only by half-audible puffs as the smoke rings circled up from the two cigars and the rustle of the leaves of Sir Victor's cypher book. Sir Victor had done a good deal of hard work in his time, but he never put in quite such a hard quarter of an hour, what with translating and thinking, aa he did then. When he had finished his transcript he took out a cigarette, lit it, read the transcript over to himself, with what the brothers Ackerman mutually thought intolerable deliberation, and then he swung his swivel chair round and said, in a slow, dry tone, which he kept as steady as he could: " Gentlemen. I don't think that there will be much need for any of us to go to the Continent to-night, whether to Paris. Berlin, or Petersburg. If we did. we should probably get there a little late." "Kh? What's that?" exclaimed Sit Julius, sitting bolt upright in his chair, and dropping the ash from his cigar over the knees of his trousers. " Too late. What! At Berlin and Petersburg. Well, if I know anything—>—" " My dear Julius," said Randal, in his usual unruffle-d tone, "it's quite certain you don't know what is in the wire which Sir Victor is going to read to us. Suppose we hear that first." " Oh, yes, of course. Always a bit too much ahea-d, as usual," muttered Sir Julius. " Excuse mc, I am all attention." '"Irom Chen-Yu, Nagasaki, to Victor Erskine, London. Begins,' reads Sir Victor. ' I am instructed by the Imperial Government of Japan to inform you that hostilities are for the present suspended on land and sea in consequence of the action of the French subTnarine stolen from Marseilles at your instigation, and at present believed to be in command of Princess Zaida Dorosma and one Falcone Lugand, or Orsino Lugand, and placed, in defiance of international law, at the disposal of the Russian forces in the East. This vessel has committed outrages on Japanese ships which cannot be lejral unless it can be proved that her operations are sanctioned by both the French and the Russian , Governments. If this cannot be proved the Government of the Mikado will immediately put the matter to the test by officially informing the British Government of the circumstances and calling upon it either to obtain proper explanations from the French Republic or to consider the latter as *a belligerent and to carry out the terms of the treaty of alliance exiting between Great Britain and Japan. L am here practically as a prisoner unaer sentence of death, and, as I know all the circumstances, which, as you know, can be duly corroborated by reference to a mutual acquaintance at Paris, I have yielded to force majeure and placed all the facts within my cognisance at the disposal of the Government of His Majesty the Mikado. I am further instructed to inform you and the firm of Ackerman Brothers, with which you are doubtless in contact, that unless all financial operations on your part and theirs tending towr.rd the support of Russia or any combination, secret or otherwise, between Kussia and any other Power, are immediately cancelled, all the facts will be communicated to the French Government, and that the subsequent connection of Messrs Ackerman with, the transaction will be communicated to the British Government. Ends. —CHEN-YU. Countersigned, KASHAMA, Minister of War.'" " Well, that's a pretty kettle of fish! " said Sir Julius, "especially when you get it mixed up with the personal responsibility referred to in the other telegram. What do you propose to do about it, Sir Victor?" "I'll be kicked if I know at present, , ' he replied, with a sincerity which was quite unmistakable. " Suppose we g'> and some lunch and talk it over." "Not a bad idea at all," said Randal, getting up,from bis chair. "It's the most infernal complication I ever got into, and if I ever get out of it I shall retire from business, change ivy name, and seek a refuge from Mr. Mark Hillyer's airships in rural obscurity or some of the remoter outlands of the earth. I don't like the idea of those bombs falling from the air at all. Fancy one of them dropping through the roof of your house just *s you were sitting down to dinner. No, no, we must take it lying down. We can't stand up to this kind of thing." There again spoke the cowardice of capital, and both his brother and Sir Victor entirely agreed with him. / There Mas a further discussion over lunch, and the result was that the fer'ilowing cablegram was despatched in Sir Victor's cipher. "To Kashaina, Nagasaki. Begins. Conditions stated in Chen-Yu's cable agreed to. We deny all responsibility for stealing of L'Anonyme by Princess Dorosma and the Lugarids. We have no hostility to Japan., and undertake to do no business against her interests. Proposed loans to other Powers cancelled this 'afternoon. Loans to same amount now at disposal of Mikado's Government if required. ChenYu a, scoundrel who has taker, money from both sides and sold. both. No reliance whatever to be placed on his statements. He cabled fact of presence; of L'Anonyme in Port Arthur Harbour to us, and this information was withheld from the Russian Government by authorities in the

Far East. We believe the Russian Goteminent to be entirely innocent of any complicity in this transaction. Make what use of this you please. Ends.—Ackerman and Erskine." It was a pretty mean surrender for three men who a few week 3 before had considered themselves among the most powerful in Europe, but they made it because, a. new Power, greater even than that of money, had suddenly been born into the world. They recognised this fact, and so, as Randal Ackerman had put it, they took the threat which, of course, had really emanated from Mark Hillyer, ''lying down." (To be continued.)

■^R!