THE NINE BEARS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14566, 31 December 1910, Page 3 (Supplement)

THE NINE BEARS.

PUBLISHED BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT.

BY EDGAR WALLACE, Author of "Mission That Failed," "Writ iu "Barracks," " Unofficial Despatches," " The Four Just Men/' etc., etc.

CHAPTER XIX. These was no apparent; reason for the slump in Spanish Fours. Spanish credit never stood so high as it did at the moment of the panic. Catalonia had been, appeased by the restoration of the Constitution, the crops throughout Spain had been excellent, and the opening of the Porta Ciento mines, combined with the extension of the mining industry in the north, had all helped to bring about a condition of financial confidence in Spanish securities.

The "bear" attack which was made simultaneously on every European Bourse, was, in the face of these facte, madness. _ The Spanish Government rose to the situation, and with praiseworthy promptness issued broadcast warnings to the investing public. Ministers seized any opportunity for speaking on the subject of national financial stability, but the "raid" went on. No stock even remotely associated with, or dependent upon, Spain's national security was left unassailed. Telegraphs, railways, minesthey suffered in common.

Then happened that remarkable tragedy that get the whole of Europe gasping. It was a happening tragic in its futility, comic in its very tragedy. Europe was dumbfounded, speechless. There are two accounts given; there is that contained in Blue Book 7541/'O9 and that issued by the Spanish Government as a White Paper. The latter, although it is little more than a reprint of a number of articles published in the Heraldo de Madrid and the Correspondencia. is as accurate and contains more detail. I have taken these accounts and summarised the story of the momentous occurrence from both.

On the morning of January 29 the Spanish cruiser Castilia was lying in Vigo Bay. She had been engaged in gun practice on the coast, and had come into Vigo for stores and to give leave to her crew. The ship' had been coaled, ammunition and stores taken on board, and the warship steamed out to sea. Her commander was Captain Alfonso Tirez, a singularly capable officer who had served with distinction in the Spanish-American war. The movements of the ship subsequent to her .departure from Vigo Bay are fairly well known.

She was seen by a fishing fleet heading south, and was sighted level with Oporto by the Portuguese gunboat Braganza. More than this, she exchanged signals with the Braganza, making "A)l well."

From this point her voyage isomething of a mystery, although it is evident that she continued a straight course. She was not sighted again until February 3, four days after her departure from Vigo," and the particulars of her re-ap-pearance are contained in the report made by Captain Sombuim, R.N., of H.M.S. Inveterate, a first-class cruiser. The Inveterate was detached from the Atlantic squadron, they lying at Gibraltar, by order of the commander-in-chief, to cruise along the Morocco coast as far south as Mogador, and she was returning when the incident to Captain Somburu, so graphically described, occurred. " The ship's- (the Inveterate's) position at 7.45 was approximately lat. 35 north and long. 10 west, and we were due west of. Cape Cantin when the Castilia was sighted," wrote Captain Somburn. " She was making a course as to pass ,us on our starboard bow. Recognising her, I ordered the ensign to be flown. Nothing untoward happened, and the ship came nearer and nearer.

"There had been some trouble just bofore I arrived at Mogador, some little fighting with a Moorish tribe, and, thinking that it was on this account that the cruiser was going south, and that possibly the later news I had would be of interest to her captain, I ordered a signal to be made.

"'Mogador all quiet; rising quelled.' "To my astonishment no notice was taken of this, and not even so much as an answering pennant was hoisted. " The officer of the watch, who had been looking at the vessel through his telescope, then reported to me that the Castilia was cleared for action, and that her gun crews were standing by. " I thought that we were interrupting some manoeuvre, such as ' .man and arm ship,' and readily forgave her commander, who was so absorbed in his drill that he had ignored, my signal. " The nest minute, however, the Castilia opened fire on me with her forward guns. Both shots missed, one passing our stern and the other jutt clearing our quarterdeck.

"I signalled, 'Your firing practice is endangering me,' for, even then, I could not bring myself to a realisation that the captain-of the Castilia was in -earnest.

"I was soon undeceived, however. A shed from her after four-inch gun struck and carried away a portion of the navigation bridge. "I immediately ordered general stations, and in 20 seconds I had cleared the starboard batteries for action. In this time the Castilia had put three shells into the Inveterate. The first killed an ableseaman and seriously wounded the gun-nery-lieutenant, the second did little or no damage, but- the thixd destroyed No. 3 9.6 gun and killed four of its crew.

"I at once opened fire on the Ca-stilia with two six-inch guns. Both shots took effect, one, as I have since ascertained, below her water-line, and she immediately heeled over to port. " Seeing she was helpless and sinking rapidly, I ordered away my lifeboats, at the same time- signalling, ' l am coming to your assistance.' No further shots were fired, and the officers l and crew of the Castilia, together with 19 wounded men, were taken off. '"Ihe Cast ilia sunk at 8.19. the action having lasted, from the time of tiring the first, shot to the moment of crippling, five minutes 48 seconds.

" I made no immediate attempt toascertain the cause of the extraordinary conduct of the Castilia, because Captain lirez, when I received him on board, was in a- dying condition. He had been struck by a fragment of shell and never regained consciousness, expiring that afternoon, but? before my arrival at Gibraltar I interviewed the Spanish officer who was acting as navigating lieutenant. From him I learnt the incident was as inexplicable to hint as to the rest of the crew. The captain: had received a wireless telegram, coded in the secret cypher of the Admiralty. This telegram hid perplexed »nd distressed him, but the only remark he had made to hi.? officers had been :

The Government is- sending us to our deaths—but I can do nothing else than obey.' From this it would seem that* Captain —whom I know personally to have been a very able and gallant gentleman— was acting on orders which were open to no other interpretation than as direct in-» fit ructions to shell the Inveterate."

So much for the laconic report of thai officer.

He compressed within the limits of ai. sheet of notepaper a tragedy, the news of which appalled the civilised world. The battle occurred at bet-ween severer and eight in the morning. The news was in London by ten that the Inveterate had been sunk by a Spanish cruiser and that a tierce and, sanguinary battle had preceded its finking. _ Y\ ho .sent the descriptive telegram from.' Gibraltar will never be known, though its source was obvious.

It bore the name of a world-famous news agency, and was issued to the press from the London office of the agency, but the Gibraltar correspondent had no knowledge of its sending. All England was in an uproar when the official version of the incident came to hand.

Spain! Why Spain! What was the cause What had we done, what insult had we offered There were writers in plenty to rush into print to prove that whatever had happened it. was England's fault, but even these gentlemen offered no elucidation.

Captain Sombum's report was telegraphed to the Admiralty immediately on his arrival at. Gibraltar, and issued to the press. Side by side in the morning newspapers appeared the official disclaimer of the Spanish Government.

" His Majesty's Government has no knowledge of any circumstance leading up to or responsible for the recent lamentable disaster oft' the coast of Morocco. It has issued directly or indirectly no instructions, orders, or suggestions to Captain Tires, and has had no communication with him other than the conventional exchange of documents peculiar to routine."*'

CHAPTER XX. T. B. Smith was one of many million* who read this statement-. He was one o£' many thousands Who believed it implicitly. - He was one of 12 who understood"'the madness of the di>ad' Spanish captain'. He saw, too, villainy behind it all; the. greed of gold that had,sent a gallant ship to the bottom, that had brought deathi and mutilation in most horrible form to brave men.

Silinski had slipped through his fingers; —Silinski, arch-agent of the Nine.

The house in St. John-street had beetf raided. In a little room on the top floor there was evidence that an 1 instrument of some considerable size had been hastily dismantled. Broken ends of wire were hanging from the wall, and one other room on the same floor was packed with, storage batteries. Pursuing their investigations, the detectives ascended to the roof through a trap door. Hero was tire flagstaff and the arrangement for hoisting the wires. Apparently night was usually chosen for the reception and despatch of messages. By night the taut strands of wire would not attract .attention. Only. in cases of extremest urgency were they employed in daylight.

Such an occasion had been that wheni T.B. .had interviewed. Silinski. He understood now why the Pole had talked sc«: loudly. It was to drown the peculiar sound of a wireless instrument at work.

Silinski was gonevanished, in spite of the fact, that every railway terminus in London had been "(vatched, every oceangoing passenger scrutinised. Now, on top of his disappearance, carrvi the»Castilia disaster with the irresponsible public of two nations howling for a scapegoat. T. B. Smith attended a specially* convened meeting of Ministers in Downingstreet and related all that lie knew.

" Give me two day?," he said; " and voir may publish the whole.of the facte. But to show our hand now would be disastrous., The police of every city are engaged irtt tracking down the wireless stations. There is one in every capital, of that much w® are sure. To get the whole gang, how-: ever, I must- find out where they are operas ing from." Is that possible?" asked, the gravij Prime Minister.

"Absolutely, sir," said T.B. In the end they agreed. A more difficult man to persuade was th& editor of the London .Morning Journal. '• I have got the story, why not let met publish was a not unnatural request. " In two days you shall have the com* plete story; what lam anxious to avoid is anything in the nature of to-be-contmued-in-our-next! I want the whole thing rounded off and finished for good." Reluctantly the editor agreed. He had two days to tret the " book." ;* this code which the unfortunate Hyatt had deciphered to his undoing. Mess had said Hyatt's sister had it. but- the country had been searched from end to end for Hyatt's sister. It had not been difficult to trace her. Elk, after half an hour's search in Falmouth, had discovered her abode, bub the girl was not- there. "She left for London yesterday," he was informed.

From that moment Miss Hyatt had disappeared. A tele cram had reached her on the very dav of Hvatt's death. It said " Come."

There was no name, no address. The telegram had been hamk'd in at St. Mar-tin-le- Grand ; unearthed, it was found to be in typewritten characters, and the, address at its back a fictitious one. One other item of news Elk secured r there had been a lady on the same errand as himself.* "'A foreign lady." said the good folks of Falmouth. When T.B. played the spy 10 the hanker and the Spanish dancer, he liad heard her speak of a visit to Cornwall; this, then., wis, tho visit. He had some two days to discover Eva» Hvatt— was her name. Silinski might have kil'ed her; he wag large in his views and generously murderous, and one life more or less should nosj count. T.B. paced his room, his head sur*», on his breast. Where was the girl? The telegram said "Come." It Suggested some prearranged plan in which the girl had acouiesced: he was to leave Pal" mouth and go somewhere. _ Who sent the tele-,:nun? Not Silinski;! this Eva Hyatt, by all showing, was of th?i class that sticks for the proprieties. she hud come to London, when* would Catherine Silinski have placed her? Near a.t tend; a thought Struck T.B. He had been satisfied with deporting tha dancing eirl, a fruitless precaution, as turned out; he had! made no search of ha» flat,. Had she been arrested in the ordi nary way the search would have followed l but her "arrest was a little irregular,. 1 t £Fo bo continued daily.)