CHAPTER XXIX The Admiral's Promise

"By the by," remarked Alwyn to the skipper of the Titania just before the former turned in, "do you happen to have a White Ensign on board?"

"By Jove, no," replied Swayne, somewhat astonished at the unusual request. "I'm not one to risk chucking away five hundred of the best for unlawfully flying colours to which I am not entitled, my pippin."

"I don't suppose you would be fined—in the circumstances to which I'm going to refer," said Burgoyne earnestly. "It's quite possible that we may fall in with the Malfilio. She's away cruising, and she may be well south of the Line. The Pacific's wide, I know, and the probability of running up against her is small; but strange things happen at sea. She's got the speed of you by at least six knots."

"Well?"

"Then you'll have to bluff her," continued Burgoyne. "She'll fight shy of a White Ensign, even if flown from a mud-hopper, although she hasn't hesitated to use it herself.... If you had wireless——"

"We haven't," said Swayne. "Didn't have any use for it."

"Perhaps it's as well," agreed Alwyn. "But let me advise you to get a White Ensign made up in case of emergency."

"Right-o, I will," replied Swayne. "We've a spare Red Ensign. It won't be much of a job to work in white bunting where necessary. I'll put a couple of hands on that at once. I don't fancy Miss Vivian borrowed both sewing-machines; but I do know she took one into the cabin and yards of white duck and drill."

At one bell in the forenoon watch a vessel was sighted broad on the starboard beam, and shaping a converging course towards the Titania.

"What do you make of her, George?" inquired Swayne.

Burgoyne had already brought his binoculars—formerly the property of the late Black Strogoff and possibly that of an honest man before the pirate lieutenant acquired them—to bear upon the stranger.

"Make of her?" he repeated softly. "There's not much doubt about it. That vessel is the Malfilio."

"But the third funnel?" demurred Mostyn.

"A fake," replied Burgoyne promptly. "I'd keep your dusky crew out of sight, Swayne, if I were you; and the sooner we run up the White Ensign the better."

Swayne was no coward—far from it—but he felt decidedly uncomfortable. It is one thing to face a Hun when your vessel is armed; another to attempt to bluff a pirate when your armament consists merely of one or two shot-guns, a couple of rifles, and a few automatics, and the pirate was able to back up his argument with six-inch quick-firers. To make matters worse the Titania carried 20,000 pounds worth of silver in her hold, the result of ten months' hard and dangerous toil under the sea, and it would be very hard lines if the fruit of her labours was simply snapped up by Ramon Porfirio and his gang of freebooters.

Remembering Burgoyne's warning of the great disparity in speed between the two vessels, Swayne resisted the impulse to put the helm hard over and show his heels to the cruiser.

"Right-o," he assented. "Up with the Ensign."

The impromptu emblem of the Royal Navy fluttered out bravely. Anxiously the crew of the Titania awaited developments. For some minutes the Malfilio held on. She was flying no flag. Possibly it had been her intention of hoisting the White Ensign, too; but the appearance of a similar flag on the little white craft rather upset Porfirio's calculations.

"By Jove! if we only had wireless," sighed Mostyn. "Wouldn't we have a game with him, calling up imaginary battle-cruisers and all that sort of thing."

A minute or so later the Malfilio hoisted the Rising Sun—the ensign of Japan, and still closing made the International Signal, "What ship is that?"

"Port helm a point, please," said Burgoyne; "we'll get within semaphore distance and then we'll puzzle him a bit."

The Titania rapidly closed her distance, for the Malfilio had slowed down and was doing about eight or nine knots. This manoeuvre undoubtedly perplexed Ramon Porfirio. Although he could have blown the former craft clean out of water, he had a wholesome respect for men-of-war of any description.

Burgoyne balanced himself on the weather stanchion-rails. There was no chance of the pirates recognizing the clean-shaven man as being one of the officers of the Donibristle.

Waving the two hand-flags Alwyn spelt out the following message: "H.M.A.S. Titania. We are escorting submarine flotilla carrying out quarterly torpedo exercise. Please keep clear. Other vessels of the squadron are also exercising in vicinity. Caution necessary especially at night."

Ramon Porfirio swallowed the fable. The word "submarine" scared him stiff, and he had not the faintest desire to run up against any of the powerful cruisers of the Royal Australian Navy.

Thrice the Japanese Ensign was dipped on board the Malfilio, a compliment that Swayne reluctantly returned. Then turning eight points to starboard the pirate cruiser made off at full speed.

"Burgoyne, dear old thing!" exclaimed Swayne exuberantly, "you've more than earned your passage. But for you we should have been properly in the consommé. Well, I hope I've seen the last of that blighter."

"I won't reciprocate your wish," rejoined Alwyn. "In fact I rather want to meet her again on a strictly business footing. I think we can now tell Miss Vivian that she is at liberty to come on deck."

Hilda was delighted to learn that another serious danger had been averted.

"How did you manage it?" she asked.

"Better inquire of this merchant, Miss Vivian," replied Swayne indicating Burgoyne, who turned a dusky red and shuffled his feet.

"The Malfilio sheered off. That's the long and short of it, Miss Vivian," he replied gruffly, in a vain attempt to deprecate his share of the affair.

The rest of the run down to Sydney passed almost without incident. Fine weather favoured the Titania until she made her landfall at Moreton Island, off the extreme south-east corner of Queensland. From there right down to Sydney she bore the brunt of a stiff easterly gale, and all hands were glad when the little craft passed between The Heads into the land-locked Port Jackson.

"Now we are in civilization once more, Miss Vivian," remarked Burgoyne, as the Titania approached the wharf where she was to be berthed. "You have no friends in Sydney, I suppose?"

Hilda shook her head.

"Then," continued Alwyn briskly, "you are still under my charge. I must be responsible for you until I hand you over to your father. As a matter of fact I've an uncle and aunt living at Balmain, just over there, and they'll make you welcome."

The girl had resumed feminine attire for the first time on board when the Titania "made her number" to the Outer North Head Lighthouse. For several days she had been most industrious, spending hours in her cabin with a sewing-machine for company. The result of her labours was a neat, well-fitting coat and skirt of plain workmanship and a shady hat to match.

"You seem to take your guardianship for granted, Mr. Burgoyne," she remarked with mock severity, although in her heart she admired the masterful way in which he had gone about things.

"Precisely," he rejoined. "Having had the responsibility of looking after you for so long, I am not going to throw up my trusteeship at this juncture, Miss Vivian. I mean to see this business through, and until I can report to Captain Blair and Colonel Vivian that I have done my duty you must consider yourself as—as—what shall I say?—a piece of merchandise of great value. You understand?"

"Yes," replied the girl. "We'll leave it at that, Mr. Burgoyne."

As soon as the Titania was moored. Burgoyne and Mostyn took Hilda ashore after she had said farewell to the good-natured Swayne, Fontayne, and O'Loghlin. Mr. and Mrs. Dalrymple Burgoyne readily consented to have Miss Vivian with them until the Colonel came to claim her, and this arrangement being satisfactorily transacted, Alwyn and Peter bade Hilda good-bye promising, if possible, to be back within a month or six weeks.

"Now, old son," remarked Burgoyne, as the two officers made their way back to the Titania, "we've business to attend to. You and I must try and wangle a place in the operations against our friend Porfirio. It'll take some doing. Pukka naval officers don't take kindly to outsiders when there's a job on. They'll probably try and get us to give all the information we can, and then tell us to stop still and be good boys while they go out and mop up the pirates. I rather fancy Swayne and the others want a look-in, too."

That was precisely what the part-owners of the Titania wanted, although they were not sanguine about it. Finally it was decided that the five should go in a body to the Senior Naval Officer, report the fact that the Donibristle, Kittiwake, and Alvarado were not lost at sea but were captured by pirates, and request that the five ex-officers be employed during the operations necessary for the destruction of the pirates.

That same afternoon they secured an interview with the Senior Naval Officer. The Admiral heard Burgoyne's startling statement without a sign that betrayed his surprise. In his mind he was sceptical. He had a suspicion that his visitors were skylarking young Australians "trying to pull his leg". Neither Alwyn nor Peter could produce documentary evidence proving what they claimed to be—officers of the Mercantile Marine belonging to the lost S.S. Donibristle.

Spreading out a chart of the North Pacific the Admiral questioned Burgoyne at some length. Alwyn's answers, prompt and to the point, carried conviction, and the naval officer had to admit that the existence and deeds of Ramon Porfirio formed one of the most surprising pieces of information that he had heard in the whole course of his career.

When Burgoyne came to that part of the story in which a vessel arrived off the island and displayed her searchlights the Admiral inquired:

"How long ago was that?"

Alwyn told him. The Admiral rang a bell and one of the officers on his staff appeared.

"Bring me the docket containing the report of Captain Consett, of the U.S.S. Yosemite, please," he said.

In a few minutes the document was forthcoming. The time given by Burgoyne and the Captain of the American cruiser exactly tallied, while there was a further similarity between the description of the island as recorded by the written reports and by Burgoyne, except that the former had not discovered the existence of life on the island.

"There's one thing," remarked the Admiral, "we have the exact position of this island. You say it is fortified? Can you let me have a rough plan of the anchorage, the approaches, and the batteries?"

Burgoyne complied. The Admiral looked at the drawing carefully and critically.

"You're a bit of a cartographer, I see," he remarked. "Where did you learn that?"

"At Osborne and Dartmouth, sir," replied Alwyn. "I was one of the 'redundant' officers, withdrawing with a gratuity in 1920. Since then I have been in the Mercantile Marine."

Three hours passed before the deputation withdrew. Its members were in high feather. The Admiral had given his word that the five should be temporarily engaged for special duties with the Australian squadron ordered to the North Pacific.

At 8 p.m. orders were issued for two light cruisers, a seaplane carrier, and three destroyers to proceed under sealed orders at noon on the following day.