Taking possession of the torch Denbigh scaled the cliff and made his way through the mangroves until he was nearly twenty yards from the edge of the wood. From this point he could see the masthead light of the destroyer--for destroyer he felt sure it must be. He could now flash the torch with little risk of the glare being spotted from either the _Pelikan_ or the masked battery. He "called up", at first without meeting with success, but at length a steady white light gleamed from the offing. It was not from the destroyer that had been using her masthead light, but from one farther out to sea. Rapidly Denbigh flashed the warning message:-- "_Pelikan_ disguised, 400 yards to southward of searchlights. Masked battery 400 yards to northward of searchlights. Useless to attempt torpedo." The white light vanished. With his nerves tingling with anxiety the sub waited. Then through the darkness the destroyer's signalling lamp spelt out the single word: "R-A-T-S." CHAPTER XIV A Neglected Warning "Idiot!" snapped Denbigh under his breath. "Some irresponsible signalman acting the goat." "Perhaps they think that our signal is a faked message coming from the enemy," suggested O'Hara. "Try them again: add your name and rank." Denbigh repeated the message, making the additions his companion had proposed; but there was no reply--not even a facetious one. The signalman of the destroyer was engaged in taking down another message from the shore, for the Germans, seeing the word 'rats' flashed from an enemy ship, came to the conclusion that it was a personal affront to themselves. Consequently the searchlights had been temporarily shut off and a signalling lamp brought into play to frame a fitting reply to the Englishmen's single-worded challenge. "We must make a move," announced Denbigh, disappointed at his warning being ignored. "It will be daylight before we get back, if we don't hurry. I'd like to stop and watch the scrap, but we can't wait. They may not attack until close on dawn." Already possessed of the German soldier's rifle, bayonet and ammunition, Denbigh led the way from the shore. As the subs crossed the path along which the telegraph line had been laid, Denbigh severed the copper wire in two places, making the cuts quite fifty feet from each other. The separated part he removed, rolling it into a small coil. "They'll have a bit of a bother to find that, I fancy," he remarked. "Unless they bring a spare length with them that telephone will be useless for the next couple of hours." "They'll know it has been deliberately cut, though," added the Irishman. "If we had wrenched the wire apart they might have thought that some animal had barged into it. There'll be some strafing over it." As he spoke the air was rent by a terrific detonation, followed almost immediately by the bark of numerous quick-firers. The attack had commenced. Without a word both officers turned and raced recklessly towards the shore.