Sant of the Secret Service: Some Revelations of Spies and SpyingLe Queux, William
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Sant of the Secret Service: Some Revelations of Spies and Spying
Le Queux, William
Spy stories; World War, 1914-1918 -- Secret service -- Fiction
About seven o'clock next evening, lounging in the garish Cafe Suzio,
with its noisy crowd, I saw a tall English traveller in grey tweeds
saunter in. After he had swallowed a drink, I rose and went out, and he
followed at once. It was the commander of the British submarine 85, and
on receipt of my wireless he had come full speed to Santander. At that
moment his boat was lying off the port, skilfully screened behind a big
British tramp steamer that was being used as a decoy. He had come
ashore, apparently from the tramp, but really from his own boat, which
had submerged the moment he left it.
"Well, Sant," he said eagerly, "you've made a grand discovery. I got
your wireless off Finisterre last night, and came here full speed.
Wilson is outside Bilbao, and Matthews at Gijon, both waiting. I have
sent out a message to the squadron, and we hope to make a big bag. But
we'll get this friend of yours in the cove first, anyhow. You'll come,
of course?"
I eagerly assented, and we went down to the water's edge, where the
tramp steamer's boat was lying in charge of two men whose merchant jack
rig-out hardly concealed the purposeful British bluejacket. We were
soon on board the tramp. A few minutes later the submarine rose
noiselessly to the surface, close alongside, and we went on board.
"Now for the cove," said Jeans, as we dropped below.
Crawling along dead slow in order that the noise of our propellers might
not betray us to the enemy, we approached the cove. By this time it was
dark. A mile from the cove, screened by a promontory of rock, we rose
noiselessly to the surface. A collapsible Berthon boat, containing half
a dozen armed men, put off to guard the approach to the beach, and once
more we submerged and made for the cove, showing only six inches of our
periscope above the rippling waves.
There was just enough moonlight for our purpose, and as we drew near we
were able to make out the enemy submarine, lying just awash, and
presenting a magnificent target. Very few of the crew were on shore;
obviously they were getting ready to leave. We could make out the
captain, walking up and down with two men that we knew must be the
"Italian" and Bernhard.
Jeans swung our ship slowly into position; the torpedo crew grouped
themselves round the bow tube and we waited the exact moment. It was
necessary that most of the crew should be on board, for our
landing-party dared not risk a possible fight on Spanish soil, and if
only one man escaped we should lose our chance of a big bag of the
pirates, since a warning that the plot was discovered would at once be
sent them by wireless.
At last the men began to go aboard. They were using a small boat which
would hold only three men, and, as luck would have it, only the captain
at length was left on the shore, talking to the "Italian" and Bernhard.
The small boat, with only a single sailor in it, was being pulled ashore
to fetch him when Jeans gave the single word "Fire!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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