But as I would not weary you, I will only indicate the happenings during
the rest of that day at Plymouth in the briefest possible fashion. I am
impatient to bring the story up to the hour of eleven-thirty of the same
night.
Immediately we were at rest on the placid waters of the sea-drome, Muir
Lockhart, with a strong force of Air Police, came aboard. Constance and
her maid were taken in a motor-boat to one of my patrol ships, which
started with them for the Hounslow Aerodrome within half an hour of our
arrival. We both of us thought it best that she should proceed to London
immediately, and going by air in a Government ship, she would escape
all annoyance and publicity.
All approach to the sea-drome was barred, and though the Hoe was crowded
with spectators, none of them could approach anywhere near to us. When I
had given Lockhart an outline of what had occurred, the two prisoners
were taken over the pool with a strong guard, and run up in the private
lift to the A.P. station, where there was a strong cell ready to receive
them. Then I was free to show my colleague, himself an expert airman,
the wonders of our capture.
I was doing this--we were in the pilot's cabin--when one of my men came
in and said that a motor-launch had come alongside from the private
air-yacht _May Flower_, which was moored not a hundred yards away. I had
noticed, when descending, that a magnificent yacht was close by, but I
did not identify it as Mr. Van Adams' ship. It appeared that he had been
sleeping aboard for the last two or three nights, since he had flown
down from London for the funeral, and was now alongside.
Van Adams, of course, was an exception to all ordinary rules, and in a
minute he was shaking hands in the private saloon and betraying a most
lively curiosity as to our adventures. I put Danjuro to satisfy him, and
when we had discussed a bottle of Helzephron's champagne, I left a
couple of trusted men to guard the ship, and went ashore. Danjuro
returned to the _May Flower_ with his patron.
The rest of the day was a whirl of business and excitement, though I
managed to get three hours much needed sleep in the afternoon.
Wires from the Government, from America, from Royalty, poured in, in a
never-ceasing stream. There were innumerable officials to see, the
correspondents of the great newspapers to satisfy with some sort of
story--a hundred things to do and arrange for. The whole of England was
in a ferment, and the stone building of the Air Police on the Hoe was,
for a few hours, the centre of it all. The air was thick with patrol
ships, warning off aviators of all kinds from approaching the Pirate
Ship, which lay at rest and harmless by the north wall of the pool.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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