The doomed vessel was instantly swept out of existence. The massive outlines of the cruiser seemed to melt into a hundred thousand fragments. As night fell the searchlights played with unceasing vigilance upon the harbour. Suddenly Captain Brookes turned to Gerald. "Does my compact forbid me using the Z-rays?" he asked. A party of natives appeared on the beach regarding the cruiser with obvious amazement. In their hands they carried long slender spears, which they brandished menacingly. Like a terrier let loose amidst a swarm of rats the submarine dashed towards the canoes. A terrific detonation shook the ground, and a thick cloud of smoke obscured the view of the pinnacle. In an agony of fear the natives threw themselves face downwards in the dust. Seated up to his waist in water was the aviator, clad in an inflated rubber suit. The engine was lost to view, the tips of the twin propellers just projected above the surface. "Good shot!" yelled several of the officers on the _Olive Branch_. For a full ten seconds the monoplane held on its course, then, lurching like a wounded bird, it swooped swiftly downwards. The searchlight revealed a huge circular turret with a pair of monster guns. Slowly the submarine swung round, the light travelling the length of the huge mass of weed-encrusted iron and steel. The four men threw themselves on the astonished foreigners, and a desperate conflict ensued. "In view of possible events I must ask you to take up your quarters beneath the armoured deck," said Captain Brookes. An admiral's pinnace was approaching the shattered _Olive Branch_. Gerald hastened on deck to receive the distinguished officer. [Illustration: Crash! The huge vessel, looming out of the fog, struck the little yacht amidships. The stout planks were shorn through as if made of match-board, and the water poured in a cataract over the lee side. (_See page_ 52)] THE SEA MONARCH BY PERCY F. WESTERMAN Author of: "A Lad of Grit," "The Quest of the Golden Hope," etc., etc. _ILLUSTRATED BY E. S. HODGSON_ [Illustration: chapter I] CHAPTER I THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF THE "ZIETAN" IT was a scorching afternoon in the month of August. The slanting rays of the sun beat powerfully upon the tranquil waters of Portsmouth Harbour, while the white ensigns of the numerous warships fluttered idly in the almost motionless air. Swinging easily at her moorings to the first of the young flood lay the torpedo-boat destroyer _Calder_, presenting a very different appearance from its trim state of a few days before. Engine-room defects had occasioned her return to harbour, and as these were of a somewhat serious nature, the opportunity was taken to place the destroyer into dockyard hands for at least two months. The commissioned officers had obtained permission to go on leave, while the _Calder_, in the charge of a gunner, was to be put into dock the following day.