Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1935-07-04
CHAPTER XI-Continued


tow without transshipping the last
load" This order was transmitted to
a man forward on the deck of the sub
marine and shouted to Aswami Pasha.
Captain Peterson, bare-headed, gray
faced, stood on the bridge of the Wal
LARGO. 1t all seemed unreal, utterly i'm
possible. Even now it was difficult to
believe that the pirates had been
actually on board his ship-without
a blow struck, had removed that pre-
cious cargo under his eyes. -.
Yet, had there been any alterna-
tive? Even If the Wallaroo had car
ried gun, the fate of all those women
and children below must have rested
upon the success of one shot.
He stood listening to the pulsing of
the auxiliary engine on board the dhow
watching the negroes scrambling
onto her stern. Then the boats swung
out on two lines, and the dhow headed
in for the head Of that rocky island
near to which they lay. Her deck was
black with negroes.
Suddenly, all signs of life vanished
from the submarine. Came the faint
sound Of bell on the Wallaroo's
bridge; the ship began to vibrate, but /:
"Stand by all boat stations!" the cap
tain roared The order was trans
mitted, in dying echoes, from point to
point of the ship: "Stand by all boat
stations -. stand by ;. boat sta
tons boat stations. . :"
Peterson sprang to the telegraph and
damned it "Full speed ahead"-then
leaped to the side Of the bridge and
looked over again..
He was too late!
Yuan Hee See sat In the control
room of the submarine. Seen through
the periscope, the towering hull of the
Wallaroo seemed almost to overhang
the vicious little warship. Yuan Hee
See spoke softly. First tube" he said
And the first torpedo was launched
against the helpless liner
Frightened faces of stewards and
other members of the crew, some of
them with war experience, peered out
of portfolios. Men were running
there was tumult-desperatio
Yuan Hee See began to laugh. That
weird, piping laughter swept around
the oily little compartment like a
breeze from hell.
The torpedo buried its wicked nose
10 Lung was clever !-squarely into
the engine room. There was mons
trous explosion which shook the SUBJ
marine from stem to stern. Smoke
and steam dropped veil between the
doomed liner and the watching eyes of
Yuan Hee See. Yet he trusted the
Wasp, his chief torpedo operator.
Second tube" he directed
If the first explosion had been an
enormous one, the second was such
as seemed to rend the very heavens.
The second torpedo had registered in
Number Two Hold, where twenty cases
of potted Stilton for Colombo were
stored. They had come aboard in
Marseilles just before Doctor Oestler
went ashore. They contained enough
high explosive to destroy a small
town.
Yuan Hee See rubbed his plump
hands together and began to laugh
again. Although they had drawn away
from the Wallaroo, a veritable tidal
wave swept them, but Yuan laughed
on. At last, recovering himself:
''Order Ali to cast the boats off and
head the dhow back" came his high
pitched Instructions.
He glanced up to find Len Chow at
his elbow. He took the message
which his second in command had
brought, adjusted his spectacles, and,
still chuckling, reads
NEWS OF EXPLOSION RE-
LAYED PORT SUDAN HIS PAN
THEIR HEADED FOR YOU"
Yuan Hee See nodded, read the mes
sage a second time, and began very
softly to hiss.
Jack Rattray, chief officer, who
had seen the torpedo, was racing
for the bridge He had just reached
the ladder when it crashed into the
engine room. One of the boilers went
and he was heaved off his feet, lost
AiAo hOid VI IuC Ian, anu pllSLCu iuIO
the scuppers.
Dazed, temporarily confused, he
staggered up. Somewhere behind and
below there was a shambles-shrieks
which he was never to forget to his
dying day. He tottered again for the
ladder and was halfway up when the
second torpedo found it's billet in the
secret cargo.
The whole of the Wallaroo, forward
of the bridge, burst upward like q
volcano. The deck planking bellied
upward and shot him into the sea as
If he had been propelled by catapult
Always, in such catastrophes, seem
ing miracles occur. The case of Jack
Rattray was one of them. Physically
he was unhurt. Mental confusion was
cleared by his plunge into cool depths
He came to the surface Immediately
beside floating deck chair. Upor
this he rested his hands, for the mo
ment content to be alive
But he would have gambled year Of
the chance Of life that remained to hin
to have been spared the spectacle hi
was now compelled to witness
The Wallaroo was sinking fast