the decoy-ship canvey lay at anchor off st. vincent, whither she had gone to replenish her oil-fuel tanks. both officers and men were growing tired of the seemingly interminable stunt of steaming to and fro between the cape verde islands and teneriffe, vainly inviting captain cain to "tread on the tail of my coat." they wanted to cut into wad-el-abuam and settle the matter once and for all. it was galling to have to keep in the offing, while the spanish destroyer villamil was at liberty to enter the estuary and destroy the pirates' lair.
day after day passed without untoward incident. although the spanish government had expressed its intention of keeping the british admiralty well informed as to the progress of operations, no message was received by the canvey from london, or in fact from anywhere that had any bearing upon the all-important subject of the destruction of the pirate submarine.
and for a very good reason. no wireless message from the villamil was received by the spanish naval authorities after a brief report that the destroyer was about to enter the wad-el-abuam to attack the alerte. from that time the movements of the destroyer were shrouded in mystery.
presently it occurred to the spanish admiralty that all was not well with the villamil. there was something decidedly ominous about the prolonged silence. the weather had been unusually quiet, so her disappearance could not be attributed to a sudden tempest. it seemed incredible that a unit of spain's navy had been vanquished by a contemptible pirate ship. but at last that supposition had to be regarded as a fact.
about that time serious riots broke out in barcelona. every available spanish destroyer was dispatched to that port to assist in quelling the disorder. unable to police her territorial waters of the rio del oro, the spanish government, putting its pride in its pocket, made a request to the british admiralty that the destruction of the pirate submarine should be undertaken by the british navy.
the canvey received her wireless instructions to this effect at noon. without delay the awnings were furled, steam raised for seventeen knots, and the anchor weighed. the knowledge that the destroyers complex and calyx were under orders to leave gibraltar for the rio del oro coast was no small factor in determining the canvey's hurried departure.
no longer need she to steam slowly, with a red ensign fluttering aft, and her officers and crew rigged out like members of the humble but all-important mercantile marine. with her hitherto concealed guns showing their teeth and the white ensign streaming proudly to the breeze, she could dash into the estuary of the wad-el-abuam, summon the alerte to surrender, and in default send her to the bottom for all time. but she must be first upon the scene. should her friendly rivals, the heavily-armed complex and calyx, forestall her, then the canvey's motto would be the single word, ichabod.
two hours after leaving st. vincent, lieutenant-commander raxworthy was conferring with broadmayne, who happened to be officer of the watch, when the leading telegraphist approached, saluted, and tendered a signal-pad.
the owner read the message. the corners of his mouth dropped.
"we're done out of a job, broadmayne," he remarked. "the alerte's settled with."
"our destroyers, sir?"
raxworthy shook his head.
"not an andrew job this time," he replied. "read this."
the message was a wireless signal en clair as follows:
"from s.s. bronx city of boston, mass., from accra to lisbon. encountered pirate vessel alerte in lat. 19° 17' n., long. 18° 23' w. alerte fired three rounds and attempted to close. bronx city ported helm, striking alerte amidships. alerte sank in three minutes. four survivors. am proceeding.—adams. master."
"that yankee's in luck," observed lieutenant commander raxworthy. "he stands to rake in thirty thousand pounds. carry on," he added, addressing the leading telegraphist. "copies to wardroom, gunroom, and mess-deck."
in a few minutes the "buzz" was all over the ship. the feeling of disappointment had a consoling feature. the canvey would be ordered home to be put out of commission, and that meant the bluejackets' highly-prized privilege—paying off leave, or "leaf" as the "matloe" insists on calling it.
to settle the matter, an admiralty wireless was received announcing that operations against the pirate submarine were to cease forthwith; vessels concerned were to proceed to their respective bases.
