arrested, brought to trial; and sentenced to a long term of imprisonment.

Before he had done twelve months of his sentence he contrived, with the assistance of his revolutionary associates, to effect his escape from the prison-fortress of Saragossa. For some months he lay hidden in Barcelona, when his daring, undoubted courage, and vehement denunciations of all authority, gained him a prominent position amongst the anarchist community of that city.

As a delegate he attended the secret revolutionary conferences in Paris, and London, and the Mediterranean seaports; and in the course of his wanderings contrived to gather together a band of seafaring rascals in whom the piratical instincts of their forefathers lay dormant.

It wanted but a leader, bold, determined, and unscrupulous, to bind them together into a formidable band—and that leader was forthcoming in Juan Cervillo.

A daring raid upon one of the leading banks in Rome, and an equally successful coup in the commercial quarter of Marseilles, provided Juan Cervillo with ample funds. He could have retired into some remote South American town, and lived a life of luxury; but the desire for adventure and the lust for gold were too great.

With the money at his disposal he proposed to buy a swift cruiser, prey upon the world's sea-borne commerce, and recoup his outlay tenfold.

Then it was that the possibility of securing a discarded British warship occurred to him. Careful and guarded inquiries revealed the information that the Impregnable was leaving Portsmouth for Holland. He resolved to intercept her—and succeeded.

The next few days were to be spent in wholesale depredations; then, as soon as the high seas became too unsafe to continue his nefarious exploits, he meant to convey his booty to some out-of-the-way port, and, temporarily satisfied with his war upon civilisation, he would lie low till a favourable opportunity again occurred.

Thus, while the Frome, lured on a false scent, was running westward, the Independencia ex-Impregnable was steaming southward, ready like a beast of prey to pounce down upon the first unsuspecting merchant ship that came across Cervillo's course.

CHAPTER V

OVERHAULED

"I believe we're on a fool's errand," remarked Fielding to the midshipman.

They were on the bridge; Drake had turned in. It was now two bells of the middle watch (1 a.m.), and the Frome was still heading westward as fast as her motors could impart power to the three undamaged propellers. Beyond the rhythmical purr of the engines, the "swish" of the water as the destroyer's knife-like bow cleft the waves, and the mournful slatting of the signal halliards against the mast, hardly a sound was audible.

"Why, sir?" asked Cardyke, lowering his night-glasses, and stepping behind the shelter of the "storm-dodgers."

"Why—because I think we are. We ought to have overhauled our quarry hours ago—certainly before sunset. With lights out, they might easily alter course, and let us run by them like a blind man past a notice to trespassers. What's more, we're right out of the beaten track. All up-Channel traffic will be heading for St. Catherine's light, and we're well to the south'ard of the Start by now.

"It's a cool bit of work, snapping up a ship almost in sight of Portsmouth, and in the English Channel, too," remarked Cardyke.

"Yes, and it's the audacity of it all that gives the beggars a chance of success. But what can be the object of a tramp lumbering along with a disabled cruiser in tow? She'll be spotted at sunrise, mark my words; but I'm afraid the Frome won't have a look in. Well?"

The monosyllable was addressed to a seaman who had scaled the bridge-ladder.

"Message, sir; wireless," replied the man, laconically.

"H'm!" grumbled Fielding, taking the slip of paper. "The admiral wants to know our position, I suppose. That will mean a recall, and a wigging for not carrying out orders. I wish we'd crippled the wireless for a few hours. Take this, Cardyke, and see what it's all about."

The midshipman took the paper, and entered the little chart-room. The next instant he was by the sub.'s side.

"She's at it again," he exclaimed. "Here's an urgent call for assistance from ss. Yosen Maru, lat. 50-2-14 N., long. 3-45-9 W., steaming NNE.¹/₄E. Requires urgent assistance. Pursued and fired upon by large unknown vessel. How's that?"

"Forty miles off, and a general call will bring a dozen vessels to her assistance," replied Fielding, gloomily. "Cut below and inform Drake."

Cardyke bounded down the steep ladder, and made his way to the wardroom. The lieutenant was awake in a moment.

"We've been tricked," he exclaimed. "But we'll be in time yet. Pass the word for Mr. Black."

Drake was soon on the bridge, and the Frome's course was altered towards the position given by the Yosen Maru. As soon as Black, the gunner, came on deck, orders were given to clear for action.

The wireless operator repeatedly called up the vessel in distress, which was known to be a Japanese liner bound for London. But beyond the first call for aid no message came from the threatened vessel. The ominous silence told its own tale.

With the spray flying in cascades right over the fore-bridge, for the wind was now dead ahead, the Frome thrashed her way through the darkness. An hour and a half passed, then—

"Rocket, throwing blue and red stars, sir," announced one of the men stationed on the bridge.

"Whither away?"

"Dead ahead, sir. There's another."

"That's the Yosen Maru, sure enough," exclaimed Drake. "We'll be in time, after all."

The grey dawn was paling in the eastern sky as the Frome eased down within a cable's length of the huge Japanese liner, and a couple of the destroyer's boats were promptly lowered and manned, Fielding being in charge of one, and Cardyke of the other.

It was soon evident that the Yosen Maru was helpless and drifting broadside on to the fairly stiff breeze. Her rudder had been shot away, and a gaping hole under her counter, a few feet above the waterline, showed that a shot had been fired with disastrous result. Her accommodation ladder had been lowered, and no attempt had been made to haul it up again, so towards this means of entry the destroyer's boats gave way.

Fielding was the first to board, and at the head of the ladder was met by a group of calm, imperturbable Oriental officers.

"We have been boarded by pirates, sir," announced one of the Japanese, in excellent English. "A large cruiser intercepted us and ordered us to heave-to. We asked the reason, and in reply a shot was fired across our bows, and another shattered our rudder. Under the circumstances we could do nothing more than ease down. We were boarded by a boat's crew, and the villain in charge demanded to see our papers, pointing revolvers at the passengers and crew to keep them intimidated. Our purser was compelled to hand over the whole of the bullion in the strong-room, to the value of three hundred thousand yen, some of our stores and provisions were stolen, and ten of our first-class passengers, including General Oki, who is on a mission to the British Court, and Mr. Hokosuka, the eminent financier of Nagasaki, were taken out of the ship. Finally having done considerable damage in our engine-room by means of a charge of dynamite, the rascals returned to their ship, and steamed off."

"Was the pirate ship alone?" asked Fielding. "And did she clear off under her own steam?"

"Certainly," replied the Japanese officer. "She headed S.S.W., going about twenty knots, as far as I could judge."

"I told you we'd been fooled," exclaimed the sub. to Cardyke. "The Impregnable was not towed away—she managed to raise steam, and