“The biters bit, sir. They thought to runan ambush on us and had the tables turned!”
“One of them made it through, Number One,heading directly towards us.”
“Turning away now, sir. It’s escaping notattacking.”
“Coming close, Mr Canning!”
The helmsman of the motorboat was more concernedwith the shellfire behind him than with watching ahead. He saw Lancelot almosttoo late, put on full rudder and passed down the side, bows to stern, throttlingdown, less than a fathom distant. Higgins was at the bows with his party ofrifles, saw the boat almost directly underneath him.
“Jesus, sir! That bloody young fool hasjumped aboard her!”
The twin-Lewises fired a short burst.
“Mr Higgins has got the wheel, sir. We putdown the pair of Huns on the stern gun, sir!”
They watched in silent amaze as Higginsbrought the motorboat round in an unsteady circle and tried to come alongside.The Coxswain swore and did his best to make a lee while Simon yelled down thevoicepipe for steerage way.
Five frantic minutes and they had the boatsecured and four men under a petty officer aboard her.
Simon leant over the bridge, shouted to theboat.
“PO! Take her into Dunkirk under her ownpower. Can do?”
“An engineroom hand would be useful, sir.We have two wounded prisoners, sir.”
Two more minutes and Malcolm himself ranup on deck.
“Only man who’s ever handled a petrol engine,sir.”
“Take her in, Chief.”
Simon had no fears for his engineroom inMalcolm’s absence. He was certain Malcolm would have trained up two men, eitherable to take his place if he fell to a stray bullet or had a heart attack.
“Mr Higgins! To the bridge!”
Simon managed a full-throated Atlanticgale roar, probably heard clearly on the Belgian coast.
Canning interrupted him before he coulddeal with his errant sublieutenant.
“Lightning reports two unwoundedsurvivors, sir. Four bodies picked up. Congratulations on Lancelot’s capture.Lynx and Lucifer have a wounded man apiece and add their plaudits.”
Simon was deflated. He could not hangHiggins out to dry, much as he wanted to. The boy had committed an act ofgallantry, the bloody young fool, and must be congratulated. They had captureda new motorboat, fresh off the stocks, and Naval Intelligence would bedelighted. Their Lordships must be pleased as well, to discover exactly whathad been up the Hun’s sleeve.
Higgins limped onto the bridge.
“Beg pardon, sir. Cut my leg a bit when Ilanded. Right on top of a machine gun and it had sharp bits somewhere. Mighthave been its crew, sir. They were underneath me and stayed down when I kickedthem and jumped up and down a bit. I shot two men on the bridge, sir. With myrevolver. The Lewises killed two, sir, and the man in the engineroom gave up.The gun at the fore, sir, a pompom, two pounder, I think, was unmanned when Igot there. Hit by shell splinters, I think, judging from the state of the deck.The men blown overboard.”
“Well done, Higgins. You seized the opportunity,it would seem.”
“Thank you, sir. I just thought, sir, ‘whatwould Captain Sturton do’, and jumped.”
SNO Dunkerque was delighted.
“Captured a German boat, Sturton! Justwhat I would have expected of your ship. Well done indeed. Sunk a whole flotillaof new motorboats between you and brought one back for us to inspect. She’sjust small enough to go up on the davits of one of the predreadnoughts in placeof the steam picket boat. Take her back to Chatham or Portsmouth safely thatway. The Naval Constructor’s people have already been on the wireless. We’ll haveher in a dockyard before tomorrow morning. Prisoners as well. One of them anofficer, probably in command of them all. Might be able to find out what theythought they were doing.”
An hour and SNO was aboard Lancelot tocongratulate Higgins and to inform Simon that they had found written orderstucked away in a little chart table in the bridge.
“Monitors are always accompanied by small craft,sloops or tugs. The motorboats were to sink or take them. If they were luckyenough to find them towing the monitor - not an uncommon event by their observation– they might be so fortunate as to run it aground. Whatever, it would be afeather in their caps.”
“Damned embarrassing for us if they hadsucceeded. A good thing you had an escort out, sir.”
SNO was much convinced of his own wisdom,had to admit that the plan had originated with Commodore Tyrwhitt.
“With my full support, of course, Sturton.”
“Of course, sir. What do we do withHiggins now?”
There was a deep belly-laugh in response.SNO had met Higgins and had discussed him with Simon, knew his capabilities.
“We, Sturton? You are his captain,are you not? It is up to you to make the appropriate recommendations – and I wishyou the best of luck!”
“So be it, sir. I shall have my written reportto you within the hour. I am waiting on Lightning, Lynx and Lucifer for theirsto include, sir. Good shooting on their part. Sunk eleven boats between them.Small fast targets illuminated by star shell and a single weak searchlight. Iam very pleased with them, sir.”
“Their captains could go to bigger boats,do you think, Sturton?”
“All three are well capable of commandinga bigger destroyer, or of taking their own half-flotilla.”
“Noted. I shall pass the word up the line.What do you intend to recommend for Higgins?”
“DSC in recognition of the bravery of hisact. I do not think he is ready to be made full lieutenant yet, but there maybe no choice in that. They are talking of Coastal Motorboats, I believe. Someof them gunboats, others with a torpedo. Give him one of those and set him topatrolling the coast somewhere. Every chance that he might slip a tinfish intosomething worthwhile. An equal likelihood that he will not come home one nightfor taking too many chances, probably without realising that he’s doing so.”
“Three man crew, I believe. Captain,gunner and mechanic. The torpedo boats will carry a single eighteen inch in atrough to the stern. Line up the boat, dump the torpedo in its wake and turnaway
