Banzai! Part 3

"Cost Harryman, on board the _Monadnock_, his life?" asked Prettyman in astonishment.

"I'm afraid so," answered Parrington. "The j.a.panese steamer which brought us the news of the famous seaquake has been anch.o.r.ed beside him for four days. When you sent your wireless message to Manila, the j.a.panese must have intercepted it, for they have a wireless apparatus on board--I noticed it only this morning."

The _Mindoro_ now lay fast beside the wharf, and Colonel Prettyman hurried across the gangway to the gunboat and went straight to Parrington's cabin, where the two shut themselves up with the German officer.

A few minutes later an excited orderly rushed on board and demanded to see the colonel at once; he was let into the cabin, and it was found that he had brought a confirmation of Parrington's suspicions, for a wireless message from Manila informed them that the _Monadnock_ had been destroyed in the roads of Manila through some inexplicable explosion.

Parrington sprang from his chair and cried to the colonel: "Won't you at least pay those cursed j.a.ps back by sending the message, 'We suspect that the j.a.panese steamer anch.o.r.ed beside the _Monadnock_ has blown her up by means of a torpedo?' Otherwise it is just possible that they will be nave enough in Manila to let the scoundrel get out of the harbor.

No, no," he shouted, interrupting himself, "we can't wait for that; we must get to work ourselves at once. Colonel, you go ash.o.r.e, and I'll steam toward Manila and cut off the rogue's escape. And you"--turning to the German--"you can return to your s.h.i.+p and enter the bay; there are no"--here his voice broke--"no mines here."

Then he rushed up on the bridge again. The hawsers were cast off in feverish haste, and the _Mindoro_ once more steamed out into the bay at the fastest speed of which the old craft was capable. Parrington had regained his self-command in face of the new task that the events just described, which followed so rapidly upon one another's heels, laid out for him. An expression of fierce joy came over his features when, looking through his gla.s.s an hour later, he discovered the _Kanga Maru_ holding a straight course for Corregidor.

As calmly as if it were only a question of everyday maneuvers, Parrington gave his orders. The artillerymen stood on either side of the small guns, and everything was made ready for action.

The distance between the two s.h.i.+ps slowly diminished.

"Yes, it is the j.a.panese steamer," said Parrington to himself. "And now to avenge Harryman! There'll be no sentimentality; we'll shoot them down like pirates! No signal, no warning--nothing, nothing!" he murmured.

"Stand by with the forward gun," he called down from the bridge to the men standing at the little 12 pounder on the foredeck of the _Mindoro_.

The _Mindoro_ turned a little to starboard, so as to get at the broadside of the j.a.panese, and thus be able to fire on him with both the forward and after guns.

"Five hundred yards! Aim at the engine room! Number one gun, fire!" The shot boomed across the sunny, blue expanse of water, driving a white puff of smoke before it. The sh.e.l.l disappeared in the waves about one hundred yards ahead of the j.a.panese steamer. The next shot struck the s.h.i.+p, leaving in her side a black hole with jagged edges just above the waterline.

"Splendid!" cried Parrington. "Keep that up and we'll have the villain in ten shots."

Quickly the 12 pounder was reloaded; the gunners stood quietly beside their gun, and shot after shot was fired at the j.a.panese s.h.i.+p, of which five or six hit her right at the waterline. The stern gun of the _Mindoro_ devoted itself in the meantime to destroying things on the enemy's deck. Gaping holes appeared everywhere in the s.h.i.+p's side, and the funnels received several enormous rents, out of which brown smoke poured forth. In a quarter of an hour the deck resembled the primeval chaos, being covered with bent and broken iron rods, iron plates riddled with shot, and woodwork torn to splinters. Suddenly clouds of white steam burst out from all the holes in the s.h.i.+p's sides, from the skylights, and from the remnants of the funnels; the deck in the middle of the steamer rose slowly, and the exploding boilers tossed broken bits of engines and deck apparatus high up into the air. The _Kanga Maru_ listed to port and disappeared in the waves, over which a few straggling American shots swept.

"Cease firing!" commanded Parrington. Then the _Mindoro_ came about and again steered straight for Manila. The act of retribution had been accomplished; the treacherous murder of the crew of the _Monadnock_ had been avenged.

When the _Mindoro_ arrived at the harbor of Manila, the town was in a tremendous state of excitement. The drums were beating the alarm in the streets. The spot where only that morning the _Monadnock_ had lain in idle calm was empty.

The explosion of the _Monadnock_ had at first been regarded as an accident. In spite of its being the dinner hour, a number of boats appeared in the roads, all making toward the scene of the accident, where a broad, thick veil of smoke crept slowly over the surface of the water. As no one knew what new horrors might be hidden in this cloud, none of the boats dared go nearer. Only two white naval cutters belonging to the gunboats lying in the harbor glided into the mist, driven forward by strong arms; and they actually succeeded in saving a few of the crew.

One of the rescued men told the following story: About two minutes after the _Monadnock_ had received a wireless message, which, however, was never deciphered, a dull concussion was felt throughout the s.h.i.+p, followed almost immediately by another one. On the starboard side of the _Monadnock_ two white, bubbling, hissing columns of water had shot up, which completely flooded the low deck; then a third explosion, possibly caused by a mine striking the ammunition room and setting it off, practically tore the s.h.i.+p asunder. There could be no doubt that these torpedoes came from the j.a.panese steamer anch.o.r.ed beside the _Monadnock_, for the _Kanga Maru_ had suddenly slipped her anchor and hurried off as fast as she could. It was now remembered that the j.a.panese s.h.i.+p had had steam up constantly for the last few days, ostensibly because they were daily expecting their cargo in lighters, from which they intended to load without delay. It was therefore pretty certain that the _Kanga Maru_ had entered the harbor merely for the purpose of destroying the _Monadnock_, the only monitor in Manila.

Torpedo tubes had probably been built in the j.a.panese merchant steamer under water, and this made it possible to blow up the _Monadnock_ the moment there was the least suspicion that the Americans in Manila were aware of the fact that war had broken out. Thus the wireless message from Corregidor had indeed sealed the fate of the _Monadnock_. The _Kanga Maru_ had launched her torpedoes, and then tried to escape. The meeting with the _Mindoro_ the j.a.panese had not reckoned with, for they had counted on getting away during the confusion which the destruction of the _Monadnock_ would naturally cause in Manila.

As a result of these occurrences the few s.h.i.+ps in the roads of Manila soon stopped loading and discharging; most of the steamers weighed anchor, and, as soon as they could get up steam, went farther out into the roads, for a rumor had spread that the _Kanga Maru_ had laid mines.

The report turned out to be entirely unfounded, but it succeeded in causing a regular panic on some of the s.h.i.+ps. From the town came the noise of the beating of drums and the shrill call to arms to alarm the garrison; one could see the quays being cleared by detachments of soldiers, and sentries were posted before all the public buildings.

American troops hurried on the double-quick through the streets of the European quarter, and the sight of the soldiers furnished the first element of rea.s.surance to the white population, whose excitement had been tremendous ever since the alarm of the garrison. The old Spanish batteries, or rather what was still left of them, were occupied by artillerymen, while one battalion went on sentry duty on the ramparts of the section of the town called _Intra muros_, and five other battalions left the town at once in order to help garrison the redoubts and forts in the line of defense on the land side.

The town of Manila and the a.r.s.enal at Cavite, where measures for defense were also taken, thus gave no cause for apprehension; but, on the other hand, it was noticeable that the natives showed signs of insubordination toward the American military authorities, and that they did not attempt to conceal the fact that they had been better informed as to the political situation than the Americans. These were the first indications as to how the land lay, and gradually it began to be remembered that similar observations had been made within the last few days: for example, a number of revolutionary flags had had to be removed in the town.

The Americans were in a very precarious position, and at the council of war held by the governor in the afternoon it was decided that should the Filipinos show the slightest signs of insurrection, the whole military strength would be concentrated to defend Manila, Cavite, and the single railway running north, while all the other garrisons were to be withdrawn and the rest of the archipelago left to its own devices. In this way the Americans might at least hope, with some chance of success, to remain masters of Manila and vicinity. The island was, of course, proclaimed to be in a state of siege, and a strong military patrol was put in charge of the night watch.

A serious encounter took place in the afternoon before the Government building. As soon as it became known that proclamation of martial law had been made the population streamed in great crowds toward the Government buildings; and when the American flag was suddenly hauled down--it has never been ascertained by whom--and the Catipunan flag, formerly the standard of the rebels--the tri-color with the sun in a triangular field--appeared in its place, a moment of wild enthusiasm ensued, so wild that it required an American company with fixed bayonets to clear the square of the fanatics. The sudden appearance of this huge Catipunan flag seemed mysterious enough, but the next few days were to demonstrate clearly how carefully the rebellion among the natives had been prepared.

When the officers of the garrison a.s.sembled at the customary place on the evening of the same day, they were depressed and uneasy, as men who find themselves confronted by an invisible enemy. There was no longer any difference of opinion as to the danger that threatened from the Mongolians, and those officers who had been exonerated from the charge of being too suspicious by the rapid developments of the last few hours were considerate enough not to make their less far-sighted comrades feel that they had undervalued their adversaries. No one had expected a catastrophe to occur quite so suddenly, and the uncertainty as to what was going on elsewhere had a paralyzing effect on all decisions. What one could do in the way of defense had been or was being done, but there were absolutely no indications as to the side from which the enemy might be expected.

The chief cause for anxiety at the moment was furnished by the question whether the squadron which had started for Mindanao was already aware of the outbreak of war. In any case, it was necessary to warn both it and the transports expected from San Francis...o...b..fore they arrived at Mindanao. The only s.h.i.+ps available for this purpose were the few little gunboats taken from the Spaniards in 1898; these had been made fit for service in all haste to be used in the harbor when the cruiser squadron left. Although they left much to be desired in the way of speed--a handicap of six days could, however, hardly have been made up even by the swiftest turbine--there was nevertheless a fair chance that these insignificant-looking little vessels, which could hardly be distinguished from the merchant type, might be able to slip past the j.a.panese blockading s.h.i.+ps, which were probably cruising outside of Manila. This, however, would only be possible in case the j.a.panese had thus far ignored the squadron near Mindanao as they had Manila, for the purpose of concentrating their strength somewhere else. But where? At any rate, it was worth while taking even such a faint chance of being able to warn the squadron, for the destruction of the _Monadnock_ could have had no other reason than to prevent communications between Manila and the squadron. The enemy had evidently not given a thought to the rickety little gunboats. Or could it be that all was already at an end out at Mindanao? At all events, the attempt had to be made.

Two gunboats coaled and slipped out of the harbor the same evening, heading in a southeasterly direction among the little islands straight through the archipelago in order to reach the eastern coast of Mindanao and there intercept the transport steamers, and eventually accompany them to Manila. Neither of these vessels was ever heard from again; it is supposed that they went down after bravely defending themselves against a j.a.panese cruiser. Their mission had meanwhile been rendered useless, for the five mail-steamers had encountered the j.a.panese torpedo-boats east of Mindanao three days before, and upon their indignant refusal to haul down their flags and surrender, had been sunk by several torpedoes. Only a few members of the crew had been fished up by the j.a.panese.

As a reward for his decisive action in destroying the _Kanga Maru_, the commander of the _Mindoro_ was ordered to try, with the a.s.sistance of three other gunboats, to locate the commander of the cruiser squadron somewhere in the neighborhood of Mindanao, probably to the southwest of that island, in order to notify him of the outbreak of the war and to hand him the order to return to Manila.

The gunboats started on their voyage at dawn. In order to conceal the real reason for the expedition from the natives, it was openly declared that they were only going to do sentry duty at the entrance to the Bay of Manila. Each of the four vessels had been provided with a wireless apparatus, which, however, was not to be installed until the s.h.i.+ps were under way, so that the four commanders might always be in touch with one another, and with the cruiser squadron as well, even should the latter be some distance away.

The next morning the gunboats found themselves in the Strait of Mindoro.

They must have pa.s.sed the enemy's line of blockade unnoticed, under the cover of darkness. At all events, they had seen nothing of the j.a.panese, and concluded that the blockade before Manila must be pretty slack. On leaving the Strait of Mindoro, the gunboats, proceeding abreast at small distances from one another, sighted a steamer--apparently an Englishman--crossing their course. They tried to signal to it, but no sooner did the English vessel observe this, than she began to increase her speed. It became clear at once that she was faster than the gunboats, and unless, therefore, the latter wished to engage in a useless chase, the hope of receiving news from the English captain had to be abandoned. So the gunboats continued on their course--the only s.h.i.+ps to be seen on the wide expanse of inland sea.

In the afternoon a white steamer, going in the opposite direction, was sighted. Opinions clashed as to whether it was a wars.h.i.+p or a merchant-vessel. In order to make certain the commander of the _Mindoro_ ordered a turn to starboard, whereupon it was discovered that the strange s.h.i.+p was an ocean-steamer of about three thousand tons, whose nationality could not be distinguished at that distance. Still it might be an auxiliary cruiser from the j.a.panese merchant service. The commander of the _Mindoro_ therefore ordered his vessels to clear for action.

The actions of the strange steamer were followed with eager attention, and it was seen that she continued her direct northward course. When she was about five hundred yards to port of the _Mindoro_, the latter requested the stranger to show her flag, whereupon the English flag appeared at the stern. Eager for battle, the Americans had hoped she would turn out to be a j.a.panese s.h.i.+p, for which, being four against one, they would have been more than a match; the English colors therefore produced universal disappointment. Suddenly one of the officers of the _Mindoro_ drew Parrington's attention to the fact that the whole build of the strange steamer characterized her as one of the s.h.i.+ps of the "Nippon Yusen Kaisha" with which he had become acquainted during his service at Shanghai; he begged Parrington not to be deceived by the English flag. The latter at once ordered a blank shot to be fired for the purpose of stopping the strange vessel, but when the latter calmly continued on her course, a ball was sent after her from the bow of the _Mindoro_, the sh.e.l.l splas.h.i.+ng into the water just ahead of the steamer.

The stranger now appeared to stop, but it was only to make a sharp turn to starboard, whereupon he tried to escape at full speed. At the same time the English flag disappeared from the stern, and was replaced by the red sun banner of Nippon.

Parrington at once opened fire on the hostile s.h.i.+p, and in a few minutes the latter had to pay heavily for her carelessness. Her commander had evidently reckoned upon the fact that the Americans were not yet aware of the outbreak of war, and had hoped to pa.s.s the gunboats under cover of a neutral flag. It also seemed unlikely that four little gunboats should have run the blockade before Manila; it was far more natural to suppose that these s.h.i.+ps, still ignorant of the true state of affairs, were bound on some expedition in connection with the rising of the natives. The firing had scarcely lasted ten minutes before the j.a.panese auxiliary cruiser, which had answered with a few shots from two light guns cleverly concealed behind the deck-house near the stern of the boat, sank stern first. It was at any rate a slight victory which greatly raised the spirits of the crews of the gunboats.

Within the next few hours the Americans caught up with a few Malayan sailing s.h.i.+ps, to which they paid no attention; later on a little black freight steamer, apparently on the way from Borneo to Manila, came in sight. The little vessel worked its way heavily through the water, tossed about by the ever increasing swell. About three o'clock the strange s.h.i.+p was near enough for its flag--that of Holland--to be recognized. Signals were made asking her to bring to, whereupon an officer from the _Mindoro_ was pulled over to her in a gig. Half an hour later he left the _Rotterdam_, and the latter turned and steamed away in the direction from which she had come. The American officer had informed the captain of the _Rotterdam_ of the blockade of Manila, and the latter had at once abandoned the idea of touching at that port.

The news which he had to impart gave cause for considerable anxiety. The _Rotterdam_ came from the harbor of Labuan, where pretty definite news had been received concerning a battle between some j.a.panese s.h.i.+ps and the American cruiser squadron stationed at Mindanao. It was reported that the battle had taken place about five days ago, immediately after war had been declared, that the American s.h.i.+ps had fallen a prey to the superior forces of the enemy, and that the entire American squadron had been destroyed.

At all events, it was quite clear that the squadron no longer needed to be informed of the outbreak of hostilities, so Parrington decided to carry out his orders and return to Manila with his four s.h.i.+ps. As the flotilla toward evening, just before sunset, was again pa.s.sing through the Strait of Mindoro, the last gunboat reported that a big white s.h.i.+p, apparently a war vessel, had been sighted coming from the southeast, and that it was heading for the flotilla at full speed. It was soon possible to distinguish a white steamer, standing high out of the water, whose fighting tops left no room for doubt as to its warlike character. It was soon ascertained that the steamer was making about fifteen knots, and that escape was therefore impossible.

Parrington ordered his gunboats to form in a line and to get up full steam, as it was just possible that they might be able to elude the enemy under cover of darkness, although there was still a whole hour to that time.

Slowly the hull of the hostile s.h.i.+p rose above the horizon, and when she was still at a distance of about four thousand yards there was a flash at her bows, and the thunder of a shot boomed across the waters, echoed faintly from the mountains of Mindoro.

"They're too far away," said Parrington, as the enemy's sh.e.l.l splashed into the waves far ahead of the line of gunboats. A second shot followed a few minutes later, and whizzed between the _Mindoro_ and her neighbor, throwing up white sprays of water whose drops, in the rays of the setting sun, fell back into the sea like golden mist. And now came shot after shot, while the Americans were unable to answer with their small guns at that great distance.

Suddenly a sh.e.l.l swept the whole length of the _Mindoro's_ deck, on the port side, tearing up the planks of the foredeck as it burst. Things were getting serious! Slowly the sun sank in the west, turning the sky into one huge red flame, streaked with yellow lights and deep green patches. The clouds, which looked like spots of black velvet floating above the semicircle of the sun, had jagged edges of gleaming white and unearthly ruby red. Fiery red, yellow, and green reflections played tremblingly over the water, while in the east the deep blue shadows of night slowly overspread the sky.

The whole formed a picture of rare coloring: the four little American s.h.i.+ps, pus.h.i.+ng forward with all the strength of their puffing engines and throwing up a white line of foam before them with their sharp bows; on the bridges the weather-beaten forms of their commanders, and beside the dull-brown gun muzzles the gun crews, waiting impatiently for the moment when the decreasing distance would at last allow them to use their weapons; far away in the blue shadows of the departing day, like a spirit of the sea, the white steamer, from whose sides poured unceasingly the yellow flashes from the mouths of the cannon. Several shots had caused a good deal of damage among the rigging of the gunboats. The _Callao_ had only half a funnel left, from which gray-brown smoke and red sparks poured forth.

Suddenly there was a loud explosion, and the _Callao_ listed to port. A six-inch sh.e.l.l had hit her squarely in the stern, pa.s.sing through the middle of the s.h.i.+p, and exploded in the upper part of the engine-room.

The little gunboat was eliminated from the contest before it could fire a single shot, and now it lay broadside to the enemy, and utterly at the latter's mercy. In a few minutes the _Callao_ sank, her flags waving.

Almost directly afterwards another boat shared her fate. The other two gunboats continued on their course, the quickly descending darkness making them a more difficult target for the enemy. Suddenly a lantern signal informed the commander of the _Mindoro_ that the third s.h.i.+p had become disabled through some damage to the engines. Parrington at once ordered the gunboat to be run ash.o.r.e on the island of Mindoro and blown up during the night. Then he was compelled to leave the last of his comrades to its fate. His wireless apparatus had felt disturbances, evidently caused by the enemy's warning to the s.h.i.+ps blockading Manila, so that his chances of entering the harbor unmolested appeared exceedingly slim.

The j.a.panese cruiser ceased firing as it grew darker, but curiously enough had made no use whatever of her searchlights. Only the flying sparks from her funnel enabled the _Mindoro_ to follow the course of the hostile vessel, which soon pa.s.sed the gunboat. Either the enemy thought that all four American s.h.i.+ps had been destroyed or else they didn't think it worth while to worry about a disabled little gunboat. At all events, this carelessness or mistake on the part of the enemy proved the salvation of the _Mindoro_. During the night she struck a northwesterly course, so as to try to gain an entrance to the Bay of Manila from the north at daybreak, depending on the batteries of Corregidor to a.s.sist her in the attempt. Once during the night the _Mindoro_ almost collided with one of the enemy's blockading s.h.i.+ps, which was traveling with shaded lights, but she pa.s.sed by unnoticed and gained an entrance at the north of the bay at dawn, while the batteries on the high, rocky terraces of Corregidor, with their long-range guns, kept the enemy at a distance. It was now ascertained that the j.a.panese blockading fleet consisted only of s.h.i.+ps belonging to the merchant service, armed with a few guns, and of the old, unprotected cruiser _Takats.h.i.+o_, which had had the encounter with the gunboats. The bold expedition of the latter had cleared up the situation in so far that it was now pretty certain that the entire American cruiser squadron had been destroyed or disabled, and that Manila was therefore entirely cut off from the sea.

The batteries at Corregidor now expected an attack from the enemy's s.h.i.+ps, but none came. The j.a.panese contented themselves with an extraordinarily slack blockade--so much so that at times one could scarcely distinguish the outlines of the s.h.i.+ps on the horizon. As all commerce had stopped and only a few gunboats comprised the entire naval strength of Manila, j.a.pan could well afford to regard this mockery of a blockade as perfectly sufficient. Day by day the Americans stood at their guns, day by day they expected the appearance of a hostile s.h.i.+p; but the horizon remained undisturbed and an uncanny silence lay over the town and harbor. Of what use were the best of guns, and what was the good of possessing heroic courage and a burning desire for battle, if the enemy did not put in an appearance? And he never did.

When Parrington appeared at the Club on the evening after his scouting expedition he was hailed as a hero, and the officers stayed together a long time discussing the naval engagement. In the early hours of the morning he accompanied his friend, Colonel Hawkins of the Twelfth Infantry Regiment, through the quiet streets of the northern suburbs of Manila to the latter's barracks. As they reached the gate they saw, standing before it in the pale light of dawn, a mule cart, on which lay an enormous barrel. The colonel called the sentry, and learned that the cart had been standing before the gate since the preceding evening. The colonel went into the guard-room while Parrington remained in the street. He was suddenly struck by a label affixed to the cask, which contained the words, "From Colonel Pemberton to his friend Colonel Hawkins." Parrington followed the colonel into the guard-room and drew his attention to the sc.r.a.p of paper. Hawkins ordered some soldiers to take the barrel down from the car and break open one end of it. The colonel had strong nerves, and was apt to boast of them to the novices in the colonial service, but what he saw now was too much even for such an old veteran. He stepped back and seized the wall for support, while his eyes grew moist.

In the cask lay the corpse of his friend Colonel Pemberton, formerly commander of the military station of San Jose, with his skull smashed in. The Filipinos had surprised the station of San Jose and slaughtered the whole garrison after a short battle. Pemberton's corpse--his love for whisky was well known--they had put into a cask and driven to the infantry barracks at Manila. Parrington, deeply touched, pressed his comrade's hand. The insurrection of the Filipinos! In Manila the bells of the Dominican church of _Intra muros_ rang out their monotonous call to early ma.s.s.