The daily intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1878-04-29
Running the Gauntlet.

Captain, what you propose is i'm
possible.
Admiral, it's possible enough to any
man who has pluck.
With these bitter words on their lips,
two men stand facing each other on
the quarterback of the Russian flag
ship Vladimir. as she lies at anchor off
the coast Of Asi. Minor. The one who
wears the uniform of a Russian Ad-
miral, is q man of colossal stature and
proportions, with broad, heavy, un-
meaning face, which shows that his In
tellect Is not on par with his bodily
strength The other is short. square e,
muscular figure, with firm mouth
and keen gray eye-formerly Lieuten-
ant Elphinstone, Of the British navy,
but now in command of the Yekater-
ma In the Russian Black sea feet: and
the superior to whom he was speaking
unceremoniously is no other than the
imperial Admiral himself. Count Gre
CORY Gregorievitch Orloff. the first and
basest Of the countless favorites of
Catherine III, man whose worthless
name has been rescued from oblivion
by one great crime-the murder of
Peter III.
1t is the morning of July 8, 1870.
The bright blue waters of the Tchesme
bay are numbered with half-burned
spars and masses of shattered timber;
the warm, dreamy summer sky over
head is blotted with drifting smoke,
and along the surrounding hills bare
legged men in white turbans are hurry
E
and muttering 10 each other that the
Padishah's warships have been de-
stroyed by the 'Giaours' of the North.
Last night, with single fireship, this
short. keen-eyed, blunt spoken captain
burned every vessel in the Turkish
squadron, and he is now vainly urging
his phlegmatic Admiral to follow up
the victory by . dash through the
Dardanelles upon defenseless Constan-
tinople.
Il tell you, Englishman,' growls or
loft, that l will not send the Empress
fleet to destruction in attempting an
impregnable passage just to please
you!
And l tell your Excellency.' retorts
the other, that what you fear to at
tempt with the whole fleet, / will do
with one vessel. | will run nv ship
through this 'impregnable passage of
yours, and drink the health of the
British navy in front of tue Sultan's
own palace. Good morning
Arrived on board Of his own vessel,
Captain Elphinstone mustered his crew,
motley mixture of sallow, broad
"a x,alIau, ha
Fins, Dig boned Esthonians, and slim,
wiry Greeks. with two or three brawny,
red whiskered English sailors looking
down upon their comrades with
grand compassionate disdain, as cIea-
lures whom an incrutable Providence
has doomed to be foreigners, thereby
cutting them off, once and forever,
from all chances of becoming good sea.
men. The captain eyes them ali as
they come aft with the look of one ac-
customed to Judge men at sight. and
then speaks briefly, but very much to
the purpose:
My lads, I'm going to run through
the Dardanelles and fly my flag in the
face of those lubbers at Constantinople;
If any man is afraid to come with me,
let him stand out and say so"
But not a man moves The crew
are all picked men who have followed
their present leader through many
hot fight and many heavy storm;
and they have long since learned to
know him as the real soul of the feet
nominslly commanded by their incom-
petent Admiral. At the very mention
of Constantinoplc, there is sudden
light III every eye which the veteran is
not at loss to interpret.
All right. said he, with grim
smile; If you're game to poke your
heads into the fire, I'm no. the man to
balk you. Mr.. Dugdale, serve out
double ration all round, and then set
every stitch of canvas on her, ard away
We got
1t is beautiful summer IN orning
with u fresh breeze from the southwest
when the devoted ships come up to the
mouth of the terrible passage through
which no hostile vessel has ever ven
tured before. The sun is just rising
over the Antoliansmountains, and in its
dazzling splendor the wood-crowned
islets, and rocky shores, and green
sloping hillsides stand forth in all their
beauty. All around, the blue spark
ling sea; oil above, the rich summer sky.
To the west, the little purple island of
Tenedos stands watching their advance,
as it watched the coming of Agamem-
mons fleet against doomed Troy, 5000
years ago. Far to the northeast. hang
ing like snowy cloud upon the sky.
towers the great white dome of Mount
Olympus. On tie right, beyond the
wide belt of level plain on which
Greek and Trojan battled in the old
fighting days, the distant mountains
loom out. blue and shadowy. along the
eastern horizon; while right in front,
the deep narrow channel Of the famous
strait curves outward to the sea, be-
tween the bold ridges that flank it on
either side.
We're lucky with the wind. Mr..
Dugdale, said the captain TO his Eng
lish second in command as cheerily as
if he were going on a picnic, instead of
into the jaws of naval Balakava.
This breeze is just what We want, Tor
there'll be q pretty strong current
against US inside,
Mr.. Turk seems to have taken the
alarm already answered the lieussn
ant. with a chuckle, pointing 10
group of hurrying figures just vanish
ing over the hilltop on the right
Do you think. sir, they'll be able To
hurt Us much:
Cant saw renIied the veteran, cool