Evening star., 1898-11-05
WILLING TO RUN THE SHIP

About four years ago the cruiser on
which I was serting shipped boiler maker
while we were on the Mediterranean sta
tlon,' said Washington chief petty officer
OIL the NJ Wy, ROW here on leave Of absence.
otr former boiler makers time expired
while we were at Gibraltar, and as he was
rot In good physical shape he wasn't re-
enlisted. but took his discharge and re-
turned to the United States by mail steam
er. so the ship was shy boiler maker, a
very important and necessary petty officer
down below in the engineers department.
and when the ship pulled into Naples mar
Dor the chief engineer went ashore to see
II ne couldn't dig up boiler maker to ship
al the rate. There's a clause in the en-
!lstment regulations permitting command
ing officers to ship necessary men on for
eaSn stations in short-handed emergencies.
me chief engineer brought back to the
snip creek named Charlie Marc The
man Couldn't speak any EngliSh-to speak
of-but he was a good man st the boiler
HaklhS business, and he was duly shipped
ABOARD OF us for three years. He was
"lio' marry looking lot. Marc was and he
sot good deal of a laugh at the hands
O. the crew. especially the younger fellows,
l.orn the tine he first came the side
Ine der1sion his queer appearance and his
eAtraordlnary attempts at English excited
among the men forward often got Marc
gong during the first few months of his
cruise, but after awhile he got to be an
o!a story, and the men gradually let up on
HiDl. marc thought that there wasn't any
other country on the map except Greece.
ne thought that the 'Greeka man was the
houtest Kind of tomale when it came to
scrapp1ng by land or sea. and, after he got
hoia OF enough English to make himself
understood. he used to take some of the
young apprentice boys up into the eyes of
the snip and tell them, with many gesticu-
Iat1ons and furious words, of the different
lrnno
turkey II the two countries ever came TO
ar open rupture
. Ine snip was around on the Pacific sta
t1on when the war broke out between
Greece and Turkey more than two years
ago. When the news of the outbreak of
tne @ war got to Marc, our boiler maker he
lke in 10 nave had heart disease and a whole
lot Of other sudden things from pure ex-
c1tement. He just couldn't hold himself in.
he looked so tickled
,Da Greeka man villa BIN! BIN! BIN. da
Iufka man." was Charlie Maro's way of
putting it. and he didn't see that the
turks had ghost of a show All hands
forward encouraged him in the belief They
an acquiesced in expressing the belief to
M Maro o. mat Greece would simply eat Turkey
up. Then bosuns mate who knew how to
crack the most impossible kind of steers
W1tn race as solemn and wooden as an
Indians took Charlie in hand and told
mn nlm some things. He told Marc that the
united States was so much in sympathy
with Greece In the struggle with Turkey
that the Navy Department had decided to
turn over all of the ships of the American
navy to Greek commanders.
Here's big chance for YOU Marc
the DO suns mate told Marc. "You Just
want to work your edge. Here you are all
ready shipped on this cruiser, and it's dol
iars 10 doughnuts that II You ask for the
command of this ship, in order to take her
over to Greece to mix it up with the Turks,
you'll get 1T, hands down. Better try it on
Ihat idea impressed Marc a heap He
hnp 20.
Apply ", TO to get command of the cruiser
Why, to the commanding officer. of
course was his reply
marc was tremendously important for a
uay or so While he let this huge idea grow
within him, apd he bullied the men detailed
tc work with. him down below in the boiler
room good deal. The bo'sun's mate kept
working him up to it, and finally Marc ap-
feared on deck one morning. logged out In
mis- very best mustering suit of blueiacket
clothes Cwhen he ought to have been in
dungarees. ready to begin work cleaning
out the boilers after a rum, and went up
TO the officer of the deck and asked per
mission to see the commanding officer at
the mast. The officer of the deck was
rsther surprised to see the man all done
up in his mastering togs when all hands
were at work, brt, as he is obliged to do
when an enlisted man requests permission
10 see the commanding officer, he sent word
to the skipper, who soon emerged from his
cabin and appeared at the stick
We'll, my man? said the skinner to
Marc who stood bolt upright and saluted
with a flourish. d .
Sare,' said Marc to the skipper. I hava
da honor to here-a-by taxa da command of
da Ship
" 'Hey?' said the commanding officer, put
ting his hand at his ear and looking as if
he hadn't heard Alright.
Da ship, repeated Marc Fora da
navee ola Hellas-da Greeka navee-I hava
da honor to TAXA da command 3d.
All hands among the enlisted men were
up on the to'galiant fo'c'sle taking the
thing in, and they broke into roar that
you could have heard five cable lengths
distance. Marc heard it, and, suspecting
ttat his confidence had been abused, got
red and fabbergasted. He suddenly bolted
for the engine room hatch and made his
way below, and it took three marines to
drag him aft to the sick bay where the
81 rgeon, at the shippers command gave
Marc a half hours examination as to his
sanity. Marc was game enough to decline
to give the name of the enlisted man who
had told him he was eligible for the com
mand of the ship upon its being turned
into the navy of Greece but the thrashing
he gave that bo'sun's mate when he got
him on the beach was certainly savage"
The fhOnOGraphic Alarm Clock,
philadPluhin Iedp