Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-06-02

speed!' sang out the captain. h bell
/ tinkled in the engine room. and as the
engineer gave her steam the Uncas
jumped like 9 race horse. Down In the
gangway a group Of firemen stood ready
to relieve their mates who sweated in
the fiery hole below.
In the language Of the Cuban blockade
unners a single red light meant but one
thing: "Send pilot: we are coming in"
Every man of us knew that unless we
could reach the harbor entrance ahead
Of the stranger there would be- another
vessel added to the fleet that lay aside
Matanzas harbor waiting for our ships
to relax their v~igilance-or for the war
to end. Just outside the harbor for a
little to the westward there was a small
village, and toward this she was heading
to pick up a pilot, before attempting the
entrance.
AS yet there had been no response
from the shore to her signal. The red
light still burned, but in a moment it
was dimmed by a line of flame from the
deck. A rocket rose high in the air and
burst. scattering a shower of blue stars.
Iheyr saw her now. Lights began to
show in the village and little bonfires
puffed up along the hilltops, bearing the
news east and west.
Up on the bridge the captain smoked
innumerable cigarettes, onw and then
storming at the engineer through the
speaking tube for more speed. We hung
fast to her wake, drawing closer and
closer to the shore. Soon we could hear
the roar of the breakers and could make
out the dim outline of the village hang
ing half way up the hillside. The cry OF
the man at the lead, "No bottom at ten
soon to a Deep nine!' ''n a
half eight!' n still that red light led
us like a will-o'-the-wis toward the
shore.
The captain, who had been staring
ahead Sll1Han1v ttprno.7 tChnsr ,,D 11D,1x
ade runner; she a g~unboat!' We had run
so close now that we could make her out.
The long. black hull lying close to the
water and the dim figures of the men on
her deck became clearer. In a moment
an unwieldly tube. too large for a rifle
swung toward us, revealing what some
had already suspected. "A torpedo
boat cried one of the men.
She had thrown up the chase and slow
ly swung till she was broadside on. The
captain lit a fresh cigarette, hitched his
revolver around and stepped back
boys?' he ueried. IAN ready, SIR an
swered the gun captains. No. 3. at the
little Hotchkiss ~one-pounder, slipped a
shell into the breach and gave the guns
brown barrel a loving pat.
Full speed ahead!' Stand by to RANT"
came the NINA in rapid succession,
and the Uncas shot ahead. Every man,
except for the runs crews, dropped fiat
and braced himself for the shock.
Without a word the guns We're trained
on the torpedo tube. The helmsman gave
the wheel a spoke to port so as to strike
her fairly amidships. Every one of us
held mis- breath and listened for the hiss
of air which would mark the launching
of the torpedo or the crash which would
leave our enemy sinking and helpless.
just then came a hail. Enthusiastically
American:
Ship hoy! What ships that?'
Tug Uncus. Who are you?'
Torpedo boat Talbot. from Key West,
with mail for the squadron"
The signal jingled in our engine room
and the reversed propeller OF, the Uncas
churned the water at full speed in a vain
effort to stop her in time to prevent a coll
lision, but it was too late A crash. and
the Talbot was cut from deck to water
line Men standing near her rail We're
knocked overheard by the impact, While
the glare of an exploding lamp made the
forward compartment of the Talbot seem
a mass of fame.
1t WIS collision drill. fire dr..l and man
overheard all at Cn~a, but the we!l-drill-
ed crew of the torpedo boat were equal
to ti e eTne. gency. The boat We lowered
had hardly reached the water before they
had fished out their shipmete and put
out the fire below. The Talbot was bulk
headed into compartments atler a fash
ion, and by clos ng the port midship bum
ker, in which the cut had been made,
they kept her from sinking. Blu the
Water gave her such a list to StarbOa1i
that she could net be steered, SO we had
to take her in tow.
We set off fortne eastward, and arriv-
ed ait the little island off Cardenas call
ed Piedras Key about daybre'ak. The
machin.sts patched up the leak with a
piece of sheet copper. the pumps We're set
to going, and in a few hours the Talbot
was on an even keel again.
There We're many things to be explain
!, ed ait the conference held that day in
!. the capatin's cabin; the red light. the
!, rockets and all the rest. Yet the xpian
, alton was simple enough, AFTER al. Line
: Talbot had carried the regular signal a
: red above two whites. but her lO-fooa
|. stick of a mast was only high enough &c
. SHOW the topmost light above the fun
nels. Moreover, it was the Taibots mrs
experience on the blockade. and Wher
the captin of her found himself OF the
1 coast after nightfall he had a very hazS
: idea of his location. He was sure of one
E thing-he had mail for the fleet Whlcf
l must bediscovered, so he bumped aroune
). touching off the fireworks, as he salt
l go let the vessel on that blockade know
: he had arrived" And he succeeded
= beautifully.
& Tne correspondent on the newspaper
s launch at Key West scented a stor.
h vGnen he saw a much battered TORPEDO
k tozt with a great patch in her side seeaH
s into the harbor next morning. But uf
e captain of the Talbot was Wise. ~ u.
q way, and outside of the department
:. +he~e has never been a whisper OF tn
a occurrence that is set down mere.
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