The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-10-04
RECRUITS FOR THE NAVY
TROUBLES OF THE PETTY OFFICER
WHO SECURES NEW MEN.
LandIubbers Get Scared When Cru
cicaI Moment Arrives-HOw One
Timid Fellow Was Saved.
New York Sun.

New York Sun.
az never plowed into so many schools of
natural-born LEGISLATORS as 1 met with dur
ing this last inland lubber-gathering cruise
that I've just finished" said a petty officer
of the navy who has been attached for
some months to a naval recruiting outfit
operating in the middle Western and few
of the more northerly Southern States.
Most of them nudged so close to the life
on the ocean wave that they could feel
the spray and smell the scouse. and then,
becoming stampeded all of a sudden.
ducked for the tall and uncut like a bunch
of seminary girls with red sunshades cross
ing a grazing field and hiking for the fence
upon seeing a COW gazing at them three
furlongs away.
And the bigger and huskier the lubbers
were the more scared they seemed to be at
the last minute. One of them, an Illinois
zap as high as Manhu mandarin on STREET
floods stills and strong enough to play
jacks with ten-pound dumbbells wired to-
gether. made a backdown and getaway
that gave the officer in charge of our ship
ping outfit the fantods for three days
He passed the surgeon easy as a
racing turbiner slips by dump scow. He
was so good when he shed his haydn duds
and went before the physical examiner that
the surgeon only smiled and said, whats
the use? You'll de- after taking little more
than a peek or two at the big lummox
But some of us that were looking on
could see that his gizzard was about the
size of a sand gnats. There was a hunted
look in his eye after the surgeon told him
that he was all right. and you could almost
hear the cogitations in his maintop while
he was putting on his clothes preparatory
to going in before the shipping officer and
putting his name to the enlistment papers
DODGED THE HOOK.
-" Take brace, maty.' we said to him,
encouragingly, seeing that the big Zeke
was edging close to a collapse, What's
three years? A mere bag o. shells. And
think of the haydn you'll dodge while
you're gone! Look at the fun you're going
to have! Think of Paris and Port Said!
Just one grand. Jolly dreamy smoke for
| three years! Unship that think-it-over look
| and take a reef in your forked guessing
stick The deep waters the thing for you,
| Jackr
~ dunno so much bout that, b'gosh,
now TIT TIT, I've got this far; the big Cy said.
suit me and l wouldn't suit it-and then
what? Say, I'd sure like t talk it over
with NAV ag'in before 1 put my hand t
| them binding papers.
I'VE had a hard time cugger-muggering
| him out of that notion and we finally one
| of us at each side of him, nursed him along
| through the door of the Office where the
| shipping officer had the enlistment papers
| spread out. He had the mixed pen in his
shaking hand and was just leaning over
| the desk with his tongue lolling out and
| his eyes rolling scratch his signature at
| the bottom of the made-out form that
| would hold him tight for three years when
| there was Gathering and creaking on
recognize the sound.
| with the pen still i'm his hand he
clomped to the window and looked down.
| A little old woman In Paisley shawl and
| poppy-litered bonnet was just climbing
| out of the farm wagon. which she had beer
| driving herself.
/ Its maw! gasped the RUDE with ar