The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-07-24

, charge of the desperate-the last re-
sort-a Balaklava of the sea.
| No tossing bunting replied to him.
| At last he saw that one of the men on
| the deck had caught the message He
| signaled with his cap:
| "All right. Orders received; will pass
! them on
| The man scrambled past the edge Of
| the turret into the superstructure.
| AS Emery was about to descend the
ladder he noticed the steel hawser that
led astern to the Adder was taut as
bowstring. The submarine was still in
| tow; her captain had kept her well be-
meath the surface. Emery wondered if
those on board the Adder had seen the
! fate of their companions; if they know
of the awful prologue to the present
tragedy. Perhaps a shot had found
her? The thought occurred to him that
she might now be filed with drowned,
imprisoned bodies! Suddenly the subma-
| rine preached to the surface like whale
coming up to blow. She came almost
clear of the water: her ugly-looking
snout poked through the hollow of a
wave, and to his establishment, although
she was running quite awash the lid of
the little conning-tower was raised and
the figure of a man appeared. There
he crouched like an Eskimo seated in
gigantic steel kyak. He waved his hand,
shouting something which the fiag-neu-
tenant could not catch through the up
roar.
Emery bent over the broken rail and
f1ourished the flag again.
"Cast off, he wigwagged. "and at
tack"
The towing hawser was made fast to
a patent ring clutch in the bow. He
saw the officer-for now he recognized
hinl-reach to one side and pull at a
line that led forward to the tripping
bolt but it would not give; he hauled
and strained. Then quietly he disap-
peared, closing the round hatch after
him like a spider lowering his lid. The
little vessel swayed and rolled like a log
in a river rapid. Emery could not leave.
He looked astern and saw that the Utah
was slowly swinging, going deep as she
met the seas; and now for the first time
he perceived what the men on deck were
doing. They were trying to put the
outside shields over the ports of the
lower turret to prevent the thrush of
water He noticed that lashings had
been rugged from the eight-inch turret
above.
How he loved those men, who any
instant might be washed away or
ground to pieces by the flying shells! |
He saw them fit the shields and COM /
mence turning in the handscrews that
held them battened firmly against the /.
projecting chases. Providence watched I
over them. for the shots from the Brit /
ish guns just then were high
He turned his eyes from nearby OBJ
jects and looked out toward the enc !
mys line.
Far astern drifted two big cruisers: /
the wind had subsidized to almost a dead /
calm. and the smoke from their tunnels /
rose straight as if from factory Chin
news They were close together and /
bows on; it appeared as if they might /
soon come into collision. Back of them, /
almost enshrouding them, lay the low,
greenish cloud. Heading toward them
from the eastward, racing through the
seas, was a low. dark object. Emery's
heart rose in his throat; at a glance he
knew her-the Barry! The British flags
were still flying, hanging limp and al
most still, but the guns were not firing
upon the American destroyer. What
could it mean?
Three ships had turned about and
were making northward to the relief OF
the two evidently distressed vessels.