The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-05-24


what was ahead Of me, and I daresay
he was right. My consolation is that
[ didn t get red, as is my disconcerting
habit. l was accommodated with a
chair, and then ferrety-faced little
man began asking me questions, con-
sultlng every now and then foolscap
sheet Of paper which was before him.
swers. 4
when did you fire the new gun
from the CONSERVATION in the Baltic9'
"Dear Miss Amhurst, I have con-
fessed to you that am not brilliant,
and, indeed, such confession was quite
unnecessary, for you must speedily have
recognized the fact, but here let me
boast for line or two of my one ac-
complishment, which is mathematical
accuracy. When I make experiments
I don't note the result by rule Of thumb.
My answer to the ferret-faced man was
prompt and complete.
AT twenty-three minutes, seven
teen seconds past 10 am, on May the
The eS i've high of e y remained eGp per-
fectly impassive, but the two stenog-
raphers seemed somewhat taken by sur
prise, and one Of them whispered, Did
you say fifteen seconds, sir?'
1ohn he Pend said seventeen, gF n. Sir
"'Who sighted the gune'
- did, sir. ~.
do that9' ~ >. . H.. ass
He did, sir, but I also took OBJ
servations, and raised the muzzle
.000327 Of an inch 81. ,
." WAS your gunner inaccurate, then,
to that extent9' -.@z@
No, sir, but I had weighed the
ammunition and found it short by two
ounces and thirty-seven grains.
81 must not bore you with all the
questions and answers. I merely give
these as samples. They questioned me
. the state. of this. that, and the other af-
ter firing, and luckily [ was able to
answer to a dot every query put to me.
At the finish one Of the judges asked
me to- give in my own words my opIn-
ion of the gun. Admiral Sir John
glared at him as he put this question.
for Of course to any expert the an
swers [ had furnished, all taken to-
gether, gave an accurate verdict on the
gun, assuming my statements to have
been correct, which I maintain they
were. However, as Sir John made no
verbal comment, I offered my opinion
as tersely as [ could. -.
EThank you Lieutenant Drum
mond' rumbled Sir John in his deep
voice, as if he were pronouncing SEN
tence, and. my testimony completed,
| the committee rose. =.
II was out in the street before Billy
Richardson overlook me, and then he
called himself to my attention by re-
sounding slap on the shoulder. -
e.. tAlan, nv boy he cried. syou have
done yourself proud. Your fortune s
made 49, ~ <.--s :,ss
"'As hows' asked, shaking him by
the hand.
"'Why, we've been for weeks hold
ing an inquiry on this blessed gun, and
the question is whether or not a lot
more of them are. to be made. You
know what an opinionated beast Old
Crouch is. Well, my boy, YOU have
corroborated his opinion Of the gun in
every detail. He is such a brow-beat-
| ing, tyrannical brute that the rest of
| the committee would rather like to go
against him if they dared, but you have
| put spoke in their wheel. Why, Sir
| John never said "thank you' to hui
| man being since he was born until
| twenty-seven minutes and fifteen sec
| onds after II this morning, as you
writing this letter this surmise Of
Billy's appears to be justified, for the
| tape in the club Just now announced
| that the committee has unanimously de-
cided in favor of the gun, and adds
that this is regarded as d triumph for
| the chairman, hulnlIdl OLE q on4 eHuei-
gest, with various letters after his name.
| "Dear Miss Amhurst, this letter, as
feared, has turned out intolerably long,
| and like our first conversation, it is all
about myself. But then, you see, you
| are the only one on the other side OF
the water to whom I have confded my
selfish worries, and l believe you to be
SO lZind-hearted that [ am sure you will
hot censure me for this once exceeding
I e.
Having been deeply depressed durtng
all the previous long days, the sudden
reaction urges me to go out into Pail
Mall, fling my cap in the, air., and
| wheop, which action is quite evidently
remnant of my former cowboy aspira-
TONS. Truth to tell, the Russian bust
ness seems already forgotten, except by
my stout old captain on the Consterna-
/ lion, OF my uncle. The strenuous Sir
| John HIS had me hailed across the ocean