Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-01


Chesapeake Bay. after which for a brief perid|
the officers and men of Great Britain will d
entertained by the United States"
Bevins stopped and looked into the fac{
confronting him, which expressed variety \
emotions, running the gamut from stolidity 4
wonder. and from complaiSance to indignation
The paper in his hands gave out a crinklirj
noise he turned it backward and forwa11
between his fingers.
The British Admiral's visage was frownir|
one. Your country asks too much !" he sal
almost explosively. And really it volunteers nj
explanation of its acts or intentions" SOM
OF his companions nodded their heads in aH
proval. 1--WE can't accept"
Bevins reopened the parchment. Il mus
then read You the concluding clause" he said
and began:
1t is strongly desired that there be no elias
at arms; but in any event You are to retur
with the fleet
There was brief silence in the room, whc|
was broken by Fields. who jumped to his feet
Bevins also rose. and the other officers did likd
wise. The situation threatened unhappy cor
illusions; but Bevns held up RESTRAINING
hand and went on:
Here! Before you underestimate the ford
of the last clause. let me give you demonstrd
ton of what we can do and how difficult
would be for YOU to offer any defense or Ell
fectlve resistance whatever.
He turned to speaking tube, gave a Gun
order. and requested his visitors to look througI
the transparent ports. which were suddenl|
opened beneath their feet. The Roberts sweI
up into the air to such prodigious height TIL
the internal pressure against her shell becanI
terrific She was at such altitude that nj
mortal being could have withstood the strain
and only her splendid anchorable constructed
and cohesive qualities kept her from fiyin|
apart. The world below was reduced in aH
pearance until its surface was obliterated in
dull haze and the shadows of the sun wen
In great circles she descended, until TIL
water again became visible, then the vessel
upon it, and last of all the crests of the waves
Now she swooped lower, and then at a speeI
of nearly six hundred miles an hour whipped
a straight line close above the tops of the fight
ing masts, slowed down. and whirled in AMI
out about and above the British ships as easil
as would a swallow in playful fight. On TIL
decks of the vessels men stared in wide eye|
amazement at this demon of the air, at frs
fearing that control had been lost and the live
of those aboard were in jeopardy. Then a
the splendid exhibition of speed and handlin
they were dumbfounded. The Roberts the
rose in one quick lift until it was above tn
plane of altitude assumed by the other ma
chimes, poised for a moment and came to
stop. In all this time no one had spoken
word Now they turned to the American, urI
loosing their convulsive clutches from TIL
seats and liberated from the spell.
Admiral, do you think there is any gunner
that can hurt us, anything that can overtak
US, or that if we wish to we may not master TIL
world'" he asked in voice of extreme quiet
Field shrugged his shoulders hopelessly
made grimace, and looked at his fellows
Gentlemen" he said in dry tone, {" it seem
to me that we should without any delay accep
the hospitality which the United States ha
extended SO courteously."
The Others appreciated the grim humor d
the situation and in like vein acquiesced. TIL
surprise which they had undergone was moth
ing compared to that with which, as the daI
waned, they witnessed the lifting of their Graf
from the waters. With the utmost care tn
task was accomplished, and everything mad
ready for the westward journey. Only on
mishap occurred beyond the necessary dam
age to the ships, and that was not discov
cred until the following day. A sailor of tn
Dreadnought maddened by the spectacle h
had witnessed. had unleashed life raft unob
served and thrown himself and it into tn
water by the use of its tackle at some hour o
darkness when the vessels were travelling a
slow speed and close to the surface of the waves
Bevins grieved more over this incident thai
any other; for he had set his heart upon
bloodess victory
Thus it was that on the following day Their
rested in the Chesapeake fleet whose fires wer
banked whose men were prohibited from shor
leave, and whose chief officers were guests il
the principal hotels of New York and Wash
in tp under r,1eJUe of Rt1tip thi