The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1908-06-05

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expected next? Was there no pos
sible protection ven for the heads of
government and society?
In the offices Of the admiralty those
OF more or less prominence in the de-
partment held a conference and de-
tailed men to take charge of the
Dreadnought. There could be no at
tempt to rehabilitate her at that time,
inasmuch as 1t would be impossible
ever again to bring her into service
without destroying a span Of the
bridge below; therefore no coroner's
inquest could have convened with
more solemnity than did. those men
who took charge Of and boarded this
great dead thing of the sea.
A derelict cast upon an open sandy
beach offered more chance of salvage
thar the greatest vessel Of the great
est navy of the world. nosed in the
mud and practically walled in. And
while she lay in this state of helpless
ness there was forming round English
shores a formidable fotilla OF other
war vessels flying the British. flag.
which had been summoned from all
waters of the globe to protect the
mother country from German invasion
or If need arose CALAMITY to seek
death beds in the sea in the attempt
to fend of the American terror
should 1t be directed against the is
land ruler of the waves.
AS they advanced. captains of this
great navy arrived in London in re-
Spouse to urgent summons and hast
ened to the admiralty. One and all
they were asked to pass expert opinion
on the condition of the Dreadnought.
and offer a solution of the methods
used to bring her to that singular
anchorage in the river; but, like chill
dren cropping in the mist, they could
formulate no tenable theory nor give
any lucid explanation. They looked
at each other in amazement, wagged
their heads and admitted their inabili-
ty. Plague would have left dead men
at their posts, or battle would have
left more serious scars than the cut
ting away of the fighting masts and
wrecking Of the stacks; but even then
who would navigate her to home wa
tiers, and what could account for her
presence in a place where even a
small sea-going craft could not go?
If that nation in the west had a sub
marine of terrific speed and unknown
power it might perhaps destroy a
ship; but by what means could 1t
force it under or over a bridge of
solid masonry and steel?
AID ~~ {L- 80 th@ ,occnH
down and back. while the people of
London spent the time in trying to
see the latest evidence of disaster,
took turns in crowding to the m
bankment, and then went to their
homes. Business came to a halt, shops
were unopened and desks were closed.
In the government offices men moved
helplessly, and in homes throughout
the country families sat within doors
gravely discussing the latest nantes
tation of power.
Nor was the public aware that in
higher circles another cause for anx-
iety had been uncovered, which was
nothing less than the disappearance
Of the prime minister. A king, a
prime minister and the first lord Of
the admiralty taken at one time! 1t
was sufficient to make others Of
prominence look at one another ques-
tioning when their turn might come
and what tie end would be. No n
was safe in this great crisis, when
thrones tottered on their settings and
men we're whisked away In the night,
when the most powerful vessels of war
created by all the wisdom Of science
and ingenuity of invention might be
dominated and handled like toys. 4,
There was no ground for belief that
any power other than the United
States might have been the controlling
spirit in this long series of untoward
events, but from that nation zane no
word, only a silence more menacing
than the thunder Of distant guns, and
more terrible and ominous than an
open display of invincible arms. 1t
tool no great stretch of imagination to
people the air with phalanx on pha-
lanx of stern and implacable foemen
bent on invasion when the time
seemed ripe. A country which could
fiaunt the world was capable of any
thing, and it was not beiiavable that
she was acting without a purpose. But
what means did she take? What
would be her next move? How had
J she accomplished those victories al
ready scored upon her tally sheet?
Only one hope for partial explanation
remained, and that was based upon
the return to sanity of a maddened
sailor who had come to them on a life
raft from the unknown, as the only
witness Of a disaster. and the only
living link.
And even while the anxious officials
thought of him a group of surgeons
and specialists were standing round a
cot in a hospital watching this man
breathe his last. Now that his i'm
portance had increased a hundredfold
Death was intervening and sealing his
lips. He passed away as silently as
he had been found. his jumbled wits
giving no new and Tangible clew.