The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1908-07-17
me. IT will be but a little while

home. IT will be but a little while
now"
Something in the words she had
thoughtlessly used recalled her "
heart longing. What were the
achievements of war, the inspirations
of conflict, or the glories Of triumph,
in comparison with peace, love and
home? With an indefinable n of
great yearning she thought that Guy
a on the sea, going away from her
and her people, and even in the heart
Of the radioplane which was canceling
space at the rate Of 600 miles an hour
the distance between them seemed in
terminable. Life was made up of
good-byes! And SO in a reverie Of
bitterness she chung to the hood and
fought against fatigue, until, as the
morning was upon them, she sent the
craft to rest in front of the shops
where their return had been anxiously
awaited. Overcome with WEAKNESS,
and feeling throughout every fiber Of
her body the snapped tension of sud-
den relaxation, she staggered through
the port into the fresh air Of the dawn.
From every direction men were run
ming madly to surround them, and
even the Columbia was landing men
upon the shores, who joined in the
rush. The limping old admiral stood
in the door, when Roberts, supported
by two surgeons, appeared. Norma
clasped him in her arms and burst into
n0ico1occ W. eoho uyI;oI, Io WITS
interpreted.
Failed! You failed, my daughter?"
he asked forlornly, while the men
waiting for news crowded forward to
hear the answer. 1t was given by
Bevins. --.
Failed nothing! We cleaned them
out and landed them where we started
to without the loss of a life!" .
Those still aboard the Columbia
needed. no messenger to bring the
news. The workers of the plant burst
into a frenzy of exultation. The ad-
miral stilled them with an appraised
hand.
men," he said, Il take no credit for
the result, and I'm big enough so to
report to Washington. This battle
brought out three heroes. Brockton,
jenkins and above all this little girl,
Norma Roberts" His God bless herr"
was lost in the tumult. They were men
intoxicated with the wine of victory.
They yelled themselves hoarse. They
patted n another on the back, hurled
their caps into the air, and finally
formed escorts Of honor to conduct the
men and officers Of the feet to their
cabins, asking v e and over for de-
tails of the fight.
And even as those tired fighters
went to rest, in a city across the con-
tinent newsboys were crying their
extras through the streets, and the
citizens. of a great city were asking
one another how the night had worked
its miracle. A lounging patrolman
in Ravenna park, which bordered on
Lake Washington, had sleepily rubbed
his eyes as the sun was tinting the
everlasting SHOWS of the Olympics,
and had come to a sudden stop, lean
ing against a tree and wondering il
he was still asleep; but with his
knuckles he could not obliterate the
floating vision before him. He con-
WINGED himself by a lusty hail: Hello,
out there! What are you doing? Get
off that lake!" and back to him there
volleyed a storm Of objurgations in an
unknown tongue. Not until he had
called a fellow officer and rowed a
boat round those fallen monarchs of
the deep did he learn that they were
captive to his country, and then,
elated with the news, he fastened to
impart it.
But this vas not the only surprise
for Seattle. For some days preceding
troops had been pouring into the port,
and it had been the general belief that
they were being modified preparatory
to embarkation for the Philippines or
Japan. On this morning, however,
there was an exodus. Nearly all the
troops had disappeared in the night.
Likewise there were strange happen.
tngs In the telegraph offices. When
men went to consign messages they
were met with the intelligence that
the wires were in charge of military
operators, that nothing could be re-
ceived for any point beyond the Dor
deFs Of the United States, and that
all messages without exception would
be censored before transmission. The
newspapers fumed and roared, until
they learned that all incoming Jews
would pass uninterruptedly; but that
for purposes known only to the gov
eminent the story Of the presence Of
the japanese feet would be closely
guarded for the time being. For once
the Post-Intelligence, the Times and
Star united in attacking the admins
tratlon.
Polite officers forwarded appeals
from the chamber of commerce to
Washington; but the government an.
swered that there was no alternative,
because If the secret was known
throughout the United States the
chances for its leakage across the
lines would he augmented. All Sound
be met Deyona the reach Of wireless
telegraph communication, and the pc
parture from the key was also under
cover Of darkness. Again there was q
resemblance to the Japanese affair,