The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1908-06-05
The king and his ministers had been
taken by the fog. the night and the
mystery.
CHAPTER XII.
The Dreadnought Returns.

~ II 0AAAAo VI NV "oAAA
have created little more CONSERVATION
and excitement in London than the
sight which met the residents eyes
on the morning following the kings
visit to the Hippodrome. The fog
which settled Unexpectedly on that
night of June d%issipated itself as
stealthily as 1t had come, and foated
out with the dawn. leaving in its stead
q clear sky. And then, as II a rare
discovery had been made simultane-
ously by thousands instead of one, a
swarm of people. defying the rush of
motors, of omnibuses and hansoms,
debouched on the Thames embank.
ment by the stately pile of buildings
where parliament c%onvenes. filled the
ro%adsteads, damned each other
against the river wall, and scorned the
constables, who vainly strove to main
tain order and uninterrupted traffic.
There, resting serenely on the
bosom of the river where in times be.
fore Roman galleys had doated, was
the pride of the British navy, the
Dreadnought. Neither an officer of
the watch, a sailor, nor a marine be-
strobe her decks. Inert and 'un-
tenanted, silent and l~ifeless, she lay
close by the great gray buildings like
the last survivor of a defeated army
who had crept home to bring a repor.
of disaster and was resting In the
shadow Of the last refuge. Her un-
masked guns stared wide-eyed and
mournful; from her crippled tunnels
came no wtsp Of curling smoke; from
her channels stretched no anchor
chains; and she paid no heed to the
vagaries of the sluggish current; her
PROV which had defiantly parted so
many sea vas nosed into the mud in
h~elplessness; but as an only solace
there floated from her stern the IN
sullied banner of the United King
dom, and whipped as she was she had
come back to her people with colors
still flying.
The miracle Of her position was
greater than the marvel Of her return;
for above and below that spot on the
river were bridges impossible for 4
boat of half her size, beneath which
tugs and other craft were wont to
lower their jointed stacks. In all the
world there was no known strength
or mechanical continuance that could
transport over shadows and bridges
$4,000 tons of steel, and then leave
1t in this prohibited place. Her very
appearance bore mute testimony of
singular strife. True, she was intact
to a point flush with the great steel
domes which held her menacing and
frowning guns; but her fighting masts,
her top rig, and the upper bands of
her funnel were riven off as if by one
devasting line shot taken full abeam
or square astern. The wreckage of
this hamper had. been removed, so
that no debris Uttered her deserted
decks.
For many days of gloom it had been
accepted as a fact that nothing but
humiliation could account for the dis
appearance of the squadron which had
doggedly sailed away into the mys-
ferrous west to vanquish a terrible and
unknown enemy or meet a glorious
death. Little hope had been sustained
as the days of silence went by that
any explanation of that defeat might
be forthcoming, OF that any vessel
might return; and now before Lon.
don's gathered populace was a grim
relic which only added to conjeHture.
From no source could the secret of
this mysterious visitation be learned;
and SO the crowd watched and waited.
A boat, whose flag distinguished her
IS being of the river patrol, obeyed a
hail from the shore, pulled noisily up
the stream against the outgoing tide.
and circled round the leviathan as
though s%uspecting danger from within.
Her chief officer, after due caution,
and receiving no response, cautiously
directed her along side, and boarded
the Dreadnought over the starboard
quarter. The ever increasing crowd
along the embankment drew in its
breath in expectancy, waiting for a
revelation. 1t heard him shout BE
low, there!" and leaned forward,
listening for whatever response might
be given; but nothing was heard save
the steady lap Of the water and the
farthest sounds of early river traffic.
The officer advanced along the deck
to the companionway. and leaned Gu
riously into 1t repeating his hail, and
once more there was a wait and no
reply. He backed away from the en-.
trance. and hesitated. It was plain
that he desired witnesses before in
vading the precincts of a stricken
craft, and in a moment more he
stepped to the rail. held a short con.
~versation with those on the decks Of
his boat and then waited till he was
Joined by others of that force that
guards the Thames. Three men
clambered aboard and stood by him
until they were Joined by two others.
who. obeying q low-spoken order. sta
toned themselves at the head Of the
companionway. The officer and his
assistants advanced slowly, stepped
into the darkness and disappeared into
the depths Of the battle ship, while the
suspense along the embankment and
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