The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1908-06-19

eIdl mOutQS. Inere was not q IA
aboard any of the craft who had not
taken a pledge of absolute secrecy.
The collier, black and massive, was
loaded almost beyond her carrying ca.
pacity, and even on her decks were
piled lumber and great sheets Of cor.
rugated iron, bearing evidence of full
holds below. And all this cargo had
the history of rushed work behind it.
Strange pieces of machinery, sections
OF engines, powerful dynamos, and un.
heard OF apparatus were slowed away
with cases Of chemicals, and the mines
OF the north, the west and the south
had contributed crude metals or par
TALLY smelted ores to the assortment.
Driven by expert minds and masters
Of executive work. an army of men in
different walks Of life had given their
ingenuity and effort toward something
Of which they knew not, and then the
result Of their labors had poured out
upon a wharf, been swallowed up by
the cavernous holds Of q collier, and
were nov being carried out into the
broad reaches Of the Atlantic, with
destination unknown.
A general order had been issued
and made public, that, inasmuch as
the poaching Of Cuban fishermen on
American grounds round lower Flor.
ida and the keys demanded attention,
the gunboat Penobscot had been de.
tailed to patrol those waters. In the
United States this attracted no atten-
ton; but the swarthy fishermen Of
the tropics took warning and no longer
steered their smacks to the forbidden
waters, struggling their shoulders in
impotent wrath.
Rumor had it that the transport
was carrying mechanics and laborers
to the Philippines, where a new dry
dock was to be constructed, and the
collier was generally supposed by
men Of the waterfront to be laden with
materials for this work. And so, de.
spite the momentous significance of the
sailing of these three ships, the world
remained in ignorance, paid little
heed, or forgot.
Those voyagers who were in the
secret looked forward with eagerness
to the task before them, realizing to
the full that on them depended much.
And of these was Norma. who leaned
over the stern rail Of the Penobscot
as 1t dropped down the harbor.
watched the lights Of the city grow
dim in the distance, saw the great,
silent statue Of liberty rear itself
against the sky, and felt the first free
swell lift and sway the deck beneath
her feet. Her departure had not been
pleasant.
There on the land behind was the
man whom she seemed doomed for
ever to hold at arms length. She had
parted from him with the announce.
ment that her father was compelled to
go south for a time, and had insisted
on her accompanying him. For how
long? All, that could be but conjec.
ture; perhaps for two or three months.
Was he i'll? No, not exactly; but he
was going away and needed her. Yes,
she would write occasionally from MI
ami. Fla; but not often, because her
charge would demand her time. And
so, answering and evading, filled with
yearning, and yet debarred from CIV
ing confidence, she had hidden him
good.by and come to this: Sailing
away in the night with all the furtive-
ness and mystery which enshrouded
pirate ships Of old bent on plumber
and rapine.
The days Of the voyage were much
alike; filled with work. Down in the
cabins the engineers and machinists
drew hasty plans Of buildings, then
marked spots where machines were to
have floor space, drew diagrams for
transmission Of power. and consulted
charts showing the depths Of water
round their prospective %shipyard.
They had not even time to watch the
devious course in and out among the
islands which marked their entry to
the scene Of toll. When the pulsations
Of the screw stopped and the ship
ceased her vibrations. they were still
at their several tasks, and were dis
turbed when the anchor chains went
rumbling through their hawser pipes.
Like an army Of ants, drilled and
acclimated, they swarmed out upon
the land. the sappers clearing the way.
the carpenters DOMINIC their aprons
and grasping their tools while piles Of
lumber, kegs of bolts and nails, and
mountains Of iron sheathing accumu.
lated upon the beach. And then, as
the ringing Of q multitude Of ham
mers and the steady biting song Of the
saws filed the air with sounds of in
dustry, great cases Of machinery
swung up from the holds, foated dix
lilly to the bulwarks, and went slowly
down to the lighters. "A city Of tents
sprang up as by necromancy, with gut
ters to carry of the rains, and sewers
to prevent disease. Camp surgeons
accustomed to sanitation superin-
tended these .outposts, paying a. much
attention to the spreading Of . mos
quito net to keep away the dread
stygomia. 90 to tautening the canvas
roofs and clearing the grounds.
All available means OF q resource
full nation had been gathered together
~ an expert driver seizes the reinsy
or d foyrsiE.s. sc.d and guides hisshorseS