The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1909-09-03
CHAPTER XlX.-Continued,

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 her.
was lost in the tumult. They were men
intoxicated with the wine of victory
They yelled themselves hOarse. They
patted one another on the back. hurled
their caps into the air, and finally
formed escorts of honor to conduct the
men and officers of the fleet to their
cabins, asking over and over for de.
tails of the fight.
And even as those tired fighters
went to rest, in city across the con-
tinent newsboys were crying their
extras through the streets, and the
citizens of 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 sudden stop, lean
ing against tree and wondering if
he was still asleep; but with his
knuckles he could not obliterate the
floating vision before him. He con-
WINGED himself by lusty hail: Hello,
out there! What are you doing? Get
off that lake," and back to him there
yolleyed storm of objurgations in an
unknown tongue. Not until he had
called 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 was 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
ings 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-
celved for any point beyeNd the Dor
ders of the United States, and that
all messages without exception would
be censored before transmission. The
newspapers fumed and reared, until
they learned that all incoming news
would pass uninterruptedly, but that
Tor purposes known only to the gov
eminent the story of the presence OF
the Japanese fleet would be CLOSELY
guarded for the time being. For once
the POst-lntelligence, the Times and
Star united in attacking the admins.
trati0n.
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 be augmented. All Sound
traffic stopped, and from the great
union depot no departing trains rum
bed Within an hour it was known
that a Gordon Of soldiers surrounded
the city, and that all traffic or COM
with the outside world
was interdicted. Seattle had been iso-
lated.
Thus it was that the presence of the
captured fleet and the method of its
taking were unknown to the country
at large. Seattle extended all consis- |
tent courtesies to the vanuuished: