The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-03
Prom Sunset Ma gazine.

| lOIl SuuSSl IdBdZlne.
 ~ CARCELY had land faded from
 view" writes James F. Smith, 0 formerly governor general of the Philippines, describing the first expedi- ton to the islands following the vtc- tory of Manila bay, "when Captain Glass of the convoy opened his sealed orders, and with fine irony, enjoining secrecy, published the welcome infor- nation that the expedition was to stop by" on the way and capture Guam Whether lGuam was a city, island, CT man of war was a subject of much de- bate. All were agreed. however, that it was a good thing which should be withheld from the press and regarded as strictly confidential. A dot upon the charts supported by the ipse dixit of quartet of master marines finally convinced the doubting that Guam was bit of land entirely surrounded by water And so, on June 20 at daybreak cruiser and transports, by virtue of a sacred compact and lack of wireless, steal upon it unheralded and unan- nouced. With rigging and every var tage point crowded with men whose pulse beat time to their excitement the transports take their place five or six
 miles off shore and await the coming conflict. In plain view the Charleston is creeping along the outer line of reefs and there, from hidden cove, with bone in her teeth, a great Spanish cruiser, ghostly in the haze, comes out to meet her. And then, just when every .t,ts lon. Ir~ haze lifts, and a whooping fighting craft of high degree melts into poor little Japanese fishing schooner gently bobbing to her anchor.
 Surely there win be something doing when the Charleston seeks to enter there And now the cruiser, dull as a misty morning in her clothes of somber gray, swings to port and slips into the narrow channel directly under where the bold faced type has said the fort is sure to be--and-not shot Is fred! The garrison must be asleep, or maybe it is permitting the entrance of the ves- sel to make her destruction certain, or maybe this or maybe that-anythlng to keep alive the hope that the colosseum of half circled transports may not be denied the nerve tingling spectacle of battling men. Bang! Bang! Nine times bang go the guns of the Charles ton A hush of expectation and then
 a great stiffness!
 What has happened? Why nothing, except that a dinky little rowboat has \ put off from shore with the Spanish
 colors gayly flying from the stern. Not a bit of white is fluttering from 1t any i where and every gunner is eager to potshot it as it meanders through the coral reefs. Captain Glass won't have
 1t that way, however, and permits the | flagship of Guam to come alongside
 without objection.
 | With great deliberation boy in size
 but a man in dignity and years, glitter ing with the gold lace of Spanish ma 1or, mounts the ladder lowered for his
 reception, gravely touches his cap to the commanding officer, and then. through an interpreter, presents his thanks for the salute just rendered. and expresses regret that he couldn't return lit--for lack of powder Now, what do
 you think of that? A silly grin broad ems the faces of the circumjacent sailor
 men, This is too much for the big, kind
 heart of Captain Glass, who takes the
 good major to the seclusion of his quar-
 ters and there very gently explains that
 Spain and the United States have been
 at war for more than Gu days. The ma
 jor, who receives his daily paper as
 often as twice a year, is properly sorry
 that such a thing should be, rising Isolemnly announces that under the cir , cumstances he must retire and prepare
 himself for the fray
 Why, my dear man." says the car- tain, you can't do that Don't you sec , you are my prisoner and that I must
 ask you to surrender at once the islanc
 and all your forces?" eft The major argues earnestly that ht 2 is a victim of deceit and that he has , been induced to come on board by falss 2 pretenses or course the deceit ans . false pretcnses have not been planned l prepared and perpetrated by an aban ]; doned and maglignant heart, with nal ] ice aforethought, but none the lesi ideceived and fooled he has been. and