El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-03-12

harbOr Of TOulOn- Together with sew
eral Of my comrades was visiting the
officers of the Livadia who were Civ
ing a dinner to officers of the French
/ army
As all the world knows, Russians ar.
, hard drinkers and Russian Officers do
their best to live up to this national
reputation At Russian dinners YOU
l very often continue drinking until the
majority Of the diners are under the
( table"
= The dinner was excellent and we'll
! served Everybody had eaten well and
had drunk heavily. so, naturally. the
conversation became very lively All
the LlVad1aS officers spoke French
as well as the natives of France.
The walters kept our champagne
glasses Illled all the time-fOr cham
payne is the favOrite beverage of all
Russians; and, as matter of fact
there is more champagne consumed in
russia alone, than the French cham
payne district produces. The Russian
officers did not sip their champagne
as we did, but threw back their heads
and swallowed whole glassful at
time The quantity Of wine which my
nelghbor drank was something quite
incredible.
I suppose you will return to Paris
tomorrow" he asked.
Well was TO have left tomorrow.
Dut postponed Il to watch thetorpedo
practice Of the squadron"
He was startled; his eyes shot fire.
and his forehead grew dark as if some
unpleasant thought had suddenly Oc-
CURED to him.
Then you are interested in tor
pedoes?' he asked after a moments
Yes, am" I replied; "the torpedo
IS a dreadful weapon and I am inter
ested in it."
csThen," he said with a bitter smile.
ra-w ~.aTT
II than any other man in the world"
For few moments he sat lost in
thought. then he Strengthened himself
up and asked
Have you heard Of the first use Of
the torpedo in actual warfare. It was
during the Russo Turkish WARP"
Why, certainly"
Then. Lsten-it was I who blew I'D
the Turkish flagship
He stared at me to watch the i'm
preston this statement made on me
~YOu2"
Yes, l. It was a dreadful. horrible
thing \ terrible catastrophe"
Again he was silent a while before
"Oh, what wouldn't I give not to
have done it You admire me. 1 sup
pose? Too much admiration has been
wasted on me. Too often I have been
told 1 am a herO-yes, a hero. I have
received orders and decorations with
out number, and still I would gladly
give them up not TO be this hero. Not
to have done that atrOcioGs deed But
l viii tell you how it happened"
And he began his story evidently
less TO arouse my interest than to ease
his conscience.
1T was on the Danube. you remem-
Der. For several days we had been
anchored some distance away from the
Turkish fleet. but hidden from sight
by a bend of the river, which here is
as wide and deep as a bay. We kept
En Nrarf
though a surprise attack was very
unlikely, as the river is full of sand
bars which make navigation very diff.
fcqlt Still we expected to be at
tackled. for the Turkish fleet was far
superior to ours We waited in vain;
they did not come
Then we decided to attack their
fleet with our tOrpedOes. 1 was put
in command of a torpedo boat and we
made ready to start.
AT that time the torpedo was not
perfect as today. 1t was very crude,
and dangerous to handle. 1t was neces-
sary 10 lower it alongside the shipside
OF the enemy, explode 1t by an electric
battery, and run away as fast as You
could, so as not to be blown up your
self
1T was a dark, quiet night Ny
crew were picked Inen-eyery one OF
whom 1 could trust not to lose his head
under any circumstances, and everyone
of whom was eager to get at the
enemy. The undertaking was an ex-
ceedingly dangerous one and my chief
was visibly moved when he shook my
hand and we parted
I'VE were running a great risk, for
if the Turks discovered US in time we
had no chances to get away But
had full confidence in myself and my
men.
.'Noiselessly we sailed up the river
and at last could make out the Turk I
ish fleet.
THE flagship doomed up straight
ahead Of US. a little nearer than the
rest It looked like a gigantic fora,
and this target / chose for our at
tack. Not a sound was heard. Every
thing was calm; no one dreamed of !
the threatening danger A few Ian
terms were the only signs of life on
board the flagship
We went nearer and nearer. /
could hear my heart beating wildly 1 /
no longer doubted that I would be sue
cessful. Ny men stood mOtiOnless. |
We were alongside the flagship now
and they had not discovered US. I /
was mad with delight as I lowered nv /
torpedo and fastened it to the. ships I
side. few seconds more and we |
would be safe.
Then we suddenly heard cries and /
noise on board.
'TOrpedOesi TOrpedoesr the Turk 4
ish sailors shouted The Turks had an 4
insane idea that tOrpedOes were some
thing unearthly and fantastic. And |
they were not far wrong.
When we had got a cable length
away, I pressed the electric button
There was a cry-an uncanny, super
natural cry. No, you can never con-
ceive any idea of its sound. I am a
brave man. You may take my word /
I am afraid Of nothing in this world
but this cry. Then everything was
swallowed up by the river-ship crew.
officers and sailors. The cry follows
me everywhere and at times it nearly
drives me mad. In the middle Of the
day. if 1 close my eyes. can hear it"
His voice was full Of anguish as he
bent closer toward me and whispered: /
''Listen-dO you hear it2"
His eyes stared, a dreadful expression |
of horror cOnvUlsed his face The
glass he held was crushed between his !
fingers. a hOarse cry escaped his lips;
he let go my arm and fell to the floor
heavily.