Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-05-04

air rushes out to fill it, The sharp blast
assaults Your ears and tears your cap off
your head. The ship trembles from stem
to stern, from keel to main truck, and
the veil of orange-shot smoke envelopes
you. 1t clears just in time to reveal the
Texas. The rush of the flying shells dies
down from a deafening roar to dull,
distant booming
From the flash of the gun your watch
ticks off its seconds of the salvo's time
of f1ight-ten-eleven-twe The sec
ond hand jumps to thirteen and five fOun-
tains of white water leap up about the
Texas and then. far beyond. the ricochet-
ing shells play on the water in other and
smaller fountains
The ships of the fleet are warming
up for the battle practice. for the big
game which winds up the season for the
navy. Massed in the fighting tops of the
basket-like masts that rear their net
work of cables and girders high above
you are the spoilers from each ship Of
the fleet. AS the Florida fires they watch
the splashes. their eyes glued to their
glasses. Each in rotation catches the
splash, makes his calculations to correct
windage and distance and passes the
word below for the next shot. This Is
fired with the correction. Thus 1T goes
through the ranks of the spoilers, each
ship having string fired under the direc-
ton of it's own spoilers.
After the deep boom of one twelve-inch
gun there is no fountain shooting up near
the Texas One of the spoilers of the
Arkansas was the first to call the turn
and from amidships of the hulk a great
blur of iron rust rises and falls back-a
staggering punch. The observing party
from the Lebanon, when 1t returns, tell
stories that make you wonder at the bull
dog tenacity with which the old Texas
holds together. The warming up" is
over.
Anchor engines clank noisily and the
fleet gets under way for the Capes or
Virginia, the gateway to the southern
drill grounds where the ships of the At
lantic fleet fight doggedly for the honor
of flying at foretop for twelve months a
red pennant with a black ball. 1t stands
for the gunnery championship and the
enlisted men. noting its similarity to the
red meal pennant, have christened it the
meat ball.
In double column, the formation in
which the feet steamed around the
world. the speed cones calling for full
cruising speed, the battleships steam on
TO salt water. The old Texas settles back
deeper on her shoal to wait for the re-
turn of her old shipmates and the ham
mering Of the next spotting practice.
The never-ending black smudges drift
10 leeward from the tunnels. signal flags
break out in deep-sea talk and the ships
clear for action in readiness for the big
game. Rails and stanchions are unship-
ped on the forecastle and quarterback,
ladders housed and life lines rugged.
Cabin doors are slowed away in the
passages. pictures and electric light
globes are laid fiat on the hunks and
down in the junior officers mess Archie
Gums enhancing ballet girl is taken
from the place Of honor in the mess
room and stacked away with pictures of
other girls.
Boats are swung inboard and checked
up on the boat deck. Constructively most
of this gear would be overheard in action
TO lessen the danger of flying splinters.
Walk around the boat deck and you will
find crates, bins, boats and all manner
OF gear tagged overheard" and over
board, too, they would have been hurled
In a real battle.