Marble Hill press. (Marbel [sic] Hill, Mo.) 1881-1923, 1915-07-22
IN THE ENGINE ROOM
Place OF Stress When BattIeship
Is in Action.
Fighting Strain Becomes Of an lnten.
sIty Hard to Imaeine-DeadIy
Torpedo the Weapon That
Is Most Feared.

Vi modern dreadnaught In action
oh each side OF US, unObtruslvell
slowed away in their mahogany brass
pound cases, are the great turbines
4helT humming though we cannot
see 'hcm-tlls the vast space with the
sound as OF million bees let loose
Near each one hovers grimy stoker
OH can in hand, and his duty It is tc
see that these monster humming tops
90 not lack for fabrication.
Right in front. on the foremost bulk
mead II the engine room. are the
telegraph dIals and the telephones
each OF which is in connection with
h' bridge, and under the direct con.
roI ~ the captain These are the
thinss which tell us how the fight Is
gong for the keen engineer can read
Sign and porteuts IN the changes
winch are rung upon the telegraph
diais
A tremendous thing is the fighting
strain Il is bad even up in the great
tuFf''S whore men play their parts In
the grim drama, and hurl death and
destruction at the foe but down here
"her' one does nothing but walt for
| order Il is terrible.
The only man who does not seem 10
Zee the strain is the one who has ap-
par"nHy the least to DO, and that is
the engineer He, however Is busily do.
Ing mental arithmetic. lie knows how
MAN revolutions his screws are do
Ing per minute. and he realizes that
as vet she has still a little BIT OF
sp"e 4 up her sleeve
fy and by tina, last half knot NAV
be asked to-. and he Is calculating
how much speed he will b. able TO
present the captain with when that
hna. effort is asked for No one knows
but h" and he won't tell
There seems TO be q kind OF waiting
expression on most Of the faces. and
II thy could tell You what they we're
all waiting for it would surprise YOU
Shu' e2 as they are in a small steel
hoxfaI u machinery they are not
thinking 81 the chance OF an enemy's
prc5rc..'o ,umiug through and killing
them. nor are they WAITING for death
10 come 10 them IN sons other man.
ner What they are dreadlnr is that
something should 60 wrong with their
beloved engines ore something tina,
would prevent their doing their bit"
in tbs fight
They are listening ever listening
for the hiss II escaping steam which
VIII tell them Of a main steam plpe
hit and carried away, Tor the shot
that might smash one OF the boilers
Into small pieces for the rattle Of the .
steering engine as the r1ddgr it. blown
ao ay. and the ship hangs. without
= de in the balance
md then with a sickeniue s'deIone
twist and q rattle of the steering en-.
e.ao. the floor Of the engine room
takes on a sickeH4as slant The ship
hs, made a suddea and acute turn.
The engineers face turns from
rhrery optimistic red t. a fcars,ricken
ss iow green
My God" he mutters "Subma
e", es'"
livery man IN that engine room and
"ry stokor In the stokch0lds knows
'.'t that sudden and horrible twist
#oans 1t means that the ship has
.""menced a quadrillo with death;
h.f underwater craft are seeking 10
.a1 her life and the fight at THE same
lie strained look has gone now
-yone is eager and anxious 70 do
$3.50 one thing, and that Is to obey
b. orders which come down from
Es bridge as fast as they possibly
au he obeyed The bridge is having
n anxious time. but the men in the I
nJ rs trust Il and reckon it is Up to
,a..ng with the biggest aotjlla OF sub. {
1arnes that the enemy owns. any
ay
zen. while the ship is running all
b. knows. the unexpected happens
| p louder and more sudden roar
han ever the steering engine rattles
y'r TO hard port At precisely the
am" second the telegraph rings Full
tn, starboard engine Fall ahead
nr'' The ship takes a horrible heel
$ he rudders two OF them-Crip
'r the port screw slows down per.
&C. bly, as 1t feels the mighty column
Rater DETECTED from the rudder,
NJ the starboard one huns along
D0othly as It feel the reversed tur,
Inc thrust
And even as they spin round the
zen can hear the guns putting in good
ork and blazing away for all they are
or'h. Ten minutes later the enemy's
cor what IS left Of them-are
canning for hayhor again as fast as
icy can 80.
Imagine yourself shut NJ in chat.
ring humming steel box. with the
Ids on being killed either hv she'll
, torpedo explosion. or drowning. or
aiding TO Heath. and with Death
mself throwing all sorts OF missiles
you which you can't even see com
& and you will have a very good
"a Of what being In a battleship's
iginc room is like in a real pitched
file