Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-04-18

was not a rail line. not bridge All
had been destroyed. Behind it lay a
perfect railroad system. with long
trains and giant locomotives under
steam. and all the gathered motor We
hicles. ready to speed along perfect
roads.
So far the fog was kind to the de-
tenders. But the invader, too, was
quick to seize its favor.
Long before. half a dozen men.
dressed like fishermen. had made their
way out of Narragansett harbor in 4
small Sloop. and had reported at the
enemy headquarters. For a month or
more past they had been fishing for
Holsters; but they had caught more
than Holsters. Their catch lay on the
table in the commanders tent, in the
form of charts with soundings and
range lines and distances. They were
maps of the mine fields.
AS soon as the fog began these men
went aboard a mine sweeper. 1t
steamed eastward, followed by the 9TH
ers. The sweepers had more than the
cables and grapples that make a mine
sweepers outfit. Set in rows on the
after-deck of each vessel were bulg-
ing mines, filled with 800 pounds of
trinftrotol.is
The fog became SO thick that it was
hard to say if it were daylight still, or
night. Night could only make 1t more
black. 1t could not increase the OBJ
security.
In the coast defenses of Long Island
sound and Narragansett bay every man
was straining eyes and ears and nerves.
Every gun company was at its weapon.
Every gun was loaded. Tall projectiles
Piles of the hoists prepared. Men stood
waiting in the powder magazines I'M
der the batteries.
Nothing to see or hear at Fort
Wright, on Fishers Island. Nothing at
Fort Niche, on Gill Island. Nothing at
Fort Terry. on Plum Island On all the
shrouded, swift tideways that led into
Long Island sound there was nothing.
There was nothing in front of the
Narragansett defenses that eyes could
see or ears could hear. Nothing-and
then. far out, II was as il sea-
monster had arisen in dying torment,
and dashed and Spouted and screamed
Before the riven column of water could
fall, there came muff1ed, laundering ex-
plosion under water-one, two, three!
The defenses split the fog with fire
Their mine-protecting batteries had
been trained over the fields long since
There was no need for aim. Instantly
they swept the hidden sea with shells
that would clear twenty acres of water.
Again there was silence and blind
ness-the unearthly silence of the At
lantic sea fog. 1t lay for half an hour.
as if there were no such thing as war
in the world
Then once more came the roar and
the crash, followed by it's submarine
echoes. Once more the land guns raved,
firing blindly.
The enemy was counter-mining. In
stead OF sweeping. his vessels We're
dropping mines of their own in the
fields, and then, backing off to avoid
the fire from the batteries il they could.
they exploded them by electric contact,
to blow up the American mines with
the shock.
Not all the mine-sWeepers escaped
mines or guns. But there were vessels
to spare. and lives to spare. All night
the counter-mining went on. and all
the darkness.
The sun arose invisibly. But it
climbed, and when it had lifted all its
disk above the rim of sea, it showed
through the mist as pale illumination.
1T will be clear enough in an hour,
said the executive officer of a battleship
under Block Island. The vessels wire
less began to speak.
On one of the mother ships men
brought out and assembled an armored
biplane. Its two fliers slowed range
finding apparatus, aerial telegraph,
aneroids and charts in it. There were
signal flags and light, brightly silvered
contained bombs and adjusted them
carefully in place. The fliers waited,
watching the fog.
1t lessened. 1t tore away in riffs. All
around the ships became visible.
Seven battleshipS swung around and
put on speed and rushed in echelon
toward the coast They steered
straight for the mouth of Nara gansett
bay, turned just outside of the zone of
fire of its defenses, slowed down and
he
The biplanes engine burst into life.
The machine lifted and followed them.
1t flew high over them and into the
bay. climbing.
ship, looking at the machine through
his glasses.
=:
Far inside of the bay. SO high i'll air
that it was little more than shining
speck, the aeroplane was describing
series of regular, equal circles. All at
once, as il it had been painted in the
air with a mammoth brush. jet
black descending streak stood out
against the sky. and heightened stead
lily toward the earth.
The azimuth and other range finding
instruments at both ends of the battle
ships caught the angles and ascer-
tanned the range to the black smear
that still hung in the air, like grease.
The aviator had dropped a smoke bomb
to indicate the fort below.
The forward turret of battleship
turned, it's hooded rifle lifted its muz
gle to an angle of fifteen degrees and
spoke with great voice.
Eleven miles away ton of steel
rushed from the sky. crashed into the
water of the bay roaring, ricochetted,
struck again half a mile beyond. and
again and again. Four times it re-
bounded, like pebble. before it dis
appeared at last: and each time it filled
the air with its clamor, like a suffer-
ing thing.F
The ships wireless caught signal
from the aeroplane. The shot had fall
len short. The battleship steamed on
and another one in line opened up the
mouth of the harbor and fired.
From the aeroplane fell a silver ball.
1t glittered in the Frightening sun.
splendid. Hit went the message to
the turret, and the crew there en-
braced and cheered.
1t had hit the outer earthworks of
the defenses. 1t had plunged down
with Il shock that stunned men in NOR
tar pits and ACCOMPLISHMENTS far
away-small wonder. for this thing
falling from the sky had struck IA blow
plugging into Broadway from the top
of Trinity Church steeple.is
mo effect" reported the watchers in
the coast defense to the commandment
Though the Impact had shaken the
works and the very earth; though the
blast from the explosion of its charge
had twisted three-inch iron bars within