The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1915-08-03

The skipper climbed in ana after
after brief inspection. expressed his
sattsfaetIon with nod, and then
descended to the ground.
There was silence in the great
hall. The men who hold down the
vessel were. in their places The
crew were at their stations.
The cnleer In charge reportsd
ali In ordef' to the skipper, who
called out instructions to discharge
the water ballast. There was rush
of water. and the vessel gradually
rose above the props and doated.
swayed by Gust.
.sThe captain paced the whole
length. scanning With careful eye
Then he climbed into the front gon=
dola and ordered to be taken Otit.
The iieutenantS repeated the order
.airsaip Forward and the men with
the naoorinE ropes towed It into the
open. A gust Of Wild outside caused
her tc4sWay. It tugsed at its moor.
ing ropes like an impatient steo
at its bit.
"a cry OF attention, long shriA
blast from the boatswatn's whistle
the last ropes were dropped and
almost simultaneously the engine
room telegraph signaled motor full
speed ahead
with noise like thunder the
propeller spfang into life, the vessel
shot forward and upward.
The forward gondola resembled
nothing SO much as the bridge OF q
warship, and as in the chart-house
of cruiser. SO the skipper now
bent over his maps.
Must Reckon Wind.
.'The ship in its ascent soon cleaved
hts way through banks of clouds.
The sun shining through them upon
the sea facilitated steering. With
his eyes upon the shadow of the
vessel and piece of wood hanging
loose at the end of string. the
skipper was able to reckon his speed
and the strength of the wind. II the
weather Is dull and the airship is
above open water, only practice and
seamanshtp instinct can help the
commander to knowledge OF his
position. He must also reckon not
only with the prevailing wind but
with threatening changes. A strong
current from the direction of home
might make his return very difficult.
This time, however. the vessel adj
vanced In a straight line to the north
west. A number of fishing vessels
could be seen at sea, all flying the
Dutch flag, but the skipper thought
lhfs own thoughts. He knows that
British fishermen even close under
their own coasts now seldom fly any
thing but the Dutch colors.
by D. M. his mission was at an
end He had received orders to be
back at the hangar before dusk, but
the weather being SO favorable he
asked permission to
lact on his own Initiative. sid profit
lbv the favorable opportunity.
Agreed was the reply.
Destroyer Sighted.
Continuing his digit to the nor
ithwest he determined to deliver a
blow against the English coast. It
! was yet twilight when he approached
England and assembled to q height Of
1900 meters in order to keep out Of
sight Of the watchfu1 eyes. on board
tEngland's guardships. Through a
rift IN the clouds a destroyer could
be seen of the land, but blacklist
tmistiness on the distant horizon was
recognized by trained eyes as smoke
from the chimneys of an Industrial
district. The skipper now knew that
he had steered true course, and
that his destination harbor with
enemy dock yards-was before him.
Bombs Are Dropped.
He remained above the clouds
iunI11 DARK tu0u Q0s4SQ VI " tA0
coast. he detected In the dying day
/ light the two mo1es marking the
mouth Of the river which he was
seeking. Almost simultaneously
came flashes of artillery fire from
below. The rudder swung round, and
steering past the attacking fortress.
the airship's gunner lay on his face
by the sighting apparatus and fired.
at the targets over which he was
being steered. There were now
flashes beneath us which did not pro-
coed frsm the enemy artillery. The
displacement of air, due to tre-
mendous explosion, was felt in the
gondo1a. Below us large factory
was seen to collapse upon itself. The
windows of the other workshops sud-
denly became dark.
hThe men in the gondo1as were
under the Impression that tey could
see policemen hurrying through the
streets with cries OF warning. be-
cause house after house was suddenly
swallowed In darkness. until the town
and suburbs were In complete OBJ
scdrity.
"But the work was done. AfterI
making observations for half anil
hour the return journey was begun.
The weather was clearer but bitterly |
cold. The skipper sank to an a1t-
tide of only 100 meters above He'll
goland, and was helped by the moon
light along the German coast. Above
Norderney the maps were again re-
QUESTIONED. and then straight for the
hangar.
The Clerk Guaranteed It.