The Climax-Madisonian. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1914-1917, 1915-08-18
Copyright. The Frank A. Munsey Co.

the onslaught OI the elSnenISs Wnll0
they strove at the wheel with united
Drawn to keep the rolling. pitching
boat head-on to the seas.
All that day, from the great heart of
the desert, the sirocco had pulsed
feverishly across the Mediterranean.
No word had passed between the
stocky, swart-visaged commander and
his lithe-bodied, blond-haired aid since
the periscope-staff had snapped by the
board in the first crunch of the raven.
ing wind Then Rolf had roared above
the pounding of the combers against
the thickglassed ports.
She'll never stand the kick of this
sea. We'd better sink her now or we'll
have to swim"
Orders" Barton had snapped in re-
ply ITO the Dardanelles! Report to
the captain of the Victory by the 18th.
Noon! That's tomorrow; and we're
going through if the Gnomes don't
crack"
So they had struggled on grimly-
muscles writhing under the strain and
knuckles outstanding from knotted
fists hard as the spokes which they
gripped.
At the same time, behind them,
Frank Marsh. an aged boatswain,
swung the lever that played the
searchlight, increasingly to and fro
and while he toiled, he sweated-and
prayed. Down below, behind a
stepped, steel door, the engineer, Jack
Corrigan, Strengthened up from the
or iYer h.
his fat, red face-he swore.
These four men made up the roster
of this latest acquisition to the British
Mediterranean fleet. B-23 was a new
type of submarine, built for a special
purpose.
Should the need arise, her duty was
to fathOm out the location of planted
explosives in the deep murk of harbor-
bottoms and then to render their con-
trolling wires useless through the &C
ton OF the sulphuric acid which she
carried and which could be discharged
hot from the huge platinum syringe
built into her bow.
Seemingly opportunity had come
with the departure of the Balkan
agents from the futile London con-
terence For it was at the very mo-
menI when the allied armies began to
tear down the web of diplomacy spun
across the Turks musty corner of Eu-
rope that B-23 had been detached from
the rest of the lotilla at Gibraltar and
hurried away on her secret mission.
No one aboard yet knew the pur-
pose of the trip
Barton's instructions-direct from
the admiralty-were merely to reach
the superdreadnaught Victory, at the
Mediterranean end of the Dardanelles,
not later than the hour mentioned and
to have his arrival wirelessed at once
to London. He had further to deliver
packet-then locked in his strong
box belOw-the official red seal of
which still remained unbroken.
Though Barton was bent upon car
rying out these instructions. the ele-
ments were not.
1t was after B-23 had passed Cape
Mataplan and. blowing desperately
against the overwhelming forces, had
worked well into the tanglements of
the archipelago, that her flood-gate
suddenly gave way.
With a series of laundering CLUBS,
like the filling of some giant bottle,
the water surged into the jacket
simultaneously a head-seam opened,
swapping the forward trimming-tank,
and before either helmsman could
reach the planning lever of the hori-
zontal rudder or throw the control of
the balance-weight, the submarine dug
her snout into the waves and went
plunging beneath the surface like a
frightened narwhal
Franticauy, Rolf jerked at the
dangling bell-cord, while Barton leaped
toward the ladder from the hatch to
the room below. The drive of the en-
gines ceased when the boats propel-
lers sliced into the air, but her own
momentum thrust her onward And
when gravity clutched at the logging
head, she dove in a short, swift arc,
coming, an instant later. to a grinding
scraping stop which shook Barton
from the rungs of the ladder and sent
Rolf Keeling against the lookout-port
Barton leaped to his feet, and be-
fore rushing to inspect the damaged
tank wrenched open the door of the
engine-room.
For Gods sake!" he shouted to Cor
rigan, quick! Get that gate shut and
the pumps going! And the weight as
far aft as it will go! Flood that rear
trimming-tank. too! Tilt her up, some
howl
Loosened by the hammering seas,
the automatic bolts had allowed the
gate to slip.
| Corrigan switched on the engines
and closed it again in a moment
where he held it by wedging the gears.
But single glance told Barton that
the rent forward could not be repaired
under water. AS he hurried back, he
caught sight of the balance-weight
rumbling toward the stern. Like the
trtmming-tanks. the long. metal trough
with its heavy load was used to alter
the boats keelangIe
What's that you We got there for
weight?" he called to the engineer. as
the cofinlike box crawled up its slant
ing track
Battery plates" answered Cor
rigan, two hundred av thin cum
aboard the day av our startin'. wild nc
room fer stowin' So l chucked the
oirun in the say. They're hivier, any
way; an It's foine savin av space
He turned his attention again to the
big, sloshing triple-pump, and Barton
watched at the gauge until it showed
that the jacket had been re-emptied
Stin the boat did not rise or level it
self
Better give her the reversed" the
lieutenant ordered. Easy at first! We
must have rammed the mud pretty
deep to stick like this
AS the big gas engines increased the
speed of their exploding rataplan. Roll
came tumbling down from the tower