Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-04-27
Loading the Gun.

One of the men on the floor of the
enpla cement wheels a large shell to
the foot of the ammunition hoist. and
hooks the thing, carriage and all. to
the hoist itself 1t is carried into po-
sition. and man on the platform
seizes it. and. with a mighty. driving
swing slams 1t into the chamber From
the left man produces large can OF
fixed ammunition"-enou high ex-
pIosive to blow up everybody In the
emplacement
fearby Nobody seems to care. The
can of explosive follows the shell into
the recesses Of the gun The block
slams home. The shell and charge
handlers step aside
snip-is repeated. The long barrel ele-
Yates itself as if il were sentient
thing. describing at the same time
slight sweep sidewise. Then the bar
The man on the platform as yet is
bot satisfied He again turns his lever
There is another slight movement OF
eve Then, as II shot almost, the man
Jumps aside.
Fire comes the command man
yanks a lanyard. out OF the long bar
rel bursts a sheet of fame which in
fraction of second is enveloped in a
cloud Of reddish smoke and out of this
smoke rises uajesticelly the projectile
"a projectile like those which sank
The French battleship Bouvet and
pierced the steel sides OF the British
hattleships Irresistible and Ocean.
But more often the shell falls wide
Of the mark. now short, now too FAR
The men meanwhile have again loaded
tue piece. Again the flash. the deafen-
ING roar, and again the GREATNESS ex-
y-ctancy as to what will become of the
shell
terry is obivious of the dangers from
the enemy's shells. The question up
p.rnost is:
VIII this shot get Them
Scor. a Hit
II did. From the 1eck Of a vessel
rises an ugly mass OF fame and black
smoke Through the battery reverber
ates noise from human throats-a
shout, cry OF wild. superhuman Joy
that succeeds for a moment in over
towering even the wall Of air-churn-
ing she'll and the clatter of falling
steel splinters.
II is a moment that has no equal in
the gamut OF sensations Of the man of
normal life. Here men expect to be
killed and wish to kill: here men thirst
for blood because others are doing the
same thing. What matter II the next
moment be the LAST The sole desire Is
to inhict destruction on the enemy.
Responsibility rests everywhere-on
the shoulders of every man. Efficiency
means disaster to the enemy. The
clumsy member OF the crew finds him
self suddenly kicked aside Somebody
else does his work better Tho clumsy
ono thinks for minute and recap
lures his job-slad of the chance to
get IL back.
An enemy's shell hits the traverse In
front Of the piece-an intense fash an
air wave hotter than the breath Of a
steel furnace, an avalanche of foul
rapor, a crash that seems to rock the
earth and then a bowling. shrieking,
~at1tng. whistling chorus of shell frag-
ments fills the air. In a second the
mass which has risen from the earth
work descends.
The men await fate. Then come the
soft thuds Of falling earth-little clods
end big ciods. wave Of sand falls.
Result of Shell Explosion.
The men on the pla tform wipe the dirt
from their eyes. and some the blood. One
~ them lies on the stone floor-dead or
unconscious. -Four strong hands seize
his arms and legs and carry him to a
casemate, where surgeon is In waiting
On the platform OF the gun a man is
manipulating the handles that swing the
piece up and down and sideways II
s. intact The officer on the observation
post lcans over to watch the maneuver:
he puts questionable gun is all right
again the shell is hoisted up slammed
home and Joined Il, the explosive Again
the sharp calling Of orders, the sighting
the Of the explosion. the flight of the
projeciile and the eager demand for the
result hit or miss.
sAnd when ali is over the men sit down
- catch their breath, physically and
H"ntailr They come to remember that
Fey are still alive and that they will
Obliged TO do n all again