The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1915-06-27
CHAPTER NJ.

said the cruisers We
N less. speaking once more into
the sea Silent formless,
2 black four vast ships, long
and twice as tan as the cruisers, came
slowly in among them
These were the transports, sealed
that not a thread Of light should shine
from them to betray them to the thing
that All the feet dreaded more than
anything else-the underwater lance OF
submarines torpedo.
Under water the submarine is always
blind, even when the brightest light OF
the noon day sun shines vertically into
the ocean. 1t can see only with Its
periscope eye above the surface.
at night the periscope cannot see
Then the submarine ceases to be use
fu1 as submarine. It can act stu.
but only on the surface, like any other
torpedo boat.
Two score desroyers, each of thirty
knots. each armed with from four to
ten three-inch guns and rapid frers,
cfrcled around the transports Twice
as swift as the surface speed Of the
swiftest submarine, armed oyerwheln-
1ngly, they could defy surface attack
EAmerican submarines now In com
mission do not carry more than one
three-inch rapid fire gun 1t Is set In a
water tight compartment from which
It is elevated when the vessel is on the
surface. Armaments OF desGoyers are-
Ammen class, five three-inch rapid fire
80 calrber rifles; Alwyn class, 1ourf four
inch rapid fire so caltber rifles; Balm
bridge class, two three-fnch rides and
Ave six-poundeB rapid fre.l
They hemmed che darkened troop
ships round with a great circle OF
searchlights, all thrown outward, that
served the double purpose OF illuminate
ing the ocean for miles and Of binding
any who tried to approach No human
eye looking into that glare. could have
seen the transports even 81 the night
had not shrouded them.
SIN these liners, with their tens OF.
thousands Of men, were too precious to
be protected only by this bright v1gf-
lance. From each transport there pro-
jected long steel Blooms, eleven to a
side These held out half ton net OF
steel grommets- Stretched fore and
haul 1t, this shirt OF chain mail hung
far down into the sea to catch any tor
pedo that might come driving at the
keel
There was more protection than that
1t would be day soon and then the
submarines would be blind no longer
All around the urea chosen for the
transports to lie In the fishing boats
taken from the sea Islands were being
towed by destroyers to drop their nets
Their wooden buoys formed odd geo
metrica1 outlines on the sea
These thin things OF meShed twinek
made only to hold little, tno6ensive
fish, were suspended Ike submarine
fences north and south and east and
west of the field OF operudons-
That such trivial things should be OF
any ava1 against underwater craft
with death in their heads might Wei
have seemed absurd to landsman-
They did not seem absurd TO the lieu
tenant who commanded United States
submarine No when he steered his
craft. awash, out from behind Fishers
Island sound at dawn and looked east
ward through his glasses
Ten miles away lay the transports.
quite notionless, beautifully assembled
as q target for him at that distance
their nnasts and tunnels seemed hud-
died. He had a vivid picture In his
mind for an instant It was picture
of fat, slow sheep crowhng together
with wolf among them.
But between them and his wolf lay
the net buoys, dotting al the surface,
In and out, as if they had been Laid by
some laboring artist to make maze.
The sea wolf went slowly nearer
With It's tanks fun Of water it lay 50
far submerged TINT the sea washed the
combinS around the manhole hatch
The lieutenant was Ike man wading
breast high in the ocean. It would be
hard to see him from any distance. BE
studied the racerieS Of buoys- There
were spaces between them that betok-
ened gaps in the fences. One might
find gap and so through. But to find
n gap the submarine must raise her
periscope above water and look around
And here. sweeping incessantly to and
ho Ike gaIoping cavalry, were de-
sroJerx
with periscope shot away a subma-
zine. even though un1njured IS quite
helpless She may escape H she Is In
deep winter and the assaiIant Is far
enough away to give her time to dive
md Zee, deeply submerged See loss
nU-2 on March 10 merely through de-
Etruct5on ofperiscope, which permitted
,nemy destoyers to ram herl
Could one dite and go through blind
The lfeutenant knew the linattattons OF
his terrible little animal It's Kiss could
draw a 10000 ton ship into the abyss,
but the woven tw1ne would laugh at
1ts nose could cut through them IKE
the THREADS that they-M eres s9E- ses4L