The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-10-10

firing also at the ArH0na. It was time that tho prince would be concen- trating a1l his dreadnaughts on the newer American ships, but he had only twenty-two firstrline ships against thir- teenythat wasn't quite two to one. The Idaho was fighting two ships: now was hard with only one tuEret and that commanded by Ross, probably. who hadn't ever been in such a turret before. What was the matter with the Pennsylvania? Wasn't she' stand ing up to her work? Standing up to it! Good God! She had three against her, two Trajans they must be, and one of the Pharaohs. And the Penn sylvania hadn't had her battle prac- tice this year. for she had been de- tached to Mexico. But if three ships were against her. what was gone from our line? The Oklahomal? That must be it-there was gap in the circle back there. And was the New York on fire? No; that must be the smoke of destroyers trying to screen a ship. but that meant the ship was beaten 1t was no longer able to fight.
 Some more shells disrupted on the other side of the armor. They killed all the men who were out there; but at the same stroke, they did the mems work. t
 Holt, the turret captain, was speak, ing. "We can train the turret now, sir"
 ' The voice tube which hopefully had been telling the range and corrections to No. 2 turret every time the after turret fired spoke again. The sight settlers, who had changed the sights at each correction, once more made the adjustments. No. 2 turret fired Cor rectiOns came, and then again, the sort of corrections which confessed that the guns were missing. Who was spotting the shots and missing the cor rections' and from what point of ob- servation? The foremast was gone, of course; the mainmast now also was down. They must De spotting the fall of the shells and correcting the range from the coming tower, only a few feet higher than the turret That was why the guns were missing.
 But the shells from the 'VarOn and the Floron were not flying over or short! Oh, they were hitting the Ari- zona very hard. And the Varon had had no masts for fifteen minutes, and several salvos ago. the FloSon had lost hers. But fire control officers were spotting their shells from somewhere where they could see.
 Flashing specks fitted in the sky between the ships. Bob caught sight of them a couple of times, and he knew what they were-the enemy aero planes, which had driven the American planes away before the battle. The enemy's planes were lowering there for one purpose only now-to take up the work of the fire control tops for the regents -ships: Officers ins the planes were watching the effect of the fire, and as it went over or fell short of the American ships they were sig naling the corrections. That was how the Varon and the Floron could spare their masts.
 Bob recognized it. "Well, we knew they were practicing that. It's one of the things we were going to get around to-after awhile."I
 For himself he was incapable of bit terness at that, but impotent rage rose in him as he tried now to encourage his men when they fired and was told only that they had missed. II was 'onv' Louden, the firing pointer, was crying. T know, sir, I was 'on! And ! I fired when I was 'on.' sir! Sir, l know that was 'on!"
 q know it, too. Louden." Bob said. i 'Wen try again"
 "But they're hitting sir! They're | hittingr" Louden was beside himself as his mates begged him to be more careful, to be sure to "give it to 'em" | this time.
 (To Be Cuntiuuod.1