The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1916-10-04
Continued from Yesterday
CHAPTER XIV.
The End of the Battle.


THE Idaho must be turning again.
Bob knew. to prevent being
Il headed by the Trajan Yes:
the flagship was turning and
had signaled the others to follow. for
the Arizona was steering off. it was
made plain. by the degree which the
turret had TO turn TO keep the guns on
the Varon That meant that the Amer
lean column was being crrmpled back
snto a semicircle, with the enemy's
feet circling outside and able to con
centrate the fire of two dreadnaughts
upon one. but that was better than let
ting the Trajan and the rest cross
ahead. They had the speed and sim
ply were taking advantage of it.
Again it was only subconsciously and
without bitterness that Bob recorded
this. He had too much which was fer.
ribly immediate for his attention He
had become aware that the telephone
circuit, which brought the corrections
from the chief fire control station, had
been silent for several salyos The
sight settlers were taking off their bel
NETS, which fastened the telephone re
ceivers to their ears. They were NOV
ing In obedience to the visual signals
which still were working Now. after
those shells had struck again some
where without the visuals remained
unchanged. while the voice tube com
manded correction of the range So
connections to the visuals also were
cut. Only the voice tube remained.
Down 100; one leftr' the voice in
the tube was commanding clearly
loudly Down 100; one leftr
Bub saw to it, mechanically. that the
corrections were made
1t was becoming more and more
strange and uncanny to be shut up
there in the turret dispatching salvo
after salvo of monstrous shells at a
ship eight miles away and witnessing
your fire destroy foremost and funnel
and now mainmast on the enemy's
ship. 1t was strange to recognize that
only two vturrets of the varon now
were firing and not know of your OVID
ship even how many guns We're In ac-
ton other than those you saw loaded
lie the Arizona's foremast-the mast
In the top of which Garry had his bat
tie station-had fallen in a different
direction Bob might not have known
for some time that it was gone. Lit
would have been impossible for him
to distinguish the crash of it's fall from
the disruption which had become al
most constant as the Varon's shells
struck and struck again.
AS it happened. the foremost fell
forward, and the steel supports of its
"cage'' interfered with the guns. The
turret could not turn to keep trained
upon the Varon Bob reported to the
voice In the speaking tube why his
turret did not fire, and he received or
ders to keep his crew behind the ar
mor--other men would be sent to clear
the wreckage away.
The fall of the mast meant that Gar
ry was gone. of course. Bob's brain
recorded that certainty without feeling
and wondered at the lack of emotion
at the same time. Bob guessed it was
one of the natural things about fight
ing a turret. You killed a thousand
men-a dreadnaught's crew, Ii you
had luck-and on your own ship men
were being killed by hundreds. but
you never saw them. Only a main
battery shell could possibly enter your
turret, and then only if it struck very
straight. If it got in it would kill all
your men and you. too, probably. so it
would be all over at once. So you did
not see any one dying. You did not
see the men who were blown to pieces
at this instant only eighteen inches
away from you, just the other side of
the turret armor. You knew they were
blown to bits, for shell had just
burst outside there and the funny lit