The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-10-04
"IOokS like it."

Pretty much hurt about the heaQ, but he's conscious, and the doe thinks he'll pull through, but he'll not fight his turret in this scrap. They're talk ing him ashore to the hospital, aId two of tho men that were got for good were gunners. One was Ferris of the Kan sas. Remember him? The best point
 CT on the ship"' Wendell realized that the sound Of the anti-air craft guns had ceased. It surprised him, when he thought of it. that he did not take trouble to find out what had happened to the machine and that Starnes did not concern him. self about it either. The fate of one
 aeroplane, which no longer was men, acing, was too trivial among the events
 now upon them.
 What! Arc you here?" Starnes questioned. "Watch and divisional of ficer, Bob?'
 "That's what the orders said which I got on the train. I haven't seen the
 old man yet. You're still on fire con-
 trol, Garry?'
 "Yep."
 "Foretop?"
 "Right. I'm in charge there. And
 you've turret:"
 "No. 2, Wayne thought. He said on the way over he understood he's to be
 my junior."
 Garry shook his head. Not any
 longer-not if they're carrying Varney
 ashore. I don't mean you won't have the turret; mean you'll have it all to
 yourself, and Wayne1l have n turret, too, or Ross will have the turret and Wayne take division of fives by him.
 self"
 Wendell glanced about quickly. It
 was not lik& Garry to find fault. He
 was notorious for eagerness to take on two mems work in an emergency
 checrfully and as thoug., he preferred
 it. His battle station, as he had just
 been told, was chief fire control officer in the tops. His business when the alarm bells should boom through the ship and the bugles shoU.l blow Gen. eral quartersr' was to lead his "spot- ters" to the top of the foremast and
 through his telescope watch for the splash of the Arizona's shells. At ten or twelve miles distance the
 initial range could only be approxi-
 mated, so Starnes as fire control off, cer would ''spot" the splash of the great shells as they struck the sea about the enemy. His duty would be to estimate the distance of the splash beyond or short or to the right or to the left of the target, to telephone his
 estimate instantly to the chief fire con- trol station far below the armor and
 the water, from which there would go
 to the guns the instructions for the
 correction of the sights, so the next shots would be closer and the next might hit.
 Garry was naturally adapted to this work and had been trained to extraor- dinary skill in 1t; there was no better man of any rank for this work in the feet. So the fact of his being chief fire control officer in the foretop be- trayed no weakness of personnel. The fact of Wendell's appointment
 as second divisional officer without a junior would be different His battle station, as he had said to Starnes, would be to command No. 2 turret-the great turret, housing three fourteen inch guns-just forward of the bridge and the coming tower. A lieutenant
 of full rank, with lieutenant of jun
 for grade, like Wendell or with an en- sign as second in command, belonged
 at such a battle station. wendell had
 realized, therefore, that lis order to
 report for duty as watch and division
 al officer was proof of lack of officers,
 but he was used to that fact Often
 enough, in battle practice, he had been
 senior divisional officer in command of
 a turret. But if Varney's loss meant that he was to have no junior in the ! turret who had been trained at the big guns the weakness in battle might be
 serious indeed Wendell, finishing dressing, hurried to the captains room, where. formally reporting himself for duty, he was or dered to MT. Stacey, the executive off, cer. for assignment to his division Cries and commotion came from about the ship. and as Bob turned from the executive officer to inspect
 No. turret, which he was to com mand in action, the Arizona left the navy yard. He went out to the quar- | ter deck as the battleship headed to Hampton Roads and increased speed ! as it steered into the wide water. A
 number. of the ships which had been in the roads when he had crossed from Newport News in the launch now were in the bay and headed out to sea- Two light cruisers, a half dozen de
 stroyers and the great dreadnaught , Pennsylvania were in motion. The | yellow haze of powder smoke, puffing from the Pennsylvanias forward tu-- rets and blown swiftly back by the breeze, told that it was the battleship which was firing, and now a spurt of spray. dasling up hundred yards
 ahead of the Pennsylvania and half as hign as her fc1:mast. told that some where out at sea ship of the enemy
 was returning the fire. The Arizona
 steamed more swiftly after her sister
 ship, and now as the vessel rose and
 fell to the swell rolling in from the
 Atlantic the alarm bells boomed be-
 low and the bugles called all men to
 battle stations.
 The upper works of three vessels the masts and fire control tops and
 tunnels of a first line dreadnaught or
 battle cruiser, the masts and tops and frNx@