The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-10-16

as to soldiers. Now his voice appealed. And for Gods sake, boys, stick and fight back when you're under fire, and if you can't fight, if it seems there noth- ing possible that you can do, if it seems just suicide to stay. stick. Boys. for your country's sake and your own. Stay at your position. It probably won't do you any good to try to re- treat anyway. But whatever you think. stickr'
 He jerked his head up and his voice was formal again. "You are to defend that section of our front against at tack from the watcr-by boat-or by men who may have crossed elsewhere and move fin this direction. Remember what you've been told for battle. Take care of your own front, and, unless or dered to assist elsewhere. leave it to other companies to defend their posts or you will fail at your own. I repeat to you the battle order which General Stone has issued to all troops who fight today in thc first line of our de fense. Our victory depends upon every man holding his position or dying at bis post" 7 T. "A Wray stepped back and bowed his head Some one started cheer, but many of Company Film Ashby for one--had too much shame to join 1t. Winslow, the captain, led to N 94. The company followed and entered. "A {: It was four story brick building. old but substantial, with thick walls and tall, narrow windows opening to- ward East river. In front, upon the first floor, was an office deserted now and with desks shut and locked. The space behind the office was ware house floor. crowded with crates, boxes. barrels, bales, and sacks of all sorts and sizes. There was a freight ele- vator In the rear where man was sitting with a rife across his knees. He was a stocky. muscular man, upward of forty, with tanned skin and sandy brown hair, and with blue. determfh- ed eyes. As he stood up Jim observed that he had a peg leg. His right leg had been cut off at the knee. In spite of that he stood in a manner which made the recruits of Company F put back their shoulders straighter. The wooden legged man salu.ed Winslow.
 ''My name is Houston, sir," he said. T worked here, so came topdo any thing I could. used to be in the regular army. sir. I was at Santiago and in the Philippines. I tried to get into this, of course sir. but was re- fused" He moved his peg leg for ward X Winslow looked him over. Houston wore an old army shirt and khaki trousers. "Tell me what's here"
 Sugar, sir"
 "And those packs?"
 Meal The best stuff for protection here, sir, is baled cotton in that corner. There's more upstairs. hope can help. sir" Ais-Tz.e e~
 s Show us hpstairs,,' winsslow bid niln. There was no, time for delay. If N 94 was not the most vital, neither was 1t the least important post in the defense of the eastern water front. A couple of hund{ed yards to the south lay Brooklyn bridge, half shrouded in smoke, with shells bursting over it for its whole length, with the American militiamen and volunteers, who had been, fighting on Long Island, fleeing across. A few hundred yards to the i north stretched Manhattan bridge, also under shell fire, with American troops | running in rout Directly opposite | N 94 was the narrowest stretch of the river, with the burning docks and
 warehouses of Brooklyn barely quar- ter mile away from the boat slips of New York. The smoke was drifting low now, covering the ws1er and con I cea1ing the boats being brought over from Brooklyn. The battle-the noise of artillery, the rattle of machine guns seemed now just behind the smoke on the Brooklyn shore. A shell-per.
 haps a stray, perhaps a precursor of a bombardment of the whole water front-struck and burst in South street
 before N 94. Company F dropped its l rifles and leaped at Winslow's orders. There were cotton bales on every
 floor. There was sacked wool, meal
 sugar. Company F, sweating and gasping in the monday heat, bore the
 bales and sacks to build up barriers
 at windows and behind the brick walls
 The wooden legged man brought fire
 hose and drenched the barriers, floors
 and walls. A shell blew half the rool
 off N 94. Houston put out the fire
 and, with his rifle, crouched at win