The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1916-03-31
XXZORK that
wv calls for
the finest sort of
herOiSm-hOW
one lad died for
German cause 20

The gloom Then he started toward tue ltlic mar
Dor at the foot of the cliffs.
Skirting about the fleet he reached small
skif with its in it. tied to a stake. Quickly
the lad united the rope, and showing the boat
far out sprang into it. He waited until the force
of the shove had spent itself then. cautiously.
began rowing along the beach. He was not
strong. however. and it was an effort. But he
kept it up for quarter of mile. His eyes had
grown accustomed to the darkness by now. and
he narrowly watched the shore. At certain
point he rowed inshore and pulled his boat after
him up on the sandy beach. Then he approached
the cliff and after a search found what he was
looking fora bundle containing precious
rocket Farther on. in fissure of a rock, hidden
under d large stone. he found his packet OF in
structions. He had left both bundles hidden there
early in the morning after he had been landed by
a fishing smack from Spain.
He planted the rocket in the sand and touched
it of Instantly there a flash OF fire and
trail of sparks as the rocket scared upward ana
burst into a white light.
Johann, with his precious packet in the bosom
of his shirt sprang into the boat Just as an an
swering signal a white rocket scared upwards
from the surface of the water, nearly half mile
away,
The tide had gone out and was almost on the
turn but there was a heavy swell and it was hard
work rowing. But scarcely had the lad gotten
a hundred yards from the shore when there was
a fash of light from the cliffs the village.
IL
shore sweeping and reaching out over the ex-
panse of sea. Far out it caught a narrow black
hull and held it moment. Then it swept closer
to shore and in few moments was focused on
the tiny boat beating its way out to sea. Shots
were fred from the Shore but the lad, in the midst
OF the glare bent far his oars, straining
every effort of his feeble body to fulfill his
task
Somewhere, farther along the coast the signals
of the early evening had been observed, and q
hod hnnp ant fo inv tiuotn
From the top of the cliff came the sputter of
a machine gun. and OF to one side the lad. row.
ing desperately. the bullets drop.
The submarine was coming closer inshore and.
turning his head, he saw several men with rifles
on the tiny deck of the monster. From the cliffs
there was another sputter and suddenly a sharp
pain struck him in the right breast and he felt
the hot flow of blood. But 1t appeared to give
him more strength. and with apparently ef
fort he drove his boat through the water. There
were answering shots from the submarine They
were firing at the searcnlfght on the clin and at
the spurts OF flame.
But the dark red spot on the front OF the lads
shirt was growing larger And there were holes
in the bottom Of the boat through which the wa
ter was squirting in thin Jets. Another bullet
struck him in the right arm. He gasped. then con-
tinued his rowing
hail from behind him and he suddenly stopped
rowing He had reached the submarine. A rope
was thrown to him and the skin pulled up close to
the undersea craft. Kindly hands helped him
aboard while the machine gun continued its sput-
tering and hail OF bullets struck the water near
by. The whole thing had scarcely taken five min
utes
The agent quickly taken below and he
handed his packet to the commander
The boat was slowly submerged and disappeared
beneath the dark waters.
MY work IL DONE. gasped the lad, trying to
choke back the blood that welled up from his
lungs.
, I'VE did not dare rise to the surface until the
next night" continued the officer tn relating the
story. And then we buried him in the sea- where
thousands Of other heroes have found their rest
ing place in the last few months"