The Irish standard., 1916-10-14
keep power on the snip.

keep power on the ship.
The Arizona was sinking. Every one
knew that, but by -, sir, If
they'll stick in the handling room, il
they stay at the engines We'll stick
here"
But there was really no use firing
now. The Arizona listed so badly that
the guns could not be elevated to the
target. A salvo Of shells-those awful
fendish shells sent on signal from the
aeroplanes-struck all in bunch
somewhere below, and a magazine aft
blew up, or perhcps it was boilers
first. Anyway, the Arizona was going
down fast. AS she went there was no
escape from the turret through the
handling room. Instead Holt was
helping pull up Wayne and his men
into the turret There was only the
small, heavy steel door which let out
the back Of the turret to the deck. 1t
was found damned as Bob ordered it
opened, SO some Of the men cursed
and others cried that they didn't want
to get out, and some one yelled to
crawl out through the guns, and two
of the men tried 1t. Then the door
opened, and Bob stood back to order
his men out ahead of him, but-the
ship was going down then-Holt seized
Bob about the waist and showed him
through the door. and outside some
one else grabbed him and swan with
him away from the ship.
1t was the destroyer Wainwright
which picked up Bob and the sailor
who swan with him. The destroyer
had dashed In to try to find the id
miral in the water near where the Ida
no sank, for the enemy was having
trouble himself at that instant. The
Xerxes, which had been observed to
be listing for some time. was slipping
down after the Idaho to the bottom,
and the Floron had turned over and
was floating keel to the sky. The
Trajan, very low at the stem, was be-
ing taken in tow by another ship, and
two Of the Pharaohs-so men on the
Wainwright said-must soon sink.
Guns were still rumbling down the
column. Four of the American ships
still were fighting. They finished two
more of the Pharaohs before they
drifted, like the rest Of the silenced
ships, waterlogged hulks, for the Thors
and the Zeus ships, which long before
had beaten the Vermonts and the Con-
necticuts, closed in and finished the
task of the Pharaohs.
Bob Wendell stood OH the trembling
deck of the Wainwright, surrounded
by bright eyed, tense Tipped, exhaust
the regent and one of tho destroyers
seemed to observe the Wainwright and
that it was escaping from the battle
The destroyer gave chase Bob Wen
dell watched the other destroyer DULY
His head dropped, and he closed his
eyes. Then he opened them again and
reused himself. He was seeing things
which made him think again-Nellie
and then Garry's little boy with the
straw hat with the "U. s. g. Arizona"
ribbon.
"The radio room ia hearing from the
Shore" some one said. "They want to
know the result of the BATTLE"
1.-THE official press bureau an
nounces," said tho bhi:atin pasted to
the board before the Office of the Elgin
News, "that the American feet has in
flicted heavy losses upon the enemy,
but has also suffered severely. Ameri-
can vessels are retiring toward New
York"
That was the sole official communi-
| Nfv1O n
night, but the entire truth was spread
through the nation with marvellous
swiftness. How it spread no one could
say-it was spread by secret codes tele-
graphed as ordinary messages; 1t was
spread by private wireless plants
operated in secret places by the agents
Of the enemy who, perhaps. learned
the result Of the battle directly from
the radios of the victorious ships. How
ever the news was spread. Nellie Wen
dell heard the facts repeated from one
to another about her as she stood be-
fore the newspaper Office, staring up
at the few false lines Of official Gin
formation"
"we're licked, they say!
Who says so? don't know
but they say the regents sunk our
fleet! That can't be so! Why
we had the best navy Of its size in
the world! Why, the fleet
But, tell you, they're gone! I got it
straight. They're all sunk-the Idaho
the Arizona. the Pennsylvania and"-
Nellie turned and faced the man who
was speaking. "Plcnse," she requested
him quietly, "pleasc tell me how you
heard that and-and anything else you
known
The mans eyes softened as they
gazed at hers; he took of his hat,
"What do you mean, miss?"
"You said our ships-particularly the
Arizona-were sunk How did you
hear that?"
"Why-why, just heard 1t, miss.
Every ones saying it. 1 just heard It."
CHAPTER XIV.
Troops Leave For the East.
AT midnight, bugle reused Jim
n Ashby-private in company r
| "a of tho 'rwontiet Illinois repi-