Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1916-10-20

He gave a curt order for resuming the
work of taking ON ammunition; then
he spoke to Wendell. "All right, now"
Bob regained some steadiness, apollo
gized, and reported himself.
go below" the officer of the deck
directed, land as soon as you are your
self report to the captain and inform
him that you report for duty"
Bob dizzily went below. A surgeon
officer-he was a lieutenant named
~varney-who had fallen. AS Bob turn
ed about men of the doctors detail
were lifting the bodies of the men who
had been killed. The loading Of am
munition and the work of painting the
ship had ceased only for the few Sec
onds before and following the explo-
sion; the Staying of four men AND the
w~ounding of others had interrupted no
one of the unhurt who had work to do.
Wendell, on his way to quarters
where he could wash. passed through
the wardroom. Everything which be-
longed there had been slowed away
electric fans, china, plate glass and
looking glasses; battle ports were
closed. A Junior ieutenant-"Garry"
Starnes-who had been a classmate
and q close friend at Annapolis, ap-
peared and led Bob into his room.
From that room, too, all breakables
had been removed. Bob was used to
the baroness Of the rooms as a pre-
tminary to the firing Of the big guns
In battle practice, but the baroness
affected him differently now.
In addition to absolutely essential ar
ticles, there was nothing In Garry's
room but two photographs In leather
frames fastened above the desk. Bob
gazed at one Of the photographs; It vas
Of a smiling, direct eyed, nkable look
Ing girl of sixteen Or seventeen. The
picture was rather faded; 1t was seven
or eight years old. Bob remembered 1t
well Garry had had It back in mid
shipman days. The girl was the one
who came down to Annapolis, all flush
ed and excited, for Garry's graduation
and who had danced with him all but
three Of the numbers at the "hop."
The other photograph was a picture Of
her, too-a photograph recently taken
showing how beautiful that laughing
little girl had become, how happy Gar
~ had made her. and photographed
with her was a little boy of four
(Starnes had married the year after he
graduated; Bob was his best mani,
very like his mother and a good deal
like Garry, too, and wearing proudly
as a band for his straw sailor hat a
ribbon, ~. s. 8. Arizona"
Bob bent and gazed closely at the
picture OF the little boy, and sudden
ly and quite unconsciously his eyes
blurred.
That's a great kid" he said to Garry
after a minute.
Hes ell right" Garry winked and
looked away. He was pleased that
Bob had noticed the picture, but he
did aet-want to talk about 1t. you
mighty near got It above, Bob"
Garry had not been close enough to
suffer from the explosion. but he was
badly shaken. He had had to make
more Of an adjustment perhaps than
Wendell. for Bob, forty hours before,
had seen a man destroyed, and he had
gone Off and left the body beside the
road because 1t was war. 1t was yet
novel to Garry, though he had played
the pretense in practice many times to
go about his business after men on
the ship had just been killed.
A mess man of the detail who
brought on board the officers baggage
appeared at the door with Bob's bags.
Garry received them and opened them
on his bunk.
you're rather a sight," Garry In
formed Bob. you'd better make o
complete change. II you haven't ev-
erything you want l guess my thingsll
ft you. And, by the way. you might
as we'll battle now. Every ones been
ordered to-"
Wendell looked about quickly. The
order for every one to battle and put
on clean clothes was the preliminary
of battle, a precaution taken SO that
expected wounds would be as clean as
might be. "You mean we're going out
soon2"
Looks like it"
Bob went to the shower bath When
he returned Garry was gone, but the
next moment rejoined Wendell In the
room.
"How's VarneyT" asked Bob.
"Pretty much hurt about the head,
but he's conscious, and the doc thinks
he'll pull through, but he'll not fight
his turret In this scrap. They're tax
ing him ashore to the hospital, and two
of the men that were got for good were
gunners. One was Ferris Of the Kan
sas. Remember himf The best point
er on the shipw
Wendell realized that the sound OF
the anti-air craft guns had ceased 1t
surprised him, when he thought OF 1t,
that he did not take trouble to find out
IL H. --@A4~