The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-10-03

High Overhead Echoed the Bursting of
 Shells. three monster warships, each with a single gigantic funnel two tall cage masts and four huge turrets, two for ward and two aft They were mottied like the cruisers, gray and darker gray. At a distance of eight miles or ten-at which such ships should fisht-thr mottling must make doubtful their sill h0,lettes. but at three or four miles Wendell knew them-three of the most powerful 'superdreadnaughts of the American first line of battle.
 The blood burned in Wendelrs face as he saw them, and he raised his prismatic glasses to his eyes. (Which Is which ?'' he asked of Wayne.
 "The Nevada is nearest" Wayne re- piled. "The Oklahoma lies next"
 Wendell nodded. He had made out through his glasses the distinguishing lines of the two nearer monsters. Their lower turrets, bow and stern. mounted three guns each, three O. 20 huge fourteen inch rifles. The other
 
 ten fourteen-inch rifles oil each vessel. "The next iS the Pennsylvania? Wendell referred All of its four 'tur- rets showed three guns each-twelve fourteen-inch guns togethe..
 "Yes, sir. She came in just this morning."
 "Then tae Arizona's at the navy yard?'
 "Yes, sir. We're taking on ammuni- kion"
 T see" Wendell looked an instant across tkc water to the estuary of the Elizabeth, where the city of Norfolk lay on the left. Portsmouth. with the navy yard, was on the right He turned his glasses then back to the roads and the bay beyond. Whats out fartherr'
 "Some of the mine layers. We've put out most of the mines at night. of course, but the regents aircraft were here right after daylight and spotted most of them, 50 we're adding few more now-mixing> the dummies and the real ones."
 Wendell nodded. Aloft in an aero plane at Pensacola he had seen how distinctly the mines, hidden by water from lookouts on ships decks, stood out to the pilot and observer far over- head. Every mine at the entrance of the bay might be spotted on such a sunshiny day, but the observers in the air could not tell the real mines from the dummies. /
 "So dQr friend up there"- Wendell searched the sky for the blue streak of the enemy aeroplane-"isn't our first visitor?"
 No, sir; should say notv'
 "Where have they been coming from?"
 "Some say that they mustI be coming from a secret shore base in swamp somewhere or a backwater along the coast. They're all hydroaeroplanes, but
 they're more probably coming iron
 some mother ship which is with theil
 battle cruisers
 Where are the battle cruisersg'
 A flush stained Wayne's face as h, answered: Haven't you heard. sir
 They've been raiding the coast all day
 Two cruisers up above Boston, the.
 say, shelled Salem and Newbnryport There's some more have been shellin. Rhode Island and Long Island ant New Jersey. They're all battle cruis CTS of their Carthage class or armoret cruisers of the Pera type, six or sever
 knots faster than anything we've go except our destroyers. Our ships a
 Boston and in New York have trie, to drive them away, of course, bu we've got to send out our first lin ships to do that. Their battle cruis CTS give us the laugh and keep jus out of range of us and shatter tn } coast. Atlantic City was on fire thi } noon, with 2CO or 900 dead, and tn squadron down this way-which tha plane comes from. probably-shelle Ocean City, in Maryland, this morr - ing. and another ship killed twent 9 women and children at virgini l. Beach,"
 Wendell gazed at the great dread . naughts lying in the roads. He fe ? the flush which had famed to the CT signs cheeks as he confessed the hell lessness of the fleet against the r, r gents battle cruisers now burning
 his own veins. The two tall cage mast l of the Arizona. toward which he wa 2 bound, showed above the other shiI @ ping before Portsmouth, and the ol g jective of the aeroplane, at which th ' anti-aircraft guns of the destroyers ha l been firing for twenty minutes, no' 0 had become clear. Twice while tt launch had been crossing the Jame s the enemy's plane had dashed over tI a city, but had turned in long clips [ to swoop back again. On the third r ,. turn now the pilot appeared bette n pleased with his position. As he pas ed over Portsmouth something droppe Q which glinted in the sunlight. an + where 1t fell flame and black smol @ and flying debris billowed up. At tl y roar of the explosion the anti-air era e guns redoubled their racket. but Il 0 aeroplane only Thanked" and swur
 about short and dropped another bonn i which blew up second black cloud ( J destruction.
 .He's deviling the Arizona, you set