The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-10-05


 ship in the line"
 At his command he felt the mighty turret revolving slowly beneath him; the turret trainer and the gun point CTS, at their places at the periscope sights, were bringing the three mOn- ster guns to bear. Every man was try ing to be as calm as though the com mand which had been repeated was simply "Fire at target No. g. But not even Holt, the turret captain, who had made the record for his ship at the last gun trials on the ranges, was entirely steady. If Wendell were killed there was no other officer in the turret to succeed. The nearest would be Wayne. the ensign, in the handling room be- low. Holt set his lips and clinched his powerful hands. The heat in the tur- ret was sti1ing. Fans sucked at the afr, but sweat streamed over the bare bodies Of the men standing idle-the sight settlers. the gunner's mates, the strikers" and the firing pointer, with the electric buzzer strapped over. his bare chest. rising and falling as he panted for breath. The sound of the F into the turret, but envy for the sister ship was gone. The Arizona soon would be in action and would show them. At the call to battle stations the Arizona was only a couple of thousand yards astern the Pennsyl- vania, which had just come within ex- treme range of the enemy. But the enemy's ships were withdrawing. Had they begun to flee so fast that the Ari- zona would not have a shot?
 Stand. byv'
 Now, Initial range, twenty thou sand: defaction. five fourr'
 The voice which first gave it spoke on the telephone circuit; simultaneous ly the visual signal clicked and the fange and the Reflection stood out in sharp figures in yards and points 10000" deflection, "5 4'-meant four points to the right. A voice, clear and slow, sounding from the speaking tube which needed no dependence upon electric circuits-repeated the instruc- ton. But the sight settlers, helmeted with the telephone headpieces strapped over their ears, already were making their adjustment The distance was greater than that at which even first ranging shots might be fired, but the Arizona was closing with the enemy, the Car thage and the two Peras were offeifng themselves yet. and the range was shortening
 "Loadr'
 Wendell had heard moments before the rumblipg below, which told that in the handling room the shells and the powder bags for his three mighty guns 1 were waiting upon the cars. He. turn ed from his periscope as the steel traps to the handling. room opened and the ammunition cars came to place behind the open brooches of the guns. The crews, sweating and silent, rammed in the monster shells, thrust the great 1 powder bags in behind and closed the breech of each gun. The ammunition cars, empty, dropped below, the trap doors closing above them. At each gun the plugman put in the primer The three fourteen-inch guns were I l by steel bulkhead to limit as much 1 as possible an accident in the turret. 1 A few yards farther forward and low CT the three great pieces of No. tur- ret, too, were ready, their muzzles lift l ed to extreme elevation toward the eastern sky.
 Range, one, nine, o double Ol De- fection five four!' the telephone said. The visuals displayed the figures in black and white again. Commence Bring with one gun!'' the order came on the telephone as the sight setters l sprang to their sights The voice tube repeated the order, and the firing pointer, holding his electric button in
 hand, stopped and strained at his tele- scope to follow closer the pointing of tue guns. Up and down, up and down,
 up and down, as the waves passed un-
 der the ship the deck moved, but as it
 moved and as the ship steamed for
 ward and the target ship also moved
 the trainer and the gun poi1ters work
 ed ceaselessly turning the turret and
 elevating and lowering the guns to
 keep the sights steadily "on' the tar get, but as the firing pointer crouched
 at his telescope the cross hairs which
 divided his field of sight rose now
 above the tunnels of the third ship on the horizon. Now, as the gun dropped,
 too much of the gray, white .fiecked
 sea appeared. For flashing instant
 only-a frightful infinitesimal of a sec
 ond-the faraway tunnels, the masts
 and the bridge of the enemy ship
 showed exactly in the cross hairs of
 the sight, At that infinitestimal the gun munt fire. The firing pointer bet ter than any one else knew that as he
 strained, sweating, and lingering his
 firing key.
 "Bzzzzzzv' Tle buzzer, hung against
 his chest now, was sounding the signal
 to fire. For an interval-measureda and
 noted in the chief fire control station
 from which the signal came-the buzz
 CT would sound The firing pointer
 could choose when during those count. :, ed seconds the gun was "on'' the target | :. ..gRafH x l &sshlusAnAY ,Nk&