Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1917-08-08
T h . d a iIv
Short Story
4 YANKEE TRICK.
By Warren Miller.

bomb dropping when a thIrd came I'D
and remarked that there was nothing
new to him about dropping bombs
ever European cities, since he had
/ done some of that sort OF work hlm-
self He admitted that there was
difference ia the height from which
the bombs were dropped, but beyoad
this there was 40 difference
When the big war breke out" he
continued, that sucked into ms vortex
pretty nearly all there was OF the civ
ilized world I was thiTd mate OF a ship
sailing under the British nag She
vas owned by Americans, but sailed
under those coIors for the same rea-
1 sons the big ships did-beca8se she
could be worked cheaper
Nov, what I'm going to tell you
+ happened on the high seas. aDa there
we're things about it that IL was agreed
shouldn't come cut So all OF us who
were concerned in the affair signed q
/ pledge that we wouldn't say anything
about it. You needn't expect names Of
men or ships When the war broke
out we were carrying ammunition to
the Serbians We we're on the Adriafie
sea with a load OF stuff which If II
/ had exploded. would have blown as
all into the region of the aep0planeH
we got the news that everybody
had declared war on everybody else
or was about TO do so from an Italian
+ cruiser going southwark. we pointing
north There were warships OF differ
ent nations in the Adriatic, and Il we
met any Of them except the British ne
( were 70 be captured sure OF course
we didn't want 20 lose our ship and
he was one Of the owners Bur there
We were right in among them and La
bic TO meet one any minute.
ct wasn't long before we spis5 on
the horizon Aim Of smoke, and the
captain as. soon as he saw 1t looked a
bit anxious. But he kept right en- for
/ If he turned back he was just as liable
to meet something as bad We soon
saw that the craft making the smoke
was coming for US, and by the glass Il
was plain It was some sort of war
/ vessel
Il was standing ny the captain. ana
/ he handed Ia , a1s glass 7 brought IL
30 bear on t 1e craft and saw q gun
boat about an eighth the size Of cur
ship. but bristling with cannon ii
/ reminded me Of one Of those little bull-
+. dogs the ladies' use for pets She flew
! The Austrian flag
Captain, said l. it's morufvinE 20
have 80 surrender TO a snarliug little
! beast like that, isn't ft9
I don't know that will SURRENDER
he answered drawing down the GER
nsrs of his mouth
What can we do
He came up close 10 me and wits
psred in my ear ] went on and sent
z man down into the hold for some
thing and ordered another tg get the
derrick we used for loading and an
loading ready so that It could be swung
in iihy- When the man Z had ssnt
below came up ne had G boz ia his
arms. I told him 60 put it cn the deck
and go aloft 10 the mast 10 which the
derrick vas swung He took a rope
with him that he put through a pull
ley.
Meanwhile the Austrian gunbaat
was coming nearer, stirring dr. the
water and making 8 lot of fuss We
we're flying the Fr3tish nag and war
had been declared between England
and Austria So the gunbost siEua1ad
3 10 heavs &c ana was getting ready
to send q boat aboard Of US She aa5
in command Of q little fellow tn q fam
. cy uniform. and ne was dancing around
on his deck like a figure in Punch
and Judy SHOW
Instead of stopping entirely our
ship vas moving so slowly fhat il
wouldHt be noticed that we were NOV
ing at all The captain teps the wheel
himself and staeFed toward the AUS
trian Before the little bulldog knew
it we were drifting alongside a5 htm.
had the box thst had been brought
on deck On the end Of the rope put
through the pulley, and If took me
about Eve seconds 60 run the box up
10 the man on ghe derrick As soon as
he got Ii he Skinned out on the der
rick. I signaled q man who had tae
end of rope attached to the derrick,
and. giving il q pull. he swung tbe
man with the box out beyond the gun
vale Of cur ship
The Austrian commander ef tha
gunboat was iabbeTinz orders TO his
crew, fearing a collision, hut when we
we're about twenty feet from the pesGg
little thing we sheered Off When we
were at the nearest distance The man
on the derrick heaved the box eH to
her deck
Well. I reckon they heard some
thing drop. That box was flL q a.
explosive intended 20 blow uu q FORT
The waters divided and the suab1at
went down between them fro the bot
tom OF the Adriauc"
Didn't il jar your own craft q
bit2' asked the other
Well. you see. we were 1u ft= edge
Of the gap made in the waters II wee
have been 10 feet nearer If weld have
bean engulfed
Il don't want sou fellows 70 sar
anything about this. because cur act
might not be considered exactly ae-
cording to the etiquette of war There's
been so much talk about brutal var
fare that I wouldn't Ike fo have i
known that I mad been instrumental
ln sending gunboat and crew 20 The
bottom. especially after we we're sup
posed TO have SURRENDERED"
What state did YOUR captain haH
from - asked one OF the listeners.
Connecticut
II thought Sc
Wife had to get out her 1lrz and hea7s
/ things,