Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1917-11-09

taste of It In my mouth so terrified my
imagination that could feel the pierc-
ing pain Of burns already.
~ envied tho men who had been
smashed to Jelly quickly In the ward
room.
"At last the flames were upon me-
I felt them on my neck. I dove and
drove myself forward under the wa
ter, but when came UP my hair was
singed and 1 could smell it burning
After that I do not remember what
happened. am here; that is all
know"
found out what had happened after
my friend lost consciousness. He
knows by now and has done whatever
is in his power to do for the man who
saved him.
Leaped Into Burning Oil.
One of the matloes (sailors) who had
been on deck saw the officer just as the
flames were reaching him. The very
sea around the destroyer seemed on
fire. 1t meant almost certain death to
leap In it, but the matloe leaped.
He swan under water as far as he
could. When he came up the flames
licked around him. He filed his lungs
with sitting, burning hot air and dove
again. Bit by bit he reached the off,
Ger, who had apparently lost oil con-
seriousness, although he still was strug-
Cling feebly-just enough to keep him
afloat, but rapidly weakening.
When once he had his arm under the
officers shoulder the rescuer could no
longer dive and he had to swim slow
~, supporting his heavy burden with
streaks Of flame shooting all round him
and tapping him. 1t would have been
easy for him to drop his burden and
make the best of his own way to safe
ty. but he would not do 1t.
Although the officer could not re-
member 1t, he must have come to once.
for he ordered the sailor to leave him
and shift for himself, but the brave
fellow would not do 1t.
Seeing that 1t would be easier to
swim away from tho destroyer beyond
the fire zone, he did so instead OF try
Ing to get bnck to the vessel.
Other craft had been alarmed by the
tue smoke and flames and were stand
Ing up full speed. They picked the two
men up IN the nick of time, for the
matloe lost consciousness before they
had hauled him into the small bont
which put off from one OF the patrols.
That's the type of men they get In
the navy. This matloc was just nh or.
binary enlisted man. lie would have
been expected to doThs duty even IN
the face or almost certain death, but
ho was ready and did more than his
duty in saving his superior.
And yet party Of British sailors
who landed after the Jutlnnd battle
were mobbed and several persons were
hurt because the people thought the
British had lost from the first reports
received.
Over Mine Field.
1t wasn't long after this experience
Of the destroyer with the mine that ]
went on II run IN M NJ. J.. (motor
launch for submarine chasing) froIn
Dover. The subaltcrn I'm command OF
the boat wns rs Merry as the best of
them, but lie hadn't had much nautical
experience What he knew about nnvi-
CATION and the kings regulations could
have been engraved on the fncR OF
dime. AS we were running back into
the hnrbor they began signaling us
from shore. The subaltcrn looked Mt
the signals through his glasses, looked
In the book. grunted and went bliss
fully ahead. 7 rather felt at the time
that lie didn't know what tho signals
meant just from the sort OF SELF con-
sclous way in which he put his glasses
down. OF course did not know the
British code.
Those fellows hate to let on they are
atumped. They'll race neck and neck
with death rather than let 1t he known
they luck my Of the qualifications.
A moment later the signal flags were
hauled down and run up again. We
held our course, and The tags were
lowered and raised several times, as IL
trying to attract our attention to them
on shore.
Presently n man began wlgwagglng
frantically, while the flag signals were