New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-07-06
American Nurses Cheer
As Submarine Is Struck

had seen two and q step away was a
chap who had seen three. There was
the fellow who had sighted the peri
scope first of all, the man who had seen
the wake of the torpedo. and the littlest
ambulance driver, who had sighted the
submarine from out the bathroom win
dow while immersed in the tub. He
was the man who had started for the
deck with nothing more about him than
lifebelt, and had been turned back.
81 wonder" said a passenger,
whether those submarines have wire
less? Do you suppose now that boat
could send messages on ahead about
u.s." And just then the gun on the
forward deck went Bang"
II was the meanest and most in
appropriate sound | ever have heard.
IL was an anti-clmax of the most
vicious sort. 1t was bad form, bad art,
bad everything. 1t was last act by
Hartley Manners. felt little sick,
and one of the contributing emotions
vas a sort of fearfully poignant bore
dom. | tried TO remember just what
the law of averages was and to COM
pute as rapidly as possible the chances
of the vessel to complete two more
days of travel if attacked by a SUBJ
marine every hoJr.
THE ocean is full Of the damn
things" said the man at the next table,
petulantly.
Guns Chase Barrel Away
This time the thing was black OBJ
ject not more than thirty metres away.
The captain signalcd the gunner not
to fire again and he let it be known
that this was nothing but barrel.
Later it was rumored that 1t was
mine. but then there were all sorts
of rumors during those last two days
when We ran along with llfeboats
swung out. There was much talk of
a convoy, but none appeared.
Many passengers slept on deck and
some went TO meals with their lifebelts
on. Everybody jumped when plate
vas dropped and there was always the
possibility of starting panic by slam
ming a door. Men. women, children
and dogs can weather a single sub
marine scare splendidly, but the second
one finds less resistance. There was
10 one who would not admit relief
when we slipped into the port early
Monday morning and left the sea and
U-bosts behind US.
There was some little thought of
submarines from the beginning Of the
trip. Even on the first day out from
New York the ship ran with all lights
out and the portfolios shielded. Later
passengers were forbidden 10 smoke or
deck at night. and once there was
lifeboat drill of sort, but the boats
were not swung out until we met the
submarine.
Dead March Cheers Passengers
An old lady complained to the pur-
ser because young man in the music
room insisted on playing the Dead
March from Saul" There was more
cheerful music. The ambulance drivers
saw to that. Wehsd an Amherst unit
and one from Leland Stanford, and the
boys were nineteen or thereabouts. II
is we'll enough TO say that all the ro-
nance has gone out. of modern war,
but YOU can't convince a nineteen-year-
older OF that when he has his first
Khaki on his back and his first anti
typhoid incubation in his arm. They
boasted of arms sore with the stress of
Il billion germs, and they played ban
Jos and sang songs. Mostly they sang
at night.
The littlest ambulance driver had
nice tenor voice. and when he sat on
the upper deck he did not care what
submarine commander knew that che
learned about women from her. He
and his companionS rocked the stars
with "She knitted me one night Day
times they studied French from the
ground up.
II was the second day out that
heard voice from just outside my
porthole inouire, what's that
and how do you say it?" Later on the
littlest ambulance driver had made
marked progress and was explaining,
"Mon oncle une bonne file, mais mon
pere est richie"
Romance on Board Ship
Romance was not hard TO find on the
vessel. The slow waiter who limped
had been wounded at the Marine, and
the little fat stewardess had spent
twenty-five days aboard the German
raider Eitel Friedrich. There were
French soldiers IN the steerage, and one
of them had the Croix de Guerre and
seven wounds.
But when the ship came up the
harbor, the littlest ambulance driver
the one who knew "est' and women
summed things Up and decided that he
was glad he was American. He looked
around the deck at the Red Cross
nurses and the rest who had stood
along the rail and checred in the SUBJ
marine fight. and he said:
81 never would have thought it OF
'em. It's kinda nice 10 know American
women have got 20 much nerve"
The lttlest ambulance driver drew
himself up 10 his full five feet four and
brushed the lint of his uniform.
eyes, sir" he said, eve men have
certainly got to hand it to the girls on
this boat" And as he went down the
gang plank he was humming, "And /
learned about women from her"