Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-08-29
Copyright, The Bobbs-Merrill Cos
CHAPTER XVI.

or town and Rock waS the battle
fleet, clogging all the inner harbors
with its great gray hulks: Super
ldreadnaughts like the standing walls
of a submerged Atlantis, lay close to
the quays, barges dashed alongside
the folded booms Of their torpedo
nets. Behind them, battle cruisers ana
scouts formed a protecting Gordon.
Far out across the entrance to the
harbor, the darling black shapes OF
destroyers on constant guard! were
shuttles trailing their threads Of
smoke through the blue web of sea
and sky. Between fleet and shore
snorting cockleshells OF, launches es-
tablished lanes of communication;
khaki OF the Rocks defenders and
blue of the fleets officers met, pass
ed and repassed. In wsrdroom and
club glasses were touched in pledges
to the united service. The. high COM
mander of the Mediterranean fleet
paid his official visit to the COVER,
nor of Gibraltar. and the governor, In.
turn, was received with honors or the
quarter deck of the flagship. But
under the superficial courtesies of
fanfare and present arms the stern
business Of coaling fleet progressed at
high tension. 1t was necessary that
all of the fighting machines have their
bunkers filled by noon of the follow
ing day. Every minute that the Chan
mel up under the murky North Sea
fogs lay without full strength of her
fleet protection was added danger. to
England.
That morning, Captain woodhouse
went on duty in the signal tower. Ma
jor Bishop, his superior, had sum-
moned him to his office. Immediately
after breakfast and assigned him to
his tasks there. Sufficient proof,
Woodhouse assured himself with Ella
ton, that he had come through the
fire in General Crandall's library, test
ed and found genuine. Through this
pretext and that, he had been kept
to the slender stone tower high up
on the Rocks crest which was the
motor center of Gibraltar's ganglia
of defense.
The small office in which Wood
house was installed was situated at
the very top Of the tower room
glassed on four sides like the lantern
with telescope, a telephone switch
board, range finders, and all the COM
plicated machinery of gun-fire con-
troll. On one side were trest1e boards
supporting charts Of the ranges
figured areas representing every
square yard of water from the
er harbor below out to the farthest
| VI IN lllOllSLST OlS-
appearing guns. A second graphic
sheet showed the harbor and anchor
ages and entrance to the straits, this
map was thickly spotted with little,
red, numbered dots-the mines. Sown
like 6: turnip field with these dead
ly capsules Of destruction were all the
waters thereabouts; their delicate ten
drills led under water and through
conduits in the Rock up to this slen-
der spire called the signal tower. AS
he climbed the winding stairway to
his newly assigned post, Woodhouse
had zen painted on a small wooden
door just below the room he was to
occupy the single white letter ID"
Room D-where the switches were.
could loose all the sidden death out
there in the crowded harbor-it lay
directly below his feet.
Captain Woodhouse's duties were
not arduous. He had as single COM
panion a sergeant of the signal SER
vice, whose post was at the window
overlooking the harbor. The sergeant
read the semaphore message from the
slender signal arm on the flagship's
bridge-directions for the coal barges'
movements, business-like orders to be
transmitted to the quartermaster in
charge of the naval stores ashore, and
such humdrum Of routine. These
Woodhouse recorded and forwarded to
their various destinations over the
telephone.
He had much time for thought
and much to think about.
Yesterdays scene in the library of
Government House-his gri1ling by
the two suspicious men, when a false
answer on his part would have beer
the first step toward a firing squad.
Yes, and what had followed between
| hfYnSa1f on6. tina l1ff1a A-o4~l~1- -
girl who had protected and aided him
-ah, the pain Of that trial was hard
ly less poignant that had been the ter
ror Of the preceding 1t. She had
asked him to prove to her that he wae
not what she thought him. Before
another day was passed she would be
out of his life and would depart be-
lteving-yes, convinced-that the task
he had set himself to do was a dis
honorable one. She could not know
that the soldiers of the Hidden Army
have claim to heroism no less than
they who Join battle under the sun.
But he wa to. see Jane Gerson once
more; Woodhouse caught at this cir
cumstance as something precious. To-
CrandalPs dinner to the refugee
Americans on the eve of their depart
ure would offer a last opportunity
How could he turn it to the desire OF
his heart?
One more incident of a crowded
yesterday gave Woodhouse a crust for
rumination-the unmasking Jaimihr
Khan, the Indian, had elected for
himself at that critical minute when
1t lay in his power to betray the
stranger In the garrison. The cap
tain reviewed the incident with great
satisfaction-how Of q sudden the
willy Indian had changed from an enc
my holding mans life in his hand
to that friend In the Government,
House," Of whose existence the eau
tious Almer had limited but whose
identity he had kept concealed. All
mer had said that this friend couic
lay his hand on the combination to
Room D in h signal tower when the
proper moment arrived. Now that Ia
knew Jaimihr Khan in his true stripe
Woodhouse made no doubt Of his abil.
ity to fulfill Almer's prophecy.
And the proper moment would be
this night! Tonight, on the eve Of
the great fleets sailing, what Wood.
house had come to Gibraltar to dc
must be accomplished or no at all
The mans nerves were taut, and he
rose to step to the hayward window;
there 70 Q down on the embattled
Isplendor OF England,s defense. Steel
forts ranged all In rows, awaiting bu,
the opportunity to loose their light.
nings of obliteration against the shfpi
OF an enemy. Cardboard ships! Shad.
ows of dreamsi In RoomfD iust be,
low his feet, g. hand on the switches
q downward push, and them
Lady CrandaaIs dinner In Govern
ment House was In full tide of hilar.
tty. Under the heavy groined ceiline
the spread table with It's napery and
I'll nftxror ~ q IN ar1nJco - Tt-Ixsl-LL