The daily progressive-miner., 1918-09-04
U. s. SEAMEN SAVE NURSES AND CHEAT
 U-BOAT OF VICTIMS
(By E. G. Fitzhamon) "Man overheard, Sir!"

"Man overheard, Sir!" | The United States destroyer-- | had slowed up in Channel storm fog about half way between England France and was about to be hove to near the watery grave of British hospital ship that had just been sub- marined en voyage to France with sup plies and women nurses.
 The treacherous U-boat may have been lurking near, yelled by the fog But most likely it had submerged when the American destroyer loom- ed through the thick murk.
 As the long and narrow warship flying the Stars and Stripes rolled al- most to its beam ends in the pounding seas several of it's sharp-eyed blue- jackets called heaven to witness that they would give eye or limb for a good glimpse of the ocean wolf that had just done the dark deed to the British vessel of mercy with large red cross painted amidships.
 Instead they suddenly made out through rift in the pea-soup atmos- phere that sometimes settles down upon that Channel sea a life-boat, overturned with women clinging to it on either side.
 What do you suppose those Ameri- can blujackets on the deck of that destroyer did when they spied those helpless English nurses clinging to boat they could not right in the rough water?
 Wait for orders? Not on your life, Little Lady!
 Wait for volunteers to be called for? No Sir-ree!
 The officer of the deck turneN quickly at the sharp-toned alarm given by a gunner's mate, whose voice !! rose higher and higher with excite ment as he parked all in one breath: Enough Were Over Another man over, Sir! Three. = x-eight-TEN-ELE He was the twelfth to dive over into l the angry water, in spite of the iInme' diate proximity of the . officer who, almost choking with pride ill his men and a natural desire to emulate their "breach of discipline" held up hand and roared with assumed gruifnf,ss: "Stow that! That's enough! Stay aboard and make ready to get a line to them"
 Now try to imagine the feelings of those despairing women as trey sud- denly heard cries of encouragement from out of the tawny fog and then elimpsed twelve determined faces and twelve pairs of blue-clad shoulders and arms tumbling and battling thru the sea-closer and closer Then came words of their own laR- guage, but strangely used, and with un-English accent-jerked out with i hard gasps, salt water and some pro- : fanity:
 "Dontcha be scared, lady-taka ! holt this way-easy now, honey, or ! VII choke me-stay with it, grille, dontcha quit-just minute now and we'll have this blankety-blank bath tub right side up for you to ride in-that's the stuff-damn that rotten slcp-again, fellers, together now-'
 And so, gurgling and struggling in the relentless masses of water, their game eyes blinking and smarting with the salty sting of the driving scud, those twelve American blue jackets went through the boat-right- ing drill they had practiced so often back home; the while supporting as best they could such of the English nurses as were unable to swim.
 Such is the tale told to me by other members of the crew now here and waiting to man one of the new U-boat destroyers under construction at the
 Union Iron Works.
 DISCARDED WEBBING WANTED