Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-09-16
BINOCULARS TUBES MADE
TWO DIRECT HITS IN DAY
GERS Clamored for Some Prac.
tice With Torpedocs.
DISTANCE WAS 1000 YARDS
Captain Declared That He Had Two
Best Pointers in Navy-IIow
Trawler Went Out and Planted
Ships Target.
by CLAIR PRICE.

AT A EUROPEAN BASE, September II.
The L. :. S. Binocular. a long. low
torpedo boat destroyer of many patches
and sufficient years to entitle her to
vote. had been in the war for six
months and hadn't used her deck tubes
yet. SO her captain asked the flag
office about IT and the flag Office asked
the admiral and in due time trawler
and target were furnished her. And
that WIS how she went out one morn
ing with all her pictures down in the
wardroom, the Pekinese looked up In
the cabin and late coffee for her hand
full of guests from the beach Standard
speed, the captain said, would be fif-
teen knots.
Into Il morning as clear as dew. full
OF sun sparks and warm breeze. she
ran for twenty minutes with her -four
stubhy sticks spewing cinders onto a
tin deck that was already rustcd red
sine-room grease. She was cluttered
with i.ttle matches, work-benches six
FOUNDERS, deck tubes. life rats. made
of empty coffee drums and n lattice OF
wood. and. secured near each deck
tube, a red war-head which the captain
stopped and kicked in passing by wax
OF calling attention to the fact that
il contained 320 pounds of cast T y 7.
Wherever there was standing room
for she had only sixteen feet of beam
such OF the crew as happened TO be
and faded dungarees. with watch-caps
and white hats on their heads and
grease behind their ears. They were
molly crew of dirty devils who steam
iron merchantmen, keeping a bright
lookout for something to kill Their
officers were unshaven and khaki
clothed, after the manner of officers
from the Manila station. One OF them.
however, was enveloped in a black
V-neck sweater with yellow IN" on
ii. which he had won at Annapolis in
track athletics. And one, mira BILE die
tu was in uniform.
Far from the base. where the land
was, was low haze on the horizen with
relevancy beyond they Unanswered
about to megaphone Instructions to
target which the trawler had in tow.
the two vessels were alone in the
empty sea: OF course, at intervals
school OF porpoises. a Spanish coaster
with bright-red hull. a iackish, a
British submarine proceeding east. an
iuccas. but all of them together would
not have marred the sun struck empti-
~ shall want you about 1000 yards
on my port beam" the captain told
his trawler. Il shall masthead my
powder flag and give you one blast be
Aye, aye. sir said the trawler and
pn aown It's he an" spe gsye at
CAPTAIN DECIDED TO FIRE
HIS AFTERTGBE FIRST
The captain would fire his after
tube first. he said. and while the
into the sea the crew collected af,S
climbing up on the old coming tower
arounS the I HeTe tSe pont
err and his crew were fussing over their
tube and the torpedo wearing for
with the name ..BinocuIar' stencilled
across 1t in white. lay waiting and
ready In the tube. The pointer him
ster with u five days growth of beard.
"a slough OF long. thin hair which kept
Cigarette affixed to his lower lip.
AS the trawler drew away to her
1000 yards the pointer mounted an
OF his eyes and damned the upper half
OF his face into his padded tune-sig hts
one wondered what the devil he knew
Having mastheaded his powder flag
and blown one air.curdling blast. the
captain joined the gallery, aft. Fire
ed TO his pointer. and went 20 regard
ing the distant trawler with has glasses
sarded the pointer in awed silence.
They regarded every inch of him. from
the dirty dungarees that kept haPping
on his bare head. They even took in
the taut., drawn lines about the for
ward end Of his open mouth They
Fire" yelled the captain suddenly
"ire--damn it,"
But his pointer was in another
world He paid no heed 10 the cap
tain or to anybody else. lie would
fire when he had target ana not
before. even though the crack OF doom
should split the skies. The Angel Cav
riel could not have hurried him one
split fraction OF secon".
When he got good and ready. a.
the saying goes. he suddenly wose
UP, jerked his head back to his 7uii
tive feet eight with a ven o. over
the river" and his 'es-aeaded tor
pedo dropped swiftly out of the tube
with soft sucking SOUND aEo lay
into the sea with n great white splash.
which resolved itself instantly into h
curgle Of thick white bubbles. wn::n.
in turn resolved itself into thin, al
most iTnperceptible white line that ran
swiftly straight out into the sea with
an appearance of secrecy ane great
hurry.
The gallery watched it lining rap
idly away toward the target astern OF
the waiting trawler, anC because 1t
happened 10 be a direct hit at 40Ou
yards. the ccptain let the subject drop,