Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-09-06
RICHMOND TIMEs-DIsPATCH. FRIDAY SEPTEMBER g. 1913

yacht is expected to lead until she was
three days out. headed baseward with
At s:s5 ?. NJ. she picked up an ello
and two minutes later an o S. givinS
a position four hours ahead and exactly
left OF It. 1t was bright mooniirh t
with a CLASSY sea-glassy cxcent for
a small swell which made captain. her
doctor, her navigator and half her crew
Seaslck. But there wasn't q ripple on
Her captain kept the bridge until
cabin. partially undressed. put on his
bathrobe and disposed himself in his
big Morris chair. reading up on war
last Christmas. while he '' waited sn n for
his convoy to be attacked He was
senior officer OF the escort md respon-
s ,n, Tor the ne, safety OF the convoy but
commodore is responsible for the course
Of the convoy. The S o $ had been
our houPs ahead The hts o9s5on
meantime. there was nothing to do
but to keep bright lookout. SO the
waiting to be attacked.
The watch officer. who had the oven
ing watch. vas relieved at midnight
the captain came up to the bridge.
ENGINE ROOM TELEGRAPH
CLANG STARTLED OFFICER
Below. the watch officer had a smoke
and picked up a magazine and had
by that time and he started to undress.
He pulled of one shoe and looked at
his watch. IT was 1885 and at that
instant, exactly as per expectation, he
heard the engine room telegraph ciamg
"a clang at which he jerkcd on his
shoe. grabbed his coat and Owed for
the door with his shoe-laccs rafting.
And just rs he cleared the wardroom
stairs in two jumps, general quarters
sounded
standing about with full right rud-
der, with the torpedoed snip burning
= white pilot light. at that moment
dead astern Of them. 1t was the senior
escort officers signal: ship torpedoed
to burn a pilot light. The officer OF
the deck said the explosion had thrown
up a column OF water twice. as high
as her stack. but apparently she wasn't
going down right away.
with all the 135 turns his engine
could give him, the captain shot his
steam up his stack to give helf knot
more and bore down on the faint phos-
phorescence OF wake off the ships
beam. The rest OF the convoy had al
torpedoed ship had stopped after turn
ing completely around Cfor her helms
man had left the wheel and her pro-
pellers had made one turn before they
could stop them). Just beyond the head
OF the wake. the captain heaved up
on his mine release gear, and ten
terrific triple conclusion Of a depth
charge" Thirty seconds later the cap
tain dropped another. He dropped a
third fourth and fifth. He dropped
fourteen in all.
Then he stood about to pick up the
survivors, with everybody aboard
straining his eyes into the moonlight
in silence. except the captain. who kept
calling out. Bring me my pants"
He couldn't stop to let the boats
come alongside. He merely rang down
fetched a boat alongside. and held It
with the little Tootsy shaking as il
she would shake every rivet loose until
he had the boatload aboard. when he
resumed full speed ahead.
With the torpedoed skipper aboard.
the captain decided the torpedoed ship
was going to stay ahoat, and wire
lessed for a tug.The Tootsy stood by
until dawn, when the tug arrived. and
then she dug out for her convoy. .
When the captain reached the base
he learned that a German submarine
had put into a Spanish port in a
badly banged-up condition. and had