New-York tribune., 1918-01-20
1sNnly at Sea Was There Life-Witt
~ Death Very Close Beside 1t


me and mass of high, dark hills rising
beyond it. Behind me the sun was now
low, and my shadow stretched long on the
empty road ahead. For it was singularly
empty, and the countryside was utterly
peaceful. Only at sea was there life-with
death very close beside it, And now and
then there rose at intervals succession
of dull, heavy sounds that made the earth
quiver. I knew what they meant
Then came dip, and then a very steep,
long hill through moorland country And
then, quite suddenly and abruptly, came
to the top. 1t was mere knife edge, with
the road instantly beginning to descend
steeply on the other side, but l did not
descend with the road. l jumped off and
stared with bated breath
Ahead Of me and far below. a wide.
sland-encircled sheet Of water lay placid
and smiling in the late afternoon sunshine
Strung along one side of it were lines of
gray ships, with little smoke rising from
most of their tunnels, but lying quite still
and silent-as still and silent as the farms
and fields on shore. Those distant patches
Of gray, with the thin drifts of smoke and
the masts ncrusted with small. erav
olobs rising out of their midst, those were
the cause of all my country's troubles But
Tor them peace would have long since been
dictated and a mighter German Empire
would have arisen. How hated. and vet
being a sailor myself-how / respected
them!
One solitary monster of this armada
was slowly moving across the landlocked
BASIN. Parallel to her and far away
moved 4 tiny vessel with a small square
thing following her at an even distance.
and the sun shining on this showed its
color red. Suddenly out of the monster
shot series of long, bright flashes.
Nothing. else happened for several seconds.
and then almost simultaneously .boom.
boom! boom!' hit my ear, and a groap
cf tall, white fountains sprang I'D around
the distant red target. The Grand Fleet
OF England was preparing for '.The
Dayi"
knew the big vessel at glance:
knew her, at least, as one of a certain
tour, and for some moments I watched
hef gunnery practice, too fascinated to
STIR. noted how the fall of her shells
was spread; in fact, noted several things.
and then it occurred to me abruptlv that
stood remarkably good chance of hay-
ing wall at my back and a handkerchief
over my eyes if | fingered in this omen
road much longer. And the plea that
was enjoying the excellent gun practice
made by H. M. S. Blank would scarcely
be accepted as an extenuating circuD-
stance
| glanced quickly round, and then I
realized how wonderfully luck was stand
ing by me. At the summit of that hill
there were naturally no houses, and as
the descending road on either side made
sharp twist almost Immediately | stood
quite invisible on my outlook tower. The
road, moreover, ran through a kind of
neck, with heather rising on either side.
and in moment ! had hauled nv cvc]c
up the bank on the landward side and was
out of sight over the edge, even shonld
any traveller appear
After a few minutes laborious dra goinc,
of my cycle, found myself in a small do.
preston IN the heather, where bv ving.
doWn L could remain quite out of siobf
unless some one walked right into me and
1t seemed improbable that any one sbou1a
take such promenade with the good road
so close at hand. By raising myself on nv
knees could command the same engross- /
ing view | mad seen from the road. only
now also saw something of the country
that sloped down to the sea, and. with =
thrill of exultation, | realized that This
prospect actually included our rendezvous
CHAPTER v
WAITING
NHAT | saw when | cautiously peered
Y tla ,.;,,, u