Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-08-01
Getting Out From Under; or, Dodging
b. Eggs at GAIA
''f Nv William McFee
Author of "Casuals of the Sea"

,.- ~ Eggs at GAIA
80 BY William McFee
Author of "Casuals of the Sea" f"
Arthur Elder, the artist from Nut1ey
N. j., dropped into our Gaze the other day
Arthur Is a great friend Of William Nc
Fee and generally has McF'ee's last letter
in his pocket. After short but sharp
ScuHe ace despoiled the artist of the manu-
script aud arc glad to print certain er.
tracts from, 1t, ,cith his permission. The
letter tods 1oritten from sometohere IN the
Mediterranean in May.
Nov that it is long over and the ship
~ good bit away, I can tell you we
were in the GAIA stunt. 1t was fierce, for
the enemy had it in for u.s. Every day we
were bombed and bombed and bombed.
One day they missed, us so narrowly that
the bits of shell sank into the wood of the
launches on deck. Down below they
sounded like an enormous quantity of
brittle glass crashing on a stone pave
ment. The antiaircraft guns were bang
| ing like mad, and every shot, being fired
| vertically. shook the ship. 1t was full
ahead, full astern, full speed sideways all
| the time. l must say the Germs took
| chances. The planes were absolutely en-
| circled with puffs Sometimes we had to
| ease off for fear of hitting our own ma
| chimes who were spottng and fighting as
| we'll Every now and then we could hear
| the tut-tut-tuttut of the Lewis guns. All
| the while the destroyers were waltzing
around watching for subs. Then later on
| after GAIA was fallen we had most Won
derful experience Lying offshore mile
or we saw the British army marching
along the beach, thousands Of black dots,
! men, horses, guns, camels and transport
They halted and we saw the Turks ahead
| and the shrapnel bursting just ahead of
the British. Now and again they took a
pot at us and a shell would burst on the
water or in the air. Our chaps In the
big ships were sheling them with six
inch, and every little while you could see
| tall column Of yellow smoke shoot
straight up among them and spread out
like the top Of high tree. Then the
shrapnel would quit for a spell while they
limbered up and retreated. 1t was great,
only all hands were on the jump to spot
| enemy planes.
TT is a queer feeling watching a speck
in the sky maneuvering for position
right over, knowing he is doing his
| darnedest to bff you. And the bombs
make a perfectly horrible noise as they
rush downward. I was quite unintention-
ally) on deck at one time when one Of the
planes there We're two dropped a bomb
| which hit the water a good piece Off 1t
| screamed like a soul in hell and then
boom! and a mighty squirt Of water. One
fell very close and didn't go off. I was
pop-eyed Fact. AS one of the stokers
said 1T isn't safe to be at sea-" 1t was
very amusing one day when a plane came
over, and after being banged at several
times thought better of it and raced away
astern low down. The gun crews raced
aft and got one Of the big guns trained
on him and loosed off. But it was a long
shot without proper sights and nothing
happened. Hitting plane about the size
Of a fly speck which Is travelling at eighty
m. p. h., Is no cinch.
AND down below, while maneuvering,
Awhen you can't see anything and the
orders come one after another and the
guns shake the whole outfit, one gets the
willies. And off watch for a man can't
be on all the time) I didn't get any rest
One Of the guns is just over my bunk,
just five feet above it as a matter of fact,
and when it went off, o my word! I'm a
dab at sleeping but not in those circum-
stances. And the darned Turks were al
ways shopping over just as 1 came off
after an eight-hour spell at the levers
T DO wish you were here! I reckon a
water-colorist would go mad out here,
trying to get the shades on quick enough
The water is marvellous. The sky is moth :
ing Don't forget that In the Orient the
sky, about which so many cheap writer's
and painters rave, is nothing. 1t is the
light of the sky on the water and sand
and rocks that is amazing I stop and
watch 1t as walk, and the others stop to
see what's bitten me. 1t changes every
moment; changes from cream to straw
color, then shades into dun brown and
purple. Then a strip OF yellow corn-col
ored sand, then pale green, then deep
emerald backed by plum-colored rocks
and blue ocean. You haven't time to look
at the sky. The tide runs out like a
millrace and the dun and ginger smears
broaden out into black and brown and
red shoals, and perhaps you'll see. stand
ing thigh deep in the shadows, a stray
niger, his black body shining like pol
ished ebonite, or STOPPING to lave his
bumped shoulders, glorious mote" in the
whole riot of delicate color.