Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1918-05-02


The 1ookouts were ordered to report every
thing they Not a bit of driftwood or a
patch of floating seaweed was to be missed. Al
most every minute a call down from the
tops to the fore or aft gun control
All down the speaking tube to the
forward fire control came an excited voice:
Fore top. fore top, fore top"
"Aye, aye, fore top"
Steamer at 1s5 degrees; range 1000 yards"
AYE, aye, fore top
There was steamer and she coming
down fast, smoke boiling out Of her single STACK,
bow driving white bursts of foam along aneau
of her. The cruiser charged toward her Inc
gun crews the Ramapo were fighting to oring
their pieces to bear.
Its German raider" the whisper ran aDou.
the ship.
"She hove to only few hundred yards
away" relates a member of the crew. 'An of our
guns were on her. You could see their gray muz-
zles rise and dip the ship rolled and the gun
pointers held them true their mark ALI at
once 1 realized loved those guns and the men who
thought of them all before Now they seemed
to be the biggest thing in the world to me-
There was sudden gasp of relief all over the
ship. The tramp had broken out the British nag.
On her bridge someone Semaphoring fran
tically. The Ramapo men picked up the hysterf-
cal message.
submarine encountered hour direct east
Believe it is pursuing. Advise caution
Then the smoke came bursting from her fun
mel again and she went laundering on her way over
the sea, like frightened duck
'Then all at once whisper ran through the snip.
1t was repeated as those the walls of Luck
must have told of the advancing British col
The destroyers were coming. Somewhere
out of that cruel sea the American war Doats
sweeping down the convoy. Our destroy
ers, men. they were coming to see their brethf
safe through the war zone.
81 shall never forget the way they came. 1t was
a gray afternoon, when the maintop reported tie
flicker of blinker signaling far out over the
waves. We didn't see them when they came. They
seemed to materialize suddenly out of nothing
"All at once we saw the first She was only
a few hundred yards off our bows and we had to
watch her closely to see her at ALL That SOUNDS
foolish; but literal fact. She was camou-
faged-streaked and dotted and spashed in a
dozen colors. and she melted away into the back
ground of the though she weren't made OF
steel, but of mist
"Then we realized that they all around
us. Eight of them. All dappled and harlequin
patterned, all practically invisible at half a mile
Their flagship hung for moment on a wave
then there was a squirt of white at her stern ana
she flying down There was no foam
by the bow. There was no smoke from the short,
rakish tunnels. only the culver OF neat from ner
oil fires. She slipped through the water like a
fish. and she passed US, slim, high Bred with
her razor bow and her lean curving TANKS, driv-
ing through the water like express train, with
no visible effort and smoothly as canoe she
broke the American flag her stern. We
broke out ours. and that was our greeting-that
and the yells of the soldiers who were acting like
madmen. AS she flashed by caught glimpse
of her guns, all cleared for action and the depth
bombs ready at her stern. One of her men, his
feet braced to her roll looked up at us, grinned
and then yawned. We knew that was only show
ing off He couldn't shame the troops by be-
ing blase. They acted like bunch of kids"
The of the was ahead of them.
but they didn't worry any longer They knew the
destroyers the watch. They ranged here
and there. They shot away for a mile or so and
came back to swim circles about them. They
were all new boats-the best ever built The
British will tell you too. They are modelling
their new boats
men now If one started to worry, all he had
to do was to look the side. and the picture OF
the destroyers running the hills of the sea like
hounds, was full comfort to him.
few days later the Ramapo and her consorts
shepherded by the destroyers into the har
Dor of "a Port In France"
1.-THE troops stood at the rail and cheered and
tired. just plain worn out. Anyone.who has beer
on a transports knows all there Is to know
about the agony of anticipation. We just sal
and looked at the green hills and the green roof.
and the green waters of the bay, and present.,
those who weren't watch went to their bunk
and had good sleep.
They had brought their men across safe, which
has come be a habit of the transport service
Somehow, glad that they put trans
though doing more to help win the wal
-