The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1918-02-20

long minutes.
The deck steward came past By
and by taking in rugs and closing
up for the night
"Say, steward, who's next in charge
VIXEN the captains busy?"
The first officer sir"
"Where is the first officer ?"
I'm his room, sir" replied the deck
steward, and hurried away.
A good observer with an excel
lent memory, was Lieutenant Bill.
He recalled having seen the words
| ''first officer" over the door some
where, and he went prowling about
| the boat until he found that door.
| He knocked.
'Who in blazes is there?" came a
voice like the crack of a gun.
Lieutenant William So-and So; a
| passenger, SIR"
what in blazes do you want?"
"Well, sir" said Lieutenant Bill,
clearing his throat, we're getting
up a little entertainment, and if you
could let US have some blue bunt-
| ing"
"Get to blazes away from that
doorw yelled the first officer, fran
! tic for every second of his four hour
sleep.
In the bright and cheerful morn
| ing we found Lieutenant Bill leaning
against the aft rail with his chin in
| both hands. A beautiful blue sky
that morning, with just a few pearl
tinted clouds moving lazily along the
horizon, and the waves were rolling
and tumbling in a thousand hues OF
jade and emerald, and delicate white
lace fringed their crests; but Lieu
tenant Bill saw none of these things,
nor felt the tang of the crisp, cool
air as it blew against his cheeks.
He was far, far away.
Good morning, Props" we hailed
him. "How are the costumes coming
on ?"
Lieutenant Bill drew himself
slowly back from far, far away, ard
sighed, and smoothed his off ear.
They'll be there" he said. He
snoothed the other ear, and knotted
his brows 81 don't know where I'll
get them, but they'll be there"
Of such is our pet passion. When
the IA beautiful wavelets pranced on
the scene, led by a world-famous en-
tymologist and six-foot-two Eng
lishman with monocle, they wore
bright blue filets around their heads,
were decked with the blue bows and
streamers, fluttered bright blue bill
white-for this was a camouflaged
ocean with the foam beneath. Nep-
tune wore a proper crown cut out
of linen collars, and a proper tri-
dent made of a broomstick, and
proper whiskers combed from
flaxen ropes end, which, with the
addition of a red bathrobe and a life
preserver, made him intensely real
istic. The two beautiful mermaids,
impersonated by the leanest and
lankiest men on the boat, wore flow
ing flaxen tresses of the same ma
terial as Neptune's whiskers, and
Solomon in all his glory was not
more magnificently arrayed than the
other principals But the triumph
of achieving the impossible was in
the blue decorations of the wave
lets, and for this we especially shook
Lieutenant William So-andS by the
honest hand. with moisteyed graft
tude, complimented him and asked
him how he'd done it.
Last minute stuff" he confessed
with a grin 81 stole the sheets off
my bunk, and stood over the ships
painter while he painted them blue
/ cut them into strips myself"
Lieutenant Bills mind that we
it had only become part of his sys-
tenn that he was to produce blue
filets and things; and he made good.
He'll do any place.
Now we go to Lieutenant Tom.
He's an American, too, but he's in
the artillery branch of the British
army. Been in service a year and
a half So strongly imbued with the
idea that the world should be made
safe for civilization that he couldn't
wait for America TO get into the war.
TRYING now for his transfer to the
American army, however; feels that
Tom has been wounded three times |
in action. He's just been mended
again, and by the time this gets into |
print will have exchanged his nice, |
soft featherbed at an expensive hotel
in Paris for the rougher accommo- |
dations Of the front, where he'll 6ave |
to crack the ice to get his shaving !,
water. Lieutenant Tom is an ex-
tremelv modest young man, ana 1t |
took eight or ten of US, sitting around |
on the chairs and chaise-lounge and |
bed and floor of a coy little apart |
ment to coax him into telling about /
the last wound of his. This is how !
he described that thrilling moment |
of his life:
"The order came to go over the
top. Somebody from the artillery I,
had to go along on observation. SO
they said: Here's Tom. He's just /
been on leave. He's fresh so / got |
it. / took six men with me, and fol-
lowed the first wave"
"Whoopinp and yelling and dash
ing madly forward, l suppose in
terrupted the latest American arrival
a war-railroad man.
"Well. no." corrected the leften-
ant, Strengthening his leg cautiously