Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-08-27
PASS SUBMARINE CHAsERs'
WHILE ON WAY TO EUROPE
Clair Price Describes Meeting at Sea
With Mosquito Fleet and
Mother Ship.
ON PURELY OFFENSIVE DUTY
As Boats Came In Sight Days Rec
ignition Signal Was Run Up.
Then Sign That Was American
and Out of Date.
by CLAIR PRICE.

lneH Slgn mat was American
and Out Of Date.
BY CLAIR PRICE.
WITH THE UNITED STATES NAVY
AT a MEDITERRANEAN BASE tby
L. S. naval courier).-"1f 1 sight him
before he sights me. he'll never hear
putting up his glasses again. For the
captain was In a good humor. An hour
feed his chickens in the little coop
on the quarter deck he had found a
Pfse Of zee on AND the 5eaeh the
laid egg at sea is enough to put any
ea Pbai M In .E ooda hipm Hor'M and an
asts a Of the "s nania fSe like up two
tho is wna, calico
the mother-ship. the captain said. and
erers MaS
Ka,ser nsT To a"a GEs9@ was ef1a @ nd
to her. "Blister" was three.striper.
names Which other three :ssripers nave
the privileges Of using ,Ih.n r.. used sec
the girls gave him a farewell banquet
end bestowed upon him silver loy,.
offensive. hna the sh n,Nss 1in,3eS
ss sa'ess hPa1s ersf, al he
are coming over for purely offensive
By IL. the Hun hunters, mssts could
by 1880 the horizon Looked so iike bSS
sIord. said Inc captain: II sY6 me-
t"s sd ssss fa thas sf0~ DO 'S know
"Blister" wrote me before, he LEFT
Washington "a written and teid MN MN
hadn't seen a submarine. and he wrote
back to. ask me where Ia been,ln
dozen Submarines day before he got
iiInUtnN.sHuSrER RAN Ut STARS
AND sTRIPEs TO MASTHEAD
AZ / O'Clock the Hun-Hunter ran up
one could make them out Win XIV the
coIors run up. Ten minutes later one
could sec a tiny speck OF color moving
slowly up to the Hun Hunters lee yard.
It vas the days recog nition signal ae-
cording to the allied, code The captain
ran up the reply. according to the SANE
see the same Tiny speck OF color moy-
Ing slowly down from the yard TO me
ram down his own nag hoist; Then an
other speck OF color. slightly larger
this time. for the captain was closing
tered up TO the mother ships yard and
hung there Strengthened out Ike
t sNard into IL 'as great aEseze laugh Tor he had
nothing to answer II with. He hadn't
had an American signal flashed ,. on h mn,
come over from home" laughed the
At 2 the captain unloaded and ele.
small erai,-American ehascrs. French
floating
great armada Of small craft. ,,..
They lay rolling on ,, sm9oth not 9tue
tail of foam beads under its stern,
There was low swell running, but
some days before OF, Hatteras. although
we were within day of the lee OF
Spain, The captains vessel, now ten.
porarily OF escort duty to carry the
malls TO an isolated base. was 300
tonner. and II took the swell with
ch h just ahead Of us and OFF both
motion that may have been regular.
they were shipping none Of y
Presently we were among them, lay.
Ing a. course through the middle OF
Watching them from the bridge with
his officer OF the deck at his side; and ,nd
quarter deck below. In the we'll and
aft on the fantail all the crew off watch
were gazing at the little craft they
were passing. gazing and smiling and
occasionally lifting a hand TO wave to
them in silence. 1t was the greeting
OF the bluejackets. who have been
TO the biuejackets. who left home
bare month ago. On the decks of the
ehasers the greeting was returned.
gaze for gaze and smile for smile. with
occasionally the wave OF hand
TICKLISH BUSINESS GETTING
FUEL SUPPLY on OCEAN
The captain closed the mother ship
more rapidly than he had expected. and
1000 yards astern of her the reason
became apparent. Instead of making
her usual six knots, the 4.040-ton Hun
hunter had slowed it's entire formation
to two knots to let one Of the chasers
come alongside to nozzle five-inch re-
enforced gasoline hose 1t Is ticklish
business e even 1nA In smoo;h sea. This
see the chaser alongside now. with all
its spare mattresses over the side for
fender, with lines passed from the
mother. ship to it's gun mount and to
the bull-noose in Its bow and its rud-
Ger turned away from the mother ship
10 keep them taut. But with all the
likely to go sucked under at the moth
er ships bow or to get mixed up in
her propelier. So the tail Hun-hunter
speed while 1t fuelled its chaser and
watched the captains little 9oo-ton
yacht close him.
quarter, deep, megaphoned voice
came to us from her tan. splinter-mat-
tressed bridge:
Get out the boom there!"
The captain grabbed up megaphone
Need tow Blister? /. Got plenty
Hun hunter? !"
Up on the mother ships tall bridge,
back of the megaphone. stood a group
caps and shoulders It was fleeing
glimpse. for thirteen knots quickly
nj OF faao Il, Il