The sun., 1918-12-27
FLEET DUTY ABROAD
A ROUND OF THRILLS
Rear Admiral Rodman Brings
Back Silver Cup From
"Beatty" and Mates.
FRITZ WAS TIMID FOE
New York Sliced U-BOat in
Dark. Tars Say-Many
Dashes After Enemy.

The evening before the Sixth Battle
Grand Fleet. took last leave
OF It's alrior slsterhood Of thirteen
months ceaseless guard over the
decent places Of the world. and. put
ting out from the Firth of Forth, re-
solved itself again as 1t began its
homeward voyage into L. S. super
dreadnoughts New York. Texas. Wyo-
ming. Arkansas. Florida and Nevada
The evening before that happel.e ed
the appropriate farewell calls were ex-
changed by the British and American
commands. So much must be of due
official record. But this Is not: At
the end OF the officially prescribed
amenities in Admiral Bestty's cabin
on the Queen Elizabeth. AC6 was
asked to wait bit. AC6 means Ad-
mlral Commanding Sixth Battle
Squadron; more particularly that eve
ming It meant Rear Admiral Rodman
Y. s. n.
Exactly how the high British sea-
dogs did 1t, how they tactfully led the
talk around to 1t. who made whatever
speech there was. and how extensively
your British Admiral rarely talks
and never gushes-he worded his and
his service colleagues feelings, only
Admiral Rodman himself could tell
you and he won't. The upshot was
loving cup engraved with his name
above theirs.
Like this: ITO Hugh Rodman,
From His Brother Admirals OF the
Grand Fleet 1918" The donors
names. In small plain Roman capitals,
go twice around the belly OF the cup.
The centre one In front is David
Beatty, with neither Admiral nor Sir
prefixed. nor any stately letters tag
ging after. Nothing is prefxed or
suffixed TO anybody's name. For this
was strictly private. personal. I'M
official transaction. The style Of word
ing is the way David Beatty and the
others took Of telling their friend
Hugh Rodman what they personally
think Of him. From men Of their race
and traditions II means what untold
kissing Of cheeks and carloads Of
wreaths and claInors OF vivas would
have meant from Latins.
GOODMAN Refuses to Talk.
Naturally Admiral Rodman sets
store by that cup. But he was pain
fully confused when he learned 1t had
been noticed in his cabin on the New
York
Lord! l don't know what they did
1t fort" he cried. Wanted to throw
their money away, l guess" And he
pcaled out a big deep seagoing laugh
and tried to change the subject. The
wicked officer who. in his absence. had
granted a peep at the treasure had
solemnly warned THE Sun man not
to take 1t away IN his pocket. That
officer Is wag. The cup. OF silver,
gold lined, stands nearer three than
two feet high, and It's diameter is a
foot or more
Forard on Sixth Il. SIS fiagshlp's
deck one notes a pair OF offers, prone
on their special racks with their black
nukes and fiippers folded. OfRI tally
they are not the New York's mascots.
Practically they were. II mascots In
sure good luck. In them one Of the
mysteries of the war news is re-
vea.ed, for these machines called
offers in our navy are tho para
vsnes" OF the French, and their func-
ton Is warding off and multiplying
anchored mines.
An otter looks like a stubby tor
pedo crossed with a combat airplane.
the cross showing in heavy dwarfed
planes and guiding hukes. When in
use It is dropped over the side. at
tached 10 the ships nose by a strong
chain from ring In it's own, and to
the ships side some way aft by a
second chain from its tail. Part OF
its head Is knife like a dorsal fin,
The ships speed keeps the otter near
the surface. Its planes and the chains
and the water keep It out from the
hull at the side and parallel 10 the
ships keel.
Unless the ships forcfoot should
strike the anchored mine squarely-a
most improbable thing-the nose
chain, catching the mines tether cable
will slide the mine out to the otter IT,
self and the knife OF tho otter will
sever the cable. just as you might
reach down and snick water Nly
stem. Once cut loose an anchore /
mine Is harmless. II Is only the lille
gal floating mine. much sown by the
high minded Germans. but to small
profit in the rushing North Sea cur
rsnts. that kills like cobras upon be-
Ing scarcely touched.
One Well Rene m bered Niuht,
The otter has been proved TO work
and to work in practice-not proved.
however. by a ship OF Sixth Il. S, they
tell you. But there was one night last
July which every man OF tho New
lork's complement will remember to
his dying day. for the thing that was
felt humping under her keel may well
have been something more vicious
than many mines.
1t happened that Sixth b. s, with
the First Battle Cruiser Squadron and
n squadron OF light cruisers-both
these latter his Majesty's ships, of
course-were outside Scapa Flow, the
grand fleet anchorage then being used,
for trifle OF target practice. Return
ing through Pentland Firth, between
tho Orkneys and the mainland, they
got wireless orders that all but made
them jump out OF the water for Joy.
"Intelligence"-the same "Intelligence''
which faithfully tipped of Beatty
whenever the German fleet even
thought OF taking a cautious breath of
sea air outside the Kiel canal-had re-
ported three heavy German ships and
a batch OF escorting light stun steam
ing northward we'll up in the North
Sea, presumably with designs on the
convoy lanes. but Just possibly on
say. the Woolworth Building.
Sixth b. s. and playmates, being