Evening star., 1923-12-09
By PROSPER BURANELLI.

CLIMAX of terror, weirdness
~ and startling fantasy is to be
"A discovered in the full report
/ \ of the recent sinking of the
| United States submarine O-5 off Pan
ANA.
| The undersea boat is rammed by
merchantmen and founders in forty
thirty men get away safely az she
plunges. Six men go down with the
! broken hulk. Three die. One, trap
ped in a flooded compartment makes
, ghostly escape to the surface. Two
are imprisoned in water-tight cham
ber. For a phantom haunted day and
half they lie in their black vault
at the bottom of the sea, enduring
an ordeal monrtrous in fright and
unearThly meirace. Then they are
rescued from their sunken tomb.
AT sunrise three underwater craft
running awash, slid into Limon bay,
bound for the Atlantic entrance OF
the canal to make the transit into the
Pacific. The O-5 was In the lead.
Steaping toward them came the
United Fruit liner Abangarez. The
O-5 lay across her bow. There was a
bIunder The two vessels sought to
elude each other, but the oncoming
merchantmen bore directly upon the
submarine. 1t was seen that the o-6
must take the crash. There were
frantic shouts. Men rushed up from
below.
"Close the torpedo room door," the
command sounded. as the officer on
deck of the submarine ordered the
compartment shut With these air
chambers sealed the craft might float.
A man ran to the hatoh-Henry
Berault. the torpedo dispatcher. He
flung himself down the hatch to the
torpedo room In the dim Eight he
saw a man sleeping on a cot there.
He was crazed with the desire to get
back up to the surface, but he darted
into the long, low chamber and reused
, the slumberer, whom he saw to be
Lawrence Brown, the electricians
mate.
a cruuching impact outside. and
both men went sprau-ling TO the floor.
! The boat furched and swung over
onto one side. Water poured down
the hatchway and flushed the tor
pedo room. They struggled to the
door. They would not be able to
| make their way up against the rush
of water They forced the door shut
! in front of them. a foot of water
| lay at the lower slope of the floor.
They scrambled to the upper slope
and clung to stanchion TO keep out
of the water and waited in pale anx-
| iety.
The bow of the towering merchant
man had rammed the submarine at
| the middle. Iron plates had been
wrenched apart and water was food
/! ing the crafts vitals through large
! gaps the O-5, listing still further.
began to settle. Two dozen men leap
! ed from the slanting deck into the
sea and swan. a rescuing boat
swung down the side. of the steamer.
SOMEWHERE in the intricate vitals
~ of the doomed submarine were
Clyde Hughes, motor machinists
mate: Thomas Metzler, fireman, and
Fred Smith, Pdnaman mess atleliudHt
The water came upon them and they
struggled and died.
,On the steep spiral stairway TO the
aft hatch man waged a mad fight.
Charles r. Butler. chief machinist's
mate, was at the throttle in the en-
CINE room when the crash came and
flung him to the floor. He ran to
the gangway, scampered up and was
near the top when a torrent Of water
through the pipe-like hatchway
knocked him stumbling back. He
struggled to his feet and lurched his
way up again. but once more the rush
of water beating on the narrow iron
stairway flung him back, now into
the rising water. He foundered up
and for a third time was thrown back.
, The surging water engulfed him. He
struck out with frantic swimming
strokes. got to the engine and climb
ed up it's side, as the water rose
around him. On top Of the engine he
waited like a trapped animal. Then
he saw that the water had ceased to
rise. An air pocket had formed at