Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-03

Thousands of Lives

desperate circumstances. He made
padding Of his clothes, and dashed the
shell to the pipe.
1T was while he did 1t one of the
big 'uns caught his foot. SIR" added
Smith, as IL reading my thoughts.
II that five.inch shell exploded, It
would surely kill Candy, hanging there
but a few feet from it. Smith and I
were in nearly equal danger. But the
real and terrible peril lay in the fact
that fragment might penetrate the
thin door Of the powder magazine OPP
posite the she'll II that happened, the
whole front end of the battleship
would be blown of in one frightful
cataclysm. No power on earth could
save her.
AS this dreadful thought came to
me, the six black masses on the deck
below swooped angrfly toward the lit.
tie padded bundle that stood for SO
| much death and destruction. One of
| them missed It but a few inches.
/ seized a portable from it's rack
| couldn't retreat with poor Candy
where he was. His imprisonment with
the shells was due solely to his having
stayed long enough to do what he
could to save the ship. With an ex-
| ample OF superb courage lIkn that,
our help was the least we could give.
| The engineers repair gang arrived,
bringing their heavy, tools; saws,
mauls, cold chisels, and a lot Of other
gear. which only clogsed the cramped
1 space in which we worked. A tail
| Norwegian stripped to the waist and
set to work. His blows were Ike
those Of q battering ram. The JAM
| med door trembled. Then its bent
hinges broke clean OF. We had &C.
cess to the "den of wild animals"
| Our first move was to rescue Candy.
/ Smith clambered down the iron ladder
and caught him just as he tunfbled
/ fainting to the deck. Willing hands
passed his limp body up to comfort
and safety.
NEXT we went after the fearful
menace of the five-inch shell.
This was more difficult. Crashing Of
the big projectiles drowned our cries
to one another. The wad OF rags con-
| tanning the shell was fastened too far
| from the foot Of the ladder FOR us
| to dare to spring across and try to
free it. One glancing blow from the
big fellows would have crushed foot
or a leg. Before we could rescue the
victim, he would be beyond all help.
Then Smith conceived the idea OF
lassoing the heavy fire hose rack
THAT was bolted to the bulkhead near
1.-The fire main to which the five-inch
shell was made fast. He nearly
lcracked his lungs yelling for the cas-
ing-in line of the unloading crew.
This finally was passed down. But
the intervening minutes were hours
long. Every time those monstrous
Jumps of steel careened across the
fitting deck below us, 1t seemed sure
that one would strike the five-inch
she'll Let that happen and we all
should be blown instantly TO eternity.
Smith did the trick after two tries.
He dashed the inner end or the light
line to the ladder. Then hand-over-
hand he walked out monkey-wise to
the FIRE main. He carried a. long
sailors knife in his belt. When he
ireached the vertical pipe he watched
his chance. At deep lurching roll
LOT the Michigan to starboard, he
Isprang to the deck. Two quick ships
land he had freed the ffve-inch. He
lgathered 1t in his arms. As he
jumped clear, the six 12-inch projec-
tiles came rushing back. They struck
the bulkhead with an awful crashing
roar right in the spot where the
5-inch had lain.
Twenty seconds more to Smiths
| brave exploit, and the q. s.. S. Mich
| igan would never have been heard
4 from again!
Somehow he struggled back with
the heavy weight We reached out
j and gathered him in. Amid the uproar
we cheered him rs he deserved.
The ship and Candy safe, We now
had but to stop the wild careers Of
the six big shells. 1t was the chief
engineer. think. who arrived on the
! scene about this time and suggested
| a unique remedy. He said:
"A draft OF so men is just leaving.
Wen dump their bags and hanmocks
down this hole and smother these con.
founded shells"
We did The bags and hammocks
were wrecked, but their cost was
small as compared with what six jug.
gernauts might have wrecked. adrift
| in that gale-swept North Atlantic sea.
way.
! fCopyright 1877