Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-12-28
BY ANGUS MACGREGoR.

NEW YORK, December 81 (N.AN.A.).
"A fog-blanketed Port Said q few
weeks ago-a green-gray fog. as thick
as messboys skull-and Nick English
and Legs Turner, stomping through a
dingy quarter Of the town on the way
to their ship. received a chill Of sur
prise when a man bulked suddenly be-
fore them. He seemed to pop from no
where.
The man, a canny English peddler,
placed his finger to his lips. Hist" he
said, glancing around cautiously, How
would you two blokes like to buy some
soup'?" He held up tiny glass vial
in which an amber liquid cleaned sin
isterly.
Nitro" said Nick. Turner nodded.
Soup Is power" the man contin-
before refusing"
1t did not occur to either Of the
sailors at the moment just how they
could use nitroglycerin, but the stuff
was cheap and might be useful later.
They haggled for while, got the price
down to $125 in American money, and
Legs put the vial carelessly in his dun
garee. The two continued on their way.
Afraid of Collision.
They chartered a small boat to row
them out to their ship. The fog was as
easy to see through as mans head.
Legs" said English suddenly, what
do you thinku happen II some one
rams us?"
We'll have to swim, that's ALL
But looka here, don't you know the
least jar will explode that nitro and
blow us all to pieces?"
The sweat gathered swiftly on Legs
brow. Fortunately, the boatman didn't
understand English. He rowed on
placidly. The cronking and hooting of
foghorns sounded all about them. Dim
shapes of crawling ships appeared and
disappeared "Awhooo!" moaned the
boatman periodically and jiggled his
oars. That was his only warning to
other ships. A very little sound 1t was,
and the fog throttled 1t almost before
it left his mouth.
I'VE can't throw 1t overheard" said
Legs; "the harbor is too shallow" So
the two sat together in mortal terror,
each feeling like man with a lighted
bomb in his hands. They got through
the harbor without incident, but the
Jacobs ladder swung carelesSly over
their ships side presented new dim
Guilty. Legs assembled with tremendous
caution, and English, close behind, sup
ported his comrade as delicately as If
he were crate of eggs.
Falls and Vial Breaks.
Once on deck, the two breathed more
easily, but there the accident happened.
Legs, as blind in the fog as bat In
daylight, walked head-on into the
deck house and careened over back
wards. A huge and preposterous oath
burst through the wall Of swtrling mist,
followed by the tiny twinkle of broken
glass.
English shut his eyes and clapped his
hands over his ears TO shout out the
sound Of the explosion. But none came.
After a minute of stunned silence Legs
scrambled to his feet. Are we dead?'
he asked slakily.
The two looked down at the shat
tered vial and the puddle Of yellow
liquid.
SAY" said English, 81 thought that
was soup"
His mate stopped down and shifted
at the dampnesS cautiously. 1T is
SOUP" he announced, chicken soup"
Horrible Half Hour.
Two fractured ribs are all that re-
main to remind Julie Curtiss of the
most horrible half hour he ever lived
through, and he IS thankful there is
no more.
Curtiss, A. B. on the freighter Cecil,
headed down the Atlantic Coast with o
cargo OF TRACTORS, was sent below 70 m
spect the cargo. A heavy sea was run
ming and there was danger, real danger,
in loose crates.
With an electric torch, Curtiss clam
bared down the hold and squeezed by
the huge cases. Near the bow he came
upon one case that had worn its stay
rope to a fragile and was swinging
ominously. And 1t was Just at that
moment that the Cecil slapped into q
laundering comber that shook her fore
and aft. The case snapped through
the heavy rope as II 1t were made Of q
butterhy'S wings and toppled over on
the frantic Curtiss.
Case Caught in FAN.
Fortunately for him, the aisle was
very narrow and one edge of the heavy
Gaze caught against a bulkhead and
was held there. but Curtiss' life hung
by gossamer thread. The crate, press
ing against his chest, pinned him to
the deck. At each lurch of the vessel,
battling heavy waves, it sfivered a
little further down toward the helpless
seaman.
1t was impossible for CurtisS to re-
main calm, but calm was what was
needed most. The slightest movement
on his part and the ponderouS crate,
balancing on its edge like a tight-rope
walker, would thunder down and crush
him to death.
Those were awful moments, spent In