Evening star., 1932-12-11

and flung cascade over the oily
deck.
"swabbing decks observed, lis an ancient
and honorable profession"
"Swabbing?" inquired Brains sarcastlcaiiy
did I hear you say swabbing? I call 1t scour-
ing this old bird"
1.-THE Maid-o-the- Mist is not bird Shes
a trawler lent to us by the British Admiralty
"She lays eggs"
removed my shoes to keep them dry, consider
ing Brains aquatic activities. What's more
we're sailing tonight on the greatest egg-lay1ng
stunt of the war.
..What?" Brains ceased scrubbing and leaned
on his broom with display of interest
p Sure" said, enjoying my knowledge "a
m,artermaster like myself is on the lnslQe
when it comes to getting dope). Give me
trawler any time to valuable battleshlp tnat S
anchored behind protective nets pickets ana
guarded never seeing any real service
can the philosophy" interrupted Brains
"and give me the dope. Where are we going
ITO Norway
"Whv not?" I demanded airily Go on
with YOUR swabbing-beg pardon. securing
and get things shipshape my lad
"I'll paste you on the mug with thS pfoohi
;f Won don't tell me what's up.
ave sail at midnight to start laying the
North Sea barrage,' told him. Brains eyes
plistened Hints had seeped to the lower oech
of the vast mine-field of over 2o0 mlies ienetn
that was to be laid between Scotland ana MOI
way to bottle up the German submarines put
heretofore it had seemed IKE can, an np apoS,t to
undertaking. Now we were actually aoout W
make it a reality! I'VE ought to get tnere To-
morrow night" ..,-,. ~ ~
MANY eggs" said Brains, refectively scratchihe
his chin. - -,
.rJo we did that to soil the deck for you 10
.c,,,b'' I Jumped just in time to avoid siz-
shle smash of dirty water which Brains couio
have got away with on the ground that II was
ON, accident Padding along the deck In my
hare feet. I climbed the vertical LADDER 70 tne
bridge which was really wheel mouse Will
two windows and sitting down on my SHOES
after which I started in checking my gaogets.
There were signal flags to be counted ana heas-
lv rolled: gear to be cleaned and oiled; eiecuic
s,onaIs tn be checked It was already late IN
the afternoon. and-we were sailing at md
night!
nu0w pobs were wheeling great giooular
. steel cases on deck tracks, storing them aIt'
More mines! gazed at the horde OF VICIOUS
looking eggs bristling with horns connectnie
with the firing mechanism. 1t was awesome;
each mine contained 800 pounds of INT. How
much would that be altogether? What II there
should be an explosion in the magazine!
pictured the Maid-o-the-Mist with her STORM
stack covered with white salt from evapcrated
spray soaring upward and brushing into thou-
sand fragments like rocket
Say don't you want any supper grun
voice broke into my reverie. 1t was the boat
swain. poking in my flag chest as he had no
business doing
at didn't hear mess call" I answered. What's
the matter with your pipe?"
He glared at me. On boats like trawlers regu-
lation is dispensed with, and routine is informal
I closed the chest, and paying no attention to
the boatswains flow of picturesque language,
hurried to the galley where a score CT gobs, the
second shift at mess were busily engaged in
stuffing canned willie and coffee into their
faces.
At the O'Clock muster the skipper ordered
signal and boat drills. Then he addressed the
crew: las you dam gossips know already, were
starting on an excursion at midnight. Start
laying mine barrage clear across the North
Sea- Probably the U-boats know all about 1t,
too So keep a good lockout, men, And re-
member we've few tons of INT aboard. No
smoking and a little more precision. II we've
got to shoot the stars, let it be because We lose
the fight with U-boat, not from cigarette
butt" The old man was not 25. I liked him
because he tried SO hard to be hard-boled.
yE got under way at midnight in mist
w of fine rain, without signals or lights.
With us was a cruiser and dozen or more
trawlers The sea was choppy; the wind was
rising, but so steadily that there was nothing
in it of hot or cold, only the pressure was felt
In half hour blnker lights began to signal
IN the opaque blaekness of the night. silent
escort of destroyers had arrived. Guided by
the few quickly given signals, our line reformed
in two columns and in this formation we pro-
ceeded the rest of the night, sometimes steam