Evening star., 1939-11-19

Nlidshipman Shepard Gordon empty.
1t would have been SO easy. He
would have lost his commission and he
would be free. Free to marry Joanna!
No disgrace. merely name dropped
from the rolls And big New York
firms didn't care If man lost his COM
mission that way.
Suddenly. Shep stopped tossing and
turning. and listened. Far down the
hall he could hear familiar sound, a
sort of metallic tapping. The ID. O.'s
class ring knocking on the glass par
tltion of each door before entering and
making the inspectlon
DiZ had been seen, Shep sat up, hor-
rlticd. He had Willed the thing SO
strongly that it had come true But he
hadn't meant it to happen to Diz.
Wild-eyed. Shcp glanced around the
room, realized 1t was not too late.
Their names outside the door:
"Alidshipman Shepard Gordon on
the right hand side meant he occupied
the right bunk; Mid shipman
Desmond Rawlings" on the left-hand
side. the left bunk 1t took but min
ute to leap from his own bed, smooth
the covers. and dart beneath Dizs.
When the class ring knocked out
side the door. Shep had his head
buried in the pillow. breathing as
rhythmlcally as his beating heart al
lowed A hashllght played around the
room. The one word. Gordon" And
it was over Dlz was saved.
1t wasn't until the customary after
taps stiffness had returned to Bancroft
Hall that Shep. back IN his own bed,
realized the full import of what he had
done Tomorrow night his bunk would
be hammock slung on the roof
topped deck of the Reind Mercedes.
the prison ship. e.. The sticky fingers
of regret crawled along his spine
Would he really be happy on the
outside? The Navy was the only life
he had ever known. The yards with
their cavernous dry docks and old red
brick or yellow frame buildings.
And the feet
The thrilling beauty of a cruiser rid
ing at anchor; the statehness of an air
plane carrier with her cargo of swift
sea birds; the long slim lines OF
destroyer cutting through bluegray
sea: the stern lmpregnabllity of
battIeshlp under full steam.
Fragments Of songs tossed kaleido-
scopically through his mind: "Oh.
we'll all be off to China in the spring
time" and The brides have no
feet in old Chefoo" and Sailing
away to Guantanamo Bay
Those were the things he loved -
ships and the sea and foreign stations.
Would he be happy without them?
Could he make Joanna happy if it
meant sitting in a high office building
watching from the window as the
fleet sailed out without him?
Shep awoke the next morning when
the Duty Nlidshipman stuck his head
in the doorway.
Gordon, you're wanted in the
Main Office immediately
Diz in the other bunk stirred sleeplly.
but Shep, dressing with haste-clumsy
fingers. ignored him. Diz must not
suspect. He must never know about
the substitution in the night. Button
ing his jacket, Shep left the room.
closing the door quietly behind him.
Forever?
Down the broad staircase he ran
and across the old rotunda. AS he
passed Memorial Hal! his eyes were
caught by the framed flag which Perry
had carried in the Battle of Lake Erie:
Don't Give Up the Shipr The
famous words the dying Lawrence had
uttered aboard the ILL., fated Chesapeake.
Shep squared his shoulders. Well. he
wouldn't give up now. He'd started
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