| Show NARROW ESCAPES How Menofwars Men Sometimes Have Their Blood Chilled lIuotwara mn become callous to danger and jut now In any room ot the navy dIJltment you call hear eto rls o I accidents i and cnrelesnco and nllrrow usca its tlom death and ties tructlon that chill the blood of a lay man who Is not In the habit of fooling fool-ing with torpidoes guncotton and that kind Of toye Judjlng the Maine by what has happen on other ships you can Bee a thousand ways1 In whlcl a n explosion might have occurred A ztentn officer relates what he calls 110 little Incident to show the nerve 01 t an apprentice boy A division of the crw of one of the battleships wu overhauling the after magazine one flay breaking out IIxJ ammunition can of powder and guncotton and cleaning > I house as It were under the dlrelon 01 a lieutenant and u gunners gun-ners mate The latter stood cutting over the hatch Dinging out orders totally the mn In the magazine when he accidentally ac-cidentally knocked his lantern again the steel side of the hatchway The prlng that held the lamp give way end It fell Into the pit bottomside up a ml still burning upon the top of a large tin ran of powder The men In the pit were busy stowing with their backs turned and did not see the Occident The lieutenant the gunners mate and others who were looking over the hatch were stupefied with horror but fortunately fortu-nately for that ship and Its crew of 600 men an apprentice boY had his wits with him and quicker than loU can tel It shinned I down the tackle seize the lamp extinguished the flame with his ringers grabbed the heated can ul powder In his arms and sang out You lubbers haul me and this here can tithe ti-the deck d quick Two Jerks upon a rope llfteil the boy and his dangerous burden to the deck and In an Instant he had cart It oer tbe side Into the sea The commanding ofllcer did not complain com-plain ot the loss of that powder and the boy now wears the sword of a gunners mate I It was only the other day said an officer yesterday that another gunners gun-ners mate by a bit of swift head and hand work caved one of the battleships battle-ships of the north Atlantic squadron which Is now cruising around Key West from an awful peril In which It I was placed by sheer carelessness Th ship was engaged In biggun practice at sea and solid shot were being fired from the main battery The gunner mate referred to was stationed In the conning tower wltlr the skipper One of the big run was loaded with a solid shot i nd the skipper wait about to press the electrical button held In 1 his hand when the boy noticed that the hreecli of the gun was not locked He might have let loose a yell ot warning that would have startled the skipper and caused a contraction o 1 the muscles of the hand that woul have pressed 1 the button and dls charged the gun but lIe had too much sense for that He did not utter a sound but with a quick spring he ao1d the with lil laseNctrl wIre end broke It hOMa Ihu US cutting the elr cult I ihn running h unk 011 the Ooor of the In hi Is lne towr without a bit I of blood I and ns wiak f fill an a lilllen 1 skipper thOuglalwho a tnlnt w I or thought he had fallen In bay rCOVerh ZjVt hut the I and reCOvered IIhe r nVmomcn had cxplnlnd low nr the it p into eomo tn ral ng hi own dell with fird u not b 1111111f Vlor tha t Fun hud hOn very 1111I it th 1shluu wonhl hnv Inclu been left nnd lin or 200 mcn or moiV 1 Including ns the captalnwouiii have gone on the list 01 ciaualfleI |
