Show ADVENTURERS ADVENTURERS' l l i t. t C CLUB LU B hF t L 1 Roar floor a o of the ic Blast Blast- 1 By FLOYD GIBBONS FamoUs Headline Hunter Yau QU hear a lot of talk talk about Hades boys and girls but in JL my opinion the place is is' overrated Ive I've seen a few places right here on earth that make the devils devil's well-known well backyard look like the penthouse on the top floor of Paradise And Ana this story from James C. C Is about one of thc them When Jim was eighteen years ol old he took a n walk tl through rough that Hades and his story of the trip which he Is going to tell teIl us today makes es him a n Distinguished Adventurer a a ran ranking Icing member of our club Stand by then w while lle Jim dim Kekes D. D A. A hands bands It to you ou hot off oIT the griddle Where Is Hades Well In October 1918 1913 it was at Morgan N. N J J. J a few miles from South Amboy Maybe you remember how I In the last days of the World war v a hunk of concentrated Hades broke loose down there and turned the whole neighborhood upside down for a week or mor more I mean the time the big munitions works went up The explosion that shook New York 20 miles away Jim Kel es was In that right from the beginning He was working I In the shell loading plant plant bad had Just finished for the day and with a couple of other fellows was walking down the hill hIlI toward the highway when su suddenly he was thrown to the ground by something that felt like Ilke a n terrific blow In the back baek 9 Explosion Knocks People Down Lile J C Tenpins The Impact was followed by a thunderous roar and then Jim noticed that the other two fellows had h-ad been thrown to the ground too lie He knew then even cven before he looked up that an nn explosion had occurred In one of the many factories of the plant Before them smoke was pouring from a f factory c ory near the gate More explosions followed the first first and and while the ground rocked around them all three men were seized with an Indescribable Indescribable able fear The plant was built over a huge area its several fac fac- tortes lories being spaced hundreds of yards apart The whole yard was surrounded by a high wire fence and the only gate was theone tho the one toward which they were headed But in order to reach that gate they had to pass the burning factory in which explosions were occurring at the rate of tw two a minute Well Weli all became stricken panic Jim sn says s We uW saw guards and time over workers coming out of the plants and running for their Uv lives s In Incer every er direction My two companions fearing they would never get through the gate alive began to run In another direction Excited Jim Runs Right Toward Death But nut In my excitement I didn't notice them go and didn't notice that In running toward the the- gate I was als running straight toward the fire i 1 t t 3 i 1 W rl r l 11 A Hunk of Concentrated Hades Broke Loose The gate was between the two plants plants from from one of which the explosions were coming I didn't notice where I was until I found m myself seIr right between between be lie tween these two t factories In fact Jim didn't realize where he was until he was knocked down by an explosion that was almost on top of him He found himself between those two factories Just at the moment when the second one caught fire from the first and began to add Its din to the turmoil The ground between those two buildings was like a battlefield The flames had gotten Into a magazine and shells were flying in every direction direction bursting bursting all over the strip of ground on which he lay I lifted myself up Jim sra says s 's trembling with fear but determined to make the most of m my chance chance If If there was a chance at all Chills were running up and down my spine The cold coM sweat had me I was weak from fright but I pulled m myself together and with all the strength In innie me nie I started running ng for the gate nt It seemed as If It I was being shot at from all directions Afraid to look 1001 around me I Just kept running and running Running Through a Rain of Exploding Shells SheIls It was a quarter of a mile to the tile gate and antI Jim sprinted the distance I with his eyes ces half shut shut expecting expecting any minute to be struck an and killed d. d Twice In that distance he was knocked down by explosions and each time he thought he lie had gotten the death eath blow at last lust But Dut he picked himself up again an and staggered ered on It took him several minutes to reach the gate but at last he was through It and out on the highway The rain of exploding shells was almost as bad there as it had been Inside but here he I had a chance to Jump Into come sort of a vehicle and get away I But there weren't any vehicles th there re when Jim got to the highway I He started running down the road afoot lIe He had bad gone about a hundred yards when he heard something coming g be behind him and ami- ami turning saw saw a n heavy y truck speeding In his direction dIrc Jim waved to the driver but the driver paid no attention to him He was in just as much of a hurry to get out of the neighborhood neighborhood neighborhood neigh neigh- as Jim was Then Jim stepped to the center of the road determined to get aboard that tru truck k if he h had d to jump onto the running board while it was going full speed The truck was almost on top of r him when Jim leaped Then crash Then crash Jim missed his hold and landed sprawling ng lu the road He rode aw away ly In that truck but hut It cost him a n busted leg leg- to do It The driver rIver stopped then picked eked him up and carried carrle him to a hospital An And It was pretty tough luck luel Jim thinks to get et all nIl the way through JUgh a quarter mile stretch of Hades only lo o be tai taken en over by a gasoline wh wagon on 6 e C Service |