Show The rhe From F T The Home oe Land The following story was written I it 11 the time of the Q departure of the contingent of American troops J. J or France from from from-an an American merican port pori nd has been been held by the lonal News Service under a volun- volun ary censorship until the war war de de at Washington gave gave per- per for its publication An Atlantic Port In In the cold Leore Leore Leore Le- Le ore dawn sea drizzle they sailed way The transports bearing one of Pershing's force of Ameri Amen from tn n soldiers silently slipped heir docks and disappeared sea sea- vard yard At the mouth of the channel the great fleet of pi battleships and destroyers de d waited in the darkness to tu convoy them safely on their way toward to- to ward vard France Corner Soldiers Crowd Every el Aboard crammed in every corner hung close-hung hammocks hammocks hammocks ham ham- inder hatches in mocks above decks were the soldiers regiments Re- Re comprising many orts show that the units came from very Herr quarter of the United States Ul 11 are sunburned seasoned regulars ed men not men not a single rookie in ill of them ape he ranks ranks and and a majority of Mexican campaigns Men lung to rails and and rigging rigging like like warms of c khaki cad ad flies fifes sailors sailon nd marines took the gangways ou on off he urgent business of casting Field Guns Gums Put in the Holds hold aero- aero Field guns lay in the lanes were packed lacked on upper decks formed and motor trucks mother item 1 the 10 de- de No warning signs betrayed L me II u u.- u. arture of the fleet to sinister watch watch- ers Ghostly tugs and flying dutchman dutchman dutch dutch- man cutters loaded with spectral nowhere andis andas and appeared from guards cards vanished Red flare is as Inexplicably waters about the tights lights made the viers a charmed circle In which magical magical magical magi magi- passing cal craft were seen for but a moment Searchlights flickered hawsers splashed and the ships one after the other were gone Snatch of Song Across Water Yater in line while One by hy one like excited ter tugs circled about But a single lonely green each ship of ot masthead lamp on an th the betrayed her presence tinted fog-tinted war paint blended hu hull l with river light signal and night sky Here a flashed intermittently then a snatch heard across was of subdued song o g the summer waters from a crowded farewell rewell to the home deck a plaintive land Made Without Fuss luss Start is is name her Tho The last transport transport her carefully painted out and her lines carefully disguised by false false riggings joined Joined the procession procession For a amo moment mo moment moment ment her outlines were clear against smoke that Jh pall of light and hung above the piers as as' over the i t mouth of some titan furnace Then she became an indistinct miss SS in the su shadows shadows Jows of th the s stream r. r a 4 Properly thrashed with wf with h rhythmic jO joy as the fleet plowed into the open sea ea to face the peril of tf the U boat The foremost of the fleet forgetful of her stealth suddenly raised her voice Jolce In a great hoarse throaty ty noise As the sonorous blast died away awa the ships were lost to view Th sound reached back to the forsaken piers where a vast army of stevedores steve steve- stevedores dores and troops were see seeding ing the nearest corners ana and were soon in deep sleep after a u hour hirty fatigue o of final tion D officers bedraggled and swe ting ling with toil troll oil staggered Into waiting waftIng automobiles and were whirled away It was in the first days of June that troop trains began to discharge at this port great swarms of men In khaki Who Vho the they were or where they were bound none was permitted to learn Tents sprang up over night ind lud small camps spread into great tent cities Less fortunate regiments regiments regiments regi regi- ments sp spent nt more than a wee week t in cars cam Irs in the railroad yards Troops Cheer When hen Order Comes The men were still sUll on field ration for little cooking could be done aboard train Relief came from the Red Cross which sent refreshment parties n to Finally to w to each KOI iU car s a uv u. I would come the word for which all waited an event generally welcomed by a cheer which could be heard for miles The osier order to move generally came at night on less than twenty minutes' minutes notice Men were hustled al aboard oard the cars the roll called the doors sealed there was the bump ot of the engine and the slow roll of the wheels a short run and the doors were opened for the men to file down the length of the dock anti and an aboard ship As the troops found themselves actually actually actually ac ac- ac- ac quartered aboard ship their spirits rose perceptibly The cour course e of setting up exercises w was s begun immediately to take the kinks out of the mens men's joints Sea Seu Swept for tor Possible le Mines lines While the ships lay at the dock the sides of the vessels swarmed with painters and mechanics while night I quartermasters quartermaster's army or of and day the stevedores slung aboard the ship the munitions and materials of war that were a part of the expedition Outside the harbor naval vessels of every description were sweeping sweeping- the and building building build build- mines waters for tor possible at at- against submarine ing a cordon tack A careful watch was set for suspicious vessels and several schooners schooners schoon schoon- ers we were e stOlp stopped d and and searched The sailing of tho the Meet fleet was accomplished accomplished I pUshed without an inkling of the tho actual actual actual ac ac- i event reaching the residents or orthe orthe orthe the city In which it occurred until the transports had actually departed departe-d. Even then thos those who missed tho ships ship at the docks on the following mornIng morning morn morning ing did not know when the fleet left these waters t w |