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Show w iff Herewith is presented the ninth installment of a fiction serial dealing with what m j might happen should European powers,, after they had settled their own differ- ences wage war upon the United States. The author, one of the best Bction writers Kft in the- country, has based his story upon a thorough understanding of military, 9 naval, and internal conditions in the United States and upon a sound knowledge H of military and economic history. The story will cause you to realize the critical ' situation in which this country and you, your neighbors, and your family are placed J by the let-well-enough-alone attitude of the pacifists. SYNOPSIS. ft In Elgin, III., live the Ashby family, consisting iJL of Nathan Ashby, owner of the Ashby Brass com-M com-M piny, and his wife; a daughter, Nellie, married to m Bob Wendell, a navy lieutenant; and Jim Ashby, X a son, engaged to Agnes Ware. Nathan Ashby is the archtypc of pacifist, deaf to the warnings of i impending danger to America. Almost out of a , k clear ky nca is received that the U. S. scout ; cruiser, Salem, proceeding against orders, in the j North Atlantic has encountered the fleet of the i t league of form or European enemies and has been ' sunk, a deliberate act of war. Bob ic recalled to f Newport News, Spies are discovered in the Ashby 5 : works, and evidence of a league of spies that swarm the country and are even enlisted in the army is held by Jim Ashby, sho for a time is held prisoner in one of the spies' rendezvous in a fashionable residence in Chicago. Jim after his ' adventure returns to Elgin. War is on and Jim. I , has signified his intention to enlist. Bob arrives f in Newport News to find that the battle prelim inaries aro already being fought. A message is handed him telling him he is to report at once -I aboard the Arizona. Cbpyrffcbt: 101: By Tho Chicago Trlbuno S KpHE three from the train followed the boy 1 down to the boat and preceded him on E board. The ensign his name was "Wayne steered the launch swiftly k across the water toward Norfolk. All about 8 the anti-aircraft guns were going incessantly. .Wendell's pulses quickened with the nearness of the firing, but for a few moments he silently silent-ly studied the silhouettes of tho ships lying further doyn tbe liver and in tho roads. The big, four funneled, two masted de stroyer which had started the firing was the Cummings; the Cnssin of tbe same claeB was just beyond ; a little further off the larger and 1 ; newer destroyers, Aylwin and Balch, both had I brought their anti-aircraft guns Into action ; a couple of great cruisers they had the two i turrets, four funnels, and the cage foremast j of the Montana class spat a shell now and j then, but, for the most part, they were silent j Snilors sprawled over their sides with paint 1 ' pots and brushes daubing big splotches of gray I over the lead colored paint; the superstructure I and funnels of the cruisers the turrets and the barrels of tbe long guns, -were already dappled bo that the outline of the ships, even when j close by, was vague and broken. ft Beyond the cruisers, and sentineled by a ft dozen small torpedo craft, lay three monster 1 -warships, each with a single gigantic funnel, I two tall cage masts, and four huge turrets, two forward and two aft. They were mottled like jft the cruisers, gray and darker gray; at a dis-f" dis-f" tance of eight miles or ten at which such laj ships should fight the mottling must make Iff doubtful their silhouettes, but at three or four K$ miles Wendell "knew them three of the most B powerful superdreadnaughts of the American H first line of battle. Bf- The blood burned in Wendell's race as he ft 6aw them, and he raised his prismatic glasses B- to hla eye. " Which is which ?" he asked o Bfr Wayne. m& "The Nevada is nearest," Wayne replied. HE "The Oklahoma lieB nest." K ; Wendell nodded ; he had made out, through B I fcis glasses, the distinguishing lines of the two H ; nearer monsters; their lower turrets, bow and j r atern, mounted three guns each; three of the V huge fourteen inch rifles ; the other turrets K showed but two guns apiece ten fourteen inch H rlfieB on each vessel. M ' H The next is the Pennsylvania? " Wendell B referred. All of its four turrets showed three H t guns each twelve fourteen inch guns to- B getber. u Yes, sir. She came in just this morning." Kf " Then the Arizona's at the navy yard'i " W. ,' m Yea, sir ; -we're taking on ammunition.'" Wtim u I 6ec." Wendell lobked an instant across L the water to the estuary of the Elizabeth, BjL whore the city of Norfolk lay -on the left; Portsmouth, with the navy yard, was on tho K tight. He turned his glasses then back to HI the roadB and the bay beyond. " What's out g further? " H "Some of the inluc layers; Tc've put out mfc most of the mines at night, of course, but the Bf teucnt's aircraft were here right after daylicht Wn and spotted moBt of them, so we're adding a B fuw more now mixing the dummies and the H? real ones." Bf. Wendell nodded. Aloft in an aeroplane at Bit Penaacola he had seen how distinctly tho mines Bft hidden by water from lookouts on ebipa' K decks stood out to the pilot and observer far HI overhead. Every mine at the entranco of tho H bay might bo spotted on such a sunshiny dny, H but the obBcrvcrs in tho air could not tell the H$ rel mines from the dummies. HI " So, our fricnd.up there," Wendell searched Hi the cky for tho blue streak of tho enemy acro- Ui Diane, " isn't our first visitor?" flft "No, sir; I should say not! " JJ " Wnere have they been coming from? " fjK " Some say that they must be coming from H a sccrct shore base in a swamp somewhere- or B a backwater along the coast. They're all hy- K droaeroplnnca, but they're more probably coin . r ing from some 'mother' ship which is with their battle cruisers." " Where are the battle cruisers? " A flush stained Wayne's face aa he answered, an-swered, u Haven't you heard, sir? They've been raiding the coast all day. Two cruisers up above Boston, they say, shelled Salem and Newburyport; there's some more have been raising hell along Rhode. Island and Long Island and New Jersey. They're all battle cruiseis of their Carthage class or armored cruisers of the Pera type six or seven knots faster than anything we've got except our destroyers. de-stroyers. Our ships at Boston and in New York have tried to drive them away, of courae, but we've got to send out our first line ships to do that; their battle cruisers give us the laugh and keep just out of range of us, and shoot hell out of the coast. Atlantic City -was on fire this noon with two or three hundred dead, and the squadron down this way -which that plane comes from, probably shelled Ocean City, in Maryland, this morning, and another ship killed twenty women and children at Virginia Beach." Wendell gazed at tho great drcadnaughtB lying in the roads ; he felt the fluBh which had flamed to the ensign's checks as he confessed the helplessness of the fleet agninst the regent's re-gent's battle cruisers now burning in his own veins. The two tall cage masts of the Arizona, Ari-zona, toward which he was bound, showed above the other shipping before Portsmouth, and the objective of the aeroplane, at which the anti-aircraft guns of the destroyers had been firing for twenty minutes, now had become be-come clear. Twice, while the launch had been crossing the James, the enemy's plane had dashed over the city, but had turned in a long ellipse to swoop back again. On the third return now, the pilot appeared better pleased nith his position; as he pabsed over Portsmouth Ports-mouth something dropped, which glinted in the sunlight, and where it fell flame and black smoke and flying dfibris billowed up. At tho roar of the explosion the anti-aircraft guns redoubled their racket, but the aeroplane only " banked " and swung about, short, and dropped another bomb, which blew up a second black cloud of destruction. " He's deviling the Arizona, you sec," Wendell Wen-dell handed his glass over to Itoss, who was beside him, " or he'ij trying to get the navy yard arsenal." The red warning flag the signal for other craft to keep away while the battleship look aboard its powder, sheila, and guncotton flut- munition and the work of painting the Bhlp had ceased only for the few seconds before and following the explosion; tho slaying of four men and the wounding of others had Interrupted Inter-rupted no one of the unhurt who had work to do. Wendell, on his way to quarters where he could wash, passed through the wardroom. Everything which belonged thcro had been stowed away electric fans, china, plate glass and looking glasses; battle ports were closed. A Junior lieutenant " Garry " Starnes who had been a classmate und a close friend at Annapolis, appeared and led Bob into his room. "From that room, too, all breakables had been removed. Bob was used to the bareness bare-ness of tho rooms as a preliminary to the firing fir-ing of the big guns in battle practice, but the bareness affected him differently now. In addition to absolutely essential articles, there was nothing in " Garry's " room but two photogiaphs in leather frames fastened above the desk. Bob gazed at one of the photographs; pho-tographs; It was of a smiling, direct eyed, likable looking girl of 10 or 17. The picture was rather faded ; it was seven or eight years old. Bob remembered it well. Garry had had it back in midshipman days; the girl was the one who came down to Annapolis, all flushed and excited, for Garry's graduation, and -who had danced with him all but thrco 6f the numbers num-bers at the " hop." The other photograph was a picture of her, too a photograph recently re-cently taken showing how beautiful that laughing Utile, girl had become, how happy Garry had made her, and photographed with her was a little boy of 4. (Starnes had married the year after he graduated ; Eob was his best man), very like his mother and a good deul like Garry, too, and wearing proudly as a baud for his straw sailor hat a ribbon, " U. S. A. Arizona." t Bob bent and gazed closely at the picture of the little boy, and, -suddenly and quite unconsciously, un-consciously, his eyes blurred. " That's a great . P7v " kid," he said to Garry after a minute. i "He's all right" Garry winked and I "ii Xt ' looked away. He was ' . pleased that Bob had j '. ' noticed the picture, . ' but he did not want j " " tj talk about it "You v mighty near got it t , above, Bob" ft s ' Gurry Lad not been 4 j close enough to suffer - j fiiiin the explosion, but .. hi1 was badly shakon ; I- he bad had to make . ' more of an Adjustment, pel haps, than Wen- coil; for Bob, forty yA-L-W hours before, had seen AM a man destroyed and I&jP he had gone off and pil-M left the body bebide the Mifilu- J? road because it was J pWul war. It was yet novel IflTnMl i to Garry, though he jnjKMr had played the pre- 0 tWlt'fi'iV'1 Unse in practice many illLTmi 1 vmm ,-. tcrcd from tho Arizona's halyards, Wayne steered directly for the great ship. The aeroplane aero-plane of the enemy had passed on; from a field near the water an American biplane whirred Into the air. It was all white wiuga and brown body, compared to the other, but it roso in a slow spiral and set itself in pursuit. pur-suit. "That pilot haB his nerve," Wnync admiied. "Tho fellow that tried to chase one of tho planes this morning got shot down for lt" "Killed?" Rocs asked. " He fell in the bay from 3,000 yards." But the blue streak the wings of the enemy's ene-my's plane were again quite invisible ignored both the American biplane and the shells breaking In tho sky ; it circled and flew for the navy yard once more. Wayne brought the launch to the side of the Arizona as the blue aeroplane headed into the wind from the sea and maneuvered for position po-sition overhead. It was plain that the pilot was to drop bombs again, but Wendell, with Ross and Fulton just behind, climbed to the deck of the battleship, and now, as they were in sight of other officers and men, they did hot even look up at the menace overhead. The Arizona, as Wendell had observed as hd approached, was cleared for action ; everything movable which had been on tho deck had disappeared dis-appeared davits, boats, railing, stanchions, flagstaffs, and ventilators ; a crew of painters at work forward were finishing the pi escribed mottling of the ship. Tho officer of the deck was standing on the side toward the dock with another officer superintending tho taking on of ammunition. Tho officer of the deck, glancing glanc-ing up at the aeroplane, shouted an order for the men to cease bringing powder. Wendell approached him, tensely; from directly overhead over-head as nearly overhead as the pilot of the plane could calculate an aerial torpedo was descending upon his ship. Wendell knew this without looking up ; Ross, who was beside him, knew it, as did Fulton, who followed. The officer of the deck, turning, saw the three junior lieutenants and cried to them to tako cover; at the same instant a cry of alarm came from a seaman who was standing further forward, shouts from others on the docks gave warning, cut short in the middle by a shock and roar which battered and deafened. Bob Wendell, swaying and grabbing for support, caught the shoulder of some one ; the gas from the explosion choked and stifled him ; pain in his eyes blinded him for a moment; then he coughed the gas from his lungs and was able to look about A seaman lay on his face at Bob's feet; there was a horrid hole in his back ; it needed no second glance to see that the man was dead. Further forward, three bodies were piled up at the barbette of No. 2 turret The officer of the deck it was he against whom Bob had been thrown saw the dead men, too, but he did not concern himself with them. He gave no greater concern at that moment to the officer who had been superintending superin-tending the taking on of ammunition, who now lay unconscious. While Bob still clung to him the officer of the deck gazed overhead and saw that the nrcoplanc had gone on. He gave a curt oidcr for resuming Ihc work of taking on ammunition ; then he spoke lo Wendell. "All light, now." Bob regained some steadiness, apologized, and reported himself. , " Go below," the officer of the deck direct- cd, " and as soon as you are yourself report to the captain aud inform hitii that you report for duty." Bob dizzily went below. A surgeon had appeared ap-peared to give attention to the officer ho was a lieutenant named Yarncy who had fallen. As Bob turned about men of tho doctors' doc-tors' detail wero lifting the bodies of the men who hlld been killed The loading of ain- I - "v "' limes, to go about his business after men on the Bhip had just been killed. A mess man of the detail who brought on board the officers' baggage appeared at the door with Bob's bags. Garry received them and opened them on hi? bunk. " You'ro rather a sight," Garry informed Bob, " You'd better make a completo chan ; if you haven't everything you want I guess my things'll fit you. And, by the way, yon might as well bathe now. Every one's been oi-dered oi-dered to." Wendell looked about quickly. The order for every one to bathe and put on clean clothe was the preliminary of battle, a precaution taken so that expected wounds would be an clean as might be. "You mean we're going out soon?" " Looks like it." Bob went to the shower bath ; when ha returned re-turned Garry was gone, but the next moment rejoined Wendell in the room. " How's Yarney?" asked Bob. " Pretty much hurtjabout the head, but he's conscious and the doc thinks holl pull through, but he'll not fight his turret in this scrap. They're taking him ashore to the hospital. And two of the men that are got for good were gunners one was Ferris of the Kansas, remember him? The best pointer on tho ship." Wendell realized that the sound of the antiaircraft anti-aircraft guns had ceased. It surprised him, when he thought of it, that he did not take trouble to find out what had happened to the machine and that Starnes did not concern himself him-self about it, either. The fat of one aeroplane, nhich no longer was menacing, was too trivial among the events now upon them. "What are you here?" Starnes questioned. "Watch and divisional officer, Bob?" " That's what the orders said which I got on the train. I haven't seen the old man yet You're still on fire control, Garry? " " Yep." "Foretop?" '' Right I'm in charge there. And you've a turret?" "No. 2, Wayne thought. He said 6n the way over he understood he's to be my junior." Garry shook his head. " Not any longer riot if they're carrying Yarney ashore! I don't mean you won't Inn c the turret ; I mean you'll' have It all to yourself, and Wayne'll have a turret, too or Ross will have the turret tur-ret and Wayne take a division of fives by himself." Wendell glanced about quickly. It was not like Garry to find fault; he was notorious for cngcrncss to lake on twd men's work in an emergency, cheerfully, and as though he preferred pre-ferred it. 'His battle station, as he had just been told, was chief fire control officer in tho tops; his business, when the alarm bells should boom liffy ' " 1 1 4lmi Hi ' il ' ''in 1 ' 1 l I . i.,1.1 r- ,, !, -, SX, H through the ship and the bugles should blow ' " General quarters," was to lead his" spot- tera " to' tho top of the foremast, and, through H - his telescope, watch for tho splash, of the Arl- : zona's shells. ( At ten or twelve miles distance the initial ' range could only be approximated, so Starnes, ; J as fire control officer, would " spot " the Bplash H of the great shells as they struck the sea IH about the enemy; his duty would ba to eati- ' mate the distance of the splash beyond or ' ulu.i. ui lu iua riuc or 10 uuo icii, ox uic iw . sih get ; to telephone his estimate instantly to ths ' H chief fire control station far below the armor j and the water, from which there would go to : H the guns the instructions for tha correction of H the sights so thB next shots would bo closes H and the next might hit H Garry was naturally adapted to this work H and had been trained to extraordinary skill in H it; there was no better man of any rank for IH this work in the fleet, so the fact of his being H chief fire control officer in tha foretop be- H trayed no weakness of personnel. jH The fact of Wendell's appointment as sec- H ond divisional officer without a junior would H be different His battle station, as he had H said to Starnes, would be to command No. 2 IH turret the great turrets, housing three four- H teen inch guns, just forward of tho bridge and H tha conning tower. A lieutenant of full rank, H with a lieutenant of junior grade (liko Wen- H dell) or with an ensign as second in command, H belonged at such a battle station. Wendell H had realized, therefore, that his order to report H for duty as watch and , divisional officer was H proof of lack of officers, but he was used to H that fact Often enough, in battle practice, H he had been senior divisional officer in com- H mand of a turret But if Varney's loss meant I j that he was to have no junior in the turret H who had been trained at the big guns, the , H weakness in battle might be serious indeed. H " What's tho department doing? " he chal- H longed Starnes. H " Doing ! " Garry burst forth with pent up rage. "Dragging every damned hulk out of l reserve or out of the navy yard cemeteries H and taking away good men from ships to man H 'cm to mako a show a rotten political parade H of names of ' ships in commission ' to bunk JM the country with! They haven't recommis- H sioned nny of Farragut's sailing vessels yet, M and so far they've left the Constitution alone, H but half the Spanish war jokes are going to sea again. Damn it, Bob, think of it I They IH took Duval except for the old man and Mr. Stacey, the best officer of this ship to resur- JM rect the Iowa. Alwnrd'g ordered to apply the '' s H pulmotor to the Kentucky. H " They're sending officers men, Bob men H that we need and the Oklahoma and the Penn- H sylvauia and the Nevada need, to tike out de- H stroyers that haven't done twenty-five knots J this century, and they're stripping us of en- H signs and boatswains to command nine knot tft- tramps to lay mines which every tramp cap- H tnin ought to have been trained to do ten years H agc they're manning more rotten merebnnters M td diag for the mines which the regent's men J are thoughtfully planting eA'erywheie they got H a chance and just setting adrift in other IH places, and f H Garry cut short and jumped up and stood J M listening. Mmmmmmm! a deep, resounding i H reverberation rumbled over the water. UM Mmminmmm ! It vibrated again. Mmmmmnim! H It was far away, very far away, but there was IH no question of what it was one of the forts IH or a ship somewhere out in the bay firing its B heavy guns. Wendell, finishing dressing, hurried lo tho H captain's room, where, formally reporting him- IH self for duty, he was ordered to Mr. Stacey, H the'cxecutlc officer, for assignment to his divi- H Cries and commotion came from about the j H Bhip, and as Bob turned from the -executive H officer to inspect No. 2 turret, which he was IH to command in action, tho Arizona left the M navy yard. He went out to the quarter deck jH as the battleship headed to Hampton roads ft and' Increased speed as it steered into the wide IH water. A number of the ships which had been H in the roads when ho had crossed from New- IH port News in the launch now wrc in the bay jft and headed out to sea. Two light-cruisers, a tM half dozen destroyers, and the great dread- IH naught Pennsylvania wore in motion. The . iH yellow haze Of powder smoko. puffing .from the IH Pennsylvania's forward turrets and blown jH swiftly back by the breeze, told that it .was 1 the battleship which was firing, and now .1 H spurt of spray dashing up a hundred yards H ahead of the Pennsylvania and half as high .H as her foremost told that somewhere out at H eea a ship of the enemy was returning lhr fire. jH The Arizona steamed more swiftly after her lftj sister ship, and now, as the vessel rose' and lft fell to the swell rolling in from tho Atlantic, jH the alarm bells boomed below aud the bugles IH called all men to battle btationi. H (To be continued.) H &m H 4t! J? H fM;m'. H -! . " - o j? V"- H ''i '" C &A - . J &i : H rVu.-l &. : !.i' H vif r - -" .I.TO H |