"FILLING 'EM UP."

Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 7, 8 January 1917, Page 11

"FILLING 'EM UP."

JHB TAB AND THE TRAVELLER JACK'S "IN DISCRETION." (From Our Special Correspondent.) liONDOX, December 30. He entered the train at a place not miles from a most important naTiil centre, wearins: the familiar blue nnifmn of a seaman in the King's \avcc; ako a broad i-tuile. There was 4 twinkle in his e;c- as he snuggled down in a corner <cni and cast a look o ver the hali-ilozen i-ivilians who were to be Hs companions on the (with great good luck) nonstop run to London. Hie vie-a-vw was a Somewhat pompous-lookir.ir person, who presently exhibited the patronising manner. The train started, and before we had run a 1 couple of miles Jack's contented study of the scenery was broken by a question from his neighbour opposite. "Er." he said, "I— er— suppose you are glad to get awn.v from the sea for a bit?" "You're right therp. hit it first time. Fourteen hloomin' weeks with never a spell ashore in the sort of weather ivr've been having ain't no bally picnic. I can tell yon."' said Jack; "and," ■he added, "it's only a couple of days I'm getting this journey, and half of that will be sjent in getting homo and back again." We all murmured our sympathy, and the ice being broken, conversation became general. Of course, naval matter cropped up. and in spite of the rules of the service, and the four notices stuck up in the carriages warnall and sundry not to discuss naval or military matters for fear one thereby conveyed information to the enemy. Jac-k showed no inclination to reticence when the man opposite bejran to ply hun with questions; indeeJ, Jack showed rather an inclination to volunteer information. Had he seen anything of the new super-super-Dreadnoughts? Jack winked. "You bet.' , he remarked. Are they really 00.11 feet long? was the nest query. "Well," said Jack, "we mustn't tell tales out of school, so 'to speak, but if you giiees again you mightn't get as near the mark.' . And then, under the suggestive queries put by the occupant or" the opposite corner, he "opened out" in an astonishinc fashion. He, co 'to speak, personally conducted us all over the great m\aterv ships of which we have heard so much ami know so little, from keel to fighting tops, and from stem to stern. The wonders of these latest additions to our >favv were laid hare to us, and jack's description of them made them appear even more marvellous monsters than the veiled hints thrown out from time to time concerning the powers of these titanic battle-cruisers. Ho waxed eloquent ahout their speed, and though he would not commit himself to knots, ie contrived to give Uo an indication of the pace at which they could travel. "Why," said he, "when we were going all out we couldn't hold 'em, and we reckon we can give a start to anything afloat in the destroyer line."

"It's wonderful to»see "em travel when they want to, only you don't -see much of •'em when they air £oing all out —only just the bridge and funnel, the rest ail hidden by"—here he used a technical term .which I forget, but he meant the bow waves created by a steamer travelling jpace through & added: ' - At a mile you could hardly tell what these ships are, there is so little visible when they are full pert." And thus he enthused on the big gvins they carried, their range, tne tremendous weight of the shells they could throw to an enormous distance vrjth most marvellous, accuracy. He did Dot descend to details such ao the actual calibre of the guns, nor did he divulge Vis weight, but so contrived to make comparisons with the known armament of certain battleships that one's thoughts wandered in the region of 20----inch <;un6 and 3-ton shells, and 25 mile iam:e *. And then the Man Opposite switched Jack on to our new submarines. Was it true that they were very much bigger and vastly speedier than 'their predecessors, as he had heard? Jack was coy at first, hut his vis-a-vis was persistent, ami presently the sailor let his tongue ran freely—so freely, indeed, that the very etiouy suspicion I had been entertaining as to hi.- voracity over the Dreadnoughts crystallised into conviction that Master Jack was wilfully and maliciously "pulling our legs" in general, and his opposite neighbour's in particular. l_ nder his not unskilful description the new submarines assumed the form of a =ort of marine "Tank" compared with which the under-water boat of Jules Verne's famous story was a mere tyro's contraption for submarine navigation. The number of new inventions he contrived to squeeze into the hulls of these new submarines suggested that they must be as big as a Zeppelin, and as for the things they could do, well, they were enough to turn the land Tanks green with envy. ' 1 looked at the traveller sitting on my right. He winked; 1 winked in return, and catching Jack's eye tipped him the wink of scepticism, to which he responded with a wink that is an admission to guilt. By this time we were approaching the end" of our journey, and master Jack's vis-a-vis thought it well to give the sailor-man a little friendly advice, something after this fashion: "'lt's been most interesting to us, I'm sure," he said, "but don't you think its rather dangerous to talk so' freely to strangers? Aren't you warned not to do so? Of eoime. we are all British here (how did be know it?), but, you know, you might run across people who are not, and give something away." We were running into the station. Jack rose, took up hie kit-bag, and, looking down at the giver of good advice, said: "Oh, yes, we "<ret warnings enough not to talk shop in strange company. When I came ashore our "boss said to mc. Now. don't get gassing about what you know, but if on comes across them what's too bloomin' inquisitive, why, rill the Warmed fools up, rieht up to the bu:;g.' An' i think 1 drme it., uh? Goodday, jients- , '