THE WATCHERS OF THE WATERS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 14572, 6 April 1918, Page 4

THE WATCHERS OF THE WATERS.

_ .^ — . — . — IN THE. l^yitlGHT. : (By ' 'Ba vtimeus. " ) "Much of what you haye done, as fav as Uh*k public eyes; is concerned,** may almost ,ho.'said -to .have been ■• done.- in , the twilight*."* '-^-Mr. -Asquith, {in an ..''address to tho .""Grand Fleet, August, 191£.' / . It:was,stjll.darkl when the battle c'i'uisevs slipped- from* their .moorings 'and beganitp 'feel their >» way towards the . unseen 1 entrance of, the harbor. .From jthe ' bridge? of each ...mass of towering, indeterminate, shadows the stern-light, of the next' ahead 'could be discerned dimly through binoculars,. -and on those pinpoints of <light they steered. What tho battle cruiser flagship steered, by, in tlie narrow j confines of the cro\\"*aed harbor and -the inky darkness only the little Iciipt of figures , on 'her forehridge. knew ; the admiral and .flag captain,, tlie navigator and officer-of- the- watch, muffled, in duffle coats and moving mysteriously about the glojy-WQrrp arc . of light from the binnacle 1 and cliart- table. One by one the long, black shapes slid through the. outer 'defences, ebon shadows in a world of shades^ The voices of the leadsmen' iri the chains blended their mournful,- intermittent. 'chant with the rush of water past the ship's side; but in the ears of the watchful figures on the bridges the* sound* was swallowed by the dirgelof ''the funnel stays and halliards, in the cold wind heralding the dawn. A. ' ■ The red and green lights oh the gatemarking vessels winked^ and bobbed in the swell caused by the passage of the grim host. It passed with incredible swiftness, and before the.;trcml>led waters began to quiet the escorting destroyers came pelting up astern, heralded by the rush and rattle^ -of spray thrashed steel, funnels' glowing, and the roar r of their' fans pouring out from the engineroom- exhaust's'. Night and the mystery of 'the darkness enfolded ' them. . The gates closed upoii their churning wakes arid the tumult of 'their passing. Dawn glimmered pale behind the hills and broadened slowly into day j it t fdund the harbor'femptyysaye for small craft* '."Beyohd^the headlands,' "beyond the yn'i^t : . "enshrouded horizon, the battle 'cruisers were abroad, unleashed. . .. . . Once clear of their ; protecting minefields, tho "battle cruisers moved south at high speed, with their smoke trailing astern in broad zig-zags across grey sky. At intervals they altered course simultaneously and then swung back^.to their cS'iginal path; 'flinging ' the grey seas astirtder* from each gaunt,; axe-head-cd bow as Hhey turned. "' X X t Z They scarcely resembled ..ships iri their remorseless7' puiposefuT ru'sli' under the lowering ,- sky. The . screening T.B.D.'s spread fan-wise oii.,. their ; flanks were dwarfed j^toVhisi^pificance, beside .these stupendous ' dbstrpy-ers! .' ypth the smoke pouring from their huge funnels, and rtb things to, break. „£heir, stark, madness of outliheA'but the' hooded 'guns. Men lived 0i hoai;d them,..^; is true; under eacly White. Epsign. .e> '..thgvisaud. so;uls labored out "eaqh .one its insignificant destiny. : 'They >ye?*o entities^ invisible like ', mites' ' in a cb,eese ; but tine ships that ..,hoi*e, them .wei'e^ instruments,. visible eniiigfi, of Ithe 'triumphant, destiny of an Empire. ■■••'• _ .'"Aij., 'far,. as the eye could reach, tho battle cruisers were alone on that grey waste of water. But>wift as was their passage, sorriething swifter overtook them out of the north as the morning wore on. It was tho voice ol the battle fleet asterp, nioving..south.iu< support, "Speed so and so/^ on,. such and such a course," flickered f the .... curt cypher messages thrgpjjh 60 miles of space.. And south they came inbaUle array, battleships, lighjycraisers arid: destroyers, ringecLby the • misty horizon of tlie North <$ea, with .the \ calling gulls,, following f the white-furrows of their keels like crows after-ithe piough. .>•■.... A division of* light cruisers,' driving through, the .crested seas at the speed of a gjiUoping horsw, linked the .battlefleet Avit'h the; battle cruisers. -$een., froni either force they we're but wraiths of smqke on the.:horizpn ,- but syei* „and anon ar daylight searchlight wipJ^ed . o,inS of the mUst, spanning the leagues with soundless, -talk. : y •-' ..'•• • , v • .It, was still early afternoon, when a trail of bubbles flickered ahead of. the flagship of the battle fleet's lee line". It crossed at right angles , to. their cpirrsea and a thousand yards abeam of; the third ship in the line something silvery broke the surface in a cloud; of spray. It. .was a torpedo that had run. its course and had missed the mark. Simultaneously, one of the escorting destroyers, a mile abeam, turned like a mongoose ori a snake, and circled questing for a couple of minutes. Then suddenly a column of water leaped into the air astern, , of thp destroyer, and the sound qf the explosion was.,engulfed by thfc -great loneliness of sea and sky. She remained circling while ..the battle flei?t swept on with swift, s beAyildering alterations. ,of course, and later, another far-off , explosion , overtook { them. 7 , '/Strong smell of. >oil, air bubble?., No wreckage visible. Consider enemy; submairine sunk,; No survivors, "^-.-blinked the laconic searchlight, and the avenger, belching smoke, from four raking fun.nelsyrcame racing up to, her appointed station. '7 ._■ ■„,,. ■<, „ „., ,; : ..... As the afternoon wore on, , a neutral passenger ship crossed the path of , the, 'fleet. She was steering a westerly course, and altered to pass stern of the battle cruisers.. *.- .-. .^Tlije, j captain wiped his glasses n and hajidetf them to r.ono of the. passengers, aii famiablo ..merchant of the same nationality ;#s himself, and a self-confessed admirer of all things. British. "Ha, '." -said the Captain. "You see? tho clenched . fist* of Britain ' \ Tt is being pushed under*. the, nose .of Germany — so!". He laughingly extended a gnarled fist in the other's face. The merchant was a frequent. passenger of his, and the sort of -man. (by reason ot his aforesaid proclivities) to the jest. . Ihs yierchant stepped back a pace rather hurriedly; then he 'laughed loudly, "Exactly!" he. said, "very neat, my friend,". And, borrowing his friend's glasses, ho studied the far-off tendrils of smoke in silence, a while. .... >*, "' '..,".-.. ' -.•■* * .-*■ _' ■ , A quarter, of-' an hour later a light cruisei* altered course from the fleet in the direction of the neutral steamer. Then it was that the aniiabale merchant -was" struck' by. a sudden recollection. It wa,s a matte? of." considerable urgency and concerned an order for a large number of bolts of calico aiid ."a 'custbmer'g credit. So" pressing ' was the business that lie obtained the captain's permission to send a radio telegram to his" firm while ■* the ' approaching cruiser was still soriie'mjileg away. ' '■ "•' • The message was duly dispatched, and, with* surprising rapidity, by * methods with wliich this .narrative is not concerned (of which, indeed, the narrator is entirely ignorant), reached Wilhelmshayeuby"* nightfall. \Hero four German battle cruisers were- raising steam preparatory to carrying out a bombard ment "at da,wn of a populous Englisli watcririg-place. The message that reached tliem had, however, nothing to do with calico ' or credit, it merely' bade them draw, fires and give the usual leave to officers and men; orders for the bombaiidirient were 'cancelled. The Gcrmaii battlo cruisers wei'e not unaccustomed to rapid- changes of programme of thit sort, -and they asked no questions.' At nine o'clock the following morning a British taxpayer sat down tq break fast in a house commanding a fh\e view of the sea from the popular watering S lace. already mentioned- Jt w^s a large prise; V and incidentally offered an. admirable target from' the sea. The taxpayer unfolded his morning paper, anc took- a sip .of his tea. Then be pu*» thf cup "■ down quio^ly f .. "X°ri* ve forgottei; tjie s'u^ar,'* 'he. said. ' ,''..'.''" „ :i---""No, ''dear," replied his wife; f ,'.l haven't forgotten it, but there . isn-1 any." "Eh," said the taxpayer, "why not: Why the devil isn't there any sugar?" The. taxpayer's wife advanced a number of" popular theories to accourfb foi the phenomenon, while the taxpayer gloomily .stirred his .unsweetened tea. "Then all I should like to know^"lu