WARSHIPS IN THE MAKING.

Waipawa Mail, Volume XXXVII, Issue 7912, 28 July 1917, Page 2 (Supplement)

WARSHIPS IN THE MAKING.

By JEFFERY FARNOL,. Author of “Tho Broad Highway,” “The Amateur Gen tlem/an.” etc.

“ Build me straight, 0 worthy Master! Staunch and strong, a goodly vessel, That shall laugh at all disaster And with wave and whirlwind wrestle I” —Longfellow. TTE was an old man, with the indefinable courtliness of bearing thait is of a past generation; tall and; spare he 'was, liis white head bowed a little by weight of years; but almost with my first glance I steemedl to recognise him instinctively for tha't worthy Master Builder of goodly vessels staunch and strong. So the Master Builder I will call him. He stood beside me at the window, with one in the uniform of a. naval captain, and we looked all three of us, at that which few might behold unmoved. “She’s a beauty,” sSaid the captain; “she’s all speed and grace from cutwater to sternpost.” ‘ I’ve .been building ships for sixtyodd years, .and we never launched .a better,” said the Master Builder. As for me, I was! dumb.

with the stalwart figure of the captain and the white hair and venerable form of the Master Builder as they stood Bide by sidle to wave adieu. Beneath the shadow of a mighty bridge I stepped into a very smart launch manned by sailors) in overalls somewhat grimy, and, rising and falling to the surge of the broad river, we held l away for a destroyer that lay grey and phantom-like, low, rakish, and with speed in every line of her. As we drew near, hen narrow deck looked to my untutored eyeia confused litter of guns, torpedo-tubes, guy ropes, cables), and windlasses. Howbeit, I clambered aboard, and, ducking under a guy-rope and avoiding sundry other obstructions, shook hands with her commander, young, clear-eyed, and cheery of mien, who presently led me past a. stumpy smokestack and! up a. pcrpedicular ladder to the bridge, where, beneath a. somewhat ing structure, was l the wheel, brassbound and highly bepolished, like all else about this crowded craft, as notably the binnacle and certain brassbound dials, on the faces whereof one might read l such words as Ahead, Astern, Fast, Slow, etc. Forward! of this was a platform, none too roomy, where was a. gun most carefully wrapped and swaddled in divers cloths, tarpaulins, etc.—wrapped up with as much tender care as if it had been a baby, and delicate at that. But, as the commander casually informed me, they had been out patrolling all night and “it had blown a little”—wherefore I surmised the cloths and tarpaulins aforesaid.

She lay -within a stone’s throw, a mighty vessel huge of beam and l length, her superstructure towering .proudly aloft, her massive armoured! sides sweeping up in noble curves, a superdreadnought complete from trucks to keelson. Yacht-like she sat in the water, all buoyant grace 'from lofty prrtw to tapering counter, amd to me there was sometliing sublime ‘in, the grim end latent power, the strength and beauty of her. “But she’s not so very big, is she?” inquired a voice behind us. Tho captain stared!; tho Master Builder smiled.

“I .should thin,” r ventured, observing her sharp lines and slender build, “I should think she would roll rather frightfully when it does blow a little.” “Well, she does) a bit,” lie admitted,

“Fairly,” he nodded. “Why do you ask

“Well, I usually reckon the size of a ship from the number of her funnels, and ”

“but not so much. “Starboard!” said lie over his shoulder to tile bearded mariner at the wheel. “Take us round by the Tiger.” “Aye, aye, sir,” retorted the bearded one as we began to slide through the water.

“Ha.!” exclaimed the captain, explosively. “Humph!” said the Master Builder, gdntly; “ after luncheon you shall measure her, if you like, but nowo, I think, wo will go and eat.” During a most excellent luncheon the talk ranged from ships and books to submarines and seaplanes, with stories) of battle and sudden death, tales of risk and' hardship, -cif noble courage and heroic deeds, so that I almost forgot to eat and was sorry when at last we rose from table.

Once outside, I had the good_ fortune to find myself between the captain and tho venerable figure of the Master Builder, in,whose company I spent a never-to-be-forgotten afternoon. With them I stood alongside this noble ship, which, seen thus near, seemed mightier than ever.

“Will she be'fast?” I inquired. “Very fast for a dreadnought,” said the captain. “And at top speed dhe’ll show no bow-wave to speak of,” added the veteran. See how fine her lines are foro and aft!”

“And her gun power will be enormous,” said the captain. Hard by I espied a* solitary being, who stood, chin in li/and, lost in contemplation of this’ large vessel. “Funnels or not, lihe’s bigger than you thought?” I inquired of him. He glanced at me, shook his head, sighed, and took himself by the chin again.

“Holy smoke!” said he. “And you have been building ships for sixty years?” 1 asked of'the venerable figure beside me. “And more,” lie answered. “Audi m,v father built ships hereabouts s'o long ago a|s 1820 and his grandfather before him.”

“Back to the times of Nelson and Rodney and Anson,” said I; “great seamen all, who fought great ships! What would they think of this one, I wonder?” “That she was a worthy successor,” replied the Master Builder, letting his eyes, so old and wise in ships, wander up ajncll over the mighty fabric before us. “Yes,” lie nodded, decisively, “she’s worthy—like the men who will fight in her one of these days.” “But our eenmies and some of our friends) rather thought we had' degenerated these latter days,” I suggested. “ All, well,” said he, very quietly, “they know better now, don’t you think ?”

“Yes,” said I; and again, “Yes.” “ Slow startem aiwa'ys,” continued he, musingly; “but the nation that can match us in staying power has yet to bo born.”

So, walking between these two, I listened and looked, and asked questions; and of wlia/t I heard and of what I isaw L could write much; but for the censor I might tell of armour-belts of enormous thickness, guns of stupendous calibre, new methods of defence against sneaking submarine and torpedo attack, and of devices new andl strange; but of these I may neither write nor speak, because of the .aforesaid censor. Suffice it that as the sun sank we came, all three, to a jetty whereto a steamboat lay moored, on whose limited deck were numerous figures, divers cf whom beckoned me on

So with hea.'rtv farewells I stepped aboard the steamboat, whereupon she snorted and fell suddenly aquiver as she nosed out into tiie broad stream, while I stood to wave my hat in farewell. Side by side they stood, the captain tall and broad and sailor-like in his l blue and gold—a man of action, hold of eye, hearty of voice, free of gesture; the other, his silver hair agleam in the setting sun, a man wise with, years, gentle, and calm-eyed, my Master Ruddier. Thus as the distance lengthened I stood watching, until presently they turned side by side, and so were gone. Slowly we steamed down the river, a. drab, unlovely waterway, blit a wonderful river none the less, whose banks teem with workers where ships are building; ships by tho mile, by the lttague, ships of nil shapes -find of all sizes, ships of all sorts and! for many different purposes. Here are great cargo boats growing hour bv hour, with liners great and small; here I saw mile on mile of battleships, cruisers, destroyers. and submarines of strange design, .with torpedo-boats of uncanny shape, tramp steamers', wind-jammers, squat colliers, and squatter tugs—these last surely the ugliest craft that ever wallowed in water. Mine-layers were here, with mine-sweepers l and hospital ships—a heterogeneous collection of well-nigh every kind of ship that floats.

Some lay finished and ready for launching; others just begun, were only a sketch, a hint of what soon would be a ship. On our right were ships, on our left were ships and more shins, a long perspective—ships by the million tons, until mv eves grew aweary of ships and I went below. Truly a wonderful river this, surely in its way the most wonderful river eves) may see: a sight T shall never forget. a sight T shall always associate

“ Yes, she’s iapt to roll a bit perhaps, out she’s not so bad,” he continued. Besides, you get used to it.” Here he fell to scanning the haze ahead through a pair of binoculars, a hazo through which, as we gathered speed, ghostly shapes began to loom, portentous shapes that grow and grew upon the sight—turret, superstructure, and embattled mast. Here a mighty battle-cruiser, yonder a super-destroyer, one after another, quiet-seeming on this autumn morning, and yet whose grim hulks held latent potentialities of destruction ail'd death, as many of them havo proved but lately. As we passed thes-e silent monstrous shapes the commander named them in turn, names which had been flashed ;ound the earth not so Jong ago, names which shall yet figure in the histories to come with Grenville’s Revenge, Drake’s Gol'dWn Hind, Blake’s) Triumph, Anson’s Centurion, Nelson’s Victory and *i score of other deathless names—glorious names that make one proud to be of the race that manned and fought them.

Peacefully they rode at their moorings, the water lapping gently at their steel sides, but, as we steamed past, on more than one of them, and especially the grim Tiger, I saw the marks of the Jutland battle in dinted plate, scarred funnel and superstructure, taken when lor liour.s on end the dauntless six withstood the might of the German fleet. So, as we advanced past these battlescarred ships, I felt a sense of awe, taJit indefinable unlift of soul one is conscious -of when treading with soft and reverent foot the dim aisles of some cathedral hallowed by time and the dust of our noblo dead.

“This afternoon,” said the commander, offering me his cigarette case, “ tney’re going to show you over the Warspite—the German navy have sunk her so repeatedly, you know. There,” he continued, nodding towards) a fleet of squa/t-looking vessels with stumpy masts, “those are the auxiliaries—coal and oil and that sort of tiling—ugly beggars, hut useful. Holw about a whisky and sodb?” Following him down the perpendicular ladder, he brought 111 c aft to ai holo in the deck, a small hole, a round 'hole, into which he proceeded to insert himself, first his long legs, then his broad shoulders—evidently by an artifice learned through much practice. Finally his jauntily capped head vanished, and thereafter from the deeps below his cheery voice reached me. I descended into a narrow chamber divided by a longish table and flanked l»y berths with a chest of drawers beneath each. At the further end of this somewhat small and dim apartment and north-easterly of the table was a small polished sltove wherein a fire burned; in a ruck against a bulkhead were some half-dozen rifles, above our head was a rack for cutlasses, and upon the table was a decanter which the commander had unearthed from some mysterious recess, and lie was very full of apologies beenus’e the soda had run out.

So we sat a while and quaffed and talked, during which he showed me a favourite rifle, small of bore but of high power and exquisite balance, at sight of which 1 straightway .broke the Tenth Commandment. He "also showed me a portrait of his wife (which I likewise admired), a picture taken by himself and by him developed! in some dark nook aboard,.

Alter a while we crawled! iqto the air again to find that we were approaching a certain jetty. And now, in the delicate manoeuvre of .bringing to and making fast the vessel, my companions, my Seif, and all else were utterly forgotten, as with voice and hand the commander issued order on order until, gently as a nestling bird, the destroyer came to her berth and was made fast. Hereupon, having •shaken hands all round, lie handed! us over to other naval men as cheery as he, who in due season brought us' to the depot ship, where luncheon awaited us.

I have dined in many places and have eaten with many different folk, but never have I enjoyed a meal moro than this, perhaps because of the padre who presided at my end of the table. A manly cleric this 1 , bright-eyed resolute of jaw, but humorous of mouth, whose white choker did not seem to offset the virilitv of him. A man, I judged, who preached little and did much—a sailor’s padre in very truth.

He told me how, but for an accident, he would have sailed with Admiral Craddock on his last ill-fated cruise, when so many died that right and justice might endure. “ Poor chaps!” said T. “Yes,” said lie, gently; “and yet it is surely a noble tiling to die greatly!” And surely, surely for all those who in cause do just have met death unflinchingly nn'd unafraid, who have taken hold upon that which we call life aina carried it through and -beyond l the portals of death into a sphere of nobler and greater living—surely to such as

these strong souls the Empire they 6erved so nobly and loved so truly will one day enshrine them, their memory and deed 3, on the brightest, moat glorious page of her history, which shall be a monument more enduring than brass or stone, a monument that shall never pass away. So we talked of ships and the sea and. of men until, aware that the company had risen, we rose also, and donning hats and coats, set forth, talking still. Together we paced beside dlocks and along piers that stretche away by the mile; massive structures of granite and concrete that had only come into being, so he told me, since the war. Bide by side we ascenxHed the broad gangway, and side by side we set foot upon the battle-scarred deck whose timbers here and there showed the /whiter patches of newer wood. Here he turned to give me his hand, after first writing down his name and address, and, with mutual wishes of meeting again, went to his duties and left me to the wonders of this great ship. Crossing the broad deck, more spacious it seemed than an ocean liner, I came where my travelling companions wero grouped about a grim memorial of the Jutland battle, a huge projectile that had struck one of the after-tur-rets, in the doing of which it had 1 transformed its'elf into a great convoluted disc, and was now mounted as a memento of that tremendous day.

And here it was that I -became acquainted with my midshipmite, who looked like an angel of sixteen, bore himself like a veteran, and spoke (when his shyness had worn off a little) like a British fighting man. To him I proffered the request that he would pilot me over this -great vessel, which he (blushing a little) very readiiv agreed to do. Thereafter, in his wake, I ascended stairways, climbed ladders, wriggled l through narrow spaces, writhed round awkward corners, up and ever up. “It’s rather awkward, I’m afraid, sir,” said he in his gentle voice, hanging from an iron ladder with one hand and /a foot the better to address me.

“You see,' we never bring visitors this

“Good!” said I, crushing my hat 011 firmer. “The unbeaten track for me—lofdcl on!”

Onward and upward he led, until all at once we reached a narrow platform, railed round and hung about with plaited rope screens, which lie called splinter-mats, over which I had a view cf land mud water, of ships and basins, - of miles of causeways and piers, none of which had been in existence before the war. And immediately below me, far, fa-r down, was the broad sweep of deck, with the forward turrets where were housed the great guns wliosle grim muzzles stared patiently upwards, nozzling tho alir almost as though scenting another battle. And, standing in this coign of vantage, in my mind’s eye I saw this mighty vessel as she. had been, the heave of the fa thornier sea below, the whirling battle smoke about her, the air full of the crashing thunder of guns as she quivered beneath their dlischa-Tge. I heard the humming drone of shells coming from afar, a hum that grew to a wail —a shriek —and the sickening crash as they smote her or threw up great water-spouts high as her lofty fighting topi; I seemed 1 to hear through it a.ll the ring of electric bells from the various ure-controls, and voices, calm and all unshaken by the uttering commands down the many speakingtubes. " And you,” said I, turning to the youthful figure beside me, “you were in tho battle?” He blushingly admitted that he was. “And how did you feel?” Ho wrinkled his smooth brow and laughed a little s'hyly. “Really, I—l hardly know, sir.” 1 asked him if at such times one was not inclined to feel a trifle shaken, a little nervous, or—might one say—afraidl? “Yes, sir,” he agreed, politely, “I suppose so; only, you see, we are all too jolly busy to think about it.” “ Oh !” said I, taking out a cigarette : “too ibus'y! Of course. I see. And Where is the captain during action, as a rule?” “As a matter of fact, lie stood just where you are, sir. Stood there the whole six hours it was hottest.” "Here!” I exclaimed. “But it is quite exposed.” My midshipmite, being a hardy veteran in world-shaking naival battles, permitted himself a smile. “ But, you see, sir,” he gently explained, “it’s really far safer out here than being shut up in a gun-turret or —down below, on account of er—or, you understand, sir?” “Oh, quite,” said I, and thereafter thought a while and, receiving his ready permission, lighted my cigarette. “ I think,” said I, as we prepared to descend from our lofty perch, “I’m sure it’s just—er—that kind of thing that brought one Francis Drake out of so very many tight corners. By the way, do you smoke?” My midshipmite blushingly confessed that lie did, and helped liimself from my case with self-conscious fingers. Reaching the main deck in duo season, I found that I had contrived to miss the chief gunner’s lecture on tho great guns, whereupon who so agitated and bitterly apologetic as m.y midshipmite, who there and then ushered me hastily down more awkward stairs and through narrow openings into a) place of glistening, gleaming polish and furbishment, where, beside the shining breech of a monster gun, muscular arm negligenty leaning thereon, stood a round-headed, broad-shouldered man, lie the presiding genius of this (a. 3 T afterwards found) most sacred place. His lecture was ended, and he was addressing a few well-chosen closing remarks in slightly bored' fashion (he had shown off his ponderous playthings to divers kings, potentates, and bigwigs at home and abroad, I learned), when I, though properly awed/ -by the gun, but more especially 'by the gunner, ventured to suggest that a. gun that had been through three engagements and had been fired 30 frequently must necessarily show sonic signs oif war. The gunner glanced at me, and I shall never forget that look. With his eyes on mine, he touched! a lever in negligent fashion, whereon silently the great breech slipped away with a hiss and whistle of air, and, with his gaze always fixed, lie suggested that I might glance down the bore. Obedientjv I stooped, whereupon he spoke in this wise : “If you cast your eyes to the right abaft the breech, you’ll observe slight darkening on riflin’s*. Now glancin’ t’ left of piece, you’ll per-oeive slight l darkening of riflin’s. Now casting your heyes right forra-rd, r-'ou’ll remark slight roughening of riflin’s towards muzzle of piece, and —there y’ are, sir. Ono hundred and twenty-seven times she’s been fired by my ’and, and good for as many more—both of us. Arternoon, gentlemen, and —thank ye.” Saving which, he touched a lever in the s’amo negligent fashion, the mighty nrecoh-block slid back into place, and T walked forth humbly into the outer air. Hero T took leave of my midshipmite, jwliicj stood among a crowd of ihis fellows to watch me down the gangplank, and I followed whither I was led, very

full of thought, as well I might | until, rousing, I found myself on | deck of the famous Warspite which< foe. 3 are do comfortably certain lie; shattered wreck off Jutland. Here presently fell to discourse with a i lieutenant with whom I went below« aloft ; he showed me the wonder ofl steering apparatus, and pointed tol small hand-wheel in the bowels oft huge ship whereby sin* had been stea limping into port. He directed mvgi si Iso to divers vast shell-holes and ra in her steel sides, now very net mended by steel plates held in pi by many large bolts. Wherever went were sailors, by the hundred seemed, and yet I was struck by i size «*4nd airy spaciousneA beti decks. “The strange tiling about the Ha said mr/ companion as we mountsi ward again, “is that lie is so amari ly accurate with his! big guns. As steamed into range he registereddit hits time after time, ahd hi, mi were iso close the spray was flying over us. Yes, Fritz is wonderfully curate, but”—here my compm paused to flick some dust from braided cuff —“ but when we begii knock him alxout a bit it was funny! it rattled him—quite funny, youki Hid shots got wider and wider, m they bvere falling pretty well a> I wide—very funny!” and the lieuten smiled dreamily. “Fritz will si magnificently if you only won’t sh back. But really I don’t blame I for thinking he’d sunk us. You < thero were six of ’£m potting away us at one time—couldn’t see us spray ” “And how did you feel just then? inquired. ‘.‘Oh, rotten! You see, I’d jami my finger in some tackle, for one thi and just then the light failed us;« have bagged the lot if the light I held a little longer. But next tin w*ho knows ? Care for a cup of “Thanks,” I answered; “butri aro tho others?” ' Oh, by Jove! I fancy yourpai gone—l’ll see!” This proving indeed tin* case, 11 force took my leave, and with a i shipman to guide me, presently step aboard a boat which bore us back neath the shadow of that mil bridge, s'tark now against the evei sky. Riding citywards through the decj ing twilight, J bethought me of midshipmite who amid the roar and mult of grim battle Iliad been 1 busy” to be afraid; of the round-* ed gunner who, like his gun, wasi* and eager lor more; and of the lieutenant who, with death in * arwful shapes shrieking and about him, felt “rotten” by reas* a bruised finger and failng light And hereupon I felt proud that! was a Briton, of tho s'anio breed these mighty ships and the RP» fellows who man them—these ke<| of the seas who in battle as in tenj do their duty unseen, unheard, bw it is their duty. Therefore, /ill who are so blestl live within these isles, take comfort courage from this—that, despiteij tempest and desperate battle. we,“ ing in the justice of our cause, iron men and mighty ships, may secure, since truly worthy are tj both sJhips and men, of ihc g<j traditions of the world’s most g' l * But as they do tlieir duty by n» and the Empire, let it b<* our m® able privilege as fellow-Ih'itons H our duty ns nobly both to the W and to them.—The '“Outlook, York.