CHAPTER XVI
AN ACCIDENT
The _Kennebunk_ shook throughout her structure at that moment and Ikeydarted for the between-decks ladder.
"Another submarine!" he shouted. "Oi, oi!"
"Hold on!" drawled Frenchy. "Nothing like it. There goes another. Theyare at practice. The target's in range."
The four Seacove boys had seen something of gun practice on thedestroyer _Colodia_; but the secondary batteries of the smaller vesselmade no such racket as did the big guns of the _Kennebunk_.
The discharge of a turret gun aboard the superdreadnaught was animportant matter, and a costly one as well. The gun crews practiced allthe movements save the actual discharge of the guns every day. To burnup several hundred pounds of powder and fire away the expensiveprojectiles in rehearsal was a serious matter.
The gun crew that had made a clean hit on the submarine with its firstshell, had already shown what value practice shooting was. The highstandard of the gunnery in our Navy pays for all it costs.
These gunners had practiced at the schools and on other vessels beforebeing assigned to the superdreadnaught. No matter how much good powderand shot had already been flung away in training that particular crew ofTurret Number Two, the sinking of the German submarine had paid for itall.
Whistler and Torry did not, of course, actually fire the gun. The guncaptain did that. But the exact team work of the crew had much to dowith the score of the gun in target practice; and the two friends didtheir work commendably.
There was a sharp lookout kept during target practice for othersubmarines. The disappearance of the first periscope which had beenhailed from the masthead was the cause of much discussion. It wasgenerally believed that this first submarine had wisely made off whenits sister ship was so promptly sunk by the battleship.
Frenchy and Ikey almost burst from their desire to tell what they knewabout the mystery. But they did not dare.
It had been a lesson which the two mischief-loving boys would not easilyforget. While the whole ship's company was watching the imitationperiscope Frenchy and Ikey had slipped overboard through the ash-chute,the real submarine might have torpedoed the _Kennebunk_.
The score of each gun crew was transmitted to Washington by favor ofthe auxiliary steamer which towed the target, and she disappearedcoastward just at sunset. The superdreadnaught was under orders toproceed on a southerly course, and parallel with the coast, for someconsiderable distance. She was doing outside patrol duty on this, herfirst real cruise.
Men and officers were first of all expected to get used to each otherand to the ship. This familiarity could only come about through drillsand practice work in every branch. The men must have confidence in theirofficers, and the officers know their men thoroughly before thecommander could feel that he had a smoothly working ship's company.
The excitement caused by the first blow struck at the enemy and thesuccessful target practice that followed would not soon wear off. Andboth incidents helped the morale of the crew.
Almost every enlisted man showed delight in his face. Only Hans Hertigdisplayed a woful countenance. The solemnity of the boatswain's mateattracted even Ensign MacMasters' attention.
"What's the matter with you, Hans?" he demanded of the petty officer.
It was difficult to get any explanation out of Seven Knott; but finallythe tale of the ghostly "clock" on the lower deck was blurted out bythe superstitious petty officer.
"What do you mean, a ghost?" growled the ensign. "Don't let me hear ofyour repeating such nonsense, Hertig. Let me tell you it will interferewith your advance in rating if you do circulate the story. I'll take thematter up with Captain Trevor if I hear anything more about it."
But it was impossible to stop the circulation of such a story onshipboard. Rumor flies from deck to deck on wings. A hint of the strangenoise below decks made others besides Seven Knott investigate. Manydeclared they heard the "tick-tock" sound.
There never was a crew at sea yet in which some of its members were notsuperstitious. Seven Knott was not the only one troubled by the ghostlyclock. Stories of haunted ships became common among certain groups ofseamen and marines during the hours off duty.
To most of the boys and enlisted men it was all a huge joke;nevertheless there were enough of the crew really superstitious for thetale of the clock-ticking sound to interfere with the general morale ofthe ship's company.
The chief master-at-arms finally made what he deemed a thoroughinvestigation of the report. But it was evident that he had made up hismind to counteract the influence of the strange sound upon the men bydenying its existence.
This, of course, did no good at all. The men, or, at least, some ofthem, could hear the "tick-_tock_! tick-_tock_! tick-_tock_!" forthemselves. Those who wandered into the room where the lumber was stowedwere strongly impressed by the unexplained sounds. By and by the men asa rule fought shy of entering that part of the ship.
When Whistler was told by Frenchy and Ikey that they had first heard the"ghost-clock" after the subsiding of the storm, he declared it to benonsense, pure and simple.
"Don't you fellows forget the scare we all got aboard the _Graf vonPosen_ over that old lead coffin in her hold? I should think you wouldknow better than to circulate such yarns about the ship," he declared insome heat.
"We didn't say a word about it," Frenchy denied. "Only to you and Torry.Seven Knott started the row, not us."
"And he ought to be keelhauled for it," growled Torry.
Nothing would satisfy Frenchy and Ikey, however, until Phil and Al wentdown with them to listen to the strange sound themselves. It was there,all right. When their ears became used to the steady thumping of theengines, they were able to distinguish the clock-like noise.
"It's some trick," declared Torrance, with conviction. "Sure you chapshaven't started a joke on us?"
"No joke!" denied Ikey.
"We've sworn off practical jokes," joined in Frenchy earnestly.
"Huh! what's the matter with you?" sniffed Torry suspiciously. "Why thiseleventh-hour conversion?"
But the two smaller fellows refused to be "drawn." They merelyreiterated that they knew nothing about the cause of the ghostly sound.The four overhauled all the stowed tackle and lumber in the compartment,but found nothing but a locked carpenter's chest that was too heavy tomove. And the noise did not seem to come from that.
"It's in the air--it's all about us," declared Whistler seriously."I doubt if the source of the noise is in this room at all; it issomewhere near and by some freak of acoustics the sound is heard moreplainly in this place."
"You can try to explain it as you will," returned Torry. "It's mightymysterious."
"'Mysterious' is no name for it," said Frenchy. "It'll be more than thatbefore all's said and done. By St. Patrick's piper that played the lastsnake out of Ireland! some of these garbies are getting blue around thegills already."
"Laugh at them," commanded Whistler. "We're Americans. We ought not tohave a superstitious bone in our bodies."
"Arrah!" grunted Frenchy. "I don't know rightly that it's me bones thatare superstitious. But that 'tick-tock' gives me the creeps, just thesame."
In a week the bulk of the _Kennebunk's_ crew were keeping strictly awayfrom the compartment on the lower deck from which came the strangesound. In addition, a run of small accidents broke out which seemed tothe minds of many of the crew to assure that the ship was doomed to badluck.
"The ship is haunted," continued to be whispered from division todivision. The sternness of the petty officers could not halt thespreading feeling.
"How about our very first gun sinking a submarine?" demanded PhilipMorgan of one group.
"Oh, that was just a chance," was the reply.
"Hump!" said Whistler with disgust. "I have an idea the old _Kennebunk_is going to be blessed with similar chances."
There followed, however, a really serious accident. A pipe in the boilerroom burst, and several men were scalded, one so badly that the ship'ssurg
eons declared he must be transported to a shore hospital as soon aspossible.
The operation of skin grafting could not be performed successfully onshipboard, and nothing else would save the unfortunate victim of theaccident from having a terribly disfigured face.
Many of the man's shipmates would gladly have aided by giving patches ofhealthy skin for the benefit of the patient; but the operation was toodelicate to be undertaken on the battleship, and the healing of theunfortunate man would be too tedious.
After communicating with the Navy Department by wireless, Captain Trevordecided to send the steam runner into Hampton Roads with the injuredman, while the battleship continued her southerly course in compliancewith her orders.
The steam-screw tender of the _Kennebunk_ was a good sized craft andperfectly seaworthy. They were too far from shore to trust a motor boat;and to use one of the big whaleboats under sail would take too long.
The derrick swung the big boat overside, and she was lowered into thesea as lightly as though she were a featherweight. Meanwhile EnsignMacMasters was assigned to her command and he had the privilege ofpicking his crew to suit himself.
The steamer mounted a gun forward and one aft. To the delight of Philand Al, the ensign chose them as members of the gun crews.
Immediately Frenchy and Ikey clamored to be taken, too. EnsignMacMasters without doubt displayed favoritism at this time. Heacquiesced in the desires of the two younger boys from Seacove.
"I suppose you would pine away and refuse your chow if you wereseparated from Morgan and Torrance," the ensign said laughingly. "Getyour hammock-rolls and go aboard. I'll fix it with the executiveofficer."
So, when the steamer started from the towering side of the battleship,the four Navy boys were members of her crew, and likely to experience avariety of adventures.
Navy Boys Behind the Big Guns; Or, Sinking the German U-Boats Page 16
