CHAPTER X.
NED HOLDS HIS COUNSEL.
The chief boatswain's mate was a far more awe-inspiring officer, in theboys' eyes, than any they had so far met. They both knew enough of thenavy to realize that he and his subordinate were the class of pettyofficer with whom they would come most in contact during their earlyperiod of enlistment.
This dignitary on the _Manhattan_ was a fierce-looking personage, butthe boys were to learn that as the sailors say, his "bark was worsethan his bite."
"Hum, recruits," he said as he looked the two boys over.
"He certainly is giving us a sizing-up," whispered Herc.
The ears of the boatswain's mate were sharper than the boys hadimagined.
"Yes, I _am_ sizing you up," he said with emphasis. "I'm thinking thatyou look like pretty good material."
"We mean to do our best, sir," rejoined Ned.
"That's right. That sort of ambition will carry you far. But are younot the two boys who fell overboard a short time ago?"
"I fell, and he jumped after me," corrected Herc.
"How did it happen? An accident, wasn't it?"
"Not exactly an accident," rejoined Ned.
"What then? You mean it was done on purpose?"
"I'm afraid so," was the quiet reply.
"Who did it?"
"We would prefer not to say now, sir," replied Ned in the samerepressed tone.
"You mean you intend to attend to the matter in your own way?"
"Something like that," admitted Ned.
The officer looked sharply at him.
"It is my duty to warn you, my lad, that all such matters should beconfided to your superior officer, and you should abide by his advice.However, unless you commit some breach of discipline, I have no concernin the affair. I must tell you, however, that I heard from some ofthe men that Kennell had something to do with it. Is he the man yoususpect of causing the trouble?"
"I had rather not say," rejoined Ned quietly.
"Very well, as you wish it; only recollect what I have told you. Now,follow me, and we will look over your quarters. Of course, you arefamiliar with hammock-slinging, and all that appertains to it?"
Herc rubbed his head with a grin.
"I've got some bumps here yet that serve to remind me of my firstefforts to climb into one."
"Answer me 'yes' or 'no,' please; do not try to say anything more."
"I was just explaining," muttered Herc, not heeding Ned's warning look.
They were soon assigned two places, side by side, in which they mightsling their hammocks. The space devoted to the jackies' sleepingquarters was well forward under the superstructure and lighted byelectric lights. It was well ventilated, and aisles of steel pillarsran in every direction. From these the hammocks were slung.
"I will now show you something of the ship, so that you may be familiarwith your floating home," said the boatswain's mate; "follow me."
"I wish he'd show us some supper," whispered Herc. "I'm about as emptyas a dry well."
"Never mind," rejoined Ned; "we shall soon be summoned to eat, Iexpect."
The boatswain's mate took them through much the same maze ofsteel-walled passages and heavy doors as had the messenger. Afterdescending three decks and traversing the stern of the ship, they wereshown the mighty tiller and the mechanical apparatus connecting withthe wheel-house, where the steam-steering gear was installed. Then theywere hurried along forward. Not, however, before the officer had shownthem the emergency steam-steering gear, far below the water-line, whichcould be used in case a shot disabled the guiding apparatus above decks.
Forward they were conducted up steel steps onto the gun deck, andthence to a passage under the bridge and chart room, from which theyemerged onto the edge of a sort of steel "well," sunk immediately belowthe center of the bridge.
"There are the fire-controls," said the officer, pointing down into the"well" at a lot of shapeless apparatus swathed in heavy, waterproofcloth. "We keep the range-finders and other apparatus covered while weare in port or in a damp climate."
"The fire-controls?" echoed Herc, with half a suspicion that hisunfortunate head was coming in as the subject of more joking. But itwas not, as the next remark of the boatswain's mate showed him.
"The gunnery officer is seated in that well, with two orderlies, atbattle practice, or in actual warfare," he explained. "He is screenedthere from the enemy's fire; but, through narrow slits cut in thesteel, he sees what is going on about him, and telegraphs the range anddirects the fire. His commands are transmitted to the gun-control roomelectrically, and thence to the turrets."
The boys listened with deep interest.
"We will now go below again and look at the gun-control room," said theboatswain's mate, as he trotted off once more.
"He must be made of the same material as the ship," groaned Herc, asthe two boys followed him.
As before, they traversed innumerable passages, passing severalofficers on the way, whom they, of course, saluted. In each case thesalutation was returned by a brief touch of the officer's fingers tohis cap rim.
"If you'd ever get lost here, you could wander round for a week withoutfinding your way out," grumbled Herc.
"Not much chance," laughed their guide; "every part of the ship, hugeas it is, is visited at least once a day by some officer. Not a corneris allowed to escape notice."
Suddenly the boatswain's mate plunged downward through a very narrowsquare opening, which seemed almost too small to admit his body.
The boys followed, though for a moment they had been quite startled athis sudden disappearance.
"This is a part of the ship no stout man can ever hope to penetrate,"said their guide, as he clambered down a steel ladder, which theopening, through which he had crawled, led to.
"I should say not," muttered Herc, squeezing through. "It doesn't speakvery much for navy food," he added to himself, "if all the sailors cansqueeze through such a place as this."
At the bottom of the ladder they found themselves in a small chamber,looking not unlike the central office of a telephone exchange. It wasquite hot, owing to its proximity to the boiler room.
Everywhere wires ran, with head-pieces, like those worn by operators,dangling from them. Small bells were affixed to the steel bulkhead, anda system of tiny signal lights was arranged above them.
"This is the place from which the fire is directed after the commandshave been sent from the fire-control well," explained their guide. "Asyou see, it works like a telephone exchange. In action, an officer andfour men are stationed here to attend to the signals."
"Are we under the water-line now?" asked Ned breathlessly.
"We are now twenty feet below the surface of the river," replied theboatswain's mate.
"Then, if the ship was sunk in action, the men down here would notstand a chance to escape?" queried Ned.
"No; they probably would not know that the ship had been struck tillthey saw the water come pouring in on them."
"Say, Ned," whispered Herc.
"What?"
"There's one job in the navy that I don't want."
"What is that?"
"To be stationed down here."
"No danger of that," laughed Ned. "Only the most expert of thecrew--men to whom gunnery is a science, are assigned to these posts."
A visit to the wireless room, which was set snugly in thesuperstructure between the two forward and the two after funnels,completed the lads' tour of their new home.
"Now, I have done all I can for you," remarked the boatswain's mate, ashe parted from the boys on the forward deck, "the rest lies in your ownhands. The only part of the ship you have not seen is the magazines. Asthere are two and one-half million dollars' worth of explosives storedthere, we naturally keep them private."
Lounging about with the other tars on the forward deck the boys foundtheir friend, Tom Marlin. He had already heard about the accidentwhich had resulted in Herc's involuntary immersion and Ned's voluntaryducking.
/> "I'm glad that you boys kept your heads," he said, after the boys hadrecounted their experiences and suspicions to him; "the 'old man' isvery much averse to fighting; although on some of the ships of thefleet they allow the men to meet under proper conditions and fight outtheir grievances with boxing gloves."
"We have no intention of letting Kennell go unpunished, though,"promised Ned indignantly. "Why, for all he knew, he might have drownedHerc here."
"You'd better steer clear of Kennell," warned another sailor, who hadcome up with three companions at this moment; "he's a dangerous man,and could eat both you kids for breakfast, without sauce or salt."
"I'm not so sure of that," breathed Ned truculently, smarting underthe sense of the mean trick that had been played on his friend; "and,perhaps, before this cruise is over, he may have a chance to try."
This conversation took place on the forward deck, in the short lounginginterval allowed the sailors between afternoon "setting-up" drill, andthe supper bugle, which is sounded at 5:30.
As Ned voiced his intention of squaring things up at some future time,the brisk notes of the summons to the evening meal cut short furthertalk, and as the chiming of "three bells" mingled with the bugle'snotes, the jackies descended on the mess-tables like a flight oflocusts on a wheatfield. They were served with cold roast ham, potatosalad, boiled potatoes, canned peaches, bread and butter, and steamingtea.
"Ah," sighed Herc, as his nostrils dilated under the odors ofappetizing food, and his eye fell on the long rows of tables, spreadwith plates, knives and forks, with a cup at each man's elbow, "this isa lot more interesting to me right now than all the underground subwaysin the navy."
The Dreadnought Boys on Battle Practice Page 10
