132 



THE XATTOXAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZTXE 



EVEN IN THE; ROUGHEST WEATHER IT CONSTANTLY WAS NECESSARY FOR THE SHIPS 

 TO CO ALONGSIDE EACH OTHER AT SEA TO TRANSFER 

 SWEEP-GEAR OR BUOY MATERIAL 



All hands were required to wear life-preservers, on account of the danger of being washed 



overboard by a mine explosion. 



to rig out their sweeps. It seemed incred- 

 ible that they could actually be working, 

 as they perched for a moment on the crest 

 of a wave, then disappeared almost from 

 sight, as they slid into the hollows of the 

 seas, pitching and rolling sometimes as 

 much as fifty degrees each side of the 

 vertical. 



Still the work continued. The nights 

 were even worse than the days, for then 

 it was necessary to lie to, trying, some- 

 times vainly, to keep a tiny marker buoy 

 in sight by playing a flickering search- 

 light on it, as the ship lurched to and 

 fro, for it was imperative we should know 

 our position in the morning. 



THE DAY OE DAYS 



But at last our efforts were rewarded. 

 That day of days came — the day which 

 had at first seemed almost beyond attain- 

 ment. And what a sight it was! The 

 Patuxent had planted the last buoy, mark- 



ing the goal of our ambition ; and as the 

 sweepers, pair by pair, steamed past it 

 and slipped sweep for the last time, the 

 exultation of the victorious conquest of 

 an invisible enemy burst forth in whole- 

 hearted cheers from every officer and 

 man. 



Whistles and sirens, too, were opened 

 wide, while a wireless operator with a 

 humorous turn coupled a phonograph to 

 the radio-telephone and regaled the fleet 

 with the welcome strains of "Home, 

 Sweet Home !" 



During the last two weeks 864 square 

 miles of the barrage had been reswept to 

 make absolutely certain that the work had 

 been thoroughly done. \\ here approxi- 

 mately 35.000 mines had been anchored a 

 few months prior, not a single one could 

 now be found, except in one small pocket 

 which had been skipped and was marked 

 by buoys to enable it to be cleared on this 

 final operation. 



