Fe 
“7 Se ee ee ee one Se |! ee ao ee. 
June 1, 1917. 
MAKING A SAILOR 
BS FS 
A Sertar, Story oF Actua, Lire IN 
THe U.S. Navy as ToD at, THE 
Boston Navy YArpD. 
Synopsis of Previous Chapters. 
William Woods and Samuel Worthing- 
ton, two New Hampshire boys came to the 
Boston Navy Yard to enlist in the Naval 
Reserve and the Regular Navy. William 
Woods joins the Reserve. He is stationed 
on the Virginia, while Worthington goes 
to Newport, R. I., to the Naval Training 
base there, 
CHAPTER V. 
Two weeks of training made a 
wonderful change in William Woods. 
From the raw recruit, the boy de- 
veloped into a sailor—a credit to the 
Reserve and Navy. The daily drill 
and setting up exercises straightened 
his back, and the maze of intricate 
things about a battleship no longer 
were a puzzle. 
The “pipe down” from the morn- 
-ing’s first work had just sounded 
when an orderly handed to the officer 
on the watch a notice which apparent- 
ly came from headquarters. It was 
assigning several of the men to active 
duty on the patrol motor fleet. <A 
buzz of excitement spread about, each 
man hoping and wondering if he had 
been the lucky one to be drawn on the 
unit which was needed to scour the 
waters of Massachusetts Bay. 
To his great surprise, Bill heard 
his name called and overjoyed. with 
his sudden fortune he stepped for- 
ward briskly for the assignment. He 
was detailed to report to the officer 
-in charge at Pier 4, where the motor 
boat squadron was moored. He was 
assigned he was told, to special duty. 
What this service was formed 
foundation of considerable specula- 
tion among the boys who had been 
selected for the work. All realized 
it was some special service, but what 
1one could guess. 
At the Pier the air of mystery still 
prevailed. The boys were shipped 
aboard one of the handsome gray pa- 
trol boats whose speed is one of its 
features. All the afternoon the crew 
busied themselves about the new 
craft. Some supplies were stored and 
everything placed in readiness. It 
was evening, however, before the lieu- 
tenant in charge of the boat appeared 
with instructions to get immediately 
under way. All was activity in a 
moment. The machinist started the 
engine. The lines were cast off, and 
the boat churned her way out from 
the float. All the men were armed. 
It was rumored mischief of some sort 
was brewing on the waterfront. 
On the way down the harbor, the 
men were acquainted with the duty 
they were on, Each was instructed 
. posed venture. 
the. 
NORTH SHORE BREEZE and Reminder 
THE FARMER AND THE 
FOODSTER 
HE farmer wiped his weeping 
eyes and paused upon the plain 
where he was ploughing with a 
mule, likewise. with might and main. 
He paused beneath a shady tree, 
where it was nice and cool, and as 
he rested there awhile he thus ad- 
dressed his mule:—‘‘Say, Mose, you 
are too ignorant to understand this 
war and know, as well as you know 
oats, what they are fighting for; 
and, Mose, you ought to be dern 
glad you only have to haul this 
plough around and do not know 
the horrors of it all. They’re awful, 
Mose, I tell you that, but there are 
thing as bad, and one of them, the 
worst, I guess, is what makes me 
dern sad. There ain’t much use to 
talk to you, though you are safe to 
trust, but,- Mose, it’s in my system 
so I’ve got to talk or bust. This 
horror that’s been after me for days 
and days and days is people, Mose, 
that don’t know shucks but tells 
me what to raise. They pass it out 
in talk and print till I don’t know 
what’s what, and anything that I 
can raise, they say I’d better not. 
No two’s alike, and if I tried to 
do their crazy bits, by hokey, Mose, 
—you’d drop the plough and go to 
throwing fits. I guess, perhaps, 
they think they know, and want to 
do all right, but if they keep on 
pestering me I’ll git so mad I’ll 
fight.’’ The farmer wiped his weep- 
ing eyes and moved out of the cool. 
‘«Say, Mose,’’ he sobbed, ‘‘ you ought 
to be dern glad that you’re a mule.”’ 
W. J. LAMPTON. 
to say nothing regarding their pro- 
They were merely 
informed that a boat was being re- 
constructed which they must watch, 
and the moment she started out they 
were to overtake her. 
The sound of men at work came 
wafting over the water from the re- 
pair shop at which the patrol boat 
finally landed after a long run through 
the deepening fog. The was quietly 
made. The officer in charge made a 
careful survey of the premises, and 
ordered the craft moored a short dis- 
tance from the place and were just 
visable. A watch was set and those 
not called for the deck were told they 
could turn in as noiselessly as possi- 
ble. The watch ‘remained on deck 
until day break, when the boat cast 
off, and made away from the locality. 
The craft they had been watching was 
still unprepared, evidently, for the 
sea. 
For over a week, this same routine 
was followed. It was nervous work 
at best, and the boys often got uneasy 
waiting and watching ceaselessly for 
some movement on the part of their 
quarry. Once in a while they were 
allowed to drop a line overboard and 
her crew 
19 
fish. to break the monotony of the 
watch, and to allay suspicion. They 
were without their uniforms, the ex- 
pedition being conducted secretly. 
On an afternoon of the second week 
the expected event occurred. It was 
evident from where the boys lay 
watching the craft that she was about 
to be launched. Workmen could be 
seen leaving the boat, and much ex- 
citement appeared to be rife about 
the vicinity of the craft. Suddenly 
a man appeared with a large mallet, 
and knocked away a stay beneath the 
boat, and she started to slide into the 
water of the harbor. 
Needless to say the watch on the 
boat was kept more close than ever 
after she was in the water. There 
was some other fittings to put in her, 
these were hurriedly completed, and 
on the evening of the third day, it 
was apparent that she was soon to 
put to sea. That evening a United 
States Marshall and two Deputies 
came out in another boat, and joined 
the crew of the motor patrol. It was 
evident that something was soon to 
be done. 
After darkness had fairly settled, 
the minutes seemed to drag. It. was 
not long, but it seemed hours to the 
boys, before they heard the chug-chug’ 
of the engine in the suspicious boat 
and the hum of voices aboard her. 
All hands knew then she was bound 
out, and the chase would soon be on. 
It was an unequal race, in a way, for 
the patrol boat built for speed made 
short work of overhauling the pur- 
sued boat. It was a brief race, how- 
ever, the crew of the motor patrol 
felt the exhilaration of adventure. It 
was not believed the crew of the craft 
ahead of them would attempt resist- 
ance, but in case of emergency, the 
boys had been ordered to have their 
small arms at hand, and they were 
alert to any emergency. 
Once alongside the suspicious craft. 
was ordered to heave to. 
This they did with alacrity. They 
had been taken completely by sur- 
prise. They held up their hands while 
the officers with drawn guns boarded 
her. Three men comprised this crew. 
The boat had been fitted with a big 
winch over a hole in the bottom of 
the craft, such as used by cable boats. 
This much the boys saw, and when 
Bill was placed as guard, he noted the 
details of the craft as he sat by the 
captives, who were silent and gloomy. 
The motor patrol boat escorted the 
captured craft to the docks of the 
Custom House, where the men were 
taken by the officers to the detention 
room, and held pending a further ex- 
amination. 
(To be continued) 
