RED VS. BLUE.
Within the last week the Dreadnought Boys had taken their first big
step upward. They entered Miller's Haven with their commissions on new,
crackly parchment, tucked over a pair of as proud and happy hearts as
there were in the navy.
Great had been their surprise, when, some four days before we
encountered them on the train for Miller's Haven, their commander,
Captain Dunham, of the Dreadnought _Manhattan_, had sent for them. Both
lads, as readers of other volumes of this series know, had already
gained high non-commissioned ratings.
Captain Dunham's unexpected summons had come on the eve of the
long-looked-for "siege" of New York harbor. The Red fleet to which the
_Manhattan_ had been commissioned as flagship, was to have the task
of attacking the harbor at the gates of Long Island Sound. The Blue
squadron was to have the defense of the port. Final arrangements for
the biggest naval war game of its kind ever attempted had been made,
with an attention to detail and probable actual conditions of a sea
attack on the harbor which was little short of marvelous.
With wireless, big guns, Argand signals, torpedoes and submarines every
effort was to be made to duplicate as perfectly as possible conditions
of a real attack. The newspapers had been carrying columns of copy
concerning the big war game, and public interest was wrought to its
highest pitch.
But it was in the navy itself that enthusiasm ran the highest.
Strategists from all over the world were to be present, and elaborate
precautions had been taken to insure Uncle Sam's carefully guarded
naval secrets from leaking out. In this connection, what practically
amounted to a Secret Service had been established, both on board the
great sea-fighters of the two squadrons and also at the twin forts,
Totten and Schuyler, which guard the Sound entrance to the East River
and the port of New York.
Such, as has been said, was the interesting eve of "hostilities" which
prevailed, when to Ned and Herc came the orders to report aft in the
commander's quarters at once.
The _Manhattan_ lay in the Brooklyn navy yard being groomed, like a
thoroughbred on the eve of a great race, for the important part she was
to play as the flagship of the Red fleet. Jackies, every one of them
with an alert and keen pride in his work, were dismantling and fitting
the big craft till everything about her grim, slate-colored hull was
attuned to the condition in which she would be placed were she actually
answering a summons to defend the Empire City from the invasion of a
foreign foe.
Captain Dunham sat in his cabin in the midst of a great pile of
documents of all kinds. The pictures and other objects usually to be
found adorning the commander's comfortable quarters were missing.
The cabin had been stripped and everything breakable packed away,
just as would have been the case had the _Manhattan_ been going to
steam out and engage an actual foe. This had been done so that the
earthquake-like shock and tremble of the mighty broadsides,--the grim
fangs of this sea bulldog,--might not work havoc with breakable things.
The two young non-commissioned officers were passed by the orderly
and then stood smartly at attention, trim heels together, bright eyes
looking straight in front of them till the commander looked up from
some departmental papers he was perusing.
During this interval they had time to notice that a tall, slender,
alertly-built man, with threads of gray in his dark hair, was seated
near the commander. He eyed the boys interestedly with the critical
air of a man who is in the habit of making swift appraisal of those
with whom he comes in contact.
His keen gray eyes swept the two well-built, clean-cut and
reliable-looking young sailors with a look that appeared to spell
approval. As a matter of fact, the assistant secretary of the navy,
for such was the office of Commander Dunham's companion, was deeply
interested in his inspection of the two lads of whom he had heard much.
It will be recalled that not long after they entered the service of
Uncle Sam and deeded their lives to the flag, Ned and Herc had had an
opportunity to distinguish themselves.
How they foiled a desperate plot against the navy, then assembled in
Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, at the naval base established there, and also
their conspicuous bravery in the panic that followed a disastrous
"flare-back" in a thirteen-inch turret, were told, with many other of
their adventures, in the first volume of this series, "The Dreadnought
Boys on Battle Practice."
In the next book, devoted to describing the lives of the spruce young
jack-tars of to-day on board the big, drab sea-fighters, we followed
the lads through a long siege of mystery and intrigue, intermingled
with plenty of stern fighting. This book was called "The Dreadnought
Boys Aboard a Destroyer."
Grim as the name of "destroyer" that she bore was the _Beale_; and when
she was despatched to South America with the duty of straightening
out a peculiar international tangle confronting her commander, the
boys were detailed to duty on board her. In the midst of a revolution,
involving the lives and property of American citizens, they played
their parts right well, and by a display of clever strategy turned a
defeat, which had seemed imminent to the interests amicable to the
Americans, into a brilliant victory. Readers of that volume will not
soon forget the defense of the hill, with the battery of machine guns
breathing flame and destruction from their iron throats.
"The Dreadnought Boys on a Submarine" showed an intimate picture of
naval life on a diving torpedo boat. In realistic detail all that
befell the lads on the surface and in the depths of old ocean was
related, and their many adventures were faithfully set forth. As in
previous chapters of their lives, the boys were not found wanting when
perils and dangers called for quick, decisive action and cool, alert
minds. In the submarine service they added new laurels to their already
growing fame, and moved up more steps on the long ladder of promotion.
When the navy department began its experiments with aeroplanes as
important auxiliaries to modern battleships, Ned and Herc were among
the first in the fleet to volunteer, although such service involved
the signing of a grim paper which absolved the government of all
responsibility for the naval aviator's life. As might be expected, the
lads found things by no means tame in the aero squad. Ned's great feat
of landing on a battleship,--a common enough maneuver now,--was long
talked of in the fleet after the boy had successfully made the first
attempt in the history of the world to accomplish such a thing.
Naturally, too, the boys who had worked so ambitiously for name and
fame had made enemies among small-minded and envious men. These foes
made things exciting for the lads for a time; but in the end both Ned
and Herc righted themselves and were vindicated from a severe charge
which had resulted from the machinations of those who disliked them.
This book, which was called "The Dreadnought Boys on Aero Service,"
teemed with incident and shifting scenes. Much attention was paid to
the manipulation and flying of modern aeroplanes, and the book was
instructive as well as interesting.
The famous "Round the World Cruise of the American Navy," a voyage that
will go down in history as one of the most effective demonstrations
of sea power ever made, formed the theme of the succeeding volume,
which was "The Dreadnought Boys' World Cruise." As petty officers of
the first rank, Ned and Herc found many opportunities to distinguish
themselves. Jack ashore is sometimes a difficult proposition to handle,
and Ned, as a non-commissioned officer, had much responsibility to
shoulder. In carrying out his duties he incurred the enmity of some of
those he had been obliged to discipline, and a thrilling adventure in
the pyramids of Egypt was the result.
Then, too, Ned and Herc met with many other experiences in the various
countries the fleet visited, including a laughable predicament on the
Rock of Gibraltar, when, through the stupidity of an over-officious
British army sergeant, they were compelled to spend some hours in a
dungeon excavated in the rock. Herc solved the problem of escape and
unlocked the dungeon doors by means of wig-wagged signals to the fleet,
lying at anchor below the rock.
And now you are better acquainted with Ned Strong and Herc Taylor,
and can understand, by perusal of the preceding long but necessary
digression, just why it was that they were admired and loved by their
shipmates and respected by their officers; and why, too, Captain Dunham
should have singled them out for the duty to which he was about to
assign them.