THE AMMUNITION FACTORY EXPLOSIONS
"Oh, I do hope Mary is safe!" cried Martha Rover, as she and the
others ran toward where the automobiles which had brought them over to
Colby Hall from the girls' boarding school were standing.
"So far those explosions haven't reached Clearwater Hall," answered
her brother Jack. "But there is no telling what a real heavy explosion
may do."
"That's just it!" burst out his cousin Randy. "For all we know, those
Hasley people may have a large quantity of TNT or some other high
explosive stored there, and if that should go up--good-night!"
"It would be fierce!"
"I think it's awful to allow those ammunition people to have their
works so close to a town," was Ruth Stevenson's comment.
_Boom! Boom!_
Two more explosions rent the air. Then followed a series of poppings
like the discharge of a machine gun.
"Those must be some of the small shells going off," said Andy. "Gosh,
what a shame they couldn't have held this back until the Fourth of
July!" he added. Andy would probably have wanted to joke at his own
funeral.
The Rovers and their girl friends were soon seated in the automobiles
which they had used earlier in the day to bring the girls to Colby
Hall. With them went as many of the other cadets and their friends as
could pile into the machines or hang fast to the running boards. All
of the ball players went in their baseball outfits, not taking time to
change to their uniforms.
The Rovers and their friends were among the first to leave the
military institution, and for this reason they got away without any
trouble. They had scarcely departed when Captain Mapes Dale, the
military instructor attached to the school, appeared and forbade any
more of the cadets to leave the grounds.
"There is no telling how dangerous those explosions may become," said
Captain Dale, "and Colonel Colby thinks it is best that you remain
here where it is comparatively safe. Even as it is, we may have some
big shells coming this way."
The Hasley Shell Loading Company had been located on the opposite
shore of Clearwater Lake for a number of years previous to the opening
of the war in Europe. But at that time it had been only a small
concern, employing but a handful of men. A year after the opening of
hostilities, however, the plant had been enlarged, and now, since the
entrance of the United States into the war, the force of workmen had
been again doubled and many additional buildings had been erected,
some along the lake front and others in the hills further back. A spur
of the railroad had also been built to the plant, and on this were
numerous cars, all painted to show the dangerous nature of the freight
they were destined to carry.
On two different occasions the Rover boys and their chums had rowed
over to the vicinity of the shell-loading works to look at what was
going on. Guards around the works, however, had kept them from landing
or even getting within a reasonable distance of the place. This, they
knew, was done because the authorities feared that some spies might
try to get into the buildings with a view to blowing them up.
"Gee, that certainly sounds like war!" cried Andy, as the explosions
continued. There was a continual popping of small shells, punctured
every now and then by a decidedly heavier explosion.
"My gracious! Look at that!" burst out Jack a moment later.
What the oldest Rover boy referred to was a curious explosion of a
quantity of shells which seemed to go up in the form of an immense
sheaf of wheat. Thousands of small objects filled the air, flying off
in all directions of the compass.
"I'll bet we'll get some of those over here!" exclaimed Gif Garrison,
who was clinging to the running board of the machine.
And he was right. Only a few seconds later several small bits of metal
came down around them, two striking the hood of the automobile and one
falling into the tonneau on Ruth's lap.
It did not take those in the automobile long to cover the half mile
which lay between them and Haven Point, where the railroad station was
located. Here they found the town people in great excitement, and
learned that steps were already being taken to care for any of the
workmen who might be injured by the explosions.
"Of course we have no idea yet how many people have been killed or
wounded," declared a policeman who gave the cadets this information.
"We are all upset because we don't know how bad the explosions may
get. If they don't get any worse than they have been, we'll be
thankful."
The cadets and their girl friends did not remain long in Haven Point.
All were anxious to get to Clearwater Hall, to learn if that place was
much damaged. The girls' school was directly opposite the
shell-loading plant, and consequently more liable to suffer than the
town or Colby Hall.
"Look at them getting away from that place, will you?" cried Fred, who
had come as far as Haven Point on another automobile and then had
rejoined his cousins. He pointed to the lake, where a number of
rowboats and other craft were leaving the vicinity of the explosions.
"You can't blame them for wanting to get away," returned Jack. "It may
mean life or death to them."
"Oh, I hope nobody has been killed!" murmured Ruth.
"I'm afraid, Ruth, that's too much to expect," answered Jack soberly.
"Oh, I just think war is too horrible for anything!" cried out Alice
Strobell, who was along.
"I just wish they could sink all those Germans in their old
submarines!" declared Annie Larkins who was also in the crowd.
"I guess we'd all be willing to subscribe to that!" cried Randy.
"You just wait until Uncle Sam gets into this scrap," declared Jack.
"We'll show 'em what's what!"
"How I wish I could go to the front," said Andy wistfully. "It would
beat going to school all hollow."
"Now that we've gone into the war, we'll have an army over there
before long," said Spouter. "I suppose they'll send some of the
regulars over first, and then some of the national guard--of course
taken into the regular army--and after that we'll have the volunteers.
I suppose if Uncle Sam really wanted to do it, he could get together
several million men without half trying. And with an army like that,
properly trained and equipped, and transported to the battlefields of
Europe, we shall be sure to make a showing which will throw terror
into the hearts of----"
"Hurrah! Spouter is off again," broke in Randy.
"Say, Spout! they ought to send you to the front to help talk the Huns
to death," put in Andy. "Talk about gas and gas masks----"
"Aw say! you're always butting in when I've got something to say,"
growled the lad who loved to talk.
There might have been a little friction right then and there, but
another explosion came from across Clearwater Lake, and all stopped to
gaze at the thick volume of yellowish-black smoke which rolled
directly toward them.
"The wind must be shifting," declared Jack, for all of the smoke
heretofore had rolled up the lake shore.
"It's too bad it is coming this way," said Ruth. "Miss Garwood
declares that a good deal of smoke from such shells is poisonous."
Miss Garwood was the head of the school for girls, and likewise an
authority in chemistry.
The road was filled with automobiles going and coming, and Randy had
all he could do to send the machine along without getting into some
sort of collision. The heavy smoke continued to roll across the lake,
and soon they were in the midst of this. It had a curious pungent odor
to it, which set them to sneezing and coughing.
"No fun in this, I must say," declared Jack. The girls all had their
handkerchiefs to their faces, and May Powell looked as if she was
getting sick.
In a minute more they came within sight of Clearwater Hall, a large
structure setting back in well-kept grounds. There were numerous
bushes and flowers and quite a number of fair-sized trees.
Several automobiles had reached the school ahead of them so the scene
was one of animation. Town people, as well as scholars from the
Hixley High School, mingled with the cadets and the girls from
Clearwater Hall.
"Go on in and find Mary," said Jack to his sister. "Tell her we are
here to help her in case anything happens."
Martha rushed off, followed by Ruth, and the two soon located Fred's
sister. She was in a rear room of the school, along with a number of
the other pupils and one of the assistant teachers.
"Oh, I'm so glad you've come!" declared Mary Rover. "What a dreadful
thing this is getting to be!"
"I suppose it has made your head ache worse than ever," said Martha
sympathetically.
"No, strange to say, it's just the other way around," declared Fred's
sister, with a faint smile. "Those explosions seemed to have shocked
the headache all away."
Mary was glad to join the others, and the Rovers and their friends
proceeded to one of the reception rooms of the school. In the meantime
the explosions across the lake continued, but seemed to be gradually
dying down.
"It looks to me as if the worst was over," remarked Fred, after there
had been comparative silence for fully a quarter of an hour.
"Say, I'm going down to the lake front to see what's doing," declared
Randy, a little later. "Perhaps we can be of some assistance."
"That's the talk! We can't do anything more here," returned his twin.
"Let's all go down!" cried Jack. "We ought to be able to do something
for those poor workmen who have been hurt." And then, turning to Ruth,
he continued: "If there are any more big explosions and this place
seems to be in danger, we'll be back."
"Oh, Jack! I don't want you to run into any danger down at the lake
shore," said the girl, looking at him pleadingly with her big brown
eyes.
"I guess we'll be able to take care of ourselves," he answered
lightly. But it pleased him a great deal to have Ruth so full of
consideration for him.
Leaving their automobiles in the school grounds, the Rovers and their
chums left the place, crossed the highway, and followed the footpath
leading down to the Clearwater Hall boathouse. Here they found only a
few people congregated, the heavy-rolling clouds of smoke keeping a
good many away.
"Not very pleasant here," was Gif Garrison's comment, after the smoke
had made him cough. "I don't think I'm going to stay."
"Neither am I," said Spouter. And presently he and quite a few others
left, leaving the four Rovers to themselves.
"You know what I've got an idea of doing?" declared Jack. "Why not get
out one of the Clearwater Hall boats and row over a little closer to
that place? We may be able to be of some assistance to some of the
workmen."
The others were willing, and soon a large rowboat was brought out,
with two pairs of oars, and the four Rovers manned it and sent it well
out into the lake.
"We've got to keep our eyes open in this smoke," declared Jack. "It's
worse than a fog."
"You're right there," returned Randy. "If some of those poor
chaps----"
_Boom!_
Another terrific explosion cut short what he was saying. The very
water under the rowboat seemed to shake, and the air presently was
filled with flying missiles dropping all around them. Then, as Andy
stood up in an endeavor to get a better view of the situation,
something came flying through the air, hit him on the shoulder, and
hurled him overboard!