SEALED ORDERS.
The rest of the cruise of the _Osprey_ was without special incident.
Various drills were performed until every movement was executed to the
officers' satisfaction. One of the most interesting was the "fire
drill." A succession of loud, hurried strokes on the ship's bell brought
the men hurrying up from below. Some ran to the hose, uncoiled it and
coupled it to the pipes, others closed ports and ventilators, boat crews
repaired to their stations, and in an almost incredibly short time water
was gushing from the nozzle of the hose into the sea. Then there was
"Boats and away!" the life-raft drill, signalling, and other
manoeuvres. Attention was paid to the slightest details, which were
executed with the wonderful precision that characterises every naval
movement. If the emergency should really arise, in the midst of a storm
or under the enemy's fire, every man would know his station and the
exact duties he was to perform. "Collision drill" and "setting up"
finished the work in that line for the day.
During the afternoon land was near on both sides of the vessel, as she
pursued her course to the north-west between Martha's Vineyard and the
mainland. Nobska Head and, three hours later, Gay Head, were sighted and
passed. Then the _Osprey_ stood directly for Cape Charles. Just at
sunset a heavy fog shut down.
"Three-quarters speed!" ordered Ensign Liddon, who was on the bridge.
"Three-quarters speed, sir," responded the quartermaster, throwing the
indicators, which connected with the engine-room, around to that point.
At about twelve knots an hour, or fifty-five revolutions of the screw to
a minute, the ship crept steadily southward, with her whistle going
twice a minute. At ten o'clock full speed was resumed, for the stars
were out again.
The next day was fair, and the sun shone brightly on the broad ocean, on
the white ship, and on the great steel gun which bore the inscription
"Bethlehem"--the place where it was cast. "After all, it's a good
peacemaker," said Lieutenant Staples, as he made his inspection tour,
accompanied by Dr. Cutler. "There's thirty-six hundred pounds of peace,"
he added, patting the breech of the gun. On the deck, near by, a kitten
was tumbling about in the sunshine. The men were engaged in mending,
writing letters, and smoking idly.
At about noon the lightship off Cape May was left behind, and the
_Osprey_ started up Chesapeake Bay. When she had proceeded to a point
sixteen miles below the mouth of the Potomac, she brought up for the
night, a light fog rendering navigation difficult in those crowded
waters. Early the next morning the gunboat weighed anchor and got under
way. Just as she was turning into the Potomac she sighted the battleship
_Indiana_ outward bound with midshipmen on board in large numbers.
Staples immediately gave an order, and a string of gay flags fluttered
at the yard-arm above the _Osprey's_ decks. The signal was answered by
the battleship, and the executive reported to Rexdale, "Permission to
proceed, sir." When two ships of the navy meet, this permission must
always be obtained from the one commanding officer who ranks the other.
Up the broad, placid river the _Osprey_ moved, seeming to gain in size
as the stream diminished; past wooded banks where cabins nestled in the
greenery, or statelier homes lifted their white pillars; past the little
cove where Booth, the assassin of President Lincoln, landed after
crossing the Potomac in his mad flight; on toward Washington. At the
Proving Ground a boat was sent ashore with a telephone message to
Alexandria, ordering a tug-boat to meet the war-ship for two or three
miles' tow to her dock.
When the _Osprey_ was opposite Mount Vernon, a mournful strain from the
bugle floated over the water from the ship's forward deck. The ensign
was half-masted, every man on board faced the shore and stood at salute,
while the bell tolled slowly until the sacred spot, the home of the
great American, was passed.
Not long afterward the tug appeared, made fast to the gunboat, and towed
her to the navy-yard wharf, where she was to await orders for further
movements.
During the week that followed, two events took place which were destined
to exert an important influence upon the subsequent history of the
_Osprey_.
The first was the appearance of a new member of the mess, Midshipman
Robert Starr. He was a cheery, good-natured young fellow, finishing his
Academy course; full of fun, and a great joker. While the original
ward-room mess were at first disposed to regret, if not to resent, this
addition to their family, they soon liked him thoroughly, and, indeed,
he became popular from one end of the ship to the other.
The other event of importance was a dinner given by Lieut. Commander
Rexdale on board his ship. Among those who received invitations were the
Commandant of the Yard, with his wife and daughter; one or two officers
from a torpedo-destroyer then docked and out of commission; Fred
Larkin, who happened to be in Washington; and two young girls, nieces
of a Government official of high standing, Ethelwyn and Edith Black,
aged respectively sixteen and nineteen. These fair young Anglo-Saxons
were the guests of the commandant, and on finding that they were
included in the invitation expressed their delight by seizing upon his
daughter Mary and executing a sort of triple waltz around the room for
fully five minutes.
"You see, dear," panted the younger Miss Black, adjusting an amber pin
which had fallen from her sunny hair to the floor, "we've never been on
a war-ship and haven't the least idea what it's like. Isn't that Captain
Rexdale a dear!"
"There, there, Wynnie, do sit down and keep still for two minutes,"
laughed her quieter hostess. "You've just about shaken me to bits. Yes,
Lieut. Commander Rexdale is nice, and so are the rest of the officers of
the _Osprey_. You'll like Mr. Liddon, I know."
"And will your mother go?"
"Of course she will. How could we accept, if she were not to take care
of us?"
"I don't need anybody to take care of _me_," remarked Wynnie demurely.
"You'll see how nicely I'll behave--like the kittens in the poem--
"'Spoons in right paw, cups in left,
It was a pretty sight!'"
"You witch!" said Mary, giving her a squeeze. "I've seen you 'behave
nicely' before now! Mother will have her hands full, for once."
"Who are the other officers?" asked Edith, from the sofa.
"Oh, there's Ensign Dobson--he isn't very lively, but he's nice; Dr.
Cutler, who _will_ talk with papa all the time about quarantine
regulations and the Red Cross; and Mr. Ross, the paymaster, I suppose.
Oh, and I believe there's a little midshipman from the Naval Academy--I
don't know his name, for he has just been assigned to the ship."
Wynnie's eyes danced. "He'll be dreadfully bashful, I know. I shall
consider it my duty to entertain him, poor little thing!"
The dinner proved a great success. Larkin, of course, kept his end of
the table in a shout, while young Starr was by no means too bashful to
appreciate Ethelwyn's fun. "Doc." Liddon talked politics with the
civilian reporter, navy-yard gossip with Mrs. Commandant, international
complications with her husband, and nonsense, flavoured with dry wit,
with Edith. Dobson told the story of his rescue from the hazing party at
the Academy, and brought down the house as he described his position
when Norman Holmes and Dave Rexdale came on the scene--standing on his
head, with his tormentors pouring cold water down his trousers-leg.
Then Dave himself was called on for the tale of his boat-wreck on the
lonely Desertas, near Madeira, when he and "Sandy" barely escaped with
their lives.
The cabin of the _Osprey_ was prettily decorated with ferns and flowers,
and there was little to suggest warfare, the roar of cannon, the cries
of the fierce combatants, in its dainty appointments. It fell about,
however, that, as was natural, the conversation at length turned to the
navies of the great nations, and, in comparison, that of the United
States.
"Where do we stand, among the other Powers--in point of naval strength,
I mean?" asked some one.
The commandant had excused himself on the plea of important duty, and
had returned to his office on the Yard. Oddly enough, it was the
civilian that answered the question, before any one else could recall
the figures.
"We are fifth in rank," said Larkin, helping himself to a banana. "If we
carry out our present rather indefinite plans we shall be, by 1908, the
third in strength, possibly the second, with only England ahead of us."
"Do you happen to remember the approximate number of large ships in the
English navy?" asked Dobson.
"I'm sorry to say I do not," replied the reporter.
"I do," put in Ensign Liddon, who had had time to collect his thoughts
and statistics. "England has two hundred and one, not counting gunboats,
torpedo-boats, and other small craft----"
"Small! Do you call this ship small?" cried Ethelwyn indignantly.
"She'd look like a kitten beside her mother if a first-class battleship
ranged alongside," laughed Liddon. "Well, I was about to add that France
has ninety-six big ships, Russia fifty-nine, and Germany seventy-three.
The United States has only sixty-five."
"How many has Japan?" inquired Rexdale significantly. Just behind his
shoulder a pair of dark, obliquely-set eyes flashed at the question.
"Forty-four, I believe. She would have a poor show at sea against
Russia's fifty-nine."
"Oshima, there, doesn't seem to agree with you," said Dr. Cutler
lightly, nodding in the direction of the steward.
All eyes were turned to the little Japanese, who drew back modestly.
"Well, boy, speak your mind for once," said Rexdale. "What do you think
about the chances of Nippon against the Russian Bear?"
"I was t'inking," said Oshima, whose English was not quite as perfect as
his comrade's, "of man behind gun."
The phrase was already a favourite in the navy, and a round of hearty
applause followed the diminutive waiter as he retired in some confusion.
"Let's go on deck," suggested Starr. "It's getting pretty hot down
here."
The commander set the example by rising, and the whole party adjourned
to the quarter-deck, where chairs had been placed for them. The
gentlemen lit their cigars, "not (Starr gravely remarked) because they
wanted to, but purely to keep the mosquitoes away from the ladies."
Overhead the June stars were shining, lights flashed across the river,
and distant shouts came softly over the water. The young people sprang
to their feet and declared they must walk a bit. What they talked about
as they paced to and fro--Bob Starr with Wynnie, Liddon with Edith, and
Dobson with Mary--is of no consequence. It is probable that the two
sisters explained to their respective escorts that in the early fall
they expected to travel to India, China, and Japan, going via San
Francisco, and returning through Europe. Whereupon it is more than
likely that the young gentlemen in white duck expressed themselves as
plunged in despair at the prospect of having to remain on the North
Atlantic Station, with even a vague and disgusting possibility of "shore
duty" for one or both!
Meanwhile the older members of the party renewed the conversation which
had been broken off when the girls rose from table.
"If we are to keep up with foreign Powers," said Dr. Cutler, striking
his hand upon his knee, "much more if we are to pass any of them in
naval rank, we must hurry up our ship-builders. Germany expects her
battleship in commission in three years and a half from the day when the
keel is down. We have one under construction now that was begun over
five years ago."
"What does a modern battleship cost?" asked the older lady, who was one
of the quarter-deck group.
"About eight million dollars," replied Rexdale. "And a right lively war
costs the country a million dollars a day, in round numbers."
"And all of it absolutely consumed, burnt up, eaten, thrown away," added
the doctor. "It is not like expenses for construction; it is all for
destruction."
"My idea of a good-sized navy's mission is to keep the peace, so that
there'll be no war," put in Staples, who had been rather silent thus
far.
"Staples was the only man in our Plebe class who actually fought a
battle with a second-year man," laughed Dave. "I like to hear him preach
peace!"
"Perhaps you remember," said the other grimly, "that no more fights were
necessary. One good upper-cut on that fellow's jaw won peace for the
whole crowd. If Dewey hadn't sunk the Spanish fleet at Manila we might
have been fighting the Dons to this day."
"Will the Japs fight Russia, do you think?" asked Larkin. "If they do,
that may mean a job for 'yours truly.'"
"Certainly it looks like trouble over there," said Rexdale soberly. "The
Russians are steadily advancing to the Pacific--already they have one
hand on Vladivostock and the other on Port Arthur. Japan, crowded in its
little group of islands just out of sight of Korea, feels the danger and
the menace. Both nations have been preparing for a big war for years, I
am told."
"But Russia enormously outnumbers the Japanese," said Dr. Cutler. "She
has an army, they say, of four and a half million men, against Japan's
six hundred thousand----"
"Aye, but where are those four millions?" put in Rexdale warmly.
"Separated from the fighting line, which we can call Korea and the coast
of Manchuria, by six thousand miles, with only a single-track railroad
between Moscow and Port Arthur. The Japs could handle them one at a time
like the Spartans at--at--where was it?"
"Thermopylæ, sir," remarked Doc. Liddon, who had paused a moment in his
walk, attracted by the commander's earnestness.
"Thanks--Greek history never was my strong point at school!" said Dave
with a good-humoured laugh. Then, resuming: "As to the Russian navy,
matters would be just as bad. Half her ships at least must be in the
Baltic to protect her home ports----"
Before he could proceed further, an interruption occurred. An orderly
mounted the steps to the quarter-deck and with the usual stiff salute
handed Rexdale a letter, marked "Important and Immediate."
The commander broke open the envelope. He had no sooner read the few
lines it contained than he sprang to his feet.
"Madam," he said abruptly but courteously, "and gentlemen, I am sorry to
bring our pleasant party to an end, but my orders leave me no choice.
Mr. Staples, I must see you and the rest of the officers at once in my
cabin. Orderly, attend the ladies through the Yard. Good-night, all!"
Hurriedly the girls ran below for their wraps, wondering what the
mysterious orders could be that compelled them to retire so early and
brought that new ring to the commander's tones. They bade good-night to
the young officers, who would fain have escorted them to their home, but
Rexdale was obliged to refuse his permission.
"Good-night! good-night! We shall see you again soon!" called the
girlish voices from the wharf, while their late companions swung their
hats gallantly on the deck of the _Osprey_.
"Gentlemen," said Rexdale in grave, earnest tones, when they were all
gathered once more in the cabin, "I have important news for you. We are
ordered to coal and take on stores and ammunition for sea without delay,
sailing one week from to-day, if possible. You will see that this is
done promptly, and that every man reports for duty to-morrow, all shore
leave being withdrawn."
Not a man there but longed to ask, "What is our port of destination?"
but discipline prevailed. Their lips remained closed. They were no
longer a party of young fellows chatting and laughing gaily as they
performed their pleasant social duties and joked with their merry
guests; they were officers in the United States Navy, ready for the duty
at hand; willing to go to the ends of the earth, to encounter danger in
its most appalling forms, to give their lives, if need be, for their
country. Silence settled for a moment over the group.
"If I could I would tell you, without reserve, where we are bound; but I
do not know myself," added Rexdale. "There are new complications in the
far East--that is all I know. We sail under sealed orders, to be opened
at sea, twenty-four hours out."
He rose from his chair, to signify that the interview was ended. As the
officers filed out to their respective quarters, the pantry door, which,
though no one noticed it, had been slightly ajar, closed noiselessly.
Behind it were two Japanese, grasping each other's hands and looking
into each other's eyes. Their breath came quickly; their eyes glowed.
"_Banzai!_" they whispered. "_Teikoku banzai!_ Long live the Empire!"