Page:McClure's Magazine volume 10.djvu/515

Rh York," the first of the heavy ships, was flanked by the torpedo boats, the "Ericsson" and "Cashing." We sailed in a saw-indented formation; after us the "Iowa," then the "Indiana," then the "Amphitrite," and the rest of the fleet in double-column formation.

At lunch in the ward-room not a word was said about war or our destination, and even the capture by the "Nashville" of the little steamer with the auspicious name of "Good Fortune" ("Buena Ventura"), the incident of good omen with which the cruise began,

was passed over in silence. After awhile I, too, talked baseball and suppressed my impatience for a view of the Morro, or at least concealed it. After lunch, as I walked with an officer upon the spar deck, an orderly came up and said, just as if he were announcing supper or eight bells, "I have to report a fire in a coal bunker." "All right," replied the officer, "will be down immediately." Then, with a parting whiff, he threw away his cigar, and we went down the companionway together.

There, upon one of the lower decks, a sentry, with the most quizzical expression of curiosity upon his face that I have ever seen, stood before a great dial like those in use in modern hotels, the indicator of which pointed steadfastly to the little facet of the dial marked "B 21." My companion, the officer, went down still further into the bowels of the ship, while I stood with astonishment at the indicator, with wonderment as great, if not as open-mouthed, as the sentry's. "It's a wonderful thing, this here machine," he said; "it keeps me awake at night, it's so darn human. It rings up a fire in some spooky way, just as if you or I might touch a bell and order up a mint julep; yes it do, sir."

Where B 21 was, neither he nor I knew, but we agreed in the hope that the burning bunker might be far from the magazines. There was some talk about playing that number and that letter in the next game of chance upon which we entered, until gradually the consciousness dawned upon us that we were even at this moment engaged upon a game of most serious hazard and that the cards might go against us. I smoked my cigar for an hour upon the signal tower, wondering all the while how the invisible flames were growing, and whether they were gaining headway; and so having giving evidence of what I considered almost Spartan stoicism, I grabbed the officer as he came up from below, covered with coal dust and sweat, and said, with as cheerful mien as I could muster, "And how about B 21?"

"Let's go up on the bridge, it's cooler there," was the only reply vouchsafed. So we climbed up to the fighting-tops, I drawing a certain satisfaction from the thought that if we blew up we should still be on top, and never from that day to this have I heard a word of how the fire in coal bunker 21 was put out, and, for all I know, it may be burning to this day.

We steamed on steadily, and about four o'clock the coast of Cuba, a dark fringe of palm trees and a light border of silver sand, began to rise to view out of the soft turquoise seas. We were straining our eyes for the first glimpse of the battlements of the Morro, when suddenly our course was changed, our speed quickened, and, as the fleet swept on westward toward Havana, the Admiral signaled, "Take no heed of the movements of the flagship," and we darted off to the eastward, to intercept a black