The evening world. Newspaper, March 3, 1915, Page 17

A Romance of War and Wireless By a Pat (Copyright, 1900, by Strest & Omith.) CHAPTER IV. (Oonttoued) Dick Sommers. UST because he's a e's in command now. But Dick Gommere shouldn't stay all his life fm a@ third-clase converted cruiser, Weeping upstart Malays peaceful. It's Some one else's turn down there. But Be'b euch &@ good fellow that he'll keep on at it unless’—the young officer fanned very violently now—“uniess “But, Lieut. Collins, he's not doing $t0P! merely that!” protested Frances, boping that her rising color would be gun What do you suppose I found? It! me one, I say, better than us, who uld—but there he is! There's Dick mow, Migs Durant! As soon as that crazy crowd lets him loose you'll know why I was sorry that he had to spoil bis chances again by saving yu! Frances followed his gaze, con- golous of @ strange palpitation in her At the far entrance of the hall Joking crowd of yo offi thered unger officers about and were holding of the merriest were him A (od trying to chant audibly in impromptu ting re’s to the Son of the Others were and t's up now, Richard? Wha. are Seine here washed and in uni- But''st last the newoomer broke “Children!” He shook them off. ceery FOO, 900 Tye Growa uD this year ‘Then. Frances saw him suddenly grisea by his stanch friend, Admiral 7 end old officer was pre- senting him to her father, and obvi- ously searching about for ces, herself. He discovered the girl, and Frances stood face to face with Lieut. Dick Sommers. He stood, @ straight and well-knit figure, s fair inch below six feet. His hair Diack; his eyes blue, direct and compelling. His features were “girly straight and well formed, his uth baing decidedly expressive and ing. But Frances was noting none of thi Particular things at that mo- men law only those half-seri- ous, half-laughing, but entirely direct and very disconcerting blue eyes. For one moment—the firet instant when he saw them—they were a man’ ou observing her respectfully, se usly; but at the next moment they ‘were y's eye) ishing, amused, “So you"—Frances could not resist trying to tease this boy, as he waited for her to speak—“you are the com- mander of the San Juan!” “Oh, but, Miss Durant, you haven't @een the San Juan!” he countered. “No, but I've heard how you cap- tured it in ap open boat!” rejoined Frances, feeling that he had already the advantage on the teasing tack whe herself had begun. “Collie! You told!” said the blac haired offic: 'm sorry, Miss Durant, but ways has to rub it i ‘You see, when the war started, Ban Juan was on duty down by Min- @anao, ‘The Spanish Captain had to get relieved of her for years, but his Government wouldn't Commute him. When he heard Dewey ‘was coming to the Philippines he ‘wept tears of joy and tried his best to get to Manila in time to surren- der along with the others. But the engines wouldn't stand it. When the Petrel was coming do way that gave him new hope. But we had of his intentions and n a somehow to prevent him Orrendering to us for six weeke— though often it was pretty close. And ht he caught » in an se know it was pretty bad, but they might let it drop now.” “Ob, I'm sorry I spoke of it!” Frances made her amends, smiling. “But Lieut.Collins didn't warn me that ag were so sensitive about that, too, le warned me merely about your sen- altiv to your—curse, he called it which obliged you to save me." “I save you, Miss Durant?” “@urely that's not so much worse pat ey have to deny it, Lieut. Som- mers 5 etme De cut ttt oF h - ral Barlow and her father, too, had dropped away a little, And suddenly music blared out louder, lato one denly turned man again. the people about them again, that he was the Goor; and sitting a litte under the leaves growing plants at taway. shi i think EDWIN BALMER “IT know all you did,” he returned. “T found out, even before I left ea, thoy you—in the wireless ou, Miss Durant? ped you @ little to- others.” Sommers?’ is 8 save ‘Why, what do you mean?” asked girl disappointedly. bate try anything this “Oh, I'd prepared the best eell yet!” His eyes lighted mischievously. “And then I had to call you to come and belp us at Bagol, and delay you #0 long you couldn't accomplish it!" “Not exactly that, Miss Durant.” “Not exactly, Mr. Sommers?” “I mean it wasn’t the delay w! ped me from doing it, but”—— He hesitated again. ‘This time the girl waited. “But you see,” he continued, “about that time—a couple of days ago— really was funn: oy. to re ‘well fone LA ‘Never before a couple of days ago, Mr. Sommers?” “Well, never for such @ continuous time, Miss Durant.” “Terrible! How long has it been now? Not all of three days, surely?” “Why did you guess exactly three days?” He turned quickly, jhe colored—a deeper pink usual for trying to Just guessed, fro: ‘From but I wanted sud- than prevent it. “Oh, I by the her coolly. manded it direct She did not answer. “It ts almost weird, isn't it, Misa Durant,” he continued suddenly, “how @ person with any sort of individu- ality cannot do anything without put- his—or her—personality into it somehow? One can't speak; one can't write; one can’t even nend a com- munication thi the air by wire- less without twisting it just bis—or wh way, and somehow different from any one else's. one is used to the fact that no two persons can the same way. Upaure telegraph operators, and even regul: wireless operators, are pretty well used, too, to the fact that two persons can't even talk with an electric cur. rent in the must tap his k at the other end. He can't even write his series of dote and dashes like some one else. But it seeme almost weird sometimes, doesn't it?” “It does,” returned the girl, “But I know, too, that it's true. Harry— father’s regular operator—claimed he could always tell whether a man was weak or strong, steady or tired, or— He used to form positive friends and enemies just from the differences in the way different operators used to talk to him. I know he could almost always tell them apart.” ch | “T'm awfully sorry,” the girl tried to reply lightly. “Don't be, please! I'm not! It's already done me, and will keep on doing me, a great deal more good, coming here just to see you this way, than any amount of am Manila. For you, laughing at me the way you have to-night, in spite of my coming here with the intention of being seri- made me think of changing more than just my fooling “You mean you're going to give up your command in the south?” Fr. ces raised her eyes to his in a ques- tioning gaze. “Dear old Collie has been talking to you, hasn't he?” said Somme: mail- ing. ‘Yes, I mean that,” he continued neriously, “But of course I can't, just now.” “On account of the treuble we atirred up down there?” “Oh, that didn’t make any differ- ence! That wasn't a real attack—only a sort of half-hearted bluff, That's why almost no one was hurt. We all know that Bagol has been for months the headquarters of a lot of local chiefs who want to get up a ris- ing. They are not hoping to accom- plish much for themselves, of course. ‘They are doing it for the political ef- fect in America, and are waiting until “Yes; 80 please don’t laugh at me int, now for what Im going to say. For! m,; don’t deceive myself into thinking your special way of could have bee all adequately. But this is true, Miss Durant,” he went on, seriously. “That morning when first you called the San Juan—I had heard about your father coming, but nothing about you—I had been trying to Gnd out if the Irveasa might be within communication. I got no an- ewer, But I was still up there in our wireless room, just killing time in thinking up the sell I wanted to work on the people here at Manila this year, and then suddenly, you—a girl was talking to me from the receptors before me. “It o¢ftainly startled me to discover that from somewhere behind that olr- cle of sea a girl was sending her nerv- ous, impetuous personality to speak to me. I answered; and then you told me who you were, and that you were going to Manila. Well, I had just been thinking of what I was going to do with myself when I got back to Man- fla; and I was wondering if I would meet that girl there and, if I should, what she might think of me. “Then the next morning, when you layed with me the we rou did——"* The girl raised her head, flushing deeply at the remembrance. “I was very foolish and childish to do that,’ said. “ 'No, Miag Duran‘ ‘In fact, if it hadn't been for the trouble I thought must be Soming, i hy, I'd been down there two long years, nothing but saluting marin and sailors answering ‘Yes, sir, and Very good, sir,’ to every ark I'd make, till I was just praying for mutiny. And then you—a girl—just coming coolly within my communication ra- dius to cross me and play with me that way! a van ‘It wae more like ben In arms for @ long ren't enough yet to start | properly impressive demon- stration. e attack on Mr. Pinck- ney’s party was just by a few dozen irresponsible natives, not shooting to kill, I believe. They hoped, I think, just to get the arms the men carried y scaring them back to the boats. ‘The chiefs, who are planning the ris- ing and wanted to wait their time, were very angry over the attack. It ives the Government an ex for iterfering, which we didn’t be- fore. We can stop them from running arms now. So it has really helped us more than anything else, in spite of forcing me to go back to Bagol to- night.’ “You must go back to Bagol to- night?” She accented the word almost unconsciously. The officer did not reply at once. Ieaves of the” growing. pleats, ‘they e_gTO pl they were quite apart from the dancers on the floor. ‘hile they had been there the band had bi out thrice, and had stopped again. Dick was con- scious that several of his brother of- ficers had come searching and In- quiring vainly for Miss Durant, and that another was then waiting, scarve- ly ten feet away, to claim bis dance. But the girl—though she too seemed to be conscious of this—gave ng sign; and the music and the chatter and the nolse on the other side of the bank of leaves again emothered thxir voices, “Yos," replied Dick, at last. “In my report which I gave Admiral Barlow 8 soon as I came here, and which he has probably read, there te enough and more to send me back to Bago! to-night—at once. But I shall not stay there Jone Miss Durant! Oh. I ao not mean that I oan hope to return here to Manila before you leave for the States,” he explained, ag the girl raised her head quickly at his tone. “But after this trouble comes and is over, I'm not only to Ww up at dances and atop bel: fst good fellow to play jokes; but 'm going to outgrow Bagol and the San Juan and—and do something in the service to put me on a footing with—well, with Mr. Pinckney, for instance.” “Why do you compere yourself with Mr. Pinckney in that way, Lieutenant Sommers? is not in the service, 8 you would vi “Not in the United States Miss Durant,” Dick replied. @ rather enviable rank think.” “Have you met him? © beard of bim, of course.” “Thea you have never esen him at ant’ “Only at o distance, before he got 1 Pinckney. and the . VOry gervice, said Pinckney. “I t had to report to ‘Admiral I Mr. Duran The Bvonis¢ World Daily Magazine, W 1\“One Moment, Please!” his men out of the woods at “What have you heard which makes you think he must hold so much higher rank, as you call it, than any one else—say, yourself?” “He has done a dozen things which count.” “Bo have you.” “What? Suppose I did take a = ish surrender, and have jollied along most of the Sulu and Moro chiefs so that they keep their pirating in the family and only feel called upon to kill about half as often as formerly! That doesn't count.” “It can count for a great deal. Be- sides that is not all you have done. There are the surveys you made.” “They cannot help me.” “Perhaps not; I do not know. But you have invented a gun. And no one knows better than I what a | 3 can bring to one—both ‘fame and fortune,’ ae the story books used to say.” Dick smiled at her enthusiasm. “Yes, perhaps a@ little fame, Durant,” he . “provided, course, the gun is a one. But I did not mention mine, because Ad- miral Barlow is the only man who can think anything at all of the gun.” “But he told me only this morning,’ the girl returned confidently, “that he would recommend it to Washing- Mr. Pinckney Ro some of thi Etherington—that’s Mr, has | shaper to recommend it if he possibly can.” “The officer raised his head quickly, but seemed to check what he was going to say. “But even if he can recommend it, and the Admiral ay it accepted at Washington, it still can bring me nothing. I am an officer in the mavy, and the invention of an officer be- longs to the Government.” “You mean you get nothing trom your gun, even if it Is accepted?” “Whatever credit there may be in it, Miss Durant. No ro; sity oe any such return as, @ay, . jokney would get.” “You knew that when you began work on the gun?” “It was the bargain I made when I entered Annapolis, and which has continued with my comm! i. “Then I think far more of you for laimed. ane?" t, too, just for sake it, mot for what it would Oh, believe me, Mr. Som: ." she continued impulsively, “I appreciate that I am the daughter of & gunmaker, and I am used to valuing guns for what they can bring one; but I can rank far, higher the man who makes a gun, hoping only to serve his country!” “Miss Durant!" cried Dick. But an the girl glanced away he checked himself. “The music has stopped again,” he continued, “And I think they are looking for us, your father an Admiral and Pinckney, I believe.” “Yes,” aeented ces, as she fol- lowed his glance, “That He is late. because fath: admiral asked him to give La it, if poss he is telling them no’ what thei once—to-night Com a wus and t me, let us oul iD abrup 5 who t Bagol. Lieut. Sommers, this ia Mr. Pinckney, father’s assistant and our good friend.” The Dg Micon) bowed to each other. ington, you were tell- edmiral and father about Lieut. Sommers’s gua? Please tell Us, tool” “1 will, have to say w' T am ve I must, lleutenan: that I have Barlow and 5 it that the practical prin- ciples involved in your are un. sound! It would fall in it could mever stand a teat!” ie faced the Gommere observed bim quietly, but Date da Coprright, 1915, by The Pree Pubtiehing Os, (The Kew Vert Brening World), ¥ made no reply. It was Frances who spoke. “You mean, Eth that the gun will now, even for trial?” Pinckney nodded regretfully. “Ether! mm has just been ex- to us more fully the fatal On account of ou to Lieut. Sommers”. rant spoke to the officer as well ag the girl—“he and I both are much disappointed. But besides that, from business reasons, too, we botn wished he could commend your gun, Mr, Sommers, As perhaps you know, fained the government 01 heinstrum guns; but we have had to submit to the - ment of a really extortionate rovaity of one thousand dollars a calibre in in order to obtain the manufacturing rights from the inventor. Those were the very lowest terms, were they not, Ethcrington?” “The very lowest, sir, upon which I “Quite so. We ° continued Mr. Durant, “that vanena we might make your gun for the government, and save both the gov- ernment and ourselves the payment of this outrageous price. Jt is a wtAnd tome, too, 05 I “Ant m es I need not tell you, my boy Ola Admiral Barlow put his arm affectionately upon his young friend's shoulder. “Bepectal! rt down at Bagol, I must on eine he Ban Sean Hew = father-—Admiral Barlow!” ex- claimed Frances, But Dick shook off the older man’s pathetic hand, and Frances, as she looked back at him, found him smiling at her, “Thank you, Admiral,” he said, quietly, “not for ordering me back, but for what you to do for me, And you, too, Mr, Durant. Mr. Pinckney, I am sorry to have taken so much of your Seaning, for looking o my plans. And, Miss Durant, aM Setvor—stherinatent” » cos 8 protest against the you officer's quiet acceptance of the doe cree. “It seems to me that we owe Lieut, Sommers a little more, indeed, ea just this glance over his de en “Miss Durant!” Dick tried to in- tenWhy what 4 mean, y¥, what do you Fran- ces?” inquired her father. “Where are Lieut, Sommers's de- Btherington?” left them in my cabin on the Irvesea. I did not know that Lieut. Sommers must leave again to-night, or I would have brought them along.” “I'm glad you didn’t,” said Frances. “Why, what do you mean?” “Lieut. Sommers, you surely have other copies of your dra specifications?” “Why, yes, Mise Durant.” “Then F will let me keep those which Mr, Pinckney left on tho Irvessa?” “No, Mise Durant,” said Dick, eus- ting her intention. “That is, un- “Then I'll keep them, anyway, Mr. Sommers, and no ‘unless’ about it! Father, you will make you not, a trial gum from Lieut, Som- mers'’s designs? Now, I know you think It must be useless, but you will have just one made and tried, juat to me feel lose grateful for us all?” al exe anette ir pie course!" after hesitating for a moment. “But unless Mr, Durant feels that he Jp justified in Cua. | oaanot Jet you do this for me,” said Dick earn a 1 aeied, bin to do it for me, Mr, Sommers “I do not wish to deceive you with falst hopes, sir,” Mr. Durant put in, te after what Mr. Pin chance for your gun. Yet, ag one can ever tell tii the trial, t do wieh to make a test gus. I hell new, "et Ra 6h Bic” dere Base esda By Robert Minor! ja wings and T' okney has told me, I truly see but little Rh ys Mar ‘Stop: Haven't I Res inte. ig oe em do r you, I aay! “But, Miss Durant,” persisted Bom- mers. “Goodby, Lieut. Sommers! You must go to your ehip at once!” “I know it,” the officer admitted. “and I'm not going to try now and stop you from doing thia thing you offer; for, in spite of Mr, Pinckney, J till believe in myself and my gun. If I am right and he ie wrong, the saving to the government is so great bag = I_can have no personal groun refuaing.”’ cosa!” Tne held out her hand. “Then you will hurry now and pacify 1 again, in time to come te Du- rant to see the making and testing of the successful Sommers gun!" “It I may, I eball surely (ome. ie bere. Durant as soon as I can—w! are making a gun there or not!” He laughed. “But, as I fear that may be ome time, may I not before then” —— “Inquire of the progress of the gun? Of course!” “Goodby, then!" be sald, touching her fingers again. “Goodby, gentle- men.” letter which the little Vis- caya had just brought me, that I could no hope being able to follow yeu to Durant. And then this moraing—just a mo- ment ago when I came up here to the wireless cabin—our transport, Mongolian was wignalling me from somewhere up by Samar Island, ordering me to Durant! I couldn't believe it at first, but it is so! For I made them repeat it all very carefully; and the mes- sage they sent me is a relay of a cab- legram received at Manila, granting me two months’ furlough to be pros- ent at the forging and testi gun—I mean, of course, the you are making from my designs. CHAPTER V. A Patriotic Plot. \¥ Dear Miss Durant: Off Ra- gol, Philippine Islands. Just last night I was writing you, im reply to your fine fh theory man like Mr. Sommers; - as practical @ man as you, Mr, Pinck. com be essential here after my relief comes to take command of the San Juan next week. ‘There is no need for me to tell you that, beyond the great gratification of seeing my gun made at last, 1 @ tertain the hope of I shall surely, shall I no} he Go 1 ‘nmmen| ing this furloug Just to nee a exouse, I know; bu! believe it! Undinguine: Tam to Durant make that we don't you ¥, Youre RIC D SOMMERS, Please give your father my highest Fespects. In reply, the following letter reached Mr. Richard Sommers, Lieu- tenant Commander U. 8. N., on leave and ein and go T muh for me, will Pos! that you are father and me very Impatient for you to follow your letter. if you reach Durant at any Ume within the next month, you oul see us oth. ‘We did not know, when | wal writing the letter which you received just be- fore you wrote yours, that you would be free 20 goon: but when t notified father that you w eo tw ih to partment ‘0 be given e testing of your ge he and I wrote you in, Ag Lee must pave mises you, if Ou when you , Tam send- this to San Pranciaci this morning T good news which onee. The de; lather to ber tet, for Meerton. nu own sa\ 01 young naval officer as he should a “e fal wind. Rae nas awe ea A sate ble ch 35 1915. woe ie a ible see ima arri: Seon gets Sr ‘Three toh gsi due to ce begs 4 ‘ence in . Durant received t Geceage at his offos. Before he ane aw it, he himself hurried in to see the on, exactly what is the “Whi I told at Manila, sir, 2° Marsh has saree with me herington,” said the old man kind: “I know that you already know intend! the forging. You funded over the message con. an over o alder, don’t you, that the forging in en By RANDALL ans asta i of 34 A f 5 apt HE i il 5 subi Ff i £ i [ i 5 3 £ 5 g 4 e ai abig8 Hi 5 g 5 5 4 the finishing furnace, and the conéi- the tions under which it enters the bath afterward, are the vital points?” ‘Yea, air,” answered Piackney ently, an he read the telegram, ready for that t, when he himself can be shall wire him that it will be ready for him.” The old man hurried back to Bis oMfce, and left the young manager alone, Pinokney picked wae er Durant : rm carefully. Reachin; over and ching one of a row buttons beside his dewk, he rag the bell: in the chief designer's room. He gat in silence until Marsh kn and opened the door. “You gent for me, Mr, Pinckney?” “Ab, Marsh—oome inl WN ais) 1s ere any one in that outer tever of w ut L 4 r to finishing it, he'e we get n worrying himse.f about it more and Y¥ lay; and he’s worrying more avery. a me more, too,’ “That's funny,” sald Marsh. “For bur deal ite making me worry a good more every day; but for a rather dit- ferent reason from any which ought ts one Mr, Durant to bether him- “What de you mean by that?” “I mean, air, that the more I've had more it worries me for fear it'll drive mine—that is, the Rheinstrum—off to the eorap heap. And I'm not only a “Look here, Mars! exclaimed Pinekney impatiently, ‘do you know, my man, that the reason we're not working on the Rheinstrum guns now, and paving. you your royalties of $100 @ calibre inch on that we're waiting to whet this Sommers in will stand the test? And if it does, do you know that it will be substituted for youre in the Government order?” 'No, air! Then that's the end of my royalties—before ey ever begin, Just my luck!" “Oh, not yet! Wait a bit, Marsh! 1 didn't sent for you just to tell you that, man! I sent for you because, with nothing to gain from it myself, Tam sie. to take a rather heavy responsibility upon myself; and I want you to help me—you who will have everything to gain from heavy respo. ility—what te at, Mr. Pinckney?” asked the little curiously, ‘The responsibility of protecting the lives of every gunnor in our n. and our forts from—thelr own guni No leas than that, Marsh! Inciden- tally, saving you the fortune which properly should come to you from your royalties!" “Why, I don't understand!” “You don't? You haven't flattered t yourself that I've been doing all the fighting I've done against the Som- mers gun merely to save you your Precious royalties, “Not entirely, air, “ET gueas not! I've been fighting against the personal hbid this navy e higher than that! _™ fm ; to do with thie Sommers gun, the Thur: wae afternoon had come! deed, it would the station! She had been searching through all the Pittaburgh aad +4 allsrmoon pines she knew that landed. At any moment, she Cah’ &@ Manila cable tell of ; But ater the Seat rather break on the after % ve. e tore had ‘ ve you, Marsh?” father!