Edwin Balmer

“ They could see the first shells from the Nevada splash far ahead of them, and over into the sea; at the long range, and without masts, the Nevada should not, except by accident, aim much better. But:
"Down three hundred; two left!" Sterret saw the miss and flashed the order for the gunners. High above the battle, and hardly a mile away from the Sargon, he could spot the effect of the fire closely, certainly. "T-x," he flashed to the Texas, now, after its four guns had fired to aid the rescuing Nevada. "T-x. Up one hundred; one right!"
The Nevada boomed its broadsides. ”

“ Directly astern the flagship, the Utah already had acknowledged the signal; behind it, in battle position at intervals of eight hundred yards, followed the remaining five battleships of the American fleet—the Georgia, Florida, and the Michigan, the Arkansas, and the North Dakota! So the twelve most powerful battleships of the navy steamed in column, all cleared for action, all watching the twelve ships of the enemy's column slowly converging closer and closer, all waiting—with turrets turned, and guns trained, and every man at battle station—for the final battle signal. ”

“ But, nearer, the Oklahoma now had entirely silenced the Xerxes; the American ship, with two turrets still able to fight, was swinging back to bear any needed aid to the Texas and the Nevada. Farther down the column, where other American fire-control officers had flown between the ships to govern the American guns when needed, the result of the battle showed the same.
The ship fighting the North Dakota at the very end of the American column no longer was in sight; it had sunk; two others already had struck their colors; the enemy's flagship alone—the Vulcan—still fought. ”

“ He saw the Sargon firing confidently again at the Nevada, and beating it. Four guns only now were being fought from the Nevada; four from the Texas; and the fire of all eight was wild, useless.
"T-x; up one hundred; two right!" he called again and again for further elevation and right deflection. But now, though his fingers trembled constantly at his signaling, the American ships still spent their shells in the sea.
"Can all their antennæ be shot away?" Sterret cried aloud. "Can't they hear?" ”

“ The water about the sinking Poseidon was spotted with figures swimming . away from the ship. More dotted it each instant. Now, with a rush, and great suck and draw of the water about it, the battleship slipped farther and farther down. A final great gurgle, a splash, a burst of bubbles, a rush of steam, a seething, swirling, white whirl- pool of water; and the superdreadnaught Poseidon was gone. As Sterret stared down from far overhead, while the aëroplane bore him away, he saw only swimming specks, bits of wreckage, a last burst of bubbles. ”

“ The forward magazine of the Poseidon, reached by the last broadside of the Nevada, had blown up. The after turrets, firing their last shells in final defiance, clouded the stern also with smoke. Now, as the smoke blew off, that stern was lifting; the shattered forward part, flooded by the inrushing sea, was sinking. Farther and farther up the stern lifted, till the rudder and screws showed to the men in the aëroplane overhead.
"Nevada; cease firing. Enemy is sinking!" Sterret flashed mechanically. Already the American fire had ceased. ”

“ The compressed-air cylinder, to give speed for the throwing of the biplane forward into the air, catapulted them up; with the propeller whirring madly, the plane caught the air and drove forward. Sterret, bracing himself in his seat beside the pilot, glanced below as the biplane rose to see that all was clear, and released the coil into which the wireless antennas were wound. Weighted, the wires dropped and, stretched at full length, trailed below and behind as the aëroplane shot forward. ”

“ The longest-living author of this work died in 1959, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 64 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works. ”