A Gunner Aboard the Yankee from the Diary of Number Five of the After Port Gun; The Yarn of the Cruise and Fights of the Naval Reserves in the Spa (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1898 Excerpt: ... CHAPTER XII. IN SEARCH OF ADVENTURE. When a man-of-war sails from port under what are called "sealed orders," which means that the orders given to the captain by the admiral are not to be opened for a certain number of hours, or until the ship reaches a certain degree of latitude, there is a mystery about the affair which appeals strongly to the crew. We of the " Yankee " felt very curious as to our destination when we left Santiago that night, and the interest was greatly stimulated by the discovery, before we had gone very far, that the "St. Louis" and "Marblehead" were following us. The "Eumor Committee" went into active session without delay. "Bet I can guess it," said " Stump," as a half dozen of us met in the gangway. "We are bound for a cable station somewhere." "To cable the news of the fight? " said Flagg. "No. That was done by one of the other ships." "What then?" "To get permission from Washington to go ashore and reclaim all that steel we wasted in the bombardment." There was a laugh at this sally. "I have been figuring on the cost of the fight," remarked "Hay," after a pause. "A five-inch shell is worth $60, and as we fired about two hundred and fifty, it means just $15,000 worth of five-inchers alone." "Then there are the six-pounders." "They cost $20 a shot," resumed " Hay," reflectively. "I guess we must have fired about a million of them." "Hardly that," smiled Tommy, "but we expended enough to bring the total up to $18,000 at the very least. War is a costly thing, boys." When the quartermaster on duty came off watch he joined us in the gangway, and reported that we were steering a straight course to the southward. "If we keep it up we'll land somewhere near the Antarctic Ocean," remarked Kennedy, doubtfully. "I wonder" "I know, I know," br...