A Gunner Aboard the "Yankee": From the Diary of Number Five of the After Port Gun (Russell Doubleday): The Yarn of the Cruise and Fights of the Naval Reserves in the Spanish-American WarDoubleday, Russell
History
A Gunner Aboard the "Yankee": From the Diary of Number Five of the After Port Gun (Russell Doubleday): The Yarn of the Cruise and Fights of the Naval Reserves in the Spanish-American War
Doubleday, Russell
Spanish-American War, 1898 -- Juvenile fiction
"The 'Dolphin' has closed up both ends," interrupted "Stump," with a
laugh. "She's knocked down a pile of earth and débris on the track and
the, train can't get out. What a bully trick."
Flagg produced a glass, and after a careful scrutiny reported that he
could see part of the train lying on its side at the eastern end of the
cut. He could also distinguish a number of bodies, and it was plain that
the Spanish loss had been heavy. It was not until later that we learned
the details, which were as follows:
After the bombardment the "Dolphin" remained at her station, firing
occasionally at the batteries ashore. She was directly opposite a cut in
the cliff, through which runs a little railway connecting the iron mines
with the dock in Santiago harbor. During the bombardment, a train loaded
with Spanish troops remained in the cut, and at its conclusion attempted
to leave. It was espied by the "Dolphin" and driven back. It tried the
other end with like results, and for an hour this game of hide-and-seek
was kept up, to the discomfiture of the train. While waiting for the
train to appear at either end, the gallant little gunboat shelled a
small blockhouse, and in time disabled it. Then she steamed back to the
fleet and reported that she had "wrecked a trainload of troops and
dismantled a blockhouse." When she left for her station again she was
applauded by the whole squadron. We learned later that one hundred and
fifty men were killed on the train.
Shortly after supper the "Yankee's" whaleboat was called away and sent
to the flagship, returning an hour later with sealed orders from the
admiral.
At midnight we quietly steamed from our station and passed out to sea,
our destination being unknown to all save the commanding officer.
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 "Rumor 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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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