Within the last week the Dreadnought Boys had taken their first big step upward. They entered Miller's Haven with their commissions on new, crackly parchment, tucked over a pair of as proud and happy hearts as there were in the navy.
Great had been their surprise, when, some four days before we encountered them on the train for Miller's Haven, their commander, Captain Dunham, of the Dreadnought Manhattan, had sent for them. Both lads, as readers of other volumes of this series know, had already gained high non-commissioned ratings.
Captain Dunham's unexpected summons had come on the eve of the long-looked-for "siege" of New York harbor. The Red fleet to which the[Pg 15] Manhattan had been commissioned as flagship, was to have the task of attacking the harbor at the gates of Long Island Sound. The Blue squadron was to have the defense of the port. Final arrangements for the biggest naval war game of its kind ever attempted had been made, with an attention to detail and probable actual conditions of a sea attack on the harbor which was little short of marvelous.
With wireless, big guns, Argand signals, torpedoes and submarines every effort was to be made to duplicate as perfectly as possible conditions of a real attack. The newspapers had been carrying columns of copy concerning the big war game, and public interest was wrought to its highest pitch.
But it was in the navy itself that enthusiasm ran the highest. Strategists from all over the world were to be present, and elaborate precautions had been taken to insure Uncle Sam's carefully guarded naval secrets from leaking out.[Pg 16] In this connection, what practically amounted to a Secret Service had been established, both on board the great sea-fighters of the two squadrons and also at the twin forts, Totten and Schuyler, which guard the Sound entrance to the East River and the port of New York.
Such, as has been said, was the interesting eve of "hostilities" which prevailed, when to Ned and Herc came the orders to report aft in the commander's quarters at once.
The Manhattan lay in the Brooklyn navy yard being groomed, like a thoroughbred on the eve of a great race, for the important part she was to play as the flagship of the Red fleet. Jackies, every one of them with an alert and keen pride in his work, were dismantling and fitting the big craft till everything about her grim, slate-colored hull was attuned to the condition in which she would be placed were she actually answering a summons to defend the Empire City from the invasion of a foreign foe.
[Pg 17]
Captain Dunham sat in his cabin in the midst of a great pile of documents of all kinds. The pictures and other objects usually to be found adorning the commander's comfortable quarters were missing. The cabin had been stripped and everything breakable packed away, just as would have been the case had the Manhattan been going to steam out and engage an actual foe. This had been done so that the earthquake-like shock and tremble of the mighty broadsides,—the grim fangs of this sea bulldog,—might not work havoc with breakable things.
The two young non-commissioned officers were passed by the orderly and then stood smartly at attention, trim heels together, bright eyes looking straight in front of them till the commander looked up from some departmental papers he was perusing.
During this interval they had time to notice that a tall, slender, alertly-built man, with threads of gray in his dark hair, was seated near the[Pg 18] commander. He eyed the boys interestedly with the critical air of a man who is in the habit of making swift appraisal of those with whom he comes in contact.
His keen gray eyes swept the two well-built, clean-cut and reliable-looking young sailors with a look that appeared to spell approval. As a matter of fact, the assistant secretary of the navy, for such was the office of Commander Dunham's companion, was deeply interested in his inspection of the two lads of whom he had heard much.
It will be recalled that not long after they entered the service of Uncle Sam and deeded their lives to the flag, Ned and Herc had had an opportunity to distinguish themselves.
How they foiled a desperate plot against the navy, then assembled in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, at the naval base established there, and also their conspicuous bravery in the panic that followed a disastrous "flare-back" in a thirteen-inch[Pg 19] turret, were told, with many other of their adventures, in the first volume of this series, "The Dreadnought Boys on Battle Practice."
In the next book, devoted to describing the lives of the spruce young jack-tars of to-day on board the big, drab sea-fighters, we followed the lads through a long siege of mystery and intrigue, intermingled with plenty of stern fighting. This book was called "The Dreadnought Boys Aboard a Destroyer."
Grim as the name of "destroyer" that she bore was the Beale; and when she was despatched to South America with the duty of straightening out a peculiar international tangle confronting her commander, the boys were detailed to duty on board her. In the midst of a revolution, involving the lives and property of American citizens, they played their parts right well, and by a display of clever strategy turned a defeat, which had seemed imminent to the interests amicable to the Americans, into a brilliant victory.[Pg 20] Readers of that volume will not soon forget the defense of the hill, with the battery of machine guns breathing flame and destruction from their iron throats.
"The Dreadnought Boys on a Submarine" showed an intimate picture of naval life on a diving torpedo boat. In realistic detail all that befell the lads on the surface and in the depths of old ocean was related, and their many adventures were faithfully set forth. As in previous chapters of their lives, the boys were not found wanting when perils and dangers called for quick, decisive action and cool, alert minds. In the submarine service they added new laurels to their already growing fame, and moved up more steps on the long ladder of promotion.
When the navy department began its experiments with aeroplanes as important auxiliaries to modern battleships, Ned and Herc were among the first in the fleet to volunteer, although such service involved the signing of a grim paper[Pg 21] which absolved the government of all responsibility for the naval aviator's life. As might be expected, the lads found things by no means tame in the aero squad. Ned's great feat of landing on a battleship,—a common enough maneuver now,—was long talked of in the fleet after the boy had successfully made the first attempt in the history of the world to accomplish such a thing.
Naturally, too, the boys who had worked so ambitiously for name and fame had made enemies among small-minded and envious men. These foes made things exciting for the lads for a time; but in the end both Ned and Herc righted themselves and were vindicated from a severe charge which had resulted from the machinations of those who disliked them. This book, which was called "The Dreadnought Boys on Aero Service," teemed with incident and shifting scenes. Much attention was paid to the manipulation and flying of modern aeroplanes, and the[Pg 22] book was instructive as well as interesting.
The famous "Round the World Cruise of the American Navy," a voyage that will go down in history as one of the most effective demonstrations of sea power ever made, formed the theme of the succeeding volume, which was "The Dreadnought Boys' World Cruise." As petty officers of the first rank, Ned and Herc found many opportunities to distinguish themselves. Jack ashore is sometimes a difficult proposition to handle, and Ned, as a non-commissioned officer, had much responsibility to shoulder. In carrying out his duties he incurred the enmity of some of those he had been obliged to discipline, and a thrilling adventure in the pyramids of Egypt was the result.
Then, too, Ned and Herc met with many other experiences in the various countries the fleet visited, including a laughable predicament on the Rock of Gibraltar, when, through the stupidity of an over-officious British army sergeant,[Pg 23] they were compelled to spend some hours in a dungeon excavated in the rock. Herc solved the problem of escape and unlocked the dungeon doors by means of wig-wagged signals to the fleet, lying at anchor below the rock.
And now you are better acquainted with Ned Strong and Herc Taylor, and can understand, by perusal of the preceding long but necessary digression, just why it was that they were admired and loved by their shipmates and respected by their officers; and why, too, Captain Dunham should have singled them out for the duty to which he was about to assign them.