e Sam's first Fleet was there!

Then came those other navy men--
Our allies in this troubled cause--
Weary of holding back the Hun,
Clipping, too slow, his cruel claws.
Our Admiral, a few-words man,
Greeted the visitors.... "We're here,"
He said, and that was all. They smiled--
And said they hoped the weather'd clear.

But still those men with tired eyes
Felt mighty grateful, I surmise!

Around our Fleet--not very large--
We took them, thoughtful faces set;
And then back to the fog-soaked town
They went--uncomfortably wet;
But in those eyes a happier light,
That told him what they'd like to say--
That they were glad he had come back,
As he had hoped to do some day.

Another fleet, with fresher men,
Gave them a chance to breathe again!

Before they left to go ashore
(A crowd had gathered on the quay),
"When can you start to work?" they asked.
"How many hours will it be
Before you're ready?" With a smile
Our fighting Admiral replied
(And there was joy in what he said,
Mingled with pardonable pride):

"Soon as the enemy we meet!...
We're ready now--men, guns, and Fleet."

So that is how we started in
To do our share--the Navy's "bit";
They were surprised, but Admiral Sims
Had surely made a three-base hit
With what he said.... And now it's up
To us to do our hearty best
To make the seas the old-time seas;
Till that is done there'll be no rest.

It is a job to stop the Hun,
But--it's a job that must be done!

BRIGGS OF BASE No. 8

It may be that you know him. A slim and likely kid;
Red-headed, tall, and soft of speech and glance.
He never took a prize at school (his talents always hid),
And yet he's got a medal from the Government of France!

He didn't kill a lot of men;
He never injured one;
He didn't hold a trench alone;
He never manned a gun;
He drove an ambulance--that's all;
But those above him knew
He'd take it into hell and back
If he was ordered to!

That night (he'd been right on the job
For twenty hours or more)
They telephoned again for him--
And as he cranked--he swore.
Half dead for sleep, he drove too far,
Straight into No Man's Land,
And there he gathered up four men
Who didn't understand
Or care what happened.... Then a chap
Sagging with gobs of mud
He shoved into his throbbing car
That smelled of drugs and blood.

The other roared, but Briggs, sleep-deaf,
Stared a