e
there with all his crew and his ship had.

What happened while with him and at the naval base I have tried to tell
as separate incidents when I can, in the chapters which follow.

ONE THEY DIDN'T GET

We were one of a group of American destroyers convoying a fleet of
inbound British merchant steamers.

The messenger handed a radio in to the bridge.

"We are being shelled," said the radio; latitude and longitude followed,
as did the name of the ship, _J. L. Luckenbach_. One of us knew her; an
American ship of 6,000 tons or so.

Another radio came: "Shell burst in engine-room. Engineer crippled."
S O S signals were no rare thing in those waters, but even so they were
never passed up as lacking interest; the skipper waited for action.
Pretty soon it came, a signal from the senior officer of our group. The
352--let us give that as the number of our ship--was to proceed at once
to the assistance of the _Luckenbach_.

The skipper's first act was to shake up the second watch-officer, who
also happened to be acting as chief engineer of the ship, and to pass
him the word to speed the ship up to twenty-five knots. We were steaming
at the head of the convoy column at eighteen knots at the time. The
first watch-officer, having finished his breakfast and a morning watch,
was just then taking a little nap on the port ward-room transom with his
clothes and sea-boots still on. The active messenger shook him up too.
The two officers made the deck together, one buttoning his blouse over a
heavy sweater, the other a sheepskin coat over his blouse.

Word was sent to the _Luckenbach_ that we were on the way. Within three
minutes the radio came back: "Our steam is cut off. How soon can you get
here?"

Up through the speaking-tube came a voice just then to say that we were
making twenty-five knots. At the same moment our executive officer, who
also happened to be the navigator, handed the skipper a slip of paper
with the course and distance to the _Luckenbach_, saying: "That was at
nine-fifteen."

It was then nine-seventeen. Down the tube to the engine-room went the
order to make what speed she could. Also the skipper said: "She ought to
be tearing off twenty-eight soon as she warms up. And she's how far now?
Eighty-two miles? Send this radio: 'Stick to it--will be with you within
three hours.'"

By this time all hands had an idea of what was doing and all began to
brighten up. Men off watch, supposed to be asleep in t