r confided to him where there was
a nest of German mines, out he goes into the gray dawn to be there
first. He's there first, and sure enough it's a grand little spot for
mines. He hooks into one, lashes it under his quarter and goes scooting
back to harbor, which happens to be the naval base.

Proudly and noisily he steamed along, shouting to everybody he met of
his good luck, and asking the course to the admiral's ship. Everybody he
met gave him the course and also the full width of the channel as he
passed. He ran alongside the flag-ship, hailing loudly for the admiral
as he steamed up.

The admiral was not on board, but his aide was, and the aide came on to
have a look over the side. He saw the mine bouncing up and down between
the mine-sweeper's quarter and his own ship's side. Shove off--"get away
from us!" yelled the aide. "Suppose you press one of those little
feelers and blow us all to pieces--get away, I tell you!"

The mine-sweeper skipper looked up--"Feelers, sir?"--and then looked
down at the mine. "Feelers, sir? Oh-h, you mean them little 'orns
stickin' out on 'er? Bly-mee, sir, I thought I'd knocked 'em all hoff
afore I lashed her alongside. But 'ave no fear, sir, there's only two of
'em left, and I'll bloomin' well soon"--he reaches for an oar and went
bouncing aft--"bloomin' well soon knock them hoff, too, sir!"

THE UNQUENCHABLE DESTROYER BOYS

One day last summer a group of our destroyers were sent across the
Atlantic. It was a night-and-day strain for all hands--watching out for
raiders, watching out for U-boats, watching out for everything, and
grabbing snatches of sleep when they could.

Arriving at their naval base, every skipper of the little fleet felt
pretty well used up. But every worth-while skipper thinks first of his
men. One we have in mind passed the word to his crew that whoever cared
to take a run ashore to stretch his legs and forget sea things for a
while, why--to go to it. And stay till morning quarters if they wished.

As fast as they could clean up and shift into shore clothes they were
going over the side. Our young captain felt then that perhaps there was
a little something coming to himself; so he turned in, and he was
logging great things in the sleeping line when the anchor watch, who was
also a signal quartermaster, woke him up with:

"Signal from the admiralty, sir."

"Read it."

The S. Q. M. read it--an order to proceed at once to an oil dock and
take oi