LST (925) - Naval Cruise Book

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didst carry small sections ot lead pipe, and l was told that these were men of the new world, called union organizers. And they were called Bailey, B o g er s and Taggart, and they were. ' My conversation was enlightened by two strangers who sat down with me and didst sup with me, and they didst speak as wise men but they were not, for they were politicians, and they were named Miller and Nunziato. They didst tell me of all manner of evil things which had come to pass in Usa since the arriv- al of these three sinister ones and their ten helpers who were called agitators, and were named Brown, Dailey, Eschenbrenner, Ferguson, l-less, Kovacevich, Ol'Brien, Weiss and Green. They had surrounded the elephant race track and had beaten the elephant track owners, Ashton and Sedlitz, and they had told the elephants that they might not race but must sit down: and they had not allowed the four qreat in- ventors, Cooke, Storm, Ewing and Greeson to complete their experi- ments on their new tender-crane-pipe wrench-pogo stick until they had paid tithes, which they called dues. And all 'the people of Usa were sore afraid of these men, and it came to pass that the messenger Davis was dispatched to summon the wise men that a solution might be sought tor this dilemma. And when the wise men came and heard, they didst weep and mourn and didst call upon the High Priests Prestwood and Shull for prayer and wisdom in their time of need. And the three younger wise men, l-leitner, McBee and M o y e r didst elect the oldest and wisest wise man, White, to speak for them. And White summoned all of the honest citizens and they came: Bev- erly, Massey, Cullen, Mote, Hurst, and Golden, and they didst listen to White and the wisdom he had to Communications Division

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IT WAS AND SHALL BE The tale which l am about to tell is one which has haunted me for months. lt has stirred my deepest im- agination and has made my inner being revolt against itself. lt was re- lated to me by a corpulent Furr trad- er during my most recently fishing expedition in the far reaches of the Mediterranean. He seemed to have been empowered by some supernat- ural being, for his mind and his tongue were not guided from within. That was impossible. The year in which the events took place must have been about 70 AD., as closely as l can estimate, and the setting for this adventure was the country of Usa, a small province in a remote corner of the then civilized world. ln order that this story will seem as real to you as it did to me, l shall relate it, not as if it happened hundreds of years ago, but as if it were happening now, and l were there to see it all. And it came to pass that as l went down into the land of Usa, l was accosted by a traveling sales- man, and his name was Yunker, and he was known by every farm- er's daughter, and he saith unto me, VV hither goes thou and whom dost thou seeketh? And l answered him saying, l seek the three Great Prophets, Bell, Kelley and Hoover, that l may learn of their teachings and become great in wisdom and honored by all men. And Yunker giveth to me of his sam- ples after which he directeth me to an lnn, wherein dwelled the keeper Smith and his two faithful victualists Bender and Higgins. And when l had entered in, they didst feed me and nourish me and didst give me of their company. And 1 while l didst talk with these men, be- hold, there didst enter five merchants selling feathers. And their names were revealed to me as Molloy, West, Gooding, Hamill and House- holder. And l saw that they argued and they could not agree. One- as- serteth that they were all sure to make millions, yet another said it was useless, and he bathed himself in mountainous waves of self pity and waileth and bemoaneth his fate at the hands of the notorious money changer, Carnivale. ' And then l didst perceive that they were sore afraid, for'the almighty, ever-powerful and omnipotent Foyle had declared that all feather mer- chants who breathed the breath of life should be stoned to death. When Smith heard this wailing and gnash- ing of teeth, Cstore teeth? lo, he didst call upon his singers, Shumake and Graddy, for entertainment, that their spirits might be gladdened. Now their spirits were revived with music and spirits, and it came to pass that the heralds, Fekete and L ath a m, an- nounced the arrival of those three great, wealthy, lovable and hand- some Rajahs of the Realm, Lovern, lVlcPhall and Tomassog who entered straightway in and were seated on silken cushions and didst order wine. And when their thirsts had been assuaged, lo, they didst summon their harem attendants, Furst, Holden and Galloway, and straightway bade them to make all things straight, right away. And l could now see that Smith's lnn was a meeting place for many of the people of Usa, and as l sat, hoping that l should see others of these people, there didst enter three sinister looking, cloaked figures who slinketh about, talking sternly and threateningly, and they

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offer. And he saith unto them that they must seek and must find the four best lawyers in the land, the ones who were now at sea, known as Bolin, Davis, B. E., McDermott and Schmidt, and they must beseech them to do all in their power to have the organizers and the agitators ex- iled from Usa so that peace might return. And straightway the honest citizens didst seek these sea-lawyers as wise man White had bade them to do, but they could not find them for the lawyers were still at sea. I These things did Miller and Nun- ziato tell me and more did they say: that if only they had been elected, things would not be as they now were in Usa, and they should not be, for only two people were satisfied, Mascoli and Freese. And then it came to pass that the two great physicians, Sanderlin and Berkeley entered in and sat down and didst eat, and Berkley saith unto me that he had just delivered a child for the great Alchemist, Verchot, and it could be seen by the motherly pangs of agony which Berkeley sheweth that it had been an ordeal for him. And when we had all assuaged our thirst with the juices of the jun- gle, Sanderlin didst hear me speak of my search for the three Great Prophets, and he rejoiceth, and told me of his meeting with the six apos- tles who were even now spreading the good word. Coatney, lustis, jen- sen, Martin, Moon and Harding were they called, and they were filled with the spirit, for they had obtained some somewhere, and they were led in their journeys by their trustworthy guides, Thorton and Clemons, and they were protected by the strong shepherd Bubak, and they felt no pangs of anguish. r t But suddenly we were alarmed, not by the thunder nor by lightning, but by the entry of the Royal Guard, led by the all powerful Davis who was dressed in full regalia with manygold stripes down both sleeves, and he had with him his dependable men, Schneider, Stella and Gordon, those same trustworthy cohorts who had been with him lo these twenty years. And Davis was searching for the il- legal snake charmer, Gradisher, and his silent partner, Smith, for they had made off with the Crystal Ball of the Great Ullrich, and the Great Ullrich was now lost and could not find the star in the heavens to follow, and he had called upon the astrologers Cun- ningham and Whitfield to guide him. But Davis didst not find the illegal snake charmer, Gradisher, nor his silent partner, Smith, and behold, as he didst turn to depart there didst approach him a saintly father who was in misery at the loss of his prod- igal sons. And Shaw didst tell, Davis how dearly he loved his sons Crestol, Alm and Hutchinson, and wouldst have Fisher electrocute the fatted calf and wouldst prepare a feast for all the people of Usa if only his sons could be found and returned to him. So Davis summoneth his three scribes, Bunce, Zeiss and Flynn, and didst have them record all these de- tails that he might search for them and return them to him. And after Davis and his three loyal followers had departed there didst enter in three fishermen named Hagadone, Koskinimei and Bryan, and they were accompanied by three fillers- of the soil named Kutz, Iensen, and Cooper, and they didst carry their wares for they wished to sell them. And they dealt with four men who were pointed out to me as executives, and they were called Andrews, Mazrum, Light- ner, and jenkins and they all exe-