At the Midway Read Online Free
Author: J. Clayton Rogers
Island.
The heart of their breeding ground.
The ancient mating arenas now had a new topography. In the past, the Tu-nel would have established new arenas with an accommodating variation in song. But the grind of steam engines and the screech and blow of the earth caused males and females to miss connection. The birth rate dropped. There would be no Tu-nel left in fifty years--the average life span of the creature.
The mother Tu-nel and the two young ones made their way slowly downriver. Once again they broke through Naupaktomiut fishing seines, but this time the men did not rush out to fix them, for there had been rumors of something terrible in the river. Villagers were missing. The Tu-nel had reached Kotzbue three months ago. It was night, as it had been when they first entered the sound. There was no need to attack the human settlements, for their guts were full of salmon. Still, they attacked two men in a dinghy who were shooting seals that were preying on salmon. The young Tu-nel knocked the boat over and toyed with the men a little before playfully biting them in half. Then they slaughtered two dozen seals that were great sport because of their agility.
While lumbering over the shoals, they swallowed pebbles to aid in trituration--a bird-like habit they once shared with the plesiosaurs.
Their accidental riverine foray was over. Accidental because the mother had become lost while searching for the mating arena. There was more noise in the area than ever before, for gold prospectors were arriving by the shipload. The steam engine cacophony had reached a crescendo and the earth itself had buckled and screeched like a mad woman, throwing the mother into deaf confusion.
Already, far to the south, the prelude to this tectonic activity on the Pacific Rim had reduced a great city to fire and ruin.
III
December, 1907 37°02'N, 76°17'W
From the Deck Log of the USS Florida :
0800 Dressed Ship; Quartermaster Jno Smith rerated Schoolmaster; Landsman Jno Wm Watkins shipped at N. News; Ship's Baker Jos Sebastiane disrated Landsman, given 5 days bread and water for neglect of duty and insubordination; Seaman Gunner Chas McCoy discharged at Hampt.; Mast gave Pvt Handly (Marine) 20 hours extra duty for insolence; Mast gave Ship's cook 1/c 2 weeks restriction for drunkenness; Seamen Atchison and Russell, 3/c Petty Off Jenkins, and 2/c Machinist Anderson declared deserters.
There was a shout as a stream of fire shot from the serpent's mouth. Smoke billowed and catastrophe seemed imminent. Ships churned the water and brought their big guns to bear. Crash after thundering crash followed hard and shook the Capes. But the monster was unimpressed and impervious as it drew closer to shore. The end was near. Sparks flew, smoke erupted, the populace screamed.
The beast reached the shallows, let out a roar--then abruptly stopped. The side of the beast burst open and a score of sailors hopped out. They banked its fires and tossed out mooring lines. Amidst the applause of the spectators, they began to dismantle the dragon and pack it away.
From the poop of the Mayflower , President Theodore Roosevelt clapped his hands and bully-bullied. The cannon puffs of breath that materialized in the cold December air made him seem like a miniature dragon himself.
"Signal the rear admiral. I want to board the Connecticut ."
He stepped into the flag officer's barge. On the way across he surveyed the cheering crowds and watched the bright wakes as they unscrolled behind cutters and small craft zipping hither and thither across Hampton Roads. He thought he could hear the band on the Connecticut switch over from the Merry Widow Waltz to something more appropriate as the barge approached, then realized it must be his imagination. It was hard enough hearing the coxswain over the roar of the engine, let alone the musicians on the battleship ahead
Raising his eyes, he saw red
The heart of their breeding ground.
The ancient mating arenas now had a new topography. In the past, the Tu-nel would have established new arenas with an accommodating variation in song. But the grind of steam engines and the screech and blow of the earth caused males and females to miss connection. The birth rate dropped. There would be no Tu-nel left in fifty years--the average life span of the creature.
The mother Tu-nel and the two young ones made their way slowly downriver. Once again they broke through Naupaktomiut fishing seines, but this time the men did not rush out to fix them, for there had been rumors of something terrible in the river. Villagers were missing. The Tu-nel had reached Kotzbue three months ago. It was night, as it had been when they first entered the sound. There was no need to attack the human settlements, for their guts were full of salmon. Still, they attacked two men in a dinghy who were shooting seals that were preying on salmon. The young Tu-nel knocked the boat over and toyed with the men a little before playfully biting them in half. Then they slaughtered two dozen seals that were great sport because of their agility.
While lumbering over the shoals, they swallowed pebbles to aid in trituration--a bird-like habit they once shared with the plesiosaurs.
Their accidental riverine foray was over. Accidental because the mother had become lost while searching for the mating arena. There was more noise in the area than ever before, for gold prospectors were arriving by the shipload. The steam engine cacophony had reached a crescendo and the earth itself had buckled and screeched like a mad woman, throwing the mother into deaf confusion.
Already, far to the south, the prelude to this tectonic activity on the Pacific Rim had reduced a great city to fire and ruin.
III
December, 1907 37°02'N, 76°17'W
From the Deck Log of the USS Florida :
0800 Dressed Ship; Quartermaster Jno Smith rerated Schoolmaster; Landsman Jno Wm Watkins shipped at N. News; Ship's Baker Jos Sebastiane disrated Landsman, given 5 days bread and water for neglect of duty and insubordination; Seaman Gunner Chas McCoy discharged at Hampt.; Mast gave Pvt Handly (Marine) 20 hours extra duty for insolence; Mast gave Ship's cook 1/c 2 weeks restriction for drunkenness; Seamen Atchison and Russell, 3/c Petty Off Jenkins, and 2/c Machinist Anderson declared deserters.
There was a shout as a stream of fire shot from the serpent's mouth. Smoke billowed and catastrophe seemed imminent. Ships churned the water and brought their big guns to bear. Crash after thundering crash followed hard and shook the Capes. But the monster was unimpressed and impervious as it drew closer to shore. The end was near. Sparks flew, smoke erupted, the populace screamed.
The beast reached the shallows, let out a roar--then abruptly stopped. The side of the beast burst open and a score of sailors hopped out. They banked its fires and tossed out mooring lines. Amidst the applause of the spectators, they began to dismantle the dragon and pack it away.
From the poop of the Mayflower , President Theodore Roosevelt clapped his hands and bully-bullied. The cannon puffs of breath that materialized in the cold December air made him seem like a miniature dragon himself.
"Signal the rear admiral. I want to board the Connecticut ."
He stepped into the flag officer's barge. On the way across he surveyed the cheering crowds and watched the bright wakes as they unscrolled behind cutters and small craft zipping hither and thither across Hampton Roads. He thought he could hear the band on the Connecticut switch over from the Merry Widow Waltz to something more appropriate as the barge approached, then realized it must be his imagination. It was hard enough hearing the coxswain over the roar of the engine, let alone the musicians on the battleship ahead
Raising his eyes, he saw red
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