ON THE WAY

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2512, 13 July 1915, Page 6

ON THE WAY

TRANSPORT AND TROOPERS

THE "FIFTH", (ByE.J.D.) '' At Sea, Juno 17. The wonderful sea and no less wonderful sky; the transport moving slowly through: the restless waters; Now Zealand hundreds of miles astern; tho "Front" distant many leagues; and to tho trooper basking lazily in the sun with his back against a. sack of potatoes and his feet oil. a .winch, tho past and the future becomo delightfully vague. All Wellington was shrouded in mist when tho transports .came to lifo in the early morn of Sunday, Juno 13. A rain came out from the sea and) enveloped all in its clamminess; Nature seemed despondent. But mist, rain, and despondency ; slnnk quickly away before the bright, wholesome rays of an.undimmed sun, and' so Wellington slipped into the past-, ablaze 'with:,glorious sunshine, homely warnith, and hearty encouragement. ' ' ' ' .: The. way of the trooper, as trith the transgressor, is hard. -' Moro so is this the case when, the wind and tho. waves combine to, bring, their, dire. influenco to bear directly oil him. From the time Pencarrow slipped astern till Thursday night the sun refused to shine and > tlio' wind never ceased to .blow. The resultcan be hotter imagined than described. Monday morning saw the limpe'stj sickest crowd that ever was! For.;them life was tempoi'aril>; a blank, the long' lane r had no 1 turning,' the cloud was without a'.silver'lining. Mess tables were deserted, . savo •by the,.' hardened man of the,.sea; the horses 1 iii' their' narrow stalls .'looked'forlorn, miserable, and certainly sea-sick. Pianos, grama-' phoues, and. gift goods were played, used; or claimed by none. Tho ship tossed and heaved, ' and so did the trooper, at least he did tho latter. But all things must end, ; and so each meal hour saw a gradually increasing number of, newcomers. - '

Tho Tahiti and the'Aparima have vanished over the', rim of the ocean. Till a l'ew hours back they followed one on each side of Troopship 24, and. half a milo astern. Tho. -weather, however, that the transports so persistently encountered intensified. The wind howled, tho rain poured, and tho waves did 'their worst.. Wednesday, night was aniglit of inky blackness, brilliant flashes of lightning,, sudden downpoiuings .of ..biting hail, and waves—always -waves. These last broke over the bow and.considerably saved tlie "fatigue" labour by washing right'over tho boat deck. The sorrowing "fatigue" would .gladly have; performed their.duty. Thursday morning, and tlie two accompanying transports were nowhere- in ■ sight.

At Sea, dune 21. ' _ Water, water everywhere—but precious little to wash with. An ocean of salt water —how sticky and uncomfortable is a sea bath not followed, by a fresh water, shower—but fresh'water is for other uses than washing. , Much rubbing with many kinds and makes of soaps fails to prbduco. a lather, so. tho trooper splashes the sea water . about; dries - himself, aud—remains grubby. To: the careful aiid ' would-be .clean, though, there presents itself a loophole. ■';Most inch': shave ;' all soldiers must, shave. . Salt water for this pur-, poseis useless; fresh water is therefore sanctioned. So; tho cuiining one, takes his pint pannikin:to''the fount of fresh water, draws thereof ' tho valuable liquid, and wipes himself over very thoroughly, considering .all flings, with a .danVpened cloth; '•-'. i

Breakfast aiid, in fact, all meals, be. gin and end with'a queue. The call is sounded, and from the alleys; dormitories, and decks men flock into the passages and alley-ways.'- A,chaotic mass till in : motion,.and then,;'by loiloiving .the' simple'-riilo of: keep to; the right, two ordered line's : result. To. the accompaniment of -.tin-plates- and pannikins,being banged on heads—not always the owner's—knives and elbows, and tlio rattle of knives and forks, the two long lines movo forward in opposite , directions; for the two :niess-igoms on this particular troopship are situated at each end of tho .ship, and .units have their allotted place in -each.- Jostling, joking, shuffling, ; the /queues' crawl along, Stoppmg often, bantering always. "The stairs openiiig on the saloon arc at length reached, and 'a l ' harassed ' sergeant marshals the men into and along the forms nailed on each' side of tho' many tables running out'from',the walls nearly , the full length' N of the - room. Seated quickly, the men "fall to" with a will, for sea-air sharpens the appetite. The' iirst. sitting finished, ■ there being two sittings' for each mess, the men file , out into the'corridors of a ; lower deck.

Tho day's work is done, and daikuoss falls. A heavy sea is running, and .a world of white caps, silvery and chilly in tho uncertain light .of a palo and 'wintry, moon. Shapeless masses of clouds scud across the 'heavens, and. a biting wind catches the spray of cleft waves, and whipping' it into foam, dashes it against the grey sides of tho labouring steamer. To the rear, on tho right ! and left, wallow and roll the Apariina and the Tahiti. On the ons side glepms a red, oil the other a green, light.'; Tho topmast lamps glow and pitch. Rows, of dull-lit port-holes show for an. instant, and vaiiish in the next. A_ bright, star-liko light flashes and blinks unceasingly across the troubled waters. . On Ti-oopship 24 the promen-ade-deck' is well-nigh impassnblo. Men are reclining full length; are bunched up in corners; seating in heaps; leaning over the rails; picking their/'way gingerly from one'place to another. An accordion is being played l full blast, and on tho eloping, tilting boards a light-heart endeavours a clog dance. To the load of a mouth-organ a hundred voices render popular "catches." Chattering, laughing, smoking, and over all tlie inevitable., raillery the throng makos merry. The next deck—the borse-dcck —in an. opeiispace: a boxing bout holds its ring of admirers. A skipping contest .is being. held in another; quiet'chats and tho exchange of confidences elsewhere. In one room an orchestra has installed itself Toiind the piano. A conductor, with his tunic unbuttoned, displaying, a striped jersey, a balaclava perched on tho back _ of his head,' and a fork . and spoon in each hand, controls tho little band of musicians. Distorted faces . and bent figures hover over'.writing-pads and . ink. Devotees of cards and draughts swarm round the tables. Filled .to overflowing, and the surplus drifts away into bunks and alleys, for nearly every alley can boast a gramaphono" or an argument, nearly every bunk a book or a pad. So the night-hours of wakefulness slip by till sounds the blare of a bugle, and comes the brassy-throated voice of the sergeant: "Lights Outl"-