I'm in a gun-cleaning squad every afternoon. To-day I cleaned the machine gun on which I'm second gunner. We treat our machine guns as if they were pets. No one will ever be able to say that my gun is dirty. It will probably be my best friend some day.
The finding of the court-martial was read out to us on full parade this afternoon. First the “Heavies” were lined up on all sides of the deck, then the “Mosquitos,” as the Machine Gunners are called, lined up [pg 021] inside; the prisoner between an escort was led up in the center. It was wonderfully impressive. I felt that I was to witness the condemning of a fellow soldier to a number of years of hard labor. Over the whole assembly there came a deathlike silence and the finding of the court was read to us by an officer, the sentence being thirty-six days!
The second steward told me that it took two hundred carpenters twelve hours to tear down the cabins and fix up horse fittings. First the authorities made arrangements to ship a thousand troops on this ship. We're crowded as we are now with only three hundred odd. I hate to think what it would have been like with a thousand.
Early this morning a large man-o'-war came up on the port at a speed that made everything else seem to stop. We have now battleships on all sides. This ship, although a long way off, looks tremendous. She is one of the latest super-dreadnaughts.
I was on guard last night when one of the [pg 022] cruisers came alongside to talk to the captain about having lights showing in some of the ports. I enjoyed it immensely, for I discovered that the British Navy, true to tradition, was still able to maintain its high level of profanity. The ship is in pitch darkness and there is no moon. On deck it's almost impossible to walk it's so dark. Tonight is supposed to be the night on which the Germans are going to make a raid. I am going to sleep on deck so that I shall not miss anything. I'd hate to miss the chance of seeing a naval engagement. I can't see how the Germans can possibly let a chance go by. A nervy cruiser could sink any amount of ships. If the British Navy were up against us they would have had a cut in before now.
Slept on deck last night. Nothing happened except that early this morning a French cruiser joined us, and I got covered with smuts from the smokestack.
The Admiral has received one hundred and twenty-six words of war news, but will [pg 023] not let us have them. Probably they're disastrous. We break up to-night or to-morrow. It's scarcely likely that the whole fleet will be taken to one port at the same time.
That super-dreadnaught passed down the columns to-day. She is of tremendous size and travels at high speed. She is probably the Queen Mary.
Expect to see land Wednesday.