Full Instrumentation and Control 3rd Edition American Water Works Association PDF All Chapters

Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 70

Get ebook downloads in full at ebookname.

com

Instrumentation and Control 3rd Edition American


Water Works Association

https://ebookname.com/product/instrumentation-and-
control-3rd-edition-american-water-works-association/

OR CLICK BUTTON

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Explore and download more ebook at https://ebookname.com


Instant digital products (PDF, ePub, MOBI) available
Download now and explore formats that suit you...

Operational Control of Coagulation and Filtration


Processes 3rd Edition American Water Works Association

https://ebookname.com/product/operational-control-of-coagulation-
and-filtration-processes-3rd-edition-american-water-works-
association/

Problem Organisms in Water Identification and Treatment


3rd Edition American Water Works Association

https://ebookname.com/product/problem-organisms-in-water-
identification-and-treatment-3rd-edition-american-water-works-
association/

Concrete Pressure Pipe 3rd Edition Edition American


Water Works Association

https://ebookname.com/product/concrete-pressure-pipe-3rd-edition-
edition-american-water-works-association/

Merciless Zebra Romantic Suspense Mary Burton

https://ebookname.com/product/merciless-zebra-romantic-suspense-
mary-burton/
Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting 1st Edition Alper
Erturk

https://ebookname.com/product/piezoelectric-energy-
harvesting-1st-edition-alper-erturk/

Computational Fluid Dynamics Principles and


Applications Jiri Blazek

https://ebookname.com/product/computational-fluid-dynamics-
principles-and-applications-jiri-blazek/

Unequal Britain Pat Thane

https://ebookname.com/product/unequal-britain-pat-thane/

Distance Education 1st Edition Claudia F. Macteer

https://ebookname.com/product/distance-education-1st-edition-
claudia-f-macteer/

Photoshop CS5 Digital Classroom Jennifer Smith

https://ebookname.com/product/photoshop-cs5-digital-classroom-
jennifer-smith/
The Hidden Life of Girls Games of Stance Status and
Exclusion 1st Edition Majorie Harness Goodwin

https://ebookname.com/product/the-hidden-life-of-girls-games-of-
stance-status-and-exclusion-1st-edition-majorie-harness-goodwin/
Instrumentation & Control
T
Instrumentation
he third edition of Instrumentation and Control, AWWA Manual M2,
has valuable information for operators of large or small water utilities
who do not necessarily have a technical background but who are searching
for basic explanations and general information. The manual discusses equip-
ment, terms, and expressions that an operator encounters wherever electrical

& Control
systems, automation, and instrumentation are found in water distribution,
treatment, and storage systems.

M2

M2
Manual of Water Supply Practices

Third Edition

 WWA is the authoritative resource for knowledge, information and advocacy to improve the quality and
A Advocacy
supply of water in North America and beyond. AWWA is the largest organization of water professionals in Communications
the world. AWWA advances public health, safety and welfare by uniting the efforts of the full spectrum of Conferences
the entire water community. Through our collective strength we become better stewards of water for the Education and Training
greatest good of the people and the environment. Science and Technology
Sections

3P-3E-POD-30002-3/10-LS
The Authoritative Resource on Safe Water ®

M2.indd 1 3/1/2010 11:14:51 AM


Instrumentation and Control

AWWA MANUAL M2

Third Edition

FOUNDED
1881

American Water Works Association


MANUAL OF WATER SUPPLY PRACTICES—M2, Third Edition
Instrumentation and Control

Copyright © 2001 American Water Works Association

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information or retrieval system,
except in the form of brief excerpts or quotations for review purposes, without the written permission
of the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Instrumentation and control.-- 3rd ed.


p. cm. -- (AWWA manual ; M2)
New ed. of: Automation and instrumentation. c1983.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-58321-125-X
1. Waterworks--Automation. I. American Water Works Association. II. Automation
and instrumentation. III. Series.

TD491 .A49 no. M2 2001


[TD487]
628.1 s--dc21
[628.1]
2001055311

Printed in the United States of America

American Water Works Association


6666 West Quincy Avenue
Denver, CO 80235

ISBN 1-58321-125-X

Printed on recycled paper


Contents

List of Figures, v

List of Tables, xi

Foreword, xiii

Acknowledgments, xv

Chapter 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
The Water Utility System, 1
How to Use This Manual, 3
Reference, 4

Chapter 2 Hydraulics and Electricity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5


Hydraulics, 5
Electricity, 18
References, 39

Chapter 3 Motor Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41


Introduction, 41
Motors, 41
Variable Speed Motor Control, 49
Variable Speed Motor Control Systems, 50
Motor Control Logic, 52

Chapter 4 Flowmeters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Meter Categories, 67
Meter Coefficient of Discharge, 68
Venturi Flowmeters, 69
Modified Venturis, 74
Orifice Plate Flowmeters, 74
Magnetic Flowmeters, 76
Turbine and Propeller Flowmeters, 80
Sonic Flowmeters, 84
Vortex Flowmeters, 86
Averaging Pitot Flowmeters, 89
Variable Area Flowmeters, 92
Open Channel Flow, 94
General Installation Precautions, 98
Signal Output and Transport, 99
References, 100

Chapter 5 Pressure, Level, Temperature, and Other Process


Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Pressure, Level, and Temperature, 102
Electric Power and Equipment Status, 110
Process Analyzers, 112
General Considerations, 119
References, 119

iii
Chapter 6 Secondary Instrumentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Introduction, 121
Signal Standardization, 121
Signal Power and Transmission, 122
Transmitters, 124
Controllers, 124
Recording and Indicating Hardware, 126
Function Modules, 128
Converters, 129

Chapter 7 Telemetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131


Analog Telemetry, 133
Tone Multiplexing, 137
Amplitude Modulation Tone, 137
Frequency Shift Keying Tone, 138
Communication Media and Channels, 138
Reference, 142

Chapter 8 Final Control Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143


Valves, 144
Valve Summary, 153
Pumping Systems, 154
Miscellaneous Final Control Elements, 157

Chapter 9 Basics of Automatic Process Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161


Feedforward Control, 162
Feedback Control, 163
Feedforward vs. Feedback Control, 164
Manual vs. Automatic Control, 165
Automatic Feedforward Control Methods, 166
Automatic Feedback Control Methods, 168
References, 178

Chapter 10 Digital Control and Communication Systems . . . . . . . . . 179


Digital Control Systems, 180
Communication Systems, 188
Applications and Site Planning, 194
Technology Trends, 196
References, 197

Chapter 11 Instrument Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Glossary, 207

Index, 215

List of AWWA Manuals, 225

iv
Figures

2-1 Pressure in a tank, 7


2-2 Pressure in containers of various shapes, 7
2-3 Water level in an unpressurized system, 8
2-4 Fluid levels in a vacuum system, 8
2-5 Flow velocity as a function of cross-sectional area, 9
2-6 Flow–velocity profiles, 9
2-7 Determination of static pressure, 9
2-8 Water in pipe with pressure, no flow, 10
2-9 Total head, 11
2-10 Elevation head, 11
2-11 Flowing without friction, 12
2-12 Velocity head, 12
2-13 Flowing with friction, 13
2-14 Flowing with friction, 15
2-15 Mechanical leverage compared to hydraulic force, 16
2-16 Hydraulic force, 17
2-17 Differential areas, 17
2-18 Transformer symbol, 24
2-19a Delivery voltage at 480 VAC using electric utility’s transformer, 25
2-19b Delivery voltage at 21,000 VAC using water utility’s transformer, 25
2-20 Main substation with switchgear, 26
2-21 Complete one-line with load center and motors, 28
3-1 Induction motor rotors, 43
3-2 Motor starter contactor coil, 53
3-3 Motor starter circuit with one switch, 53
3-4 Motor starter circuit with two switches, 54
3-5 Maintained contact switch symbol, 54
3-6 Momentary contact switch symbols, 54
3-7 Momentary start switch circuit, 55
3-8 Control relay coil symbol, 55
3-9 Control relay contact symbols, 55
3-10 Three-wire motor control circuit, 56

v
3-11 Three-wire motor control circuit with two control locations, 57
3-12 Ladder diagram with line numbers, 57
3-13 Status indicating light symbol, 58
3-14 Motor circuit with indicating lights, 58
3-15 Selector switch symbol, 58
3-16 Motor circuit with local–remote switch, 59
3-17 Hand-off–auto switch, 59
3-18 HOA motor circuit, 60
3-19 Float-operated level switch symbol (closes on rising level), 60
3-20 Float-operated level switch symbol (opens on rising level), 60
3-21 Automatic pump control off of a float switch, 61
3-22 Three-wire control using two level switches, 61
3-23 Three-wire control using two level switches with lock-out–stop switch, 63
3-24 Three-wire control using two level switches with lock-out–stop switch
and a low-level interlock switch, 64
3-25 Electrical ladder diagram symbol legend, 65
4-1 The Venturi tube, 69
4-2 Venturi meter and flow tube, 70
4-3 Troubleshooting guide for a differential pressure transducer, 72
4-4 Orifice plate, 75
4-5 Magnetic flowmeter, 77
4-6 Example of a troubleshooting flowchart, 78
4-7 Propeller and turbine meters, 81
4-8 Troubleshooting procedures for turbine meter, 82
4-9 Ultrasonic time-of-flight flowmeter, 84
4-10 Vortex flowmeter, 87
4-11 Vortex flowmeter troubleshooting guide, 88
4-12 Averaging Pitot flowmeter insertion tube, 90
4-13 Variable area flowmeter, 92
4-14 Common types of weirs, 95
4-15 Free flow over a weir, 96
4-16 Parshall flume, 97
4-17 Typical flow straighteners, 99
5-1 Bourdon, bellows, and diaphragm pressure sensors, 103
5-2 Typical LVDT application, 103
5-3 Diaphragm seal, 104

vi
5-4 Variable capacitance pressure sensor, 104
5-5 Float-type, level-sensing system, 105
5-6 Stage recorder, 106
5-7 Bubbler, 106
5-8 Admittance probe, 107
5-9 Variable resistance level sensor, 108
5-10 Ultrasonic level sensor, 108
5-11 Typical temperature elements, 109
5-12 Thermowell, 110
5-13 Motor current sensor, 111
5-14 Light scatter turbidity, 113
5-15 Surface scatter, 114
5-16 pH system, 114
5-17 Immersion and flow-through pH systems, 115
5-18 Chlorine membrane probe, 116
5-19 Amperometric chlorine residual analyzer, 117
5-20 CO2 buffering, 117
5-21 Particle counter, 118
5-22 Streaming current monitor, 118
6-1 Typical single compressor system, 124
6-2 Power supply, 125
6-3 Basic controller, 125
6-4 Analog indicator, 126
6-5 Analog and digital indicator, 126
6-6 Circular recorder, 127
6-7 Strip chart recorder, 127
7-1 Telemetering, 132
7-2 Typical digital telemetering system, 134
7-3 Schematic of a typical PDM system, 135
7-4 Nomenclature of frequencies, 140
8-1 Components of control, 144
8-2 Solenoid with cylinder actuator, 145
8-3 Solenoid with details, 145
8-4 Single-phase motor, 146
8-5 Pneumatic positioner cut away, 147

vii
8-6 Electronic positioner circuitry, 147
8-7a Rotary valve requires torque, 148
8-7b Linear valve requires thrust, 148
8-8 Piping configurations, 149
8-9 Control characteristics, 151
8-10 Butterfly valve, 151
8-11 Plug valve, 152
8-12 Gate valve, 152
8-13 Globe valve, 152
8-14 Discharge pressure control via series valve, 156
8-15 Discharge pressure control via bypass valve, 157
8-16 Pneumatic conveying system, 158
8-17 Chemical feed system (liquid), 158
8-18 Chemical feed system (dry), 159
8-19 Typical rotary paddle volumetric feeder, 159
8-20 Screw-type volumetric feeder, 160
8-21 Gravimetric feeder (belt type), 160
9-1 Generic control loop, 162
9-2 Feedforward control of chlorine contact channel, 163
9-3 Feedback control of chlorine contact channel, 164
9-4 Compound control of chlorine contact channel, 166
9-5 Generic feedback control timing graph, 169
9-6a On–off control of a reservoir, 170
9-6b On–off control timing graph, 170
9-7a Gap-action control of a reservoir, 171
9-7b Gap-action control timing graph, 171
9-8 Proportional control input/output relationship, 172
9-9a Proportional control of a reservoir, 173
9-9b Proportional control timing graph, 173
9-10a Integral control of a reservoir, 175
9-10b Integral control timing graph, 175
9-11a Proportional-plus-derivative control of a reservoir, 177
9-11b Proportional-plus-derivative control timing graph, 178
10-1 Digital control system, 181
10-2 Operating system, 187

viii
10-3 Layers of communications, LAN, WAN, 190
10-4 Reference model for open system interconnection, 190
10-5 Networks, 192
11-1 General instrument or function symbols, 201
11-2 Function designations for relays, 202
11-3 Standard instrument line symbols, 203
11-4 Example of PI&D loop description, 205

ix
This page intentionally blank.
Tables

6-1 Comparison of electronic and pneumatic systems, 123


10-1 EIA standards, 191
11-1 ISA instruments, 200
11-2 Summary of special abbreviations, 204

xi
This page intentionally blank.
Foreword

The Distribution Division of American Water Works Association authorized


the formation of the Committee on Automation and Instrumentation in 1968 and
the division’s board of trustees set a scope for the committee as follows:

Assemble and disseminate information on automatic and remote operation


and instrumentation of pumping stations and distribution and supply
systems, including valves, storage tanks, and booster pumps.

To accomplish part of this assignment, the committee prepared this manual.


This third edition of M2 includes basic information on electrical power distribution
and updates the automation and instrumentation technology that has changed
rapidly since the second edition in 1983. Computer technology in particular is
evolving with great speed and will continue to do so. On the other hand, much of
the theory and principles remain the same.
This manual is written primarily for the operator of any water utility, large or
small, who would not necessarily have technical background but who would be
searching for basic explanations and general information. The manual discusses
equipment, terms, and expressions an operator encounters wherever electrical
systems, automation, and instrumentation are found in water distribution,
treatment, and storage systems.
The size and complexity of the centralized water system facilities vary with
the size and complexity of the utility. However, the basic principles of electrical
power distribution, automation, and instrumentation apply in each case.
The committee, which is now under the Engineering and Construction
Division, has been renamed, Instrumentation and Control, and the M2 manual is
now titled Instrumentation and Control.

xiii
This page intentionally blank.
Acknowledgments

The Automation and Instrumentation Committee of the Engineering and


Construction Division of the Technical and Educational Council of the American
Water Works Association developed this edition of M2. The committee has been
renamed Instrumentation and Control. The following committee members assisted:

D. W. Mair, Chair, Cholla Electrical Consultants, Inc., Phoenix, Ariz.


M. J. Okey, Vice Chair, CH2M Hill, Denver, Colo.
H. D. Gilman, Greeley & Hansen Engineers, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.
D. R. Olson, Professional Services Group, Inc., Marshfield, Mass.
E. W. Von Sacken, Colorado Springs Utilities, Colo.
R. K. Weir, Fluids Engineering, Denver, Colo.
E. F. Baltutis, Keystone Controls, Houston, Texas
R. V. Frykman, CDM, Chicago, Ill.
Clarence Hilbrick Jr., Portland Water Bureau, Portland, Ore.
John McDaniel
E. F. Morey, retired

xv
This page intentionally blank.
AWWA MANUAL M2

Chapter 1
Introduction

Just as water utility system varies in definition, so does automation and instrumenta-
tion. However, to provide a framework for this manual the following definitions will
be used (AwwaRF/JWWA 1994):

Automation: the replacement or elimination of intermediate components


of a system or steps in a process, especially those involving human
intervention or decision making, by technologically more advanced ones.

Instrumentation: both the technology and installation of equipment to


monitor and control operations and carry out information processing
associated with observation or adjustments of operations.

In the broadest sense, an instrument is defined as a device that performs a


specific job. In a water utility, an instrument is usually a measuring or control device.
In an automatic system, the controlling factor, such as flow or pressure, has to be
reliably sensed or measured. Automation and instrumentation are closely associated
because one depends on the other.

THE WATER UTILITY SYSTEM _________________________________________


To provide a consistent approach, the following paragraphs apply to water treatment
and distribution systems, their important elements, the operator’s responsibilities,
and automation and instrumentation’s role.
A water distribution system delivers potable water, at a suitable pressure, in the
amount required at customer service connections, through a piping network. The
distribution system can consist of elements such as main pumping stations, booster
pumping stations, storage reservoirs, standpipes, elevated tanks, water mains, valve
stations, and wells. The operator has the duty to maintain the elements of the system
and to see that they perform correctly and reliably.
An operator’s main responsibilities are supervision and control. Supervision
means examining system performance information and deciding if it is acceptable. If,
in the operator’s opinion, performance is unacceptable, then the operator must

1
2 INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL

change an element or make an adjustment to the system to bring performance back


to an acceptable condition. This is called manual control. When instruments are
provided to make the necessary change or correction without the intervention of the
operator, the system is called automatic control. However, regardless of the extent to
which automatic control is used, the operator still may need to intervene manually
during abnormal or emergency situations.
Because treatment plants, distribution system pumping stations, storage
reservoirs, and other facilities may be at various, separate locations, the information
needed to supervise and control the system must be gathered at some centralized
point near the operator. Provision must also be made at this central location for
remote control of any of the facilities that the operator may be required to regulate
or change.
The operator will usually be working through some intermediate or intervening
instrument to cause the systems to perform. Some of the instruments will be
entirely mechanical, such as levers, chains, and cables; some will be hydraulic
systems, using water or oil pressure for power sources and control; some will be
pneumatic systems, using compressed air for power, control, and instrumentation;
and some will be electrical systems for power, control, and instrumentation. A swing
check valve will close automatically, for example, when not forced open by the flow
of water through it. An indicating pointer can be positioned by a system of cable and
pulleys to provide position indication. Oil or water pressure can be used to hold a
valve closed, whereupon the loss of pressure will cause it to open automatically.
Similarly, compressed-air pneumatic systems can be arranged to cause devices to
operate automatically; pneumatic instrumentation and control systems are used
extensively. Electricity is used more than any other source of power for control and
instrumentation.
Generally, an electrical system, together with various mechanical, hydraulic,
and pneumatic subsystems, allows an operator to supervise and control the water
system. These electrical systems may include any or all of the following:
• Power system, using local, remote, or automatic control
• Telemetering, monitoring, and alarm system
• Communication system, data acquisition, and data processing
Operations are performed automatically for several reasons:
• the operator does not have to do them
• the operator cannot do them
• they can be done faster and better automatically
• they can be more efficient
As with automation, instrumentation is an extension of the operator. Instru-
ments see, feel, measure, and record information for the operator. Instruments can
perform a variety of operations, including:
• measuring • monitoring • comparing
• remembering • signaling • regulating
• calculating • switching • transmitting
• receiving • recording • indicating
INTRODUCTION 3

• integrating • summating • programming


• timing • anticipating • analyzing
• converting • detecting • alarming
Each individual instrument is a single device with a specific task. Collectively,
instrument systems can seem extremely complex; but the operator who understands
each device and its unique function will be able to use each instrument as an aid to
efficient supervision and control. An operator should be acquainted with all the
automatic controls and instruments in use in the utility. This will give the operator
the confidence needed to use the equipment effectively. With a broad knowledge of
instrumentation and its applications, the operator becomes the driving force to seek
operational improvement through the technology of instrumentation.

HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL _______________________________________


This manual introduces the major topics of automation and instrumentation. While
not an exhaustive source of specific details, the manual can be used to identify water
utility system automation and instrumentation elements. At a pumping station, for
example, an operator will be able to examine an item of equipment and understand
what it does, how it works, and identify the functions of its associated devices.
Having identified a device, the operator may refer to the operations manual for
further information. By using the plans of the station, equipment instruction
manuals, equipment nameplate data, and other general information, the operator
should be able to learn the names of the various devices and become acquainted with
the intended purpose of an overall assembly of the equipment. This assembly can, for
example, include a pump, motor, motor starter, and pump discharge valve, together
with instrumentation and protective devices working together to perform a function
as a complete unit.
This procedure can be used to learn more about local and remote controls,
metering, and instrumentation. This manual can be used to understand their
functions, as well as their relationships to the connected equipment.
This operator’s manual may cover considerably more material than would apply
to many small facilities; yet the manual may not mention every device found in a
particular system. In these cases, the operator is encouraged to seek other references,
some of which can be found in this manual.
The chapter arrangement of this manual is intended to group related topics. The
second and third chapters review the hydraulic and electrical principles used in
automation and instrumentation, as well as the basics of electric motor controls. The
fourth and fifth chapters discuss instruments that measure process variables such as
flow, pressure, level, and temperature. These types of instruments are called primary
instrumentation. The sixth and seventh chapters present secondary instrumentation,
those instruments that respond to and display information from primary instrumen-
tation. The eighth chapter looks at the final control elements, such as pumps and
valves. The last three chapters introduce the basics of automatic and digital control
elements.
The topics of each chapter are introduced in the following paragraphs.
Chapter 2 Hydraulics and Electricity briefly reviews hydraulics and
electrical power as the subjects relate to automation and instrumentation. Water
utility operators are usually more familiar with hydraulics than electricity, and
knowledge of both is necessary to get the most out of this manual.
4 INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL

Chapter 3 Motor Controls introduces the principles of the controls that stop
and start motors, as well as the control of variable speed motors. The chapter also
discusses motor control logic and presents motor control diagrams.
Chapter 4 Flowmeters discusses the most common flowmeters in service in
water supply systems. These include the Venturi meter (Venturi), modified Venturis,
orifice plate, magnetic, turbine and propeller, sonic, vortex, averaging Pitot, and
rotameter. Also included are open channel flowmeters—weirs and flumes. Topics
covered are basic theory, installation, maintenance, advantages, and disadvantages.
Chapter 5 Pressure, Level, Temperature, and Other Process Measure-
ments introduces the primary sensors associated with three process variables
encountered in water utility systems: pressure, level, and temperature. This chapter
will touch on, in general terms, analytical instrumentation that is finding wide use in
water systems, particularly in water treatment plants. An overview is also included
of many of the less common sensors in use today.
Chapter 6 Secondary Instrumentation explains the pneumatic systems
(those using air pressure) and electronic systems that control secondary instrumen-
tation. Topics include the air supply system, pneumatic controllers, recording and
indicating hardware, computing devices, converters, and applications.
Chapter 7 Telemetry is remote metering, taking a measurement at one
location then transmitting it to another location. Specific topics include transmitting
devices, output devices, controllers and function modules, communications, and
various types of telemetry.
Chapter 8 Final Control Elements provides an overview for those applica-
tions that can produce a change in the process of treating and distributing water:
valves and pumps. In general, this chapter describes the various types of final control
elements and how they operate within an automated system.
Chapter 9 Basics of Automatic Process Control discusses how the
elements presented in the previous chapters work together in a process that occurs
without continuous operator input. The chapter provides basic information on
process control and the most common techniques used to automate process control
in water utilities.
Chapter 10 Digital Control and Communication Systems shows how
computer and digital technology enable operators of process control systems to
quickly recognize status changes and respond immediately. This chapter introduces
the concepts, hardware, and software of digital control.
Chapter 11 Instrument Diagrams presents the standard instrument
diagrams or process and instrument diagrams frequently used in the water utility
systems.

REFERENCE _______________________________________________________________
AwwaRF/JWWA (American Water Works
Association Research Foundation/
Japan Water Works Association). 1994.
Instrumentation & Computer Integra-
tion of Water Utility Operations.
Denver, Colo.: AwwaRF/AWWA.
AWWA MANUAL M2

Chapter 2
Hydraulics and Electricity

This chapter presents the basics of hydraulics and electricity. A basic knowledge of
the physics of hydraulics (fluid mechanics) and electricity is required for any designer
or operator to understand the system. Hydraulics topics include flows, pressures,
elevation, valve positions, and other physical parameters that are sensed and
transmitted for either monitoring or control. Topics on electricity include basic
electricity, distribution concepts, power factor, and safety.

HYDRAULICS _____________________________________________________________
In water systems, hydraulics explains how water acts in tanks, open channels, and
pipes. The principles of hydraulics can be used to design sensing devices such as Pitot
tubes, Venturi flow tubes, and ultrasonic, magnetic, and other static and dynamic
sensing devices. Water, as a medium for transmitting force, can be applied to
cylinders, pilot valves, and transmitter mechanisms. Hydraulics can be used to
predict hydraulic surge and cavitation in order to properly design, control, and
operate systems in a safe and efficient manner. Hydraulic friction in closed conduits
and its relationship to flow directly determine the sizing of lines and valves, head
losses, and the operation of different system configurations.
The three branches of hydraulics are
• Hydrostatics (liquids at rest)
• Hydrokinetics (liquids in motion)
• Hydrodynamics (forces exerted by or on a liquid in motion)

Properties of Liquids
Three basic characteristics of liquids are that
• they are virtually incompressible.
• they have unlimited directional movement.
• they can assume any form or shape.

5
6 INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL

Density of water. For most hydraulic equations, density, expressed as weight


per unit volume, of pure water is assumed to be 62.4 lb/ft3 (999.6 kg/m3). This density
is correct only at 52°F (11°C). As the temperature of water changes, its density
changes.
• At higher temperatures water is less dense. At 200°F (93°C) density =
60.135 lb/ft3 (963 kg/m3).
• At lower temperatures water is more dense. At 39°F (3.9°C) density =
62.424 lb/ft3 (1,000.03 kg/m3).
• At 32°F (0°C) water freezes. Ice is less dense than liquid water; therefore, it
floats.
Dissolved minerals and salts will add to the weight of water. The density of
seawater is 64 lb/ft3 (1,030 kg/m3). Pure water at 39.2°F (4°C) is the standard used to
determine the specific gravity of other liquids, assuming both are at atmospheric
pressure, 14.7 psi (101 kPa). For these conditions, pure water is at its maximum
density, 62.4266 lb/ft3 (1,000 kg/m3).
Incompressibility. Although liquids are shapeless, they are generally less
compressible than a solid. When a force is applied to a confined liquid, the liquid acts
in a manner very similar to a rigid solid. A pressure of 1 psi (6.9 kPa) will reduce a
volume of water by 1 part in 300,000. For each drop of water added to a full container,
a drop must come out or the container will burst. This is also true in a pipeline: a
gallon in requires a gallon out.
Density and specific gravity. Pressure exerted by a liquid depends on its
weight density. For example, water weighs 62.4 lb/ft3 or 0.036 lb/in.3 (999.6 kg/m3).
Viscosity. Viscosity is the internal frictional resistance a liquid offers to flow
or motion. It increases with a decrease in temperature. Liquids such as polymers may
have a viscosity that greatly affects the suction characteristics of chemical pumping
equipment. Water is one of the least viscous liquids, whereas oil and molasses are
more viscous.
Water used for backwashing a filter will have a different viscosity in the winter
than in the summer. This affects the expansion of the filter bed. It would take
1,000 gpm (0.063 m3/sec) at 86°F (30°C) but only 420 gpm (0.026 m3/sec) at 32°F
(0°C) to expand the bed equally.

Hydrostatics
Hydrostatics is the study of liquids at rest.
Hydrostatic pressure. Pressure, as the word is commonly used, means the
intensity of force per unit area. Pascal’s law states that pressure exerted at any point
in a liquid acts equally in all directions and that this pressure acts at right angles to
the surfaces of the containing vessel. As the example shown in Figure 2-1 illustrates,
a 10-ft head in a tank is applied at the base of the tank in all directions, to the bottom
and sides—downward and outward. The vertical distance between two horizontal
levels in a liquid is defined as the head of liquid.
Every square inch of the bottom of the tank has the same head exerted on it.
Similarly, at a depth of 5 ft, the pressure head is 5 ft in all directions.
The pressure at any point in a liquid depends on
• Height of liquid above the point
• Density of the liquid
• Any additional pressure applied to the surface
HYDRAULICS AND ELECTRICITY 7

5 ft

10 ft

Figure 2-1 Pressure in a tank

A A

B B

Figure 2-2 Pressure in containers of various shapes

All fluids will seek their own level; that is, the surfaces of any connected volumes
of water will equalize at the same elevation. This is true even if two nonmiscible
liquids (those that will not mix together in the same container) are placed on top of
each other, such as water over mercury.
Effect of container shape on pressure. One of the corollaries of Pascal’s
law is that pressure is not altered by the physical shape of the container. To illustrate
this, an arbitrary horizontal reference plane (called a datum plane) is used to
measure hydraulic elevations, regardless of the container shape or pipeline grade. In
Figure 2-2, with B–B as a datum plane, the pressure at B will be the same in each
container; the same is true if A–A is used as the datum plane.
Hydraulic elevations, as referenced against the datum plane, can be positive or
negative (above or below the datum plane). Sea level is commonly used as a reference
plane.
Atmospheric pressure. All gases have weight, so the weight of air acting on
the free surfaces of a liquid is another force to consider in evaluating hydraulic
systems. Air weighs 0.075 lb/ft3 (1.2 kg/m3) at sea level.
Atmospheric pressure is

2,116 lb/ft2 (101.3 kPa), or

(2,116 lb/ft2)/(144 in.2/ft2) = 14.7 lb/in.2, or

(2,116 lb/ft2)/(62.4 lb/ft3) = 33.9 ft of water, or

(2,116 lb/ft2)/(848.6 lb/ft3)/(12 in./ft) = 29.9 in. of mercury.

Vacuum. A perfect vacuum is a space containing nothing: no solids, no liquids,


and no gases. A perfect vacuum is unattainable, and the amount of vacuum is equal
to the amount that the pressure is below atmospheric pressure.
Liquids below atmospheric pressures obey Pascal’s law just as they do at
positive pressures. Negative pressures, referred to as negative heads, will be found
in devices such as pumps, eductors, and Venturi tubes. Sensed pressures, both
8 INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL

h1
h2
h3

Figure 2-3 Water level in an unpressurized system

Air h4
Vacuum h3

h1 H2O Hg
H2O h2
H2O

Figure 2-4 Fluid levels in a vacuum system

negative and positive, provide information, which is converted into flows, elevations,
and pressures necessary to operate a water utility. The methods of conversion and
instrumentation used in the process will be discussed later in this manual.
Summary of hydrostatics. The hydraulic arrangements in Figures 2-3 and 2-4
illustrate the basics of Pascal’s law, under both positive and negative pressures, for a
liquid under static conditions. The use of piezometric tubes can show the pressure at
any point in a hydraulic system (see Figure 2-7). The figure shows that no matter
where a group of piezometric tubes are connected, if cut through the same plane, the
water level will be the same in every tube.
Similarly in Figure 2-4, a vacuum can be pulled on a system such that if h1 =
12 in. (120 mm), h2 and h3 will also equal 12 in.

Hydrokinetics
Hydrokinetics describes the characteristics of liquids in motion.
Liquid flow. Some of the elementary characteristics of flow are volume,
velocity, laminar flow, turbulent flow, and the energy involved.
Volume is the quantity of liquid that passes a known point in a hydraulic
system, and velocity is the rate or speed of the liquid passing that point.
The velocity of the liquid flow increases as the cross-sectional area decreases.
Also, the velocity decreases as the cross-sectional area increases (Figure 2-5). The
flow velocity at B is two times that at A, because the area at B is half that at A;
therefore, a constant flow is maintained throughout the length of the pipe.
HYDRAULICS AND ELECTRICITY 9

A = 10 sq ft A = 5 sq ft
v = 6 fps v = 12 fps

A B

Figure 2-5 Flow velocity as a function of cross-sectional area

A Laminar Flow

B Turbulent Flow

Figure 2-6 Flow–velocity profiles

Piezometric
Tube

Pitot Tube

Figure 2-7 Determination of static pressure

Laminar and turbulent flow. If the average velocity is low, the flow of the
liquid will be laminar; i.e., all the particles move parallel to each other without
interaction. As flow rate increases, these particle streams will continue to run
parallel until some critical velocity occurs, when the streams will waver and suddenly
break up into turbulent flow.
Turbulent flow produces random motion of the liquid, even in a direction at
right angles to the flow. The velocity distribution in the turbulent region is more
uniform. However, even under these conditions, a thin layer of liquid at the pipe wall
moves in laminar flow. If the velocity profiles of laminar and turbulent flow are
measured and plotted, they will look something like those in Figure 2-6.
Measurements. Two conditions of flow in a closed conduit can be easily
determined: static pressure and relative velocity. First, the static pressure at any
point in the system can be determined with a piezometric tube (Figure 2-7)
perpendicular to the pipe flow direction. The measurement should be taken at a point
where the direction of the flowing fluid is not changing. Second, the relative velocity
within the pipe can be measured using a Pitot tube. This device, with its tapered tube
pointing into the flow, measures the velocity only at its opening. It does not,
therefore, find the true mean velocity of the velocity profile that exists within a pipe,
as shown in Figure 2-6. Several readings must be taken across the pipe at prescribed
locations in a plane (a traverse) to calculate the average (or mean) velocity.
Energy and head. Water flow has potential energy (capacity to do work)
because of its elevation, velocity, pressure, or any combination of these. Each energy
form may be expressed as equivalent pressure or head in feet (or meters), or in
pounds per square inch (or kilopascals). Also, each energy form can be converted to
10 INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL

Piezometric Tube Pitot Tube

Free Surface Line of Total Head

Pressure
Total Head
hp
Head
H

Cap
D

A A

Tank
Elevation Head he

L
Datum

Figure 2-8 Water in pipe with pressure, no flow

the other two. The sum of these three energy forms is called the total head, H,
(Figure 2-8). If water flowed through a smooth pipe without friction, the total head
would remain the same at any section of the pipe (Figure 2-9). This would be true
even if the diameter (D) of the pipe or its elevation changed.
Elevation head: he . In hydraulics, differences in elevation are measured above
a selected datum plane. The pipe in Figure 2-9 is at the same elevation above the
datum at all points; therefore, he is constant. If point 2 were higher than point 1, as
in Figure 2-10, he at point 2 would increase and pressure head, hp, at point 2 would
decrease because part of hp would be used to lift the water at point 2, where the
energy would show an increase in he.
Velocity head: hv . When water flows in a pipe, a part of the total head, H, is
converted to kinetic energy (energy of motion) capable of lifting the water through a
height, hv , equal to the difference in elevation, he, if the water and pipe had no
friction. This can be seen by the difference in levels in a Pitot tube, which senses
velocity head (kinetic energy), and a piezometric tube, which senses static head
energy (potential energy) at the point of measurement (Figure 2-11).
A body falling freely through a height, h, will attain a velocity expressed as:

v = 2gh (2-1)

Where:
v = velocity, theoretical, ft/sec (m/sec)
g = acceleration constant of gravity, 32.16 ft/sec2 (9.8 m/sec2)
h = vertical height or head, ft (m)
HYDRAULICS AND ELECTRICITY 11

Total Head

hp hp

Point 1

Point 2

he hhe
Datum

Figure 2-9 Total head

Total Head

h p2

h p1

Point 1

Point 2

Tank 1 h e2 Tank 2

he1

Datum

Figure 2-10 Elevation head


12 INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL

Total Head Grade Line

hv2 hed

Hydraulic
h p1 Grade Line hp2

H1 H2
Point 2
Flow
Point 1

H 1 = h p + he = hp + he + hv2 = H 2
he1 1 1 2 2
he 2
Datum

Figure 2-11 Flowing without friction

Falling Body h v = v 2/2g

Point 2

Flow

Point 1

Datum

Figure 2-12 Velocity head

Water flowing through a pipe without friction is essentially falling through a


height equal to the difference in elevations between two points (Figure 2-12).
Consequently, the water in the pipe attains the same velocity as a falling body
through a height equal to the velocity head, hv , and this may be expressed as:

v = 2gh (2-2)

If a Pitot tube is inserted into the pipe, the energy of velocity will lift the water
in the tube to a height equal to the difference in elevations, or to the total head minus
the sum of the pressure head, hp, and elevation head, he, or the head, hv , causing the
HYDRAULICS AND ELECTRICITY 13

velocity. Consequently, hv is called velocity head (represents kinetic energy) and can
be expressed as:

2
h v = v ⁄ 2g (2-3)

Pressure head: hp . Pressure head, hp, is equivalent to the pressure per unit
area exerted against the walls of the pipe. It is the only part of the total head, H, that
can be measured by a piezometric tube, manometer, or pressure gauge (and
represents potential energy).
Friction head: hf . When water flows from one point to another, turbulence,
pipe roughness, and the frictional forces within the fluid cause friction, which
generates heat, and therefore, head loss. Energy is not lost, because energy can be
neither created nor destroyed; the energy is converted to heat.
Therefore, the rules for flow indicate that when water flows from one point to
another, the sum of the elevation, velocity, and pressure heads at the second point
must be equal to the total head at the first point, minus the friction head:

he + hv + h p = H – h f (2-4)

In Figure 2-13, because hf is a continuously increasing value between point 1


and point 2, pressure head, hp , decreases continuously between these same points.
Because velocity head, hv , is constant, the total-head hydraulic grade slopes in the
magnitude of the increase of hf while hp decreases.
Total head: H. The combined effects of head can be summarized as follows:
total head, H1, at any point in the system is the sum of the elevation head, he,
pressure head, hp, and velocity head, hv , at that point. The total head, H2, at a second

Total Head Grade Line

h f1–2

hv2 Difference hed


in Elevation

Hydraulic Grade Line


H1 hp2

Point 2

Flow

Pressure
Head Grade Line he2
Point 1
H1 – hf = he + hp + hv
1–2 2 2 2
Datum

Figure 2-13 Flowing with friction


14 INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL

point, equals the total head, H1, at the first point, minus the head loss, hf, caused by
friction between the points:

H2 = H1 – hf (2-5)

Quantity flowing in straight pipe—no friction. If the flow is zero, water


will stand at the line of total head in both the piezometric tube and the Pitot tube. No
velocity head, hv , exists. The volume, V, contained in length of pipe, L, between two
points is determined as follows:

V = A×L (2-6)

Where:
V = Total volume, in ft3 (m3)
A = Area of pipe cross section, in ft2 (m2)
L = Length of section, in ft (m)

If water flowed without friction, water in the piezometric tube would stand at a
height, hv , that was a distance below the line of total head, H, because that part of H
is converted to velocity head, hv , producing velocity, v.
As explained in the previous section, velocity, v, will be the same at all sections
of a pipe of constant cross-sectional area. The hydraulic grade line drawn through the
water elevation in a series of piezometric tubes will be parallel to the total head
grade line.
The quantity, Q, in cubic feet (or cubic meters) for length, L, will flow past a
point in a time period, t. Therefore,

L ⁄ t = Velocity, v, in ft/sec (m/sec) (2-7)

Where:
t = time, in seconds

Therefore, the equation for still water in pipe, Q = A × L, is changed to the


following for flowing water:

Qt = A × v (2-8)

Where:
Qt is equal to volume rate of flow in ft3/sec (m3/sec)

However, velocity is produced by the conversion of part of the total head, H, to


velocity head, hv . Velocity, v, is expressed as follows:

v = 2gh v (2-9)

Substitution yields:

Q t = A × 2gh v (2-10)

Quantity flowing in straight pipe—with friction. Water flows in the


presence of friction. A part of the total head, H, is converted to velocity head, hv , and
a part of the total head, H, is lost in friction, hf (Figure 2-14).
HYDRAULICS AND ELECTRICITY 15

Total
Total Head
Head Grade
Grade

hhff
Difference
Difference hheed
hhvv in
d
in Elevation
Elevation

Hydraulic
Hydraulic Grade
Grade
H
H hhpp

Point
Point 11 Point
Point 22

low
FFlo w

Pressure
Pressure
Head
Head Grade
Grade hhee

hhee ++ hhpp ++ hhvvA == H –h


A H – hff

Datum
Datum

Figure 2-14 Flowing with friction

The value of friction, hf , increases with distance between any two points. The
pressure head, hp, is decreased by the same amount that friction head, hf, increases.
Because the total head, H, includes the pressure head, the total head is decreased in
the same amount. The water elevation in a series of piezometric tubes will stand
below the total-head grade, and the hydraulic grade line will slope.
The velocity head, hv , discharged through an orifice is decreased by a small
amount (usually 1–2 percent) equal to the head loss caused by the orifice contraction,
hf, at the discharge point.

h v total = h v – h f discharge orifice (2-11)

For a given total head, H, and a given head condition at the discharge point, the
actual velocity, vA, and velocity head, hvA, will be less than the theoretical velocity, v,
and velocity head, hv . However, because the cross-sectional area of the pipe is
constant, the actual velocity head, hvA, and the actual velocity, vA, will be constant.
The actual quantity, QA, corresponding to the actual velocity head, hvA, can be
expressed as:

Q A = A × 2gh vA (2-12)

However, hvA is some unknown part of hv , because hvA = hv – hf, and the value
of hf is unknown.
The value of hf varies with length and diameter of pipe, and the surface
characteristics of roughness of the pipe. The head loss in friction can be expressed:

2
L vA
h f = f × ---- × ------- (2-13)
D 2g
16 INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL

50 100
2 ft 1 ft
100 lb 50 lb

2 in.2 1 in.2

Figure 2-15 Mechanical leverage compared to hydraulic force

Where:
D = pipe diameter
f = the friction factor for the pipe in question

Combining the last two equations yields:

2
 L v A
Q A = A × 2g h v –  f × ---- × ------- (2-14)
 D 2g

This equation is not practical for determining actual quantity because too many
unknowns exist: the theoretical velocity head, hv , the friction factor, f, the actual pipe
diameter, D, and the actual velocity, vA. Therefore, to measure accurately the actual
quantity, QA, some type of measuring device with known physical characteristics that
can be bench tested must be used. Flowmeters serve this function to varying degrees.

Hydrodynamics
The forces of hydraulics are analogous to those of mechanical leverage, as shown
in Figure 2-15 and discussed in the following paragraphs. The transmission of force
in a hydraulic system is basic to chemical-pump equipment and cylinder-operated
butterfly valves.
Force in hydraulic systems. Pascal’s law states that a force applied to a
confined liquid is transmitted equally in all directions throughout the liquid,
regardless of the shape of the container. Transmission of pressure can be defined as
force divided by the area over which it is distributed.
In Figure 2-16, 200 lb of force, F, applied to piston 1 will impart 20 psi to the
liquid. Piston 2 will see the 20 psi and with its 10-in.2 area,

20 psi = F/10 in.2

or 20 × 10 = 200 lb of force

Piston 3 will also see 20 psi; but with its 20-in.2 area, it will produce 400 lb of force:

20 psi = F/20 in.2

or 400 lb of force
HYDRAULICS AND ELECTRICITY 17

Force 200 lb Force 200 lb

Piston 1, 10 in.2 Piston 2, 10 in.2

Piston 3, 20 in.2

Force 400 lb

Figure 2-16 Hydraulic force

20 psi

6-in.2 Area 4-in.2 Area


40-lb Force

2-in.2 Area

Figure 2-17 Differential areas

This multiplication of forces by the difference in area between two pistons is a


principle commonly used in hydraulic equipment. Note that the shape of the
connecting pipe has no effect on the forces.
The transmission of forces by hydraulic fluids can also be described as
differential areas. In Figure 2-17, a single cylinder has a single piston rod extending
through one of the cylinder end caps. The effective area on the left side of the piston
is 6 in.2. The effective area on the right side of the piston is 4 in.2, because the rod
occupies 2 in.2. Consequently, there is a force of 120 lb on the left side of the piston
and 80 lb on the right, leaving a net force of 40 lb on the end of the rod. The net effect
is the result of the area differential created by the rod because all other effective
areas balance out.
Energy and work. Work is defined as a force moving a mass through a
distance, and the amount of work is the product of the force multiplied by the
distance. Without friction, the work input will be equal to the work output.
Energy includes work, together with other forms of energy into which work may
be converted, and the forms that can be converted into work. Work must involve
motion, whereas energy can be at rest and still exist as energy. The two, work and
energy, are always interchangeable. Because energy is never created or destroyed,
the total energy output in all its forms will always exactly equal the total energy
input; this is the law of conversion of energy. This law holds even if usable output
does not equal the input. For example, the seal on a cylinder shaft has friction.
Consequently, some of the work imparted to the cylinder is consumed by the friction,
which, in turn, generates heat. The total energy input equals the usable output plus
the heat energy resulting from friction.
18 INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL

ELECTRICITY ______________________________________________
Electricity is the primary type of energy used to power the majority of equipment used
in the transport, treatment, and distribution of water. Electricity is usually delivered
to a single point in most facilities by the local electrical utility and then distributed
within the facility using equipment owned and operated by the water utility.
This section is not intended to make the reader an expert in electrical systems,
but rather to describe the basic principles and equipment used in electrical power
distribution. Water utility operators will better understand how their facilities
operate and their options for meeting different operating requirements.
This section explains the following:
• Basic Electricity—physical laws that govern how electricity behaves
• Distribution Concepts—basic techniques used in electrical power distribu-
tion and commonly used electrical diagrams
• Safety—basic safety issues and the equipment used to enhance safety in
electrical circuits
• Power Factor—what power factor means, how it impacts efficiency, and how
to improve it in a facility
• Lightning and Surge Protection—protecting people and equipment from
lightning and other electrical surges

Basic Electricity
Electricity is the movement of electrical charge from one place to another. Electrical
charge results from atoms that have more electrons than protons (a negative charge)
or fewer electrons than protons (a positive charge). Positive charges always attract
negative charges, and negative charges always attract positive charges. Conversely,
positive charges always repel other positive charges, and negative charges always
repel other negative charges. This attraction or repulsion is called an electrical force,
which can be quite substantial. By manipulating these charges according to the laws
of physics, electricity can be very useful.
All atoms have one or more protons in their center, or nucleus, which attract an
equal number of electrons on the outside edge of the atom. Atoms which have an
equal number of electrons and protons are electrically balanced; they have no charge.
Because an atom’s electrons are attracted to their protons by an electrical force, they
have to be forced out of the atom to create an electrical charge. Electrons can be
forced out of an electrically balanced atom in several ways. Each of these is briefly
explained below:

Physical—Electrons are forced out of atoms colliding with nearby atoms.


When atoms on the surface of one material collide with the atoms on the
surface of the other material, some of the electrons bump into the electrons
of the other atoms and move from one material to the other. When an
electron is knocked out of an atom, the electron becomes negatively
charged. Therefore, the atom becomes positively charged because it now
has more protons than electrons.
The dislodged electron is called a free electron. A free electron remains
free only if there is no atom with extra protons available to neutralize it. It
can move through material without becoming attached to an atom. This
Another Random Document on
Scribd Without Any Related Topics
Jukichi’s neighbors had not missed the visits of the nakodo to his
house, and as he had only one daughter and there was no wedding,
it was quite evident that several proposals for O-Mitsu had been
rejected. It was whispered about, in Lower Timber Street, that it was
the girl herself who had made the refusals. But if Jukichi had any
regrets, they never appeared. He loved the spirited girl and her
gentle ways about the house, and it mattered nothing to him if the
neighborhood gossips talked of the scandal of a girl who dared
disclose a preference of her own contrary to the wish of her father.
Such a wonder might not be heard of again in all Japan. He did not
care. He enjoyed his home and his ease, and she was the great
factor in both.
Perhaps if he had been less fond, he might have been more
suspicious. Yet it had not occurred to the simple Samurai that there
could be reasons for his daughter’s hot distemper with the hopeful
authors of Chukei’s vicarious proposals other than her own
demonstrative desire to remain in the old home with him. The clever
girl was shrewder than he guessed. But who shall follow the blind
trail of Love and pick out his footprints with the certainty which may
say, “There he stepped,” or “Here he stopped,” or “See where he
ran!”
There was lively interest in the house in Azalea Street that evening
when Chobei recounted his conversation with the nakodo. O-Koyo
listened with the kindly sympathy that ever kindles the matchmaking
maternal heart. As for Soichi, he heard with a growing feeling of
impending disaster that made it difficult for him to conceal his
emotion. O-Mitsu had never told him anything of this, and if she had
been rejoiced at the discovery of qualities in him which she had not
anticipated, it was his turn to be surprised at her ability to keep to
herself a subject which she knew would be so disquieting to him. He
got out his little writing-box and began a letter to her. O-Koyo sighed
fondly as she glanced at the corner where he sat with his ink and
brush, busily covering a long roll of paper with she knew not what
words.
“Ah,” she said, “if only one of the proposals had been for Soichi
perhaps she would not have refused.”
“Hut!” cried her husband sharply. “Our son marry the daughter of
Kudo-san! What can you be thinking of?”
“Why not?” she replied quickly, undaunted by his scornful look.
“Strange things happen nowadays. Stranger than that have
happened already, why not again? We are rich and they are very
poor.”
“Ah, yes,” returned Chobei soberly. “That is true. But money is not
so much yet, in Japan, and many more very strange things must
come to pass before it is. Besides, we are Eta and they Samurai.”
“No, no!” cried his wife, with unaccustomed daring; “we were Eta
and they were Samurai. Now all that is ended, and you have the
best cause to know it who were yourself associated so closely with
this Kudo-san in the school. To be sure we are only Commoners yet,
but who knows what may not come? If there should be war, what
opportunities for advancement may it not bring? One who can do for
himself what you have done may do a great deal more. Why should
not you, or Soichi himself, win the promotion that would make old
Kudo-san glad to consent?”
She paused, excited and trembling, surprised at herself for making
so much argument against her husband. Chobei sat looking at her in
astonishment. Never before had she shown such feeling.
“Whatever is the world coming to,” he exclaimed at length, “when
foolish women can talk like that!”
He filled his little pipe and exhausted the pellet of tobacco almost
at one puff. But Soichi said nothing at all, and went on making his
brush fly like a dragon over the paper as if he had heard not a word
of their talk. O-Koyo said no more, and her husband smoked
furiously, rapping his pipe on the hibachi to knock out the ashes, as
if he meant to smash it to pieces. At length Soichi rolled up his yards
of affectionate ideographs and slipped them deftly inside the long,
narrow envelope, with sprays of delicate pink cherry blossoms
trailing over it. Then he went out into the night and stole down to
the corner of Kudo-san’s fence. Only the plum-tree saw him slip the
cap of the bamboo post and lay his love letter carefully inside. Then
he strode off toward the path up the hill. His heart was in a tumult.
Straight up to the old shrine he went, paused a moment before it,
and hurried on to their trysting-place at the big rock. There he sat
down, and a long time pondered the strange, exciting news he had
heard that evening. When he returned he found his father still
silently smoking rapid pipefuls and O-Koyo sitting beside him with
never a word, her hands busy with sewing. As he entered Chobei
looked up and asked:
“Where have you been?”
“I went out to walk,” answered Soichi, “and climbed up to the
shrine on the hill-top.”
Perhaps it was his talk with the nakodo, perhaps it was the
suggestion of his wife that had set Chobei to thinking definitely
about the future of his son. Theretofore there had been only a vague
recognition of the fact that sometime Soichi would marry. Now
suddenly it came to him that the boy was grown to man’s estate,
that the condition he half dreaded, half expected, was already come.
With the realization came back the mental picture of old Chukei. It
was time to look about them, he thought, to consider the possibility
of finding a suitable mate for his promising son, and, perhaps, to
employ the middleman. After a time Chobei put aside his pipe and
began to speak of what he had been thinking. Soichi listened like the
dutiful son he was, and O-Koyo heard gladly, for even if it were not
to be the beautiful daughter of the Samurai, she would be happy to
see the son of whom she was so proud well married, and the
daughter in the house would make her cares much lighter. When at
length there came a pause in which Soichi could speak, it was with
an air of quiet unconcern that he said:
“But first I must do my service in the army. If war does come,
perhaps there will be no need for Chukei-san.”
Then, because they were alone in their own privacy, where no
outside eye or ear might see or hear, and it was not necessary to
conceal their genuine emotions, they gave full rein to the expression
of their sober feelings, and the mother, who would be proudly
scornful of tears or outward show of grief if the time should come to
send her boy to the hardships and hazards of camps and battlefields,
gave the hot, protesting drops unheeded flow. But Soichi showed
the mettle that was in him, saying calmly:
“But if the Emperor wishes it!”
Reverently the Commoner and his wife bowed at the mention of
that name and the suggestion of his possible desire. There was no
more loyal family in all his realm than they, and if he needed the
sacrifice of all they had, and life itself, they had only to know his
need to make the offering. The proudest opportunity life held was to
die for him, and it was with heartfelt acquiescence that they heard
their son add:
“Then I should be sorry that I had only one life to give him.”
X
“Three times, he told my father, he had made offer of marriage for
you, and each time it was refused.”
Soichi looked down upon her where she sat by the big rock, and
his black eyes shone with a great tenderness. She did not look up,
but gazed away toward the sea and made no reply. All the time since
she had read his letter she had wondered what to say to him. For
she had wished earnestly that he might not know. There was trouble
enough already for them, and it could do no good to tell him. It
could only add to his disquiet, and as it was they seldom met
without some shadow of their specter falling over them. So she
meant to bear this alone, and if by and by the barriers were
destroyed, then it would add to their joy. But now it had come,
through the foolish gabble of old Chukei. She looked up at him
standing there, so strong and manly, and the sadness she saw
smote her heart.
“Three times,” he repeated.
The old roguish smile came into her eyes. “But none of them was
from a banker,” she said softly.
As always, she had only to seem merry to drive away his sober
mood, and now the light-hearted answer brought its quick smile in
return.
“But why did you not tell me?” he demanded.
“Thou art dull, Big One,” she answered, “to ask me such
questions. Surely thou must have guessed.”
“I am not quick with riddles,” he said.
Manlike he had but one way. He must know it all and she must
tell. The intuition that would have conjured up the whole scene for
her was utterly lacking in him, and as she watched him, she saw the
shadow settle on his brow that warned her of his shifting mood.
“For one,” she said quickly, “how could I tell when you were not
here, and thought so little of me you had not even told me where
you were?”
He did not understand, and she laughed at his puzzled look. Then
he saw.
“So long ago,” he said, “before I came home?”
“Is it so very long?” she asked. “I do not remember. It seemed but
yesterday I saw you here. How many years is it, man to whom it has
been so long?”
He gazed at her bewildered. He was no match for her at such
fencing of wits. He flung himself down beside her and said shortly:
“Have the kindness to explain, if you please. Do you not see how I
am tortured?”
“No, no!” she cried, “not that! Were they not all refused? For what
are you tortured? Ah, if you had been a woman you would have
been taught in childhood how foolish it is to admit jealous thoughts.
Well, then, since you insist so much, the first one was refused—I did
not know why. My father gave me my wish and I said No. Then one
day I went to visit an old shrine I love very much, and I found out
why. After that, with the others—there was no other reason. Now is
the torture ended?”
He turned to her and the smile in his eyes was complete reward.
“I am very glad,” he said.
“And very foolish,” she added softly.
“I wished very much to know,” he said after a pause. “To-morrow
I am summoned to the temple for examination.”
“To-morrow!” she cried. She knew it was to come but had not
thought it was so near. “To-morrow!” she repeated, whispering, as if
to herself. “Are you glad to go? Perhaps you will not be taken.”
“Nay,” he said, “if there is war I shall be glad and proud, and if
there is no war the time will soon be ended.”
“Very soon,” she said demurely, and made as if counting on her
fingers. “When a few months may seem so many years how long will
three years be?”
“Long enough for more refusals,” he answered, and she laughed
at the retort.
“But it is by lot that they are chosen,” she said, “and it may not fall
on you.”
He smiled fondly at her eagerness and innocence. “Yes, by lot,” he
answered. “But your Samurai policemen know well where to make
the lots fall.”
She knew what he meant. Young men as tall and sturdy as he did
not escape, even though the selection was by chance. There was a
keen-eyed, patriotic, military intelligence that supervised the casting
of the lots, and the girl, who gloried in his strength, foresaw the
certainty that he would be chosen. Nor was he, in truth, unwilling to
go. If it should happen that the wheel of the lottery left him free to
stay at home, as it did some quite as fit as he for service, he would
accept the result with a clean conscience. For brief and infrequent as
were his opportunities for seeing O-Mitsu, even they would be lost if
he were in the army. Thus far his loyalty and sense of duty to the
empire let him go. Before the lots were drawn he could hope that
they would miss him. When the decision was made, if he were taken
he would set his heart to his work with a will and devotion no tie of
home, no merely personal consideration, would ever cause to waver
for an instant. And of all who knew and loved him none would urge
him on more eagerly than the girl. She was looking at him proudly
as he sat before her, and it came to her that he was of the build and
stature sought for throughout the empire for the distinguished
regiments which had the honor of bearing the imperial name.
“You will go to the Guards,” she said.
“Oh, no,” he answered quickly; “I could not hope for such an
honor.”
“Honor!” she said with a smile. “It will be an honor to the Guards
to have such a soldier.”
That was too much and he laughed at the joke. “But I am not a
soldier,” he protested.
“You will be,” she answered confidently. “There are some things
about you, Big One, which you do not know yourself, but I know.
Come, it is time to go. You must drink no sake to-night, and sleep
well, to be ready for the examination.”
There was plenty of company for Soichi at the temple the next
morning. All the young men of his age in the district had been
summoned, and there was a clatter of eager talk among them as
they awaited their turns with the examiners. But Soichi had little to
say. He heard with amusement the boastful words of some who
knew themselves to be at the threshold of distinction and honor, and
he had a strange sympathy for some who hoped to escape. For
himself, a night of agitated reflection, sleepless in spite of O-Mitsu’s
parting injunction, had brought him a day of calm indifference. He
was ready for whatever might come. The businesslike surgeon,
working rapidly but carefully, pronounced his verdict with prompt
decision, and one after another was set free or sent on to the
recruiting captain. At length it was Soichi’s turn. The brusque
doctor’s eyes glistened as he saw the rippling muscles of the broad
shoulders, and an exclamation of professional pleasure broke from
his lips as he caught the rhythmic note of the deep breathing.
“Lungs like a bellows,” he cried to his assistant.
Weight, height, and measurements were quickly taken, and with
an enthusiasm he had not displayed in many a day the surgeon
called to the recording sergeant:
“Ichiban” (first-class).
Already Soichi knew his fate. His university degree would take the
place of the recruiting captain’s mental examination, and after that
there would be only the certainty of the lots. It did not take the
captain long to repeat the surgeon’s “Ichiban,” and as Soichi turned
away from giving his record at the desk, he heard the recruiting
officer say to the inspector major, who had just come in:
“There is one for the Guards. Just look at him.”
O-Mitsu’s judgment was confirmed, and he went home to await
the notice of his selection, and to write perhaps his last letter to her.
For he would not dare to write to her home when he was away, and
they had no friend whom they would trust with their secret. It was a
sober letter. There seemed little chance now that war would be
avoided. Already men said that the throat of the Dragon had been
touched, and throughout the Empire preparations were going on
rapidly for the time when he should strike.
With simple directness Soichi told his news, and spoke proudly of
the intimation he had had that he should go to the Guards. There
would be a few weeks of drill and preliminary work, he supposed, in
the barracks at division headquarters in the near-by city, and it
might be that once or twice more he should have the opportunity of
seeing her before he went to Tokyo to join his regiment. After that
would come the war and the battlefield. She would know he did not
say it to boast, but he meant to do a soldier’s duty. It would have
been sweet, it there had been no war (he spoke of it as if it were
already begun), to live on there with her, for in some way it would
have worked out for them. But that was impossible now; a dream to
be forgotten. The dearest wish of his heart was to die for the
Emperor, and he prayed only that Shaka would permit him to meet
his fate gloriously and with honor.
That was all. Not a word to her of the love that filled his heart.
Not a message of hope or farewell, not a hint of constancy or
patience. All that was behind him. His duty lay to the future and to
the grim chance of war.
It was a raw, cold night, with a bitter wind searching through the
bare branches of the plum tree, and Soichi shivered as he lifted the
cap of the bamboo post and thrust in his letter. Then he patted the
cap back into place and turned away, nor noticed that a telltale
corner of the envelope projected through the joint he had not closed
tightly. And of all the evenings in the year, that was the one Jukichi
chose to visit the plum tree.
Next day the notification came. Soichi had been selected for
immediate service and was to go to the Guards. His record in the
military work at school was such that the preliminary training at
adjacent division headquarters would be waived and he would report
directly to his regiment. He would start the following day.
He went to the bank and finished up his work there in preparation
for indefinite absence. Then he wrote a little note to O-Mitsu, telling
her the orders he had received, and started home. The early winter
evening had fallen before he reached the house in Timber Street,
and he stopped at the bamboo post to leave his note and perhaps to
find a letter from her. He lifted the cap with excited eagerness and
felt in the hollow. There, sure enough, was a letter. He took it out
with thumping heart and dropped in his own; then hurried around
the corner home, impatient for light to read her words.
The first glance at the envelope sent a queer sensation of
coldness through his heart, as if he had suddenly been struck chill.
The writing was strange. The delicate characters of O-Mitsu,
beautiful as the work of a famous artist, were replaced by the
strong, heavy, brush strokes of an angry man. For an instant he
stared at them with mind a blank. Then he knew. Someone had
found them out. He stood as if paralyzed by shock, nerveless, inert,
expecting some dire calamity. Then he tore open the envelope.
A single glance was sufficient to tell the story. The signature was
the first thing his eye caught, and after that he could hardly see the
other words. Those two dominated everything—“Kudo Jukichi”—her
father! The new-clothed dignity of the law that made him a
Commoner slipped from him like a kimono unfastened; the honor of
his new service, the pride of his regimental assignment faded away,
and he was again the Eta of the old days, outcast, despised, a very
pollution. All that he had done, all that his father had done, the
position they had won in the community, the consideration of their
fellows were made as nothing by the simple apparition of those two
words.
But after a little the old inborn pride of race came back to him and
he straightened up like a new man. He was one of whom the
Emperor had deigned to think; what should he care what others
said? What mattered it after all that her father had learned their
secret? Nothing but that was changed, and sooner or later that must
have come. He had done no wrong. He was not changed. The law
that had given him citizenship was still the law. The Emperor’s care
was over him. It was his Sovereign’s wish that he was what he was.
He took new heart and began to read the letter. His brain was cooler
now. In the mental numbness that followed the first shock he had
felt only a vague terror of the fury of Kudo. But as he read, the
words that had seemed so awful in anticipation lost some of their
dreaded force. The wild outburst of rage was not there, but in its
place a cool, fine sarcasm that cut as if the Samurai who wrote had
wielded his sword instead.
A curious calm possessed him as he finished the letter. The
haughty pride of the Samurai, his bitter contempt for the “outcast”
who dared presume to think of his daughter, his jeers at the “upstart
trader” had lost their sting. It was a soldier of the Empire, a man of
the Guards, who folded the letter and replaced it in its envelope.
With a smiling face he met his father and mother and sat down to
supper.
After the meal, when the pipes were brought out, he handed the
letter to his father to read. It might as well be told now. His poor
little secret, stripped of its veil, seemed very small and miserable.
But he was going away to-morrow, and unknown to-morrow might
do what it would with him. He listened unmoved while Chobei slowly
read aloud the bitter, mocking words of the man for whom he had
done so much. O-Koyo covered her face with her kimono sleeves
and wept openly; but father and son sat with steady features and
gave no sign, save that when the reading was ended the Commoner
laid his strong arm across his son’s shoulder in shy, unaccustomed
caress, and said:
“My son! My son!” No more.
XI
“The bee stings the weeping face,” they say in Japan, and Soichi
proved the truth of the proverb. It was a queer little procession that
formed at the house in Azalea Street to escort him to the railroad
station whence the train was to bear him away to a soldier’s life. A
dismal rain was sifting down from the sodden clouds that seemed to
hang just above the housetops. But the banner that set forth his
name and the fact of his service was borne none the less proudly by
his old schoolmates, and the friend who carried the small bundle of
his treasured belongings held his head none the less erect because
he strode through muddy streets. Already the Dragon was beginning
to roar, and his voice rang from end to end of the land. It was a last
farewell these friends were taking of the young soldier, and they
honored him and envied the glory he would win. There was nothing
to say. In silence the little company walked along. But as they
passed the dilapidated old house in Timber Street, where the plum
tree stood bare and desolate in the corner of the yard, Soichi, daring
a hasty glance, raised his eyes for an instant to the balcony under
the gable end. Just for a moment he looked, but that was enough to
set his heart a-thumping as it had not done for many a day. For in
that instant he caught, at a parting of the shoji (paper windows), a
glimpse of a beautiful face and the flash of eyes undimmed by tears,
that sent him a message of cheer and hope and constancy. His heart
was strangely light as he trudged along behind his banner, and
though the rain fell never so hard it was a day of sunshine for him.
Then came the weary miles of railway and the army. In the car he
met some others going up to join his regiment, and talk of peace
and war beguiled the miles until at last the train pulled into Tokyo
and in a few minutes Soichi was in barracks. The proverb of the bee
and the weeping face came home to him when he was assigned to
the company in which Kudo Kokan was a lieutenant, the old Kokan
with the hot heart and ready insolence he knew so well.
“Shikata-ga-nai” (it can’t be helped), said Soichi, and set himself
to do his work with all his heart, as becomes a member of the
Guards.
Fortunately for him there was much to do and not much time
which Lieutenant Kudo could devote to personal animosity.
“Ha, the Commoner!” he cried with fine scorn when he first saw
Soichi.
The young soldier wondered what would come next, but it was
drill hour, and Kokan had no chance for private spleen. He was
hampered now by the service, and the near, sure approach of war. It
would not have surprised Soichi to see the lieutenant swing his
sword in execution of the revenge he doubted not had been
cherished all the years since that day at school. But he did not
comprehend fully as yet the restrictions that hedged Kokan, and that
first taunt of “Commoner” gave no clew. It was strange, he thought,
that the lieutenant had not said “Eta,” but the hours of “goose step”
and drill that followed left him no time to think of other things. He
had been adept at such work in his school, but now he found that
the intervening years had cost him much in facility and precision,
and it was hard work to be always ready for the sharp command, to
make himself again the machine needed for perfection. When it was
over and he got back to barracks, he was tired out, ready enough
for his rice and fish, and after that for his blankets. When he thought
again of Kokan’s taunt, there came to him also the recollection of his
defense at the school and he understood. It had been passed over
lightly then that he had accused Kokan of insulting the Emperor, but
in the army it might not go so easily again. It would be indeed a
serious charge for an officer to face. It made the boy smile as he
recognized the new bridle on his lieutenant’s insolence.
He understood now, also, that there would be no attempt at
actual violence. For himself he did not fear. Man to man, with equal
arms, he was ready to meet Kokan at any time. He dreaded disgrace
far more than death, and if Kokan should attack him the dishonor
would affect also the lieutenant and all his family, and that meant
that O-Mitsu would suffer. So he saw with deep relief the bearing of
his officer, so different to what he had expected.
In scores of ways, however, the lieutenant found occasion to give
Soichi a taste of his quality, and it was apparent that Kokan had
been informed how matters stood at home. His first detail to guard
duty brought Soichi a test. He had had time to canvass the whole
situation and had reached his decision. He was a soldier of the
Emperor and war was coming on. He would do his full duty always
to the very utmost and no personal distraction or injury should
deflect him. He would bear the injustice of Kokan without complaint,
hoping only to win release by an honorable death in battle. But if the
persecution became more than he could endure he would kill Kokan
and himself.
From a course thus deliberately mapped out he was not the man
to be easily turned, and so he was ready when Kokan came by,
inspecting the posts, and greeted him with:
“So hinin!” (not human, outcast).
He brought his rifle sharply to salute, and held his head erect and
his eyes steadily front as if he had not heard the insult or the instant
correction to “heimin” (Commoner) of the cautious lieutenant. With
searching eyes Kokan looked him up and down, examined his rifle
and equipment, but could find no flaw. Then he demanded the
orders and listened intently as Soichi repeated without a slip the
instructions he had received. With a sinister smile the baffled officer
passed on, and his victim knew that was only the beginning.
There was a different sort of smile on Soichi’s face as he thought
how his lieutenant had tried to catch him.
“If he keeps that up,” he said to himself, “it will make me the best
soldier in the regiment to be always ready for him.” He nearly
laughed aloud at the idea. “I might even win promotion. How angry
he would be at that!”
The warning was valuable. Soichi kept himself ever on the alert,
but in his heart he began to despise the Samurai. It was a petty,
dishonorable trick he had played, saying hinin and then correcting
himself. Kudo-san would never do such a thing, he thought, and how
O-Mitsu’s pretty lips would curl in scorn if she knew. There was
compensation, after all, for what he must endure. If he kept his own
honor unstained Kokan could do him no real harm.
The days wore on with many little stratagems of Kokan to catch
the Commoner napping. But Soichi, always vigilant, escaped. The
endless preparations for active service hurried along and there
began to be talk of the regiment being moved to a naval base, ready
for transport oversea.
Suddenly from end to end a great hush fell over the land. It was
as if the nation were crouching, ready to leap and holding its breath
as it waited only the word to spring. War had come, and all men
knew. The gossip ceased that had filled minds and mouths, and men
went to and fro in solemn, awesome silence. Still there was no
outward show, and the stranger who looked on with inexperienced
eyes saw only the old round of trade and work and cheerful
amusement, with never an indication of the dreadful business at last
undertaken.
Then came the first sign. From mouth to mouth the whisper ran—
the Reserves were summoned to the colors. From never a house to
which the fateful finger pointed came there a sound of grief or
dismay. Gladly, quickly, but in silence and in the night the men
responded. In twos and threes they took their way to their meeting-
places and few they were who saw or heard. Town and city wore
their placid air of peace. Even the winds of war, that had blown so
roughly over the land, were stilled, as in ghostly stealth the nation
answered the call.
In the middle of the night Soichi found himself in full kit marching
swiftly to the station. No banners waved, no bands blared, no
trumpets sounded. No throngs of eager friends gathered to give the
men farewell. No loyal cheers encouraged them and urged them to
duty’s task. Through empty, silent streets, between houses barred
and darkened, in the hush of a march to the grave, the regiment
passed to the waiting trains. Noiselessly the men climbed into the
cars and only the hushed, brief orders of the officers broke the
stillness. No ring of bell or scream of whistle marked their departure.
Morning dawned over a city ignorant of what had been done, and
only the Reservists coming to the empty barracks knew that the
forward movement had begun.
In the corner of his car Soichi threw off his heavy pack and curled
himself up in his great-coat. Near him no man spoke. In silent peace
they lay wrapped in their own thoughts or already soundly asleep.
Ahead, toward the center of the car, a little group gathered around
the glow of their cigarettes and talked in subdued, but excited
whispers. So they rumbled off down the road through the darkness,
headed toward War.
With a tranquil mind Soichi lay in his comfortable corner and
thought of what had happened and what was to come. He had no
fear of the future. His only anxiety was lest he should fail unwittingly
or his opportunity should not come. He belonged to the Empire. It
had made him all he was, and now that it needed him he would give
it cheerfully all he had of muscle, brain, or life. He had no
expectation of coming back. That day he had written his parents his
last good-by. He calmly and fully expected to die on the field, and
was concerned only to make his death count for the most he could.
He wondered how the end would come, and hoped it would be in
the first line of battle.
Yet not all the men would be killed! He knew that in the last war,
when he was a boy, only a few, comparatively, died. By far the
majority of them came back. What if it should be his fate to go
through the dangerous trial and come out unscathed! The human
heart within him leaped at the thought, and his mind came back
with a start to the letter from O-Mitsu he had received only that
afternoon. He smiled now at his surprise in getting it. He had not
thought it possible that she could write to him. In his inability to
send letters to her it seemed, of course, she could not reach him. He
had even thought she did not know where he was. Kokan must have
written home about the new member of his company and
unconsciously given her the information he, most of all, would have
withheld. Soichi laughed at the thought of such a trick for fate to
play on the imperious lieutenant.
There the letter was now, safe in his pocket, and he felt again, as
he touched it, the thrill with which he had read her good-by; the
simple straightforward statement of her unchanging love for him,
and how, after her father’s discovery of his letter, there had been a
scene of terrible anger; how she had braved him with the point of
her dagger at her heart and told him she would never marry. The
man for her was a soldier, as befitted the daughter of a Samurai,
and now her soldier was going away to die for his country and hers.
So then, good-by. He was a soldier and would do a soldier’s duty.
Yes, he would do a soldier’s duty, he had no doubt of that. But
suppose after doing it to the utmost limit, life should still remain?
Ah, that would be the last crowning stroke of cruel fate. Even her
constancy held out no promise to him. The honor he coveted waited
in a sable cloak on some unknown battlefield. He shut his heart to
other hope.
XII
The winter wind whistled drearily through the rigging as the
transport came to anchor, and the men shivered with cold in spite of
their heavy, fur-lined coats. The business of war was begun in
earnest now, and Soichi and his fellows bustled about the ship
making the final preparations for debarkation. At last, with kits
tightly packed and every article carefully stowed, so that nothing
should be lost, they stumbled down the gangway and into the boats.
The transport lay far off from the shallow beach and it was a long
hard pull for the shore. A great bonfire was their beacon, for they
were landing late at night, and the search lights of the war ships
that had convoyed them lighted up their course. With his cap pulled
down on his head as far as it would go and the fur collar of his
overcoat turned up about his ears, Soichi stood wedged among his
mates. The keel touched and into the icy water they plunged waist-
deep to wade ashore.
That was but the foretaste. They stood around the fire they soon
had blazing, warming their aching feet, drying their clothes, and
talking of what was ahead. They had said good-by to transportation.
Now the miles they had to cover would be made on their feet, and
many a man looked ruefully at the heavy, unaccustomed boots and
wondered how he should endure the march. Soichi found his
muscles put to a new test. It was one thing to drill for hours in the
barracks square and quite another to march for hours along a frozen
road carrying his heavy kit.
It was bitter cold, far colder than he had ever known it in Japan,
and the big fur-lined overcoat, although it kept his body warm,
hampered his legs in walking and made him very weary. It was with
the utmost effort, when he went on sentry duty after a hard day on
the road, that he could keep awake, and he thought regretfully that
he was not doing his full duty, because only the fear that Kokan
would catch him kept his eyes from closing.
No, it was not at all like barrack life. There the rice and fish and
pickles were always ready when the day’s work was done, but often
now they had to wait for hours, far into the night sometimes, for the
big kettles to come up and the rice to be boiled. And now there was
no sake. Such supplies as that could not keep up with the march,
and though occasionally some of his comrades managed to get a
bottle of beer or two from some terrified Korean as they passed or
camped in a village, Soichi dared not risk it. It was only another
chance for Kokan.
That young man busied himself with seemingly increasing vigor,
watching to trap his victim in any slip. But day by day he saw
Soichi’s own prediction being verified, and the sturdy young fellow
becoming always a better soldier, until other officers began to
remark it and Kokan was obliged to conceal his wrath under a
smiling assent.
They left many weary miles behind, and now excitement began to
grow among the men, for each day brought them perceptibly nearer
the enemy and the actual clash of arms. Daily the rumors from
ahead grew in size and portent. The scouts were in contact with the
enemy’s advance. There had been a brush. The first shots had been
exchanged, and the sight of two or three wounded men carried by
on stretchers set the whole regiment to shouting “Banzai!” and put
fresh vigor into their steps. They sang the war songs they had
learned in barracks back in Tokyo, the precentors striding along at
the side of the column chanting the lines, and the whole regiment
roaring them out after the leaders.
They were going over the ground from which the men of their
regiment, now awaiting their call in the Second Reserves, had
helped to drive the scrambling Chinese in the war that had been the
forerunner of this one. Every day brought them to some new point
of interest that set tongues to wagging with increasing volubility and
gave new impetus to the march. Each night the kindly surgeon
looked them over and gave a helpful bit of advice here, and a
friendly word of warning there, showed how to bathe and bandage
the blistered feet or massage the aching limbs, added sober caution
about the use of water and told how to avoid taking cold.
So half the long march was covered. Far ahead, they knew, was
the wide river where the enemy was expected to make his
determined stand. There would be their first battle, and they
pressed on toward it eagerly as toward the goal of a life’s ambition.
But one morning, when the regiment had the head of the column, all
unexpectedly the sound of rifle fire a little ahead drifted back to
them, and immediately the order to double brought a roaring cheer
as they sprang forward. The enemy had made a dash with cavalry,
and the advanced guard was checked. Up they swept with flashing
eyes, hot for the fight. Through Soichi’s brain whirled a wild vision of
a charge in the face of the foe and the heavy pack grew lighter as
he rushed forward. But it was no charge. Deployed under cover of a
long stone wall they had barely tasted the joy of using their rifles
when the enemy fled, leaving behind only four or five of his dead to
mark the place of his defeat. It was hardly a skirmish, but it served
to fire the blood of the men, and serenely they promised to wipe out
the disappointment when at last the great day should come.
The winter wore away and spring came on. Still they were
tramping steadily toward the river. Work was much easier now that
they had settled into it, and they made more miles with less waste
of energy. The grass turned green in the valleys, and along the
streams the first wild flowers put forth their blossoms. Fur-lined
greatcoats gave place to wool, and with these rolled on the
shoulders instead of flapping about the legs the men stepped along
lightly and gayly.
Now they learned a new exercise. Hardly would they get into
camp before half of them would be turned out for instruction in field
intrenchment. The short-handled shovel Soichi carried strapped to
the side of his knapsack was not very large, but he learned how to
dig a wide, deep hole with it in remarkably short time. Morning after
morning as they moved on toward the north they left beside their
camp ground proof of their work in samples of the different kinds of
trenches they might come to need in the field.
They saw very little of the enemy. After that one brief clash he
seemed unwilling to venture another encounter and kept out of the
way, except that now and then a little group of his horsemen
appeared for a few minutes on some far-off hill. It was march and
dig and sleep, and do it all over again. But all the time they were
nearing the river, and at last, when they had been almost two
months on the road, they came to the range of bold hills that
flanked the stream and concealed the enemy’s country from their
view.
Here they camped several days. The scouts and advanced guards
had driven the Russians back to the islands in the stream and the
near shore was their own. But before they could go over the range
and down into the town that lay in the pockets of the hills on the
river bank, another kind of work was to be done. In little squads
they scoured the near-by country with axes and ropes and brought
in great bundles of pine boughs from the scrub-covered hills, and
piles of mats and long cornstalks from the huts. Then at night they
crossed the hills and flanked the river side of the road with tall
screens which shut off the view of the enemy’s scouts on the high
cross-river ridges. Where the way led straight toward his camps they
built huge arches, whose broad tops made a great curtain that
covered the road entirely. Then, sheltered by arches and screens, so
that no enemy could tell their strength, they marched on into the
town and were quartered once more in comfortable houses. Soichi
dropped his pack with strange exaltation. When they left this place it
would be to go to battle, and perhaps that fight would bring the
opportunity he desired.
XIII
It was ten o’clock the second night in town, and Soichi had been
asleep in his warm red blankets two hours or more when the
sergeant shook him awake and told him to get up. He was to take
rifle and cartridge belt and follow, making no noise. In the darkness
he joined a squad of his mates and saw Omori, Ito, and two or three
others of his friends, all equipped as he was. Presently an officer
came up and Soichi recognized Kokan. He saw the lieutenant give
him a sharp look, and heard him mutter something he did not
understand. Then without a word Kokan strode away and the
sergeant told them to come on. Nothing had been said of the duty,
but Soichi knew it was not sentry-go and guessed they were going
scouting.
In silence broken only by the muffled footsteps on the soft earth
they followed Kokan to the river’s edge. A man with a boat was
waiting and they stepped in softly, careful to make no noise. The
man stood up, and with his long oar skillfully and silently drove the
boat out into the stream.
In a whisper the order was passed to load magazines, but not to
fire except to avoid capture. The hard, metallic click of a magazine
spring betrayed the haste of one of the men in shoving his cartridge
home. In the ghostly stillness it came like the crack of a rifle and
brought a sharp whisper from Kokan:
“Kutami, was that you?”
But Soichi had thought of that and muffled his magazine with his
blouse so that no sound came from it.
“Even here!” he thought, surprised. “Will he forget his duty to
think of me now? Well, he shall have no just complaint.”
Softly the boat came up to the bank of the island, and noiselessly
the men made their way to land. Then, while they gathered about
him in a ring, Kokan whispered their instructions. They were to
spread out and endeavor to get by the Russian outposts concealed
in the clumps of willows that dotted the island, to work across to the
next stream, note the width of the island and the character of the
ground, the number of the outposts of the enemy they saw and their
position. They had three hours for the work. At the end of that time
they must be back at the boat. Any who did not return would be left
to get back to camp as best he could. They must estimate the time,
and in no case strike matches to consult watches. Kokan asked each
man if he understood, and when all replied that they did he sent
them away one by one. Then he himself started straight across the
island alone.
Soichi had the downstream end of the line. It was a bad time for
such work, one of those blue-black nights when the stars shine with
multiplied brilliance, and the white sand of the island was a
dangerous background for their dark uniforms. He took a long look
at the heavens to select a guide and then pushed away from the
bank, and, crouching stealthily, walked with long steps directly
toward a single willow that stood a few yards inshore. There he
paused and took stock of his situation. Off to his right he saw dimly
a dark figure crawling across the sand. It was one of his comrades,
and he realized what a telltale his uniform was. With sudden resolve
he took it Off, and smiled to see how his gray flannels matched the
sand. Then he pulled off his boots, and with only his rifle and shells
started on. He walked upright, with the rifle held close by his side,
and moved as fast as he could. His soldier’s instinct warned him to
avoid the clumps of trees and bushes, and from tree to tree that
stood alone he worked his way. A queer fancy struck him to count
his steps the better to estimate the distance he traveled, but he
soon found that it distracted his attention from his work. So he
changed his plan, and at each pause under a bush calculated its
distance from the last and mentally kept the sum of the whole. To
reckon the time was the hardest, and after a little he gave up
guessing at that. He would do his work first and let the time take
care of itself.
He saw dimly a dark figure.

Suddenly as he sat resting and thinking under cover of a thick


willow, he heard a sound that seemed close at his left. With every
sense alert he gazed in the direction whence it came, and waited.
Presently it was repeated, and now he recognized a man’s voice,
husky and guttural from the unsuccessful effort to whisper. He lay
face down on the sand to muffle his heart, for it seemed that the
enemy surely must hear its beating. Then as he watched he saw a
match struck in a clump of willows scarcely forty yards away, and
presently caught the glow of a lighted cigarette. Soon another and
another appeared, and then their aroma came faintly to him across
the night. Three men awake, he thought; did that mean a dozen in
the post? He wasted no time in guessing, but flat on his face
wriggled away across the sand. He was inside the line of outposts
now, and when he had crawled a long distance and put some
bushes between himself and the men he had so nearly run into, he
rose and walked rapidly forward.
He had advanced what he calculated to be nearly a mile from the
boat, and thought he must be nearing the stream he was seeking.
The ground became less sandy and there were fewer trees and
bushes. He thought it unlikely that the Russians would have more
outposts there. He had almost concluded to make a run for it to the
river, when a rifle shot to his right and behind him sent him flat to
the ground in breathless suspense. Someone had been discovered!
Other shots followed, and then a fusillade that sounded like that
morning brush when he had first heard fire. He crawled to the
nearest bush and lay still.
No bullets whistled his way and he heard no reports from the rifles
of his men. The fire was all Russian, and he hoped it was only a
scare and that his men had got away. Then he saw that the firing
was extending toward the river, and the reports of Japanese rifles
mingled in the sound. They were caught back there, and his heart
stood still at the thought that the success of the night’s work might
depend on him. From the direction in which the firing came he
thought the Russians must be near his boat. Perhaps his party were
all cut off and killed, or worse than that, captured.
The firing ceased, and he lay under his bush and wondered what
to do. He remembered that he had not yet reached the river, and he
rose and ran swiftly forward. Soon he caught the gleam of water,
and in a moment was at the bank. He lay down and went over his
calculation of the distance he had come. Then he looked up at the
stars, marked out his course, and started back.
He knew the location of one outpost, and he thought at first his
best chance was to go as close to it as he had come. But he
reflected that all the sleeping men must have been roused by the
firing, and that if they had discovered the boat they would watch to
see if any of the scouting party came back to it. No, he must go
another way and swim the stream. But he wanted his uniform. He
dreaded what would be said to him if he went back without it. How
to get it was the question. The aroused Russians were between him
and the bush where it lay.
The fire had not extended much to his right and he judged that
the line of outposts did not reach far that way. He turned sharply
downstream and moved as rapidly as he dared. At times, when the
way was open, he ran; but in the bushes it was slow work. At last he
ventured to turn back toward his own shore. Cautiously he made his
way until the soft lap of the water on the bank caught his ear. Here
was the stream. Should he strike in, or try for the uniform? He
wondered how long he had been on the island. It might be an hour,
it might be two. The night was yet far from spent. A low ridge of
sand ran parallel with the bank, shutting the stream from his sight.
He moved stealthily to the river side of it and made up his mind to
go after his uniform. The ridge would guide him to the bush where it
lay, and if worse came to worst a quick leap would take him into the
water and he would trust to the darkness to escape the Russian
lead.
At first he walked upright, near the water, and traveled rapidly.
Then as he approached the point where he judged the Russians
might be, he came close under the ridge and crawled on hands and
knees. It was ticklish work, and the rifle bothered him badly. Not a
sound came to his alert ears. By and by he wriggled to the top of
the ridge and peered over. After a time he thought he could make
out the willows where the smokers had been. His own bush was not
far off now and he crawled on.

You might also like