“You are sure of what you say, my lad?” Captain Dunham put the question to Ned after the lad had breathlessly related to him his alarming discovery. High up on the bridge, his face lined by care and sleepless nights, the captain looked far different from the gilded idol that he was in calm weather or in port. He was clad in oil-skins like any old salt on a whaler.
“Absolutely, sir. I didn’t dare to say anything till I was quite positive.”
“Very good, my lad,” said the captain, without betraying a trace of the grave alarm that he must have felt for the safety of his ship. “Daniels,” he turned to a quartermaster, “send Mr. Briggs to me at once,—at once, do you hear?”
“Aye, aye, sir.”
[137]
Daniels hurried off on his errand. Ned stood waiting the captain’s next orders.
“When Mr. Briggs comes on deck, I’m going to send you with him to show him where you discovered the fire, always supposing there is one,” said the captain. “Of course, you haven’t said anything about this to anyone?”
“No, sir, of course not, only to Coxswain Taylor, who was with me.”
“That’s right. A report such as that spreading through the ship might cause untold trouble.”
Mr. Briggs, a big, active man, soon came bustling up. He saluted and awaited the captain’s orders.
“Briggs, Gunner’s-Mate Strong, here, tells me that he thinks he has discovered a fire in the forward port bunkers.”
Mr. Briggs nodded. For all the emotion that the two trained officers displayed they might have been discussing some ordinary matter of ship routine, instead of the vital danger which Ned had brought to the captain’s attention.
[138]
“The forward bunkers on that side of the ship are next to the forward magazines for Number One turret, are they not?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You will have the intervening bulkhead flooded at once. Strong tells me that he heard that the coal in that bunker was damp when it was shipped in San Francisco. Is that right?”
“It is, sir. It was the best we could get. I’ve been afraid of this very thing and have had men watching the bunkers since we sailed. The fire must have started at the top.”
“My idea exactly. The friction and disturbance caused by the ship’s rolling must have set it on fire. Strong, take Mr. Briggs to the ventilator where you discovered the smoke. Mr. Briggs, will you make as speedy an examination as possible and report back to me? First, however, give orders to have the space between the magazine and the bunker flooded.”
“Aye, aye, sir.”
[139]
Followed by Ned, the chief engineer turned from the bridge and made his way to the main deck. He instructed one of his assistant engineers to have the latter part of the captain’s orders carried out at once.
The young engineer asked no questions, although he raised his eyebrows at the order.
“I’ll see that it is done at once, sir,” said he and hastened off.
“Now, my lad,” said Mr. Briggs, “show me where you saw this smoke issuing.”
Ned lost no time in escorting the officer to the pipe from whence he had noted the alarming symptoms first. As they came abreast of the pipe, all doubt that a mistake might have been made was removed. Puffs of sulphurous smoke were coming from it in a constant stream now. Mr. Briggs looked very grave.
“I’m sorry to say, Strong, that your conclusions were certainly correct,” he said. “That bunker is on fire.”
[140]
Captain Dunham received the chief engineer’s report without moving a muscle of his face.
“We must take immediate steps to fight the fire,” he said. “The partition is flooded?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Very good. Strong, you will go to the master-at-arms and tell him to assign you a squad of at least twenty men. They must be silent about their detail and you will instruct the master-at-arms to say nothing. You will report to Mr. Briggs in the fire-room and he will direct you what to do.”
“Aye, aye, sir.”
“Carry on.”
Ned hastened off while the two officers remained in grave consultation on the bridge.
“Nasty situation, Briggs,” said Captain Dunham.
“Very, sir. The storm makes it all the worse. It is dangerous work in the bunkers in such weather as this. There’s some fear, too, of the[141] coal sliding as the men get it out, even though we’ve got it timbered.”
“Then your plan is to empty the bunker?”
“If necessary, sir. Half-way measures will be no good in a case of this kind. We shall have to get the coal out from below till we reach the fire.
“Very good. I leave the matter in your hands. Try not to let the news leak out, although I suppose it is bound to.”
“I’m afraid so, sir. You can’t keep the firemen quiet, and they are bound to know about it as soon as the special squad goes to work.”
“Well, do the best you can, Briggs.”
“You can rely on me, sir. That Strong is a smart young fellow. If it hadn’t been for him we might not have known of the blaze till it was too late.”
“He is one of the brightest fellows on board,” said the captain warmly, “that is why I am putting him in charge of this squad. Don’t let them expose themselves unnecessarily to danger, Briggs.”
[142]
“I will not, sir.”
Mr. Briggs saluted and departed below. In less time than he............