Joe explained with enthusiastic lucidity.
"I"ve sent "em, too," he said. "There was a station not so far from us, and that"s where I met Franc. It"s nice having him aboard the same ship. But he is busy, isn"t he? There must be something happening out of the ordinary. Wish I could go up there and join him; but it"s forbidden. He told me that particularly."
It was only natural that our young hero should wish to see something of a chum a.s.sociated with former days. But Franc, the young Marconi operator, was never get-at-able when on duty. It was only between the spells of work in his office that he met Joe down on the emigrant deck for"ard. Now, at the time when Sam and Joe were together, Franc was undoubtedly busily engaged. Moreover, there was a subdued air of mystery, if not of anxiety, about the officers who occasionally pa.s.sed amongst the emigrants.
"What"s up?" demanded Sam bluntly of one as he pa.s.sed. "That thing yonder"--and he again withdrew his pipe and pointed the bowl at the Marconi office--"that thing"s busy, I guess. Sending messages as fast as the air"ll take "em. What"s up, mister? Revolution back in the Old Country, eh? What?"
He received merely a curt answer; the officer hurried on, leaving Sam none the wiser.
"All the same, there"s a ruction stirring somewhere," he said; "I can see it with half an eye. The captain"s walking up and down his bridge as if there was lions after him. What"s it all mean?"
It became clearer, as the hours pa.s.sed, that there was something seriously wrong in some direction, though where or what the trouble might be none could guess. Joe descended with his friend to dinner, and it was not till he mounted to the deck again that he gained tidings of what was happening. A huge column of pungent smoke was rising from the fore hold of the ship as he gained the deck, while sailors were moving about with wet cloths tied round their mouths.
"A fire down below," said Sam, with a catch in his voice. "Lor"!"
"Fire!" shrieked one of the pa.s.sengers, a woman, as her eyes lit on the smoke. Then the alarm was echoed from a hundred quarters. Men came rushing up into the open. Women screamed, and one huge fellow, a Russian by his appearance, came rushing across the deck and cast himself into one of the boats.
"Silence!" commanded the captain through his megaphone, coming to the front of the bridge. "Quartermaster, turn that man out of that boat."
"Aye, aye, sir!" came from a burly individual, already advancing on the spot in question. "Now then," he said, when he had reached the boat, "you hop out, quick."
But the Russian was not inclined to do so. Terror had taken firm hold on him, and he sat clutching the thwarts, heedless of the quartermaster and of the fact that the boat sat firmly upon its guides on the deck, and offered as yet no sort of protection. But he remained there for only a minute, for the quartermaster hopped over the thwarts, seized the Russian by his coat and by the seat of his trousers, and threw him out without ceremony.
"Pa.s.sengers," called the captain, in a voice so steady that he might have been inviting them to dinner, "there is nothing as yet to be alarmed at. Please go on with your work or your pleasures as if nothing were happening. I call upon every man and woman to set a good example, remembering that there are children amongst us."
That was enough. Men who had run forward with alarm written on their faces went back to their wives and children at once. Others gathered into anxious knots and went on with their pipes, while the children, unconscious of their danger, romped about the decks.
"All the same, it"s a ticklish business," said Sam, after a while.
"They"ve got the hatches off, and I expect they"re trying to clear out the stuff that"s afire. That looks bad, for as a rule they"d leave the hatches on and turn steam sprays on to the burning cargo. Perhaps the sprays can"t get at the stuff that"s afire."
"In any case, the crew won"t be able to continue for long at the work unaided," added Joe. "Look! There"s one overcome by the smoke; they"ve carried him off along the deck to the doctor."
In the course of the next hour four men were rendered incapable by the pungent smoke issuing from the hold, while the smoke itself had become even denser. Huge clouds arose through the hatchway and, caught by the breeze--for all this while the ship was forging ahead at her fastest pace--went billowing out behind her. So dense, in fact, was it, that the pa.s.sengers for"ard could not see the bridge nor any other part of the giant vessel.
"Want volunteers?" asked Joe of an officer hurrying along the deck.
"Eh?" came the curt and hurried answer.
"Do you want any help?" repeated Joe. "There are plenty of us who would be eager and willing. That would free the men who are needed for the usual work of the vessel."
"Well now, that"s a fine idea. See here," said the officer hurriedly, "I"ll get along to the skipper and ask him what his wishes are. Of course he may say he"s right as things are, but then the "Old Man" may think differently. Meanwhile, you get a few likely chaps together. If they"re wanted, everything"ll be ready."
He went off at a quick pace, striding over the deck, and Joe saw him clambering to the bridge, where he sought the anxious captain.
"Well?" demanded Sam, for the idea of volunteers being called for had never occurred to him. "What"ll you do?"
"Get a few men together at once," said Joe. "You stop here, and I"ll send "em over to you. That"ll allow them to gather without creating a fuss. Anything is likely to increase the uneasiness of the pa.s.sengers, and we don"t want to add to the alarm they already feel."
He left Sam smoking heavily by the rail and went off amongst the pa.s.sengers, who, in spite of their efforts to remain calm, were obviously filled with alarm. For if huge clouds of smoke had been coming from the open hatch before, it was billowing out now in vast volumes, smoke, too, which set everyone on the bridge choking, for there was a slight headwind, and the breeze the ship herself made in her rapid pa.s.sage through the air helped to carry the smoke backward.
As to the first- and second-cla.s.s pa.s.sengers, they had been driven to take shelter on the lower deck right aft, and were therefore entirely invisible. Joe accosted Jim and Claude, the two young fellows who were his cabin companions, and, whispering to them, sent them over to Sam.
In the course of some ten minutes he had selected a couple of dozen young fellows, all of whom he had chatted with at various times during the past two days. That, indeed, is one of the curious results of travel aboard a ship. One becomes acquainted with one"s fellow pa.s.sengers during the first day; their inner history is often known by the evening of the second; while, long before the trip is ended, often enough their innermost thoughts, their ambitions, and their hopes are the property of one or other of the many friends they have made on board. In any case, Joe was the sort of lad who makes friends quickly.
Free from that stupid side which sometimes afflicts the youth of this and other countries, he had a welcoming smile for everyone, and was ready to exchange his views with d.i.c.k, Tom, or Harry. It was not remarkable, therefore, that he had already become acquainted with a number of young fellows, bachelors like himself.
"I"ll choose them in preference to the married men," he told himself.
"The latter have pluck and dash enough, I know; but they have wives and children, and their services will be required by the families. Hi, Bill!" he called to another of his chums, beckoning him, "volunteers are likely to be wanted to help the sailors. Are you----"
"Right!" declared the man abruptly.
"Then get across to Sam Fennick; he"s away over there at the rail.
Just go on smoking as if nothing out of the way were happening. Got a good-sized handkerchief in your pocket?"
"No, no; I ain"t got that," admitted Bill, after hunting about his person.
"Then get off to the cabin steward, or to the purser, if you can find him, and ask for three dozen towels. We can easily get a bucket of water up on deck, and that will give us the right thing to put round our mouths."
It was perhaps five minutes later when Joe went sauntering back to Sam.
Quite a couple of dozen men had already congregated about him, and stood for the most part lolling against the rail and smoking contentedly; but there was not one who was not watching the smoke issuing from the hatchway critically.
"Seems to me as there"s more of it, and it"s kinder hotter," said Sam, almost in a whisper, as Joe came to his side. "Well, you"ve got the boys together, and the right sort too. Now, if I"d been asked, I"d have been flummoxed from the very beginning, and as like as not I"d have chosen the wrong sort."
"They"re all single men," answered Joe. "Married men will be wanted to set an example of coolness to the pa.s.sengers and allay their fears.
Has that officer come along again? Ah, here"s Bill! Well?" he demanded, as the latter came over to him with a bundle beneath his arm.
"Got "em easy," panted the latter. "A steward gave "em to me right off. Now?"
He asked the question in excited tones and in a loud voice.
"Keep cool, and don"t speak too loud," Joe cautioned him. "We want a bucket of fresh water. Who"ll get it?"
Jim went off promptly, and when he returned some three minutes later it was to meet the officer coming towards the group.
"Ah," said the latter, singling Joe out, "you"re the young fellow that spoke about volunteers. Well, now, the skipper says that he"d be glad of "em, but they must be carefully selected--single men only, you know."
"How"ll these do then, mate?" asked Sam, swinging his open palm round so as to embrace the little band of men Joe had selected. "This here young chap"--and he pointed to our hero--"seems to have the right ideas always tucked away at the back of that head of his. You"d no sooner gone than he was away selecting his men. Every one of "em single, too, "cos he says as the married "uns must be calm, and set all the rest an example. And he"s got towels for every man, and a bucket o" water here to soak "em in. Spry, ain"t it?"
For perhaps a whole minute the officer looked Joe coolly up and down.
Indeed, at any other time his open inspection might have been interpreted as a rudeness. But there was something more than mere curiosity in his eye. He stretched out a hand sailor fashion and gripped our hero"s.
"You"re young," he said bluntly, "but you"ve the right sort of pluck, and a headpiece with which to back it. Bring your men along; I like the look of "em. But first to explain. This fire"s been going ever since two in the morning. It"s somewhere in a lot of cotton goods right under a heap of other cargo, and try as we have we can"t stifle it. Nor can we get at it with our sprays. So we"re attempting to move the other stuff, and then we"ll pitch what"s alight overboard or swamp it with water from the hoses. It"s the smoke that"s the trouble. You come right along."
He led the way to the hatchway, Joe and his men following, while almost at once a crowd of steerage pa.s.sengers ma.s.sed themselves along the rail which cut them off from that part of the deck, and detecting the object of the little band, and realizing that they were volunteers, sent up a hoa.r.s.e cheer of encouragement.
"Just you skipper the lot, youngster," said the officer, turning when close to the hatchway. "Keep those not at work below well to windward, then they"ll be able to breathe easily. You can see that the skipper"s put his helm over, so as to blow the smoke more abeam, for the people aft could hardly breathe. Now, you come down with me and I"ll show you what"s wanted; then you can set your men to at it."
Joe damped a towel in the bucket of water and tied it round his mouth and nose. Then he followed the officer over the edge of the hatchway, and gripping the iron ladder which descended vertically, soon found himself standing some thirty feet below on a pile of huge boxes.
"Machinery, and heavy stuff too," said the officer, taking him across to a part where there was little smoke. "Now, you can see for yourself whereabouts the fire is. The smoke tells you. Ah! there"s another man done for!"