The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1866-12-06
Am Engine-ROOm Story.
.TcONcLGDED.l

room, having the cyllnQerS ana enus
of the engines on one side OF it, the
bulkhead on the other, and the cross
platform for roo, 10 space about four
feet wide, and in length the whole
width Of the ship. The port side OF
this space was filed with tallow casks,
oil-cans. &C., for which there was not
room in the store-closet; but on the
starboard side there was nice, snug
little spot, kept tolerably cool, though
| so near the cylinders, by the draught
of air from the deck, and through
some holes in the bulkhead. from the
fore hold. This snuggery was ap-
preached by narrow passage on the
stafboard side of the ship,-for the
| ladders and deck pump, prevented
your getting in from between the en-
gines, and the donkey engine was in
the way on the port side; and you had
to make rush to get in, where you
did, without ducking from the star
board waste-water through the ships
side, which was very leaky,so that there
was generally torrent of water falling
down from it, But once in, with
bag of cotton wipings for !, bed, and
my jacket rolled up for a pillow, /
could generally calculate on COM
Portable snooze, without disturbance
from the wheels or anything else. /
am Obliged to be SO particular in my
description, or you would never un-
derstand what / have to relatelis In.
this favorite spot of mine, then, you
will understand that L lay down, and
in xy0r~ r&o- e. 80 81
Il had not slept very long, when /
awokei with a start, and with an un-
easy consciousness that there was
something unusual in the working of
the engines. / leant on my elbow
and listened. They were going much
more slowly than usual, and there
was peculiar jerking style
about their motion which seemed
as if they were working expan-
sively with high steam; and
the we'll known rushing sound
in the steam-p pipes, like the wind
through doorway, when the door is
ajar, showed me in moment that
they were. closely, "throttled that
is, that the valves in the pipes leading
to the cylinders were partially closed,
so as to check the flow of steam from
the boilers to the engines. / saw, too,
that there was very bright glow from
the furnaces, and that the fires were
more than usually intense. / fancied,
also, from the absence of the usual
currents OF air, except through the
windsail and from the forehold, and
the appearance of the lights and shad-
ows, that the matches over the crank
| gratings, and the companion leading
to the deck, were closed-a thing that
was very unusual, except in bad
weather. A
/ was about to creep out of my
lair to see. what was the meaning of
all this, when / heard persons in CON
versation in the passage between the
engines, and almost close to where /
was By a slight movement I was
able also to see them. One was our
chief engineer, who had never before
been known in the engine-room at
this hour of the night he had his
hands on the injection handles, and
was regulating the supply of water
to the diminished quantity of steam
passing through the engines. The
other, with his back turned towards
me, was a person whom / did not know
at all. He appeared slight, grace
fully formed young man, of middle
height, dressed in sailor'sclothes of a
fine texture, and with the voice of a
youth rather than of man. Ishould
have gone out at once to see what was
4 doing, but the first words / distin-
guished arrested my attention in a
moment. It was the youth who
said - ~ "1h
&" How long before we shall leave
the ship?'
, 80 Not long now replied the chief
but we have nothing more to do, ex.
cept to start when it is time
- Are you sure the third engineer
is all right
g. Yes. He sleeps in one of the
wheel houses, and j have turned the
key upon him Dick is at the wheel
the rest of the watch on deck, and
these smutty fellows are disposed Of
We have lowered the boat all safe
and all is ready for start.
Then why not 60 now?'
No, we might be discovered il
i blIuC W spun dill LIEU uS WALL I'LL GIlt
last moment, and we shall be sure
!, that we have got rid of the inferno
. ship and all that could ever give u
trouble. But, by" he said, will
4 a glance toward the gauges, i there
ism t much time to spare, either. The
steam mounts quicker than l thought
it is at twenty five already, and thu
water is all out of the gauges. JUS
step on deck, and tell Dick we shall
be off at once.
THE youth turned and ascendet
quickly to the deck and the chic
went to the stoke-hole, opened tn,
furnace-doors, looked at the fires, AM
threw in some Goals and tallow.
" / should make bad hand at de
!, soribing my feelings, and all that sor
8 of thing; but / think you may imag
Inc that the unaccountable appearance
of "a. stranger in3the ship-the 'intelli