Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1893-05-20
HIS REVENGE.

you can move with one finger, Just handy
contrivance, in fact, for opening and shut
ting steam valve Below are a pair Of
small engines and some natty lodges for
governing them They move a drum, and
round the drum is the chain working the
quadrant on the rubber head.
"There'sa bit of an index finger for show
ing you how much helm you're giving her,
and there you are.
at is handy, and If you want TO appre-
ciate the thing to the full you've only got
to look back Mt the old style. Ocean liners
weren't nearly so big then, but yet I've
seen four men hanging on to a G-foot wheel,
and the pair on the weather spokes getting
lifted off the gratings."
So spoke the chief officer 10 quiet trio
in the doctors cabin-a seafaring trio
"Of course" he went on, accidents will
happen to the best regulated steam steer
ing gear, and as long as the sea and bad
weather keep company together ! suppose
they'll continue to happen,
'Twasn't on this boat. II was four years
ago, and Twas second then on the-well, no,
l won't tell you her name either.
1.-THE old man was a regular sea dandy
patent leather shoes, pattern plate bags,
new brass bindings and all the rest Of it,
and he was rare popular man with pas
sengers. A good seaman, too, but his com
pany manners scored for him best, and he's
skipper Of one Of the regular flicrs now.
However, on that trip we'd chap
aboard he couldn't get on with any way
You see this poor fellow was a planter who
had been out in the Pacific islands some
where and had got a touch Of the sun.
Some days he was tolerably right; some
days be was as mad as "a halter.
Directly the old man went up 10 do the
civil to some Of the ladies on deck the plant.
er would turn up, too and teach him how
to take lunar, and in the saloon. so soon
as ever the old man pulled out his society
stop and started the conversation in that
key, this blessed nuisance would shove in
his tune, spite Of 81 the snubbings whatso-
ever.
so that when we we're four days out no
one was very much surprised when the old
man got through his temper altogether and
told. the other chap what he thought Of
him straight.
1.-THE planter stared for a minute or two
through his Sits Of eyes without speaking
Then said he III make you lose your ship
for this, captain and without putting an
other word to it got up and stalked away
to his berth
Nothing happened that day nor the
next except that the wind shifted round to
norrard and worked itself intoa whole gale,
with humping great sea to match.
ION the third day about midnight we
guessed we'd seen about the worst Of It.
I'd got the watch, but the old man was
with me for the first hour At the end Of
that time said he: 1 think the back Of this
is about broken now, so I'll DE of for bit
of a watch below BE sure and let me
know, though, If il worseus again
THE rain had knocked OF, but there was
good deal of scud flying. and the air was
thick. When ] bad been in chgge about
an hour the quartermastcr forward report.
ed a steamer somewhere ahead.
"She was heading directly down our
course and lay about mile away. Wishing
to give her widish berth 70 starboard gave
orders n put the helm over a couple Of
points TO port.
1.-THE fellow spun round the wheel lightly
enough Nothing jammed there, but from
the house below, where the wheel engines
were, came half dozen sharp jolts, which
Jared the bridge 1t was nothing much,
Just perceptibie, aud that's about all, but
we on the bridge looked ut one another and
wondered what was up.
the starboard bow, and She gave such a
quick heel that was very nearly shot off
my pins. In that moment / tumbled to
what had happened. The ship was falling
off TO port: the steering gear had burst
somewhere.
"Then took another sqIint ahead. That
other steamer was drawing up hand over
fist, right down atop Of Us, and humping
heavy one she was too"
The chief officer paused, whistling drear.
fly. One Of US told him impatiently to get
along.
Get alongl BE movinal That was just
it, There were a score O. things to do, and
1 didn't know which to Aegin at first And
meanwhile Rome was burning
III wasted 20 seconds thinking and it
seemed that was frittering away 20 years
Meanwhile she had fallen OF more into the
trough, and sea caught her on the beam
and sent a lot OF green squirting bang over
the bridge That washed some wits into
me again. Irang or the engines to stand
by ahead and tumbled down myself for
the old man.
BLESS his clever hearth He must have
dreamed the whole yarn, for ! met him
tumbling up the companion in his paiamas,
and he cut me short with "A Yes, | know
Get the hand wheel geared, and II that
won't do, rig the winches aft to the rudder
head. Bawl me news TO the bridge
"Fishesl how those lazy shell backs
worked I'd only got one quartermaster
and another hand with me. The boatswain
had all the rest of the watch gearing tackles
to the after hatch winch, SO as to yoke the
rudder head-in case and as very desper-
ate resort. As il happened, luckily their
work was thrown away The damage was
only forward. In the after wheelhouse
nothing had smashed.
But still we three there had our work
cut out The steering wheels-there were
three Of them, whoppers-worked double
ended screw. All we had 70 do was to socket
the pins Of the connecting rods.
"But the rudder was steering wildly
madly, furiously, with the seas, and the big
Iron bars tore ard plunged at US for five
awful minutes before we could get them