The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-11-25
PARE Y.


week very dimly, as n fever patient re-
members the delirium of long night.
There were fires everywhere, they say;
the whole ship was one consuming fur
mace, and the hammers were never still.
Now, there could not have been more
than one fire at the most, for Mr.. War
drop distinctly recalls that no straight
ening was done except under his own
eye. They, remember, too. that for
many years voices gave orders which
they obeyed with their bodies, but their
minds were abroad on all the seas. Ii
seems TO them that they stood through
days and nights slowly sliding bar
backwards and forwards through n
white glow that was part of the ship.
They remember an intolerable noise in
their burning heads from the walls of
the stolxehole, and they remember be-
ing savagely beaten by men whose eyes
seemed asleep. When their shift was
over they would draw straight lines in
the air, anxiously and repeatedly, and
would question one another in their
sleep, crying: "Is she straight?"
At last - they do not remember
whether this was by day or night-Mr.
Wardrop began TO dance clumsily and
hvept the while and they, too, danced
and wept and went 10 sleep twitching
all over; and when they woke men said
that the rods were Strengthened and no
one did any work for two days, but lay
ION the decks and ate fruit. Mr.. War
drop would go below from time to time
Iand pat the two rods where they lay,
land they heard him singing hymns.
Then his trouble of mind went from
him, and at the end of the third days
bdleness he made a drawing in chalk
upon the deck, with letters of the
alphabet at the angles. He pointed
out that, though the piston rod was
more or less straight, the piston rod
cross head--the thing that had been
dannmed sideways in the guides-had
been badly strained, and had cracked
the lower end of the piston rod. He
was going to forge and shrink
wrought iron collar on the neck of the
piston rod where ii joined the cross
head, and from the collar he would bolt
N Y-shaped piece of iron, whose lower
arms should be bolted into the cross
head. If anything more were needed
they could use up the last of the boiler
plate.
So the forges were lit again, and men
burned their bodies, but hardly felt the
pain. The finished connection was
mot beautiful, but it seemed strong
lenough-at least as strong as the rest
yof the machinery; and with that job
their labors came to an end. All that
hemained was to connect up the engines
and to get food and water. The skip
per and four men dealt with the Malay
boat builder by night chiefly; it was
no time TO haggle over the price Of sago
and dried fish. The others stayed
aboard and replaced piston, piston
rod, cylinder cover. cross head and
'bolts with the aid of the faithful dom
aSey engine. The cylinder cover was
hardly steam proof and the eye of
science might have seen, in the curve
of the connecting rod, fiexure some
thing like that of Christmas tree can.
Edle which had melted and been
Strengthened by hand over a stove: but,
ns Mr.. Wardrop said: "She didn't hit
anything"
AS soon as the last bolt was in place,
men tumb,ed over one another in their
anxiety TO get to the hand starting
gear. the wheel ard worm by which en-
gines can be moved where there is no
steam aboard. They nearly wrenched
off the wheel: but IL was evident TO
the blindest eye that the engines
moved They did not revolve i'm their
orbits with any enthusiasm, as good
machines should. Indeed. they groaned
not little: but they moved over and
came TO rest in way which proved
that they still recognized mans hand.
Then Mr.. Wardrop sent his slaves into
the darker bowels of the engine room
and stokehole and followed them with
flare lamp. The boilers were sound,
but would take no harm from little
scaling and cleaning. Mr. Wardrop
would not have anyone over Jealous,
for he feared what the next stroke of
the tool might show. "The less we
know about her now," said he. "the
better for us all, I'm thinkin'. Ye1i
understand me when ! say that this
is in no sense regular enginevrin'."
AS all his raiment, when he spoke,
was his gray beard and uncut hair,
they believed him. They did not ask
TOO much OF what they met. bun pol
5shed aud tallowed and scrnpcd IL 10
. false brilIiancy
~ lick Of paint would make me
easier in my mind" said Mr.. Wardrop.
pInintively. ~ know half the condcns-
er~tnbes are started; aud the propeller
shoftin's God knows how far out of the
true, and Wen need a new air-pump an
she inain-stcam leaks like a sieve, and
fherc's worse each way I look. Lut,-
paints like clothes 10 n man. an ours is
near all gone"
The skipper unearthed some stale
ropy paint of the loathsome green that
they used for the insidcs Of sailing |
ships. and Mr.. Wardrop spread IL abroad |
-. -. -.