Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1896-12-25
AN ENGINEERS YARN.

done, and | was sitting with the mate
on the bridge watching the downward
sweep of the tropic dusk. at puts me
in mind of a theater sunset, he was
saying; "thcy always 90 by the run.
And that was pretty theatrical hit you
had i'll the engine ROOM" he said TO my
chief, who had joined us. We had found
all the nuts but one off the connecting
rod head. Had another half turn been
made, our engines would have been a
scrap heap.
"Only once has it happened before, ;"
said my chief, land there was a grand
tableau, as you call it, but not in the
engine room. Our stem and three wall
eyed junks were the actors. 1t was up
there" jerking his head northward.
'There was nothing but thousand odd
miles of water and busting of islands
between us and Hongkong."
The mate held a lighted match to the
chief pipe and set him drifting on with
the current Of his yarn.
you see, it was years and years ago,
and was second in local boat-Hong-
kong to Yokohama. We were the first
to employ Chinese fremen We had been
repairing and had put on fresh crowd,
all except one, Ii Chin. 1t was near
monsoon time, and the second day out
we were sitting as we might be here,
but there was no sunset on view. 1t had
been hazy all day, and we were watch
ing the moon rising-just past full. 1t
looked as if some one had Dashed one
side off the true 1t got up to the haze,
big and blood red like a fire balloon at
old Cremorne. A mean, staggering swell
had set in, so oily that it had no more
go to it than the slush in a greaser' s
bucket. We were all pretty well hipped
and morose, being company for no one
except the sea, and that-well that
looked as if it wanted to be sick and
couldn't. Ii Chin, who was decent for
heather, was in charge below.
my chief was sitting on the rails,
and somehow he went over the side.
You know pretty well how things like
that galvanize everybody Lose him?
No. The oily swell saved him, for the
old man ran the boat straight back in
her own wake, which was marked out
like a dusty road at night through a
hilly country. Well, we came to where
he was yelling and got him out By all
law the old man ought to have got into
a splutter, but instead of that he said:
" Look here, Mr.. Gamwell'-that
was my chiefs name-I knew some
thing had to happen to this cock eyed no
side up looking weather, but l don't be-
lieve this is the only thing tonight
"And we all said together, That's
just what | was thinking, sir, as they
do at church when the parson pipes out.
Then send her ahead again, and
let's get it done with, he said.
"'Give her steam, Lii Chin shouted
down the skylight. Ii Chin looked up
and chittered:
" Hi, no talkee talkee! Come chop
chop So Invent down to him.
81 was pretty green in those days,
and whatever came within hair
breadth Of happening made me feel as
squeamish as if it had come off. Of
course you grow out of that, but then l
felt my hair creep. Our high pressure
connecting rod was on the down throw,
with only single nut on! She had
the old style engines remember, and
when they went on burst they went
handsomely-no tinkering up. New en-
gines, perhaps new ship, maybe even
new hands However, we began to screw
up-at least the chief did. He'd only
trust himself, Presently he showed a
nut under my nose.
That your trademark he asked
The nut was Clipped and scribed with
bad spanner marks, which 1 repudiated
"In what followed can never quite
settle Ii Chin S share in the programme
This was how we were after we had fix
ed all tight again: Ii Chin was leaning
through the eccentric rods, with the
lamp. l was half out the crank pit, and
the chief was at my back. He had the
spanner. All in breath he dragged
me backward, fiat, my head cracking on
the plates, and | saw the spanner 90
spit through the standards. 1t didn I
hit any metal, but something soft. Then
he clapped his hand on my face and held
me stone tight and something came
down and rubbed by my chest, scratch
ing memo more-and through his fin.
gers | could just see the crank moving,
but it had passed me. If any one be.
lieves that engines haven't souls, just
you stick him in the crank pit and lei
her go, only dead slow and just to clear
him. That converted me.
''He dragged me right out, kissing in
my ear
"'Whip up on deckl Tell 'em to shoot
on sight any who leave the stokehole
He slammed the iron door tween the
boilers and us and turned on Lii Chin
who was still holding the lamp and hac