The Republican journal., 1898-12-29

not burn long in the closed-up space-and
The mixing of it in the interstices of the
lime barrels with water and lime-a boil
ing hot mess. What happens under such
cunditions.'
"Give it up, said Boston, laconically.
"Lime- soap is formed, which rises, aud
the water beneath is in time all taken up
by the lime.
But what of it?'' interrupted the
other
wait | see that this hold and the
tween deck are lined with wood. Is that
customary in iron ships?
IN OF now. 1t used to be a notion that
an iron skin damaged the cargo; so the
first iron ships were Ceiled with wood. -
''Are there any drains in the tween
deck to lei water out, in case it gets into
that deck from above---a sea, for in
stance2'
"Y es, always; three OF four scupper-
holes each side amidships. They lead
the water into the bilges, where the
pumps can reach it.
II found up there, continued the doc
tor, "a large piece OF wood, badly char
red 10y acid for half it length, charred
to a lesser degree for the rest. 1t was
oval in cross section, and the largest end
was ehalred most,
''Scupper plug. | supposed they plug
ged the tween deck scuppers to keep any
water they might ship ont of the bilges
and away from the lime. -
Yes, and those plugs remained in
place tor days. if not weeks on months,
after the carboys burst, as indicated by
the greater charIing OF the larger end of
the plug. l bnrrowed under The debris,
and found tie hole in which that plug fit
ted. 1t was worked loose, or knocked ont
Of the hole by some internal movement of
the broken carboys, perhaps. At any
rate, it came out, after remaining IN place
long enough Tor the acids to become
thoroughly mixed and for the hull to cool
down She was in the ice, remember.
Boston, the mixed acid went down that
hole, or others like it. Where is it now9''
II suppose" said Boston, thoughtfulIy,
that it soaked up into the hold, through
the skin
Exactly. The skin is calked with
oakum, is it not?'' Boston nodded.
"1hat oakum would contract with the
charring action as did the oakum in the
hatch, and every drop of that acid-ten
thousand gallons, as | have tigured-has
filtered up into the hold, with the eXcep-
ton OF W hat remained between the frames
organic chemistry?''
"Slgh ly.'
Then yon can follow me. When tai
low is saponified there is formed, from the
palmitin, stearin. and olein contained, with
the causticizing agent-in tn S case, lime
a soap. But there are two ends to every
equation, and at the bottom of this i'm
mense soap vat, held in solution by the
water. which would afterwards be taken
mp by the surplus lime, was the other
end of this equation; and as the yield
from tallow of this other product is about
thirty per cent and we start with eight
thousand fifty pound kids-four hundred
thousand poundS-all of which has dis
appeared, we know that, sticking to the
skin and sides of the barrels down here,
is-or once was-one hundred and twenty
thousand pounds, or sixty tons, of the
other end of the equftion-glycerinen'
''Do you mean Doc asked Boston,
with a startled look, ''that-"
''I mean said the doctor, emphatical-
Iy, "that the iiIst thing the acds-mixcd
in the tween deck to just about The right
proportions, mind you-weuid attack, on
o0zing through the SKIN, would be this
glyceline: and the certain product Of this
union under intense oold--this hull was
frozen in the ice. rememb mbel-Wo@li be
uitrrg glycerne: and, rs The yield of the
Explosive is two hundred and tV enty per
cent OF the giyceriue, we can bc morally
sure that the bottom of this hold, each
minute globule OF it held firmly in a hard
matriX OF suiphate or nitate of calcium
which would form next when the acids
met the hydrates and carbonates of lime
is over one hundred and thirty tons of
y1y Ma,
from not being washed of free acids,
Come up on deck. lll show you some
thing else
Limp and nerveless, Boston followed
the doctor. The question was beyond
his seamanship
The doctor brought the yellow sub
stance-now well dried 81 found plenty
Of this in the tween deck he said :;
land | should Judge they used it to pack
between the oarboy boxes. 1t was once
cotton batting. 1t is now, since ] have
washed it, very good sample OF gun cot
ton. Get me hammeT-CrOW bar ONE
thing hard
Boston brought a marline- spike from
the locker, and the doctor, tearing off a
small piece of the substance and placing
it on the iron barrel of a gypsy winch,
gave it a hard blow with the marline-
spike, which was nearly torn from his
hand by the explosion that followed.
1--WE have in the tween deck said
the doctor. as he turned ''about twice as
many pounds of this stuff they used to
pack the carboys with: and, like nitro
glycerine, it is more easily exploded from
the impurities and free acids. | washed
this for safe handling. Boston, we are
adrift on a floating bomb that would
pulveIize the Rock of Gibraltar
"But, DOCTOR, asked Boston, as he
leaned against the rail for support,
wonldn't t there be evolution of heat
from the action of the acids on the lime
enough to explode the nitro glycerine
just formed?''
"The best proof that it did not explode
is the fact that this hull still floats. The
action was too slow, and it was very cold
down there. But can't account for the
acids left in the bilges. What have they
been doing all these fifty years?''
Boston found sounding rod in the
locker, which he scraped bright with his
knife, then unlaying a strand of rope for
line, sounded the pump well. The rod
came up dry, but with a slight discolora-
ton ON the lower end, which Boston
showed to the doctor.
''The acids have expended themselves
on the iron frames and plates. How thick
are theyo''