Evening star., 1898-06-11

badly swept: everything movable on deck
was gone; cargo had shifted and then SHIFT
ed back again till she had lost all her list
and was in proper trim: the engines were
still workable if carefully nursed and in
fact. though battered. she was entirely sea-
worthy, and while with tired gusto they
were comparing these things WEAKNESS at
last got the better of them, and first one
and then the other fncontinently dropDed
off into the deadest of sleep
That the Duncansby Head had come in
unsteered and unscathed through the reefs
and therefore, under steam and control
could go out again, was on the face of it
very simple and obvious theory to make;
but TO discover a passage through the
rocks to make it practicable was quite an
other matter. For three days the old p &
o. lifebodt piled up and down from outside
the reefs, and had twenty narrow escapes
from being smashed into slaves. 1t looked
as II nature had performed a miracle and
taken the steamer bodily in her arms and
lifted her over at least dozen black walls
of stone.
The two Portuguese were already sick to
death of the whole business but for their
feelings neither Kettle nor McTodd had
any concern whatever. They were useful
in the working of the boat, and therefore
they were taken along, and when they re-
fused duty or did it with too much listless-
ness to please, they were cuffed into actiyi-
ty again. There was no verbal argument
about the matter. Work suffer-" was
the simple motto the two Islanders went
upon. and 1t answered admirably. They
knew the breed of the Portugee of old
AT last, by dint of daring and toll. the
secret OF the passage through the noisy
spouting reefs was won: it was sounded
carefully and methodically for sunken
rocks. and noted in all possible ways; and
the old p. & o. lifeboat was hoisted on the
Duncansby's davits. The Portuguese were
driven down into the stokehold to represent
double watches of a dozen men and max,
a requisite steam; McTodd fingered the
rusted engines like an artist, and Kettle
Drad oil h no.
on the upper bridge.
They had formally signed articles and
apportioned themselves pay, Kettle as mas
ter. McTodd as chief engineer and the Por-
tuguese as firemen. because salvage is ap-
portloned pro rata. and the more pay a
man Is getting the longer is his bonus On
which account (at McTodd's suggestion)
they awarded themselves paper stipends
which they could feel proud of, and put
down the Portuguese for the ordinary fire.
mans wages then paid out of Gibraltar,
neither more nor less. For as the engineer
said, There was a fortune to be divided
up somehow, and it would be pity for a
pair Of unclean Dagoes to have more than
was absolutely necessary, seeing that they
would not know what to do with it,
Captain Kettle felt it to be one of the
supreme moments of his life when he rang
on the Duncansbys bridge telegraph to
half speed ahead" Here was a bit of
fortune such as very rarely came in any
shipmaster's way; not getting salvage the
larger part of which an owner would finger
for mere assistance; but taking to port a
vessel which was derelict and deserted the
greatest and the rarest plum that the seas
could offer. 1t was a thought that thrilled
him.
But he had not much time for sentimental
musings in this strain A terribly nervous
bit Of pilotage lay ahead of him; the mo-
tive power of his steamer, was feeble and
uncertain, and It would require all his skill
deep blue water. Slowly she backed or
went ahead, lodging round to get square
entrance to the fair way; and then with a
slam Kettle rang on his telegraph to Full
speed ahead SO as to get her under the
fullest possible command. z
She darted out fntor the narrow winding
lane between the walls of broken water.
and the roar Of the surf closed round her.
Rocks sprung up OUT of the deep-hungry
black rocks as deadly as explosive torpe-
does. With full complement of hands
the place. 1t would have been an Infinitely
dangerous piece of navigation; with a half
power steamer which .hadrenly one man all
told upon her decks. and he almost a
stranger to the place. 1t was miracle how
sne got out unscathsd. But 1t was a
miracle assisted with the most brilliant
skill. Kettle had surveyed the channel in
the hfeboat and mapped every rock in his
head, and when the test came he was equal
to 1t. 1t would be hard to come across a
manfof more iron nerve.
Backing, and going ahead, to get round
right-angled turns of the fairway shaving
reefs so closely that the wash from them
creamed over her rail, the battered old
tramp steamer faced a million dangers for
every fathom of her onward way, but
never once did she actually touch, and in
the end she shot out into the clear deem
water and gaily hit diamonds from the
waye-tops into the sunshine.
1t Is possible for a man to concentrate
himself 50 deeply upon one thing that he
Is deaf to all else in the world, and until
he had worked the Duncansby Head out
into the open Captain Kettle was In this
condition. He was diHly conscious Of
voices hailing him. but he had no leisure to
give them heed. But when the strain WA