The Portland daily press., 1899-09-06


hither and thither IN performance Of
their respective duties. Even the land
lubbers, such as cooks and wardroom
walters, were lending a hand. Every
body was aglow with the excitement of
the chase.
Everybody? Well, all except Murchi-
son. Anery-the uncharitablc might
term Il sulky-nt the captains uncalled
for fault finding, the lad had slowed him
self away under the poop and now COVER
ed behind convenient partition.
At the word Of command the big grap-
mel plunged into The sea. and the line
went flying out after Il. Down. down,
down. more than 1000 feet 1t went. At
length the lines speed sIackened.
Bottom. sir" comes the report.
Jingle janglel Clang, clangl sound the
bells in the engine room, and the ship
commences to move. Back and forward
in short laps she steams, at the same
time dragging the grapnel along with
her. The ocean bottom is being raked
over in search of an III behaving en-
ployee. One or two false alarms, and
then the man at the strain measuring
dynamometer announces, "She's got it
now, surew
OF starts the mighty steam winch.
Over the big, wen oiled pully at the bow
comes the grapnel line. Slowly but stead
lily the great weight Is drawn up. Higher
and higher. until the crowd OF eager faces
In the bows of the ship light briskly at
sight Of the appearing iron hook claBping
tight hold OF the seaweed draped cable.
The electrician commences dance OF
triumph and shouts with joy.
"The grapnel is right on the old
splice" he declares. 1.-The bruise must
be just under our quarter. Couldn't have
hit II better IL we had used foot rule"
Some Of the seamen swarm down and
put a chain stopper on the lifted blight.
The grnpnel is broken away and slowed
The hoisting lines bring some more of the
cable to the surface. Inside Of an hour
that portion of it which has been wound
Is on deck. The mischief lies plain to
view. The chafng from some sharp rock
doubtless has worn through the outer
covering of stout steel wires and the in
ner ones of smaller caliber, tarred jute
yarn and bituminous compounds. At any
rate, there is a cash half severing the
cable and laying bare the copper con-
ductor
"wowl It's bad onep' exclaimed
Canon. 'Liable to have snapped off any
minute"
"We're only to make a temporary
patch and mend the other wholly broken
ones first" announced the skipper abb
ruptly.
"a temporary patch won't hold It ten
days. No, nor a single week probably"
demonstrated the electrician.
Cant help that. Those are the orders.
We viii all earn our salaries for some
time to come, or I'm greatly mistaken"
grumbled the captain.
While they had been speaking the cleo
trician was making quick connections be-
tween his instruments and the barred por-
ton of the conductor. Almost Immediate
ly the little key commenced, "Ciick-
click, click-click-elick," etc, at great
rate.
''The boys are working pretty hot
ashore, / guess began Canon admir-
ingly, at the same time listening atten-
lively to the familiar language.
| But he broke off short in his comments,
and his face took on an expression OF
CONSERVATION as the sounds progressed.
what Is the matter" demanded Cap
tain Boylston hurriedly.
The electrician tore off his connecting
wires and cried: "Official message going
over. If 1t ever gets through with this
leak to weaken the current, l shall be as
tonished. Number has just gone with
the rest. They're ordering another steam
er to help us. The whole business now
depends upon this bruised cable. Mighty
lucky we caught it as we did,"
Even while thus explaining Canon had
started his helpers to work at the patch
ing. The captain, officers and all of the
crew not actually upon duty were clus-
- III f.t,-
ing their skilled labors with interest.
Murehison, as we hnve said, had hidden
away in the bows Of the ship. He now
crawied forth, but still cherishing a GER
tain animosity against the quick temper
ed skipper. carefully avoided the latter's
neighborhood. In a spirit of idle impulse
the young sailor clambered over the bows
and took up a position upon the recently
hoisted cable close alongside of the chain
stopper. There, with every plunge of the
craft sending him within few feet of
the tossing waves and every uprearing
lifting him high above them, he curiously
watched the holding shackle.
Even the temporary patching of an
ocean cable takes time. Moreover, in the
| present instance it was necessary to work
! Without interfering with the rush of mes
3ages from both directions. Scarcely had
! the first layer of gutta percha been put
on when Murchison, in his out of the way
roost beneath the bows, saw something
that made his eyes open wide.
The chain stopper upon the cable close
beside him was working loose. Either it
had been clumsily put on in the first
place or else the heavy plunging OF the
ship was responsible. At any rate, the
binding claws most Enthusiastically We're
relaxing, not enough to let the cable slip
as yet, but this was only matter of sec
| onds. Through Murchison's brain, in an
infnitesimal portion of time, flashed the
probably consequences il this opening Of
the shackle was not promptly forestalled.
Losing the cable after the trouble Of
getting it was bad enough, but would the
wound-as yet not properly bandaged-
stand the new strain of being torn away
| from the ships clutches? No, 1t would
snap asunder and leave the great compa-
ny without a single working line, humble
it's pride to the dust. and incidentally de-
stroy the high confidence which hitherto
I -. A. [y.n. 4.