The Mena star., 1899-05-04
1897. by J. B. Lippincott Col

lie smiled reaSSurlngly as he reached the grating where we stood, but looked thoughtful. As soon as he stepped out on deck the passengers crowded about with anxious ques- tions; and he told them, briefly, that there had been an accident to the shaft, how serious one it was impos- sible to say at present, but that the ship was in no immediate danger, and that they had better go below for lunch. Then he called to the mate, on the bridge: "Pipe your men down, Mir. Diaz, and come to my room as soon as you are relieved" was very anxious to question him, but, by an almost inn perceptible motion, he signaled me to go below with the senorita.
 When we reached the saloon every one was talking eXcitedly about the accident and speculating as to wheth- CT the steamer would be obliged to lay up for repairs at Yap. The pulsation of the screw was noticeably slower; and the second mate, after hastily fin ishing his meal, hurried on deck to re- iieve Diaz, so that he might consult with the captain. The engineers chair was empty; he did not put in an ap- pearance until dinner-time. About the time we reached the dessert, the screw stopped again. The stewards continued to wait upon us as if noth- ing had happened, and this alone kept several from rushing on deck again. When we did finally leave the table, McPherson came down from the cap tain's quarters and assured Padre Se- bastiano that the danger was not seri- ous. But as bell after bell struck without the engines being started, a vague uneasiness spread through the ship and every one talked in subdued tones. Three of the passengers went below to make up small bundles of their valuables in case it should be necessary to take to the boats.
 Late in the afternoon, Halstead came down from his room, followed by the mate, and told those on deck that owing to the accident, he had de- cided to head for the island of Guajan in the Ladrones, where he hoped to ob- tain spare machinery which would en- able the steamer to make the remain der of the voyage in safety. Then he asked the senorita, Padre Sebastiano and me if we would like to go down into the cngine-room and see the dam aged shaft. fancy the padre would have preferred remaining on deck, but, as it was against his principles tc miss anything, we went, holding punches of cotton waste as a protec- ton against grease on the hand-rails and machinery. The captain natural ly went first, and the senorita fol lowed, blushing like peony at the revelations for which the steepness of the iron ladder was responsible. Down, down, grating after grating, until we were 12 feet below the water line and the cylinders lowered above us like grotesque monsters; then through tiny door into the long tun- nel, or shaft-alley, lighted at inter- vals by hanging incandescents and ex- tending clear to the inboard bearing at the stern of the ship. Four of the assistants and oilers were leaning against the wall-plates, like navvies waiting for the ore car in coal mine; while down at one side, obstructing the passage, was the wreck of an iron tank which had been lashed on brack- cts to hold lubricating oil, and which evidently, fetching loose as the steam CT rolled, had fallen upon the shaft with sufficient force to start the crack that we could see distinctly as Hal stead swung t torch over it. There was quite a perceptible dent where the tank had struck, and, leading from it, the finer line of fracture in the steel which extended two-thirds of, the distance around the shaft, slant ing spirally toward the stern. To our inexperienced eyes it seemed that any thing over the normal resistance upon the screw might easily twist it apart, but the captain said it was not quite as bad as it looked. tapping the steel with hammer and calling our atten- tion to the sound as he did so. He said that in ordinarily smooth weather he might get back to Manila without an actual break, but that, as the risk would be great in squalls or heavy seas, it.would be foolhardy to proceed without the strengthening rings and clamps which he expected to find at Cua;e-
 fro BE coNTINuED.1