Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-26

lately in the channel current and with
blowers full on. slipped away down the
river at full speed.
What gets me-" said the engineer Of
the Refuge who with her pilot kept out of
the superintendent way, in the engine
room of the wanderer, lis how the fool was
able to get away without help in such
current. You know the trouble we have,
startin bar and ALL
"Oh. he used no startin' bar, I'll warrant
you" growled the pilot. What he did was
to slip his hawsers and let her go. But the
next time id pill-roller comes up
him points about runnin' steamboat.
fer his bad cigars, he'll be up against some
thin thatll surprise i'm"
How can a man steal steamboat like
that all by himself?' somewhat discon-
nectedly asked one of the male nurses who
had come down to get warm.
That's easy" replied the engineer. ''1f
he's got a good head of steam and white
fires. he doesn't need to do anything but
go ahead. The Refugell last him till he
gets past the Narrows. and then If he looks
sharp and waits till there's no other craft
near him, he can leave the wheel long
enough to give her a touch up thatll keep
her going till she gets outside the Hook"
In the pilot house of the Wanderer the
superintendent. Swainley, Jameson, Baxter
and one or two others were looking ahead
into the night discussing the chances of
catching Peterman. Undoubtedly he would
not suspect being chased, and it was pos
sible that one of the fire boats or perhaps
the police boat, Patrol, would return to the
Battery station and go after the Refuge
before the Wanderer could round the long
elbow of city front which lies between
Blackwelps Island and Brooklyn bridge
That would be so much gained, but 1t
could not be counted on. Swainley repeated
all he could remember of his conversations
with Peterman, and the clew thus furnished
bristled with grisly uncertainties. The
amelioration of the Idiot! How did Peter
man purpose to accomplish it? The men
exhausted the probabilities and the posi-
bilities of the situation dozen times over
while the steamer stood along the center
channel in the outgoing flood and after
that there was nothing to do but watch
ahead.
They might have cut through the But
termilk channel on the inshore Of Cover
nor's Island but the superintendent was
anxious to know if the fire boat had come
back. So they turned westward toward
the Battery wall. The boat was not at her
dock, but they saw her rounding the face
of the Aquarium, her fire nozzes sticking
through her shields like long guns from
the turrets of a cruiser. She was the New
Yorker The Wanderer slowed down to see
what she would do. There was not long
to wait. A man stood upon the dock with
a paper in his hand, and he handed it to
| the captain of the New Yorker with a
verbal injunction that caused the captain
| TO start visibly. He gave the order to sheer
| off, and the fire boat turned Immediately
and headed down the bay in the wake of
| the Wanderer.
Through his fire-horn the captain of the
| New Yorker hailed the Wanderer and ad-
vised series of ZigZags as far as the chan
nelS would permit. the two boats to work
| down the bay until Romer St:oal light was
reached. But the arrival of new ally
made it unnecessary. Soon after the boats
| left the Battery, the Patrol, the steamer
| of the police department returned from her
| raid. and, with all the extra force she
| could muster, started to help in the work
| of rescue. She is very fast boat and she
went down under a forced draft and with
| a long, lean stride that got her to the Mar
rows almost as soon as the others. She
| signaled repeatedly to every boat that loom
| ed up ahead and at last received an an
| swering whistle from the New Yorker just
| as that boat and the Wanderer were about
| to divide the uncertainties of the search.
Then commenced a hunt that was with
out parallel in the history of the harbor.
| The three captains headed their boats in
| the form of an overwhelming wedge, with
| the Wanderer In the middle, the New York
| er working toward Coney Island and the
| Patrol veering toward Sandy Hook In
| other words, the Wanderer made bee line
| for Dumb beacon, the Patrol went down
| the regular ship channel. and the New
! Yorker went out by the east channel. There
was signal agreed upon, to be given IN
case the chase was sighted. They hailed
| everything that passed, because 1t Is so
| easy to mistake boat in the night and
| because incoming vessels might have sight
| ed the Refuge. But none had recognized
! the Refuge. with its load Of human irrespon-
| sibles. Once only did the captain of the
| Wanderer get a hail that gave an inkling
| of encouragement. 1t came from the cap
| tain of a tugboat, who leaned far out OF
] his pilot house window to shout that he