The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1902-04-10

ssC1s q wood 10 her furnace aspl
-wood which for weeks had lala dry
ing upon the docks until II was Ma
matchwood; she was as ready To burz
a. powder stsiag. Capt. wills knsu
II. He peered down among the frsiGAt
upon the lower deck. and saw N
curling smoke and the little spurte q
flame; he looked up at the del
above. beyond which were ths AfJ
woodwork Of The cabin aad Ne n
hammable upper WORKS; sad hs
knew that his bsst hope was 70 bsaeh
the St. Clair before the DIRE Aal
stepped his engines. {
"Are they out from belouf" hi
asked.
-Not yet. SIR"
-Is Van Clede In the engine-room
"Yes, SIR"
Tell him TO stick. Tell them al
TO stick. I'm going 60 run for BrOn'
sons. We must keep It under .,
much NJ We can"
The steward went through the cab.
in, knocking 81 the doors and calling
tho passengers They came by twoa
and threes. little groups Of white
laced people half-dresssd. About them
was the blaoknsss Of the night, out
of which came the lines Of choppy,
off-shore seas-that and nothing
more; a. yet they had seen NO flame,
had hardly smellsd the smoke. Willis
called Van Clede to the speaking-tube,
"We're afire over the boilerS" he
said.
"Yes, SIR"
"I'm going 10 run for pronson's,
Stick to II as long As you can, and
give us everything you've got"
Eyes, SIR"
Then the head Of the ST. Clair was
turned into the wind. The passengers.
silent and nervous, gathered on the
forward deck. There was no turmoil,
no confusion Of words; but below, the
crew Of the 81. Clair, and Shocky
Larson with them, wet and scorched
and choked with smoke, were fighting
the enemy they did not hope to over
come. And the st. Clair, shaking all
over with steady tremble, split the
water away before her bluff bow, and
a half-hour licked itself of on the
pilot-house clock.
The head wind drove the flames
steadily back upon the freehold and
engine-room. Fifteen minutes more
and tho stoksrs, burned and blinded.
were dragged through the fire to tho
deck. There was steam enough for all
the miles that the st. Clair would
ever travel upon any waterA
In the enginsroom Van Clede. out
wardly calm, trembled inwsrdly with
a kind Of ecstasy. A hundred times he
had pressed these enginss-pressed
them notch by notch until he thought
that they were doing their utmost;
but mover had he pressed them %
now. He knew them, nut and bolt
throus', "Tery fraction of their steady
revolution. but now in the swirling
smoke taey seemed like mad giants
rushing through their movements.
Yet their -lusic was as even al before,
and the throw which shook the St.
Clair w:s as regular as o pendulum.
The er ne-room was like q furnace;
the paint dropped in scales from the
woodwork, and Van Clede tore q strip
from his shirt, wet it. and tied It
across his mouth and nostrils. His
flesh ached with the heat, and he
stood stoop-shouldcred and childish
eyed. and was proud Of his engines.
Twice Willis called Van Clede to the
speaking tube.
"Ars you there yet2" he asked.
"All right 20 far, sir" said Van
Clede.
Capt Willis had begun to feel the
nearness Of the land, although in the
darkness there was neither signal
light nor shore line to tell him where
he was. A quarter Of mile one way
or the other made q difference of reef
Or beach, or safety or destruction.
Aft, the flames were licking the edges
Of the upper deck, but Willis signaled
for reduced speed. and the St. Clair
with two men at her wheel, came in
cautiously as a cat, ready to jump
either way.
At Bronson's they had seen her
coming, and the red light flashed out
at the end of the dock. The light
came too late. As it met their eyes,
suddenly a tremendous shock shook
the St. Clair from stem to stern; out
went the lamps in the cabin, loose
furniture, loose things upon the deck
leaped toward the bow. From below
came the crash of shifting freight,
and passengers and crew, wherever
they stood, were dashed to the deck
and hurled forward.
The st. Clair had struck the reef;
and as il the shock had been a signal
the whole boat aft of her funnel be-
came flaming torch. The fire seemed
TO move along the edges Of the deck
as fast as a man could walk. The
boats were gone, the funnel trembled
between the loosening stays.
Willis who had been thrown from