Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1908-05-14

the steam TO escape freely: then he
carried his comrade out Of the spuIne
to the deck. 1t was too late. Partial
suffocation had placed too great a
strain on n diseased heart. BY the
brave man was dead.
Courtenay. who had left instructions
that he was to be called when the
E~vangclistas light was sighted, was
sound asleep. In the elevated quar-
tcrs assigned TO the captain the noise
of the explosion differed little from the
thunderous blows of the sea, but the
stopping Of the engines awoke him in
stantly. lie felt the ship lurch away
from her course and saw the quick
swerve of the compass Indicator over
his head. As he ran down the gang
way leading from the bridge he heard
the Officer of the watch say:
Something given way in the engine
room, sir"
Several minutes elapsed before he or
Walker, aided by willing volunteers,
could penetrate the depths Of the
stokchold. The place was a charncl
house, a sitting pit. filed with the
charred contents of the furnaces, which
gave off the most noisome fumes ow-
ing to the rapid condensation of steam
and water escaping from the damaged
pipes. But the gale raging without
served one good purpose in driving
plenty of air down the ventilating
cowls. Gradually the choking atmos-
phere cleared. Courtcnay was the first
to reach the lowermost ung Of the
iron ladder. whence he looked with
the eyes of despair on a scene OF death
and ruin.
The electric light was uninjured. It
revealed the bodies OF severs. men,
either dead or insensible. lying amid
the scattered coal. Shovels, stoking
rods and pieces of iron plate had been
hurled about in wild confusion. The
door Of one furnace was blown clean
out Of its bolts. furnace bars ard fire
bricks strcwed the iron deck. while
each time the ship rolled the heavy
clank of loose metal somewhere in the
engine room proved that the damage
was not confined solely to the stoke
hold.
If Courtenay could have dropped
quietly into the sea through the stout
hull of the Kansas he would have wei
coined the certain result of that bitter
moment. But he was the captain, and
men would look to him for salvation.
We'll, he would do all that was possible
and, at any rate, die at his post. So.
1Lzl-;nx Io.1y IT., -,;,&r, - --.--s-@1
the work Of rescue. Sings were form
cd of ropes, and those men in whom
any signs of life were visible were the
first to be lifted to the upper deck.
The stokehold was quickly emptied Of
its inanimate occupants. Living and
dead alike were carried to the IN
tensnted second class salon forward.
Then Courenay left Walker to solve
the puzzle of the accident and report
on its extent, while he climbed back
to the bridge, there to tackle the far
more pressing problem of the measures
to be adopted if he would save his
ship.
It was typical Of the man that his
first act was to wipe the CRIME of the
- b' ldNp an ii'hH
Then he drew a chart from the locker
in which he had placed it two hours
earlier. Mr.. Boyle, who had been at
tending the signals both by siren and
rocket, joined him. Courtenay pointed
to a pin mark in the sheet.
I'VE were there at 6 O'clock" he
said, n his voice was so steady that
he seemed now to be free from the
least touch of anxiety. '"The course
was s~outh40-east. and against this
wind and sea, together with a strong
current to the nor'cast, we would make
eight knots under easy steam. There
fore by s o'clock, when the furnaces
blew out. we were here"
lie .iabbed IN a pin a little farther
down the chart. Mr.. Boyle grunted
agreement.
Huh he said.
Courtenay glanced at a c~hronometer
ut IS 0 a quarter to O." he went
on, "and reckon that since the ship
swung round we have been arried al
least six knots to the nor'east."
Huh" growled Mr.. Boyle again, but
he bent Il trife nearer the chart. Tc
his sailors eyes the situation was quite
simple. Unless Ivy Gods providence
some miracle happened the Kansas
was a doomed ship. The pin stuck
where The admiralty chart recorded
%soundings OF 100 fathoms with a fin
SANE bed. The longitude was 75.5(
west OF Greenwich and latitude 81. 3.
south. Staring at them from the 9th
erwlse blank space which showed the
wide eypanse Of the Pacific was ar
ominous note by the compilers OF the
chart:
"Seamen are cautioned not to max.
free with these shores, as they ar,
very imperfectly known, and, from
their wild, desolate character, they
cannot be approached with safety"
Right in the track OF the driftin,
ship lay a vaguely outlined trio o
dread import-"Breakcrs Islet (coni
cali. Duncan rock" Behind this Sin
lister barrier stood the more defnit,
White Horse island, while, running
due north and south a few miles ava.
to the eastward. was a wavering dot
ted line which professed to mark tn
coast Of Hanover island. Lending
fearful significance to the unknown
character of the region, a printed com