Year: 1867

| Wesat on some minutes without speaking both
Ino doubt, meditating on what had occurred; ant
then, full of the subject said:
I 'It must be very dangerous work, going abou


the engines in really bad weather.


'Yes, it Ii" he said, especially in some engine
rooms nearly as bad, think, as it is for the sail
ors to 60 alOh. But I have always been very for
ltunate."


j "Did you never meet with an accident?"
asked.


"No," he replied; ''but I was very near onn'
once--a worse one, perhaps, than even this Woulf
lhave been-and yet it was not an accident either


"What was it, then ?" asked.
/ "Wen," he said, lit is a subject on which


don't much like to speak; and, indeed, have nev


er told the whole story to any one but think
sufficiently long time has now elapsed, and may


as well give it to you since you are pleased to say
you like hearing my little adventures"


1T was many years ago, when the California
that went out as third-engineer of steamer from
Panama to San Francisco. | liked the Captain
very much, and had known him by sight before
though he didn't know me; for short time pre-
lviously he had several times come on board shlI
to which I then belonged ut New York. to see the


Captain, who was friend of his. Once or twice


he had brought off his wife and little daughter witt
him-such sweet, lady-ike young woman, anc
such dear little girl! I recollect taking then


down once and showing the engines, and the lady
appeared so fond of her husband | wondered
how he could leave them to come on this station


and in that lawless time of gold-seeking. Ou
|chief.engineer, too, was good sort of man, ant


one who knew his work well the second wasn't {


bad fellow either though too fond of his glass; bu


the rest of the officers and crew were not pleasan
lshipmates. The ship was not comfortable one Il
me in any respect, and / soon determined that my
first voyage in her should be my last, though w


had first rate wages to induce to stick by the shI
at San Francisco, and not run away to the gold


diggggiRgs gg%9 s,,. ,.;.,,,,. .u,, .a,,,n+,,.o


but we had to wait long time before we could sal
on our homeward voyage. Notwithstanding al
and it was impossible to replace them indeed, tht


harbor was full of ships lying useless there for wan


of crews to take them away. But we had also an


other loss, and great one, in our chiet-englneer


He had been ailing on the voyage out and hi
died, poor fellow while we were lying in the har
bor Our second was not exactly the person t
take charge of the engines being, as l have said
ttoo fond Of drink and the Captain, we heard, wa
trying all he could to get some one in our chief
place Mcpherson, the second, was Of course
very indignant at this-but so it was.


II should think we must have been quite two


months at San Francisco before We were ready tt


sail again-for you must understand that we were


not regular packet on the station, but had beer
specially chartered for the voyage out-and We
thought that we were going after all, without any


new chiefengineer We, in the engine-room, were


pleased at this, for Mcpherson WASH good sort Of
fellow enough, except for that fault which have
mentioned, and frst-rate workman; but on the
very last day before sailing the captain, Of whom
we had seen but little for sometime past came on
board with person whom he introduced to the en-,
gine-room hands rs their new chief


HE was not the only new arrival on board. -
There were few, very few, passengers and q
lady, who I heard, to my astonishment, was the
captains wife, whom he had married since we had
been at San Francisco. Now, as have already
told you, I had seen his wife and little daughter
but short time before; so you may think how
much was surprised at seeing this other woman
brought on board as his wife now. I was very
much surprised at our captain, whom had taken
as very different sort of man; but it was all nc
business of mine so held my tongue about it
some, certainly, though of bold, masculine style
of beauty, and with such an eye! | thought
shouldn't exactly like her for wife myself; though
she was really handsome, and it was no wonder
that any man should be taken up with her.


sRight or wrong, I form my opinions of people
pretty quickly; and didn't like our new chief
He was quiet and mild in his manners, certainly


wonderfully so for that time, in that part Of tho
world-but there was wild, dissipated, wicked
Hook, if you understand me, in his eye, which
seemed to me to tell he could be very different i
he choose. I could not help remarking to Nc
| Phcrson, that I thought we had rum-one to dea
with now and he replied that he should like tt
know his history, for he guessed it was strange


one. ,.
Zone thing was evid dent to me from the first time


he came into the engine T0om,he was not prac
tical working engineer. That he knew something
about engines was plain and he gave his ORDER
with decision, and without any apparent doubt o.
himself; but there was theoretical rather than


practical twang about them, as if his knowledge o
) marine engines had been gained rather by stud!
than by experience His hands were too white
} and delicate for man who had used the hamme
and chisel and file much; and coming into the en-
CINE room suddenly on the evening before we sailed
[ found him doing some job at the vice, which w.


fixed there something for himself, fancy, ane
not for the engineIand, from the manner in which
he handled his tools, it was plain that he was nj
workman. set him down in my own mind for
lcivil-engineer who had come out to the diggings
had got bad run of luck, and was glad to worl
his way home as best he could.


j cat length we were ready for sea- having taker
on board small cargo, and also some gold on it
way to the States We had beautiful weathe
down the coast, and for sometime nothing unusua
occurred Mcpherson and / kept watch and watch
alternately, our new chief of course taking none
indeed, he came very seldom into the engine-roon


at all: and, when he did, he interfered with no


body. He would just glance ut the guages, open


fre-door and look in, and feel the heat of the con
u densers but he would make no remark, unless
j there was little escape Of steam, or anything
that sort, which child might notice. He seldom
found fault with anybody and very often, indeed
almost every night, he used to send down grog t.


the stokers and trimmers watch, SO that they be


gan to consider him sort of seaangel, and to wsf
, that they could always have him for chief: Ou
captain, too, appeared to think more Of his wife
! than Of the ship, and also seemed to me to b.
, drinking pretty much and Mcpherson soon founc
that he might take his little drop when he liked
) having nobody to find fault with him except my
self, who was his subordinate. So, altogether, dis
cpline became very lax, and except for the mates
we were quite happy family at sea-, I could no
help fancying however, that it was all too good II
last, and so it turned out.


{ 'sWe had got well down the coast, and knew
! we were not far off the land when one night
!, fine night it was but very dark-it was my watct
below from midnight to four in the morning Whel
n I say my watch below you know, Sir, do no
mean my watch below, in the engine-room, but my


turn to be off duty. Mcpherson and I occupied
-, , .Io,n;no oob;n ono of tho SacE- -boI1sps ohaf