"How are you getting on, my lad?"
"I don't know; I can't see."
"No, but I can. Capitally," he cried. "There must be a tremendous body
of fire down below; far more than I thought."
"But is there any fear of our pumping too much down and sinking the ship
after all?"
Mr Brymer burst into a cheery laugh.
"I don't think we should sink her by our pumping, Dale. We should get
tired first, I'm afraid. Why, my good lad, I don't know whether my
calculation is right, but I should say that half the water you send down
there must float up again in steam."
"Think so, sir?" I shouted, altering the direction of the jet a little,
and feeling startled at the consequences, for the shrieking and hissing
which followed became deafening.
"I'm sure," shouted my companion. "Quite below in my calculation. You
can keep on, can't you?"
"Oh yes," I said.
"That's right. I couldn't do it better. Go on; every drop's telling in
extinguishing the fire, or wetting other parts of the cargo so that they
will not burn. But what a fiery furnace it is! I had no idea it was so
bad."
"Do you think--" I began.
"Yes--what?"
"That it has burned through to the ship's bottom?"
"No; and it will not now," he shouted. "There is so much heat there
that an immense body of steam must be rising, and that will help to
extinguish the fire."
"Then I am doing some good, sir?"
"Good? Yes; you are winning the fight. I must get back now, and
relieve Mr Preddle. I left him and the doctor pumping."
I did not hear him go, but when I spoke again there was no answer, and I
devoted all my energy to my task, though it had become so monotonous
that my thoughts began to stray, and I found myself wondering how
matters were going in the cabin--whether they were very much alarmed by
the noise of the steam, or whether they felt as confident as the mate
did about our ultimate mastery of the fire, and how Walters and Mr
Denning were.
Just then a gruff, familiar voice came out of the steam behind me.
"Mr Brymer's orders, sir, as you're to hand me the nozzle, and go aft
and get a refresher. Says you must be choked enough."
"Did he order me to go, Bob?" I said.
"That's it, sir. Give's hold."