DANGER.
"Silence!" came in deep tones from the doorway, and before the first
paralysis of the dread alarm had time to become a panic, the captain's
irresistible voice caught their attention. He held a lantern aloft
and, after just one shriek of terror, the women, mostly prostrate on
the floor, turned to listen, while the men braced themselves to conquer
their weakness.
"Silence!" said the captain, steadying himself between the lintels of
the door, while the great steamer plunged, rolled, and pitched, like a
thing gone mad. "The ship has been struck by lightning, and the lights
put out. We are in the midst of a cloud charged with electricity, and
must stand the darkness for a little. The fire was discovered at once,
and will soon be subdued. If we can stand a few seconds of this we
will be safe. Keep where you are, and hug the floor, It's the safest
place, now."
Above the roar of the storm his voice sounded calm and steady, the only
familiar thing in this swift upheaval. Poor little Andy, who had been
clinging by tail and claws to his perch, not even dropping the
handglass, seemed to think help had come with the man he had grown very
fond of by this, so he quickly scrambled down and fled to the big
pocket of Captain Hosmer's reefer, a movement almost unnoted by the man
in his preoccupation. For, practised in self-control as he was, our
brave captain knew this was a crucial instant and it needed all his
reserve strength to meet it.
They were wrapped in dangers, and all the elements, except earth, were
warring against them. The cyclone on the Indian Ocean is a terrible
destroyer, and the best-built vessel stands little chance of escape
when meeting its fury.
The group within the radius of his lantern's light were obedient,
though, and he had a swift vision of Carnegie gently steadying Faith
into a seat, and another less welcome one of Allyne bracing Hope, who
was on her knees against the wall.
It was but instantaneous, like every change of that eventful night.
The next, he had handed the lantern to Mr. Malcolm with a word of
suggestion, and was off to other duties. Crash after crash showed how
the good ship was yielding to the tempest's fury; and the wild tramp of
excited feet outside, and above, made the huddled women shudder in face
of the desperate fear that a fire upon the sea always awakens. But it
had to be borne in inaction, for to move about in this furious pitching
and swaying was utterly impossible to the unpractised.
Only low moans and sobs broke the silence which succeeded to this
tempestuous outburst, till suddenly a shrieking figure came tumbling
into the room and, with hair unbound and garments disarranged, fairly
rolled into their midst.
"Oh, save me! Save me!" she shrieked wildly. "We're all going to the
bottom! We're all burning up! Save me!"
It was Mrs. Campbell, the dignified, the indifferent. She had retired
with a headache, only to be awakened by this crashing, and the cry of
fire, and she seemed utterly beside herself with terror. A beautiful
woman by day, when carefully gowned and controlled, she was a veritable
hag just now! It seemed as if terror and dismay let loose her
unbeautiful soul to dominate her well-kept body. She looked older, by
a score of years, and was as unlike her usual elegant self as possible.
Faith shrank a little.
"Oh!" she murmured, "Speak to her, Mr. Carnegie--help her--make her
keep still. If we must die, let us go decently, at least."
Almost involuntarily he grasped her hand in appreciation.
"Yes," he returned, "but I could do no good with her. She does not
like me. I do not believe we will be lost. I trust in your father,
and in the Father of us all. Besides, the worst is over. It is still
to what it was a moment since."
"But the fire?" she whispered, with a shiver.
"That must be conquered!" He spoke with decision. "So far it is only
among some loose shavings in the carpenter's quarters, and they will
soon extinguish it. Do not worry about that."
Meanwhile, Mr. Lawrence had seized the shrieking woman in time to save
her from a fall, and quickly pressed her back into a nest of pillows on
a wide divan which, being screwed to position, was a safe resting-place.
"Be silent, madam!" he said authoritatively. "Hysterics will only
hinder matters. The ship is in safe hands, and we can help most by
keeping still right here, and leaving the officers free to work for us
outside." Then, raising his voice, he began in deep tones that
glorious psalm of faith and trust, which has comforted so many in like
distress.
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore will we not fear though the earth be removed, and though the
mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters
thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the
swelling thereof. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make
glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most
High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall
help her and that right early."
As the strong, beautiful words fell from the heights of a soul lifted
above fear by faith, the cries ceased, and a hush fell upon all. Then
Carnegie's young voice joined in and Faith's trembled after, until
nearly all were repeating, in slow, reverent voices the words of David.
Even Mrs. Campbell, though cowering and shivering, ceased from louder
lamentations.
As Hope's voice caught up the Word, Allyne turned and looked into her
white young face, suffering and terrified, yet self-controlled, then
secretly clutching a fold of her gown, as she sat on the floor beside
him in such a position that he could wedge her into a safe corner, he
too joined in the solemn recitation, thinking inside his perturbed soul,
"If we go down into the deep I will cling to her pure skirts; then if I
cannot save her life, possibly she can save my soul!"
Evidently, there was need of regenerating grace here; but even his
puerile thought may prove it had already begun. A longing for purity
and salvation, however dully expressed, is a longing for Christ, and
the hitherto self-satisfied existence of this favored young man was
being crossed by contrary streams and currents that had changed its
contented flow, and stirred up deeper soil than had ever, hitherto,
been reached.
Out of unpromising material--even the dust of the earth--God knew how
to create man "but little lower than the angels." Out of a nature
seemingly given over to selfishness and sensuality he sometimes forges
lofty souls, which can do and dare for righteousness' sake.
One can scarcely give the details of such an hour as followed that
fierce storm-burst. It was soon discovered that the lightning had
struck in more than one part of the ship, killing one or two animals,
and setting fires in three places. Everything was intensely dry after
the scorching suns of the past week, and the mischief might be great.
But Captain Hosmer governed his crew more through their respect for him
as a man than their fear of him as an officer, and not one, in all this
fright and turmoil, thought of disobeying his voice. Calm and steady
himself, he steadied others; having always put responsibility, without
interference, upon his inferior officers, they now assumed such
responsibility with an intelligent sense of its meaning, and each stood
to his place as firmly as the captain, himself.
The fire brigade was promptly at work, by detachments, in all three
places, with bucket and hose; the engineers, though lightnings played
fiercely about their ironwork and electrical apparatus, stood manfully
by, knowing they were looking death in the face, but exemplifying
Paul's command, "Quit ye like men; be strong."
Even the passengers needed only the restraint of voice and gesture. No
threats, nor bars, except for a moment among the steerage people, had
been necessary. The discipline was perfect.
After a short space, that could not be measured by the clock so intense
and strained had it been, there was a lessening of the enveloping
flashes, instantaneous thunder, and crashing timbers, and, though the
wind was blowing fiercely and the vessel lurching and shivering beneath
their feet, they could feel an appreciable lifting of the tension. The
worst was over.
But the exciting sounds of the fire fighters did not cease, and the
whisper ran around that, though one of the outbursts had been subdued,
the others were in a lower part of the vessel, one especially being
most difficult to get at, and that the constant sound of chopping, now
audible since the fiercer snapping of masts and spars had ceased, was
caused by cutting away certain portions of the woodwork necessary
before it could be reached by the firemen. If it should take long to
reach it, what would be the result?
Mr. Carnegie, at this, started up, and seemed about to go outside, when
Faith's soft voice arrested him.
"Father wished us all to stay here," she said reproachfully.
He turned back, with a movement full of agonized uncertainty.
"I know," he murmured, "but--"
He stood irresolute, with his perplexed face turning from the outer
door to her own up-looking eyes.
"And if he needs you he certainly will let you know," she added, with
some asperity.
He smiled, and reseated himself beside her.
"You are right, as usual, Miss Faith. He certainly knows--"
"Knows what?" she asked at length, as his sentence remained unfinished.
"Knows that I am here and ready," he returned, with a smile, but she
noticed that his eyes often sought the door, and his manner was that of
one alert for action.
The women, who had children asleep in the staterooms, had run to them
with the first alarm, and these, with the ayahs and babies, now began
creeping back into the saloon, longing for fellowship in this trying
hour; while, the first dire shock over, the men of cool thoughtfulness,
like the Traveler, Mr. Lawrence, Carnegie, and a few others, began
making all of them as comfortable as possible, forming them into
compact groups, guarded from the danger of breaking furniture,
woodwork, and glass, by their own watchfulness, as they made a cordon
around them. Many were unable to lift their heads from illness, and
others went from hysterics into fainting fits.
These required most of the attention of Martha Jordan and her women,
but Dwight, soon rallying from his first fright, and always both nimble
and steady of foot, proved of real assistance, fetching and carrying
equal to Tegeloo, who went through his duties with the calm stoicism of
the Oriental in the face of death. After a little, Faith and Hope also
joined in the "Relief Corps," as he named it, while Bess fought her own
sickness bravely that she might care for her mother, whose heart action
was imperfect. To their great delight the electric lights suddenly
blazed out again, greatly relieving the distress of the situation, for
its horrors had been doubled by darkness. At the same instant the
captain appeared among them and amid a clamor of questions, requests,
and suggestions, held up a hand for silence, and called loudly,
"Listen, please! You have all behaved so well in this trial that I
want to trust you in full, and ask your further help and forbearance.
The storm is not over, and the fire is not out, but I believe we shall
weather both in safety. In case we cannot extinguish the fires, the
boats are ready to be lowered at a minute's notice, and all can get
safely off. You shall know in time. Meanwhile, get together whatever
you most want to save, and I will send you life-preservers to put on.
Let the men go for the valuables, when possible, and the women all stay
here. It is the safest place for them. There's no occasion for a
panic, and I don't expect any. If our staunch old ship can stand the
strain of these last few minutes so well she isn't going back on us
now, I'll swear!"
His voice broke a trifle, and he turned to his daughters, who were now
close together, their arms about each other.
"What shall I send from the cabin to you, girlies?" he whispered.
"Tegeloo shall bring you your treasures here."
"There's poor Texas, if he isn't killed already," said Hope.
"And Andy," added Faith, when suddenly out popped the monkey's head
from the reefer pocket, and, looking-glass still in hand, he scrambled
down into Faith's lap.
"Why--why!" cried the astonished captain, "Was it Andy? I thought
something wriggled once or twice, but concluded 'twas only imagination.
Well, I declare! Whose glass is that?"
"I don't know, papa. He had on Mrs. Campbell's dress hat, and
somebody's sash, but--"
A sudden distraction came in the shape of Janet Windemere, who burst
into their midst all excitement, followed by Mrs. Windemere, pallid and
weeping silently, as she wrung her hands in despair.
"Captain--Captain Hosmer!" cried the former in a rasping voice. "We
have been robbed! We've been getting our things together, and our
money's gone!"
"Robbed?" muttered the captain dazedly, then with indignation he broke
out, "I don't believe it! My men are all honest, and have been working
like Trojans, to the last man-Jack of them. There's some mistake--you
must have mislaid it."
"No, we always kept it in mother's dressing-case, but Laura carelessly
left it open and the whole glass is gone. It must have been somebody
that knew, for we never told a soul--"
"Knew what?" asked the man in a resigned tone. "What has your
looking-glass and your mother's dressing-case got to do with your
money, anyhow? I thought you said that was stolen."
"Of course. You see, for safety we put our money and letter of credit
inside the back of the hand-mirror, and--"
He turned and flashed a look from Andy, serenely admiring himself, to
his daughter.
"Oh, oh!" she cried distressfully, "is this it?"
She tried to snatch the thing from Andy's hand, but he held on with a
determined clutch and howled, even threatening her with his teeth. It
was the prettiest toy he had seen for many a day!
"Yes, that's it. You wretched little beast! See! He's spoiled
Laura's ribbon too."
"See here, sir!" said the captain indignantly, as he boxed the
creature's ears. "You'll have to learn better manners, if you stay
aboard this craft. Thieves aren't allowed."
Poor Andy, perforce, yielded to higher authority, and crawled under the
soft arm of his mistress, crying like a baby, while the captain handed
the glass to Mrs. Windemere, saying brusquely,
"Better find a new place for your money now, and secure it about your
person somewhere--you may need it."
"Oh, Captain, are we going to the bottom?" she moaned.
"If I thought we were would I tell you to secure your money?" he
answered crisply. Then, turning to his daughters, "I'll send you your
ulsters and life-preservers--and Texas; but let the trinkets go. They
only weight one down, and they look pretty small to-night! You'll take
to the boats if the rest do, and then I'll give you my papers."
"Why give them to us, papa?" asked Hope, innocently.
He looked at her with a strange expression, but did not answer.
Instead, he turned to an officer who had entered and, after one glance,
said quickly,
"Yes, I'm coming. Don't speak!" and hurried after him, but as he
passed Carnegie a look passed between them, and the young officer at
once arose and followed him outside.
Hope turned to her sister, white to the lips.
"What did he mean, Faith? Why are we to take those papers?"
"I don't understand--exactly."
"But you think--"
"I think he means to stay by his ship."
Faith spoke low and tremulously.
"To the death?" whispered Hope in awe-stricken accents.
"Yes."
They gazed into each other's eyes, and drew closer. Hope clutched
Faith's hand, and the complaining monkey gave a last babyish little
cry, and snuggled down in the warmth of their nestling forms, his
sorrows quickly forgotten in slumber. He was safe so long as his
mistress held him. Suddenly a thought came to Faith. She looked down
at the mite, then upwards, and her eyes were like radiant stars in her
pale young face.
"See!" she said, "he feels safe with me, and does not mind the storm;
father feels safe with his ship; you and I with our father, and all of
us with God. It is a chain of safety. Let's give up worrying and stay
by papa, trusting in Jesus. If it is best to save us, He will do so;
if not, we will go to sleep just this way--together, and in His arms!"
"Yes," assented Hope softly, pressing lovingly to the side of her twin.
"Yes, all together, and in His arms!"
So mischievous Andy redeemed his naughtiness by teaching a timely
lesson of peaceful trust.