Part 33 (2/2)
”I doubt it,cloud of powdery snow to rush in; and as they stood together out there onceof the storm, while the shi+p shi+vered and creaked and throbbed, they had hard work to close the door after theh the thick snow to the weather bulwark, and along by this they crept till abreast of the galley without co across a soul They paused here for a few moments, and then Steve placed his lips to the doctor's ear
”Co the way once le against the wind, which seemed to pounce upon him and try to tear him away But he crept on, with the doctor close to hi cold, which moved and then seized him with a hoarse:
”Wha's this?”
”I, Haalley”
”Gang below, laddie Ta fire's oot, and there's naebody there”
”Come back,” said the doctor in Steve's ear; and the boy followed, tooice powder to propose any other plan But as he turned to follow the doctor he becaether there in the slight shelter afforded by the cook-house, and this confused hi end, and not where he knew they had taken refuge before
And now he recalled the sudden change which had taken place, and grasped the fact that they were head to wind, or nearly so, while a vibration beneath his feet told hiine was hard at work
The next minute--how he did not know--they were by the way down into the engine-rooht which struck upward as he descended, Steve following breathless and panting, to find in the glow shed by the fires the cook on one side and Watty Links on the other, while even here the snow-dust hirling down andat once into a rain, which ascended as a thick steam
”Hadn't you better have kept in the cabin, sir?” said the engineer to Steve; and then he turned to the doctor, ”Coet some hot drink to the men on deck--some hot coffee”
”Couldn't be done, sir,” said the cook
”Let's say that e've tried and failed,” cried Steve ”You can get hot water here; I'll fetch coffee and sugar”
”Very well, sir, I'll try; but how are we to get it to them on deck?”
”Bottles, man, bottles!” cried the doctor ”Where there's a will there's a way”
The energy displayed by the new-comers, aided by the warineer remembered that he had two clean bottles in a locker, and Steve and the doctor fought their way again over the slippery, snowy deck to the cabin, froain well laden, and in another quarter of an hour they were on their way first to the wheel, holding on tightly to prevent their being swept heavily across the poop, and they felt, more than saw, the two men, and by them the captain and mate
They did not speak theira bottle of hot coffee in eachto get the bottles refilled, their thanks being a war from the captain to take care as they turned to creep back under such shelter as they could get, Steve having hard work once to save hi driven forward by the wind, which seemed to come from all quarters at once
The men huddled forward on deck were now relieved in the sa two journeys, after which they joined the engineer in partaking of the hot, stea compound, and prepared to return on deck
”Hadn't you better stay below here, sir?” said theto be done on deck”
”We'll coain,” replied the doctor ”Why, Steve,” he cried, ”Captain Marshae!”
For at thatjust overhead, which the engineer responded to by seizing the lever and altering the number of revolutions per ered, and would have fallen but for his grasp of the lever, the doctor staggered up against the side, and Steve caught hold of the engineer, while Watty Links was pitched fro, and evidently uttered a yell, though it was not heard in the terrific noise of the storm; neither did they hear a tre, for there was a fearful shock, and a peculiar thrill ran through the vessel just as if she were being shaken to pieces and her timbers were about to fall apart
CHAPTER NINETEEN
IN THE GRIP OF NATURE
The doctor seized and pressed Steve's hand in silence as he hurried up on deck to struggle aft to the captain, fully expecting that they were going down But he was invisible in the driving snow They e in company with the ether right aft to the wheel, where Steve found hi Norseman did not wait to be questioned He knehy the lad had co down, he roared in his ear: