CHAPTER XVIII
IN PERIL OF STEAM
As quickly as he could, Dick rushed from the wheelhouse and towardthe companionway leading to the engine room.
"Vot's der madder?" bawled Hans, who was at the rail, waiting forthe steam yacht to start.
"Tom's in trouble," ejaculated the eldest Rover, and went down thestairs four steps at a time, with the German youth behind him.
The engine room was full of steam, so that for the moment Dick couldsee little. A pipe running along one side of the engine had burst,and Tom was hemmed in a corner. To get out he would have to passthrough the furious outpouring of steam, which might scald him to death.
Not far away was Sam, frantically trying to turn the steam off. Butthe youngest Rover's knowledge of engines and marine machinery waslimited and, while he fussed around, the steam in the narrow engineroom kept growing thicker and thicker.
"Get down on the floor, Tom!" yelled Dick, as he took in the situation."Maybe you can crawl out."
Tom did as urged, and like a snake he attempted to crawl from hisposition of peril. But when he was only halfway he got stuck.
"I--I can't make it!" he panted, trying to worm along. "I--I'm too big."
"Can you go back--I see a door behind you," said Dick.
Tom went back, and as he did this Dick ran out of the engine roomand to one of the coal bunkers. Here was the door the eldest Roverhad seen. It was closed and barred and somewhat rusty, and he had toexert all his strength to make it budge.
"Quick! quick!" came faintly from Tom. "I can't stand this much longer!"
"This way out, Tom!" called Dick, as the door at last flew open. Inthe cloud of steam that rushed into the coal bunker Dick saw hisbrother faintly, and caught him by the arm and pulled him forward.In a moment more both were safe.
"Sam, are you all right?" yelled Dick, rushing again to the engineroomdoor proper.
"Whe--where's Tom?"
"Safe."
"Oh! then I'll come out," and Sam staggered into the fresh air.
"Mine cracious! vos der ship going to plow up!" gasped Hans, who hadstood looking on with his hair standing on end.
"I don't think so," answered Dick. "The steam will soon blow itselfaway. You didn't have very much pressure; did you, Tom?"
"No, but it was too much when the pipe burst. Gosh! I was afraid Iwas going to be boiled alive!" and he shuddered.
"It's about gone now," came from Sam, who was watching at the doorway."It isn't hissing nearly as much as it did." He was right, andpresently the hissing ceased entirely. Then Sam, Dick, and Hans openedall the portholes and doors, to let out the steam, and soon the scarewas over. But Tom felt "shaky in the legs," as he termed it, for somehours afterwards.
"I suppose I should have tested all those pipes and valves as soonas I had just a little steam," said the fun-loving Rover. "There iswhere I wasn't a good engineer. Well, one thing is certain, nothinggave way but the single pipe."
"And that could happen on any steamer," answered Dick. "Any engineis liable to a breakdown of this kind. The question is, Are wemachinists enough to repair the break? If we are not, then we'll haveto let the steam power go and hoist some sails."
"Oh, that would be slow work!" cried Sam. "Let us try to fix thepipe. I saw some extra pieces in the tool room. Maybe one of themwill fit."
With the engine room cleared of steam they inspected the split pipe.It was a piece exactly two feet long, and they looked over the piecesin the tool room and found one just half an inch shorter.
"I think that will do," said Dick. "We won't be able to couple it onquite so tightly as the other was but we can pack it well, and Iguess it will last till we reach some port."
The tool room was supplied with the necessary wrenches and all ofthe boys spent two hours in fitting in the new piece of pipe. Thenthey inspected the other pipes and the engine, but everything appearedto be in first-class shape.
The fire had been allowed to die down while the repairs were goingon, and was not started up again until the work had been completed.
"Say, don't I look like a nigger?" demanded Tom, as he put down sometools. "If I don't, I feel black from head to foot."
"You are certainly pretty grimy," answered Sam, with a laugh. "ButI am that myself."
"We'll all have to go in for a good wash," said Dick.
"Vy ton't you chump oferpoard?" demanded Hans, who was pretty dirtyhimself.
"Say! just the thing!" ejaculated Tom. "A swim wouldn't go bad onsuch a hot day as this? Let us go in by all means!"
Sam was delighted at the suggestion, for the calm waters of the gulflooked very inviting. Dick did not care so much for a swim, but saidhe would go in if the others did.
"Dare vos a whole lot of pathing suits in von of der lockers," saidHans. "I vill git dem."
He soon appeared with the suits, and in less than ten minutes all ofthe boys were ready for a plunge. The waters of the gulf appeared tobe unusually calm and nothing disturbed the surface.
"Here goes!" cried Tom, and poised on the rail he made a splendiddive and disappeared like a flash. Sam and Dick immediately followed.Hans remained on the rail, grinning.
"Why don't you come in, Hans?" yelled Sam, as he came up and commencedto swim about.
"I dink you vos chumps alretty," answered the German boy, calmly.
"Chumps?" returned Dick.
"Dot's it!"
"Why?"
"You chump oferpoard und you ton't know how you vos going to gitpack, ain't it!" And now Hans laughed outright.
"Well, I never!" cried Tom. "We forgot to throw even a rope down!"
"We certainly would have had a time getting on deck," was Dick'scomment. "Hans, throw an end of the rope ladder down."
"Dot vos vot I dink mineselluf," answered the German youth, and didas requested. Then he, too, took a dive, coming up and blowing likea porpoise.
It was certainly good sport and the four boys enjoyed it thoroughly.With the aid of the rope ladder it was easy to climb on the deck ofthe steam yacht, and they did a good deal of diving and runningaround. They also had a race, Tom offering a pint of ice cream tothe first one around the ship. Dick won this race, with all of theothers in a bunch at his heels. He was just reaching the end whenTom caught him by the ankle and held him fast.
"Hi, you! let go!" yelled Dick, and then turning, he promptly senthis brother downward, so that Tom had to let go.
"Wish I had a plate of ice cream," murmured Sam, when they were allresting on the rail of the steam yacht. "Wouldn't it be fine?"
"Oxactly," came from Hans. "Ven I gits me to a hotel again I vosorder a plate a foot high, mit vanilla, strawperry, chocolate, orangeice, lemon--"
"Don't, Hans!" cried Tom, reproachfully. "You hurt my feelings so!"And with a comical grin he placed one hand over his stomach. "Justthink of strawberry ice cream!"
"Or strawberries with cream! My, but it makes a fellow's mouth water!"came from Sam.
The boys remained in and out of the water the best part of two hours.It was so inviting all hated to think of dressing again. They had agame of tag and kept poor Hans "it" for a long while, until, in fact,the German youth was out of breath and had to give it up.
"I ton't run me no more, py golly!" panted Hans. "Of you vonts tobeen caught you caught yourselfs alretty!" And at this remark all ofthe others roared.
"I shouldn't mind our situation a bit if only we were certain theothers were safe," remarked Dick, when they were dressing. "But whenI think of Fred, Songbird, and Harold Bird--" He did not finish, butshook his head sorrowfully.
"It makes a fellow sick, doesn't it?" returned Sam. "Oh, I do hopethey are safe!"
"I'll tell you one thing," came from Tom, walking up at this moment."This swim has made me as hungry as a bear."
"Tom, did you ever know the time you weren't hungry?" demanded hiselder brother.
"Sure," answered the fun-loving Rover, with a broad grin.
"When?" demanded both of the others.
"
Directly after a good, square meal!" answered Tom, and then dodgedhurriedly, to escape the shoe Dick hurled at him.