hat it is."

The group looked wonderingly at the speaker, for every intelligent man
felt that the theory of the New Englander had a stratum of truth
beneath it. It was hard to make clear what the mate meant, but all to
a certain extent understood, and no one ventured to gainsay it.

"However," added Abe Storms, "there's one good thing about this; it
will be easy to mend it."

Captain Bergen smiled, for he expected something of the kind, and he
knew that that wonderful Yankee mate of his never boasted, and would
demonstrate every assertion he made. But the others stared at the
speaker with something like consternation, and seemed to be debating
whether he was crazy or a natural born idiot.

CHAPTER IV

MISSING

"Mend a broken shaft?" repeated the chief engineer, in amazement. "How
do you expect to do that?"

"I will show you," replied the mate of the little schooner, who
immediately proceeded to business.

The first thing he asked for was several coils of wire, which were
immediately furnished him. Then, with great labor, the two parts of
the shaft were fitted together and the wire was twisted tightly around
the fractured portion over and over again.

As the tenacity of iron is tremendous, the shaft was securely
fastened, but this was not enough. Ropes and chains were bound around
the iron in turn, until there was really no room to bandage the broken
shaft further.

"There, sir!" exclaimed Storms, as he stepped back and viewed his
work. "That is as secure as before, though, if you can possibly do so,
you should avoid reversing the screw until you reach Tokio, for you
can understand that to reverse and start will wrench the shaft to a
dangerous degree."

The captain now told the engineer, who had been assisting in the
operation, to start the engine slowly and with great care.

Captain Bergen ran on deck to see that the _Coral_ was in position to
receive no harm from the forward motion, while the rest of the group
watched the movements with intense interest, standing away from the
shaft so as to escape the "splinters," that more than one thought
might be flying about their heads the next minute.

There came the sound of steam, of plunging rods and cylinders from
ahead, then there was heard a furious splash at the stern, and all saw
that the shaft in its entirety was revolving.

The keen eyes of Abe Storms, who had leaned directly over his
handiwork, lamp in hand, his nose almost touching the glea