captain to have his nose at the back of his head as to
have his state-room on the port side of the ship. Powell forgot all
about the direction on that point given him by the chief. He flew over
as I said, stamped with his foot and then putting his face to the cowl
of the big ventilator shouted down there: "Please come on deck, sir," in
a voice which was not trembling or scared but which we may call fairly
expressive. There could not be a mistake as to the urgence of the call.
But instead of the expected alert "All right!" and the sound of a rush
down there, he heard only a faint exclamation--then silence.

Think of his astonishment! He remained there, his ear in the cowl of
the ventilator, his eyes fastened on those menacing sidelights dancing
on the gusts of wind which swept the angry darkness of the sea. It was
as though he had waited an hour but it was something much less than a
minute before he fairly bellowed into the wide tube "Captain Anthony!"
An agitated "What is it?" was what he heard down there in Mrs Anthony's
voice, light rapid footsteps... Why didn't she try to wake him up! "I
want the captain," he shouted, then gave it up, making a dash at the
companion where a blue light was kept, resolved to act for himself.

On the way he glanced at the helmsman whose face lighted up by the
binnacle lamps was calm. He said rapidly to him: "Stand by to spin that
helm up at the first word." The answer "Ay, ay, sir," was delivered in
a steady voice. Then Mr Powell after a shout for the watch on deck to
"lay aft," ran to the ship's side and struck the blue light on the rail.

A sort of nasty little spitting of sparks was all that came. The light
(perhaps affected by damp) had failed to ignite. The time of all these
various acts must be counted in seconds. Powell confessed to me that at
this failure he experienced a paralysis of thought, of voice, of limbs.
The unexpectedness of this misfire positively overcame his faculties.
It was the only thing for which his imagination was not prepared. It
was knocked clean over. When it got up it was with the suggestion that
he must do something at once or there would be a broadside smash
accompanied by the explosion of dynamite, in which both ships would be
blown up and every soul on board of them would vanish off the earth in
an enormous flame and uproar.

He saw the catastrophe happening and at the same moment, before he could
open his mouth or stir a limb to ward o