lights, and they shone with a yellow haze through
the clouds of choking vapor.

"Can you see it?" asked the officer anxiously.

"I had it put where I could easily get at it," answered Tom with a
cough, for some of the smoke had got down his throat. "I had an idea
I might need it in a hurry. Here it is!" and he pointed to a large
box, marked with his initials in red paint. "Give me a hand and
we'll get it out."

"Yes, and send it on deck. See, there's the fire!" and the officer
pointed to where a glow could be seen amid some bales of cotton. "It
will be slow burning, that's one good thing, and by turning steam
into this compartment we can soon put it out."

"It's pretty close to my box," commented Tom, "but there isn't as
much danger as I thought."

It did not take him and the officer long to move the box away from
its proximity to the fire, for the case was not heavy, though it was
of good size, and then the officer having called up an order to some
of his fellow seamen on deck, a rope was let down, and the box
hoisted up.

"Whew! That was a narrow escape!" exclaimed Tom as he saw his case
go up on deck. "I suppose I shouldn't have had that stored here. But
there were so many things to think of that I forgot."

"Yes, it was a risk," commented the officer. "But what are you going
to do with that sort of stuff, anyhow?"

"I may need it when we get among the wild tribes of South American
Indians," answered Tom non-commitally. "I'm much obliged for your
help."

"Oh, that's nothing. Anything to save the ship."

At that moment there were confused cries, and a series of shouts and
commands up on deck.

"We'd better hurry out of here," said the officer.

"Why?"

"The captain has just ordered steam turned in here. I hope there
isn't anything of yours that will be damaged by it."

"No, everything else is in waterproof coverings. Come on, we'll
climb out."

They hurried from the compartment and, a little later clouds of
quenching steam were poured in from a hose run from the boiler room.
The hatch was battened down, and then the smoke ceased to come up.

"The danger is practically over," the captain assured the frightened
passengers. "The fire will be all out by morning. You may go to your
staterooms in perfect safety."

Some did, and others, disbelieving, hung around the hatch-cover,
sniffing and peering to discover traces of smoke. But the sailors
had done their work well, and a stranger would not have kn