ut, you shrimp, only
I want you to do your work."

Larry took up his shovel; as usual his silence enraged Sullivan.

"You chicken-livered wharf-rat, ain't you got no spunk to answer wid?"
Dan jerked a slice-bar from the fire and hurled it to the floor at
Larry's feet. The little man leaped in the air; the white-hot end of
the bar, bounding from the floor, missed his legs by an inch.

Larry's jaw shot out; he turned on Sullivan, all meekness gone.

"Dan," he cried shrilly, "if you try that again--"

"Great God! what's that!"

Dan's eyes were staring; panic showed on every face in the room. The
sound of an explosion had come from the forward hold. Another followed,
and another, a broadside of deafening reports. The terrifying sounds
came racing aft. They reached the bulkhead nearest them, and tore
through the fire-room, bringing unmasked fear to every man of the watch.
The crew stood for a moment awed, then broke, and, rushing for the
ladder, fought for a chance to escape this new, unknown madness of the
storm.

Only Larry kept his head.

"Stop! Come back!" His shrill voice carried above the terrifying noise.
"It's the plates bucklin' between the ribs."

"Plates! Hell! she's breakin' up!"

Neville rushed in from the engine-room.

"Back to your fires, men, or we'll all drown! Steam, keep up--" He was
shouting at full-lung power, but his cries were cut short. Again the
deafening reports started at the bows. Again, crash after crash, the
sounds came tearing aft as if a machine-gun were raking the vessel from
bow to stern. At any time these noises would bring terror to men locked
below decks; but now, in the half-filled cargo spaces, each crashing
report was like the bursting of a ten-inch shell.

Neville went among the watch, urging, commanding, assuring them that
these sounds meant no real danger to the ship. He finally ended the
panic by beating the more frightened ones back to their boilers.

Then for hours, at every plunge of the ship, the deafening boom of
buckling plates continued until the watch was crazed by the sound.

This new terror began between four and five in the morning, when the men
had served double time under the grueling strain. At sunrise another
misery was added to their torture: the rain increased suddenly, and fell
a steady cataract to the decks. This deluge and the flying spray sent
gallons of water down the stack; striking the breeching-plates, it was
instantly turned to steam and b