larm that called the crew to fire quarters.

Meanwhile, Nat had been lying unconscious under the bale for about ten
minutes. The flame from the lantern, which, fortunately, had not
exploded, was eating away at the side of the bale which was on top of
him. Luckily the stuff in the bale was slow burning, and it smoldered
a long time before breaking into a flame, in spite of the fact that
the lantern was right against it. Considerable smoke was caused,
however, though most of it was carried forward. Still, enough came up
the hatchway to alarm the captain and purser.

It would have been very dark in the hold, but for the fact that now a
tiny fire had burst out from the bale. By the gleam of this Captain
Marshall saw what had happened. A bale had toppled from its place and
smashed the lantern. But as yet he had no intimation that Nat was
prostrate under the bale.

Meanwhile the smoke was growing thicker, and it was getting into Nat's
nostrils. He was breathing lightly in his unconscious state, but the
smoke made it harder to get his breath, and nature, working
automatically, did the very best thing under the circumstances. Nat
sneezed and coughed so violently, in an unconscious effort to get air,
that his senses came back.

He could move only slightly, pinned down as he was, but he could smell
the smoke, and he could see the flicker of fire.

"Help! Help!" he cried. "Fire in the hold! Help! Help!"

That was the first knowledge Captain Marshall had of the whereabouts
of the boy. It startled him.

"Where are you, Nat?" he cried.

"Under this bale! I'm held down, and the fire is coming closer to
me!"

Captain Marshall did not stop to ask any more questions. He sprang
down beside the bale, and, exerting all his strength, for he was a
powerful man, he lifted it sufficiently so that Nat could crawl out.
The boy had only been stunned by a blow on the head.

But, during this time, Mr. Dunn had not been idle. With the first
sounding of the fire alarm, every member of the crew sprang to his
appointed station, and, down in the engine-room, the engineers set in
operation the powerful pumps, while other men unreeled the lines of
hose, running them toward the hold, as directed by the purser.

So, in less than a minute from the time of sounding the alarm, there
was a stream of water being directed into the lower part of the ship
where the fire was.

"Come on out of here!" cried the captain to Nat, as he helped the boy
up, a