ed in a closet down
near the engine room."

"Locked in a closet!" the captain repeated incredulously. "How do you
know?"

"He gave a telegraphic call for help on the steam-pipe which runs
through there and connects with the whistle," the lad explained. "I was
on deck and heard it. I talked with him over the pipe."

"There is no time to lose, then. Come with me." And the captain himself
hurriedly led the way down through the lower depths of the ship, where
it became hotter and more oppressive with every step they took.

They had taken a route by which they escaped the attention of anyone
else on the ship.

"It should be right about here somewhere," the captain announced, as
they approached a particularly dark passage. For a few steps they felt
their way along, and then stopped to listen.

There was nothing but the dull and constant hum of the engines and the
almost insufferable heat.

"The other side," said the captain in a lowered voice, as they failed to
find any trace of the imprisoned lieutenant where they were.

They were crossing a short gallery when Slim abruptly signaled a halt.

"I thought I heard something," he said. "It sounded like another call."

They stood silent a moment, and then, faint and indistinct, apparently
from somewhere several feet ahead of them, they both heard repeated that
which had made Slim stop. As the letters were tapped off upon the pipe
the lad repeated them for the information of the captain.

"S-M-O-T-H-E-R-I-N-G."

"Smothering!" echoed the commander of the ship. "Great Scott! I believe
I know now where he is. This way," and he started down the passageway
toward a narrow stairs leading to a still lower chamber in the vessel.

Three turns--two to the right and one to the left--and the captain
stopped again to listen. Seemingly from within the wall, right at their
elbows, there came a feeble knock. The officer whipped out a pocket
flashlight. They were directly in front of a heavy wooden door. It was
locked.

"Run get a cold chisel or a heavy screwdriver and hammer," the captain
ordered, and Slim hastened away, to return two minutes later with all
three tools.

"Stand back as far as you can from the door," said the captain, placing
his lips close to the keyhole. But there was no response from within.

Realizing now that Lieutenant Mackinson must have lost consciousness,
and that moments might mean life or death to him, the captain worked
with feverish haste. He drove