FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140  
141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   >>  
is fractional government. We need not discuss such a subject as you suggest, captain." Captain Lonley said no more, and retired to his cabin. Christy was ready for the next question in order. Accompanied by Mr. Flint, he looked the steamer over. The mate had lighted his pipe and seated himself on a water cask; and he seemed to be the only officer besides the captain on board. The engineers were next visited. There were two of them, but they were red hot for the Confederacy, and nothing was said to them except to order them on deck, where they were placed with the crew, and a guard of seamen set over them. The firemen were negroes, and they were willing to serve under the new master, and doubtless were pleased with the change. The crew of the Bronx on board of the Havana were canvassed to find a man who had run an engine, but not one of them had any experience. "That's bad," said Flint, when they had finished the inquiry. "We have not an engineer on board, and we shall have to send off to the Bronx for one." "Not so bad as that, Mr. Flint," replied Christy. "There is one loyal engineer on board, and I am the one. You will take the deck, and Mr. Amblen will go into the pilot house. I am not quite ready to go off to the Bronx yet, for there are two or three cotton schooners in this port, and we are so fortunate as to have a steamer now to tow them out." "Very likely those soldiers have waked up by this time," said Flint. "Let them fire those guns at us, if they can find them," laughed Christy. Then he took Mr. Amblen into the engine room with him. CHAPTER XXV THE NEW ENGINEER OF THE PRIZE STEAMER While enthusiastically pursuing his studies as an engineer, Christy had visited a great many steamers with Paul Vapoor for the purpose of examining the engines, so that he could hardly expect to find one with whose construction he was not familiar, whether it was an American or a foreign built machine. At the first glance after he entered the engine room of the Havana, he knew the engine, and was ready to run it without spending any time in studying it. He had brought the pilot with him in order to come to an understanding in regard to the bells, for in the navy the signals differ from those in the commercial marine. "This steamer is provided with a gong and a jingling bell," said Christy, as he pointed them out to his companion. "My little steamer on this coast was run with just such bells," replied
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140  
141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   >>  



Top keywords:
Christy
 

steamer

 

engine

 

engineer

 

Havana

 
replied
 
Amblen
 

captain

 
visited
 

marine


provided

 

CHAPTER

 
signals
 

ENGINEER

 
jingling
 

differ

 
commercial
 
pointed
 

companion

 

laughed


familiar

 

construction

 

expect

 

entered

 

glance

 

machine

 

American

 

foreign

 

engines

 

examining


understanding

 
brought
 

regard

 

studies

 

STEAMER

 
enthusiastically
 

pursuing

 
Vapoor
 

purpose

 
spending

studying
 

steamers

 
officer
 
engineers
 

seamen

 

Confederacy

 
seated
 

suggest

 
Captain
 

subject