“‘Well,’ he said, ‘they’ve got some sails up there. She’ll make it all right if you give her time.’
“She lay a good many hours in the trough of the sea, rolling so wildly that nobody could keep his feet, while a miner and the second engineer strapped the pipe with copper wire and brazed the joint; but the next accident was more serious. She was steaming before a white sea with two topsails set when there was a harsh grinding and the engines stopped with a bang. A collar on the propeller shaft had given way, the bolts had broken, and until it could be mended there was nothing to connect the engines with the screw.
“They set more sail while the engineers got to work; and some hours later Clay and I were sitting in the captain’s room. Clay took the accident lightly, but the skipper had a nervous look and had been drinking more than was good for him. There was a bottle in the rack, and Clay was filling a glass when a miner came in. He was a big man with a quiet, brown face and searching eyes.
“‘Can your engine crowd fix this thing, Cap?’ he asked.
“‘They’re trying,’ said the skipper shortly. ‘It may take some time.’
“‘What are you going to do while they’re at the job?’
“‘Head south under sail.’ The skipper began to look angry. ‘Is there anything else you want to know?’
“‘Just this—do you reckon you can handle her all right with the boys you have?’
“The skipper got up with a red face, and I expected trouble, but Clay glanced at the miner and pulled the skipper down.
“‘If the wind holds, I can keep her on her course until the engines start. That should be enough for you.’
“‘Certainly,’ said the miner. ‘If you’d found the contract too big, we’d have found you boys to help with the shaft or get sail on her. Anyway, if you want them later, you can let me know.’ Then he went out and the skipper drained his glass. It was a thing he did too often.”
“But could the miner have done what he promised?” Ruth interrupted.
“It’s very likely. In fact, I think if we had wanted a doctor, an architect, or even a clergyman, we could have found one among the crowd on board. The fellow certainly found two or three mechanics, and once I crawled into the shaft tunnel to watch them at work. As it was impossible to get the damaged length out, they worked at it in place, crouching awkwardly in an iron tube about four feet wide while they cut slots in the iron. There was hardly room to use the hammer and hold the chisel; black oil washed about the tunnel mixed with salt-water that had come in through a strained gland. Open lamps smoked and flickered close above their heads as she rolled and the air was foul; but they kept it up in turns with the ship’s engineers for several days while the weather got worse and the boat lurched along before an angry sea with her canvas set. The decks were wet because the big rollers that came up astern splashed in across her rail. It was bitterly cold and a gray haze shut in the horizon. As the captain could get no sights, he had to make his course by dead reckoning, which is seldom accurate.”