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The second difficulty was to obtain the best utilization possible of a screw placed in the current between the hulls and upon a shaft inclined toward the stern, that is, "stern" by analogy, for there is no distinction of fore and aft in ferry boats. The conditions of the problem were finally fulfilled to the satisfaction of all concerned, and especially to that of the public.
The Danish ships of war are in no way inferior to the British; and, at Elsineur, we brought up alongside a 36-gun frigate which was the perfect combination of elegance and strength; nor did I at Portsmouth, or anywhere else, see a finer model. From the spot where I stand, I can catch a glimpse of the dockyards, and the hulls of six dismounted men-of-war.
Far to the south, off the Falkland Islands, at the bottom of the sea, lay the battered hulls of what ware supposed to be the last of the German fighting-ships in South Atlantic waters. Report had it, however, that several well-armed cruisers had either escaped the hurricane of shells from the British warships, or had been detached from the squadron before the encounter took place.
Each vessel floated on the glassy sea, "like a painted ship on a painted ocean." Thus they moved along, day after day, encountering calms, when not a ripple was to be seen on the mirrored expanse, and fresh breezes, which tossed the ocean in billowy foam, and storms which threatened to tear the masts from the hulls. On the 14th of January they attempted again to effect a landing in the boats.
"You say that she is built like the Bronx, Mr. Flint?" asked Christy anxiously. "Just like her; I should say that both hulls came out of the same mould." "That very nearly settles the question in my mind. Probably she was designed by the same naval architect, and constructed by the same builders, as the Bronx," replied Christy, gazing intently at the dim outlines of the steamer in the fog.
These hulls, having absolutely water-tight decks, are connected below by tie bars of flat iron, and above by vertical stays 1 foot in length, which serve to support the floor-planks of the deck and boilerplate flooring of the engine-room. The engine-room, which is 191/2 feet long by 5 feet wide, is constructed of varnished pitch-pine, with movable side-shutters of teak.
Sidonia, enraged that the boats were not out on patrol, gave the order for the whole fleet to cut their cables and make off for their lives. As the great lumbering hulls, which had of course been riding head to wind, swung round in the dark and confusion, several crashing collisions occurred. Next morning the Armada was strung along the Flemish coast in disorderly flight.
Soon their hulls were off, and, swimming in a saucer of cream, they were added to the dainty little lunch that Mrs. McTrump had prepared. "Oh!" exclaimed Edith, drawing a long breath, "you can't know how you ease my poor sore heart. I began to think all the world was against me."
The sails were run down on both sloops and their hulls were quickly lashed together with ropes. Herriot superintended the operation of transferring a half-dozen kegs of powder, some casks of wine and the best food in the coaster's larder to the hold of the black schooner. The cargo of the Francis was a varied one, but not by any means a poor prize.
What memories of chestnutting parties, of fingers stained with the dye of walnut hulls, and of joyous tramps afield in the very heart of the year, come to many of us when we think of the nuts of familiar knowledge! Hickory-nuts and butternuts, too, perhaps hazelnuts and even beechnuts all these American boys and girls of the real country know.
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