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He had rushed up out of the bunker, stumbling in the dark alleyway amongst a lot of bewildered men who, trod upon, asked "What's up, sir?" in awed mutters all round him; down the stokehold ladder, missing many iron rungs in his hurry, down into a place deep as a well, black as Tophet, tipping over back and forth like a see-saw.
Soon after 6 o'clock in the morning the Aboukir suddenly felt a shock on the port side. A dull explosion was heard and a column of water was thrown up mast high. The explosion wrecked the stokehold just forward of amidships: and tore the bottom open. Almost immediately the doomed cruiser began to settle.
All Friday and Friday night we worked in two parties, two hours on and two hours off; it was heavy work filling and handing up huge buckets of water as fast as they could be given from one to the other from the very bottom of the stokehold to the upper deck, up little metal ladders all the way.
Unfortunately, the explosion in the stokehold had killed the chief engineer and one of his juniors, while six stokers were dead and several injured. It was discovered that, before he died, the chief had shut off steam, and thus prevented the accident from assuming far more serious proportions.
As soon as his head was clear of the fiddle he began to scold Jukes for not trimming properly the stokehold ventilators; and in answer Jukes made with his hands deprecatory soothing signs meaning: "No wind can't be helped you can see for yourself." But the other wouldn't hear reason. His teeth flashed angrily in his dirty face.
A door in the bulkhead was open, and now and then a blaze from the stokehold lighted the engine-room. Shovels clanged and the thud of a hammer jarred upon the throb of machinery. Men moved about like ghosts. Their feet made no noise; for a moment one saw their sweat-streaked faces and then they vanished. Lister sat on a tool-box, an old pipe in his mouth, and was happier than he had been for long.
Thornycroft has for some years used the locomotive form of boiler for his steam launches, working them under an air pressure produced by a fan discharging into a close stokehold of from 1 in. to 6 in. of water, as may be required. The experiments made gave an evaporation of 7.61 lb. of water from 1 lb. of coal at 212 deg. Fahr., with 2 in. of water pressure, and 6.41 lb. with 6 in. of pressure.
The conventional stowaway hides in the hold, but there was only a stokehold here, occupied moreover; nor was there an empty apple-barrel, such as Jim of Treasure Island found so useful. As far as I could see and I dared not venture far for fear of the skylight the surface of the deck offered nothing secure.
I learned later that he had explored the lascars' quarters, the forecastle, the engine-room, and had even descended to the stokehold; but this was done so unostentatiously that it occasioned no comment.
On your knees!" "Shut up!" "Never! You are delivered into my hands.... Your life has been saved.... Purpose.... Mercy.... Repent." "You are a crazy fool!..." "Account of you... you... Never sleep in this world, if I..." "Leave off." "No!... stokehold... only think!..." Then an impassioned screeching babble where words pattered like hail. "No!" shouted Wait. "Yes.
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