Captain Wylie willingly gave a hand, and after a long time, so it seemed
to the weary men, the screw was in its place, and doing its work.
The brave ship battled on. Already in the far distance the great "Rock"
was visible, and the young soldier's heart turned passionately to her
whom he loved.
And now a fresh disaster had arisen; the steam steering-gear had come to
grief, and the old, long-neglected wheel had to be brought into use. It
had not been used for years, and though constantly cleaned and kept in
order, the salt water had been washing over it now for hours, and it was
very hard to turn. The question now was, should they remain in the open
sea, or venture into the harbour?
A discussion on the subject was taking place between the captain and the
first mate. The steering-gear did not seem to do its work properly, and
the captain anxiously kept his eyes fixed on the horizon, as they were
drawn irresistibly nearer and nearer to the harbour. "It is the
men-of-war I dread coming near," the captain was saying to his mates;
"those deadly rams are a terror in this weather."
[Sidenote: A Critical Moment]
It was a critical moment. Darkness was coming down, the rain became more
violent, the wind cold and cutting, with now and then fierce showers of
hail.
On, on they were being driven; nothing could keep them back. The captain
shouted orders, the men did their best, but the wheel did not work
properly.
Pages:
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431