Everything was intensely dry after
the scorching suns of the past week, and the mischief might be great.
But Captain Hosmer governed his crew more through their respect for him
as a man than their fear of him as an officer, and not one, in all this
fright and turmoil, thought of disobeying his voice. Calm and steady
himself, he steadied others; having always put responsibility, without
interference, upon his inferior officers, they now assumed such
responsibility with an intelligent sense of its meaning, and each stood
to his place as firmly as the captain, himself.
The fire brigade was promptly at work, by detachments, in all three
places, with bucket and hose; the engineers, though lightnings played
fiercely about their ironwork and electrical apparatus, stood manfully
by, knowing they were looking death in the face, but exemplifying
Paul's command, "Quit ye like men; be strong."
Even the passengers needed only the restraint of voice and gesture. No
threats, nor bars, except for a moment among the steerage people, had
been necessary. The discipline was perfect.
After a short space, that could not be measured by the clock so intense
and strained had it been, there was a lessening of the enveloping
flashes, instantaneous thunder, and crashing timbers, and, though the
wind was blowing fiercely and the vessel lurching and shivering beneath
their feet, they could feel an appreciable lifting of the tension. The
worst was over.
But the exciting sounds of the fire fighters did not cease, and the
whisper ran around that, though one of the outbursts had been subdued,
the others were in a lower part of the vessel, one especially being
most difficult to get at, and that the constant sound of chopping, now
audible since the fiercer snapping of masts and spars had ceased, was
caused by cutting away certain portions of the woodwork necessary
before it could be reached by the firemen.
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