Alotsam and Aetsam.

Otago Witness, Issue 181, 6 August 1886, Page 31

Alotsam and Aetsam.

A COLONIAL STOEY.

By FABIAN BELL.

Author of " Stella," " After Long Years," " Lost," "Jack," " One ChHstmas Morn," " My Sister's Suitor," &c. &c. Chapter XI. :ee ! " The cry rang through the ship, and the stoutest hearts stood still. How it originated no one knew. Where it originated was in the steward's pantry. The steward, after taking Esther's beef -tea to -• .-a: » the cabin, had finished his work for the night, and had gone below, leaving the pantry in charge of the nightwatchman, a man who also acted as " boots." When the fire broke out he was in another part of the ship, and he always professed himself as utterly unable to account for the accident. Thus it happened that before iL could be detected the fire had obtained a firm hold. At last the smoke creeping into the dimlylighted saloon and through the interstices of the closed doors gave token of its terrible presence, and the cry of " Fire ! " rang through the ship. What pen can paint the horrors of a ship on fire 1 The shock of terror, the hurrying to and fro, the wild confusion, the paralysis of fear — the noise, the glare, the tumult ! The roar of the devouring conqueror, the crouching terror o£ the human victims. The evil passions of some, the heroic self-denial of others : those thinking only of their own wretched lives, these utterly forgetful of self in the effort to save others. At such moments poor human nature stands revealed — shorn of all its shams and conventionalities. We see the bost. and the wor&t of it — the one so much better than popular cynicism will allow, the other ho?/

much worse ! It is only at such times tha we sec how low, man's God-given nature cant fall. " Fire ! " The cry rang through the ship. The captain of the Aranui was at his post, calm and capable. " AH hands on deck ! " The men fell into their places with commendable celerity. Here the effects of discipline were evident. It could nob be supposed that all these men were braye — no doubc there were arrant cowards among them ; biit at that supreme moment not one shrank from his allotted task or showed the white feather. Each man took up his post as if he had been part of a machine, anal handed buckets or plied the pump-handle with a will. " Full steam ahead ! '' was signalled into the engine-room, and the stokers piled up the fires. Martin Ellison was there, his blue eyes burning with the glow of excitement, standing by to watch the boilers lest they should burst with the added pressure. He bade his subordinates pile on combustibles, and urged the Aranui to her greatest speed. The vessel's head had now been turned towards the shore, and it was evidently Captain Jackson's intention to beach her, if possible. She flew through the water like a thing of life — a hunted creature flying from its pursuer — but fast as she went the flames spread faster still ; bat the speed of the ship blew the smoke behind her, and her decks were comparatively clear. " Where is the fire ? " asked the first engineer of the third officer, who had made his way below with a message from the captain. "It began in the steward's pantry, and it's gaining headway fast. We've all hands at work, but we can't get it under." " The steward's pantry !, That is opposite to the ladies' cabin. Have they all been roused 1 " " Long since. They are all on the foredeck, in charge of the doctor and our First. The captain says you are to clap on more steam — as much as she will carry. There are some cases of hams in the store-room ; you can use them. He wants to get into shallow water, if possible, so that the boats may have a better chance. By Jove ! it's hot here." " Yes," said Martin quietly, " I think the fire is coming this way. Thai; bulkhead is so hot one cannot touch it. Try it yourself, Kawdon." The young officer did so, and quickly withdrew his hand. " Tell the captain," continued Ellison, "we'll keep the fires going as long as we can, but it may become impossible to control them." By this time nearly all the passengers had found their way on deck. Some had been roused by the smell of smoke, others by the noise and general confusion. Most of them were quiet and self-controlled, thpugh many presented a strange appearance. In the hurry and excitement of the moment few had taken time to dress properly, and curious varieties of costume might be seen in the flickering light. One bald-headed gentleman's bare cranium was adorned with a white cotton handkerchief,, surmounted by a lady's hat with a long green feather. Another was vainly trying to put his arms into his trouser legs, and arrange that garment as a becoming drapery. Most of "the ladies were wrapped in blankets and rugs, and one poor woman with a baby, '>ad a pair of stockings in her hand, which she earnestly entreated everyone who approached her to put on. It was a pitiful sight, and yet, on the whole, all the first and second class passengers showed marvellous patience and endurance. They did not scream or bemoan themselves aloxxd, or hinder the movements of the crew. The men did their best to assist in extinguishing the fire, and the women looked on with silent anguish. The steerage passengers, however, were less controlled. They were a rough lot, bound for one of the Northern ports, whero there was talk of some new diggings having 1 been discovered, and the captain knew well that if it came to a question of lowering the boats these men might prove obstructive. At present they were only muttering and grumbling, and showing that abject terror which is not incompatible with brutal ferociiy. They thronged the forecastle, and tried to take possession of the davits of the port life-boat. Captain Jackson sent for a brace of pistols for himself, and sent two more to his first officer. In spiDe of all efforts the flames were spreading slowly, but surely — more, however, below deck than above. The vessel pursued her way with ever increasing speed, but the heat in the engineroom was becoming intolerable. Ellison sent his men up, two at a time, for a breath of fresher air, but he himself never stirred. With his hand on the valve of tho escape-pipe he watched the fires and the boilers with the closest scrutiny, ready to let off the steam whenever the pressure became too great. Meanwhile the intense hent scorched and blistered the paint on the bulkhead, and the atmosphere was actnally stifling. The ends of his hair and whiskers began to crisp, and his cloth clothes emitted a distinct smell of burning. Still his courage and endurance never faltered. Had it been necessary he would have died at his post without hesitation. The real anguish of the moment arose from his terrible anxiety and uncertainty concerning the fate of Alice. In spite of what Kawdon had told him he still entertained doubts of her safety, and his imagination pictured without intermission the pangs of terror and lonely despair which might have seized on the poor girl in her solitude. "If I only knew that she was safe ! " was his thought at the moment when it seemed certain that the ship and her living freight were alike doomed to destruction. But his resolution never faltered, his steady hand never trembled, although the engine-room become hotter every moment, and he was in constant expectation of flames bursting forth, when his liCe roust hnve been sacrificed. And now in the clear moonlight the outline of the coast became visible, and Captain

Jackson judged it advisable to shut off steam and take to the boats. Accordingly the order was given : " Slow down the engines." Martin obeyed, and went on deck. The fresh air, after the intense heat, caused him to stagger a little, and his scorched dress and hair and soot-begrimed face told their own tale. In spite of all efforts to reduce it, tho fire was steadily gaining ground, though fortunately the night was clear aud there was little wind, so that it was possible to keep it under to a great extent, and the passengers on deck scarcely realised the extent of their danger. So long as they were going with Cull steam on, the movement of the vessel drove the smoke back so that the foredeck and forecastle were perfectly clear ; but so soon as the steam was shut off and the ship lost way, the smoke hung over her in a dense terrible cloud. It was at this moment that the first cabin stewardess —who had until now been busy in attending to the wants'of some of the passengers, especially to a delicate young mother with three little children, whose ailments and babies had kept tho kind woman very fully occupied ever since they left Dunediu -suddenly realised tho fact that the two ladies who had occupied the small inner cabin were nob on deck. With a cry of horror the stewardess dashed back along the maindeck, aud utterly regardless of her own danger rushed into the saloon, and thence into the ladies' quarters. The dense smoke blew into her face, and actually blinded her. For a moment she was confused and stupefied ; she recoiled, and then made another effort. • This time she penetrated nearly to the ladies' cabin, when a sudden tongue of flame flickered in her face aud caught her dress. She started back and extinguished it with her hands. Further progress was impossible. In an agony of grief and self-reproach she staggered back to the purer air. Martin ' Ellison had made the discovery of Alice's absence almost as soon as the stewardess did. Ho learned also that she occupied the small inner cabin. In a few quick words he explained the case to the captain, and begged him to turn the hose in that direction ; and then he hurried away, to save the girl he loved or perish in the attempt. Chapter XII. " Fire 1 " The cry rang through the ship, and reached the ears of the two women in the inner cabin. " For his sak« I implore you to repent," said Alice. And in the weakness consequent upon her illness, and the physical prostration which was its natural accompaniment, Esther had been almost inclined to listen to her civilly. If she could be reconciled to her husband, and live quietly and decently, it might after all be better than the short and merry life she had planned for herself ; and with characteristic self-absorption she never for one moment considered that to rehabilitate herself in his regard would be more than a mere matter of words and empty resolution— that a true repentance and a long-continued perseverance in well-doing would be needed before she could even approach the subject. " Hark ! " she cried, " what is that 1 " The rush of hurrying feet, the noise and the confusion seemed to increase ; and again that terrible cry rang through the ship, and this time the sound was more distinct, and fell upon their ears like a knell. " Fire ! " Yes, there could be no mistake. Alice grew very pale, but she retained her self-control. " There is a fire somewhere on board, but it may not bo much, or affect us in any way. However, it is wiser to be prepared ; so you had better get up and dress. I will help you." She herself was fully dressed, having determined to pass the night in watching."" Esther scrambled out of her berth, terror lending her strength, and Alice assisted her to put on some garments, particularly a warm dress and shawl. " Oh, make haste! make haste!" she cried impatiently. " I am sure we shall be too late, and they'll leave us here to burn to dea,th." ." No fear of that," said Alice. •• Sec how steadily the ship goes ; she is well under control. There is no immediate danger. Pray keep quiet, and let me dress you." Then they heard the noise in the ladies' cabin adjoining, many voices speaking at once, the crying of children, the hasty stampede, and then — silence. " Oh," screamed Esther, in frantic terror, " let us go ! let us go ! We shall be burned ! alive ! Oil, why did I ever come in this ship ? Let us go ! " All this time they had seen nothing of the fire or even smclled the smoke, for the fire had originated on the lee side of the ship, and as they were on the weather side the movement of the vessel drove the smoke and afterwards the flames nway from them. Thus, in spite of the cries of " Fire ! " Alice folfc that there was no immediate danger. " Take my arm," she said, " and we will try to get on deck." Esther did po, and then — with a horror which no words can describe — they discovered that they could not open the cabin door. In some way or other the lock had become hampered. Alice could not remember having locked it after receiving her companion's beef-tea, but there could be no doubt that she had done so, and now, turn and twist the handle as she might, she could not open it. With white lips she looked at her companion. " I fear we can't get out ; bnt perhaps they will miss us, and come to look for us." The hope, however, was but faint. Esther caught the handle of the door and shook it passionately, bnt to no purpose ; it did not move. " Help 1 " she screamed. " Help ! help ! We are shut up here ! We shall bo burnt to death ! Help ! help ! " But screaming and yelling were alike useless j their voices were inaudible. Then she

! beat with her hands on the closed door, and struck against it with all the strength of which she. was capable. Alice helped her, but their puny efforts were unavailing, for the door opened inwards, and the more they beat against it tho firmer it seemed. After a short time Alice desisted, her hands bruised and bleeding ; but Esther continued her violent efforts for some time longer, and then, when she perceived they wore indeed useless, she turned upon her companion and began to reproach her. "It is your fault ! You did it on purpose — you know you did ! You ■" "Hush!" said Alice sternly. "Do not use bad language now. You cannot tell how soon you may have to answer for it." " Oh, don't say that ! " said Esther, with sudden change of tone. " I'm not fit to die — you know I a^m not fit ! " And then she began to sob and to cry, trembling in every limb. Alice tried to comfort her, and to forget her own natural shrinking from the terrible death which looked them in the face— how near or how far off it might be she could not tell, but probably it was not very far off. She could hear the distant noises on deck and it seemed incredible that no one should hear them or come to their help. More than, once they raised their voices in a united call for aid, but no answer came. Then Alice strove to nerve her companion to meet the awful moment with courage, but in this she did not succeed, and Esther's uncontrolled ravings and childish complaints were very hard to bear ; but yet the heroic effort to soothe this erring soul had a bracing and ennobling effect on her own nature. Once Esther looked up in her face, and said with amazement : "I can't understand you. Aren't you afraid ? " , " I don't know," said Alice absently. " I am trying not to think about it. Perhaps it is not so very bad, after all, and at any rate it will soon be over." Esther cried out, and put her hands beforo her face. " Don't ! don't ! I can't bear it ! " At this time there was a change in the movement of the ship. No longer did she forge steadily ahead, cutting the water with an even keel and sending the foam in two sparkling lines from her wake. She seemed all at once to stand still, and then to roll in a very strange manner. All the things began to roll and tumble about in the cabin ; and Esther, feeling very sick, sank down on her berth. Then the smoke, no longer driven backward, forced its way through all sorts of chinks and crannies into the little cabin, choking and blinding the unfortunate inmates. " It cannot be long now," thought Alice, and fell upon her knees. Esther, nearly unconscious with terror, took no notice of the earnest prayers uttered by her companion, although they might perhaps have had a soothing effect unknown to herself, for by degrees her sobs and cries ceased, and she seemed stupefied by the very extremity of her fear. The atmosphere in the cabin was now stifling. Alice did not dare to open the port, lest the sudden rush of fresh air should fan the smouldering fire into a blaze. She felt a choking sensation in her throat, and strange lights seemed to swim before her eyes. She tried to concentrate her thoughts on prayer, and to fix them in hope on another and a brighter world, but to her dismay she found thai she could not do this. The physical suffering was now great, and she found herself unable to control and concentrate her mind. She had no longer any hope of escape, and had ceased to cry out or to beat upon the door. The sounds on deck seemed indistinct and far off, as if they belonged to another state of existence. The heat increased every moment, and the choking sensation in her throat amounted almost to agony. She remembered stories she had read of people who died from suffocation before the fire reached them, and that she had thought that suffocation must be an easy death. Her present sufferings convinced her to the contrary. Hope had died away in her heart. It seemed to her that she was resigned, while in truth she wa< only hopeless. At i bis moment she seemed to hear her name called in strangely familiar accents. At first she thought it fancy, and tried not to listen, and then A sudden wild hope sprang up in her heart, and she leaped to her feet. " Yes ! yes ! lam here ! Help ! help ! " A moment of breathlers suspense, and her name was heard again. " Alice ! Alice ! where are you ? " This time the accents were nearer and clearer — there could be no mistake. " Alice ! where are you } " "Here!" He was outside the door now, and his stiong hands wore on the lock. " Are you there 1 " "Yes. But the lock is hampered; you must break it open." A blow from his fist and knee sent the quivering planks apart, and they fell in splinters on the floor. Martin Ellisou stood in the doorway. Behind him dense wreaths of smoke curled and twislcd in ominous contortions, and tongues of lire were distinctly visible. But Alice saw none of those things—saw nothing but the face that she loved blackened and scorched with the fire, but still the one face on earth for her, endowed with a charm which the fairest features would have lacked. " Thank God lam in time ! " he breathed, catching her in his arms. "Come, come quickly— it is all that we shall do to reach the deck." But even at that moment Alice was true to her nature. Esther lay on her berth, nearly insensible, but the rush of air, heated though it was, roused her a little, and perhaps also the sound of Martin's voice. If Alice could have forgotten her or ignored her ; bnl that was impossible. She slipped from Martin's arms, and, leading him to the prostrate figure, said : " Take her ; I will follow.".

"No," he cried positively, "you first; I Tvill come back for her." " There will be no time. See 1 the flames are gaining on us. You must take her —she is helpless. I am not afraid ; I will follow." He looked in the woman's face, and sawEsther ! Esther, his hated wife, the shame, the disgrace, the torment of his life — whom he had so often wished dead—whom he had sometimes believed that he could kill with his own hands — who had seemed to him a noxious creature, a living pestilence. She "was on one side, and Alice on the other. ' The moment had come when he must chose ■between them : take one and leave the other. Oh, if it were only that 1 If he could take one and the other be none the worse. I£ he could chose Alice without deliberately sacrificing Esther. But the latter was helpless ; she had no power to move and save herself. If he abandoned her it must be to a horrible death. He might not be able to save either ; he certainly could not save both. Quicker than lightning these thoughts flashed through his brain. For the second time in his life a temptation, the power and extent of which few persons can understand, assailed him. The fact that he had conquered on the first occasion gave him a manifest advantage now. The first victory had gone a long way towards securing the second. He might have left an indifferent person while he secured the safety of Alice, in the hope of returning for her : but he could not leave Esther. No thought of the tortures of remorse which must assail him, if he left hisjhated wife to peritsh tainted the perfection of his sacrifice. He had no time to argue the matter over, to consider its pros and cons, to debate with himself what he should or should not do, and the consequences of his action. He saw, as by a sudden inspiration, what was the right thing to do ; he recognised the heinousness of the temptation, and cast it from him. To him, as to all of us, the great trial of his life came suddenly — there was no time for conscious preparation ; yet the whole of his previous life had been a preparation, and had unconsciously led up to it ; and so it was .that at this supreme moment his better nature triumphed. In one second his decision was taken. He looked quickly round. A thick woollen plaid lay on one of the berths. He took this and saturated it with the water contained in the can of the little washstand. He made Alice wrap this all round her, including her head and face. He then directed her to hold tightly by his coat, and not to let it go under any circumstances, while he himself lifted Esther in his strong arms, placing her head over his shoulder, and sustaining with some difficulty the dead weight of her inanimate form. Thus, half-blinded by the smoke, he staggered forward. Alice had spoken truly : she was not afraid. She had read and understood Martin's heroic resolve, and it had sent a glow of happiness to her heart. She felt strong enough to bear and to endure anything — even death itself seemed no longer hard. She was nearer to it than ever, but she no longer feared it. A glow of lofty happiness thrilled her soul. She felt as martyrs have felt who went to the stake as to a weddingfeast. Martin went cautiously forward. He had { served an apprenticeship to heat, and therefore it affected him less than it might have affected another person. He bent his head slightly, and pushed steadily on through the lady's cabin, along the saloon, making straight for the companion ladder. On the other side of the well-like centre of the saloon, around which tier above tier the cabins were arranged, the flames were playing pretty freely ; but in accordance with his request to Captain Jackson the hose was kept steadily playing in the direction of the ladies' cabin, and through the skylight a Constant stream of water was poured on the weather side of the saloon — yet, in spite of this, the danger was great. Once, twice, thrice the flames quivered in his face, and once they caught Esther's dress, and he extinguished them with his hands. Alice followed steadily, protected by his figure and the wet plaid. At last, after what bcerned au age, and was in reality only a few seconds, he reached the companion. Here Alice slipped and fell. He felt her lose her hold upon his coa' , and cried wildly : " Don't give way ! Keep up a moment longer, and we are safe J " She tried to obey, but could not, for she had twisted her foot, and i'or the moment the pain was great. " Go on," she said faintly, repressing any sign of pain ; " 1 will follow.'" He staggere'l on a fow steps, and then a dozen hands relieved him of his burden. He rushed back and caught Alice in his arms, and thus burdened ho sprang lightly up the companion — and reached the deck in safety. A faint cheer greeted his appearance ; but, looking round, he perceived that so far from the danger being over, it had scarcely yet reached its climax.

(To be conclvded in out- next )

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