“Hark!” cried Andy, when they were within two blocks of the wharf. “What is that man crying?”
“Fire! fire! fire!” yelled the individual in question, as he came rushing up the street.
“Where is it?” asked Andy and Chet in a breath.
“Down at the dock! A steamer is on fire!”
“A steamer!” exclaimed Professor Jeffer. “Can it be the Ice King?”
“Oh, I hope not!” burst out Andy, and then he set off on a run, with Chet by his side, and the professor following more slowly.
[CHAPTER XIV—THE FIRE ON THE STEAMER]
“She is doomed! There goes our chance to reach the North Pole!”
Such were the words that escaped from Chet’s lips, as he and Andy came out on the dock where the Ice King was tied up.
Before them lay the two-masted steamer, with a thick volume of smoke rolling up from her main hatchway. The fire alarm was sounding, and men and boys were running to the scene of action.