“Ah!” ejaculated the mate in an aside to me; “I know what that is; and it’s what I’ve been fearing. There’s a lot of shellac and gums of different sorts down there, and the fire’s got at ’em. They’ll burn like oil, or worse, and I’m afraid we shall have our work cut out now to get the fire under.”
I fully agreed with him, or rather I began to entertain a suspicion that the ship was doomed, for the heat, even while the mate had been speaking, had grown intense. The whole contents of the hatchway had burst into flame, and the ruddy tongues of fire were now darting through the hatchway, as through a chimney, to a height of fully twenty feet above the deck. The coamings were on fire, the pitch was beginning to bubble and boil out of the seams of the deck planking, and the planks themselves were already uncomfortably hot to stand upon. Unless the fire could somehow be checked it seemed to me that it would soon be time to think about getting out the boats.
The skipper meanwhile had come forward again, and, although looking very anxious, was, I was glad to see, perfectly self-possessed.
“We shall have to clap the hatches on again, Mr Priest, and endeavour to smother the fire,” said he. “Let it be done at once.”
“Ay, ay, sir,” answered Priest. “Now then, lads, on with the hatches some of you. Shall the carpenter cut holes in the deck, sir, for the water to pass through?”
“Yes,” answered the skipper. “We must keep the hose going, certainly.”
But when the men came to attempt the replacing of the hatches, it was found that the fire was already too much for them. The heat was so fierce, and the flames poured forth so continuously, that they could not get near enough to the hatchway to achieve their object. Then the skipper and I made the attempt, with no better success, getting severely scorched for our pains.
“Perhaps,” said I, “it might be possible to do something with a wetted sail—”
“An excellent suggestion, for which I am much obliged to you, Mr Bowen!” exclaimed the skipper, interrupting me. “It shall be tried at once.”
And he forthwith gave the necessary orders.