[CHAPTER XXVIII—THE THIRD DOOR]
A faint sound from above echoed throughout the alleyway, and Stirling turned his head, listening with every sense alert. The sound was repeated, then footfalls grated on the deck planks. The clank of the engines and the whirling shaft drowned out further steps in the cabin.
Stirling reached toward the thrust bearings, measured the distance, and thought deeply. He was directly beneath the alleyway which extended from the staterooms to the after companion—the girl and Slim, the Frisco dock rat, were above him.
He touched the planks, feeling the seams between the inch-thick decking. He traced these seams and found that they ended in a coaming at each side of the shaft alley. These were secured to the deck beams by screws which in turn were covered by tree-nails. The barrier seemed impassable.
The throbbing of the screw, driven to its limit, had a lulling effect upon Stirling, who sank to his knees and crawled along the alleyway until his fingers touched a thrust block; sitting on this he dropped his head into his greasy hands and thought, his brain swirling in the maze of doubt and unreality.
He had no tool with which he could cut his way upward, and his problem was to get in communication with the girl so that a passage could be bored through the deck planks.
The polished shaft at his side attracted his attention and he felt of it, counting the revolutions. They were slightly faster than the beat of his pulse. The power of a thousand horses was there in that rod of steel, and he wondered vaguely if there was any way to turn it to account.
The covers for the thrust blocks and shaft bearings were firmly bolted down. He groped about and searched every corner of the alleyway, finding an inch bolt and a battered oil can. These he placed by the thrust block and continued the search.
A faint light from the engine room illuminated the forward end of the shaft alley, and he crawled to this opening and peered through. The low-pressure cylinder and the engine frame prevented further scrutiny, but the shadows that moved across the gratings above the cylinder marked the presence of the revolutionists. One, perhaps, was on guard.
Stirling thrust his fingers through the plate which had been nailed to prevent his escape. Straining, he saw that he could move the lower section of iron sheeting. An object under the after bearing of the engine had attracted his attention—a long strip of leather belting coated with grease and oil.