"No, she's not taking water," said the mate.
"Go up to the pilot-house. There's nobody there."
"I left the Captain there," the mate said, surprised.
"He's gone. Sound a distress signal on the whistle. Tenterden, you go with him to help keep a look-out."
The two hastened up the forward hatch. Even the truculent Tenterden made no bones about taking orders from Evan now.
Evan returned to the second engineer, leaving the sulky crew to their own devices.
"What's the damage?" he asked.
The second waved a tragic hand towards the engine, and Evan saw for himself what had happened. The main shaft on the port side had broken clean through. The sudden shifting of the strain had thrown the walking-beam out of plumb, and the connecting rods had snapped off and threshed wildly about. The ruin was complete, but fortunately, all above the water-line.
"Is the chief badly hurt?" asked Evan.
"I don't think so. Got a side swipe from the connecting rod. I can't find any fracture."