A rush of air fanned his cheek. He raised a hand to brush away some object that seemed to be hovering over him. It was as if invisible hands were groping in the dark, feeling for the Iron Boy's face to caress it. Steve instinctively crouched down as low as he could on the ore. There was little of it beneath him, the greater part having been removed by the giant shell of the unloader.
Suddenly with a groan and many creakings the object whose presence he had dimly felt now closed over him.
"The unloader!" cried Steve. "It's caught me! It's caught me!"
CHAPTER XIV
STEVE SAVES THE CAPTAIN
FORTUNATELY for Steve Rush the load scooped up by the unloader, chanced to be a light one, only a few tons being in the scoop itself. That left him head room so that he was not crushed against the upper side of the giant shell. Still, his quarters were cramped and the sensation was, if anything, more trying than had been that when he found himself alone in the waters of Lake Huron.
"I'm done for this time, I guess. Hello, there! Stop the machine! I'm caught!" he shouted.
In the groaning and creaking of the great crane his cries for help were unheard. Steve felt himself being borne swiftly through the air. Up, up swung the great shell, swaying dizzily from side to side after it left the deck of the ship. As it passed out of the hold Steve uttered a shout louder than the others. He was not frightened, but, as was quite natural under the circumstances, he wanted to get out of his unpleasant predicament.