“I do; don’t say a word.”
He did not; but in half a minute more Colonel Wimpleton and Waddie both appeared at the door of the wheel-house, and rushed in, highly excited, and evidently expecting to be smashed in a couple of minutes.
“Where are you going, Wolf?” demanded the colonel almost fiercely.
“To Ucayga, sir,” I replied.
“Stop her this instant!”
“Too late now, sir. I’m all right; I know what I’m about,” I answered.
The boat rushed into the narrow channel.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE HORSE-SHOE CHANNEL.
Colonel Wimpleton, Waddie, and the mate all held their breath, as though they expected to see the magnificent Ucayga knocked in splinters the next instant. She was going at full speed through the narrow channel; but, if I had been underneath her, I could not have told any better how many feet and inches there were between her keel and the sands at the bottom of the channel. If the passage through this narrow place was thrilling to others, it was more so to me, and I was fully conscious of the responsibility that rested upon me.
If the steamer struck the ground, it would be ruin to me. My new-found situation, and all the emoluments attached to it, would be lost. But I felt that a failure to be on time at Ucayga would be hardly less fatal to me. I had fought the battle faithfully for the Lake Shore Railroad, when I was in the employ of the company, and had never missed a train. I intended to be equally faithful and devoted to the steamboat company. I knew what was expected of me, and I was determined that my boat should always be on time.