the sides, and then it began to shoot and leap
up as if to catch at the cordage and sails.

"Pour it in, my lads," shouted the captain.
"Don't be afraid; we shan't run short of water,
like they do at your London fires."

"No," says a chap on my side; "and there
ain't no running away into the next street."

Then I saw the captain run to the man at
the wheel, and he changed the course of the
ship, so that all the smoke and flame went over
the side; and then at it we went, sending in the
water at a tremendous rate, but to all appearance
it did no good—not a bit.

"Now, my lads," says the captain, "with a
will;" and then we cheered again; and that
noble fellow stood with the engine-nozzle in his
hand, leaning right over the fiery hole, where
the flames darted out, scorching him, and there
he stood battling with them, and aiming the
water where he thought best.

You see I stood close aside him, so that I
could see all as he did—a brave fellow—and it
was hot, too. You know I was taking the
buckets as they were passed to me, and sending
the water in with a regular splash as
far as I could every time; and the captain
nodded at me every now and then, and, "Well
done!" he says, when it was him as ought to
have had the praise.

It was like looking down into the mouth of a
furnace; and, as far as I could see, we might
just as well have been playing with a couple of
boy's squirts; but I knew enough of duty to
feel what I ought to do; and though I'd have
liked to have been aside the wife to comfort her,
my duty was to stand there a pouring in that
there water till I couldn't do it no longer; and
the more it didn't seem no good, the more I
warmed up—obstinate like—and meant to try,
for I didn't see any fun in being beaten off by a
few flames and sparks, while the look as I got
now and then from the captain went right
through me, and in went the water.

All at once a lot of the sailors stops pumping
and one shouts out:

"'Tain't no good, mates. Boats out!"

But he hadn't hardly said it, before I saw the
captain dart back; and then there was a bright
light as the copper branch of the hose-pipe
flashed through the air, and then down came
the sailor on the deck.

"Back to your work, men," sang out the
captain; "and let a man go to the boats if he
dares!" And then they stood hanging about,
muttering, and one Dutch chap pulls out a knife.
Just at the same minute, too, a couple of the
sailors as had been handing me the buckets
strikes work too, a-saying they'd be hanged
if they'd stop there and be frizzled.

I felt that if the men did as they liked,
it would be all over with us; and that meant
a regular rush to the boats, while the poor
women and children were left to burn; so
what did I do but I ups with the leather
bucket I had in my hand—I've often laughed
since—and brings it down like a 'stinguisher
right on the top of number one's head; as to
t'other—he was a little chap, and I'm six foot
and pretty strong—I gets hold of him by the
scruff of the neck and strap of his trousers, and
afore he knew where he was, I had him up in
the air and over the hole where the flames were
pouring up, and so close, too, that he could feel
the scorching; and then——I ain't much given
to swearing, out I rapped out something fierce,
that if he didn't work I'd hurl him in.

Lord, you should have heard what a shriek
there was as the fellow twisted about like an
eel to get away, and then I put him a little
nearer; when he begged and prayed to be put.
down, and he'd work till he dropped; and then
up comes the captain, for he'd bolted off into
the cabin, but now rushed out again with a
revolver in each hand.

"Well done, my man," he shouts to me, for
he saw what I did; and then he gives me one
of the pistols, and swore he'd shoot the first
man as disobeyed, and I'm blessed if I didn't
believe he would, if they'd have tried it on; but
they didn't, but began pumping away like mad
again, and we two went to work pouring in the
water, while I'm sure I heard a regular groan
from the captain, though his face was like a bit
o' wood.

This didn't take above five minutes; but I
believe it lost us the ship, though we had seemed
to make such a little impression when we turned
on the water. But five minutes at such a time
was ruin; the flame rose higher and higher, and
the heat was awful; so that do what we would,
we were beat back, and instead of a quiet
crawling flame now, there was a regular roar,
and the wind set towards the great fiery tongues
in a fierce draught.

"Stick to it, my man," says the captain, in a
low voice. "It's our only chance."

"And I wouldn't give much for it, sir," I
says, in the same tone.

"Hush!" he says; and then to the men,.
"Pump away, my lads!"

They pumped away hearty enough, and kept
trying on a cheer; but it soon could be seen
with half an eye that the ship must go, for the
flames darted up, and, almost before you knew
it, the rigging was on fire, and the tongues like
leaping from rope to rope, till the tarry things
blazed furiously, right up to the mainmast-head,
and little fiery drops of burning tar kept falling
on to the deck, or cissing into the sea; while
for far enough off, out into the dark night, the.
great flaky sparks went flying along, for all the
world like a beautiful golden snow-storm.

"There," says the captain, throwing down
the copper branch with which he had played on
the fire, and shaking his fist right in the flames,
so that they must have burnt it, "there," he
says, savagely, "I've fought it out with you,
and you've beat! Now for life saving!"

And then, quietly and coolly, he had one
boat lowered down, with the first mate in and a
crew of sailors, and the shrieking women and
children lowered in, while the quiet ones he
kept back. Then there was a water-cask and a
lot of biscuit-bags thrown in, and that boat,