weigh a hundred and fifty pounds; always reminded
me of two shiverin' little monkeys, these two old
women, although maybe it ain't nice for me to say
it--and looked down over the rail into the sea, and
said they never could go down the ladder, and did
all the things badly scared women do, short of pitching
themselves overboard, which sometimes occurs.
The captain stopped and talked to 'em--told 'em there
was no danger--his ears open all the time for another
let-go, and the dog nosed round and put out his paw
as if to make good what the captain had promised.

"The water was goin' in now pretty lively--all
the pumps at work--the light stuff bein' heaved overboard
as fast as it came out. By dark we'd got the
fire under so that we had steam where before we'd
had smoke and flame. The passengers had quieted
down and some of 'em had gone back to their staterooms
to get their things together, and everything
was going quiet and peaceable--this was about nine
o'clock--when there came another half-smothered
explosion and the stokers began crawlin' up like rats.
Then the chief engineer stumbled out--no hat nor
coat, his head all blood where a flying bolt had gashed
him. Some of her bilge plates was loose, he said, and
the water half up to the fire-boxes. Next a column
of flame came pouring out of her companionway,
which crisped up four of our boats and drove everybody
for'ard. We knew then it was all up with us.