it was the third day of the gale. life-lines had been rigged on the fore and aft decks, and the jackies clawed their way about as best they might. mountainous seas still towered all about the great fighting ship, tossing her about as they might have handled a fishing smack. the men who had at first looked upon the storm as a lark began to be disgusted with the monotony of cold rations, eaten as best they might be, and the never ceasing motion of the storm tossed ship.

a man-of-war, from the fact that she carries such a heavy deck load in the shape of her turrets and big guns, not to mention her ponderous cage masts, rolls to a much greater extent than an ordinary craft, and the manhattan proved no exception to the rule. the great mass of steel[129] that in harbor looked as impossible to disturb as the rock of gibraltar itself, was a plaything of the gale and the seas.

the wireless kept the rear-admiral and the commander informed of all that was going on on board the other craft of the squadron, and all reported that they were making good weather of it, despite the fury of the sea. but speed was still kept down to ten knots, and it was only when the manhattan rose on the top of a big comber that those on board, except the men kept constantly stationed in the tops, could sight the other ships steaming on through the storm in column formation.

many of the greener hands were incapacitated by sea-sickness, and several seamen were in the ship’s hospital for minor injuries incurred on the decks. orders had been issued that the men were to take no chances, and those not on duty were to remain below. ned and herc, being petty officers, were on duty every day during that week,[130] and on the third day of the blow they found a moment’s leisure to chat in the lee of the big thirteen-inch turret forward.

“well, this is a corker and no mistake,” remarked herc. “i thought that ‘pacific’ meant nice and gentle and all that. this ocean is just about as quiet as a mad bear with the toothache.”

“it’s about as bad a blow as we’ve been in since we were in the service,” agreed ned; “but a ship like this is in no danger. it is just uncomfortable, that’s all, and we will have to put up with it like sailors till it decides to quit.”

“that’s so, i suppose,” said herc, “but i’m getting sick of being wet through all the time.”

“you’re no worse off than any of the rest of us, herc,” laughed ned; “and say, by the way, have you noticed a peculiar odor about the ship for the last few hours?”

“a sort of rotten-eggy smell?” asked herc.

“well, i suppose that describes it as well as anything else. but, herc,” and here ned came[131] close to his comrade, “i’m almost sure that the odor is that of coal gas.”

“coal gas! where from?”

“from the coal bunkers, of course.”

“what of it?”

“just this, that i think we ought to investigate. i don’t want to cause an alarm without due cause, but if there is coal gas coming from the bunkers, it means only one thing.”

herc was struck by the gravity of ned’s voice. he faced around on him.

“what do you mean?”

“i heard a fireman say that the coal we took on at ’frisco was damp when it was loaded. it has been rolled about now for three days in this storm, setting up a lot of friction.”

“yes.”

“well, that odor of coal gas may mean spontaneous combustion.”

“that’s too deep for me. sponbustible what?”

“in other words, fire!”

[132]

“fire!”

herc’s face blanched. there is no more terrible word at sea, and no wonder ned had hesitated to voice his suspicions before. on an ordinary ship it is bad enough, but on a floating arsenal of high explosives, such as is the modern fighting ship, it has an added terror.

“gracious, ned! don’t, for goodness sake, say a word of this! you’ll have the whole ship in a scare.”

“that is just why i don’t mean to say anything till i’m sure. i’ve noticed that the odor is strongest by those port ventilating pipes yonder. i’m going over to investigate again. want to join me?”

“surely. but, ned, great scott, this is a mighty serious thing if you’re right!”

“serious! that’s no name for it. that is why i want to make dead sure before i report my suspicions.”

the two boys made their way, not without difficulty,[133] to the port ventilating pipes mentioned by ned. these pipes are especially designed to ventilate the coal carried in necessarily large quantities by cruising battleships.

as almost everyone is aware, there is no more dangerous cargo than coal, especially if it has been loaded while damp. spontaneous combustion is the dreaded foe of all colliers, and a modern battleship carries to the full as much coal as the ordinary collier. no wonder, then, that every precaution is taken to guard against the combustion of the dangerous cargo.

“now,” said ned, as they approached the ventilators, “do you notice how much stronger the odor is here?”

“i should say i did. it smells like the old furnace did at home when something went wrong with it.”

ned went up to one of the ventilators and poked his face against the opening. he staggered back coughing and choking. as he did so, from[134] the ventilator’s mouth came a tiny wisp of yellowish-green smoke. it was instantly whipped away by the wind. but both boys had seen it. there was no longer room for any doubt.

the constant rolling and plunging of the ship combined with the dampness of the coal taken on at san francisco, had caused spontaneous combustion to be set up, and the port bunkers of the manhattan were on fire!

“there’s no doubt about it now,” breathed ned to herc, in what was almost a whisper.

he knew to the full what a grave situation faced them. of course, the lucky fact that he had discovered the fire before it had, presumably, made much headway, was in favor of its quick suppression. but it was not a thing to be faced lightly.

“what are you going to do?” asked herc.

“inform the captain at once.”

“on the bridge?”

“yes. it may be a breach of discipline, but[135] it’s a case where necessity goes ahead of etiquette.”

“why don’t you send word by an orderly?”

“because the news would leak out all over the ship and cause no end of flurry and excitement. as it is, they may be able to check the fire’s headway without anyone being any the wiser till the danger is all over.”

ned started for the bridge. as he did so another little puff of smoke, the danger signal of impending calamity, issued from the ventilator. there was no time to be lost, and ned knew it as he hastened aft with his alarming intelligence.