Steve Young Part 33

At last Steve became conscious of some one touching him, grasping his arm, and shaking him; but he could hardly move. Then he felt himself dragged over the ice--for it did not seem like the deck--to the way down to the engine-room, and heard a voice shouting, "No, it would be dangerous--cabin!"

How he was helped down he did not know, but he revived a little to the fact that the doctor and captain were by him, and in spite of the din it was possible to hear what was said.

"Is he frost-bitten?"

"No, I think not."

"Keep him down here, then, and stay yourself."

"Are you going back on deck?"

"Of course."

"But one moment. Tell me--I felt a shock. Are we running right for the coast, due south?"

"I wish we were," said the captain gravely. "No; the storm seemed to swing round, and is blowing almost in a contrary direction. We are running north-east, and unless I can get her head to wind and the steam well up we shall soon be amongst the drifting ice."

He hurried out of the cabin and closed the door after him, while the doctor hastened to get Steve's mackintosh from his stiffened body and arms, and helped him to put on a fur-lined coat.

"That's better," said the doctor.

Steve nodded.

"How are your feet--numbed?"

"No," said Steve, rather faintly, "I think they are all right. I was crouched together sitting on them."

"And your hands?"

"They were in my breast. There's nothing the matter now. I only felt confused, and as if I could not think or do anything."

"I felt the same, my lad. It is very awful. I never thought such a storm was possible. Do you think you can venture to go on deck again?"

"Oh yes, I'm ready. I shan't feel the cold so in this coat."

"Then come and help me. I want to do something to comfort the men if I can. Let's make our way to the galley."

"Yes."

"I want to get the cook to make a quant.i.ty of hot tea. The poor fellows must have something, or they will perish."

"I'm ready, sir," cried Steve; "come along."

"Wait a minute. Which will be the best way?"

"Get to the bulwarks at once, and creep along till we're opposite the galley. It will be easy enough then."

"I doubt it, my lad."

Then the door was opened, for a blinding cloud of powdery snow to rush in; and as they stood together out there once more in the wild shrieking and yelling of the storm, while the s.h.i.+p s.h.i.+vered and creaked and throbbed, they had hard work to close the door after them before making their way on hands and knees through the thick snow to the weather bulwark, and along by this they crept till abreast of the galley without coming across a soul. They paused here for a few moments, and then Steve placed his lips to the doctor's ear.

"Come on!" he said; and leading the way once more he crossed to the end of the galley in a blind struggle against the wind, which seemed to pounce upon him and try to tear him away. But he crept on, with the doctor close to him, and became aware that he was touching something cold, which moved and then seized him with a hoa.r.s.e:

"Wha's this?"

"I, Hamis.h.!.+" shouted the boy. "We want to get into the galley."

"Gang below, laddie. Ta fire's oot, and there's naebody there."

"Come back," said the doctor in Steve's ear; and the boy followed, too much stunned and confused by the wind and driving ice powder to propose any other plan. But as he turned to follow the doctor he became aware that several men were huddled together there in the slight shelter afforded by the cook-house, and this confused him more, for the men were at the wrong end, and not where he knew they had taken refuge before.

And now he recalled the sudden change which had taken place, and grasped the fact that they were head to wind, or nearly so, while a vibration beneath his feet told him that the engine was hard at work.

The next minute--how he did not know--they were by the way down into the engine-room, the doctor's snowy figure being visible in a misty light which struck upward as he descended, Steve following breathless and panting, to find in the glow shed by the fires the cook on one side and Watty Links on the other, while even here the snow-dust was whirling down and melting at once into a rain, which ascended as a thick steam.

"Hadn't you better have kept in the cabin, sir?" said the engineer to Steve; and then he turned to the doctor, "Come down for a warm, sir?"

"No! I wanted to try and get some hot drink to the men on deck--some hot coffee."

"Couldn't be done, sir," said the cook.

"Let's say that when we've tried and failed," cried Steve. "You can get hot water here; I'll fetch coffee and sugar."

"Very well, sir, I'll try; but how are we to get it to them on deck?"

"Bottles, man, bottles!" cried the doctor. "Where there's a will there's a way."

The energy displayed by the new-comers, aided by the warmth, had its effect upon the man; the engineer remembered that he had two clean bottles in a locker, and Steve and the doctor fought their way again over the slippery, snowy deck to the cabin, from which they emerged again well laden, and in another quarter of an hour they were on their way first to the wheel, holding on tightly to prevent their being swept heavily across the p.o.o.p, and they felt, more than saw, the two men, and by them the captain and mate.

They did not speak their mission, but told it dumbly by pressing a bottle of hot coffee in each man's hand, waiting while it was consumed, and then returning to get the bottles refilled, their thanks being a warm, hearty pressure and a shouted warning from the captain to take care as they turned to creep back under such shelter as they could get, Steve having hard work once to save himself from being driven forward by the wind, which seemed to come from all quarters at once.

The men huddled forward on deck were now relieved in the same way, this taking two journeys, after which they joined the engineer in partaking of the hot, steaming compound, and prepared to return on deck.

"Hadn't you better stay below here, sir?" said the man; "there's nothing to be done on deck."

"We'll come down again," replied the doctor. "Why, Steve," he cried, "Captain Marsham is on the bridge!"

For at that moment there was a sharp ting upon the gong just overhead, which the engineer responded to by seizing the lever and altering the number of revolutions per minute of the screw. The next moment he staggered, and would have fallen but for his grasp of the lever, the doctor staggered up against the side, and Steve caught hold of the engineer, while Watty Links was pitched from his seat on to the iron flooring, and evidently uttered a yell, though it was not heard in the terrific noise of the storm; neither did they hear a tremendous crash; but all knew that they had struck something, for there was a fearful shock, and a peculiar thrill ran through the vessel just as if she were being shaken to pieces and her timbers were about to fall apart.

CHAPTER NINETEEN.

IN THE GRIP OF NATURE.

The doctor seized and pressed Steve's hand in silence as he hurried up on deck to struggle aft to the captain, fully expecting that they were going down. But he was invisible in the driving snow. They made out somehow, though, that he was on the bridge in company with the mate; and, unable to reach and question him, they crept together right aft to the wheel, where Steve found himself at Johannes' feet.

The big Norseman did not wait to be questioned. He knew why the lad had come, and, bending down, he roared in his ear: