d, was, with her child, carefully lowered into a boat.
"Did you get that, Tom?"
"I certainly did. This will make a good picture. I think I'll send it
back to Mr. Period as soon as we reach port."
"Maybe you could develop it on board here, and show it. I understand
there's a dark room, and the captain said one of his officers, who used
to be in the moving picture business, had a reproducing machine."
"Then that's what I'll do!" cried Tom. "I'll have our captain charge
all the Belchar passengers admission, and we'll get up a fund for the
fire sufferers. They'll probably lose all their baggage."
"That will be great!" exclaimed Ned.
The rescue was now in full swing, and, in a short time all the
passengers and crew had been transferred to the life boats. Tom got a
good picture of the captain of the burning steamer being the last to
leave his vessel. Then the approaching life boats, with their loads of
sailors, and rescued ones, were caught on the films.
"Are you all off?" cried the captain of the Belchar to the unfortunate
skipper of the doomed ship.
"All off, yes, thank you. It is a mercy you were at hand. I have a
cargo of oil. You had better stand off, for she'll explode in a few
minutes."
"I must get a picture of that!" declared Tom as the Belchar got under
way again. "That will cap the climax, and make a film that will be hard
to beat."
A few moments later there was a tremendous explosion on the tramp
oiler. A column of wreckage and black smoke shot skyward, and Tom
secured a fine view of it. Then the wreck disappeared beneath the
waves, while the rescuing steamer sailed on, with those who had been
saved. They had brought off only the things they wore, for the fire had
occurred suddenly, and spread rapidly. Kind persons aboard the Belchar
looked after the unfortunates. Luckily there was not a large passenger
list on the tramp. And the crew was comparatively small, so it was not
hard work to make room for them, or take care of them, aboard the
Belchar.
Tom developed his pictures, and produced then in one of the large
saloons, on a machine he borrowed from the man of whom Ned had spoken.
A dollar admission was charged, and the crowd was so large that Tom had
to give two performances. The films, showing the burning steamer and
the rescue, were excellent, and enough money was realized to aid, most
substantially, the unfortunate passengers and crew.
A few days later a New York bound steamer was spoke
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