had
an independent disposition.

"Know what I think would be the best thing for it?" said the chief
engineer. "Dynamite. D'I tell you 'bout the sharrk eatin' a bomb?"

"Is there any gas in the tank?" said Tom.

"Sure is, but I dunno what kind it is. Mebbe it's poison gas, for all
_I_ know. There was a fellow in Ireland when we----"

Tom ignored him, and making a guess adjustment of the mixing valve,
opened the gas and threw the wheel over. "No batteries--magneto, huh?"

"Yes, but it don't magnete. I'd ruther have a couple o' batteries that
would _bat_."

A few crankings and the little engine started, missing frightfully.

"She'll stop in a minute," said Archer, and so she did. "We've all taken
a crack at the carbureter and the timer," he added, "but nothin' doin'.
It's cussedness, _I_ say."

Tom started it again, listening as it missed, went faster, slowed down,
stopped. It was getting gas and getting air and the bearings did not
bind. He tried it again. It ran lamely and stopped, but started all
right again whenever he cranked it, provided he waited a minute or two
between each trial.

"Can you beat that?" said Archer.

"There's water getting into the cylinder," Tom said.

"Cylinder's lucky. _We_ poor guys got to go way down the other end of
the earth to get water."

"Maybe the water in the water jacket froze last winter and cracked the
cylinder wall and the crack didn't let any through at first, most
likely. You can't get your explosions right if there's water. That's why
it starts first off and keeps going till the water works through.
'Tisn't much of a crack, I guess. A file wouldn't be any more use than a
teaspoon."

"A _what_? Believe _me_, I wouldn't know a teaspoon if I saw one," said
Archer.

"If we had a wrench to get the cylinder head off," said Tom, "I could
show you."

"It's the end of that engine," said Archer.

"Depends on how bad it is. If it's only a little crack sometimes you can
fix it with a chemical--sal ammoniac. It kind of--_corrodes_, I think
they call it--right where the crack is and it'll work all right for
quite a while. We had a cracked cylinder on our scout boat one time."

Archer was generously pleased at Tom's sagacity and showed no
professional jealousy. Before that day was over every prisoner in the
camp knew that the rusty, dilapidated engine which languished near the
pump was good for another season of usefulness. If Archer was not a
good engineer he was at leas