d Dick, rushing again to the engineroom
door proper.

"Whe--where's Tom?"

"Safe."

"Oh! then I'll come out," and Sam staggered into the fresh air.

"Mine cracious! vos der ship going to plow up!" gasped Hans, who had
stood looking on with his hair standing on end.

"I don't think so," answered Dick. "The steam will soon blow itself
away. You didn't have very much pressure; did you, Tom?"

"No, but it was too much when the pipe burst. Gosh! I was afraid I
was going to be boiled alive!" and he shuddered.

"It's about gone now," came from Sam, who was watching at the doorway.
"It isn't hissing nearly as much as it did." He was right, and
presently the hissing ceased entirely. Then Sam, Dick, and Hans opened
all the portholes and doors, to let out the steam, and soon the scare
was over. But Tom felt "shaky in the legs," as he termed it, for some
hours afterwards.

"I suppose I should have tested all those pipes and valves as soon
as I had just a little steam," said the fun-loving Rover. "There is
where I wasn't a good engineer. Well, one thing is certain, nothing
gave way but the single pipe."

"And that could happen on any steamer," answered Dick. "Any engine
is liable to a breakdown of this kind. The question is, Are we
machinists enough to repair the break? If we are not, then we'll have
to let the steam power go and hoist some sails."

"Oh, that would be slow work!" cried Sam. "Let us try to fix the
pipe. I saw some extra pieces in the tool room. Maybe one of them
will fit."

With the engine room cleared of steam they inspected the split pipe.
It was a piece exactly two feet long, and they looked over the pieces
in the tool room and found one just half an inch shorter.

"I think that will do," said Dick. "We won't be able to couple it on
quite so tightly as the other was but we can pack it well, and I
guess it will last till we reach some port."

The tool room was supplied with the necessary wrenches and all of
the boys spent two hours in fitting in the new piece of pipe. Then
they inspected the other pipes and the engine, but everything appeared
to be in first-class shape.

The fire had been allowed to die down while the repairs were going
on, and was not started up again until the work had been completed.

"Say, don't I look like a nigger?" demanded Tom, as he put down some
tools. "If I don't, I feel black from head to foot."

"You are certainly pretty grimy," answered Sam, with a laugh. "But
I