It was again secured, and the reckless firemen, urged on by
Maxwell and the engineers, still pressed the boat to its destruction.
The boilers, notwithstanding the tremendous pressure to which they were
subjected, still realized the expectations of the confident engineers,
and refused to be the agents of an "awful calamity." But all exertion
was of no avail; the Flatfoot, No. 3, whose tall chimneys vomited forth
a long trail of flame, showing that she, too, was hard pressed, was
rapidly increasing her distance. Still the firemen plied the furnaces,
and again the engineers added more weight to the lever of the
safety-valve. The boilers were evidently pressed to their utmost, the,
decks were hot, and her timbers creaked and snapped as though they would
drop out of her.
Hatchie had placed his party in the hold, one of which was on the
look-out at the hatchway. He saw the danger of the steamer; but all his
friends were in the safest places the boat afforded. It was an anxious
hour for him; but everybody was in peril, and there was no remedy.
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