I knew there was no other bulkhead in the ship but the collision bulkhead separating the forepeak from the forehold.

I went back to tell the captain.

I came upon the second engineer getting up at the foot of the bridge-ladder: he seemed dazed, and told me he thought his left arm was broken; he had slipped on the top step when getting down while I was forward.

He exclaimed, "My God! That rotten bulkhead'll give way in a minute, and the damned thing will go down under us like a lump of lead." He pushed me away with his right arm and ran before me up the ladder, shouting as he climbed.

His left arm hung by his side.