CHAPTER TWENTY.
THE LAST DISASTER.
After the first shock of surprise at the alarming intelligence--the most awful that can be circulated on board a ship, and one that fills up the seaman's cup of horrors to the brim--Captain Billings quickly recovered his usual equanimity.

He was his own clear-headed, calm, collected self again in a moment.
"How did you discover it ?" he asked the mate, in a low tone.
"I was ganging forwarts," said Mr Macdougall, in the same hushed key, so that only Captain Billings and I could catch his words, "when a' at once I smeelt somethin'-- " "Ah, that raking flying jibboom of yours wasn't given you for nothing!" whispered the skipper, alluding to the mate's rather "pronounced" nose.
"Aye, mon, it sairves me weel," said Mr Macdougall, feeling the ridge of his nasal organ with much apparent satisfaction, and then proceeding to finish his statement.

"But I could no meestake the smeel, the noo." "Something burning, I suppose ?" said the skipper interrogatively.
"You're right, Cap'en; the smeel was that o' boornin' wood and gas." "What did you do then ?" asked Captain Billings.
"I joost slippet off the main hatch, and the smeel was quite overpowerin', enough to choke one! so I e'en slippet the hatch on again, walking forwarts so as not to alarm the crew; and then I cam' aft to tell your ain sel'." "You did right," said the skipper.

"I'll go presently and have a look myself." Captain Billings' inspection proved that the mate's fears were but too well-founded; so he immediately had the pumps rigged by the watch on duty--"all hands" not being called yet, as the vessel was lying-to, and there was not much work to be done.

But a lot of water was pumped into the hold, after which the hatches were battened down, and we hoped the fire would die out from being smothered in this way.
Meanwhile the north-westerly gale increased to almost a hurricane, the ship taking in great seas over her bows that deluged the decks, so that the waist sometimes was all awash with four feet of water on it; but this did not trouble us much, for of the two elements the sea was now the least feared, as we hoped that the one would check the spread of the other.
Next day, however, when the gale lightened a little, and the _Esmeralda_ rode easier, still head to sea, the men complained that the fo'c'sle was getting too hot for them to live in it, although the temperature of the exterior air was nearly down to freezing point.
This looked ominous; so Captain Billings, determining to adopt more stringent measures to check the conflagration that must be raging below in the cargo, caused the hatches to be opened; but such dense thick volumes of smoke and poisonous gas rolled forth the moment the covers were taken off, that they were quickly battened down again, holes now being bored to insert the hose pipes, and another deluge of water pumped into the hold, forwards as well as amidships.
"I don't know what to do," said the skipper to Mr Macdougall.