Dressing it was a very painful affair,
as the doctor had to ascertain whether the bone was broken, and I
fainted during the operation. At last I was carried to my cabin and
put to bed, after taking a strong dose of chloral to soothe the
agonising pain.
_Thursday, February 15th_.--I wonder if anybody who has not
experienced it can realise the stupefying, helpless sensation of being
roused up from a sound sleep, in the middle of the night, on board
ship, by the cry of 'Fire!' and finding oneself enveloped in a smoke
so dense as to render everything invisible.
[Illustration: The Yacht on Fire.]
At 2.30 a.m. I was awakened by a great noise and a loud cry of 'The
ship is on fire!' followed by Mr. Bingham rushing into our cabin to
arouse us. At first I could hardly realise where we were, or what was
happening, as I was half stupid with chloral, pain, and smoke, which
was issuing from each side of the staircase in dense volumes. My first
thought was for the children, but I found they had not been forgotten.
Rolled up in blankets, they were already in transit to the deck-house.
In the meantime Mr. Bingham had drenched the flames with every
available jug of water, and Tom had roused the crew, and made them
screw the hose on to the pump. They were afraid to open the hatches,
to discover where the fire was, until the hose and _extincteurs_ were
ready to work, as they did not know whether or not the hold was on
fire, and the whole ship might burst into a blaze the moment the air
was admitted.
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