He merely nodded, for he knew how desperately anxious Ken was
about his father.
Ken had not long to wait. A few minutes later, an order was passed for
Carrington to go up, and Ken darted up the steel ladder like a
lamplighter.
Outside, he found the sun gone, the sky covered with clouds, and a threat
of rain in the cool air. But it was not the weather he thought of. His
eyes were at once fixed upon a large steamer about two miles off to the
southward. Clouds of sooty smoke were pouring from her funnels, and a
yeasty wake trailed away behind her. Taking warning by the fate of her
escort, she was doing all she knew to escape.
'Will she beat us? Will she get away?' Ken asked anxiously of one of the
gun crew.
'Will she spread her little wings an' turn into a waterplane?' replied the
man with a grin. 'Bless you, soldier, she couldn't do more'n fourteen
knots when she come out o' the builder's yard, and that's two more'n she's
going now. You watch an' see how far she gets away.'
A very few moments' watching was enough to convince Ken that G2 was
overhauling her prey hand over fist.
Pages:
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255