CHAPTER XI
AN ELEPHANT STAMPEDE
"Lower away!"
"Stand by the life boats!"
"Let go! Pull hearty!"
These and other commands marked the beginning of the rescue, as the sailors manned the davit-falls, and put the boats into the water. The burning steamer had now come to a stop, not far away from the Belchar, which was also lay-to. There was scarcely any sea running, and no wind, so that the work of rescuing was not difficult from an ordinary standpoint. But there was grave danger, because the fire on the doomed vessel was gaining rapidly.
"That's oil burning," remarked an officer, and it seemed so, from the dense clouds of smoke that rolled upward.
"Is she working, Tom?" asked Ned, as he helped his chum to hold the wonderful camera steady on the rail, so that a good view of the burning steamer could be had.
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