On the deck some men were running to and fro.

Everyone seemed in the greatest consternation.
Jack sprang out and stopped a man.
"What is the matter ?" he demanded.
"The ship is on fire!" was the shaking answer.

"There is a fire in the hold!" Diamond staggered.

He whirled about and sprang into the smoking-room.

In a moment he was at Frank's side.
"Merry," he said, "what I feared has come! The steamer is on fire!" "Where ?" "In the hold." Frank remembered the barrels and casks he had seen there.
"Then we are liable to go scooting skyward in a hurry!" he said.