Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 2.djvu/396

 BROOKS V. STEAMER ADIRONDACK. 339 �times under her stern ; and the fourth time Bhe came up, upou the invitation of the master of the Plainmeller, the master of the Adirondack came off in his boat and came on board the Plainmeller. The captains had a brief conference on deck. �The captain of the Plainmeller asked the other captain if he was entirely disabled, and the captain of the Adirondack explained that his engineer said they could get up steam again in two days. They had some haggling about the price. The captain of the Plainmeller insisted that î'4,000 was a fair and reasonable amount, and refused to tow her in for less. He testified that he offered to do it for that, or to leave the amount open. This is denied by Captain Eoberts, of the Adirondack, and I am not able, on the whole evidence, to find it proved. No inquiry was made as to the value of the cargo of the Adirondack. Captain Eoberts finally consented to the price of £4:,000, and they went into the cabin to reduce the agreement to writing, but, when they got there, Captain Brooks, of the Plainmeller, said it required considera- tion to Word it properly, and suggested that he would have the paper drawn up and send it on board the Adirondack for signature. To thia Captain Eoberts assented, and this was done after daylight, on the third of October. The agree- ment bound the owners of the Adirondack to pay to the mas- ter and owners of the Plainmeller £4,000 sterling, "provided the aforesaid ship tows the Adirondack to within a safe dis- tance of the port of New Tork. " It recites that the Adiron- dack was "totally disabled in her maehinery." After making the agreement the Plainmeller got under way, with the Adi- rondack in tow, and arrived in New York on the eighth of October, about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, without any mis- hap, except the breaking of a wire hawser belonging to the Adirondack. After that broke the towing was done with a cove hawser fumished by the Plainmeller. �There was some evidence offered for the purpose of show- ing that the maehinery of the Plainmeller was injured by the etrain upon her occasioned by the towage, but I am uuable to find that the slight repairs found necessary upon her arrivai at New York are properly attributable to this cause. From ����