Page:Robert William Cole - The Struggle for Empire; A Story of the Year 2236 (1900).djvu/80

68 'Lieutenant Brandon will command on the fifth deck.'

Alec went up to a telephone that was fastened to the wall and shouted, 'All right, captain.' He climbed down hatchway after hatchway, along winding corridors, past great tanks, and then through the engine-room. Here everything was in a state of bustle and activity. The air was filled with the whirling of wheels and the panting of great piston-rods, for the engines were now in full activity. Above, below, and around the narrow gangway huge cranks were whirling round, immense rods shooting backwards and forwards, and ponderous wheels rotating so fast that they appeared to be quite motionless. At one end were the rows of shining reservoirs where the motor energy was converted before it was passed on to the engines. Here, there, and everywhere were engineers perched on little ledges amidst the moving masses, filling up the oil-cups, or moving levers and turning wheels.