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quickly as he could, Dick rushed from the wheelhouse and toward the companionway leading to the engine room.

"Vot's der madder?" bawled Hans, who was at the rail, waiting for the steam yacht to start.

"Tom's in trouble," ejaculated the eldest Rover, and went down the stairs four steps at a time, with the German youth behind him.

The engine room was full of steam, so that for the moment Dick could see little. A pipe running along one side of the engine had burst, and Tom was hemmed in a corner. To get out he would have to pass through the furious outpouring of steam, which might scald him to death.

Not far away was Sam, frantically trying to turn the steam off. But the youngest Rover's knowledge of engines and marine machinery was limited and, while he fussed around, the steam in the narrow engine room kept growing thicker and thicker.

"Get down on the floor, Tom!" yelled Dick,