"Great Scott, we've run aground!" exclaimed McClure as he stood
wild-eyed in the conning tower.
Jack was despatched to the engine room for a report from Chief Engineer
Blaine. He returned in a moment to say that the ship's engines were
reversed and the propeller shafts revolving to the limit of the
ship's power. Nevertheless, it was only too evident that the _Dewey_
was enmeshed in a treacherous shoal from which she was unable to
extricate herself.
Officer Binns was ordered to throw off all possible ballast.
One by one the tanks were emptied. The air pumps were working valiantly
but at each discharge of water ballast the officers of the stranded
vessel waited in vain for the welcome "lift" that would tell them
the ship was floating free again. The last ballast tank had now been
emptied and the depth dial still showed eighty-four feet.
"Looks as though we were stuck, all right," was McClure's solitary
comment as he gazed again at the depth dial.
The engines now were shut down, the air pumps had ceased working.
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