Henry Leverage

“ Through the Seven Seas, from the time of his Bavarian wife's death, from cancer of the breast, Richter, chief engineer of the Seriphus, had sweated, slaved, saved and smuggled contraband from port in order to say:
"This is my daughter! Look at her!"
Now, as Richter discovered, Hylda, twenty-seven years of age, somewhat prim and musical, had given her promise to an electrician whom the engineer believed was not fit to dust her shoes. Richter, used to breaking and thrashing coolie oilers, ordered Gathright from the house and locked up his daughter. ”

“ Fergerson, despite the tanker’s rolling motion, succeeded in satisfying Ezra Morgan by keeping up the three-quarter speed set by the skipper.
Richter sobered when the last of the trade-gin was gone; the Seriphus was between Guam and 'Frisco; the heavy seas encountered were the afterkick of the simoon.
Rolling drunkenly, from habit, the chief went on the bridge and asked about getting back his comfortable cabin aft. Ezra Morgan gave him no satisfaction.
"Better stay near your boilers," advised the captain. "Everything's gone to hell, sir, since you changed from kummel to gin." ”

“ Something, perhaps water or waste, clogged the pipe; and the escaping vapor whistled; sputtered, and rose to a high piercing note that sounded to the chief's irritated nerves like the cry of a soul in agony. The note died, resumed its piercing screaching. Richter's arm and hand shook when he mopped his brow and drew a wet sleeve down with an angry motion. ”

“ Gathright, somewhat suspicious of Hylda's father, took care to keep two steps behind the chief-engineer. They reached and ducked under the bulkhead beam where the door connected the engine-room with the boiler-room. Richter found a flashlamp, snapped it on, swung its rays around and about as if showing Gathright his new duties.
"There's a motor-driven feed-pump," he said. "Something's the matter with the motor's commutator. ”

“ There's many a good engineer, and mate, too, in th' Japanese Merchant Marine. Nippon can teach us a thing or two—particularly about keeping Scotch boilers up to th' steaming point."
This cut direct sent Richter off the bridge; he encountered a bandaged and goggled survivor of the freighter's wreck at the head of the engine-room ladder. The wireless operator, leaning on a crutch whittled by a bo'sain, avoided Richter, who pushed him roughly aside and descended the ladder, backward.
White steam, lurid oaths, Scotch anathema from the direction of the boiler-room, indicated more trouble. ”

“ They broke over the doomed freighter like surf on a reef.
"Yon's a distress signal flying," said Ezra Morgan, "There's a few seamen aft that look like drowned rats. We'll go before th' sea—I'll put th' sea abart th' beam, an we'll outboard oil enough to lower a small-boat an' take those men off that freighter."
The maneuver was executed, the screw turned slowly, oil was poured through the waste-pipes and spread magically down the wind until the freighter's deck, from aft the forehouse, could be seen above the waves. ”

“ Ezra Morgan had certainly turned against his chief engineer; the thing to do was to lay the ghostly voice, make what repairs were necessary in the boiler-room, and give the tanker's engines the steam they needed in order to make a quick return passage to San Francisco and please the Henningays. ”

“ We go to the boiler-room first, where the pumps are."
The boiler-room, forward the engine-room of the tanker, was a place of many snakelike pipes, valves, sea-plates and oily seepage from the feedtanks. The Seriphus was a converted oil-burner, having been built before crude petroleum was used for steaming purposes. Three double-end Scotch boilers made the steam that drove the tanker's triple-expansion engine. ”

“ Of Ezra Morgan it was said that he had the daring of a Norseman and the thrift of a Maine Yankee; he worked the Seriphus for everything the tanker could give William Henningay and Son; he ranted against the outlandish people of the Orient and traded with them, on the side, for all that he could gain for his own personal benefit.
Trading skippers and engineers with an inclination toward increasing wage by rum-running and smuggling were common in the Eastern service. ”