In Search of an Unknown Race — page 198: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

186 VAN. with a score of half dressed, shrieking women and children, conscious that the floor was coming back to its ordinary level. As he hurried on deck, it was to see the headlight ct a large steamer apparently just backing away from the Para. <A crowd of sailors were hurrying along the deck with sails from the sailroom. Mr. Boltrope, with the second officer, was seeing that the boats were swung outboard, in readiness for lower- ing; while the purser and other officials were trying to quiet the affrighted passengers. “Is the damage very bad, Mr. Sutherland?” asked Van, as Captain Norris’s orders sounded clear and sharp from the bridge where he was stationed. Mr. Sutherland, who had just come from forward, shrugged his shoulders and felt mechanically for his eyeglasses. Then, recollecting that he was in his shirt sleeves, besides being bareheaded and _bare- footed, he abandoned his search. ‘‘ She’s cut down below the water line, and the bulk- head is so rusty they’re afraid it won't stand the pres- sure,” he said, concisely. ‘No particular danger, though, Mr.—er—Briscoe,” remarked Lord Bampton. In still lighter undress, con- sisting principally of under flannels, the latter was coolly watching the other steamer through a night glass. ‘‘ They’ve got ‘heir boats over ty ‘¢ Stand by to lower the boats !” There was an indiscriminate rush from the forward part of the decks. The cowardly crew, largely com- posed of foreigners, dropped the sails which they had been trying to get over the bow, and joined the strug- gling crowd of steerage passengers, GOMIGhoOoks (€(o)