Inland Waterways | Page 3

for all these clumsy crafts to go through, it will be nine
o'clock before it is possible to get under way."
Harry went on shore to pay the toll of ten dollars while Phil and Nat

warped the Restless toward the lock, it not being deemed advisable to
start the engine until she was inside the gates.
Until this moment the yacht's captain had not fancied there could be
any difficulty in navigating his craft on a canal; but as the lock tenders
insisted on his pulling the little boat between two unwieldy barges,
either one of which would have crushed her like an egg shell had it
swung down upon her, he began to have serious misgivings as to the
chances of reaching New York without an accident. It was useless to
shout to those near by, for not a man paid the slightest attention to his
fears, and when the water was let in, the huge hulks swayed from side
to side with many a resounding bump against the light timbers of the
yacht.
"Phil, you and Nat stand by with the fenders while I get up steam so
that we'll have a show of slipping past these boats at the first
opportunity. Keep your eyes open, for if they jam us too hard this
cruise will be ended before it has really begun."
"If they swing in toward us, it's precious little we can do to prevent it,"
Nat said apprehensively, and then he shouted to the skipper of the
nearest boat:
"Can't you take in the slack of that bow line? Our craft won't stand
much of this kind of squeezing."
"That's your lookout," the man replied gruffly, and in a manner which
proclaimed unmistakably the fact that with him it had been "two pulls
at the whisky flask and one on the hawsers," while the crew of the other
boat appeared to think the request very comical.
"There won't be anything to laugh about if you stave two or three
timbers for us," Phil called out sharply.
"Why didn't you stay back till the big boats got through, if you're so
much afraid?"
"Because we had the right to come in ahead of the others," Phil replied

angrily, and after assuring himself that there was no immediate danger,
he turned once more to the engine.
Meanwhile the canal boatmen were making preparations for leaving the
lock, and the crew of the Restless were so busily engaged in caring for
their craft that neither took note of the fact that the men had passed a
tow line directly under the yacht's stern.
The one great advantage of naphtha for both fuel and power is the
celerity with which the necessary pressure can be obtained. Before the
gates of the lock were opened Phil had everything in readiness for the
start, and calling Harry to stand by the engine, he went to the wheel.
Once the barriers were opened, the skippers of both barges were eager
to get out; the lock tender shouted for Phil to go ahead in order that the
steamer waiting in the canal might enter without loss of time, and every
one in the vicinity seemed to think it necessary he should add to the
general din by shouting at the full strength of his lungs,
Phil rang the bell for the engineer to open the injector, and the Restless
darted forward, as if rejoicing at escaping from such undesirable
company.
She had hardly cleared the gates, and the freight steamer outside was
heading directly for her, when the onward motion suddenly ceased,
even though the screw continued to revolve at full speed. At the same
time it appeared as if a series of heavy blows were dealt the hull,
causing the little craft to quiver from stem to stern.
"Hold on!" Harry shouted frantically. "The screw has caught up the
canal-boat's tow line, and you'll have the timbers stove if the propeller
isn't stopped!"
"Close the injector!" Phil cried. "You are handling the engine, not me."
For a few seconds it seemed as if the Restless would come to grief
between the steamer and the barges, for her crew had "lost their heads,"
and the end of the tow line was beating against the hull with a force

that could be felt very perceptibly.
It was Nat who proved himself to be a valuable member of the party in
such an emergency. While Phil and Harry were shouting to each other,
he dropped the fender, ran aft and closed the injector, shut off the
supply, and reached the bow again in time to do his share toward
averting the impending collision.
During these few seconds the unwieldy boat, propelled by two-mule
power, had forged out of the lock, and was now pulling the Restless
around