He was the very fellow to manage the
engine; and so we have reconciled him to the custom of going on pilgrimage, and engaged him as chief engineer."
I heard someone shriek an order into the engine-room; the boat shuddered and trembled to the sudden reversing of the
engines, and our speed quickly lessened.
A wave broke almost over them but the
engine continued its beat.
Captain Purnall rings up the
engines and keys down the governor on the switch before him.
"If I can open these doors is there a man who can start the
engines?" I asked.
"No, I think of sinking this
engine in the earth alone, binding it with hoops of wrought iron, and finally surrounding it with a thick mass of masonry of stone and cement.
Already the
engines had ceased to throb, the period of unnatural quietness had commenced.
The
engine was manned by a driver and a stoker, and bore, by special favor, the Hon.
The long chimney running up beside an ash-tree, and the warmth which radiated from the spot, explained without the necessity of much daylight that here was the
engine which was to act as the PRIMUM MOBILE of this little world.
'Don't make excuses,' said the Guard: 'you should have bought one from the engine-driver.' And once more the chorus of voices went on with 'The man that drives the
engine. Why, the smoke alone is worth a thousand pounds a puff!'
I wished the beast would exhaust itself, and not be insensible to fatigue like a steam
engine. But it was of no use.
"I really must see if I can't get a schooner with an
engine. I might get a second-hand
engine put in."
"Numbers one, two, and five
engines have broken down, sir," he called.
I would be a better electrician with knowledge of steam
engines. As an oiler in the great engine-room I was confident that few things concerning steam would escape me.
The rudder might have been gone for all he knew, the fires out, the
engines broken down, the ship ready to roll over like a corpse.
