“All hands man the life boats!” cried an officer, and several sailors sprang to the davits, ready to lower the boats, when the steamers should be near enough together.

Up on deck came Tom, with his wonderful camera.

“Here you go, Ned!” he called.  “Give me a hand.  I’m going to start the film now.”

CHAPTER XI — AN ELEPHANT STAMPEDE

“Lower away!”

“Stand by the life boats!”

“Let go!  Pull hearty!”

These and other commands marked the beginning of the rescue, as the sailors manned the davit-falls, and put the boats into the water.  The burning steamer had now come to a stop, not far away from the Belchar, which was also lay-to.  There was scarcely any sea running, and no wind, so that the work of rescuing was not difficult from an ordinary standpoint.  But there was grave danger, because the fire on the doomed vessel was gaining rapidly.

“That’s oil burning,” remarked an officer, and it seemed so, from the dense clouds of smoke that rolled upward.

“Is she working, Tom?” asked Ned, as he helped his chum to hold the wonderful camera steady on the rail, so that a good view of the burning steamer could be had.

“Yes, the film is running.  Say, I wonder if they’ll get ’em all off?”

“Oh, I think so.  There aren’t many passengers.  I guess it’s a tramp freighter.”

They could look across the gap of water, and see the terrified passengers and crew crowding to the rail, holding out their hands appealingly to the brave sailors who were lustily and rapidly, pulling toward them in life boats.

At times a swirl of smoke would hide those on the doomed vessel from the sight of the passengers on the Belchar, and on such occasions the frightened screams of women could be heard.  Once, as the smoke cleared away, a woman, with a child in her arms, giving a backward glance toward the flames that were now enveloping the stern of the vessel, attempted to leap overboard.

Many hands caught her, however, and all this was registered on the film of Tom’s camera, which was working automatically.  As the two vessels drifted along, Tom and Ned shifted the lens so as to keep the burning steamer, and the approaching lifeboats, in focus.

“There’s the first rescue!” cried Ned, as the woman who had attempted to leap overboard, was, with her child, carefully lowered into a boat.  “Did you get that, Tom?”

“I certainly did.  This will make a good picture.  I think I’ll send it back to Mr. Period as soon as we reach port.”

“Maybe you could develop it on board here, and show it.  I understand there’s a dark room, and the captain said one of his officers, who used to be in the moving picture business, had a reproducing machine.”

“Then that’s what I’ll do!” cried Tom.  “I’ll have our captain charge all the Belchar passengers admission, and we’ll get up a fund for the fire sufferers.  They’ll probably lose all their baggage.”