The tow line to the Florence had parted! Once more the excursion boat, now a roaring furnace, was adrift in mid-stream.
In an instant it was apparent to Penny what would happen. The cross-current was strong, and in a minute or two would carry the burning vessel into the wharves and sheds. When the boat struck, flying sparks would ignite the dry wood for a considerable distance, and soon the entire waterfront would be ablaze.
Though outwardly calm, Captain Barker was beset as he appraised the situation. It would not be possible to get another tow line onto the Florence for already her decks had become untenable for the crew. The blazing vessel was drifting rapidly.
"We could ram her," he muttered. "She might be nosed out into the channel again, and headed away from the freight docks."
"Wouldn't that be dangerous?" Sally asked anxiously. "We have at least fifty passengers aboard. In this high wind, the Queen would be almost certain to catch fire."
"There's nothing else to do," Captain Barker decided grimly, signaling the engine room. "The Florence is drifting fast, and before the fire boats can get here, half the waterfront will be ablaze. Have the passengers wet down the decks and stand by with buckets!"
Penny and Sally worked feverishly carrying out orders. The deck hose was attached, and buckets were brought from below and filled with water. All survivors who were able to help, cooperated to the fullest extent, helping wet down the decks and assisting women and children to the stern of the ferryboat.
Captain Barker had given an order for the Queen to move full speed ahead.
In a moment the two boats made jarring contact. Penny was thrown from her feet. Scrambling up, she saw that blazing timbers from the Florence had crashed directly onto the River Queen's deck. Sparks were falling everywhere. The ferryboat had caught fire in a dozen places.
Seizing a bucket of water, she doused out the flames nearest her. Heat from the Florence was intense, and many of the men who had volunteered to help, began to retreat.
Penny and Sally stuck at their post, knowing that the lives of all depended upon extinguishing the flames quickly. Crew members of the Florence worked beside them with quiet, determined efficiency.
In the midst of the excitement, the final boatload of picked-up survivors had to be taken aboard. Captain Jamison, one of the last to leave the Florence, collapsed as he reached the deck. Severely burned, he was carried below to receive first-aid treatment.
Undaunted, Captain Barker shouted terse orders, goading the men to greater activity when the flames showed signs of getting beyond control. After the first contact with the Florence, only occasional sparks ignited the Queen's decks, but the heat was terrific. Women and children became hysterical, fearful that the ferryboat would become a flaming torch.
"The worst is over now," Sally sighed as she and Penny refilled water buckets. "Pop knows what he's doing. He's saved the waterfront."
"But this ferryboat?"
"It still may go up in smoke, but I don't think so," Sally replied calmly. "Pop is heading so that the wind will carry the flames away from us. He'll beach the Florence on Horseshoe Shoal and let the wreck burn to the water's edge."
For the next fifteen minutes, there was no lessening of worry aboard the River Queen. The ferryboat clung grimly to the blazing excursion boat, losing contact at times, then picking her up again, and pushing on toward the shoal.
Fire fighting activities aboard the ferryboat became better organized; the passengers, observing that Captain Barker knew what he was about, became calm and easily managed. By the time fire boats arrived to spray the Florence with streams of pressured water, the situation was well in hand.
Collapsing on the deck from sheer exhaustion, Penny and Sally gazed toward the warehouses and docks on the opposite shore. Only one fire of any size was visible there.
"The fire boats will quickly put it out," Sally said confidently. "But I hate to think what would have happened if the wind and current had driven the Florence along those wharves."
