"
As he had surmised, the winches had been housed over and fairly buried
in grease when the ship laid up; hence they were in absolutely perfect
condition. The engines, too, had received the best of care, as nearly
as Matt could judge from a cursory view. Her cargo space was littered
up with a number of grain chutes, which would have to come out; and
her boats, which had been stored in the empty hold aft, away from the
weather, were in tiptop shape. She had a spare anchor, plenty of
chain, wire cable and Manila lines, though these latter would
doubtless have to be renewed in their entirety, owing to deterioration
from age.
Her crew quarters were commodious and ample, and the officers'
quarters all that could be desired; her galley equipment was complete,
even to a small auxiliary ice plant. What she needed was cleaning,
painting and scraping, and lots of it, also the riggers would be a few
days on her standing rigging; but, so far as Matt could discern, that
was all. From the watchman he learned that one Terence Reardon had
been her chief engineer in the days when the Oriental Steamship
Company first owned her.
From the Narcissus, Matt Peasley returned to the city and went at once
to the office of the Marine Engineers' Association, where he made
inquiry for Terence Reardon.
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