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They raced past the main deck cabins and into athan the rest of the ship Greasy loo They cah hatch rather than a traditional doorway It was secured with dogging latch Next to it were brackets holding three copper dry-cheuishers The copper was dull and pitted, but the mechanisms looked workable

“This is where the springs and tensioners are located for the harpoon line,” Fyrie explained, popping the safety ring off one of the extinguishers and handing it to Bell while keeping a second for hi is coated in grease If we can’t contain this quickly, we’re in trouble”

Bell nodded grimly

Fyrie ducked below the bottoht but well to the side When the captain swung open the hatch, he’d braced hi wave of fire to billow fro so dra space

The rooed and filled with machinery as complex as an industrial loom’s The smoke was as dense as cotton and black, and it was drawn up through a hole in the ceiling as though by force of a powerful vacuum

“Petr hasn’t sealed the harpoon line fairlead,” Fyrie shouted, and he juuisher loith its rubber nozzle held at chest height

Moving through the space required the skills of a contortionist, but Fyrie knew his ship so well he could rab for handholds to keep his balance, which slowed hirease up to the elbows

The fire finally caught a taste of the additional oxygen reaching it fro balloon Fyrie was forced to bend over backward until his shoulders were al the ceiling just above his face He recovered and went to ith the extinguisher He ignored the river of fire dancing along the ceiling and directed a stream of white powder at the base of the fire The cherease Bell reached his side and added his extinguisher to the battle

With the fire intensifying, the heat inside the low chah the vent in the ceiling as though it had been designed as a chimney The crewman Petr hadn’t yet done the simple task set to him

For a et the best of the fire with just the two extinguishers, but then it found sonited with a searing whoosh that forced both ave the blaze a fresh toehold arow more confident as they envelopedits freedo penned

Bell and Fyrie exchanged a swift glance that affirmed for the detective what he sensed—the fire had just taken the upper hand and it was ti their lives rather than the ship

“Captain,” a crew roar of the flames

Fyrie turned to see Arn Bjørnson carrying two heavy led maze of ropes and wires and hydraulic pistons He handed one to his captain as though it were empty, but in fact it was filled to the brim with clean white sand

Fyrie grabbed it fro its contents in a sweeping arc that s beneath it in a perfectly placed half-inch layer What flames it smothered it killed Arn had set the second pail on the deck so he could go get more The captain snatched it up and wafted another spray of sand into the fire

“Will there be enough?” Bell had to shout this to be heard