"I've never seen anything like this in my experience, sir. It looks bad."
The door opened, and Jasperson slunk in. His skin had lost its cushioning, gray folds sagged under his cheek bones, and black hollows outlined his glittering blue eyes. The Captain ignored him, and spoke into the phone.
"Very well. In exactly fifteen minutes I shall sound the alarm and we'll abandon ship. I can't take a chance on waiting any longer. Keep a skeleton crew at work on those Piles to hold them down as much as possible, and have all other crewmen report to their lifeboat stations."
"Right, sir. But Boat C has gone, you remember. When we dumped Pile Ten."
"Yes. Distribute her passengers among the remaining boats."
He turned to look at Jasperson, who was shivering as though he were freezing.
"Is there no hope, Josiah? Is this the end?"
"The end of the Star Lord, yes. I hope to save the passengers. You heard me. In fifteen minutes all preparations should be finished, then I sound the alarm. Don't worry, Burl. There's room enough for everybody, your skin is safe."
"But won't the lifeboats be horribly crowded?"
"Crowded, yes, but not impossibly so. If they can carry two hundred and fifty people in fair comfort, they can jam in three hundred by squeezing a bit."