"No," Eric answered, "nothing for twenty minutes."
The Coast Guard cutter speedily raised the hull of the burning steamer. Her stern was much higher out of water than her bow, and amidships she was all aflame, belching up dense volumes of smoke.
A message came into the radio room.
"The Lucania reports that she has picked up three of the boats," said the operator through the tube to the first lieutenant on the bridge. "The fourth boat is still missing."
"What's that craft over there, I wonder?" queried Eric, pointing to the starboard bow where a searchlight flickered into the sky.
"That's the La Savoie, I heard some one say," his friend replied; "she must have been coming up on the jump. We'll have half a dozen big liners here before morning."
"It's a wonderful thing, the wireless," the boy said meditatively; "from hundreds of miles away, every one rushes to the rescue. When you realize that every extra ten miles means hundreds of dollars out of the pockets of steamship companies and every hour's delay may be a serious inconvenience, it does look great to see the way every one drops personal concerns to go to the rescue."
"I wonder what would happen if a captain didn't?"
"There'd be a whale of a row. Court-martial and all that sort of thing."
"You can't court-martial a merchant-service man," protested Homer.