“Now,” said Phil, when they threw open the forward door of the flatboat to open a passage for taking out freight, “I suppose we ought to divide up the loss by throwing out about an equal quantity of each owner’s freight. But we can’t do it, so there’s an end of that.”
“Oh, the law will take care of all that,” said Ed.
“The law? How?”
“Why the law requires everybody interested in the boat or the cargo to share the loss, when freight must be thrown overboard to save the ship.”
“But how can that be done?” asked Irv.
“Why, we must keep account of what we throw overboard. When we sell the rest at New Orleans, we shall know just what was the value of the part jettisoned,—that’s the law term for throwing things overboard, I believe,—and that loss must be divided among the owners of the boat herself, the owners of cargo on board, and the insurance companies, if any of the freight is insured. Each one’s share of the loss will be in precise proportion to his interest.”
“Illustrate,” said Will Moreraud.
“Well,” rejoined Ed, “suppose we find the boat and her total cargo to be worth one thousand dollars—”
“Oh, rubbish! It’s worth many times that,” broke in Will. “Why, I should value—”