Certainly it was a terrible state of things on board of the wreck, which had been short-handed, and was thrown on her beam-ends in the recent gale, or hurricane the mate called it. The three men had cut away the masts, and this had righted her.
CHAPTER XV.
A CHANGE OF DESTINATION.
MR. FRISBONE had gone down into the fire-room as soon as the order was given to slow down, in order to see that the firemen did not do any mischief to the boilers or engine by too much firing while the steam was not used. But the men seemed to be very well disposed, and had opened the furnace-doors when the engineer on duty gave the order. The spare steam was blowing off at the same time. As the Prince was thus engaged in preventing a catastrophe in the engine- or fire-room, he did not learn the condition of things on board of the Castle William till the captain sent for him and for all the adult officers on board of the Ville d’Angers. It was a desperate case which the young officers were called upon to settle; and O’Hara was disposed to take the advice of all that were older and wiser than himself.
“Do you need assistance?” asked O’Hara, after he had sent for the adult portion of the ship’s company. But it seemed like a foolish question to ask; for here was a dismasted hulk, on board of which were thirty-two human beings, all but three of whom were disabled. There were not well ones enough to take care of the sick, to say nothing of handling the vessel. If left to themselves, they must all miserably perish in a few days, for the storms of the Bay of Biscay would soon make an end of the unmanageable hulk. Of course she needed assistance; and it would be inhuman in the last degree to refuse it.
“We need assistance very badly,” replied the mate of the Castle William. “We must all die of disease or go to the bottom, without it.”
“Do you need provisions and stores?” inquired O’Hara.
“We have provisions enough, but we want fresh vegetables and stores for the sick.”
“We will send you what we have,” replied the young captain. “What else do you want?”
“We can never get into port on this wreck. She has a very valuable cargo in the hold.”
“Do you wish for more seamen?”