"It is the Young America. She is a school ship."
"O, ay!"
There was no disposition to talk much in the boats. The officers and crews were fully employed in keeping the barge and gig right side up in the tremendous sea, and though all hands were filled with curiosity to know the particulars of the wreck, all questions were wisely deferred until they were on the deck of the ship.
When the gig came up under the counter of the Young America, a line was thrown down to the bowman who made it fast to the ring. The passengers were then taken aboard in slings rigged on the spanker-boom, which was swung over the lee quarter for the purpose. Part of the boat's crew were taken on board in the same way, and then the gig was hoisted up to the davits with the rest in her.
Before the barge was allowed to come up under the counter, the officer of the deck wore ship, so as to bring the port quarter, on which the boat was to be suspended, on the lee side. Her passengers were taken on deck as those from the gig had been, and she was hoisted up.
"Mr. Kendall, I congratulate you upon the success of your labors," said Mr. Lowington, when the second lieutenant reached the deck. "You have handled your boat exceedingly well, and you deserve a great deal of credit."
"That's a fact, sir," added Boatswain Peaks, touching his cap. "I hardly spoke a word to him, and I've seen many a boat worse handled in a sea."
Paul blushed at the praise bestowed upon him, but he was proud and happy to have done his duty faithfully on this important occasion. The same commendation was given to the first lieutenant, after the barge had been hauled up to the davits, and the order given for the ship to fill away again.
The women and children were conducted to the professors' cabin as soon as they came on board, and the seamen were taken into the steerage. All of them were exhausted by the anxiety and the hardships they had endured, and as soon as their safety was insured, they sank almost helpless under the pressure of their physical weakness.
"This is a school ship, I'm told," said Captain Greely, the master of the shipwrecked vessel, who had also been invited to the main cabin.