"He may have stowed them away in one of these drawers. There's no immediate hurry. We'll have a look round the rest of the wreck, and remove the contents of the desk later on."
Although the impact had been violent several of the ballonettes still retained gas. Whittinghame was about to release their contents when Dacres interposed.
"Better be careful," he said. "There must be still a considerable amount of buoyancy in that end of the ship, since she's supported only by a few slender trees. If we release the ultra-hydrogen we may be involved in a supplementary disaster, and have that forty-foot fall we were discussing."
"Right," replied the Captain laconically. "Do you know, there's something remarkable about this wreckage?"
"In what way?"
"We've examined every part of the two after-sections, and we haven't seen any of the bodies of the crew. They couldn't have all been on deck. Those below were not pitched overboard when she turned right over; where, then, are they?"
"I saw twenty men, at least, drop off her when she turned turtle. There are four bodies at least under the fore-part."
"Then, assuming her crew to be at least as numerically as strong as that of the 'Meteor,' where are the rest? The fact that some of the ballonettes are still charged points to the suggestion that the shock to the after-part was not sufficient to kill a man. Therefore there are survivors. That being so, where are they?"
"I noticed something like a muster-book in one of the cabins," said Dacres. "I'll get hold of it and see if it is."
So saying he made his way to the place where he had noticed the book in question. As he passed along the alley-way a door swung to.