The boys were equally puzzled, and thought there must be a good many junks lost every year. The captain said such was the case; but, on the other hand, there was such a great number of these craft that a few more or less made no perceptible difference.
"Except to the owners and the men that are lost with the junks," remarked the Doctor. "It must be a very serious affair to them."
"Sometimes these junks last to a great age," the captain continued. "There are junks now navigating the China seas that are more than a hundred years old; at least so I am informed."
"How long have the Chinese had this model for their ships?" Frank asked of the captain.
"Nobody knows how long," was the reply. "We are ignorant of the early history of China, and can only guess at many things. But we have reason to believe that the Chinese were the first people that ever built ships to be propelled by the force of the wind alone. They began with the model they now have, and have stuck to it ever since."
"Where is the captain of this junk?" Fred asked. "I would like to see him."
"She has probably half a dozen captains," Clanchy replied; "perhaps a dozen."
"A dozen captains! how can that be?"
"They build these junks in compartments," said the Doctor, in response to Fred's inquiry, "and each compartment has a captain."