"She's not in trouble; it's another ship."
"What ship?"
"No word as to that."
Alan, not delaying to question further, went back to the cabins.
These stretched aft, behind the bridge, along the upper deck, some score on each side of the ship; they had accommodations for almost a hundred passengers; but on this crossing only a few were occupied. Alan had noticed some half dozen men—business men, no doubt, forced to make the crossing and, one of them, a Catholic priest, returning probably to some mission in the north; he had seen no women among them. A little group of passengers were gathered now in the door of or just outside the wireless cabin, which was one of the row on the starboard side. Stewards stood with them and the cabin maid; within, and bending over the table with the radio instrument, was the operator with the second officer beside him. The violet spark was rasping, and the operator, his receivers strapped over his ears, strained to listen. He got no reply, evidently, and he struck his key again; now, as he listened, he wrote slowly on a pad.
"You got 'em?" some one cried. "You got 'em now?"
The operator continued to write; the second mate, reading, shook his head, "It's only the Richardson again."
"What is it?" Alan asked the officer.
"The Richardson heard four blasts of a steam whistle about an hour ago when she was opposite the Manitous. She answered with the whistle and turned toward the blasts. She couldn't find any ship." The officer's reply was interrupted by some of the others. "Then ... that was a few minutes ago ... they heard the four long again.... They'd tried to pick up the other ship with radio before.... Yes; we got that here.... Tried again and got no answer.... But they heard the blasts for half an hour.... They said they seemed to be almost beside the ship once.... But they didn't see anything. Then the blasts stopped ... sudden, cut off short in the middle as though something happened.... She was blowing distress all right.... The Richardson's searching again now.... Yes, she's searching for boats."
"Any one else answered?" Alan asked.