“What can we do with the steamer after we get on board of her?” asked the captain, who had been considering this question since the wreck was first discovered. “I don’t know that we can do any thing but save the passengers,” replied Marline. “But the vessel seems to be in good condition; and it may be possible to take her into port.” “It may be; but I think we have not force enough to handle her, if the crew have deserted her.” “If we save her, won’t she belong to us?” inquired Wainwright, who had been a seaman on the Josephine when she picked up a Dutch vessel in the North Sea, in a sinking condition. “No; but the judges of the Marine Court, or whatever they call it over here, decide what part of the value of the vessel shall be given to those that save her.” “It is a case of salvage, then. I didn’t know but the vessel, if she had been wholly abandoned, might go to those who picked her up.” “I am no sea-lawyer, and I don’t know much about it; but my notion is, that if the owners claim her, they take her by paying the salvage decreed by the court. I am sorry Mr. Pelham is not here to settle all the questions that may come up concerning this steamer.” “I think we shall be able to settle them somehow or other,” replied Wainwright confidently. “It would be a big thing for the Tritonia to send that vessel into port.” “So it would; but it will be a bigger thing to save the passengers on board of her. Though we see but one man on board of her, there may be a dozen or twenty,” added Marline. “What are they about, if there are any others in her?” “That’s more than I know; but men lose their heads in times of trouble. The crew may have broken into the rum-barrels, and got drunk. A crew is very likely to do such a thing after the discipline of the vessel is lost.” “Do you suppose that is the case?” “I don’t suppose any thing about it: I have known just such things to happen,” answered Marline, who evidently did not care to continue the conversation, for he did not wish to commit himself to any thing. The sea was still too heavy, when the port-watch came on duty at eight o’clock, to allow any recitation to be conducted in the steerage. Professor Primback, with his supreme contempt for all things nautical, was unable to keep on his legs, and was therefore incompetent to sustain the dignity of his position. He knew that the students would laugh if a smart sea should upset him, or cause him to reel, during his demonstration at the blackboard; and he was unwilling to tempt them. For this reason it was usually vacation time in very stormy weather. The seamen not on duty were reclining in their berths, or wedged into various corners where they could save themselves from being pitched about by the savage plunging of the vessel. Every movable thing had been secured by the stewards, for neither tables nor stools would stay upon their legs.