n hour's time it could be quite clearly made out as
a steamer on fire, the dense cloud of smoke being illumined from below
by the glare of the flames.

"I hope the operator was wrong. If there is anybody on board," said
Eric, in a low voice, to his friend Homer, "they wouldn't have much
chance."

"Is the call still coming?" his chum asked.

"No," Eric answered, "nothing for twenty minutes."

The Coast Guard cutter speedily raised the hull of the burning steamer.
Her stern was much higher out of water than her bow, and amidships she
was all aflame, belching up dense volumes of smoke.

A message came into the radio room.

"The _Lucania_ reports that she has picked up three of the boats," said
the operator through the tube to the first lieutenant on the bridge.
"The fourth boat is still missing."

"What's that craft over there, I wonder?" queried Eric, pointing to the
starboard bow where a searchlight flickered into the sky.

"That's the _La Savoie_, I heard some one say," his friend replied;
"she must have been coming up on the jump. We'll have half a dozen big
liners here before morning."

"It's a wonderful thing, the wireless," the boy said meditatively; "from
hundreds of miles away, every one rushes to the rescue. When you realize
that every extra ten miles means hundreds of dollars out of the pockets
of steamship companies and every hour's delay may be a serious
inconvenience, it does look great to see the way every one drops
personal concerns to go to the rescue."

"I wonder what would happen if a captain didn't?"

"There'd be a whale of a row. Court-martial and all that sort of thing."

"You can't court-martial a merchant-service man," protested Homer.

"He'd lose his ship, anyway."

"But suppose he made out he didn't hear the call?"

"Be sensible," Eric retorted. "How could he do that? Bribe the operator,
or threaten him?"

"That's true," said Homer, thoughtfully. "It would look pretty bad if
the wireless outfit on a ship was shut down, as soon as an 'S O S' came
in."

"I don't believe there's a wireless operator in the business who'd stand
for it," the boy declared. "They're a high-grade bunch of men. I'd be
willing to bet if any operator got such an order, before he quit he'd
send out a message to the nearest station or ship, telling the whole
story."

"And then what?"

"Why, if the wireless was shut down then, and the operator told the
truth of it, they'd tar and feather that skipper. Co