Well it was that the passenger list was a light one. Notwithstanding the fact that three boats had been blown to fragments by the explosions, the rest were practically intact. Promptly the undismayed crew bundled the passengers into them and lowered away--an easy task, since the vessel was sinking on a comparatively even keel.
The captain and the wireless operator were the last to leave, the latter striving in vain to get the damaged transmitter into working order until peremptory orders from his superior obliged him to desist.
Within eight minutes the Koning der Zee had disappeared beneath the element which in name she professed to rule, leaving five boats tossing upon the choppy seas.
"You've got plenty of sea breezes now, Peter," remarked his brother as they sat on the stern grating
