The hold of the Jasper B.was not divided into compartments of any sort.

If it had ever had them, they had been torn away.

Below deck, except for the rubbish heap and the steps for the masts, she was empty as a soup tureen.

The pile of debris was the highest toward the waist of the vessel.

There it formed a treacherous hill of junk; this hill sloped downward towards the bow and towards the stern; in both the fore and after parts, under the forecastle and the cabin, there were comparatively clear spaces.
The four men forced their way back towards the stern and then came slowly forward in a line that extended across the vessel, exploring with their lanterns every inch of the precarious footing, and overturning and looking behind, under, and into every box, cask, or jumble of planking that might possibly offer a place of concealment.
They found no one.