CHAPTER XXIIIIN DEADLY PERILThe Radio Boys looked at each other in anxious surmise.“Seems to be something serious,” remarked Bob.“That explains the tramping I heard last night,” said Joe. “I remember being waked up two or three times. Once I was tempted to get up to see what the matter was, but I dropped off again before I did it.”The anxiety they were under made them hurry through their meal more quickly than usual, and they were soon at the door of the captain’s cabin.The commander looked up with a troubled face, as, following their knock and his bidding them come in, they entered the room.“I’m in something of a dilemma,” he began, without any preliminaries, when they had seated themselves. “A sudden sickness has come upon many members of the crew and the petty officers. The doctor diagnoses it as ptomaine poisoning, due to some defective canned goods that the steward served yesterday. I see, however, that you haven’t been affected, judging from appearances.”“I feel fine,” replied Bob.“If I felt any better I’d be afraid of myself,” said Joe.Jimmy and Herb confirmed their comrades, and a look of relief came into the captain’s face.“That’s a bit of luck,” he said, “for the ship’s especially in need of just the kind of service you boys are best qualified to render.”“You mean in the wireless room?” asked Bob, eagerly.“Just that,” replied the captain. “While others in the ship are ill, there are plenty of men to take their places. But the radio room is the heart of the ship, and it’s just there that the blow has hit us hardest. Johnson and Marston have been taken pretty badly, and while there’s no danger of any fatal ending, Dr. Fisher says it will be several days before either of them will be fit for duty. There are some other men in the crew that have a smattering of radio knowledge, but none of them measures up to you young fellows in that particular.”“You can count on us, Captain!” exclaimed Bob, earnestly.“We’ll be there with both feet,” declared Joe, more emphatically than elegantly.“We’ll work day and night,” promised Jimmy, his round face beaming.“And we’ll stay on the job till the cows come home,” added Herb, with an energy surprising in him.The captain smiled his gratification.“I had no doubt of your good will,” he said. “And equally I have no doubt of your ability. I have just come from a talk with Johnson, and he says that for some days past you have been practising the sending and receiving and have become thoroughly familiar with the ship’s routine. Of course, in case of any great or unexpected emergency, you can consult him or Marston. Maxwell, the third man, is not very seriously affected, and he’ll be with you part of the time and attend to the maps and the making out of the daily reports. But the actual work of running the wireless end of it will be up to you, and I’m satisfied it will be in good hands. You can arrange your shifts to suit yourselves, as long as one of you is constantly at the key.”“We’re glad you trust us so fully,” said Bob, as spokesman for all of them, “and you can depend on us to put all our thought and strength into the work.”“Fine!” declared the captain. “You can start at once. Maxwell is in there now, and you can take the work over from him, and leave him free to attend to his maps and charts.”The Radio Boys left the captain’s cabin with a deep sense of responsibility, and yet with a keen feeling of elation. Here was a chance to win their spurs, to show what they could do, to justify the captain’s faith in them, and all of them were determined that he should not be disappointed.They arranged their shifts, and, as it was desirable that two of them should always be on hand, they planned to work in two couples. Bob and Joe, as the oldest and the most experienced in radio work, were the captains of the shifts. Bob was to work with Jimmy, and Joe with Herb, with Maxwell on hand a good deal of the time to fill in as extra man, in case of emergency.The first day was naturally the most trying one. Each felt a certain amount of nervousness at the start that interfered with his doing his best work. But this wore off as all gained confidence in themselves and familiarity with the instruments, and by the third day, they were managing the wireless room almost like veterans.On the third day, a large fleet of icebergs was sighted, and the boys were kept on the jump in reporting their position to vessels in the steamer lanes. They had to keep a vigilant eye and responsive ear also on the iceberg alarm, which again and again warned them of the dangerous proximity of bergs.In the afternoon their work was more than doubled, for a gray, heavy fog settled down over the sea. It grew denser as the hours went by, until the ship’s bow could not be seen from the stern.A feeling of intense anxiety pervaded the ship. All of the officers wore grave faces, as they paced the decks and gazed out into the dank fog that had a grisly resemblance to a winding sheet. All the crew had been summoned to duty, even the shift below having had to tumble from their berths.The powerful searchlights had been turned on, and swept the sea in all directions. But even their dazzling brilliance could not carry far in a fog like that. Occasionally, through a momentary rift, the great spectral shape of a berg could be seen drifting by.The engines had been slowed down, and theMeteor, with barely enough motion for steerageway, crept along like a blind man, groping for the right path. She was in danger, and every soul on board knew it. Even Hector, with that strange instinct given to animals, felt that some peril impended, and sat in a corner of the wireless room, whimpering.It was the shift of Bob and Jimmy, but Joe and Herb were with them, as they felt too uneasy to go to their berths, and wanted to be on hand in case of emergency.The faces of the Radio Boys were tense with anxiety, as they noted the signals given by the iceberg alarm. For now it was giving warnings from all sides. Had the echoes come from one direction, the problem would have been simple, as theMeteorcould have sheered off on an opposite course. But how to sheer off, when there was equal danger in front and astern, on the port and starboard sides?The moment came when there was no use blinking the fact. Despite the most clever seamanship, the most adroit dodging and shifting, the most instant compliance with the reports from the wireless room, the gallant ship was in the very midst of the iceberg fleet. The giant hand of the ice king was closing upon her.Then, suddenly, there came a tremendous crash, and the ship shivered from stem to stern.
The Radio Boys looked at each other in anxious surmise.
“Seems to be something serious,” remarked Bob.
“That explains the tramping I heard last night,” said Joe. “I remember being waked up two or three times. Once I was tempted to get up to see what the matter was, but I dropped off again before I did it.”
The anxiety they were under made them hurry through their meal more quickly than usual, and they were soon at the door of the captain’s cabin.
The commander looked up with a troubled face, as, following their knock and his bidding them come in, they entered the room.
“I’m in something of a dilemma,” he began, without any preliminaries, when they had seated themselves. “A sudden sickness has come upon many members of the crew and the petty officers. The doctor diagnoses it as ptomaine poisoning, due to some defective canned goods that the steward served yesterday. I see, however, that you haven’t been affected, judging from appearances.”
“I feel fine,” replied Bob.
“If I felt any better I’d be afraid of myself,” said Joe.
Jimmy and Herb confirmed their comrades, and a look of relief came into the captain’s face.
“That’s a bit of luck,” he said, “for the ship’s especially in need of just the kind of service you boys are best qualified to render.”
“You mean in the wireless room?” asked Bob, eagerly.
“Just that,” replied the captain. “While others in the ship are ill, there are plenty of men to take their places. But the radio room is the heart of the ship, and it’s just there that the blow has hit us hardest. Johnson and Marston have been taken pretty badly, and while there’s no danger of any fatal ending, Dr. Fisher says it will be several days before either of them will be fit for duty. There are some other men in the crew that have a smattering of radio knowledge, but none of them measures up to you young fellows in that particular.”
“You can count on us, Captain!” exclaimed Bob, earnestly.
“We’ll be there with both feet,” declared Joe, more emphatically than elegantly.
“We’ll work day and night,” promised Jimmy, his round face beaming.
“And we’ll stay on the job till the cows come home,” added Herb, with an energy surprising in him.
The captain smiled his gratification.
“I had no doubt of your good will,” he said. “And equally I have no doubt of your ability. I have just come from a talk with Johnson, and he says that for some days past you have been practising the sending and receiving and have become thoroughly familiar with the ship’s routine. Of course, in case of any great or unexpected emergency, you can consult him or Marston. Maxwell, the third man, is not very seriously affected, and he’ll be with you part of the time and attend to the maps and the making out of the daily reports. But the actual work of running the wireless end of it will be up to you, and I’m satisfied it will be in good hands. You can arrange your shifts to suit yourselves, as long as one of you is constantly at the key.”
“We’re glad you trust us so fully,” said Bob, as spokesman for all of them, “and you can depend on us to put all our thought and strength into the work.”
“Fine!” declared the captain. “You can start at once. Maxwell is in there now, and you can take the work over from him, and leave him free to attend to his maps and charts.”
The Radio Boys left the captain’s cabin with a deep sense of responsibility, and yet with a keen feeling of elation. Here was a chance to win their spurs, to show what they could do, to justify the captain’s faith in them, and all of them were determined that he should not be disappointed.
They arranged their shifts, and, as it was desirable that two of them should always be on hand, they planned to work in two couples. Bob and Joe, as the oldest and the most experienced in radio work, were the captains of the shifts. Bob was to work with Jimmy, and Joe with Herb, with Maxwell on hand a good deal of the time to fill in as extra man, in case of emergency.
The first day was naturally the most trying one. Each felt a certain amount of nervousness at the start that interfered with his doing his best work. But this wore off as all gained confidence in themselves and familiarity with the instruments, and by the third day, they were managing the wireless room almost like veterans.
On the third day, a large fleet of icebergs was sighted, and the boys were kept on the jump in reporting their position to vessels in the steamer lanes. They had to keep a vigilant eye and responsive ear also on the iceberg alarm, which again and again warned them of the dangerous proximity of bergs.
In the afternoon their work was more than doubled, for a gray, heavy fog settled down over the sea. It grew denser as the hours went by, until the ship’s bow could not be seen from the stern.
A feeling of intense anxiety pervaded the ship. All of the officers wore grave faces, as they paced the decks and gazed out into the dank fog that had a grisly resemblance to a winding sheet. All the crew had been summoned to duty, even the shift below having had to tumble from their berths.
The powerful searchlights had been turned on, and swept the sea in all directions. But even their dazzling brilliance could not carry far in a fog like that. Occasionally, through a momentary rift, the great spectral shape of a berg could be seen drifting by.
The engines had been slowed down, and theMeteor, with barely enough motion for steerageway, crept along like a blind man, groping for the right path. She was in danger, and every soul on board knew it. Even Hector, with that strange instinct given to animals, felt that some peril impended, and sat in a corner of the wireless room, whimpering.
It was the shift of Bob and Jimmy, but Joe and Herb were with them, as they felt too uneasy to go to their berths, and wanted to be on hand in case of emergency.
The faces of the Radio Boys were tense with anxiety, as they noted the signals given by the iceberg alarm. For now it was giving warnings from all sides. Had the echoes come from one direction, the problem would have been simple, as theMeteorcould have sheered off on an opposite course. But how to sheer off, when there was equal danger in front and astern, on the port and starboard sides?
The moment came when there was no use blinking the fact. Despite the most clever seamanship, the most adroit dodging and shifting, the most instant compliance with the reports from the wireless room, the gallant ship was in the very midst of the iceberg fleet. The giant hand of the ice king was closing upon her.
Then, suddenly, there came a tremendous crash, and the ship shivered from stem to stern.