“They did it—and nobly,” answered the doctor, with a smile. “That was when they started the International Ice Patrol.
“You see,” he went on, while the boys listened interestedly, “in the old days, the transatlantic steamers ran directly through the most dangerous part of the spring ice field and only the greatest vigilance on the part of their captains kept them from colliding with the giant icebergs drifting from the north.”
“Must have been fun though,” interrupted Herb. “Dodging in and out of icebergs and seeing how close you could come without getting scratched.”
“Yes,” replied Dr. Dale, “but it wasn’t any fun at all when you did get scratched. And in the old days that happened all too often, especially in foggy weather.”
“They didn’t have any radio in those days, either,” put in Bob, thoughtfully.
“No,” returned the doctor. “At that time radio was very much in its infancy and no one thought of using it for the purpose of combating icebergs.”
“And are they now—using radio, I mean?” asked Jimmy, eagerly.
“Very much so,” replied the doctor. “After the tragedy of the ‘Titanic,’ the big nations got together and thought up a method by which radio—then still in its infancy—might be used to warn vessels of the presence of ice and turn them aside from the danger zone.”
“That’s one use of radio I never thought of before,” said Joe. “Can you tell us how it’s done, Doctor?”
“Very sketchily, I’m afraid,” returned the doctor, modestly. “I haven’t made a study of it at all, although the romance of the service has always appealed to me.