“You see,” he continued, warming to his story as he saw the genuine interest on the faces of the boys, “even after the advent of faster, larger steamers, when the lanes of travels were shifted southward in order to avoid the normal limit of danger from the drifting icebergs, there was still considerable menace from the terrors of the sea.
“But of course one could never be absolutely sure just what the limit of danger was. Sometimes, after an exceptionally early start from the north, icebergs still blocked the paths of commerce. Everyone feared a calamity and—they got one, in the wreck of the ‘Titanic.’
“It was after that that ship owners all over the world began to think of radio as a possible solution of the problem confronting them. If it had not been for the new science no one knows just how they would have met the situation. Possibly they might not have been able to meet it at all.
“But through radio they have now perfected a method by which the lives of ships passing through the danger zone during the iceberg season are practically insured.”
“But how? Please tell us all about it,” begged Bob.
“It sounds pretty interesting to me,” added Jimmy, as he surreptitiously slipped a cake from his pocket and began to nibble it. Doughnuts and his sweets could not long be parted.
“It is interesting,” agreed Dr. Dale. “To go deeply into the subject would take too much time. But I can sketch the idea for you.
“The work is done by Coast Guard cutters and consists of patrolling the iceberg zone. As soon as an iceberg is sighted the cutter ranges alongside it, carefully noting its drift and the rate of speed at which it is traveling.
“Then it sends out a wireless report to all vessels in the vicinity, telling the location of the iceberg and asking in return the exact location of the vessels.
“In that way ships sailing through the danger zone manage to steer clear of the iceberg or bergs and, by keeping in constant touch with the patrol boat, come through safely to clearer waters. It’s a marvelous work and it is meeting with marvelous success. Another triumph of radio.”