“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.