“And here we are right in the thick of it. I hope I don’t wake up,” cried Herb.
“You’re not dreaming,” the captain assured them with a smile. “But don’t think for a moment that it’s going to be all peaches and cream. We’re not on a holiday jaunt, but on the hardest kind of service that has a good deal of danger attached to it.”
“We wouldn’t give a fig for it if it hadn’t,” asserted Bob, stoutly.
“Spoken as I like to hear things spoken,” declared the captain. “Well, then, we’ll consider it settled, always supposing that your parents consent.”
“We don’t want to loaf,” said Bob. “We’ll be only too glad to do anything you have for us to do. We don’t know much about boats, but we’re willing to learn.”
“Well,” said the captain contemplatively, “I don’t want to put my guests to work, and we’re not at all shorthanded. But I understand and appreciate your spirit, and I’ll see that you have something to occupy your hands and mind. I shouldn’t wonder if you could help out our radio operators once in a while, if you like. You boys are all radio fans, and it would be right in your line.”
“Suits us right down to the ground!” exclaimed Bob enthusiastically.
“We’ll just eat that up,” declared Joe.
“Lead us to it,” urged Jimmy.
“Hits us where we live,” affirmed Herb.