For a few minutes, the cloud of smoke that hovered above the spot where the vessel had been, obscured the sight of the spectators. Then, as this gradually drifted away, it became apparent that the Meteor had done its work well. The derelict had disappeared, and with it all the danger with which it had been fraught for vessels plowing the ocean lanes. It had been shivered into bits.
The Meteor got under way, and gradually the boys came back from the excitement of the event to the personal matters that required their attention. Their messages home were sent, according to the captain’s suggestions, and before nightfall they had received answering messages from their fathers, full of thankfulness that the boys had been spared, replete with deep affection, and giving them the permission that they desired.
Now their minds were at rest and they could give themselves up wholly to the great adventure. Their spirits were at the highest pitch.
“Now we’re off at last on the ice patrol!” exclaimed Bob jubilantly, as they were undressing for the night. “Bring on your icebergs!”
CHAPTER XV
CONSTERNATION
“Where away now, Bob?” asked Joe of his chum, as they rose from the breakfast table one morning several days later.
“To the radio room,” was the answer.
“Might have known without asking,” put in Jimmy. “Bob will be having a mattress moved in there before long.”
The center of interest for the boys on board the Meteor was indeed the wireless cabin, where they were prime favorites. The ship was equipped with a powerful sending and receiving set, and they never tired of examining and discussing the intricate details of the delicate mechanism. The chief radio operator was an enthusiast in his own line, and had facts and figures at his finger tips. He claimed he could do almost anything in radio with the equipment he had on board the Meteor, and the boys had little doubt that his claims were justified.
“How would you like to be chief radio operator on board the Leviathan?” asked Joe, that morning. “I’ve heard that that ship has a better radio equipment than lots of the big land stations.”