Obeying Mr. Irwin’s request, Cobb fitted his face to the opening and gazed inside the box. He saw the sea rising and falling in its swell, vessels passing in various directions, the faint blue outlines of the shore to the northwest, and—click, the scene changes: now other vessels in view, and a clear circle of the horizon, denoting a great expanse of water. Again a clicking sound, and—
“My God!” he cried, starting back; “a ship! a ship is almost upon us!”
Like lightning, Irwin sprang to the camera and glanced in; then quickly reaching out his hand, his fingers touched a button, and the hoarse marine whistle of the Tracer thundered forth its warning; seizing the tiller-wheel, he threw it hard aport, and then, without pausing, pressed another button, and the large gongs of the ship pealed out their summons to its crew that danger was imminent. Even as the alarm sounded, came a shock, a shiver, a slight careening of the vessel, and as Irwin took his white face from the camera, the grateful exclamation:
“Thank God! we are safe! Look! the monster passes by!”
Into the camera Cobb again peered; the dark, black stern of a large freighter was passing to the southwest.
Lieutenant Sibley and the crew of the Tracer were quickly huddled at the door of the pilot’s room.
“Lieutenant,” said Irwin, with a salute, “I confess that we have had a very narrow escape from being run down by a heavy freighter. Explaining these instruments to Mr. Cobb, I failed to note the approach of the vessel.”
The alarm having subsided, the subject was fully discussed, and Mr. Irwin was exonerated by the Lieutenant. All parties then returned to their various occupations.
Mr. Irwin then turned to Cobb and said:
“It was very negligent of me not to carefully survey the field for approaching vessels. The Tracer carries but a single mast, and sits so low in the water, that these many merchant ships, with their sleepy crews, often fail to sight her until too late to make a proper clearing.” Then returning to the subject upon which they had been speaking when Cobb’s excited exclamation had burst forth, he continued: