Quite often they wrote to their uncle, and also heard from him. Friends had reopened his case, but it was dragging slowly along, and there was no immediate prospect of his release.
“I wish we could help him,” said Frank, with a sigh.
“So do I,” chimed in Ned. “But how can we?”
There did not seem to be any way in which the boys could assist.
Drill and instruction went on unceasingly aboard the Georgetown. There are nine principal drills aboard a battleship. These are great gun drill; infantry and light artillery; boats, under oars or sails; signals; collisions and abandon ship; fire-quarters; general quarters; clear ship for action; and coaling ship.
Some days only one or two drills may be ordered, and on others none. Nor are they followed in the order given, for above everything else the government does not want life aboard ship to become monotonous. Often the drills were broken into by short, instructive talks by the officers.
In the succeeding chapters will be briefly told of what each drill consists.
It was one day following boat drill, when the small craft had come racing back in response to the recall signal, that Frank and Ned, whose boat had won an impromptu race, observed signs of unusual activity aboard.
“What’s up?” Frank asked a petty officer.
“Just got wireless orders,” was the answer. “We’re ordered South!”