For what purpose had Powell Seaton wanted them and the “Restless”? Now, as Dawson’s active fingers pushed the pencil through the mazes of recorded messages, that active-minded young man began to get a glimpse.
“Sounds like something big, Joe,” smiled Captain Tom, his eyes twinkling under the visor of his uniform cap as he thrust his head in through the doorway.
“It is,” muttered Joe, in a low but tense voice. “Just wait. I’ve got one to send.”
His fingers moved busily at the key for a little while. Then, snatching up the sheets of paper on which he had written, Joe Dawson leaped to his feet in such haste that he sent the chair spinning across the room.
Such impulsiveness in Dawson was so utterly unusual that Captain Tom Halstead gasped.
“Come on!” called Joe, darting to the door. “Down to the boat!”
“Where––?” began Tom Halstead, but he got only as far as that word, for Joe shot back:
“To sea!”
“How––” again essayed Halstead.
“At full speed—the fastest we can travel!” called back Joe, who was leaping down the porch steps.