All day long, and through the night as well, the radio force on the Colodia might listen to the chatter of the operators on land and sea. Unnecessary conversation between operators is frowned upon; but who is going to “listen in” on a couple of thousand miles of wireless and report private conversations between working radio men?
On the Colodia a man was at the instrument practically every minute, day or night. Commercial messages, weather warnings, code sendings of three or four Governments, the heavy soundwaves from Nauem, the German naval headquarters, flashes from ship to ship—all this grist passed through the wireless mill of the destroyer.
All the time, too, they were seeking news of the Sea Pigeon, the German raider, which the Colodia had been sent out particularly to find. Of course, the finish of the submarine One Thousand and One had been reported to the naval base, and an emphatic, “Well done!” had been returned. But the sinking of the submarine, after all, was not the main issue.
As the destroyer had combed the sea for her prey, so she combed the air by her wireless for news of the raider. And when the news came it was as unexpected as it was welcome. The men were offering wagers that the destroyer would end in seeing New York again rather than sighting the Sea Pigeon, when just after the wheel and lookout were relieved at four bells of the morning watch, the radio began to show much activity.
Messengers passed, running to and fro from the station to the officers’ quarters. There was not usually much radio work at this hour, and the watch on deck began to take notice.
George Belding slid around to the radio room and showed a questioning countenance to Sparks who was himself on duty.
“What’s doing, sir?” he asked the radio chief.
“Well, we haven’t picked up your particular S O S; but there is trouble somewhere dead ahead.”
“I can feel that the engines are increasing speed, sir,” Belding said. “Does it mean that we may have a scrap with a sure-enough Hun?”
“The message sounds like it,” admitted the radio man softly. “There’ll be trouble, I reckon. You’ll hear all about it, soon enough.”