“Why, you Senegambian chump,� he yelled, “that’s somebody trying to talk to us!�
CHAPTER XXVI: A JOYOUS MESSAGE.
Jack found the life on board the ice-patrol cutter much to his liking. There was almost constant work for him, for the southern drift of the ice was unusually heavy that year.
Many a liner had reason to thank the constant vigilance of the ice-patrol craft. Across miles of ocean, through space, there would flash, from Jack’s key, the message that warned of the white terrors of the north. The knowledge thus gained enabled the ship receiving it either to alter her course so as to steer clear of danger, or to be on the lookout for bergs or drift ice.
Nor was the work of the Thespis limited to this. On her long “beat� she found occasion two or three times to render aid to the crews of ice-battered sailing vessels. Jack’s unique device for blowing up icebergs by wireless was tested many times and was never found wanting. That spring it did invaluable service, all of which was duly mentioned in Captain Simms’ report to Washington, when that came to be made.
As the spring wore on and the latter part of May approached, the “patrol� of the Thespis lay further and further north. One day Jack received a flash from Washington, relayed from northern stations. The message gave the Thespis additional work to do.
“Watch international sealing boundary closely,� it read, “apprehend all poachers. Learn Terror Carson on schooner Polly Ann in your vicinity. Try all means to capture him.�
But although a sharp lookout was kept, nothing was seen of the trig schooner, and little did Jack imagine what ties of friendship bound him to one of the Polly Ann’s company. And so the days slipped by, with occasional excitement to vary the routine, and the time was not far off when danger of icebergs for that year would be passed and gone, and the Thespis would put back to New York on regular duty.
When that occurred, Jack’s days with the iceberg patrol would be numbered, and he had found the work so interesting that he rather regretted this. Yet he knew that he was far from the top of the ladder yet and that he had many a step to climb in the days to come. On his return he knew that Mr. Jukes would be back, and he was hoping for an appointment on one of the great new liners of the company.
However, these were all day dreams, and Jack was a practical youth. Then, too, a good deal of spare time was occupied perfecting his portable wireless. He had given it several tests and reaped a satisfying reward for his months of labor over it when he discovered that it worked well up to a radius of 156 miles. The weakest point about it was the hand-driven dynamo. But just at present Jack saw no way to remedy this without increasing the weight of the contrivance so much as to impair its portability.