The message came from a Norwegian tramp steamer, the Viking. Henry volunteered to take the message to the captain’s cabin. When the commander had read the message, he drew a chart from a drawer of his desk and picked up pencil and ruler.
“We ought to be about at forty-one north and sixty-four west,” he muttered, marking the spot on his chart. “The tramp is here,” and he made a second dot on his map. He drew an equilateral triangle on his map and noted where the shoreward apex fell. “We won’t have to go a fathom out of our way,” he said. Then he drew a radio telegraph blank from the pigeonhole of his desk and wrote this message:
“Proceed to sixty-seven west and
forty-two north and wait for the
Iroquois. Will send surgeon aboard.”
When Henry returned to the radio shack with the message, the chief electrician was there. “Would you like to send the message yourself?” he asked.
“Indeed I would,” said Henry.
“All right. Go ahead.”
Henry sat down and flashed out the message as rapidly and surely as Mr. Sharp would have done it himself.
“Enter that in the log,” said the chief to young Black.