Under other circumstances the captain’s words would have caused Henry to shout with joy. Now there was no sense of jubilation in his heart. He was stunned by the awful catastrophe that had occurred. Nine men that he had been living with, and had come to like, had suddenly been wiped out of existence. The horror of it had laid hold upon every soul on the Iroquois. Perhaps it was fortunate for those still left on the ship that there was so much to be done. There was no time for brooding, or mourning for lost comrades. The roar of the storm in the darkness was terrifying. The winds still were shrieking through the cordage. Enormous waves were sweeping down on the sturdy little cutter, threatening to overwhelm her. Only a bit of iron, a length of chain, stood between the Iroquois and a fate like that of the Capitol City; and a chain is no stronger than its weakest link. There might be a weak link in the chain of the Iroquois. Her work must be ended and the little ship taken out of danger as quickly as possible. Every soul on board felt this distinctly. Perhaps no one felt it more strongly than Henry did. The unaccustomed violence of the sea appalled him. So the office that had come to him so suddenly did not for a moment seem to him to be a matter of personal advancement. It was a call to duty. It was his chance to help forward the work the Iroquois had set out to do.
Very sober was Henry as he reentered the radio shack. “Belford,” he said, “the captain thinks my experience as an operator will make me useful on the Iroquois until Mr. Sharp can get aboard again. He has asked me to take charge of the wireless room. I did not want to do it, for you should be in charge. But the captain has asked me to help, and all I can do is to obey. You’ll help me, won’t you, Belford? You’ll pull with us, won’t you? We’ve got to work together and do our best or we may never get out of this situation.”
“Of course, I’ll help you. Don’t give the matter another thought. I’ll help you just as loyally as I would help Mr. Sharp,” and the lad held out his hand.
“Thank you, Belford,” said Henry, grasping his hand. “The wireless will mean a lot to the Iroquois in the next twenty-four hours. We’ll both stand by the captain to the finish.” Then he added: “Where’s Black? I want to talk to him, too.”
“I wonder where he is,” said Belford. “I can’t remember seeing him for several hours past. Mr. Sharp was on watch the first four hours after we left Boston, and I stood watch the next four. Black ought to be on duty now. But there’s been so much excitement I never thought about whose watch it was.”
“You don’t suppose he went in one of the boats, do you?” asked Henry.
“No, I don’t,” said Belford. “And yet he might. I’ll see.”
He went to the stateroom. Soon he reappeared with a peculiar expression on his face. “He’s in bed,” he said, “and has been abed all the while we’ve been trying to save the Capitol City.”
The two young operators looked at each other. The same sickening suspicion was in the mind of each. But both hesitated to put it into words.
At that moment the quartermaster entered the room. “The captain wants you to talk to the Capitol City,” he said, “and find out how fast she is taking water, and how deep it is where she lies.”