“Was that the place?” asked Roy, all interest.
“That’s it, all right, but the break in the Hook has long since filled up and Uncle Sam now has a little railway that runs along that narrow neck of sand out to the proving-grounds. You know some of the big guns for the army are tested here. If you look carefully, you will see that the little neck of sand is protected on the ocean side by pilings and rocks. Otherwise a heavy storm would wash the sand away and Sandy Hook would soon be an island.”
Roy saw that the shore-line for miles was protected by a heavy sheeting of piling and planks.
“It needs to be well protected,” said the purser, when Roy drew his attention to the fact. “You will notice that there is an almost unbroken row of houses for miles along the ocean front. The land is nothing but sand and is very low. If it weren’t for the protection of these pilings, storms would soon eat the sand away and the houses would topple into the sea. In fact, it isn’t very long since a big storm did get a number of them.”
“It doesn’t seem possible that such a thing could happen,” said Roy.
“When you’ve seen one or two rough storms and have watched the waves crashing over the Lycoming’s decks, you’ll have a different idea of the power of the ocean.”
“What?” said Roy. “Do the waves ever sweep over the deck?”
“Well, I guess,” said the purser. “Just now the sea is as calm as a mill-pond, but let the wind blow a little and you’ll see what a fuss it will kick up.”
“But,” protested Roy, “the deck is many feet above the water-line. Surely the waves don’t get so high as that.”