Suddenly the fog lifted as mysteriously as it had come. The rain ceased. The wind fell somewhat, but still continued high. Roy looked at his watch and was surprised to see that they had been in the fog-bank for more than eight hours. It was night. Roy had not even been conscious that he had missed his supper. Now he was suddenly so hungry he felt as though he could eat nails. The dining-room was closed. Roy punched the bell for the steward. When the latter appeared, Roy said, “Sam, could you get a fellow a bite to eat? We’ve been so busy up here that I clean forgot to go to supper.”
Now Roy remembered that he was wet. Every garment he had on was sopping with moisture. Puddles of water had gathered under his chair. His operating table was soaked. His chair held a little pool of water. He had been hot with excitement and had not been conscious of his wet clothes. Now he threw off his clammy garments, rubbed himself briskly, and pulled on dry clothes. Just as he finished, Sam returned with a pot of steaming coffee, an enormous quantity of sandwiches, some freshly boiled eggs, and a big piece of pie.
“That sure looks good to me,” said Roy, as he reached for a sandwich. “I am much obliged to you, Sam.”
“Don’t mention it, suh. We all is mighty grateful to you fo’ what you done fo’ de ship.” And Sam disappeared through the doorway, grinning.
Roy’s heart leaped with joy. At last he had won recognition. Then he wondered how Sam knew about the occurrence. Perhaps he had only guessed what had happened. Yet Roy knew that could not be. Some one must have reported the occurrence and that some one could be only the captain or Mr. Young. Roy was certain it was not the captain. It did not matter to Roy who told it. Whoever did had considered Roy’s service as meritorious or he would not have mentioned it. Roy felt that there was no doubt that recognition had come to him. He resolved to be very careful not to mention the matter himself lest he seem boastful.
After all, Roy asked himself, had he done anything remarkable? He had merely made use of his knowledge of scientific principles. The captain, who had sailed the sea for a generation and faced countless storms and fogs without ever losing a man or a ship, had done a million times more. That thought was both sobering and wholesome. It helped Roy to see matters in their proper light. If anybody spoke to him now about the matter he was in no danger of getting a “swelled head.” Compared to the captain he felt very insignificant indeed.
It was well that these sobering thoughts came to Roy so soon, for very shortly afterward Mr. Young stalked into the wireless house. He had seldom visited Roy there and Roy was happy to see him. He was happier still when Mr. Young walked over to the operating table, studied the instruments intently, and, turning to Roy, demanded, “How did you do that, Mr. Mercer?”
“Do what?” asked Roy.
“Find out how close that ship was? To begin with, how did you know she was near?”