Page:The Wireless Operator with the U.S. Coast Guard.djvu/222

 burned out by the excessive charge sent through it by the defect in the coil. He unclamped the instrument from the desk, unscrewed the wires from the binding-posts, and removed the useless thing. He screwed a spare rheostat in place and connected the wires to the binding-posts. Then he picked up the offending coil and examined it closely.

“Can’t see a thing wrong with it,” he said. “When I have time, I'll take. it to pieces and find out what’s wrong with it. Just now I must get the captain’s messages off.”

He threw the coil in his desk, sat down in the chair, threw over his switch and touched the key. A great fat stream of fire flashed forth.

“It’s all hunky-dory,” he smiled. “Not so bad as it might have been. Go tell the captain.”

Henry drew a deep sigh of relief and raced for the captain’s cabin. The captain said little, but gave him further messages to take to Mr. Sharp.

Rapidly the chief radio man flashed out the message that had brought Henry to grief, and then set to work on the new communications.

When the electrician was done, Henry said to him, “Would it be possible for Roy to come see me here?”

“Ask the captain.”

The captain considered a moment after Henry