Page:The Wireless Operator with the U.S. Coast Guard.djvu/44

 lends enchantment to view. But never mind about that. What luck have you had here?”

“About the worst possible,” said Henry, with a grim laugh. “Willie wasn’t in town, and won‘t be for two or three weeks. And Roy Mercer, another of my friends, who is wireless man on the Lycoming, is at sea and won‘t be in port for at least a week. And so I can’t find a soul I know.”

“But what took you to Staten Island?”

Henry hung his head. “You see, Captain Hardwick,” he said slowly, “ I—I—didn’t exactly know what to do until Willie or Roy got back, and I thought maybe I could find some friends in Staten Island. I came here looking for them, but they have moved. It sort of upset me, and I went down to the water-front to think what I should do. Then I fell over- board.”

The captain looked at Henry searchingly. “You look big enough and experienced enough to take care of yourself for a week, even in New York. Why didn’t you go to a hotel and make yourself comfortable while you waited for your friends?”

“I’d have been only too glad to do so, Captain, but you see—you see—I came here expecting to be Willie’s guest—and I wasn’t prepared to—to”