Page:The Wireless Operator with the U.S. Coast Guard.djvu/64

 CHAPTER IV

HE chief electrician was on watch for four hours, and Henry sat with him in the wireless shack, as the radio room on the Iroquois was called, until his watch was ended. Together they caught the nightly news-letters sent out by the various press associations. They heard myriads of commercial messages flashing through the air. At times the operator switched on the radio, and then, through the loud speaker, they heard some of the broadcasting programmes. Henry had told the truth when he said he was having the time of his life. Never had he seen such a wonderful wireless outfit as this one, for the Frankfort station equipment, which he had operated many months before, was naturally far from being the equal of these brand-new instruments.

Shortly before the chief electrician’s watch ended, the door of the wireless shack opened, and a sailor stepped within. At least, the lad was dressed like a sailor, though when Henry saw the red electric sparks embroidered on the young