CHAPTER VI
THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE
An hour later Sam Hickey ran across the fellow Black on thesuperstructure.
"See here, Blackie."
Black moved on as if he had not heard. A second later Sam had him bythe collar.
"You wait a minute. I've got something to say to you."
Black halted because the grip on his collar forced him to do so, but heturned an angry face on the Battleship Boy.
"I'm in a fix, Blackie, and you've got to help me out."
Black grunted.
"You were standing outside the seven-inch port when I came out on decka while ago, weren't you?"
"Yes."
"You saw me put that tompion in the muzzle of the gun there, didn'tyou?"
Black shook his head.
"You didn't?"
"Me not see."
"Don't you remember, I was just putting the plug in when I said 'hello'to you, and you wrinkled up your face as if you had a colic, or someother kind of pain in your stomach?" urged Hickey.
Black shook his head again.
"Me see nothing," he declared sullenly.
Sam surveyed him half suspiciously.
"You're a thick-head, that's what you are. Here I am in a fix, and youwon't even try to help me out. You just wait until you get in trouble,and see how quickly I will come to your rescue--not! I'll lose mymemory entirely so far as what you want me to remember is concerned.Go on; I don't want anything more to do with you," added the red-hairedboy, giving the other a shove.
"What's the trouble, Sam?" demanded Dan Davis, who was passing alongthe deck at that moment.
Sam explained briefly.
"You are sure you put the tompion in the gun?"
"Sure? Of course I'm sure. I couldn't possibly be mistaken about athing like that, could I?"
"I should think not."
"Of course I couldn't."
"Then it must have fallen out and gone overboard. Evidently you didnot put it in tightly. I can't see but that you were negligent, sotake your medicine like a man, Sam. In other words, grin and bear it,"advised Dan.
"Huh!" grunted Hickey in a tone of disgust. "Twenty-five dollars'worth, eh? All right; I'll bear it, but I'll not grin."
While this conversation was taking place another was being held in thecabin of the captain, who was in consultation with Mr. Coates, hisexecutive officer.
"I have just received an order by wireless from the admiral to putashore six signalmen to be used for landing practice up in Gardiner'sBay. They are going ashore this afternoon, when we move up near enoughto put them off," said the captain. "How many signalmen will thatleave us for our work?"
"Let me see," mused the executive officer. "It will leave us threemen. I presume you wish to send the most expert signalmen to theadmiral?"
"By all means."
"That will leave us very short. We shall be practically without asignal corps. Three of our fellows are merely novices, and can hardlybe depended upon."
"Then I shall have to wire the admiral that we cannot spare the men. Idislike very much to do that, for we should have plenty of men on boardwho are experts with the wig-wag flags."
"Yes, that is so. It would be rather humiliating to have to confessour weakness. Is there no other way out of it? Perhaps we could getalong without a signal corps for the present."
"Wait a minute. I have an idea," exclaimed the commanding officer, hisface lighting with a smile.
"Yes, sir."
"Is not that young seaman, Dan Davis, handy with the flags?"
"Right you are, sir."
"Was he not one of the signalmen who did such fine work when we werelaying mines, the time Bill Kester was rescued by this same boy?"
"Yes, sir. Both boys took part in that rescue, if you recall theincident."
"Yes, I remember. That will leave us in fine shape. You will see toit that the signal corps is put ashore this afternoon."
"Yes, sir."
"And, by the way, I think it might be a good idea to have Davis drillin some other men while we are about it. I want to see what we can do.He strikes me as being a most likely lad."
"Both of them are, sir, though Davis is built of a little finermaterial than his companion. Have I your instructions to order him togo ahead with the instruction?"
"Certainly."
"How many men shall we try out?"
"Oh, say a dozen. From the dozen we shall be able to pick at least sixlikely ones."
"Shall we assign the men?"
The captain reflected.
"No, let Seaman Davis do that. If he chooses any men we cannot spareyou will so advise him. I want to see what sort of material he willchoose."
"Very good, sir; I will attend to the matter at once."
Shortly after that Dan received orders to report to the executiveofficer. The latter explained briefly what was wanted of him.
"For the purpose of the instruction you are clothed with the authorityof a petty officer," said Mr. Coates. "Your orders will be obeyed.When you have chosen your men hand me the list, and I will pass uponit."
"Aye, aye, sir."
"You are relieved from further duty for the present."
"Aye, aye, sir."
Dan made a dignified salute, and walked away with his shoulders alittle more erect than usual. But the moment he was sure he had gottenout of sight of the officer, he started off on a run to carry the goodnews to Sam Hickey. Sam was not over enthusiastic. He was stillgrumbling over the loss of the tompion, which meant also the loss oftwenty-five dollars to himself.
Within the hour he had handed in the list of names of the men chosenfor signal duty. This list was approved by the executive officer andthe captain, and that afternoon Dan assembled his class on the forwarddeck for their first lesson. Not a man of them had ever before hadsignal instruction.
In military formation the Battleship Boy marched his class up and outto the forward deck.
"Halt!" he commanded. "Left face! Right dress! Front!"
"Coates, that was pretty well done, eh?" chuckled the captain, who,with his executive officer, was leaning over the bridge railing,watching the proceedings.
"Open order, march!"
The men of the class spread out so that there was plenty of open spacein front of each man.
The Battleship Boy gave the men a brief talk on the general subject ofsignaling, impressing upon them the need of accuracy.
"Do not try to be fast. Speed will come in good time, but make it yourambition both to send and to read messages with absolute accuracy. Wewill now begin with the code, which is as follows:"
Davis ran through the code, signaling out each letter slowly in orderto show the men how the movements were executed.
The wig-wag code, as used in the United States Navy, consists of aseries of numbers that represent the letters of the alphabet. They aredelivered by a red flag bearing a white square in its center. The codethat Dan spelled out is as follows:
A .................. 22 O .................. 21 B .................. 2112 P .................. 1212 C .................. 121 Q .................. 1211 D .................. 222 R .................. 211 E .................. 12 S .................. 212 F .................. 2221 T .................. 2 G .................. 2211 U .................. 112 H .................. 122 V .................. 1222 I .................. 1 W .................. 1121 J .................. 1122 X .................. 2122 K .................. 2121 Y .................. 111 L .................. 221 Z .................. 2222 M .................. 1221 End of word ........ 3 N .................. 11 End of sentence .... 33
The flag with which the numbers are made is attached to a staff justlong enough to handle easily. Before beginning the message the flagstaff is held perpendicularly in front of the operator. Dipping theflag once to the left, at right angles to the body, indicates thefigure two. Dipping it on
ce to the right indicates the figure one.Dipping it forward once, away from the body means the figure three.For instance, if the flag be dipped twice to the left, the operatorwill have made the signal "twenty-two," meaning A.
"I will now spell the words 'Battleship Boy,';' he said, beginning aslow movement of the wig-wag flag, making the following figures:
"2112, 22, 2, 2, 221, 12, 212, 122, 1, 1212, 3, 2112, 21, 111, 212."
"We will now begin practicing the code in groups of three letters,"said the instructor.
For a full hour he put the young jackies through their paces. By thetime the bugle blew his class had learned nearly half the signalalphabet.
"If you will practice these movements, using your hands in place offlags, this evening, you will have fixed the numbers and the lettersthat they represent so firmly in your minds that you will not be likelyto forget them. Do it at every opportunity before turning in to-night.I shall expect each of you to be letter-perfect in the morning. Oncemore, now, call the letters as I make them. I will give you only whatyou have had this afternoon. Begin with the first man in line."
The Battleship Boys Swung Into the Chorus.]
The Battleship Boy made the figures, wigwagging slowly. Among the menon the forward deck there were only three who were not quick to readthe signals. These Dan ordered to step forward. A few minutes proved,to his own satisfaction, that their minds were too sluggish to enablethem to make very good signalmen.
"You three men need not report to-morrow," he said.
"That boy is bound to command, Coates," announced the captain withemphasis. "Davis!"
"Aye, aye, sir," answered Dan, turning and saluting.
"You and your friend, Seaman Hickey, turn to and give an exhibition ofwig-wagging. It will be instructive, as well as entertaining, to allof us."
Dan's eyes lighted with pleasure.
"'Red, White and Blue,'" he said, as he passed a flag to Sam. "Followme giving the next lines."
"Will that save my twenty-five?"
"It may."
"All right, I'll take a chance on it. Go ahead."
Dan stationed himself on one side of the deck, while Sam walked brisklyto the opposite side.
"Oh, Columbia, the gem of the ocean, The home of the brave and the free,"
wig-wagged Dan.
"The shrine of each patriot's devotion, A world offers homage to thee,"
continued Sam Hickey, his red flag flashing up and down forming theletters of the code with such swiftness that few of the officers wereable to follow.
"Thy mandates make heroes assemble, When Liberty's form stands in view; Thy banners make tyranny tremble, When borne by the red, white and blue."
The instant Dan's swift strokes with flag had ended the verse, both theBattleship Boys swung into the chorus,
"When borne by the red, white and blue, When borne by the red, white and blue, Thy banners make tyranny tremble, When borne by the red, white and blue."
"Thirty-three, thirty-three," finished the lads, bringing the butts oftheir flag staffs to the deck with a click that sounded as one.
A perfect storm of applause from the officers rewarded the splendidperformance of the Battleship Boys. The jackies on the deck, thoughfew of them had been able to make out the message, the words of thebeautiful anthem, realized that they were watching the work of twomasters with the wig-wag flags, so they, too, added their quota to theapplause. They did not do so by hand applause. The jackies threw uptheir hats and set up a loud cheer.
"The most remarkable performance of its kind that I ever saw,"announced the captain.
"I never saw anything like it myself," agreed the executive officer."It's lucky we happened to think of those boys."
"Indeed it is."
"Anything further, sir?" questioned Dan, saluting.
"That will be sufficient. Thank you, my lads."
The boys saluted, then marched from the forecastle, proud and happy,but not forgetting their dignity in their excitement and pleasure.
"Three cheers for the Battleship Boys," shouted one of the bluejacketsthe instant the officers had left the bridge. "Hurrah for littleDynamite!" That last was Dan's nickname. And the cheers were givenwith a will.