THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE
An hour later Sam Hickey ran across the fellow Black on the
superstructure.
"See here, Blackie."
Black moved on as if he had not heard. A second later Sam had him by
the 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 he
turned 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 deck
a while ago, weren't you?"
"Yes."
"You saw me put that tompion in the muzzle of the gun there, didn't
you?"
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 some
other 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 you
won'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 my
memory 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-haired
boy, giving the other a shove.
"What's the trouble, Sam?" demanded Dan Davis, who was passing along
the 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 a
thing like that, could I?"
"I should think not."
"Of course I couldn't."
"Then it must have fallen out and gone overboard. Evidently you did
not put it in tightly. I can't see but that you were negligent, so
take 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 the
cabin of the captain, who was in consultation with Mr. Coates, his
executive officer.
"I have just received an order by wireless from the admiral to put
ashore six signalmen to be used for landing practice up in Gardiner's
Bay. They are going ashore this afternoon, when we move up near enough
to put them off," said the captain. "How many signalmen will that
leave us for our work?"
"Let me see," mused the executive officer. "It will leave us three
men. I presume you wish to send the most expert signalmen to the
admiral?"
"By all means."
"That will leave us very short. We shall be practically without a
signal corps. Three of our fellows are merely novices, and can hardly
be depended upon."
"Then I shall have to wire the admiral that we cannot spare the men. I
dislike very much to do that, for we should have plenty of men on board
who are experts with the wig-wag flags."
"Yes, that is so. It would be rather humiliating to have to confess
our weakness. Is there no other way out of it? Perhaps we could get
along without a signal corps for the present."
"Wait a minute. I have an idea," exclaimed the commanding officer, his
face 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 were
laying mines, the time Bill Kester was rescued by this same boy?"
"Yes, sir. Both boys took part in that rescue, if you recall the
incident."
"Yes, I remember. That will leave us in fine shape. You will see to
it 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 drill
in 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 finer
material than his companion. Have I your instructions to order him to
go 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 six
likely ones."
"Shall we assign the men?"
The captain reflected.
"No, let Seaman Davis do that. If he chooses any men we cannot spare
you will so advise him. I want to see what sort of material he will
choose."
"Very good, sir; I will attend to the matter at once."
Shortly after that Dan received orders to report to the executive
officer. The latter explained briefly what was wanted of him.
"For the purpose of the instruction you are clothed with the authority
of 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 upon
it."
"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 a
little more erect than usual. But the moment he was sure he had gotten
out of sight of the officer, he started off on a run to carry the good
news to Sam Hickey. Sam was not over enthusiastic. He was still
grumbling over the loss of the tompion, which meant also the loss of
twenty-five dollars to himself.
Within the hour he had handed in the list of names of the men chosen
for signal duty. This list was approved by the executive officer and
the captain, and that afternoon Dan assembled his class on the forward
deck for their first lesson. Not a man of them had ever before had
signal instruction.
In military formation the Battleship Boy marched his class up and out
to 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 space
in front of each man.
The Battleship Boy gave the men a brief talk on the general subject of
signaling, impressing upon them the need of accuracy.
"Do not try to be fast. Speed will come in good time, but make it your
ambition both to send and to read messages with absolute accuracy. We
will now begin with the code, which is as follows:"
Davis ran through the code, signaling out each letter slowly in order
to show the men how the movements were executed.
The wig-wag code, as used in the United States Navy, consists of a
series of numbers that represent the letters of the alphabet. They are
delivered by a red flag bearing a white square in its center. The code
that 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 just
long enough to handle easily. Before beginning the message the flag
staff is held perpendicularly in front of the operator. Dipping the
flag once to the left, at right angles to the body, indicates the
figure two. Dipping it once 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 operator
will have made the signal "twenty-two," meaning A.
"I will now spell the words 'Battleship Boy,';' he said, beginning a
slow 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 the
time the bugle blew his class had learned nearly half the signal
alphabet.
"If you will practice these movements, using your hands in place of
flags, this evening, you will have fixed the numbers and the letters
that they represent so firmly in your minds that you will not be likely
to 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. Once
more, now, call the letters as I make them. I will give you only what
you have had this afternoon. Begin with the first man in line."
[Illustration: The Battleship Boys Swung Into the Chorus.]
The Battleship Boy made the figures, wigwagging slowly. Among the men
on the forward deck there were only three who were not quick to read
the signals. These Dan ordered to step forward. A few minutes proved,
to his own satisfaction, that their minds were too sluggish to enable
them 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 with
emphasis. "Davis!"
"Aye, aye, sir," answered Dan, turning and saluting.
"You and your friend, Seaman Hickey, turn to and give an exhibition of
wig-wagging. It will be instructive, as well as entertaining, to all
of us."
Dan's eyes lighted with pleasure.
"'Red, White and Blue,'" he said, as he passed a flag to Sam. "Follow
me 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 briskly
to 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 the
letters of the code with such swiftness that few of the officers were
able 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 the
Battleship 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 of
their flag staffs to the deck with a click that sounded as one.
A perfect storm of applause from the officers rewarded the splendid
performance of the Battleship Boys. The jackies on the deck, though
few of them had been able to make out the message, the words of the
beautiful anthem, realized that they were watching the work of two
masters with the wig-wag flags, so they, too, added their quota to the
applause. They did not do so by hand applause. The jackies threw up
their 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 bluejackets
the instant the officers had left the bridge. "Hurrah for little
Dynamite!" That last was Dan's nickname. And the cheers were given
with a will.