n its way to the ship that
needs it. In the case of a freight steamer the wireless aboard means
greater safety for the crew and often saves the owners the cost of
ship and cargo. The Standard Oil people were among the first to think
of the wireless for cargo-carrying boats. They installed the wireless
on their tank steamers, and it wasn't long before the owners of other
freight vessels realized the value of such an installation. Now, every
freight boat that amounts to much has the wireless aboard."

"You speak of the wireless being used at a distance of two or three
hundred miles," pursued the charter-man. "Dawson can't send the
electric wave that far, can he?"

"No, sir; because our signal mast is shorter than that on a big
steamship. The length of our aerials is less. Still, we can handle a
message for a pretty good distance."

"What distance, Halstead?"

"Why, our ideal distance is about sixty miles; we can make it seventy
easily, and, under the best conditions, we can drive a message, so
that it can be understood, for about ninety miles. But that doesn't
really hold us down to even ninety miles. If there's a wireless ship
within our radius we can ask her to relay for us. With a few ships
spread out at proper intervals we could easily wire direct from the
'Restless' to the coast of England."

"Joe," called Tom to his chum as the latter came on deck between
wireless performances, "do you notice that the fog is lightening off
to weatherward?"

"Yes; the fog is heaviest off to westward, and we've been working out
of that."

"By the time we reach the 'Glide' I believe we're going to have some
open weather around us."

"It will be fine if we do," nodded young Dawson. "It's nasty work
going up alongside of a big ship when you can't see fifty feet away."

As they watched and waited, while the "Restless" stole slowly along,
the fog about them became steadily lighter, though off to the westward
it remained a thick, dense bank.

"Say, it'd be great to have four or five miles of clear sea around us,
so that we could see whether the seventy-foot boat has kept to
anything like our course," declared Hank.

At last the "Restless" came to within twenty minutes' hailing distance
of the "Glide," as the young motor boat skipper figured it. Then, a
few minutes later, a deep-toned fog-horn came to them faintly. As the
minutes passed, now, this blast became heavier and nearer.

"I've only a few minutes left with you, Joe,