Читать книгу The Radio Boys with the Iceberg Patrol; Or, Making safe the ocean lanes онлайн

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“You are an officer in the navy, I understand,” remarked Mr. Layton.

“Yes,” replied the captain. “I’ve been captain of a destroyer for some years. Saw service in European waters during the war. But I’m contemplating a change just now. This limitation treaty has tied up a lot of our ships and is going to tie up more, and I’ve no fancy for shore duty. So I’ve applied for a transfer to the Iceberg Patrol, and I’ve received assurances that my application would probably be granted.”

“The Iceberg Patrol!” exclaimed Bob. “I remember Doctor Dale telling us about that once. That’s the Government service that aims to warn steamships in the ocean lanes against icebergs, isn’t it?”

“That’s it,” assented the captain. “But it isn’t only our Government that does that. Fourteen other nations have combined to do the same thing, and we do our part along with the rest. That helps to make it interesting. There’s a friendly rivalry between all the nations to prove which fleet is the most efficient.”

“It must be wonderfully interesting and exciting,” said Joe, to whom the frozen North had always made a strong appeal.