Roy’s heart beat high with courage. His jaws tightened and a look of determination came into his face. Then succeeded a glow of pride as Roy thought of the times he had already been tried and had made good. He smiled with satisfaction as he recalled that it was he who caught the message of the German spies at Elk City.
How well he recalled his vigil that night. How long the hours were. How dark and still it was there in the forest, with his comrades of the wireless patrol all asleep and he alone left to guard them and to keep watch for forbidden radio messages. He recalled how sleepy he was, how he had fought off his weariness and listened in, hour after hour, for suspicious voices in the air. Even now his heart beat faster as he lived over the final triumph of that night. He could almost hear again that faint little buzz in his ear that proved to be the secret message they were watching for.
Suppose he had been asleep at that instant. Suppose he had been unfaithful in his watch. Suppose he had relaxed his vigilance for even a few seconds. The message would never have been intercepted. The dynamiters would never have been caught. The people of Elk City would have paid for his faithlessness with their lives. Roy shuddered at the thought of the awful wall of water that might have overwhelmed the unfortunate dwellers in that city had the reservoir been dynamited.
“But I wasn’t unfaithful,” muttered Roy to himself. “I did my work right, just as I am going to do it on board the _Lycoming_. And if I do, I’ll win the good-will of Captain Lansford, just as sure as I won that of Captain Hardy.” Again a look of determination came into Roy’s face. “I’ve just got to make good,” he muttered to himself. “I’ve just got to. And I will.”
A subtle change came over his face. Once more his mind had gone back to the scenes about Elk City. He was thinking of his secret journey in a motor-car through an isolated and rough mountain road with the outfits of his companions. Vividly he recalled how a big boulder had come crashing down the mountainside, breaking his steering gear. He smiled with satisfaction as he recalled how he had met the situation by improvising a wireless outfit with some wires, an umbrella, and the battery of his car. How pleased his captain had been!