He felt worried himself about it. There would be no chance to try to reach the _Redbird_ by radio during the afternoon watch. Whistler was just as anxious as Belding; only he kept these feelings much more to himself. The radio sparked message after message to and from the British ship. The _Colodia_ was the only naval craft within possible reach of the spot from which the call came, although there were both British cruisers and torpedo boats on the Bermuda and Bahama stations. But they were heavy craft, and it would have taken days for a boat from either station to reach the point indicated by the _Ferret_. Whereas, with good fortune, the American destroyer’s engines would drive her to the spot in three hours. Could the British merchant vessel keep up the unequal fight for that length of time? The German must have already engaged her, or the radio message from the _Ferret_ as first transmitted would not have been so exact. From out of the air came messages from all directions urging the _Colodia_ on. The _Ferret’s_ S O S and the destroyer’s answer had been picked up by both ship and land stations. Ships long out of range, it would seem, became interested in the attempt to “get” the raider which had already cut such a swath among shipping in the Atlantic. Remembering the fate of the _Susanne_, the crew of the _Colodia_ had some reason for believing that this dash of the good destroyer was a “long shot.” It seemed scarcely possible that she would arrive at the scene of the fight in time to save the merchant ship from complete disaster. Yet the radio messages were encouraging. After an hour the _Ferret_ reported no serious damage done and that they had put two shells aboard their pursuer from their well-manned deck guns. “Well done, _Ferret_!” flashed the destroyer’s radio. “Keep up the good work.” Yet every moment it was expected aboard the _Colodia_ that either the wireless on the steamship would be destroyed, or she would report serious injury to her machinery. The raider would, of course, strive to place her shells where they would utterly cripple her victim--either under the stern and smash the propellers, or amidships and burst boilers or wreck engines. The _Colodia’s_ crew were ordered to stations, more for the sake of keeping order on deck than for aught else. Every man who could be spared from below was ranged along the decks. Gun covers were removed, breech blocks looked to, and every man was keyed to a high pitch. “Talk about efficiency!” growled Ensign MacMasters. “We’ve _got_ it. Just because the Germans have been abusing the word is no reason why we should not properly use it. They are often efficient to a useless end; but we’ll show that sea-raider, if we get a chance, that the old _Colodia_ is more efficient than a German ever dared be!”