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diff --git a/35044-0.txt b/35044-0.txt index 0e222b3..7e3d30d 100644 --- a/35044-0.txt +++ b/35044-0.txt @@ -1,25 +1,4 @@ - The Boys of the Wireless - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost -no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Title: The Boys of the Wireless - -Author: Frank V. Webster - -Release Date: January 22, 2011 [EBook #35044] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOYS OF THE WIRELESS *** - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 35044 *** Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. @@ -5898,375 +5877,4 @@ but all ends happily. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Title: The Boys of the Wireless - -Author: Frank V. Webster - -Release Date: January 22, 2011 [EBook #35044] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOYS OF THE WIRELESS *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net. - - - [Illustration: TOM SPEEDILY GAVE THE CALL TO THE STATION AT THE - DIXON PLACE.] - - - - -THE BOYS OF THE WIRELESS - -Or - -A Stirring Rescue from the Deep - -BY - -FRANK V. WEBSTER - -AUTHOR OF "AIRSHIP ANDY," "COMRADES OF THE SADDLE," -"BEN HARDY'S FLYING MACHINE," "BOB THE CASTAWAY," ETC. - -ILLUSTRATED - -NEW YORK -CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY -PUBLISHERS - - - - -BOOKS FOR BOYS - -By FRANK V. WEBSTER - -12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. - -ONLY A FARM BOY -TOM, THE TELEPHONE BOY -THE BOY FROM THE RANCH -THE YOUNG TREASURE HUNTER -BOB, THE CASTAWAY -THE YOUNG FIREMEN OF LAKEVILLE -THE NEWSBOY PARTNERS -THE BOY PILOT OF THE LAKES -THE TWO BOY GOLD MINERS -JACK, THE RUNAWAY -COMRADES OF THE SADDLE -THE BOYS OF BELLWOOD SCHOOL -THE HIGH SCHOOL RIVALS -BOB CHESTER'S GRIT -AIRSHIP ANDY -DARRY, THE LIFE SAVER -DICK, THE BANK BOY -BEN HARDY'S FLYING MACHINE -THE BOYS OF THE WIRELESS -HARRY WATSON'S HIGH SCHOOL DAYS - -Cupples & Leon Co., Publishers, New York - - - - -Copyright, 1912, by -CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY -THE BOYS OF THE WIRELESS - - - - -Contents - - - - CHAPTER I--TOM BARNES' WIRELESS - - CHAPTER II--STATION Z - - CHAPTER III--"SPOOKS!" - - CHAPTER IV--"DONNER" - - CHAPTER V--A BOY WITH A MYSTERY - - CHAPTER VI--A TIP VIA WIRELESS - - CHAPTER VII--GRACE MORGAN - - CHAPTER VIII--QUICK ACTION - - CHAPTER IX--STRICTLY BUSINESS - - CHAPTER X--A YOUNG CAPITALIST - - CHAPTER XI--A GREAT STEP FORWARD - - CHAPTER XII--"SUN, MOON AND STARS" - - CHAPTER XIII--THE BLACK CAPS - - CHAPTER XIV--TURNING THE TABLES - - CHAPTER XV--AN UNEXPECTED RESCUER - - CHAPTER XVI--KIDNAPPED - - CHAPTER XVII--UP TO MISCHIEF - - CHAPTER XVIII--THE TOY BALLOONS - - CHAPTER XIX--A STARTLING MESSAGE - - CHAPTER XX--THE LAUNCH - - CHAPTER XXI--BRAVING THE STORM - - CHAPTER XXII--THE RESCUE - - CHAPTER XXIII--"EVERY INCH A MAN" - - CHAPTER XXIV--THE KIDNAPPED BOY - - CHAPTER XXV--TOM ON THE TRAIL--CONCLUSION - - - - -THE BOYS OF THE WIRELESS - - - - -CHAPTER I--TOM BARNES' WIRELESS - - -"What's that new-fangled thing on the blasted oak, Tom?" - -"That, Ben, is a wireless." - -"Oh, you don't say so!" - -"Or, rather the start of one." - -"Say, you aren't original or ambitious or anything like that, are you?" - -The speaker, Ben Dixon, bestowed a look of admiration and interest on -the chum he liked best of all in the world, Tom Barnes. - -Tom was reckoned a genius in the little community in which he lived. He -had the record of "always being up to something." In the present -instance he had been up a tree, it seemed. From "the new-fangled thing" -Ben had discovered in passing the familiar landmark, the blasted oak, -wires and rods ran up to quite a height, showing that some one had done -some climbing. - -Ben became instantly absorbed in an inspection of the contrivance before -him. He himself had some mechanical talent. His father had been an -inventor in a small way, and anything in which Tom had a part always -attracted him. - -"Tell me about it. What's that thing up there?" asked Ben, pointing -directly at some metal rods attached to the broken-off top of the tree. - -"Those are antennae." - -"Looks like an--twenty!" chuckled Ben over his own joke. "There's a -whole network of them, isn't there?" - -"They run down to a relay, Ben, catching the electric waves striking the -decoherer, which taps the coherer and disarranges a lot of brass filings -by mechanical vibration. That's the whole essence of the -wireless--otherwise it is no different from common telegraphy--a group -of parts each for individual service in transmitting or receiving the -electric waves." - -"Thank you!" observed Ben drily. "How delightfully plain that all is! -You rattle those scientific terms off good and spry, though." - -"So will you, as soon as you do what I've been doing," asserted Tom. - -"And what's that?" - -"Getting a glance at the real wireless outfit Mr. Edson is operating -down at Sandy Point." - -"I heard of that," nodded Ben. - -"He's a fine man," said Tom enthusiastically. "He's taken all kinds of -trouble to post me and explain things I wanted to know. This little side -show of mine is just an experiment on a small scale. I don't expect any -grand results. It will work out the principle, though, and when I get to -taking messages----" - -"What! you don't mean to say you can do that?" - -"Just that, Ben," declared Tom confidently. - -"From where?" - -"Well, mostly from Mr. Edson's station at Sandy Point, and maybe some -stray ones that may slip past him." - -"Say!" cried Ben, on fire at once with emulation and optimism, "what's -the matter with me starting a station, too, down at my house? Then we -could have all kinds of fun over our line." - -"It isn't much work nor expense," said Tom. "You can get an outfit cheap -for a home-made apparatus--you need some coarse and fine wire for the -main coil, a glass tube, a bell, sounder and a buzzer, some -electromagnets----" - -"I see," interrupted Ben with a mock groan, "just a few things picked up -anywhere. Oh, yes!" - -"You won't be discouraged once you get interested, Ben," assured Tom. -"We'll talk about your starting a station later. Just now you can help -me quite a bit if you want to." - -"Sure!" returned the enterprising Ben with vim. - -"All right; I want to string a coil of new wire I got yesterday," -explained Tom, going around to the other side of the tree. "Why, it's -gone!" he cried. - -"What's gone?" queried Ben. - -"The wire. Now, isn't that a shame!" cried Tom indignantly, fussing -around among the grass and bushes. "That coil couldn't have walked away. -Some one must have stolen it." - -"Don't be too hasty, Tom. Some one passing by may have picked it up. You -know the fellows are playing ball over in the meadow just beyond here. -Some of them may have cut across and stumbled over your wire." - -"Couldn't they see that I was putting up a station here?" demanded Tom -with asperity. - -"Station?" repeated Ben with a jolly laugh. "See here, old fellow, you -forget that we scientific numbskulls wouldn't know your contrivance here -from a clothes dryer." - -"Well, come on, anyway. I've got to find that wire," said Tom with -determination. - -In the distance they could hear the shouts of boys at play, and passing -through some brushwood they came to the edge of the open meadow lining -the river. - -Half a dozen boys were engaged in various pastimes. Two of them playing -at catch greeted Tom with enthusiasm. - -There was no boy at Rockley Cove more popular than Tom Barnes. His -father had farmed it, as the saying goes, at the edge of the little -village for over a quarter of a century. While Mr. Barnes was not -exactly a wealthy man he made a good living, and Tom dressed pretty -well, and was kept at school right along. Now it was vacation time, and -outside of a few chores about the house morning and evening Tom's time -was his own. - -The result was that usually Tom had abundant leisure for sports. The -welcome with which his advent was hailed therefore, was quite natural. - -"I say, Tom," suddenly spoke Ben, seizing the arm of his companion in -some excitement, "there's Mart Walters." - -"Ah, he's here, is he?" exclaimed Tom, and started rapidly across the -meadow to where a crowd of boys were grouped about a diving plank -running out over the stream. "I'm bothered about that missing coil, but -I guess I can take time to attend to Walters." - -The boy he alluded to was talking to several companions as Tom and Ben -came up. His back was to the newcomers and he did not see them approach. -Mart Walters was a fop and a braggart. Tom noticed that he was arrayed -in his best, and his first overheard words announced that he was -bragging as usual. - -Mart was explaining to a credulous audience some of the wonderful feats -in diving and swimming he had engaged in during a recent stay in Boston. -With a good deal of boastful pride he alluded to a friend, Bert Aldrich, -whose father was a part owner of a big city natatorium. Tom interrupted -his bombast unceremoniously by suddenly appearing directly in front of -the boaster. - -"Hello, Mart Walters," he hailed in a sort of aggressive way. - -"Hello yourself," retorted Mart, with a slight uneasiness of manner. - -"I've been looking for you," said Tom bluntly. - -"Have?" - -"Yes, ever since I heard some criticisms of yours yesterday on my -bungling swimming." - -"Oh, I didn't say much," declared Mart evasively. - -"You said enough to make the crowd believe you could beat me all hollow -at diving." - -"Well," flustered Mart desperately, "I can." - -"Want to prove that?" challenged Tom sharply. - -"Some time." - -"Why not now? We're all here and the water is fine. We'll make it a dash -for the half-mile fence and return, under water test, somersaults and -diving." - -Mart had begun to retreat. He flushed and stammered. Finally he blurted -out: - -"I'm due now at Morgan's with a message from my folks." - -"You haven't seemed in a hurry," suggested Ben. - -"Well, I am now." - -"Yes, might muss your collar if you got wet!" sneered a fellow in the -crowd. - -"All right," said Tom, "when will you be back?" - -"Can't say," declared Mart. "You see, I don't know how long I may be." - -He started off, flushed and sheep-faced under the critical gaze of the -crowd. As he did so Tom noticed that he had something in his hand. - -"Here!" he cried, "where did you get that?" - -Tom had discovered his missing coil of wire. His hand seized it. Mart's -did not let go. The latter gave a jerk, Tom a twist. - -"That's mine," Tom said simply. "You took it from where I was stringing -up my wireless." - -"I found it," shouted Mart, thoroughly infuriated in being crossed in -any of his plans. "It was kicking around loose. I'll have it too--take -that!" - -He came at Tom so suddenly that the latter, unprepared for the attack, -went swinging to the ground under a dizzying blow. - -It looked as if Mart was about to follow up the assault with a kick. Tom -offset that peril with a dextrous maneuvre. - -Seated flat, he spun about like a top. His feet met the ankles of the -onrushing Mart. - -Mart stumbled, tripped and slipped. He tried to catch himself, lost his -balance, fell backward, and the next instant went headlong into the -water with a resounding splash. - - - - -CHAPTER II--STATION Z - - -A yell of derisive delight went up from the smaller youths of the crowd -as Mart Walters went toppling into the water. Mart did not have a real -friend in Rockley Cove, and the little fellows Welcomed an opportunity -for showing their dislike. - -Tom, however, promptly on his feet was making for the spot where Mart -was puffing and splashing about, when two of his friends in bathing -attire anticipated his helpful action, reached Mart, and led him, -blinded and dripping, onto dry land. - -Mart was a sight. All the starch was taken out of him, and out of his -clothes. He did not linger to renew the conflict. He only shook his fist -at Tom with the half Whimpered words: - -"I'll fix you, Tom Barnes, see if I don't! This will be a sorry day for -you." - -"Who started it?" demanded Tom bluntly. - -"I'll get even with you for this treatment," threatened Mart direfully, -sneaking off. - -"You've made an enemy for life of that fellow, Tom," declared Ben. - -"Well, he never was very friendly towards me," responded Tom. "Where's -the wire? I've got it," and he picked it up from the ground where it had -dropped. "I'm sorry this thing occurred, but he brought it on himself. -Come on, Ben." - -"You're going to stay and have some fun, aren't you, Tom?" inquired one -of the swimmers. - -"Can't, boys--that is, just now. I've got something to attend to. See -you again." - -Tom and Ben had not proceeded fifty feet, however, when a hurried call -halted them. Tom's younger brother came running towards them. - -"Oh, Tom!" he hailed breathlessly, "I've run all the way from the house. -I've got a message for you." - -"What is it, Ted?" - -"Mr. Edson was passing the house and told me to find you and ask you to -come down to the tower as soon as you could." - -"All right, Ted," replied Tom. "I wonder what's up?" - -"Why?" questioned Ben. - -"I saw Mr. Edson early this morning down at the Point, and thought I'd -got him to talk himself out for a week to come asking him so many -questions about the wireless." - -"Are you going to drop rigging out your plant at the old oak till you -see him?" - -"We'll have to. It may be something important Mr. Edson wants to see me -about. You come too, Ben." - -"Had I better?" - -"You want to, don't you?" - -"Well, I guess!" replied Ben with undisguised fervor. "I've envied the -way he's posting you in this wireless ever since I first saw his -outfit." - -The boys pursued their way to Sandy Point, passing the old blasted oak. -Here Tom took pains to stow the coil of wire safely in a tree. Resuming -their walk they neared Sandy Point twenty minutes later. - -The Point was a high but level stretch of shore with one or two small -houses in its vicinity. It was really a part of Rockley Cove, but the -center of the village was half a mile inland. - -A high metal framework designated the Point, and could be seen from -quite a distance. This, however, was no recent construction nor a beacon -point, nor originally erected for its present use as a wireless station. - -It had served as a windmill for a farmer who once operated an -eighty-acre tract of land. One night his house and barns burned down. -For years the spot was abandoned. Recently, however, the Mr. Edson Tom -had alluded to had come to Rockley Cove and established "Station Z" at -the old windmill. - -He had built a room or tower as he called it midway up the windmill -structure. This was reached through a trap door by a fixed iron ladder. -The height and open construction of the windmill enabled the setting of -upper wireless paraphernalia in a fine way, and the whole layout was -found especially serviceable in carrying out Mr. Edson's ideas. - -The operator was at the window of the little operating room he had -built, and waved a cheery welcome to his two young friends. Tom and Ben -were up the ladder speedily and through the trap door. - -"Did you send for me, Mr. Edson?" inquired Tom. - -"Yes, Tom," replied the operator, "and I'm glad you came so promptly. -I've got to leave Rockley Cove on short notice." - -"Oh, Mr. Edson, I am very sorry for that!" declared Tom. - -"I regret it too, especially so far as you are concerned," admitted Mr. -Edson. - -"I was getting on finely," said Tom in a disappointed tone. - -"No reason why you shouldn't continue," declared the operator -encouragingly. "You have been strictly business all along, Tom. I want -to commend you for it, and I have sent for you to make you a business -proposition." - -"A proposition?" repeated Tom wonderingly. - -"Yes. You have got so that there is very little about the outfit here -that you do not understand. The transmitting and receiving end of it is -old history to you. In fact I am going to leave you here in entire -charge of the station." - -"Oh, Mr. Edson!" exclaimed Tom, "I am afraid you rate me too highly." - -"Not at all. You have got sense, patience, and you want to learn. As you -know, my starting the station here was a private enterprise, but it was -no idle fad. I expected to work something practicable and profitable out -of it. You can carry on the work." - -"Why are you giving it up, sir, if I may ask?" - -"I received a letter only an hour since, with an unexpected offer of a -very fine position with one of the operating wireless companies in -Canada. They expect me at a conference in New York City Friday, and I do -not doubt that I shall close an engagement with them. As I have told -you, I have very little capital. In fact, about all my surplus has been -invested in the station here." - -Ben was looking around the place with his usual devouring glance. Tom -felt that some important disclosure was about to be made and was duly -impressed. - -"There is a good chance for a live young fellow in a business that can -send a message hundreds of miles in a few seconds," continued Mr. Edson. -"The business is now only in its infancy, and those who get in first -have the best chance. The only hope here of the international circuit is -to make a killing." - -"What do you mean by a killing, Mr. Edson?" inquired the big-eyed, -interested Ben. - -"Catching a stray message and making a home shot with it. The fellow who -saved an ocean liner last week by sending help quick, just when needed, -got more pay in one hour than many people earn in a lifetime. Now then, -Tom, as to my proposition." - -"Yes, sir," nodded Tom, eagerly. - -"I want you to buy me out." - -"To buy you out?" repeated Tom slowly and in a puzzled way. - -"That's it." - -"You mean with money?" put in the ever-attentive Ben. - -"It's got to be money, I am obliged to say," replied Mr. Edson. "I shall -need all the ready cash I can get hold of in taking my new position, for -I have a lot of debts to clean up. Between you and me, Tom, I can sell -the outfit here to certain people, but it would throw you out. Of -course, I don't expect you, a boy to have any great amount of money to -invest, but I had an idea that some of your relatives or friends might -help you." - -Tom was silent, deeply thoughtful for a minute or two. His eyes wandered -wistfully over the apparatus that so fascinated him. Then, very -timorously, he asked: - -"How much would it take, Mr. Edson?" - -"One hundred dollars to you, Tom," said Mr. Edson. - -Ben squirmed. Tom's voice was quite tremulous as he inquired: - -"How soon would you have to have the money?" - -"By next Tuesday." - -"Will you give me till then to--to try?" asked Tom. - -"Surely. I hope you can make it, Tom. I like you very much. You are the -right sort, and I think you should be encouraged in your interest in the -wireless. I'll show you just what the equipment here is." - -Ben voted the hour that followed the most interesting of his life. For -the first time in his career he began to get a faint conception of spark -lengths, spark voltage, condensers, circuits, vibrators, grounds, -concentric radiations, wire cores and armatures. He had been dabbling -for over a week with both Morse and the Continental alphabets, and when -Tom mentioned the possibility of establishing a sub-station at the Dixon -home instead of at the old blasted oak, Mr. Edson was quite encouraging, -and offered to contribute some of the equipment necessary to carry out -the idea. - -The expert operator engrossed the attention of the boys. It was a ramble -in a field of rare delight as they passed from one part of the wireless -mechanism to another. - -"Now then, sit down, boys, for a few minutes," said Mr. Edson at length. -"I don't want you to buy a pig in a poke. There are a couple of -attachments that go with the station, and you should know about them." - -"Attachments?" repeated Ben. - -"What are they, Mr. Edson?" inquired Tom with curiosity. - -"Spooks," was the ominous reply. - - - - -CHAPTER III--"SPOOKS!" - - -"Spooks?" repeated Tom, with a stare of wonder. - -"Spooks," echoed Ben, edging a trifle away from the open trap door. - -"Call it that," said Mr. Edson, with a quiet smile. "Perhaps I had -better say--mysterious happenings." - -"What may they be, Mr. Edson?" inquired Ben, always interested in any -sensational disclosures. - -"Well, first--let me see," and the speaker reached over for a slip of -documents held with others in a paper clip on the table; "yes, here it -is--'Donner.'" - -"Who's he?" inquired Tom, puzzled. - -"Say rather what is he?" corrected Mr. Edson. "Frankly, I don't know." - -"It's a name," observed Ben; "a man's name, isn't it?" - -"I don't know that," responded Mr. Edson. - -"Neither do the other fellows on the circuit. Perhaps I'd better -explain, though, so when this Donner comes along you will be prepared -for him." - -"Yes, you have excited our curiosity and we'll be on the lookout," said -Tom. - -"Well, for nearly three weeks, at odd and unexpected times, with no -sense or reason to it, no call or 'sine,' abruptly and mysteriously zip! -the wires have gone, and in floats a jumbled, erratic message." - -"As how?" propounded Ben. - -"'Donner.' That always, first. It may be an explanation, it may be a -name, it may mean nothing, but all the same splutter--splutter! on she -comes. At first it was spelled out slowly, lamely, sometimes wrong, and -then corrected as if an amateur beginner was at the other end of the -line." - -"And that was all--'Donner'" questioned Ben, aggravatingly consumed with -curiosity. - -"Not after a few days. Then 'Donner' began to add something of a -message. That, too, was a jumble, wrong dots and dashes and all that. -Finally, though, this queer crank of a sender began to say something -about a boy." - -"A boy?" murmured the engrossed Ben. - -"It looked as if he was trying to describe some one. However, as I say, -his sending was so faulty that not much could be made out of it. It got -clearer, but no more coherent and enlightening. I tried to trace the -sender. So did others on the circuit. I got in touch with Seagrove." - -"What did they say? Mr. Edson?" asked Tom. - -"They confessed themselves fully as much puzzled as I was. The last -three or four days 'Donner' has gotten into action trying to tell -something about money. First it was a hundred dollars, then two hundred, -then five, and about an hour since the same old string of jangled talk -came in over the receiver: 'Donner boy--a thousand dollars.'" - -"How strange," commented Tom. - -"Oh, you'll get some of it," declared Mr. Edson. "Early in the morning -about daylight, always at noon, sometimes just about dusk, the message -comes through the air." - -"How do you explain it?" submitted Tom. - -"Why, I have to think it is some person who has rigged up an old station -somewhere in range, and is trying to tell something he is too ignorant -to express clearly. Pay no attention to it as a serious circumstance. It -is only one of the freaks of the wireless experience." - -"That's one of the spooks you told about?" inquired Ben. - -"Yes," nodded Mr. Edson. - -"Any more?" - -"Something more tangible this time," observed Mr. Edson. "For about a -week some one has invaded my den here nights regularly." - -"Maybe this same mysterious 'Donner'" suggested Ben. - -"Hardly. You see, I am pretty regular in my hours here. I have come on -at about eight in the morning and leave at six in the evening always." - -"And the second spook you speak about?" interrogated Tom. - -"Puts in an appearance after my departure in the night time. Here's the -gist of it: Every morning when I come down here, the ground under the -windmill for a space of about fifty feet is swept as clean as a ballroom -floor." - -"Yes, I've noticed that," observed Tom. - -"I leave the den up here in some slight disorder evenings, preferring to -put it in shape in the morning. Well," declared Mr. Edson, "I find it -all cleaned up for me." - -"You don't say so!" ejaculated Ben. - -"Nothing is touched about the apparatus, my papers are not disturbed. -One night I carelessly forgot my pocketbook. I found it placed carefully -on the paper tab with the contents intact." - -"Well, that's a helpful, honest, useful kind of a spook, isn't it, now?" -cried Ben. - -"I think this harmless intruder sleeps on the floor here nights," said -Mr. Edson. "Anyhow, I've apprised you of the mysteries as well as the -excellencies of Station Z. I must be going, Barnes," added Mr. Edson, -consulting his watch and arising and taking up his satchel from a corner -of the room. "Think over my proposition." - -"I certainly shall," declared Tom, quickly. - -"It's a dandy chance," remarked Ben. - -"Use your best intelligence and judgment in running the business here -until I come back," added Mr. Edson. "You can come down to the house -with me if you like and get some stuff that will help you rig up your -home-made wireless." - -"All right," assented Tom, "I'd like to do that." - -The professional operator followed his young guests down the ladder, -locking the trap door padlock and tendering the key to Tom. - -"You're in charge now," he said in a pleasant way. - -Tom's finger tips tingled with pleasure at the possession of the key, -and Ben's eyes brightened with glowing anticipations. - -The boys waited outside on a bench on the porch of Mr. Edson's boarding -house when they reached that place. He went up to his room and soon -returned with an oblong box. - -"You'll find the stuff in there I told you about," he explained. - -"Many thanks," said Tom. - -"I'm in that, too!" echoed Ben. "I only hope we can really rig up a -plant at my house like you talk about," he added eagerly. - -"That will be easy," advised Mr. Edson. "And now good-by, my young -friends, and good luck." - -Mr. Edson shook hands in a friendly way with Tom and Ben. The boys -started down the village street in the direction of the Barnes home. - -Ben walked as if he were treading on air. His comrade, carrying the box, -was thoughtfully going over the great fund of information he had -obtained in the preceding two hours. - -"I say!" he spoke suddenly, coming to a halt. - -"What's up?" challenged Ben. - -"I was thinking it would be handier to leave this box at the station." - -"I'm sure it would. You see, it's nearer our place," counselled Ben -eagerly, glad of any excuse that would take them back to the fascinating -influence of Station Z. - -They faced about and proceeded back over the course they had come. - -"Look here, Tom," broke in Ben on the thoughts of his comrade, "are you -going to try and raise that hundred dollars?" - -"Yes, if possible." - -"Wish I could help you. Going to ask your father?" - -"No," replied Tom. "In the first place, I don't think he would let me -have it. You know he calls my craze after wireless, as he terms it, all -a fad,--says I'd better think of getting through school before I take up -outside things." - -"Yes, I know." - -"Then again," continued Tom, "I have a sort of pride of starting in -business life on my own resources." - -"But you've got to have some money help." - -"I've thought of that, and I'll tell you what I'll do. You remember my -Aunt Samantha?" - -"Down at Westport?" - -"Exactly. I have always been a favorite of hers. Many a time she has -hinted at all the money she is going to leave me in her will some day. -Many a time, too, after a visit to our house, she has reminded me that -any time I need help to write her." - -"And you're going to?" - -"Yes," replied Tom, "just as soon as I get home this evening. I'm going -to offer her my note, and I mean to pay it, too." - -"Say, Tom," cried his loyal companion, "I'll endorse for you." - -Tom had to laugh outright at the proposal. - -Then, seeing that he had hurt Ben's feelings, he said kindly: - -"That's all right, Ben; you mean well, but if Aunt Samantha won't let me -have the money alone, she won't give it to the two of us." - -It had been growing dusk as the chums proceeded on their way. They -passed through the village and beyond it, and finally approached the -wireless station. Tom was fumbling in his pocket for the key to the trap -door when Ben suddenly caught his arm. - -"Tom, hold on!" - -"What's the matter?" questioned Tom. - -"Look yonder!" - -Ben pointed directly at the old windmill framework. Both stared -intently. - -Climbing up one of the outer girders was a boy. As he reached the level -of the window of the little aerial room aloft, he swung towards it, in -some deft way lifted or pried up the sash, and disappeared suddenly from -view. - - - [Illustration: BEN POINTED DIRECTLY AT THE OLD WINDMILL - FRAMEWORK.] - - - - -CHAPTER IV--"DONNER" - - -"Well!" ejaculated Tom in startled amazement. - -"Don't you see?" gasped Ben. - -"What?" - -"One of the spooks Mr. Edson spoke about!" - -"That's so, it must be," assented Tom. "The nightly intruder, as sure as -fate!" - -The window was lowered from the inside. In a minute or two a faint light -showed. Tom started forward, joined by Ben, who was in a quiver of -excitement and suspense. - -"What are you going to do, Tom?" he inquired. - -"Find out who this mysterious trespasser is. Don't make any noise, Ben, -but keep close to me." - -Tom gave the box into the possession of his companion, and started up -the ladder. Very cautiously he inserted the key into the padlock. He -managed to turn it and remove the padlock without making any alarming -sound. Then very slowly Tom pushed up the trap door. - -A glance across to one corner of the room interested him. Upon the floor -lay the intruder. He had upset a chair, and he was using its slanting -back as a pillow. On another chair he had set a lighted piece of candle. -In a posture of ease and comfort he lay reading a well-thumbed book, -while gnawing away at a great hunk of dry bread. His face was turned -away from the trap door. He was so engrossed in eating and reading, -that, unobserved, Tom was able to get up into the room and Ben was half -way through the trap door before the trespasser was aware of it. - -"Well, we've caught you right in the act, have we?" spoke Tom suddenly. - -With a slight cry and starting up into a sitting posture, the intruder -stared hard at his unexpected visitors. He seemed to scan their faces -searchingly. His own, at first startled, broke into a pleasant smile. - -"That's just what you've done," he admitted. - -"Pretty cool about it," observed Ben. - -"Not so cool as I've been, sleeping in the damp grass a few foggy -mornings lately. What are you going to do with me, fellows?" - -The speaker rose to his feet with something of an effort. Then Tom -noticed that he limped on one foot. The lad was thin and pale, too. He -righted the upset chair and sat down on it. Ben placed the box on a -table and leaned against it, regarding the stranger with curiosity. Tom -sank into another chair. - -"We're not judges or officers," he said, "but we are in charge here -now." - -"Then I'd better get out, I suppose," said the boy. - -"What did you come in for in the first place? That's what we're -interested in knowing," remarked Ben pointedly. - -The stranger shrugged his shoulders in a way that was quite pathetic. - -"See here," he said soberly, "if you had a foot pretty nigh cut off by a -scythe right on top of a hard spell of the typhoid fever, and no place -to eat or sleep, you'd burrow in most anywhere lying around loose, -wouldn't you?" - -"Does that describe your case?" questioned Tom. - -"Just exactly," responded the lad, a quick dry click in his throat. "I'm -not able to do my old work, and you might call me a roving convalescent, -see?" and he chuckled. "I manage to pick up enough food. I spotted this -place, tried to keep out of anybody's way, and tidied it up to pay for -wearing out the floor boards. Then, too, I frightened off two tramps one -night, who would have ransacked everything in sight if I hadn't made -them believe I was a private watchman." - -"But where do you live?" asked Ben. - -"Here, if you'll let me," was the prompt reply. - -"We'll do better than that," said Tom, who had been studying the boy's -face and manner closely, and each succeeding moment was attracted more -and more by his honest eyes and frank ways. - -"Will you?" questioned the lad wonderingly. - -"Yes," assured Tom. "To be plain about it, you are homeless and -friendless." - -"To be plain about it, you've just hit the nail on the head." - -"All right; when we leave here you come along." - -"Where to?" - -"My home. You shall have a good supper, and I'm sure my mother will let -me rig up a comfortable bed for you in the garret." - -"Mattress?" queried the stranger with a grin. - -"Of course." - -"Pillow?" he asked additionally - -"Yes." - -The boy chuckled. - -"Say," he spoke in a half sad, half gloating way, "it's so long since I -saw such things I can hardly realize it. I suppose you want to know my -name?" - -"We'd like to," said Ben. - -"Then call me Ashley, Harry Ashley. If anybody asks what I am, just tell -them a poor lonely fellow in hard luck, but mending as fast as he can, -and not afraid to tackle any job that means pay for work." - -"That rings true," said Ben. - -Tom got busy shoving the box he had brought from the village under the -table. He had lighted a lamp. About to extinguish it, he glanced around -the room to see that everything was in shape for the night. - -"Come on, Ben, you too," directed Tom. "Blow out your candle, and we'll -make a start." - -The boy calling himself Harry Ashley limped over towards the chair -holding the candle. At that moment there was an interruption. With a -sharp tang the receiver began to pop out dots, dashes and echoing -clicks. - -"Some one on the line!" pronounced Ben quickly. - -"Yes," nodded Tom, hastening over to the instrument. "Hello!" - -Tom gave a vivid start. For over a month he had been acquiring the Morse -code alphabet. Novice as he was, he was able to translate the rapid -furious dots and dashes that sounded in the earpiece of the apparatus. - -"The spooks!" Ben gasped. - -"Yes," assented Tom quite stirred up himself--"'Donner!'" - -"What's that?" exclaimed Harry Ashley. He turned as white as a sheet, -and began trembling all over, and stood staring askance at Tom, the -instrument and Ben. - - - - -CHAPTER V--A BOY WITH A MYSTERY - - -Tom did not take much notice of the strange conduct of the refugee. He -was intent on learning what further the receiver would immediately tap -out. Ben noted particularly the excitement of their new companion. His -attention, too, was instantly diverted through his eagerness to catch -the message coming all strange and jumbled by wireless. - -"Just as Mr. Edson told us----" he began. - -"Ah!" commented Tom. - -The big distended eyes of Ben Dixon devoured the instrument with its -shining coils and connections. He stood now rooted like a statue. - -Finally the message ended. A queer smile crossed Tom's face. - -"Well," he observed, "Mr. Edson certainly described it perfectly." - -"Yes." - -"And two thousand dollars this time." - -"What else was the fellow trying to send?" - -"It was gibberish to me. Oh, we'll have to pass it up, Ben, just as Mr. -Edson said." - -"Yes," assented Ben, "it's some novice or joker or crank experimenting, -or trying to be smart. What's the matter?" challenged Ben, turning now -upon the boy calling himself Harry Ashley, hoping for some explanation -of his queer startled actions of a few minutes previous. - -But whatever the refugee had on his mind he evidently was not disposed -to impart it to his questioner. - -Harry Ashley had somewhat recovered his composure. He still looked -disturbed, but he said with assumed carelessness: - -"Oh, nothing. I get a pretty sharp twinge in my lame foot every once in -a while." - -"I see," observed Ben, drily and unbelievingly. - -The boys were soon on the ground and on their way towards the village. -Tom kept up a casual conversation. He did not ask the strange waif who -had drifted into their keeping any leading questions, however. Much as -he was interested in knowing more about Harry Ashley, there was -something in the lad's manner that repelled curiosity. Furthermore, Tom -did not wish to embarrass a comrade he had invited to become his guest. - -Ben was quite silent. He stole many a furtive look at Harry as they -proceeded on their way. He was half satisfied with the lame explanation -of his actions the boy had made in the wireless tower. He forged ahead a -few yards with Tom as they came to the road leading south towards his -home. - -"I say, Tom," he remarked in a low tone, "there's some mystery about -that fellow." - -"Well, if that's true," returned Tom, "let the future work it out. He -strikes me as a poor unfortunate who needs some help, and I'm going to -give it to him." - -"That's natural," retorted Ben, "you're always helping somebody." - -Tom rejoined Harry. The latter became more chatty now. He did not say -much about himself, but from what he did impart Tom surmised that he was -practically a tramp, picking up a living at odd jobs. - -"See here," said Harry, as Tom indicated the cheery lights of the old -Barnes homestead, "it won't put you in bad with your folks, will it?" - -"What do you mean?" - -"Lugging in a ragged stranger like me." - -"My mother will answer that," replied Tom with a smile, leading the way -around the house. - -His companion halted outside the kitchen door, as Tom sang out to a -portly bustling lady directing the operations of a hired girl. - -"Mother, I've brought some company home to supper." - -The kindly glance of the hospitable Mrs. Barnes swept the forlorn -refugee, clearly reviewed in the light streaming out across the -door-step. - -"Come right in," she said, with a genial smile of welcome. - -"It's Harry Ashley," explained Tom. "He may stay all night." - -"You arrange where he shall sleep, then, Tom. Go into the dining room, -boys. Father seems to be delayed in town, and we needn't wait for him." - -Tom did not regret the kindness he was showing to his new friend. When -he went to bed that night he felt that he had never passed a more -satisfactory evening. He had never seen a boy enjoy a meal as Harry -Ashley did that supper. It was enough to warm the heart of a stone, he -decided, to witness the happy comfort of Harry, as in the cozy sitting -room he showed the stranger his books, and some of the electrical toys -he had made for his young brother Ted. - -Harry looked around the airy attic with a smile of pleasure as he noted -a mattress filled with clean straw in one corner, a white coverlid and a -pillow. - -"Makes you think of home, doesn't it?" questioned Tom. - -"No, it doesn't," sharply, almost rudely, snapped out Harry, and then, a -slight moisture visible in his eyes, he added apologetically, "you've -touched a sore spot, Barnes." - -"I won't again," promised Tom gently. - -"That's all right," replied Harry in his usual offhand way. "When you -know me better I'll explain some things. I'll dream like a prince in a -palace to-night." - -Tom went to his own room. His head was pretty full with all the varied -and exciting events of the day. Of course wireless details predominated. -He went to sleep building in fancy the station for his friend, Ben, down -at his home. He woke up to the lively sound of whistling outside of the -house. Tom went to the window and looked out. - -Bright as a cricket, cheery and clean faced, Harry was surveying what -had been a jumbled-up mass of kindling the night before. He had piled it -up symmetrically and had swept up the last stray sliver of wood on the -ground. Over towards the vegetable beds was a five-foot heap of weeds -which his industry had collected. - -Suddenly the happy whistle ceased. Tom saw his father come out of the -house, stare at the strange boy, then at the evidence of his enterprise, -and smile grimly. Mr. Barnes hailed the boy. - -"You're the lad my wife told me about, I reckon," observed the farmer. - -"If you mean the boy she was so kind to, yes sir," promptly responded -Harry. - -"Who hired you?" demanded Mr. Barnes. - -"Who hired me?" repeated Harry in a puzzled way. - -"Yes, to do that," and Mr. Barnes' hand swept the woodpile and the weed -heap suggestively. - -"Oh, that's to pay for supper and lodging," explained Harry brightly. - -"Well, we'll count breakfast into the bargain," stipulated Mr. Barnes, -"and if you get tired doing nothing there's five hundred weight of grain -in the barn I'll pay you to grind." - -"You will?" cried Harry, his eyes sparkling. "Show it to me, will you, -please?" - -"Good for him," commented Tom. "He's the real sort, and he's got father -on his side all right." - -Kindness, attention and the prospect of work seemed to have wrought a -marvellous change in Harry. He little suggested the homeless forlorn -refuge of the previous night as he sat at the breakfast table. He was -lively and chatty, acting the pleasant chum with Tom, the grateful guest -to motherly Mrs. Barnes, and narrating comical experiences with amateur -farmers he had worked for to Mr. Barnes, keeping the latter in rare good -humor throughout the meal. - -About an hour later Ben arrived on the scene. - -"Say, Tom," was his first sprightly hail, "Father says I've been hopping -about like a chicken with her head cut off ever since I got up--and that -was five o'clock." - -"What's the trouble, Ben?" inquired Tom with a smile, guessing. - -"Fever--the wireless kind," chuckled Ben. "I've got five fellows down at -the old oak ready to give all day to helping me get the outfit in down -at my house. Say, Tom, give me the key to the tower and let me get that -box of trimmings Mr. Edson gave us, will you?" - -"I shall have to go on duty at the station soon, Ben," explained Tom, -"but here's the key. Get down to the oak right away, and I'll instruct -you how to dismantle my unfinished plant and start you in at your house. -Then at noon I'll give you another hour." - -"You'd better come right up to our house for supper, Tom," suggested -Ben, "and we can have two full working hours by daylight after you quit -work." - -"Very well," agreed Tom gladly. - -Never did a boy spend a more entrancing day than Ben Dixon. His helpers -at the blasted oak were delighted to climb like monkeys to remove the -spirals and wires from the old tree, and handle the queer contrivances -contained in the box Mr. Edson had donated. - -Harry Ashley spent the day between working about the farm, visiting the -scene of activity at the Dixon place, and limping up to the tower. - -Only some exchange test calls came to Station Z that day. Tom was -encouraged to find how quickly he could read them, and send the -necessary replies. - -Nearly every lad in the neighborhood was on hand that evening, when Tom -arrived at the Dixon place, and began to connect the various devices of -the wireless outfit. It took into the next day fully to adjust the -various parts. - -Ben was in a rare fever of excitement and expectancy the second evening -about seven o'clock, when Tom announced to him that the finishing -touches of the experiment were in process. - -"She's all there, Ben," he said triumphantly, as he drew smooth the -tinfoil tongues of the setts of the coherer. "I'll run down to Station Z -and give you a call to see if she works all right." - -Ben Dixon stood staring fixedly at the apparatus rigged up in a shed -running up to the spirals strung to tree tops near the old barn. Six -ardent watchers sat astride a bench, mouths agape and eyes bolting from -their heads, resembling lads awaiting the touching of a match to a -powder mine. - -Finally a thrill ran instantaneously from the metallic poles through the -vibrating parts of the apparatus. As one after another the boys listened -at the telephone-like receiver, they heard the tell-tale dots and -dashes. - -"Hurrah!" shouted Ben Dixon in a frenzy of wild delight. - - - - -CHAPTER VI--A TIP VIA WIRELESS - - -"This means business!" exclaimed Tom. - -What Mr. Edson had predicted had happened--a stray message that meant -something, the accidental discovery of news perhaps of vast importance -to the person for whom it was intended. - -The young wireless operator was a quick thinker. The call was for O-17. -Tom knew from hearsay where that station was located. - -Mr. Morgan had a large stock farm a little outside of a small hamlet -called Deepdale. That settlement had no telephone or telegraph service. -It was located nearly twenty miles from a railroad station and any -stranger sojourning there was temporarily outside of civilization so far -as communication with the world was concerned. - -Tom was aware of all this. He readily figured out as well why the -message had been sent per wireless to Station O-17. This was operated on -a high point of rocks directly on the coast outside of Deepdale. It was -one of a regular chain in the coast service. - -The sender in New York City had some reason for believing that Mr. -Morgan was at his stock farm and not at his home at Fernwood, near -Rockley Cove. It was imperative that he get in communication with him -within an hour. He had risked all on the message finding Mr. Morgan at -Deepdale. - -"Why, I met Mr. Morgan this morning in his automobile coming from the -direction of Deepdale," soliloquized Tom. "He must have changed his -plans. No delay now. This must be important." - -Tom trusted to his memory as to the subject matter of the wireless -message. As he hastily descended from the tower, however, he repeated it -over mentally to make sure he would not forget any salient point. - -"The message mentioned 'U. Cal.'," breathed Tom. "I can guess what that -means." - -To his way of thinking it meant "United Calcium." Only two days previous -in the Rockley Cove _Weekly Clarion_ Tom had read a bit of current -gossip about the present subject of his thoughts. - -The item had referred to some late investments of the retired -capitalist. It specifically cited the fact that "our esteemed townsman," -Mr. Walter Morgan, it was rumored, was negotiating for the control of -the stock of the United Calcium Company. The investment, it was stated, -would involve nearly a quarter of a million dollars of capital. - -Now it appeared the partner or business representative of Mr. Morgan in -New York City had discovered a flaw in the proposition, and had -anxiously and urgently wired for instructions. - -Station Z was just two miles from Fernwood, the summer home of the -Morgans. It lay directly on the ocean, and was a straight course. Tom -thought of Grace Morgan as he braced up for a vigorous walk. That was -quite natural, for they were good friends. He lamented that he was not -in very dressy shape to meet the dainty little miss, whom he would -probably find in the pink of perfection as to garb and appearance, as -she generally was. - -"Can't help it, this is business," decided Tom grimly. "Maybe I won't -meet her," he added hopefully. - -Tom undertook a big spurt of speed. As he came to Silver Creek, two -school chums getting ready to start fishing yelled at him. - -"Hey, Tom!" cried one mandatorily. - -"Yes, we want you," piped the other. - -"Can't stop," panted Tom, waving his hand, and speeding on as if he were -entered for a Marathon. - -"I've lost no time, that's sure," he decided as he passed the boathouse -at the end of the private pier belonging to Fernwood. - -Tom came to the terrace in front of the Morgan mansion. A fluttering -white dress attracted his attention from the front porch of the house, -and Grace came into view. - -"Why, Tom!" she said in a genuine friendly welcome. "Come up and sit -down. You look tired out." - -"Yes, been running hard," explained Tom, short-breathed and excited. -"Must see your father." - -"Father?" repeated Grace, quite surprised. - -"Yes, Mr. Morgan, is he at home?" - -"Why, no, Tom." - -"Where will I find him, then?" - -"Why, you are so excited, Tom!" - -"Reason to be," gulped Tom. "Please don't delay. It's important." - -"Papa just left in the automobile for Springville. There is a meeting of -bank directors there, he told me. There's the horn now." - -"Excuse me," said Tom hastily, and bolted unceremoniously around the -side of the house where the announcement from the automobile had echoed. - -Pretty Miss Morgan looked amazed, and tapped her daintily slippered foot -in a vexed way at the ungallant disappearance of her acquaintance. Tom, -however, did not wait for explanations. He had caught sight of the -Morgan automobile. It was just passing upon the roadway leading west -from the rear of the grounds. - -"Hold on--stop!" yelled Tom irrepressibly. - -The puffing of the newly-started machine apparently drowned out his -hail. The hood of the tonneau shut Tom out from sight of Mr. Morgan and -his chauffeur. - -Tom ran no farther after the rapidly-gliding car. He saw in a flash that -his only chance of stopping it was by a sharp swift dash diagonally to a -point where the circling road cut south. He speeded reckless of flower -beds and fences on his mission, flew heedless of mud and water through -an obstructing swale, and, breathless and pretty nearly exhausted, -gained the main-road. - -Honk! honk!--not a hundred yards distant the chauffeur sounded a warning -as Tom sprang into the middle of the highway, waving his arms violently -to call a halt. - -"What's this?" demanded Mr. Morgan sharply, as the chauffeur perforce -let the machine down to a dead stop. - -"I beg your pardon, Mr. Morgan----" began Tom. - -"Young Barnes?" observed the capitalist, with a surprised stare at Tom. - -"Yes, sir," hurried on Tom. "I have some important news for you." - -"Important news for me?" repeated Mr. Morgan vaguely. - -"Yes, sir." - -"Who from?" - -"Your partner, sir, or agent in New York City." - -"What?" cried Mr. Morgan. "How does it come through you?" - -"By wireless," reported Tom promptly. - -"Oh, I've heard something about your dabbling in that." - -"Can I speak before your chauffeur?" inquired Tom. - -"If you have anything to say, go ahead." - -"Well, sir," said Tom, "I caught a message sent to wireless station -O-17, up at Deepdale. It seems that the sender expected to reach you -there. His name appears to be Dunbar." - -"Yes, yes," urged Mr. Morgan impatiently, "I sent word I would be at -Deepdale until to-morrow, but changed my plans." - -"It was fortunate that I knew you were back," said Tom. "The message -seems important." - -"Out with it," ordered Mr. Morgan. - -"I think I can repeat it word for word." - -"Do so, then." - -"'Have a tip that U. Cal. cannot prove up on patents. News will be -public before night. Order your subscription cancelled before afternoon -session of Stock Exchange, or there will be a heavy loss.'" - -"Thunder!" - -Mr. Morgan jumped up fully a foot on the cushioned seat of the tonneau. -His face went white as chalk. He seemed about to spring from the -automobile. Then he jerked out his watch, fell back, and, trembling all -over, gasped out to the chauffeur: - -"Drive for your life to the telegraph office at Rockley Cove. Don't lose -a second!" - - - - -CHAPTER VII--GRACE MORGAN - - -Tom stepped aside quickly as the chauffeur set the power, and the -machine made a sharp jump. As it flashed around a curve bound townwards -Mr. Morgan leaned over the back of the tonneau. - -"I won't forget this, Barnes," he bawled loudly. - -"Good for the wireless!" exclaimed Tom, with a genuine flush of delight. - -He felt well satisfied with the exploit of the moment. He was flushed, -bedraggled and exhausted, but there was the thrill of a big action -accomplished and the utility of Station Z established. - -Tom glanced longingly in the direction of Fernwood and then at his -soaked shoes, and shook his head dolefully. - -"It won't do," he ruminated. "Grace is probably offended at me for -bolting away so unceremoniously, and I'll wait until I can make my -apologies in better trim." - -Tom kept a patch of timber between himself and the Morgan place, and -reached the beach road on a detour. He was summarily halted as he passed -the flight of steps leading up to the terrace. A silvery but peremptory -voice called out: - -"Stop there, Tom Barnes!" - -Grace Morgan came tripping down the steps a minute later. There was a -pretty pout of pettishness on her winsome face, and her eyes did not -look altogether pleased. - -"What do you mean by running away from me, sir?" she challenged, gaining -the side of Tom, and regarding him as if she was never going to forgive -him. - -"Business is my only excuse," explained Tom meekly. - -"You mean with my father?" - -"Yes----" - -"Did you overtake him?" - -"I am glad to say I did," replied Tom, "and I think your father is, -too." - -"What was it about?" - -Tom laughed evasively, - -"You must ask him that yourself." - -Miss Morgan looked mild daggers at Tom. - -"I never met such rude, unfriendly boys!" she declared. - -"Oh, there are more offenders than my poor humble self?" interrogated -Tom archly. - -"Yes, there are," declared the indignant miss. "Mart Walters has a -friend from Boston visiting him--Bert Aldrich. He made an engagement to -be here an hour ago with his gasoline launch. Gentlemen keep their -engagements!" concluded Grace with emphasis. - -Unconsciously Grace had walked along with Tom, much to his personal -pleasure. - -"Well, I'm glad," he observed. - -"Glad of what?" demanded Miss Morgan suspiciously. - -"Oh, everything," replied Tom bluntly, with a significance that caused -Grace to blush. "As to my own transgression," he went on, "as I told -you, I can't explain details, but I do not think your father would mind -my telling you that I brought him an important message from my -wireless." - -"Your wireless?" exclaimed Grace in a sprightly tone. "Oh, Tom, I heard -about that. Is it really true that you know how to telegraph all over -the world, and rescue sinking steamers, and catch fleeing criminals, -and--and all that?" - -Impetuous Miss Morgan had gone off in a rhapsody over the great -enthusiastic theme of Tom's mind, and he was truly delighted. - -"Well, hardly," he said. "You see, I haven't reached that yet. It may -come--I hope it does. That's why I'm sticking to it." - -"Can I come and see you do it?" implored Grace excitedly. "Can I come -into the tower and watch the messages come in, and see everything?" - -"I shall feel honored if you do," replied Tom proudly. "Ah, there's -another of those shells." - -Tom's foot had kicked up a pearly odd-shaped shell in the sand. He -stooped and secured it. - -"Oh, how odd and beautiful!" cried Grace. "Oh, Tom, can I have it for my -collection? I haven't one like it." - -"You certainly can," answered Tom gladly. "We call that the peach blow, -and it's pretty rare. I didn't know you were interested in shells." - -"I dote on them," declared Grace. "Oh, Tom!" - -From his pocket he had taken a handful of exquisite specimens of star -pebbles and shells he had gathered up within a week, and tendered them -for a choice to his pretty companion. - -They strolled on for nearly half a mile. Tom explained that he must get -back to the wireless station, but he could not resist lingering when -Grace sat down to rest on an upturned boat on the beach. She occupied -the time between admiring the pretty shells he had given her and -inquiring into the details of his work at the wireless tower. Tom was in -the midst of a description of some of the methods employed in sending -wireless messages, when he paused and glanced seawards. - -"There is your friend, Grace," said Tom. - -A natty gasoline launch was approaching the pier up-shore. Tom made out -two passengers, both of whom he recognized. One was Mart Walters. The -other boatman was at the wheel. Tom had seen him twice on the street of -Rockley Cove and knew who he was--young Aldrich, the friend about whom -Mart was so continually boasting. - -Grace Morgan glanced in the direction of the pier. Then, as if totally -uninterested in what was going on there, she turned her back upon it and -led an animated conversation with her companion. Tom kept facing the -pier. From the launch Aldrich finally leaped ashore, evidently made them -out, and leaving Mart in charge of the launch walked rapidly up the -beach. - -"I think I had better be getting back to the tower," said Tom, as the -newcomer neared them, - -"Don't be in a hurry, Tom," advised Grace, with a slightly malicious -twinkle in her eye. "Oh, you, Mr. Aldrich?" she added, arising with a -formal bow to the young man, who, arrayed in fancy yachting costume, was -quite a "swell" sight, indeed. - -She introduced them, but Mr. Aldrich was not inclined to make any -friendly advances towards a boy in common working clothes. He -deliberately turned his back on Tom, and began a conversation with -Grace. - -"Had we not better start out on our cruise?" he asked. - -"Why, I had forgotten all about it, quite," declared the wilful miss, -with an encouraging smile at Tom, which quite nettled the newcomer. - -"The water is very smooth," observed young Aldrich. "I am sure you will -enjoy it." - -"I regret it very much," replied Grace, "but I was ready an hour ago. It -is my time for musical practice now, and you will have to excuse me. -Don't hasten, Tom," she added, crossing over to Tom. - -"I think I had better be getting back on duty at the wireless station," -said our hero. - -"Wireless, eh?" young Aldrich condescended to observe at this juncture. -"In with that fad, eh?" - -"I am trying to make something more than a fad out of it," replied Tom -pleasantly. - -"Wire repairer or something of that sort?" intimated Bert Aldrich with a -supercilious stare at Tom's working clothes. - -"Indeed, no," flashed out Grace resentfully. "Tom is quite an expert, -aren't you, Tom? He has been telling me the most delightful and -fascinating things about the wireless. Oh, there is papa!" - -There was an abrupt lull in the conversation as the Morgan automobile -came down the beach road from the direction of Rockley Cove. Mr. Morgan -gave the chauffeur the signal to stop and leaped from the machine in an -excited way. - -The politic young Aldrich advanced to meet the capitalist, all smiles -and ceremony. Mr. Morgan almost brushed him aside, not even noticing the -extended hand. - -He went straight up to Tom, and his eyes glowed with friendly interest. -Mr. Morgan caught both of Tom's hands in his own and gave them a hearty -shake. - -"Barnes," he said, "I stopped to say just a word to you. I must get to -the city at once, but when I return I want you to come down to Fernwood. -I have something important to say to you." - -"Thank you, Mr. Morgan," bowed Tom courteously. - -"You have saved me much of my fortune," declared the capitalist in a -tremulous, grateful tone. "How shall I ever repay you? Going up to the -house, Grace?" he inquired of his daughter. - -"Yes, papa, it is my practice hour." - -With a bewitching smile for Tom and a crisp little nod to Bert Aldrich -the miss sprang airily into the car. - -"Oh, Tom," she called back to the young wireless operator, as she -mischievously noted the discomfited look on the face of young Aldrich, -"I won't be like some people--I'll be on time to-morrow to have you show -me all the wonders of that delightful wireless tower of yours." - - - - -CHAPTER VIII--QUICK ACTION - - -"Whew!" - -"Some storm, Tom!" - -"I shouldn't fancy many gusts like that last one." - -Station Z quivered like an eggshell in the hand of a giant. A loose -piece of wood from the roof of the operating cabin struck a sash, -demolishing two panes of glass, and the iron framework rocked to and fro -in the heaviest wind storm that had struck Sandy Point in years. - -Tom Barnes glanced anxiously at the delicate wireless apparatus which -shared sensitively in the pervading disturbance. His companion, Harry -Ashley, was looking around for something to fasten over the broken -window to shut out the driving rain. - -It was three days after the Morgan incident, and Tom was now fairly in -the wireless harness. It had been lowering weather all day, and Tom had -been glad that the rain had held off until Grace Morgan, who, with her -music teacher, had spent a delightful hour going over the wonders of -Station Z, had gotten home before the tempest broke. - -Tom had obtained his mother's consent to his remaining all night at the -tower. It was the current conviction among all coast wireless men that a -stormy night usually brought urgent and important service. A storm -generally meant distress of some kind at sea, and Tom wanted to be on -hand in case of emergency, as he had promised Mr. Edson. - -It was agreed that Harry Ashley should remain with him, and Mrs. Barnes -had put up a fine lunch. About five o'clock when the wind began to rise -with low rumblings of thunder in the distance and fitful gusts of wind, -Tom held eye and attention close on the apparatus, ready for what might -come. - -Within an hour, however, his thoughts, as well as those of his -companion, were mainly concerned in their own immediate environment. The -storm was not accompanied by very vivid lightning, but the wind had -risen to hurricane force. - -Just before dusk a particularly severe gust broke down a large elm tree -in sight. A little later a boat shed near the beach toppled over, and -the fragments were carried like kindling wood out into the hissing, -boiling surf. - -About half an hour after dark, Harry, at the window, had sounded a quick -alarm. - -"Tom!" he had shouted, "every light in the town has shut off in a -second!" - -This meant that the storm had carried down the electric supply line from -Springville. Tom thought uneasily of the folks at home. Then the -assaults of the high breeze on their aerial perch caused him to center -his attention on their own position, and be ready to save themselves if -collapse came. - -"Here, Harry, use this," ordered Tom, as his companion picked up a coat -to stop up the hole in the broken sash. - -Harry took the square piece of matting Tom tendered. He picked a hammer -and nails to secure it across the sash. About to set it in place, -however, he interrupted proceedings with a violent: - -"Hark!" - -"What's the matter, Harry?" questioned Tom. - -Harry held up a hand, warningly. He bent his ear keenly towards the -aperture. Then he turned to Tom. - -"Did you hear it?" he demanded. - -"Hear what?" - -"That shout--a cry?" - -"Wasn't it the wind?" - -"No, I am sure not. Come here. There it is again!" - -Tom ran to the window. Both held their breath in suspense. Both started -with intelligence and certainty now. - -A fearful echoing cry rose far above the whistling, shrieking storm--the -echo of a human voice. - -"Help! help! help!" - -"That's no imagination," declared Harry. - -"No, someone is in trouble," acquiesced Tom. - -"It's right down on the road running to the beach," said Harry. - -"Come on," urged Tom definitely, "we must investigate this." - -He seized a lantern and threw open the trap door. Harry was at his heels -promptly. A gust of wind and a forceful dash of rain nearly swept them -off their feet as they reached the ground. - -"Which way?" asked Harry quickly. - -"Hark!" interrupted Tom. - -Again the cry rang out. It was fainter, less emphatic than before, but -nearer. Tom could trace the point of the compass from which it came. He -ran in that direction, holding the lantern before him. - -"There he is!" cried Harry suddenly. "Don't run over him, Tom." - -Coming to an abrupt halt, both boys stared in startled excitement at a -human being on hands and knees making his way from the side of the road. -Near to him was a tangled mass of wreckage which had been a bicycle. Its -shattered skeleton covered a big flat rock, into which it had run to be -completely demolished. - -The recent rider was bareheaded, and from a wound in his temple the -blood trickled down over his face and hands. One arm was helpless, and -doubled up under him at every futile attempt at forward progress. - -"Why," shouted Tom, swinging the lantern forward so that its rays -covered the man, "it's Mr. Barton." - -"Tom--Tom--" quavered the man, looking up through half blinded eyes, -"quick--the doctor!" - -"What's that?" Tom challenged, keenly alive to the fact that Mr. -Barton's presence and condition signified some important circumstance. - -But the man with a groan fell flat, rolled over on his side, and lay -like one dead in the road. - -"Say, Tom, what shall we do?" inquired Harry in an awesome whisper. - -"We mustn't let this man die here, exposed to the storm. He may be -seriously injured." - -"It looks that way. I suppose he ran or was blown into that big rock -yonder." - -"Yes," nodded Tom. - -"What was he doing, though, out such a night as this on a bicycle?" - -"He said something about a doctor. Help me, Harry, we must get him under -shelter." - -"We can't carry him up into the tower." - -"There's the old tool shed. Ready?" - -"Yes, Tom." - -They managed to convey the insensible man to the dilapidated structure -Tom had mentioned. Its roof was like a sieve, and several boards were -missing from its sides, but it afforded some security from the tempest. - -Tom placed a pile of old bags under the man's head and set the lantern -near. - -"Do you know him, Tom?" asked Harry. - -"Oh, yes, he is almost a neighbor of ours. He runs a small truck farm -and has quite a family. Wet this, Harry, soaking." - -Tom gave his handkerchief to his companion, who went outside and -saturated it in a deep puddle. Tom washed the dirt from the face of the -injured man and tried to staunch the flow of blood. - -He listened at his heart and to his breathing, and lifted the limb that -seemed to have lost its natural power. - -"He breathes all right," reported Tom to his anxious companion. "His arm -is sprained or broken, though.", - -"We must get him home, Tom." - -"In this storm--with no conveyance?" - -"That's so. He might die, though, if we don't get a doctor." - -"He's coming to," said Tom suddenly. "Mr. Barton! Mr. Barton!" called -Tom gently. "Don't you know me?" - -The man opened his eyes, stared vaguely, and then tried to arise. He -fell back again instantly, however, with a moan of weakness. - -"No use!" he gasped. "My head is splitting and I've got no strength left -in me at all. It was a fearful shock, a header full force, and--the -doctor!" he shouted suddenly, almost in a scream. - -"What doctor, Mr. Barton?" inquired Tom solicitously. - -"From Rockville." - -"What about him?" - -"My child--dying!" wailed the man. "Dr. Burr, the only one in Rockley -Cove, is away." - -"That's so, I remember hearing of that," assented Tom. - -"Lights in town shut off, telephone lines all down--the doctor, quick!" - -With these last words pronounced in a painful gasp, Mr. Barton succumbed -and fell back unconscious again. - -"Tom, we've got to do something!" cried Harry, greatly worked up by all -that was happening. - -Tom's face showed the greatest anxiety and concern. The situation as -revealed by the disconnected utterance of the injured man was serious -and critical. - -Tom pictured the storm-swept village in his mind's eye--the lights out, -telephone service disrupted, and a father despairingly endeavoring to -get word to the nearest doctor, five miles distant. - -"Wait here, watch him," ordered Tom sharply, making up his mind what he -would do. - -"Can you do anything?" questioned Harry eagerly. - -"I'll try," replied Tom, starting in the direction of the tower. - -"The wireless!" cried Harry, his eyes snapping animatedly. - -"Yes." - -Tom was up the ladder and through the trap door in a hurry. He had his -plan, but its success depended on two circumstances: first, if Ben Dixon -was in reach of the amateur wireless outfit at the home nest; and -second, if the telephone circuit the Dixon home was on, which belonged -to a different system to that at Rockley Cove, was in working order. - -Tom speedily gave the call to the station at the Dixon place. He did not -wait for any response. He repeated the call briskly. Then he flashed off -the message he had in mind. Then he repeated the message twice. -Then--Tom waited. - -There was a lapse of nearly ten minutes. Tom began to consider that Ben -was not on duty. Suddenly there was a spitting crackle in the receiver. - -"O.K.," came the slow message. "Telephone all right. Reached doctor. On -way to Rockley Cove now." - -"Good!" cried Tom. - - - - -CHAPTER IX--STRICTLY BUSINESS - - -Tom's face was hopeful and pleased as he descended through the trap door -to the ground with his good news. - -"How is he?" was his eager inquiry, as he stepped inside the doorway of -the old tool shed. - -"He's just begun to move again," reported Harry, "but he has been -twisting about and moaning terribly." - -"Mr. Barton! Mr. Barton!" shouted Tom in the ear of their patient, as -the eyes of the latter opened and stared wildly at him. - -"I remember now," spoke Mr. Barton weakly. "It's Tom Barnes?" - -"Yes," assented Tom. "That's better," he added, as the man sat up. -"Don't give way again, Mr. Barton, it's all right." - -"What's all right, Tom?" - -"Good news. The doctor." - -"Yes! yes!" - -"I sent word to him." - -"How could you? The telephone lines are dead." - -"By wireless, to my friend, Ben Dixon, who runs a small station. He got -my message. Their telephone service is all right. The doctor is now on -his way to your home." - -"Oh, thank you, Tom, thank you!" cried Mr. Barton fervently. - -"That's great, Tom," commented Harry heartily. - -"I noticed a light in the nearest house yonder," proceeded Tom. "The -wind has gone down a good deal. Could you make it, do you think, Harry?" - -"You mean get to the house?" - -"Yes." - -"Why, of course." - -"Take your lantern so you won't run into anything or lose your way." - -"All right. What then?" - -"An old fish peddler lives there. Tell him of the fix Mr. Barton is in." - -"I understand." - -"And ask him to hitch up and try and get him home." - -"I'll do that," said Harry promptly, as he picked up the lantern and put -for the door. - -Tom urged hope and patience on his charge. The announcement that he had -succeeded in getting a doctor started for Rockley Cove had worked a -great change in the patient. He forgot his sufferings in his joy at the -knowledge that help was on the way to his dying child at home. - -It was about ten minutes later when there was a rattle of decrepit -wheels and a resounding call: - -"Whoa!" - -"We're here," reported Harry, springing from the peddler's wagon. - -Its owner had spread some blankets on the floor of the vehicle, making a -comfortable bed for the injured man. They lifted him into the wagon box -as carefully as they could. - -"How shall I ever thank you, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton gratefully. - -"Don't try," said Tom. "Just get home and get mended up, and I hope the -doctor is in time to save your child." - -Tom, left alone, returned to the tower. He felt well satisfied with the -way affairs were progressing. He had been able to demonstrate some -practicability to Station Z, and the fact encouraged him greatly. - -The storm had subsided considerably. The rain had ceased entirely, and -the wind came only in occasional gusts, diminishing gradually in their -violence. - -It must have been an hour later when Tom, almost dozing in his chair -before the operating table, gave a great start as a cheery signal -whistle rang out from below. - -"Ben," he soliloquized, quite glad to welcome a companion in his -loneliness. - -"I've come," announced his chum, appearing through the trap opening. -"Ugh! but it was a tough fight part of the way! I was nearly blown into -the surf once or twice." - -"What brought you out such a night as this?" challenged Tom. - -"Just what is keeping you here," retorted Ben; "the chance of something -exciting happening. Say, that message of yours has just stirred me up." - -"You got it all right?" - -"The first time. I expected there might be business such a night as -this, and kept watch for it. Our 'phone was all right, and I got the -doctor at once. He said he would start without delay for Rockley Cove." - -"I hope he made it," said Tom. - -"He must have, for he had the smooth sheltered turnpike to take, and the -storm is nothing much now. Our folks were delighted to think that our -toy telegraph, as they call it, did something really useful, and they -let me come down to stay all night." - -"I'm glad of it, Ben," replied Tom. "Harry will be back soon. We've got -a lunch mother put up for us, and we can make a pleasant night of it." - -"That's just famous!" - -Ben removed his wet jacket and took up a comfortable position in a -chair. Tom told of the injured Mr. Barton and what he had done for him. - -"I say, Tom," suddenly asked Ben, during the pause after they had -discussed current topics, "heard anything from Mr. Edson lately?" - -Tom's face fell instantly, as though the remark suggested some -unpleasant and disturbing subject. He looked quite anxious. - -"Yes, Ben," he replied, "I got a letter this morning. He will be here -to-morrow." - -"How's that?" - -"It seems he has made his arrangement to go into paid service on the -North Atlantic coast." - -"And he wants his money?" questioned Ben uneasily. - -"That's about it," answered Tom in a subdued tone. - -"Too bad!" murmured Ben. "You can't reach it any way, Tom?" - -"I'm afraid not," responded Tom. "As you know, my aunt wrote me -yesterday that she had everything invested. She said that the first of -the month she had some interest money coming in, and would send me a -hundred dollars as soon as it did." - -"But that's too late to do any good." - -"Yes," admitted Tom reluctantly. - -"Then you'll have to give up the station here?" - -"I'm afraid I will," answered Tom with a sigh. "I'll tell you frankly, I -felt pretty hopeful of getting the money from another source, but I'm -disappointed in that, too." - -"What source, Tom?" - -"Mr. Morgan." - -"Oh, yes! Well," declared Ben, "he ought to." - -"I am sure he would help me if he were at home," said Tom. - -"You did a big thing for him, Tom." - -"Mr. Morgan thinks that way himself. I am sure of it, from what he -said." - -"Maybe he will return to-morrow," suggested Ben. - -"Grace says he has business in New York until the end of the week." - -"Too bad!" exclaimed Ben. - -"Well, it can't be helped," said Tom philosophically. "I'll just have to -start in a more modest way. Mr. Edson is poor, and has got to realize -right off from his investment here, he wrote me. Just think of it," -added Tom, gazing about the room with longing enthusiastic eyes, "we've -got to give it all up, maybe the chance of a lifetime, because we can't -raise the money." - -"How much do you need?" challenged a sharp voice suddenly, bringing both -boys to their feet with a shock. - - - - -CHAPTER X--A YOUNG CAPITALIST - - -Harry Ashley stuck his head up through the trap opening, and climbed -into the room with the announcement: - -"Overheard what you said, so--how much do you want?" - -Tom only smiled. The idea of a money offer from Harry was amusing. Ben -assumed a mock gravity of manner with the words: - -"Give us a check right on the spot, I suppose?" - -"About that, if you don't want too much," answered Harry seriously. - -"We won't call on you just yet, Harry," said Tom. "What about Mr. -Barton?" - -"We got him home all right." - -"And the child?" - -"You've done a big piece of work with your wireless this night, Tom -Barnes," replied Harry, his eyes brightening. "We found the doctor at -the Barton home when we arrived. He got there just in time. Said half an -hour more and the patient would have been beyond help." - -"That's grand!" voiced Ben. - -"He's fixed up Mr. Barton's bruises. Says his arm is only sprained, and -that he'll be around as well as ever in a week. I wish you'd heard that -mother speak when they told her about what you had done in saving her -child." - -"With your help, remember that." - -"H'm," said Harry with a wriggle, and blushing like a school girl. "The -peddler has gone out into the country to bring a sister of Mrs. Barton -to the house, and I wanted to get back here. Now that Ben is here, it -seems jollier than ever. I must go to the peddler's house, though, and -tell his wife that her husband won't be home for an hour or two. I -promised him I would." - -"All right, Harry," said Tom briskly. "Then we'll have a little lunch." - -But Harry tarried. About to descend the ladder, he turned around with -the pertinent query: - -"About that money that had to be paid, or you'd lose the station here." - -"You heard about it, did you?" questioned Tom. - -"Didn't I tell you I did? Come, Tom, how much do you want?" - -"Supposing you knew, what good would that do?" - -"I may help you." - -Ben looked skeptical and grinned. Then, sobering down, he said: - -"Don't make fun of us." - -"I'm not." - -"It's serious enough as it is. Tom needs a hundred dollars." - -"Does he?" exclaimed Harry with animation. "Well, he can have it." - -"Who from?" - -"Me. One hundred? Oh, that's easy--awfully easy," declared Harry, as if -very much pleased. - -"I suppose you are ready to supply the amount, cash down?" said Ben. - -"On the nail head!" cried Harry, a ring of genuine confidence in his -tone. "See here, you fellows, you've been the truest chums I ever ran -across. I've got a hundred dollars, yes, nearly double that, and all -you've got to do is to take it." - -"I only want to borrow--until my aunt collects her interest money," said -Tom, half hopeful, half doubting that unexpected good fortune was about -to materialize. - -"Six months, a year--it's all the same to me," declared Harry gaily. -"I'd give it to you outright if--if I could," he stammered rather -blunderingly. "There you are." - -Ben in his stupefaction and Tom in wonder regarded the strange boy who -had so warmly won their friendship during the brief period of their -acquaintanceship. Harry had drawn off his rather threadbare coat. Then -he reached inside the shirt he wore. - -"Well, what next?" interrogated Ben, watching the movement curiously. - -"The hundred dollars, of course," pronounced Harry. "Think I'm fooling?" - -He had been fumbling with one hand inside his shirt. Something clicked -like a snap of a buckle. Then he drew into view a long snake-like -object. - -"A belt," murmured Ben. - -"That's right," nodded Harry. - -With a clang he landed it on the table. He beckoned to Tom and Ben to -approach. - -"I made that belt myself," he went on, with some pride in his tone. -"Looks like a sectional rattlesnake, eh? It's made out of snakeskin. -See, it's got pockets. This one," and Harry unsnapped a -button--"pennies." - -A dozen cent pieces rolled out. He gave them a peep into five other -similar pockets. - -"Nickels, dimes, quarters, half dollars," recited Harry. "Then this one -at the end--ten, twenty, forty, sixty, eighty, one hundred. There's your -money, Tom. I'll take your note when it's convenient." - -From a last compartment in the belt the speaker had produced a goodly -roll of banknotes. He counted off the bills with the flippancy and skill -of a bank cashier. Tom sat staring at the little heap that meant his -business salvation, fairly agape. - -"The mischief!" giggled the petrified Ben. "It's real money!" - -"Yes, and hard earned, and mine," said Harry. - -"But how, where----" - -"Did I get it?" smiled Harry. "Work, hard work, fellows," and there was -a mingled pride and fondness in Harry's voice. "That little heap means -over a year of hard knocks and close scrapings, before I had the typhoid -fever." - -A strange silence fell over the trio of chums. Harry had come into the -life of Tom and Ben in a strange way, and had won their confidence and -friendship from the start. He had become quite a fixture at the Barnes -homestead. Mr. Barnes had come to depend on him for an hour or two of -pottering around at odd tasks on the farm, and felt that his young -helper amply paid for his meals and lodging. At length Tom spoke, his -face flushed with pleasure. - -"You're a queer fellow, Harry," he said heartily, "and you are a good -fellow. You are willing to lend me this money?" - -"Willing?" repeated Harry. "Glad, honored, delighted. Is a hundred -enough?" - -"Yes, indeed." - -"All right, there it is. Don't you look at me in that leery way, Ben -Dixon," said Harry, with a chuckle. "I haven't been stealing anything. -That money is mine, all mine, and honestly mine. There is this much I -will tell you about it, though: it is a part of a certain amount I am -hoping to reach to pay a certain person." - -"Money that you owe?" ventured Ben, consumed with curiosity. - -"Yes, and no. I'm to save five hundred dollars," - -"Whew! that's a heap." - -"I'll reach it," declared Harry confidently--"in time. It's money that I -must repay." - -"That you borrowed?" - -"No." - -"Oh, that you took?" insinuated Ben, in his blunt, straightforward way. - -"No, sir! Do you take me for a thief?" cried Harry indignantly. "I'll -tell you this much more: I was living with a man I didn't like so very -much. I made up my mind to cut out from him. I wanted first to find some -papers of mine I believed he had in his possession. When he was away -from home one night, I took a lighted candle and made a tour of -investigation. I came across a pile of banknotes. A strip around them -said 'Five Hundred Dollars.' I went on searching for what I was after, -but didn't find it. When I turned around to take up the candle, the -drawer in which I had placed it was all ablaze. The banknotes were a -heap of crisp cinders." - -"Well!" ejaculated Ben. - -"I tell you I was scared," confessed Harry. "He was a close-fisted, -mysterious old fellow, and--well, I decided to get out. I left a note -telling the circumstances of the accident, and said that I would work my -finger nails off to earn that five hundred dollars and bring it back to -him, some day. I've been doing it ever since." - -"That's a remarkable story, Harry Ashley," said Ben, in earnest -admiration. - -Harry pushed the bills over to Tom, restored the belt to its place, and, -with the indifference of a millionaire, started for the trap door. - -"I must tell the peddler's wife about her husband's delay," he said. -"Glad to oblige you, Tom. I'll be back soon." - -Tom grasped the banknotes thoughtfully, and with an expression of -gladness and relief on his face. - -"What luck!" commented Ben. - -"I am awfully glad to get the money," said Tom, with deep feeling. -"Harry is a splendid fellow. It's only a loan, but think what it means -to me just at this time!" - -"There's something!" exclaimed Ben suddenly. - -"Hello!" said Tom, all attention at once to the clicks. Then his face -broke into a smile. - -"'Donner' again!" cried Ben. - -"After a lapse of two days," observed Tom. "Listen." - -The mysterious "spook" of Mr. Edson was in evidence once more. - -"He's getting along better," said Ben. - -"'Donner' tapped that out pretty fair. 'Lost boy.' What's that? 'Money' -again. Thousand dollars.' He's getting extravagant. 'Donner.' H'm!" - -There was a lapse. Tom laughed and Ben chuckled. "Donner" was a standing -joke now. - -"There, he's at it again," announced Ben a moment later. "'Donner. Lost -boy.' Yes, we've heard that before. Hello! here's something new." - -"Yes," nodded Tom, translating the message: "Lost boy named Ernest -Warren. Look out for sun, moon and stars on his left shoulder." - -"Wonder who the lost boy can be?" said Ben in a ruminative tone. - -They were soon to learn that--in a startling and unexpected manner. - - - - -CHAPTER XI--A GREAT STEP FORWARD - - -"Mr. Barnes, I believe?" - -"Yes, I am Tom Barnes," said the young wireless operator of station Z. - -Tom was in the old windmill tower, and had been tidying up generally. He -had just come from dinner, and was alone in the operating room. - -He had checked himself in the middle of a whistling tune to survey a -head and then the shoulders and body of a stranger, coming up through -the trap door. - -The intruder was a keen-eyed, sharp-featured man of about thirty, very -neatly dressed, and very erect and soldierly in his general appearance. - -He nodded briskly to Tom, crossed the room, and, uninvited, sank into -the nearest chair. - -"Glad I found you," he said, and then took a close survey of Tom and of -the furnishings of the room. "Heard about you at the town, and being -somewhat interested in these new-fangled wireless ideas, I thought you -wouldn't mind a casual visitor." - -"No, indeed," answered Tom readily. "I am only too glad to meet anybody -who is interested as to our little station here." - -"It's quite a plant," declared the stranger. "Tell me something about -it, will you?" - -An enthusiastic boy like Tom was only too ready to enter into a general -description of the parts and utilities of the apparatus. The stranger -listened intently, approbatively too, it seemed to Tom. He followed the -indication of Tom's finger as it pointed out this and that attachment of -the general operating device; and arose and looked closer as Tom -explained in detail and very clearly some intricate features of the -mechanism. - -"That's pretty interesting," voiced the man at length, "and you seem to -know your business." - -"Oh, I'm only a novice, a mere amateur," insisted Tom modestly. - -"What's that now?" inquired the visitor, reaching a careless hand very -near to the coherer. - -"Look out!" shouted Tom warningly. - -"What's the trouble?" calmly interrogated the man. - -"Danger. You'll get a hard shock if you touch that." - -"I'll be careful," pledged the stranger, and to Tom's amazement with a -deft expert touch he dislodged the cap of one of the glass tubes. "I -say, my friend," he added, gazing down into the cup critically, "you'd -get much better action if you'd mix in some fine brass filings here. The -old stuff is pretty well corroded." - -"I had noticed that," said Tom, "and have sent to the city for new -material." - -"There's another point worth your attention," resumed the man, pointing -up at the secondary circuit. "A double coil to that condenser would -strengthen your current." - -Tom stared at the speaker in a vague way. He was a good deal surprised -and also suspicious at the facility with which this avowed seeker for -information exhibited a profound knowledge of the very subject under -discussion. - -"You seem to know something about it," observed Tom. - -The man did not reply. He busied himself with a fixed and calculating -glance through the roof skylight up at the metal nets and spirals. - -"Very good," he said, half aloud, "and kept in very fair order, too." - -"I'm glad to hear you say it, Mr ----?" - -"I am expecting a friend who will introduce us," said the stranger, with -a peculiar smile. "Ah, there he is now." - -He moved to the window, and in quite a friendly fashion waved his hand -to an occupant of an automobile that had just driven up from the beach -road. - -Tom at once recognized it as the Morgan machine. Its owner alighted, and -a minute later came up the ladder. - -"Glad to see you, Barnes," he hailed cheerily, shaking hands with the -young wireless operator. "You didn't wait for me at the village as -agreed, Mr. Mason," he added, addressing Tom's guest. - -"I fancied I had better come on ahead and get an unprejudiced view of -the proposition," observed Mr. Mason. - -"Strike you all right?" intimated the magnate pleasantly. - -"Capital," answered the stranger with emphasis. - -"That's good. Barnes, this is Mr. Mason, inspector for the International -Wireless Company, of New York." - -"Oh," said Tom, a little dubiously and a trifle flustered. - -"I knew how you were interested in this wireless business, Barnes," -resumed Mr. Morgan, "and I spoke to my friend here of the independent -station you were running." - -"Which I wish to take into the service, you included," broke in Mr. -Mason in a clear, straightforward way. "I hear of some good work you -have done here. The location can be made an important one, and, if you -are ready for it, I'll talk business with you." - -"There is not much doubt about the utility of the station here," -observed Mr. Morgan. "Barnes saved me half my fortune through an -intercepted wireless. He has my unqualified recommendation and support, -Mr. Mason." - -"So you told me," returned the wireless professional in a brusque, -business-like way. "Practically you own the apparatus here, Mr. Barnes?" -he questioned. - -"Yes, sir," announced Tom. - -"Is there any lease on the site?" - -"You mean the old tower here?" - -"Yes." - -"No, sir. It belongs to the house that burned down about a year ago, and -is entirely out of commission as a windmill." - -"I see." - -"The man who owns the place gave Mr. Edson full permission to use the -old wreck free of charge as long as he liked." - -"The company would like a formal lease for two years. Do you think you -could arrange that?" - -"Oh, yes, I am sure of it," replied Tom. - -"Very well. Offer him a trifle--say fifty dollars for the term. Now -then, as to your outfit here. Would you be willing to turn over your -right and interest here to the company at a fair price, in consideration -of a contract for two years establishing you here as their accredited -operator?" - -Tom's face changed to all colors. His eye sparkled. - -"Mr. Mason," he said frankly, "you take my breath away!" - -The wireless professional smiled indulgently. Mr. Morgan rested a -friendly, encouraging hand on Tom's shoulder. - -"The equipment here," continued Mr. Mason, making a swift mental -calculation, "is not worth a great deal. The installation, however, cost -something. I shall recommend the company to offer you five hundred -dollars for the outfit." - -Tom gasped now. Business was business, and he realized that the -keen-faced man of affairs who was talking to him was too shrewd to throw -anything away or buy a bad bargain. For all that, he was fairly stunned -at the good fortune that had come to him. - -"I will be glad to do as you suggest," he said, choked up from varied -emotions. - -"Good!" cried Mr. Mason. "The papers will be sent to you soon as I can -report to headquarters. In the meantime, you can negotiate for the lease -we spoke about I will have a contract forwarded to you, accompanying -full instructions as to your duties as our representative." - -"What will you pay Barnes?" inquired Mr. Morgan, a practical business -man on all occasions. - -"Sixty dollars a month," was the reply. - -"Don't fall off your chair, Barnes!" laughed Mr. Morgan, "You're going -to reach bigger things than that in the wireless line, I predict." - -"There was one thing," said Tom a little anxiously; "I have a friend, a -chum, who knows almost as much as I do about the business." - -Mr. Mason took out his memorandum book. - -"What is his name?" he inquired. - -"Ben Dixon." - -"Very good. We'll start him with a commission as substitute and relief -man. I intended to send one of our men for the shift, but if you think -this young Dixon can do the work, I will recommend him." - -"I am sure of it," declared Tom. - -"Good-bye, Barnes," said Mr. Morgan, as he and his companion prepared to -leave the tower. "I have a little something I wish to add to your bank -account when you come up to the house again." - -"Please don't mention such a thing, Mr. Morgan," pleaded Tom. - -"And, remember, call on me as a ready friend whenever I can help you in -any way," went on the gentleman; and then he and Mr. Mason went away. - -"My!" was all Tom could say when he returned to the tower, and flung -himself into a chair in a dazed, overwhelmed way. "My! it all seems like -a dream!" - - - - -CHAPTER XII--"SUN, MOON AND STARS" - - -"The Mercedes in the lead," announced Ben Dixon. - -"All right," returned Tom Barnes. - -The buzzer was going merrily; Tom was on his professional mettle and -thoroughly enjoying himself. He was tallying off the information shouted -down in sections through the tower skylight by his faithful assistant. - -Ben, astride a cross arm beam of the old windmill, balanced an elongated -telescope seaward focussed on several yachts engaged in a race. - -It had been part of the day's instructions received that morning from -headquarters for the operators at Station Z to watch out and announce -the order in which the yachts passed Rockley Cove. The information was -wanted for newspapers and persons interested at the starting point of -the race. The names and pennant colors of the various craft had been -furnished to Tom, and Ben was able, with this basis to work from, to -report like an expert. - -"_Druid_ second," he announced sharply two minutes later. - -The entire flotilla had passed within half an hour, and Ben descended -into the operating room. - -"That was easy and pleasant," he observed. - -"Say, Tom, we've got a dandy plant here, and no mistake." - -Tom replied by nodding in a gratified way, and glancing with pride and -approval at the well-ordered equipment about him. - -Tom was now a duly authorized operator in the service of the -International Wireless Company. Mr. Mason had carried out the plans -outlined during his original talk with Tom, and that rising young -wireless operator was now working on instructions and a liberal salary, -and had over five hundred dollars in the bank. - -Mr. Morgan had insisted on Tom accepting a check for two hundred dollars -as a slight recognition of his service in respect to the United Calcium -securities. - -What pleased Tom most of all, however, was that he was given the -privilege of employing extra help when in his judgment the same was -required, and Ben was put in a way to earn many a welcome dollar. - -Station Z was not in the regular service. It was maintained by the -International Wireless Company as a sort of demonstration station. The -object was to do little commercial business, but to pick up important -messages sent in cases of emergency. The purpose of the company was to -demonstrate to the general public the chance utility of an isolated -station. - -Tom had paid Mr. Edson the hundred dollars, he had secured the lease of -the station site, had returned to Harry Ashley the money borrowed from -him, and was a happy, hopeful enthusiast, every day learning more and -more concerning the wonderful wireless. - -He sat back in his chair now, comfortable and at ease, with the -satisfaction of a person understanding his business and doing his duty. -Ben swung back luxuriously in a hammock they had rigged up in one corner -of the room. The sunshine was bright, the air balmy, the sea -refreshingly blue and cool looking, and both boys enjoyed the acme of -comfort and satisfaction. - -"I say, Tom," began Ben lazily, after a spell of indolent rest, "what -about that letter? Did you bring it?" - -"Oh yes," answered Tom, feeling in the pocket of his coat. "Here it is." - -Ben took a mussed-up envelope from the hand of his chum. It was directed -in crooked, printed letters: "mister tom barns." - -"I found it stuck under our front door last night, as I told you," -recounted Tom, and Ben perused the enclosed sheet covered with -straggling words and sentences, and read it aloud: - - "Warnin to tom barns, keep yure own turtory, - or it'l be the worst fer you and yer frens. - sined: the Black Kaps." - -"Sort of blood-curdling, eh, Ben?" mused Tom. - -"It don't scare you one little bit?" - -"Not a particle." - -"What does it mean?" - -"Why, Ben, the only way I can figure out, is that the so-called Black -Caps are in active operation again." - -"Phew!" observed Ben, and fell into a prolonged fit of musing. Both he -and Tom were quite familiar with the past operations of that sinister -concern. Like all country communities, Rockley Cove had some -undesirables. Over the village line, in fact, between it and the -residence of the Morgans, was a little community of fishermen whose -social condition was not very high. - -One particular family with numerous branches was quite notorious. The -name was Barber, and the younger members of the family constituted an -uncouth and troublesome set. They and some neighboring lads formed what -they called a secret society called the "Black Caps." They soon became -the terror of adjoining communities. - -Out of pure perversity they stole fishing nets and tackle, robbed -farmers' hen roosts, and dismantled yachts and yawls. When these -pilferings were brought home to them, they destroyed fishing outfits, -scuttled boats, and burned down several haystacks. Six of them were -finally arrested, and among the witnesses against them were Tom and Ben. -The young desperadoes, who had established a dead line over which few -Rockley Cove boys dared to venture, were locked up in the county jail -for thirty days and in addition their parents had to pay fines for them. - -All this had happened about a year before Station Z was started. The -Black Caps had been disrupted, it seemed, and Tom had heard little of -the Barbers for some time. If they continued their former marauding -course, it was in some new territory, for they neither noticed nor -molested any more Rockley Cove boys or property. - -Now, however, the old-time tactics so common in the past had been -revived, it seemed, as witness the warning note Tom had received. It was -over this that Ben was cogitating. Finally Tom expressed an opinion. - -"I can't account for any fresh antipathy on the part of the Barbers," he -said, "unless it is because they see me going down to Mr. Morgan's once -or twice a week." - -"I'll bet that's it," exclaimed Ben. "You generally take the cut inland -near the settlement, don't you, Tom?" - -"Nearly always." - -"That must be it, then. They think you are sort of watching -them--invading their territory, as they call it. I don't think, though, -they would cut up very rough with you." - -"Why not?" - -"Well, Bill Barber said before he got out of jail you had made up for -telling what you had to tell against him, by pleading with the judge to -let them off light for a first offence." - -"I shall not lose any sleep over the terrible warning," laughed Tom -lightly. - -"I'd take the beach road when I went up to see Grace Morgan, though, if -I were you," suggested Ben. "Talking of something else, Tom, have you -said anything to Harry along the 'Donner' line?" - -"Not a word. Our mysterious spook seems to have given up his erratic -messages." - -"That name, 'Donner,' struck Harry all of a heap, just the same." - -"Well, he's a fine fellow, and I'm not going to pry into his secrets." - -"I wonder what old 'Donner' was after, anyhow?" observed Ben, "with his -mysterious 'messages,' and his 'thousand dollars.'" - -"And the boy with the sun, moon and stars on his left shoulder," smiled -Tom. - -No orders had come to Station Z for work that night, and at five o'clock -the boys locked up the tower. They parted when they reached the village, -Ben taking the road south and Tom proceeding homeward alone. - -He was up in his room changing his working clothes, when his mother -appeared at the bottom of the stairs to tell him that Ben Dixon was on -the telephone. - -"Ben wants you to call him up before you go out to-night," advised Mrs. -Barnes. - -"All right," sang down Tom. - -He forgot all about Ben when he came downstairs, full of his plans for -the evening. Grace Morgan had invited him down to Fernwood, so Tom had -asked his mother to give him an early supper. Then, in the bustle of -getting a lift as far as the crossroads in a passing rig, he left the -house in a great hurry, and never thought of his chum again until he -left the wagon. - -"I won't go back," decided Tom. "It can't be anything very particular -Ben wants to see me about. I've got plenty of time, too, and can stroll -around his way before I go to see Grace." - -Tom passed down the winding road, but on the way ringing boyish shouts -beyond a thicket caused him to deviate from his course. As he came to -where a fringe of shrubbery lined the banks of Silver Brook, he nearly -ran into a man who stood peering past them at a merry group of boys -sporting in the sparkling waters of the stream. - -There was so much that was ill-favored in the face of the man, something -so sinister in his pose, that it suggested to Tom the lurker with a -purpose. Tom halted and regarded the man closely. Then he peered past -him at the group sporting in the water. - -Their leader was Harry Ashley, and he was in great evidence. At just -that moment he was giving them a specimen of rapid hand over hand water -climbing. His admiring friends cheered as Harry made a marvelous dash of -some fifty yards, described a disappearing dive with wonderful -dexterity, and, coming to the surface, landed on a rock not twenty feet -away from the observing stranger and Tom, and stood shaking the water -from hair and face. - -"Ah-h!" suddenly exclaimed the strange man, craning his neck, losing his -balance, falling flat; and then, discovering Tom, he scowled at him, and -suddenly disappeared in the underbrush. - -"The mischief!" ejaculated Tom, as he too glanced at Harry. - -The back of the latter was towards him. Tom experienced a queer thrill -as he saw what the stranger had also seen. - -Upon Harry Ashley's left shoulder, plainly tattooed, was a sun, a moon -and some stars! - - - - -CHAPTER XIII--THE BLACK CAPS - - -Harry Ashley, all unconscious of the fact that he was under inspection -from others than his aquatic comrades, gave a yell and dove away from -the rock. - -"Here's something to think about!" said Tom in startled wonderment. "Ben -was right--Harry is a boy with a mystery, just as he said." - -Tom's first impulse was to advance among the noisy crowd of swimmers, or -linger under cover and intercept Harry when he started for home, and -challenge him for some explanation. - -Then it occurred to him that he had no right to pry into Harry's -secrets. At first the case looked strange and grave. At second thought, -however, it occurred to Tom that the discovery of the fact that a man -whom they called "Donner" was supposedly seeking a certain Ernest -Warren, and that Harry Ashley fitted into the affair because he had -tattooed marks on his back, was not such an important circumstance after -all. - -Presumably this wireless operator was the man whose five hundred dollars -Harry had accidentally burned up. This set Tom thinking on a new tack. - -"'Donner' is certainly very anxious to find Harry, if he really is this -Ernest Warren," mused Tom. "He seems willing to pay money to find him. -What for--to punish him? Hardly. Then something of importance may have -happened to change the face of affairs, and if this would be of any -benefit to Harry he ought to know about it. I know what I'll do--I'll -get down and tell Ben what I have discovered, and we'll decide together -what is best to do in the case." - -Tom started to leave the spot. He glanced all about for some trace of -the sinister appearing lurker he had seen watching the swimmers, but -found none. - -"Maybe I am just imagining that fellow was particularly interested in -Harry," ruminated Tom. "He is probably some strolling tramp, and was -casually watching those antics in the water." - -Tom glanced at his watch. It was two miles over to the Dixon place. It -was fast getting on to dusk. Tom calculated that he would reach the farm -by dusk, have half an hour to spare with Ben, and reach the Morgan -mansion by eight o'clock. He had changed his plans since leaving home, -his original purpose being to arrive before nightfall at the Morgan home -while there was enough daylight left to play a game of tennis with -Grace. - -It was a short cut to the Dixon place by taking a road through the -woods, and Tom kept on planning how he would utilize the moments until -he reached Fernwood, and anticipating the usual pleasant time he always -had with pretty Grace Morgan. He was just thinking how happily and -usefully life was rounding out for him, when there came an abrupt -interruption to his pleasing reverie. - -Just as he was passing a thick copse where the road turned and high -trees on either side shut the highway into dimness and obscurity, there -was a rustle in the underbrush. - -"Halt!" - -A form stepped into view suddenly. It was that of a boy. In his hand he -poised a long pole sharpened at the end. This he directed straight at -Tom. - -"Halt!" - -A second figure came quite as magically into view. Then a third, a -fourth, a fifth and sixth, and the astounded Tom stared vaguely at a -perfect circle formed about him by the sextette. - -"Why," he began, turning in a ring and discovering that each one of the -group wore a sable-lined hood over his head with slits cut in for eyes, -nose and mouth, "I understand now--the Black Caps." - -"That's right," responded a voice from behind one of the masks, -disguised into great gruffness. "March!" - -"March where?" demanded Tom, a half amused smile on his face. - -"Don't fool," spoke a second voice quickly. "Get him under cover." - -"Yes, someone may come along," spoke another of the masked crowd. - -"Now!" - -The leader of the gang gave the order. His coterie was well trained. To -a man they dropped their spears to the ground, and made a general rush -for Tom. - -"Hold on, Bill Barber!" said Tom, as he was seized by five pairs of -sturdy hands. - -"Bill Barber isn't here," declared the former gruff voice. - -"What do you want of me, whoever you are?" demanded Tom. - -"You come along and see." - -"I will not," retorted Tom. - -He struck out with his fists and laid two of his assailants low. They -were promptly on their feet. Then the united strength of the group was -exerted to seize and throw our hero down. He found his arms and feet -securely bound by strong ropes. - -"Someone is coming," spoke one of the crowd sharply. - -"Rush him," ordered the leader. - -Tom set up a loud shout. - -"The gag," came the quick command. - -Tom's outcry was hushed in an instant by the application of an elastic -band fastened to a padded stick, which was tightly pressed between his -lips. He was lifted bodily and carried away from the road just as a -wagon rattled past the spot where he had been confronted by the gang. - -The members spoke not a word as, bodily lifting their captive, they bore -him helpless on their shoulders through the woods. They proceeded a -quarter of a mile, finally halting at a low structure which Tom -recognized. - -It was the abandoned hut of a man who had passed a hermit-like existence -in the densest part of a thicket. Tom was carried inside and placed on -the broken floor of the hut, which was covered with dead leaves. - -"What's the orders, chief?" asked one of the crowd. - -A whispered reply that Tom could not over-hear led to five of the party -filing out of the hut like trained soldiers. The sixth, the leader, -remained behind for half a minute. - -"We're coming back soon," he said. "We'll bring a skull and cross bones -when we do. If you'll swear on 'em never to cross our dead line again, -maybe we'll leave you go this time. If you don't----" - -The speaker aspirated a long low hiss and ground his teeth tragically. -Then he, too, disappeared. - -Tom had ample time for reflection as he lay alone in the darkness. He -could not figure out what the Black Caps were up to. The whole -proceeding was freakish, and carried along in the most heroic style of -juvenile roysterers aping pirates and outlaws; yet Tom believed there -was some definite motive underlying it all. What it was he could not at -the moment decide. - -A half hour passed by. The Black Caps had apparently retired to a -distance. Then the crackling of dry twigs outside the hut announced the -approach of someone. - -"Hello, there, Tom Barnes!" spoke the owner of a head thrust past the -open doorway. - -Tom at once identified the tones. They belonged to Mart Walters. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV--TURNING THE TABLES - - -"This is getting interesting--I think I am beginning to understand this -affair," murmured Tom amid his helpless discomfort. - -Mart Walters stepped into the hut. He felt about with his feet, and even -groped with his hands. As one toe touched the prostrate Tom the visitor -came to a stop. - -"We'll have a little light on the subject," he observed, drawing out a -cigar lighter. Mart fancied it was "mannish" and grand to exhibit this -appurtenance when he lit a cigarette. He snapped a light and held the -flame over Tom. Then he extinguished it, and stooping unsnapped the gag -from the captive's lips, letting it drop under his chin. - -Mart had not spoken to Tom since the day of the ducking at the creek. -Twice Tom had met him in Rockley Cove, and had nodded to him pleasantly. -This courtesy had been rewarded with a malevolent scowl. It was -evidently still in the mind of our hero's enemy to "get even" with him. - -More than once Tom had seen Mart on the Fernwood pier or in the powerful -launch with the elegant young swell, Bert Aldrich. Several evenings Tom -had passed at the Morgan mansion at little social gatherings of Miss -Grace and her friends. On these occasions, however, Aldrich and his -satellite had made a point to cut Tom direct. Tom had not minded this in -the least, for Grace had laughed outright at such ridiculous manoeuvres. - -Tom now instantly made up his mind that the present episode had -something to do with his visits to Grace. Mart was not above mean -plotting, and his supercilious friend, Bert Aldrich, had always struck -Tom as an unpleasant cad. - -"There's only just about five minutes to spare, Tom Barnes," spoke Mart -smartly. - -"For what?" demanded Tom. - -"For me to save you." - -"What from?" - -"The Black Caps." - -"You train with them, do you?" interrogated Tom. - -"Who, me? No, indeed!" answered Mart. "It's this way: I'm your friend." - -"Go ahead, Mart." - -"The Barbers don't like you any too well. They think the best way they -can beat your game is to keep you from coming here." - -"Coming where?" challenged Tom specifically. - -"Well, down to the Morgan place. They don't want you sneaking around -anywhere near them." - -"Oh, that's it, is it?" observed Tom. - -"I overheard their talk. They've gone to get some tar and feathers. -They're going to muss you up bad. I know them pretty well." - -"I see you do," remarked Tom, significantly. - -"Oh, I don't mean that I chum with them, or anything like that," -corrected Mart, in a flustered manner. "But, I have--why, -well--influence, that's it, with them. Then again, I'm interested -personally." - -"How are you interested?" inquired Tom. - -"Well, I'll just be plain with you. My friend, Bert Aldrich, is sweet on -Grace Morgan, and you've spoiled it." - -"Indeed," said Tom simply. - -"He thinks you have prejudiced Grace against him, and he's mad as a -hatter about it. See here, she isn't your class. You know she -ain't--half a million, classy family. Why, you're poor. Then again, -she's going south soon, and when she gets into society she'll have to -meet Bert and his family, and take up with him again--see?" - -"Get along, Mart," railed Tom, "you're progressing finely." - -"I'll save you from the Black Caps if you'll agree to keep away from -Grace Morgan. There's the straight of it. What do you say?" - -"I say no," responded Tom promptly. - -"You won't do it?" - -"Hardly." - -"You'll be sorry." - -"All right." - -"Suppose--suppose Bert gives you fifty dollars, will you keep away?" - -"Say, Mart," observed Tom, quietly, but with force, "you're too cheap. -Grace Morgan is worth a million, if she is worth a cent. You can't scare -me off nor buy me off. She's a dear little lady, my good friend, and I -wouldn't give up her company under any circumstances as long as my -coming seems to please her." - -"Rot you!" shouted Mart, fairly infuriated at the failure of his -cherished schemes. "I've a good mind to kick you. I'll do it, yes, I -will----" - -"Stop there, you miserable scamp!" - -"Let go!" - -"Speak another word, and I'll half choke the life out of you!" - -"Ben!" murmured Tom gratefully. - -A form had flashed through the doorway. There was the sound of a -struggle, a thud, as Mart Walters' body struck the floor. - -"I'm sitting on him, Tom," announced the newcomer. "Lie still, or I'll -knock you silly. Where's that gag, Tom? I've got it." - -Tom felt the hand of his friend grope in the dark and remove the gag -from under his chin. Then, from the squirmings and splutterings of Mart, -he knew that Ben had silenced him effectually. Next, Ben whipped out his -pocket knife, and the ropes holding Tom a prisoner were severed. - -"Trim and tidy," reported the diligent Ben as he helped Tom to his feet. -"I've gagged him and tied him for keeps. Come outside." - -"Why, how in the world did you happen to come along in the nick of -time?" propounded Tom, wonderingly. - -"Never mind that now. You do just what I tell you to do. You were bound -for Morgan's?" - -"Yes." - -"Get there, then. I'll come along a little later. I've got something -else to do hereabouts." - -"But Mart, here?" - -"He'll be taken care of, never fear," retorted Ben with a chuckle. - -"And the Black Caps?" - -"You forget all about it till I see you later," insisted Ben. "There -will be quite a story to tell. Don't spoil it by hanging around here. I -know my business. Go along." - -Tom did as directed. He could guess that there was some motive in his -chum's insistence. He rearranged his disordered attire, left the spot, -and half an hour later had followed Ben's directions, having indeed -forgotten everything except that he was seated on the Morgan porch with -charming Grace as his companion. - -"What is that?" exclaimed Grace suddenly. - -Tom arose quickly to his feet at the startling inquiry. The light from -the front rooms illumined the porch, but beyond the shadows were vague -and dim. Amid these, Tom, peering, discerned some bustling forms. - -He moved towards the button controlling the electric lights at either -side of the pillars at the steps. Just as he pressed it, ear-splitting -sounds rang out. - -"The Black Caps!" exclaimed Tom, as he recognized his recent -persecutors. - -"Oh, what are they here for?" cried Grace, timidly clinging to Tom's -arm. - -"Fire him, men!" - -A struggling form in the grasp of the six young outlaws was forcibly -propelled forward, landed on the porch steps and rolled over on the -gravel walk. - -"Cut for it!" came the sharp mandate. - -The Black Caps vanished as if by magic. Tom stared hard. Grace, -trembling with excitement, gazed vaguely at the figure arising to its -feet. - -"Why," she faltered, catching sight of the terrified face of the -unwilling visitor, "it is Mart Walters!" - -It was Mart, indeed, and he was a sight. From head to foot loose -fluttering feathers waved ghost-like in the night breeze. Mart was not -bound now, but the gag was still in his mouth. He cast one appalled -glance at Grace and Tom, tore the gag loose and uttered a shrill yell of -rage and chagrin. Then, throwing his hands above his head, he, too, -disappeared. - -"What does it all mean, Tom?" quavered Grace with a bloodless face. -"There--there is somebody else!" - -She shrank back anew with the words. - -"It's all right," Tom reassured her. "It is Ben Dixon." - -Ben, smothering a laugh, came up the steps, lifting his cap and smiling, -his eyes twinkling. - -"The biter bit, the tables turned, Miss Grace," he said. - -"Ben, explain what it all means," pleaded Grace. "Tom won't." - - - [Illustration: "WHY," SHE FALTERED, "IT IS MART WALTERS!"] - - -"It's like him not to," declared Tom's staunch chum. "I got a hint from -a friend early in the evening that the Barber boys were on the rampage. -I missed Tom by 'phone and started to intercept him on his way here, -when I ran across the crowd talking with Mart Walters. I learned the -whole scheme, and followed Walters to a hut where the gang had -imprisoned Tom, and--well, I set Tom free and tied and gagged Walters in -his place." - -"What for?" questioned Grace. - -"To give him a needed lesson," answered Ben promptly. "When the crowd -returned I suppose they had arranged if Walters didn't come back to them -they were to 'fix' Tom, as they called it. Two of them carried a feather -bed. Two others carried pails of soft soap. It seemed they intended to -use tar, but couldn't get any. They ripped open the bed, deluged Walters -with the soap, mistaking him for Tom, rolled him in among the feathers, -and--you saw him. They never got onto the fact that it was the fellow -who had hired them who got the dose they intended for Tom." - -"Why did he hire them?" inquired Grace. - -"Because that Aldrich cad plotted with Walters to scare Tom away from -coming here to see you," explained Ben bluntly. - -Grace Morgan's eyes flashed. A flush of real anger came into her cheeks. - -"Mart and Mr. Aldrich did that?" she cried. "Oh, they shall never come -into this house again." And on hearing this Tom Barnes felt rewarded for -all the tribulation he had gone through that night. - - - - -CHAPTER XV--AN UNEXPECTED RESCUER - - -"Have you spoken to Harry yet, Tom?" inquired Ben, two days after the -overturning of the plots of Mart Walters and his city friend, Bert -Aldrich. - -It was the middle of the afternoon, and things wireless had been slack -at Station Z ever since morning. Tom turned from his chair at the window -where he had been dreamily surveying the open sea. - -"No, Ben," he replied a little gravely. "I came near doing it last -night, but I didn't know but it might worry him, or make him think I was -trying to pry into his personal business." - -"I tell you, Tom, I think Harry ought to be told about the mysterious -'Donner' messages, and asked to explain about the tattooed sun, moon and -stars on his left shoulder." - -"I fancy he's about through with his task in the pasture by now," said -Tom. "Supposing you go up to the house, get him down here, and we'll try -to introduce the subject so it won't frighten or bother him." - -"All right," assented Ben with alacrity, and was forthwith on his way. - -Tom resumed his place at the window. His back was to the road running up -from the beach to the village, and he was not aware of an unexpected -arrival from that direction until a man's voice sounding within the room -hailed him. - -"Hey, boy, who's in charge here?" - -"I am," answered Tom, turning to confront two men who in turn entered -the tower by way of the trap door. They were strangers in Rockley Cove, -and Tom did not at all like their looks. The man who had accosted him -had a sharp, hard eye. His companion was furtive-faced, and suggested a -person constantly on the watch. - -"We want to send a message," the former proceeded. "In cypher." - -"Where to?" inquired Tom. - -"The man pointed seawards." - -"To a ship?" - -"Yes, to the _Councillor_, bound for Canada." - -Tom shook his head discouragingly. - -"You will have to go to Station O at Deepdale. This is only a -demonstration plant, and I have no orders to take commercial business," -explained Tom. - -The man drew out a pocketbook. - -"See here," he said, "I'll give you ten dollars to send the message." - -"I'm sorry, but it's against the rules." - -"Jackson, do it yourself," spoke the other man quickly, pressing close -to his companion's side. - -"I'm out of practice." - -"Oh, you can manage it." - -"Hold on, there. I can't allow any interference with the apparatus -here," said Tom, stepping in front of the first man as he started over -towards the operating table. - -"Can't, eh?" sneered the man. "Well, you'll have to. Keep him quiet, -Griffin." - -"I've got him," announced the man addressed. - -He had caught Tom by the wrist. As the latter struggled to free himself, -his captor dragged him toward a closet in one corner of the room. - -Its door stood open. The closet was oak framed, built into the wall of -the room, and had a stout door with a small circular slit in it. Mr. -Edson had utilized it to lock up things he did not wish to leave lying -around loose, when he left the tower at night. Tom had used it as a -storeroom for surplus parts of the wireless outfit. - -It had a strong padlock. The man threw Tom in roughly, secured the -padlock, and then went up to the table. His companion was closely -inspecting the apparatus. - -"I'm at home at the regular key," he said. "I don't know whether I can -work this, though." - -"Of course you can," urged the other. "Get ready. I've got the cypher -key and the message right here," and he took two sheets of paper from -his pocket. - -Tom was helpless. He could not possibly force the heavy door of the -closet from its fastenings. Shouting would do no good. If he attempted -it, his jailers would probably treat him roughly, for they were -vicious-looking fellows. Tom hoped for the return of Ben and Harry, or -the arrival of someone else to interrupt the man at the table. Meanwhile -he was on the keen alert as to all that individual was doing. - -The minute this man got his bearings, he started in with confidence. Tom -learned that he was flashing a message to the steamer _Councillor_, -bound from New York to Halifax. In plain English, the operator on the -_Councillor_ was instructed to deliver a message to a passenger -answering to the name of Daniel Ritchie. The message itself was a lot of -private code-words, utterly unintelligible to Tom. - -The sender repeated the message and got up from the table. - -"Hit or miss, that is the best I can do," he remarked. - -"Hit or miss, you've done all that could be expected of you," remarked -his companion. "What are you going to do with him?" questioned the -speaker, with a shrug of his shoulders towards Tom's place of -imprisonment. - -"Oh, leave him where he is. We want a start, and someone will come along -to let him out. So long, son. You might have made ten dollars if you'd -saved me the trouble of showing you that I'm some wireless myself." - -Both men laughed coarsely and left the tower. Tom knew it was futile to -expect his liberty except through the accidental visit of someone. He -contented himself by trying to recall what he could remember of the -message sent. He tried also to figure out the motive for the men's -actions. - -"They have got word to someone aboard the steamer _Councillor_," mused -Tom. "The trouble they went to to do it looks suspicious and mysterious, -though. Hello!" - -Tom stared hard at the trap door opening. Through it a head was -protruded. - -"Anybody here?" its owner called out. - -"Yes, I am here," announced Tom, moving his hand through the slit in the -closet door. - -"Tom Barnes!" - -"That's right." - -And then Tom gave a start as he recognized his unexpected visitor as -Bill Barber, head of the Black Caps. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI--KIDNAPPED - - -"Let me out," said Tom, rattling the closet door. - -"Sure, how did you get in there?" asked Bill Barber. - -"I was locked in." - -"Who by?" - -"I'll tell you later. The key is in the padlock." - -"I see it." - -There was nothing belligerent or threatening in Bill's behavior. On the -contrary, he seemed anxious to please Tom and glad to do him a favor. -This was so foreign to the usual attitude of the Barber boy, that Tom -was both astonished and puzzled. - -He noticed casually that Bill seemed more tidy than usual, and there was -not so much of the hang dog look about him as in the past. - -"Queer," spoke Bill, staring perplexedly at Tom as the latter stepped -out into the room. "You didn't shut yourself up in there?" - -"No, I'll tell you how it was soon. Thank you, Bill, you've done me a -big favor in coming just when I needed help." - -"I am glad," voiced Bill, sententiously but heartily. - -"I've something to do, so just sit down till I get things to rights, -will you?" - -"I'll do that, Tom." - -Bill sat staring wonderingly at the wireless outfit. He watched Tom flit -about as might a wizard among his trick apparatus. Tom flew to the -operating table. He knew that somehow irregular work had been done by -his two recent visitors. He wondered if he could head off the design -they had in view, and was intent on getting word to headquarters. - -Just ready to flash the signal, however, Tom ran over to a corner of the -room and picked up a crumpled wad of paper. As he opened it, revealing -two sheets, and reviewed their contents, he knew that he had discovered -something worth while. - -"The cypher message and the key to it," exclaimed Tom eagerly. "Those -fellows got what they came after and carelessly dropped these. Now to -figure it out." - -Tom ran his eyes first over one sheet and then the other. The cypher -message dovetailed with words he had heard the surreptitious operator -use. With a pencil he wrote the words out with the help of the key. This -was the result: - - "Leave the steamer before arrival at Halifax, - as New York police have telegraphed there to - arrest you." - -"I see it all as clear as daylight," murmured Tom. "The two men who -imprisoned me are warning a friend, a criminal confederate. I'll block -the game." - -Tom was busy at the transmitter for the next half hour. He flashed a -message to the _Councillor_, informing the captain that the passenger, -Daniel Ritchie, had received a wireless message irregularly, and to -prevent him from leaving the ship until he reported to the police at -Halifax. - -Then Tom sent a message to headquarters explaining the entire -proceedings of the past hour, giving his construction of the episode, -and advising an immediate report to the New York police authorities. - -Pretty tired from his activities, he now sat down in a chair. He had to -smile as he observed the face of Bill Barber. The latter sat like one -entranced over the manipulation the wireless outfit had undergone. - -"Say," he bolted out in mingled awe and admiration, "you know how to do -things with that queer contrivance, don't you?" - -Tom briefly explained some of the minuti of the wireless and had an -ardent listener. When he had concluded he intimated pleasantly: - -"And how did you chance to come along just when I needed you, Bill?" - -The Barber boy at once looked serious. A furtive embarrassed expression -came into his face. - -"That's it," he mumbled, "I came to tell you, Tom, you see?" - -"To tell me what, Bill?" asked Tom encouragingly. - -"About that tar and feather business. I had nothing to do with it, Tom, -honest Injun." - -"Who said you did, Bill?" propounded Tom, smiling. - -"I'll bet you thought it." - -"Well, wasn't it quite natural I should?" inquired Tom. - -"No, sir!" declared Bill, quite indignantly, "I wouldn't play a mean -trick like that on you, Tom Barnes. I've got nothing against you. In -fact, ever since you spoke up for me at the trial, I've--well, Tom," -stammered Bill, a little sheepishly, "I've tried to remember what you -said about giving me a chance to make a man of myself, and I--I hope I'm -doing it." - -"Good for you, Bill Barber!" cried Tom heartily. "I'm proud of you, to -hear you talk like that." - -"It was some of my old gang hired out to trim you. I've thrashed the -whole kit of them for doing it, and they won't trouble you again, never -fear." - -"You're a good friend, Bill," declared Tom. "Did you say you were -working?" - -"Yes, but not steady," answered Bill. "I get odd jobs running small -launches for the resorters down at Sea Grove. Had a trip or two for that -young Boston cad, who is hanging around with Mart Walters. Huh! he brags -about what lots of money he's got, and he hasn't paid me for my work -yet. I'll get it, though, or take it out of his hide," declared Bill, -ominously. "I say, Tom, he's a bad one, and Mart Walters is worse. Look -out for them." - -"I shall, Bill, and thank you for your good wishes and help. Any time I -can return the favor call on me as a real friend." - -Bill Barber departed with a pleased face, and Tom was not sorry for the -chance to help a fellow whom he decided had lots of good in him, if -rightly encouraged. - -In about half an hour a message came from headquarters. It had the -"sine" of the superintendent. - -"Good work," it commended. "Parties interested notified. Man on steamer -fugitive forger wanted by the Government. Probably a reward case." - -Tom felt that he was progressing finely in his work. So far, application -and straightforward devotion to duty had enabled him to perform his -duties without a censure, and to avoid snares set for his downfall. - -He was glad when Ben appeared, for Tom was full of the theme of the -hour, and his chum and assistant was a good listener. Something in Ben's -face checked the welcome rising to Tom's lips, however, and he eyed Ben -keenly. - -"Something wrong," reported Ben, looking pale and breathing hard as if -he had been running fast. - -"Where--how?" propounded Tom quickly. - -"At the farm--Harry." - -"What do you mean?" - -"Harry is in trouble of some kind. I hurried to tell you. Tom, Harry has -disappeared." - -"You don't mean for good?" exclaimed Tom seriously. - -"I don't know, but he's been kidnapped." - - - - -CHAPTER XVII--UP TO MISCHIEF - - -"Kidnapped!" repeated Tom, quite startled. - -"Yes," declared Ben. "That much is sure." - -"Did you see Harry?" - -"No, but others did. When I went after him your father told me that -Harry was grubbing out some brush in the old pasture lot. I went down -there. The hoe he had been using was lying on the ground. His coat was -hanging on the fence, but no Harry. I walked out beyond the fence to -look around for him, and near the big gate was his cap, all tramped down -in the mud. The ground looked as if there had been a scuffle." - -"This all sounds pretty strange," commented Tom. - -"I was standing wondering what next to do, when the old lady who lives -near your house came over to me. She asked me whom I was looking for, -and when I told her she said that about an hour before two men, -strangers to her, had driven up in a covered wagon. They halted outside -of the pasture lot. One of them stayed in the wagon. The other man went -up to Harry and engaged him in conversation. He seemed to induce him by -some argument or other to go out to the wagon. Once there, the woman -said, the man tried to force Harry to go with them. He must have -refused, for there was a scuffle, and the men threw Harry into the wagon -and drove off with him." - -"Did you tell my father?" inquired Tom, arising to his feet in a state -of deep anxiety and excitement. - -"I ran to a field where some men were working. They told me that your -father had gone to Westport with a load of hay. Then I ran here to tell -you about it." - -"Ben, we must do something about this at once! You must stay here in -charge." - -"I will, Tom. What do you suppose those men carried Harry away for?" - -"This is no time to lose in theorizing. I have my ideas, but never mind -them now. I will hurry home and start a chase after him." - -Tom lost no time. He gave Ben a few instructions, and then hastened -homewards on a run. Within half an hour he was mounted on a horse, and -following the main road west in the direction the kidnappers had taken. -He had made a brief explanation to one of his father's field hands, and -the man was started on horseback down the branching road. - -Tom stopped at half a dozen farm houses and made inquiries, but found no -one who had seen a wagon pass answering to his description. He reached -in turn three small settlements, met with no success in his quest, and -turned around and made for home, disappointed and concerned, but hoping -that the hired man had met with better luck. - -His messenger, however, had not returned, he found when he reached the -farm. There was an hour of anxious waiting. Finally the man rode up. - -"What news?" inquired Tom eagerly. - -"I traced the wagon five miles," reported the man, "lost it at the -crossroads, and couldn't get the trail again." - -Tom hurried to the telephone and called up every exchange within a -radius of twenty miles, explaining briefly but clearly what he wanted. - -"About all you can do is to wait, Tom," said his mother, who tried to -conceal her solicitude for the missing boy. - -"It seems to me those men cannot get through the network of people -watching out for them," spoke Tom. "I must do all I can, though, myself, -for Harry." - -Our hero started off again on horseback. He took another route this -time. It was seven o'clock when he got back home again. No trace of the -kidnappers had been reported. - -Ben had locked up at the tower, and was waiting for Tom at the Barnes' -home in a great state of impatience. Tom, after reporting to his mother, -called his chum outside. - -"Ben," he said, "I got a description of one of the men who drove the -wagon, and I know who he is." - -"You do?" exclaimed Ben. - -"Yes--the man I told you about seeing, the day Harry was in swimming, -and I discovered the tattoo marks on his shoulder." - -"You don't say so!" - -"I am pretty sure of it," declared Tom. - -"That being true, it connects with the 'Donner' business!" cried Ben. -"The sun, moon and stars message." - -"Perhaps. If Harry is really the Ernest Warren they have been -telegraphing about, someone was trying to find him." - -"And they've done it, and gotten him!" cried Ben excitedly. "We'll never -see him again, and we'll never know the mystery about him." - -"You give up too easily, Ben," said Tom, and then he hastened to meet -his father, who at that moment drove into the farm yard. - -Mr. Barnes was a peculiar man. He was wilful and went to extremes where -his likes and dislikes were involved. He had taken a great fancy to the -busy, buoyant lad he had hired, and at once manifested the deepest -interest in the particulars of the strange disappearance of Harry -Ashley. - -He turned his horses directly around and drove to the village. When he -returned, he told Tom he had got a local constable to start at once and -try to get some trace of the missing boy. - -With that move all were forced to be content. Ben stayed at Tom's house -all night, and the boys remained up late, hoping some word might come. -The captors of Harry, however, seemed to have well planned their flight, -for at the crossroads all trace of them had disappeared. - -The next day went by with no report as to the fate of Harry. Tom and Ben -took turns till late in the afternoon spelling one another in visits to -the house, anxious and eager to hear some word about their missing -comrade. - -"We'll just have to wait," concluded Ben, as they locked up the tower -that evening. "You see----" - -There Ben suddenly interrupted himself. He halted, drawing Tom also to a -dead stop. - -"What's the matter, Ben?" inquired Tom in some surprise. - -"S--sh! Ambush." - -"Don't be mysterious, Ben," began Tom. - -Then, following the indication of the pointed finger of his companion, -Tom became as much startled and interested as his chum. - -There was a dense stretch of wild rose bushes on a sandy hill about -fifty yards distant from the tower. Protruding from these, plainly -visible, was a pair of human feet. - -"Some one spying on us," declared Ben in a quivering whisper. The air -had been so full of mystery the past few days that Ben traced its -continuance in any unusual happening. - -"More like a sleepy tramp," observed Tom. - -"Find out, will you?" - -"I intend to." - -Tom picked up a heavy stick, advanced quietly to the bushes, and brought -it down with a force of a policeman's club directly across the flat -soles presented. - -"Thunder!" - -The owner of the shoes leaped to his feet with a vivid exclamation. - -"Oh, it's you, Bill?" spoke Tom instantly. "What in the world have you -got here?" - -Peering past Bill Barber, Tom observed a double-barreled shotgun where -he had been lying down. Ben looked dreadfully suspicious. Bill flushed -and stammered. - -"Oh, just hunting," he spoke evasively. - -"In that bunch of brush?" laughed Tom. - -Then, placing a rallying hand on Bill's shoulder, he added: "Out with -it, Bill, what are you up to?" - -Bill's lips came grimly together. - -"You won't interfere with me, if I tell?" - -"Why should I?" - -"Well, then, I'm watching your station here." - -"What for?" - -"Visitors." - -"Indeed?" - -"Trespassers, vandals, I had better say," went on Bill. "See here, I'm -laying for somebody, partly for you, partly because I am interested -myself. Tom Barnes, I want you to go straight home and leave me to my -own affairs. You've got enough confidence in me to believe that I -wouldn't harm you or your friends or your wireless, haven't you?" - -"There's my answer," said Tom promptly. - -As he spoke he extended the key to the trap door. - -"No," dissented Bill, "I don't need that, but thank you just the same. -The fellows I've got a tip about won't get as far as the tower." - -"You won't hurt anybody, Bill?" questioned Tom gravely, with a glance at -the shotgun. - -"No, but I'll teach them a lesson they won't forget for a long time to -come," was Bill Barber's significant reply. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII--THE TOY BALLOONS - - -"There's another one--that makes six." - -"Six what, Ben?" - -"Balloons." - -Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, -made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed: - -"Oh, you mean toy balloons?" - -"Yes. There must be a picnic somewhere. Funny thing, too. I noticed they -all had a card or a tag attached to the trailing strings." - -"Perhaps it is some advertising stunt," suggested Tom. - -He resumed the reading of a technical wireless book he had received from -New York, while Ben continued idly looking from the tower window. - -Affairs at Station Z had settled down to routine. They had learned no -results as yet from the mysterious appearance of Bill Barber at the -tower the evening before. Suddenly Ben broke out with the words: - -"There comes Bill Barber, now." - -Tom awaited the appearance of the former captain of the Black Caps with -some curiosity. He pointed to a chair as the Barber boy came up through -the trap door. - -"What's the news, Bill?" inquired Tom casually. - -Bill's broad mouth expanded Into a grin. He chuckled serenely. - -"Haven't heard anything about last night?" - -"Not a word." - -"You will if you go down Fernwood way." - -"Indeed?" - -"Yes, there's two fellows keeping themselves mighty scarce. When they -walk they wobble, and when they talk they squabble." - -"Do I happen to know the parties?" inquired Tom, but already guessing -their identity. - -"I reckon you do," answered Bill. "Making no bones about it, the fellows -are Mart Walters and Bert Aldrich." - -"I thought so," put in Ben. "They were up to tricks, were they?" - -"They were up to queering you fellows," replied Bill, "and I learned of -it. I knew yesterday they were coming down here after dark to wreck your -wireless plant. I owed that cad, Aldrich, something, and I reckoned to -pay off two scores at one and the same time. I lay in wait." - -"And they showed up?" inquired the interested Ben. - -"Yes, about nine o'clock. They tried to get up through the trap door, me -watching them. They couldn't make it, and then they went down to the -beach and got an armful of big flat stones. Aldrich was to go up that -tree yonder and Mart was to pass up the stones to him. He calculated to -throw through the tower windows and smash your outfit." - -"I see you didn't let them, Bill," suggested Tom. - -"Not I. Both barrels of the shotgun were loaded to the muzzle with -pepper and salt. Just as they got under the tree I let both triggers go. -It took them around the knees." - -"I hope you didn't cripple them," said Tom. - -"Oh, they could walk," replied Bill with a guffaw,--"just walk. I -understand that Aldrich has thrown up his hands and is going to call the -game closed." - -"What do you mean?" - -"He's going back to Boston some time between now and to-morrow night. I -guess Miss Morgan has turned the cold shoulder on him. Well, he's a good -one if he gets away with the eleven dollars and seventy-five cents he -owes me for work on the yacht, and good hard work at that." - -Bill Barber hung around for about an hour. He seemed to be glad of an -excuse to visit the tower. He was mightily interested in the wireless -outfit, and he seemed pleased to be in Tom's company. - -"Bill is not so bad a fellow after all," remarked Ben, as their visitor -departed. "What a shame! that Aldrich, with all the money he brags -about, cheating him out of his honest wages." - -"I think Bill is likely to get it," said Tom. "He is a determined and a -dangerous fellow, too, when he is once aroused." - -"I can see that," replied Ben. - -"He has proven himself a good friend to us," observed Tom. - -"Grace Morgan doesn't seem to have much use for Aldrich. I suppose he'll -try to break in and bid her good-by. I hear she is going away for a -month or two." - -"She has gone already," said Tom, with a conscious flush. - -"Oh, is that so?" - -"Yes, she left for Albion this morning, where her aunt resides. They -take the steamer _Olivia_ this evening down the coast. They are going to -a Virginia Summer resort." - -"You seem pretty well informed as to Miss Morgan's movements," observed -Ben with a wink. - -"Why, yes, I saw her last evening," replied Tom. "We are very good -friends, you know, and I am naturally interested in her plans." - -Tom did not tell his chum that in his breast pocket reposed a dainty -little card bearing the southern address of Grace, nor that she had made -him promise to write her often about the progress he made with "that -delightful wireless." - -"I say, there is another one of those balloons," exclaimed Ben suddenly; -"a red one this time. She's lighting. No, she isn't. Yes, she is, but in -the water. Tom, I'm curious about the tags all of those balloons seem to -have attached to them; I'm going to make a try to get one." - -Ben bolted from the tower. Tom went to the window to watch his -manoeuvres. Ben reached the shingly beach, and was reaching out into the -water with a long tree branch, trying to hook in the now exhausted -balloon without getting his feet wet. - -"He's got it," tallied Tom, keeping track of his movements. "Well," he -inquired a minute later, as Ben reappeared in the tower, "what does it -amount to?" - -"There has been some pencilled writing on the back of the tag," -explained Ben, "but the water has blurred it out." - -"Whose tag is it?" - -"Tom," said Ben, "what do you think? It's one of your own cards!" - -"Mine?" exclaimed Tom in surprise. - -"Yes--look at it." - -Tom took the soaked piece of cardboard. He regarded it in some wonder. - -"Why, Ben," he said finally, "you are quite right. This is one of the -cards I printed when I went into the amateur printing line last Summer." - -"I knew I'd seen it or its like before," observed Ben. - -"It's strange," ruminated Tom, turning the card over and over in his -hand in a puzzled way. "Say, though," he cried with a quick start, "I -gave a lot of those cards to Harry Ashley." - -"When?" asked Ben. - -"Last week. I was cleaning up my desk at the house, and threw away about -two hundred of them as useless into the waste basket. Harry picked them -up and asked for them." - -"And you gave them to him?" - -"That's it. He said one side was blank, and he liked to carry something -with him he could scribble on when he took the fancy." - -"Why, then," declared Ben, getting very much excited, "that card comes -from Harry!" - -"It looks that way," admitted Tom. - -"Of course that is it," insisted Ben. "It's Harry who has been sending -up those balloons." - -"But how could he do that?" - -"There's the mystery, like all the mysteries we've been running across -lately," said Ben. "Don't you see, Tom, he had some writing on the back -of those cards?" - -"It's all washed out now." - -"Yes, I see it is. See here, he is in trouble somewhere, and trying to -send us word. Don't you think we had better get out and try and find -some balloon that has dropped on land, or chase one and run it down?" - -"Well, that might be a good way," replied Tom slowly, as though he was -thinking deeply on some matter. "But perhaps we can do it easier." - -"How?" - -"By trying to decipher the writing on this card." - -"But you can't!" exclaimed Ben half impatiently, as he held up the -dripping pasteboard. "You can't read it. Try for yourself. Might as well -try to read in the dark." - -"I know you can't read it now," assented Tom, "for the water has about -soaked off the black marks of the pencil. But there may be a way of -bringing back the writing." - -"How? Do you think Harry used some kind of invisible ink? I've read of -prisoners sending secret messages to their friends written with some -chemical that would not show unless it was heated, or something like -that. Say!" he cried with sudden interest, "do you mean that way, Tom?" - -"Well, no, not exactly. Harry didn't use ink. He used a common lead -pencil, from all appearances, and the water has soaked the black marks -off. But you know when you use a pencil on paper, it always makes little -depressions in the surface, corresponding to the shape of the letters. -Did you ever put a piece of paper on top of another piece, and write on -the top sheet?" - -"Of course I have." - -"Then you've probably noticed that on the second sheet there would be -marks by which the writing could be read, even though the black pencil -characters did not show." - -"Of course. I see what you mean." - -"I thought you would. I mean to dry out this card, and then, in a good -light, we ought to be able to tell what the marks are. In that way we -can decipher what Harry wrote even though the black marks are gone." - -"Good! Let's do it. That's easier than chasing after a balloon. Here, -I'll dry the card." - -He reached for it, and approached the window on the sill of which the -sun just then shone brightly. - -"That's it!" cried Tom. "Meanwhile I'll get out a magnifying glass to -use on the card when it's dry. With that we ought to be able to read -what it says, even if the impressions are very faint." - -"Say, there's class to us all right," observed Ben with a laugh. "Maybe -we can get a job somewhere, reading secret messages for the government. -That would be excitement, and----" - -"Here's some new excitement," announced Tom, with a glance from the -window. - -"Wonder what's up now?" speculated Ben, as he too took a look. "It's -Bill Barber come back, and he's making for here on the run." - - - - -CHAPTER XIX--A STARTLING MESSAGE - - -"I've come back again," announced the Barber boy, bursting upon Tom and -Ben breathlessly. - -"I see you have," said Tom pleasantly. - -"Got something to show you. Maybe it's not important, but I thought it -was, so I hurried here." - -"You are doing me a lot of favors, Bill," said Tom. - -"Glad to," declared Bill. "Here it is," and he extended a wrinkled-up -object as he spoke. - -"Why," cried Ben, peering curiously, "it's another of those toy -balloons!" - -"Yes," assented Bill. "They've been flying around half the morning. -After I left here I ran across a crowd of youngsters chasing two sailing -aloft. One of the boys had a bow and arrow, and was trying to hit one -and bring it down. I'm some on shooting, and asked him for the bow. -Missed the first time. Next time, though, the arrow went through the -balloon, busted it, and sailed to the ground with it." - -"And this is it?" questioned Tom. - -"Yes. The little fellows ran after it and fought over it. I happened to -see the tag, and was kind of curious about it. By the time I got it, -though, the mob had trampled it in the mud, and their feet had torn away -half of it. Here's what's left of it. Your name is on it, Tom, and that -and the reward----" - -"What reward?" inquired Ben quickly. - -"It's on the back of the card," replied Bill. - -"Ben," said Tom inspecting it, "this is another of my old cards." - -"What's written on the back, Tom?" inquired Ben eagerly. - -Tom held the card so Ben could read it as well as himself. A part of the -card was gone, and some of the pencilled words it had originally -contained were blurred and vague. What was left of it read: - -"Take this to Tom Barnes and get ten dollars reward. Tom: I am a -prisoner--two bad men--about thirty miles--in the--at--in lion's -cage--_Harry Ashley_." - -Tom scanned the card again and again. Ben noted his serious studious -manner. Finally Tom turned to their visitor. - -"Bill," he said, "you get the reward. I haven't the money with me, but -any time to-morrow you call here and get it." - -"Oh, I don't want any reward," declared Bill. - -"You get it just the same," insisted Tom firmly. - -"I'll have to be getting along," said Bill. "I'm watching that launch -for Aldrich to put in an appearance. It's eleven dollars and -seventy-five cents or a licking for him, I can tell you." - -"I think I know where those balloons came from," said Tom to Ben, when -Bill had departed. - -"Where, Tom?" - -"A circus." - -"How so?" - -"Those fragments of sentences on the card lead me to believe that the -message should read about this way: 'I am a prisoner in the hands of two -bad men about thirty miles from Rockley Cove, in the circus at Wadhams, -shut up in the lion's cage.'" - -Ben was on his feet in a bound, his face flushed with excitement. - -"I'll bet you've solved it, Tom. And there is a circus at Wadhams just -now. Why, it's just the place where these toy balloons would be likely -to be on sale. And the mention of a lion's cage! That fits to a circus, -too! I don't understand, though, how Harry has managed to send the -balloons aloft, if he was shut up somewhere prisoner." - -"We won't try to guess that out now," said Tom. "Here is certainly a big -clue. Harry is an ingenious fellow, and somehow has managed to float -these messages. I want you to stay here alone for a spell." - -"Where are you going?" inquired Ben. - -"To report to my father instanter," replied Tom; and he was off -speedily. - -It was the middle of the afternoon before Tom returned. Ben was -anxiously awaiting him. - -"What's the program?" he asked eagerly. - -"You are to go up to the house at once, Ben. My father has the team -hitched up and is waiting for you. A hired man is going, too, and the -constable. Telephone your folks from the house that you may be away till -morning. When you do come back, report here right away." - -"All right, Tom." - -"Storm signals are out, and one of us will have to stay on duty -to-night." - -The sky had been overcast all the morning. Long before dusk the -forewarnings of a heavy storm were discoverable, and Tom realized an -impending occasion when he was expected to exercise unusual vigilance. - -At dark one of the field hands came to the tower with a warm supper sent -by Tom's mother. He chatted with Tom for half an hour and left in a wild -flurry of wind and rain. - -By eight o'clock the full fury of the gale broke on land, already -dangerous at sea, as Tom had noticed for some time previous. The wind -arose to a hurricane, the rain came in sheets, and at times the thunder -and lightning became terrific. - -Tom was in constant readiness for service. His ear was close to the -receiver. He knew from experience what these tempestuous nights meant -for those at sea. - -Suddenly there was a sharp series of sputtering, crackling sounds. Then -the receiver gave: "y-3----y-3----y-3." - -Tom thrilled. It was the first time in his experience as a wireless -operator that the signal most dreaded had come into Station Z, for the -quickly repeated letter and its accompanying numeral meant that some -vessel at sea was in dire distress. - -Tom clapped the receiver to his ear, and, even before it was in place he -noted the clicking of the diaphragm, which told that the electric -current was operating through the magnets. Then came a snap, as when a -central telephone operator accidently "rings the bell" into one's ear. -It was as though all the powerful current had concentrated itself into -the receiver. - -"Great Scott!" cried Tom. "With this storm I may get a shock if I'm not -careful!" - -He looked to his instruments, and glanced at the connections. They -seemed to be in perfect order, and he was as well safeguarded as was -possible. - -There was a silence, and then more of the pounding in the receiver. The -lad was forced to move it away from his ear, for it nearly deafened him. - -"This is fierce!" he cried, as a terrific clap of thunder, following a -vivid lightning flash, seemed fairly to shake the tower. - -The instrument acted incoherently for the minute succeeding, and Tom -could not make out the message that was coming. He sprang to the ropes -that connected a tackle with the aerials aloft and ran the netting up -into tune. - -"She's coming clear now," said Tom. - -"Y-3, off Garvey Rocks," ran the message. "Machinery broken and -drifting. Send help. Steamer _Olivia_." - -Tom recoiled with a shock. The _Olivia!_! That was the steamer upon -which Grace Morgan and her aunt were passengers! - - - - -CHAPTER XX--THE LAUNCH - - -Tom held his nerves steady, although he was somewhat shaken. His first -business was to send a response to the ship in distress. He did not know -what the facilities might be for receiving on board the steamer, but he -followed usage. He had no means of knowing what other stations had -caught the flying cry for help. The lifesaving station was twenty miles -to the north. Station Z was the nearest wireless to Garvey Rocks by some -thirty miles, and everything depended on him in the present crisis. - -Tom ran to the window and looked out at the storm. It was truly a -fearful night. The strong blast was bending the trees almost to the -ground and sending the gravel scudding along the beach like hailstones. - -Aloft the heavens were one constant glow of liquid fire, and the thunder -crashes reverberated as in a hollow vault. The sea was lashed into a -tremendous fury, the waves sweeping mountain high and breaking with a -detonating roar that added to the babel of the night. - -"I wish Ben was here," murmured Tom in deep concern. He could picture -the disabled steamer vividly in his mind's eye, the more readily because -his fond girl friend was in peril. - -"Y-3"--again the call came, less distinct this time, but more frantic -and urgent--"ship aleak and sinking." - -"Will get help to you somehow," flashed back Tom. - -He was in a tremor. Amid the strain of undue excitement Tom's thoughts -ran rapidly. Only for a moment, however, did he remain inert and -undecided. - -"Something must be done!" he cried, in an excess of frantic anxiety and -apparent helplessness. "But what? There is not a boat on the beach that -could live in those waters--except the _Beulah_!" - -The addendum was a shout. Tom sprang to his feet, electrically infused -with a sudden suggestion. - -_Beulah_ was the name of the big pretentious gasoline launch in which -Bert Aldrich had arrived in state at Rockley Cove. He had bragged -mightily concerning its possibilities. Tom had seen him do things with -it, too. The _Beulah_ was a wonder as to speed and staunchness. A -thrilling resolution fixed our hero's mind. He would arouse the people, -reach Aldrich and influence him to loan the boat for an attempted rescue -at sea. - -Tom was down the trap ladder in one reckless slide. He ran down the -shore buffeted, yet helped along by the powerful hurricane blast. Bert -Aldrich was a guest at the home of Mart Walters and that was the -prospective destination of the resolute young wireless operator. - -Tom came in sight of the pier where the _Beulah_ was moored. He could -make out her outlines dimly. She was hugging the pier fitfully, tossing -to and fro. - -"Why," exclaimed Tom with a gasp of glad discovery, "some one is on -board!" - -Only for a moment to his vision, apparently inside the cabin of the -restless tugging craft, a flicker of radiance showed. It suggested the -lighting of a match and then its extinguishment. The indication of -occupancy of the launch was enough for Tom. He diverged from the road, -lined the beach, ran down the pier, and jumped aboard the _Beulah_. - -Rounding the cabin Tom recoiled with a shock. Some one had leaped from -the covert of a deep shadow and pinned his arms behind him. - -"Got you at last, have I?" shouted a determined voice in his ears. - -"Hold on," demurred Tom struggling violently. - -"No, you don't! I've got you, Bert Aldrich, and we're going to have a -settlement of that eleven dollars and seventy-five cents right here and -now." - -"I'm not Bert Aldrich! Don't you know me, Bill?" - -"Tom Barnes!" - -"Yes." - -The Barber boy let Tom go as if he were a hot coal. - -"Say, excuse me, will you?" he stammered. - -"That's all right, Bill. What are you doing here in this storm?" - -"Waiting. Can't you guess--waiting to nail Bert Aldrich." - -"It isn't likely he will show up such a night as this." - -"He's a coward, but he'd risk a good deal to get away without meeting -me. And what are you doing here, Tom Barnes?" - -Instantly Tom was recalled to the urgency of the moment. The discovery -of Bill Barber aboard the launch suggested a change in his plans. - -"Bill," he asked quickly, "do you understand running this craft?" - -"Do I understand?" stormed Bill; "say, if anybody but you asked me that -I'd knock him down." - -"Something of an expert, are you?" - -"Do you want to try me?" - -"Just that, Bill," rejoined Tom seriously. "Listen." - -Briefly but graphically Tom recited the cause of his visit to the -launch. He had Bill literally on fire with excitement and energy by the -time he had concluded. - -"See here, Tom Barnes," cried Bill, "there's no time to lose!" - -"That is certain, Bill." - -"The steamer is in danger." - -"Just as I told you." - -"Off Garvey Rocks?" - -"Yes." - -"When we get afloat we can probably make out her lights?" - -"Probably." - -"You want me to help you get to the _Olivia_?" - -"We've got to." - -"I'm your man." - -"I suppose Aldrich will resent our appropriation of his launch." - -"Let him," said Bill with a laugh. "I'll take out that eleven dollars -and seventy-five cents in the use of the _Beulah_. See? All aboard! -Follow me!" - -The Barber boy made a dash for the engine room of the launch followed by -the young wireless operator. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI--BRAVING THE STORM - - -A violent gust of wind drove Tom up against Bill as the latter led the -way through the cabin doorway. It was with difficulty that the door was -forced shut after them. - -"Stand still--hold on to something to steady yourself," ordered Bill. -"I'll have things fixed up in a minute or two." - -Tom heard his companion grope about the room. Almost instantly a match -was flared and a lamp with a broad reflector illumined the place -brilliantly. - -"Now then!" added Bill, all vim and activity. - -He threw open a locker, and from its depths he fished out two rubber -coats and caps. - -The two boys resembled old tars in their tarpaulin trim. The excitement -of the moment was intense, but every move they made was progress, and -their nerves and courage were as steady as steel. - -"Can you manage the steering gear?" inquired Bill. - -"I've tried it on some smaller boats than this," replied Tom. - -"Well, I can do the rest--provided the storm let's us. Br--r!" - -Even at anchorage the launch was swinging like an eggshell in a tempest. -Bill set the lights. Then he pointed to the seat at the side of the -craft next to the engine. - -"She sparks automatically," he explained, touching a button, and there -was a whistling whir. "You control with the lever--understand?" - -"Perfectly," answered Tom. - -"I can pilot anywhere inside of fifty miles," boasted Bill. "Garvey -Rocks, you said?" - -"Yes." - -Bill took his place at the wheel. Tom released the shore tackle. Then he -was down in his seat firmly planted. The _Beulah_ made a leap like some -marine leviathan bounding out of captivity. - -Tom had never had much experience with a launch, but it was sufficient, -with Bill's constantly shouted directions, to enable him to run the -engine. The thought crossed his mind that he would have the indignant -ire of Bert Aldrich to face on his return. It flitted quickly as the -peril of the _Olivia_ and his loyal girl friend aboard of the steamer -recurred to him with intensified urgency. - -One plunge, obliterating all shore outlines, seemed to whirl them into a -vortex of battling, unrestrained elements. The first splash of spray, -dense and blinding, covered Bill like a veil. A great wave sent the -craft hurtling along like an arrow. Tom realized that they were bent on -a desperately dangerous venture. - -"We can't line the shore; we must get out further from land," Bill -shouted back. - -Bill, once past danger of sandbars and breakers, had turned the course -due southeast. On every calculation of knowledge of locality and -distances, this it seemed would be sure to bring them in direct range of -Garvey Rocks. For half an hour they drove ahead, neither speaking a -word. Then Tom fixed his eye on some moving lights shorewards. They -inspired a sudden thought, and setting the lever at steady speed he -crept forward on hands and knees along the slippery deck. - -"Bill!" he shouted hoarsely. - -"Hello--what's the row?" challenged Bill, amazed that Tom had deserted -his post of duty. - -"Made out any lights ahead?" - -"Not yet." - -"Neither have I. There's some ashore, though." - -"What of it?" questioned Bill. - -"They are of the coaling station at Brookville. I am sure some craft is -there." - -"Suppose so." - -"We had better advise them of our errand. It may be a big steam tug. Two -are better than one, and the _Olivia_ may be in a desperate fix." - -"If she's really on the rocks she's stove bad long before this," was the -discouraging rejoinder of Bill, sending a chill through Tom's frame. - -"We could never pull the steamer off the rocks, but a larger craft -might," suggested Tom. - -"What are you getting at?" asked Bill. - -"I think we had better make Brookville and get the boat there, whatever -it is, in service." - -"You're the boss, Tom," said Bill simply. - -Tom made his way back to his seat. Soon the launch described a circle, -which, masterly as was the manoeuvre, sent the craft careening at a -perilous angle. Then they headed straight for shore. - -They came alongside a steam tug just through coaling at the dock at -Brookville. The boat did not have steam up, and was moored safely for -the night. Men were moving about the deck with lanterns, making things -trim and safe. Tom had caught a grapnel on the rail of the tug and -secured it. Then he swung aboard the tug. - -He ran up to a man arrayed like himself in foul weather costume, who -stood steadying himself at a hawser post, and who was giving orders to -the others. The man stared strangely at Tom's sudden appearance. - -"Captain," shot out Tom tersely. - -"That's me. Where did you come from? Oh, I see," and he caught sight of -the outlines of the launch. "What's the trouble?" - -Tom briefly, rapidly explained the situation. In an instant he realized -that he was fortunate in finding just the kind of a man he needed. The -tug captain listened to him in breathless interest. When Tom had -concluded he rested his hand on his shoulder in a friendly way. - -"You're a good one, lad, whoever you are," he said. "Sorry we're shut -down, but we'll set about steaming up in a jiffy. Garvey Rocks, you, -said?" - -"Yes, sir--know them?" - -"Like a book. We'll be on your trail inside of half an hour." - -"It's all right!" shouted Tom, as he regained the launch. "Make straight -for the steamer, now, Bill." - -"No time to lose either," was the snappy response. - -The fresh start gave Bill his bearings more clearly than ever. - -"I can't miss it," he declared. "Speed her up, Tom." - -The young wireless operator gazed anxiously and eagerly ahead as they -dashed forward. No lights yet showed, but he knew that the shore line -described a circular sweep just beyond Brookville. They might not be far -enough out at sea yet to give them a clear view of the waters. His -anxiety, however, grew to dismal forebodings as ten, fifteen, twenty -minutes passed by, and the same blank unbroken blackness loomed ahead. - -Suddenly Tom, who had been watching the motor, called out to his -companion: - -"Say, Bill, you'd better come back here a minute." - -"What for? I can't leave the wheel, unless it's something important." - -"Well, it's important all right. I don't like the way this machinery is -acting. It doesn't seem to be sparking right, if I'm any judge." - -"Great Scott! I hope nothing goes wrong in this blow. Wait a second. -I'll be with you. I'll lash the wheel. I guess it will be safe for a -little while to keep on a straight course." - -Tom heard Bill tossing ropes about as he picked up some to lash the -wheel. Then he staggered into the motor room, being tossed from side to -side by the pitching of the launch. - -Hardly had he reached the side of the young wireless operator, than, -with a sigh and a moan--a sort of apologetic cough--the motor ceased -working. - -"Oh, my!" exclaimed Bill. "There she goes! I should say something _was_ -the matter." - -"What is it?" asked Tom. - -"Don't know yet. I'll have to take a look. It may be the ignition, or -the carburetor, or any of half a hundred things that can happen to a -gasoline motor. I'll have to take a look." - -"Should I have called you sooner?" asked Tom. "It was acting queer for -several minutes. First it would go fast and then slow." - -"Well, I guess coming in any sooner wouldn't have done much good. I'll -take a look now. You'd better help me. Get the lantern and bring it -closer. We won't need any one at the wheel when we aren't moving." - -The launch was now drifting about at the mercy of the wind and waves. -She fairly wallowed in the water, and it was no easy task to keep one's -footing, to say nothing of trying to get a balky motor back into -commission. But the two set about their task bravely, while the storm -raged about them. - -First Bill tested the ignition system. Something was evidently wrong -with that, for there came no responsive buzz in the coil when he threw -the fly wheel over to make the connections. - -"Maybe it's the make-and-break," he suggested. "I'll tinker with that." -Which he did, tightening and loosening the spring, separating and -bringing nearer the contact points. But it was useless. There was no -buzz. - -"Are the batteries all right?" asked Tom. - -"I'll test 'em," was the laconic answer, and in a few minutes the -announcement came: "They're good and strong. If I can get her to start -on the batteries I can swing her over onto the magneto, and we'll be all -right. But I can't get a spark." - -"How about the plugs?" asked Tom. - -"I'll try them next. Oh, there are plenty of things to try." - -"And not much time to do 'em in," added Tom grimly, as he held the -lantern where the gleam would fall best for his companion. "This is -fierce, to be delayed this way when there are men and women--yes, maybe -children, too--who need saving!" - -"Can't help it!" cried Bill. "We're doing the best we can." - -With a quick motion he unscrewed the spark plugs from the cylinder -heads. - -"Here's trouble already, Tom," he cried. "They're all sooted up. Now -I've got to soak 'em in gasoline and----" - -"Maybe there are some spare ones aboard!" suggested the young wireless -operator. "Let's take a look. It's going to be hard work to clean these -old ones in this blow. Besides, I don't like the idea of fooling with -gasoline in an open can, and with a lantern so close." - -"Neither do I. We'll see if we can't find some extra plugs." - -Together they began to rummage through the lockers of the boat. Tossed -about as they were, slammed from side to side as the waves pitched the -launch, they spent a hard fifteen minutes in the hunt. - -"I don't believe there are any," said Bill despondently. - -"Here's a box we didn't open!" cried Tom, as he saw a small one down in -the bottom of a port locker. "Let's try that!" - -In another instant he had the cover off. There, in the beams of the -lantern, he saw the gleam of white porcelain. - -"Spark plugs!" cried Tom. - -"New ones!" added Bill. "This is great. Now we'll move!" - -Quickly he adjusted the wires, but, before screwing the plugs in the top -of the cylinders he tested them to see if there was no other break in -the ignition system. - -As the wheel was swung over there came a welcome buzz from the coil, and -a tiny blue flame leaped from point to point of the spark plug, as it -lay on top of the cylinder head. - -"Hurray!" yelled Tom, above the roar of the wind. - -"That's it!" shouted Bill. "Now to see what happens!" - -The plugs were inserted, screwed tight, and then came the test. -Steadying themselves as best they could in the rocking boat they turned -the flywheel over, Tom having thrown in the battery switch. - -There was the tell-tale buzz, which told of the working of the spark -plug--a buzz and a hum, but there was no welcoming explosion. No hearty -puff from the cylinders that indicated the gasoline mixture being set -off by the spark. - -"Hum!" mused Bill, as he paused to contemplate the silent motor. - -"Something wrong, still?" asked Tom anxiously, gazing off across the -dark expanse of water for a possible sight of a flickering light that -would tell of the ill-fated _Olivia_. But he saw nothing. - -"Well, we'll try once more," exclaimed Bill. "Hold the lantern closer, -Tom, so I can see how the timer works." - -The young wireless operator obeyed. Once more the buzz and hum told of -the perfect working of the ignition system--and yet not perfect either, -for the motor was still silent, and the launch was drifting about more -helpless than ever. - -"Suppose you try, Tom," suggested Bill. "Maybe you'll have better luck -than I had." - -Tom handed his companion the lantern, and grasped the wheel, for there -was little use in trying the automatic starter in such a condition as -was the machinery now. - -But Tom had no better success, though he strained and tugged, giving the -wheel many revolutions. - -"Say!" suddenly exclaimed Bill. "The gasoline! Didn't we shut it off -when we started to see what the trouble was?" - -"We sure did," agreed Tom. - -"And we didn't turn it on again, I'll wager. Look at the tank valve." - -"That's right!" cried Tom. "Here she comes now." - -Waiting a moment for the carburetor to fill, Bill once more swung the -wheel over. They waited anxiously to see if it would continue, but with -a wheeze it gave up as soon as the muscular impetus stopped. - -"Carburetor troubles!" muttered Bill. "And that's the worst kind to have -in a storm. Well, there's no help for it. Here goes to adjust it." - -As is well known, many carburetors require a different adjustment in -rainy weather than in dry. It was so in this case. Bill screwed and -unscrewed the air valve and readjusted the butterfly automatic. He -admitted more gasoline, then less, giving a richer and then a thinner -mixture. After each adjustment he tried the motor, but it was not until -after about ten trials that, when both were on the point of giving up, -suddenly the motor started. - -"Hurray!" cried Tom. - -"It's about time," murmured Bill. "She's working better than ever now, -though," he said, as he listened to the machinery. "I'll go take the -wheel now. Watch her carefully, Tom," and he went to the helm again. -Once more they were under way, and their anxious eyes peered through the -blackness. - -The storm had been bad, but now it was worse. The swift dash of the rain -formed a kind of mist. Tom's heart sank as he heard Bill at the wheel -utter a kind of impatient groan. - -"What's amiss?" he shouted to the pilot. - -"Something's wrong--no lights, and I may have missed my course. We'll -have to strike shore again, Tom," said Bill. - -"Can't we avoid wasting the time?" inquired Tom. - -"There may be no chance for the ship to show lights," suggested Bill, in -his broad blunt way. "Maybe the _Olivia_ has gone down." - -"Oh, surely not that!" cried Tom. "There--there!" - -"Good!" chorused Bill, in a gladsome shout; "it must be the _Olivia_!" - -Directly ahead, but high up in the air, a brilliant rocket had pierced -the gloom of the tempestuous night. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII--THE RESCUE - - -Tom hailed the unmistakable signal of distress from the steamer _Olivia_ -with energy and hope. - -"I think I understand why we saw no lights," he remarked. "The steamer -must have driven into the breakers beyond what they call the North -Sentinel." - -"That must be it," assented Bill. "Now Tom, get to your lever." - -Bill tackled the wheel with renewed vigor and Tom braced up magically. -At all events, he reflected, the _Olivia_ had not yet gone down. They -would be in time for a rescue. The heavy wind, the pelting rain, the -erratic gyrations of the launch, were as nothing to him now. The thought -that he might be able to save precious human lives inspired him with -courage. - -A second rocket sailed through the mist-laden air a few minutes later. -Bill, in high animal spirits, amid his excitement kept shouting out like -a schoolboy driving a bicycle. - -"Go it! Whoop-la! There's a dive for you! Beats automobiling!" - -"Hurrah!" broke in Tom. - -"She's there," echoed Bill. - -"Yes, the _Olivia_ at last," cried Tom. - -Veering slightly to southeast, the launch came in sight of the bobbing -ship's lights. One, a bulkhead reflector, was quite clear and guiding. - -"Go cautiously now, Bill," warned our hero. - -"I'll give you speed signals," responded Bill. "One--two, slow up." - -"All right." - -Tom knew from having visited the Garvey Rocks more than once in the past -that they were nearing dangerous waters. Somehow, however, he had -confidence in his pilot. Bill was daring, and more than once the keel of -the _Beulah_ grazed some obstruction. But Bill shouted back to Tom each -time that he knew his route, and would bring about no disaster through -recklessness. - -They were now so near to the steamer that they could make out her -situation quite clearly. - -"She's stove in!" declared Bill. "Her fires are out, and there must be a -leak. Look at her now, Tom--she's rolling." - -The condition of the _Olivia_ was a precarious one--Tom discerned this -at a glance. She had fallen over slightly on one side. The lights on -deck showed a number of passengers huddled at a slanting bow, clinging -to a cable which had been strung from rail to rail, to prevent them from -falling or rolling when a particularly heavy billow would cause the once -staunch ship to quiver and topple. - -Another rocket went up. It was followed by a ringing cheer. The launch, -slowing down, came directly into the strong central focus of the -bulkhead reflector. Those working about the ship, clinging to this and -that as they moved about, paused to stare at the staunch little craft of -rescue. The passengers huddled together lost their terror and a babel of -excited, hopeful, joyous voices sounded out. - -"Oh Tom!--Tom!" - -The young wireless operator thrilled with an emotion he could not -analyze. In an instant he recognized the voice of Grace Morgan. Could -she have been thinking of him, that the recognition was so prompt; or, -despite his unusual garb and the clumsy oilcloth cap, did the powerful -reflector glow bring out his features in strong relief? - -"Ease her!" shouted Bill, and his very soul seemed centered in working -the wheel to prevent both collision and retreat. - -"Throw them a cable!" roared the trumpet tones of the captain of the -steamer. - -Tom caught the coiling end of the rope and secured it, allowing a play -of a few feet between the two craft. - -"Drop the ladder!" came the next order. - -"The women first!" shouted one of the steamer officers. "Get back, -there!" - -There was light enough for Tom to see a portly, fussy old man press -close to the rail, vehemently shouting out that he would sue the -steamship company if they did not instantly get him to dry land. He -uttered a howl of despair as he was ignominiously bundled out of the -way. - -"I can't--I won't, I shall faint!" shrieked a rasping feminine voice, as -a staunch sailor was compelled to carry her down the swaying ladder. - -She wriggled like an eel as Tom grabbed her and forced her into the -cabin of the launch, going instantly into hysterics as she landed on a -cushioned seat. - -"There are only eight of the ladies," called down the captain. - -"Hold tight, Aunt Bertha," Tom heard a familiar voice speak steadily. - -"Oh, dear, I know I shall fall and be drowned!" wailed the second of the -rescued passengers, whom Tom was sure must be the aunt in whose charge -Grace had started on the present unlucky voyage. - - - [Illustration: "YOU BRAVE GIRL!" CRIED TOM IRRESISTIBLY.] - - -"We won't let you, ma'am," assured the sailor at the rail. "Be speedy -now. There's more to follow." - -The descent of seven of the ladies was accomplished. Tom had not caught -a murmur of protest or fear from the plucky little maiden who had waited -her turn till the last. - -A shriek loud and ringing went up from the seventh lady, for just as Tom -seized her both of them were nearly hurled into the water. A fearful -gust of wind had driven the launch with a crash against the hull of the -steamer. The same terrific force gave the steamer a lurch, and she -threatened to turn turtle. As she righted, although the ladder was -flopping about like a whiplash, Grace sprang past the sailor at the -rail, slid one-half the length of the ladder, was swung out, and just -caught in Tom's arms as the captain of the steamer roared out in thunder -tones: - -"Slip the cable, you lubber, or the launch will be crushed!" - -"You brave girl!" cried Tom irresistibly. - -"Oh, Tom, can I help?" inquired Grace. - -"Yes, quiet those in the cabin." - -Bill sounded the bell at the wheel and Tom with lightning speed made a -dash for the lever. He reversed just as the giant hull of the steamer -flung down with crushing force. - -"Fire! murder! help! police!" yelled the frantic fat old man on deck, as -his fond hopes vanished with the receding launch. - -"Stand by!" shouted the captain of the steamer to Tom. "There's a dozen -passengers left yet." - -"There's room with crowding, if you can get them aboard," reported Tom. - -"Life preservers, all!" roared the captain. "One more lurch like that, -and she'll split in two! Lower the men passengers." - -"No need," shouted back Tom just then, as a dazzling light rounded the -North Sentinel. - -"The steam tug!" cried Bill. - -"That will serve us. We're all right now," declared the captain. "Get -the women passengers ashore." - -With a yell just then a great bulky form came shooting over the side of -the steamer. It was the fussy old man. Tom barely managed to grasp -something floating behind him, or the suction of the passing tug would -have drawn him under the swiftly revolving steam screw. - -"I'm drowned! I'm dead!" bawled the man, half choked with salt water, as -Tom pulled him to the deck of the launch, to find that as many as six -life preservers encumbered his bulky form. - -The steam tug had approached the _Olivia_, running her length as if to -discover the real merits of her situation. Preparing to start the launch -into the open sea away from the rocks and then to run direct for -Brookville, Tom and Bill for a moment were awed into inactivity as a -great shout went up. - -The steamer again lurched to one side. A loud crash sounded above the -howling gale, and the _Olivia_ lay a shattered wreck on the rocks. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII--"EVERY INCH A MAN" - - -"She's a-goner!" shouted Bill, at the wheel. - -"Steady!" cried Tom, at the lever. - -The sounds of excitement and alarm among the passengers still aboard the -_Olivia_ and her crew told of a state of new distress and terror. The -launch, now at a safe distance from either tug or steamer, was instantly -put about. - -"She can't hold many more," declared Bill. - -"We can't see those people drown," responded Tom, and shut off the -power, while Bill tried to hold the launch steady. - -Tom got a boathook and stood braced against the cabin, ready to give -assistance to any of three or four men he had seen leap overboard -immediately after the _Olivia_ had scuttled. His services were required, -however, only in the case of one who was driven by a wave directly up to -the launch. The others managed to swim to the steam tug, and were lifted -aboard readily by the crew over its low sides. - -The captain of the _Olivia_ shouted out some quick orders. A cable came -whirling across the deck of the tug. It was caught fast at both ends, a -pulleyed davit was rigged, and the remaining passengers of the steamer -slid along this. When the captain came last, Tom knew that the steamer -had been abandoned to her fate. - -"It's all right," he called to Bill. - -"Nobody lost?" - -"I think not." - -"Then it's Brookville for us." - -"Yes, quick as you can make it, Bill." - -The storm had somewhat subsided. The _Beulah_ struck a straight course -shorewards. Tom, glancing through the cabin window, observed that the -lady passengers grouped there seemed quieted down and coherent. - -The bulky man passenger with the life preservers had crawled to the -shelter of the stern platform, and, wedging himself in between two rods, -only occasionally shouted out some mad threat of a suit against the -steamship company. - -The dock at Brookville was crowded by residents of the little town as -the _Beulah_ drove into comparatively smooth water in the coaling slip. -Men with lanterns, and some women too, had braved the rain and wind, -alarmed, and anxious to be helpful when the rumor had spread that a -steamer was aground on Garvey Rocks. - -Tom expressed a great sigh of relief as willing hands caught the cable -he threw to the dock. He shut off the power, and as he passed Bill, grim -and business-like at his post of duty, he bestowed a hearty smack -between the shoulders. - -"Good boy!" he cried exuberantly. - -Bill chuckled. - -"Mean that?" he propounded. - -"I certainly do." - -"Some good, then, ain't I?" - -"Bill Barber," cried Tom with genuine feeling, "you're pure gold all -through, and every inch a man!" - -The Barber boy thrust out his rough paw of a hand to grasp that of his -comrade in a hearty grip. - -"Tom Barnes," he said, choking up, and yet with the echo of a glad cheer -in his tones, "I'd rather hear you say that than--than--yes, than even -get that eleven dollars and seventy-five cents Bert Aldrich owes me." - -The door of the cabin opened, and Grace Morgan stood on its threshold. - -"Have we landed, Tom?" she asked. - -"Yes, Grace, safe and sound." - -"Oh, how glad Aunt Bertha will be! What are we to do now, Tom?" - -"You are to be taken in charge by a lot of kind people, it looks to me," -responded Tom. - -"I will find out their plans, and let you know at once. Tell the ladies -there is no need of their coming out in the rain until arrangements are -made for their comfort." - -Tom clambered up to the dock. He had to answer a dozen questions in one -breath for as many excited persons eager for news. - -Tom allayed the general suspense by expressing the conviction that all -hands had been saved from the wreck. Then he gave full attention to a -big man in a raincoat who seemed to be the spokesman of the community. - -"Get the ladies to shelter," this individual ordered those at his side. -"We can find room for a couple of them up at our house." - -"I'll go and get the covered 'bus," suggested one of his assistants. - -"A good idea." - -In two minutes' time the proffers of shelter exceeded the demand of the -occasion. - -A fog whistle in the distance out at sea came floating in on the strong -breeze. - -"That is the steam tug with the other passengers aboard," said the big -man. - -"Yes, sir," responded Tom. - -"How many, do you think?" - -"Perhaps fifteen or twenty." - -"They must be provided for," said the man. "There's the hotel. It's old -and rickety and don't accommodate half a dozen comfortably; but it'll -give them a roof, some kind of a shakedown, and a warm meal to brace -them up." - -"How much the cost?" broke in a sudden voice, and the fat man with the -life preservers trundled into view. - -"How much for what?" demanded the other, staring in astonishment at the -odd figure the stout passenger made with his armor of cork life -preservers. - -"For lodging and meals. I won't pay much. Look at my clothes! All -soaked,--and what of my baggage back on that pesky steamer? I won't be -robbed! I'll sue everybody! I shan't pay a cent!" - -"You won't have to," assured the man. "The hospitality of this town -comes free, gratis, for nothing, on such an occasion as this." - -Tom told Bill of the arrangements in order, and then reported to Grace. -He had never admired the little lady as much as now, as he noted her -kindly soothing treatment of her nervously-unstrung aunt, her pretty -obliging ways in seeing to the care of an old lady with a crutch and a -young woman with a frightened child in her arms, as the 'bus drove up. - -"Aunt Bertha is dreadfully nervous," she said to Tom. "She says she will -abandon the trip entirely now, will never venture on the water again, -and wants to get to Fernwood right away, for she knows she is going to -be ill." - -"It is quite a trip to your home from here, Grace," explained Tom. "I -might get a vehicle somewhere, but the roads must be almost impassable -in places, and the storm isn't over yet. If I were you, I would try and -induce your aunt to remain at Brookville till morning. I know you will -both be taken care of by these good people." - -"I will try and console her to your opinion," responded Grace. She gave -him a bright look. "Oh, Tom," she cried, bursting girl-like into tears -of mingled pride and joy, "you have acted just--splendid!" - -She seized both his hands in her own and smiled in grateful friendship -at him, as he helped her into the 'bus. Just then those on the dock -broke out into ringing cheers. - -"The steam tug!" said Tom, noticing the craft approach. - -There was the excitement of a new landing, eager questioning, rapid -explanations; and Bill, who had left the launch and mingled with the -crowd, approached Tom, smiling with good nature, his hands in his -pockets, a certain element of pride and exaltation in his stride. - -"Not a person lost," he reported in glad tones. - -"The captain of the _Olivia_ is looking for you, and----" - -"That's the lad," sounded the voice of the tug captain, and the man with -him who wore a cap with an official band of gold braid around it, seized -Tom as if he feared he might run away from him. - -"I want you," he said, his hearty grip catching Tom's arm. "Hey, where's -that hotel you're going to stow us in?" he hailed to a villager. - -"I'll pilot you there," was the prompt reply, and passengers and crew of -the _Olivia_ followed the speaker from the dock over to an old -dilapidated building that had been in its palmy days the hotel of the -place. - -It was well lighted up, and warmed by two red hot iron stoves. It had an -immense dining room, and into this the crowd was ushered, and gathered -shiveringly about the great heater in the center of the room. Adjoining -it was a small apartment which at one time had been an office. It had a -light on a table and some chairs. - -"Sit down," said the steamer captain. "My friend," he added, taking out -a memorandum book and a pencil, "do you realize what you have done for -my passengers and crew to-night?" - -"How about my comrade, plucky Bill Barber?" inquired Tom, trying to -evade the direct compliment. - -"We'll come to him in the final settlement, don't fret about that," -observed the captain definitely. "You got the message, you started the -grand old ball rolling that saved twenty lives!" exclaimed the excited -captain. "So the tug officer tells me. Now, then, a few questions. -Name?" - -Tom gave it, and replied in detail to other inquiries of his companion. -In fact, before the captain had concluded the inquisition he had -gathered from Tom and jotted down the main facts of a pretty -circumstantial account of the start and finish of the rescue. - -"I shall telegraph the outlines of the case at once to headquarters," -said the steamer captain. "I shall follow it up with the written report -of your share in the affair. You will hear from the company in a very -substantial way, count on that, young man. Wait here a few minutes." - -The speaker left Tom and went into the big room beyond where the rescued -male passengers and crew of the _Olivia_ were gathered. He closed the -door after him, but Tom caught the echo of many voices in animated -discussion. He even made out the cackling, complaining tones of the man -with the life preservers. - -When the captain came out he placed in Tom's hands a roll of banknotes. - -"Hold on----" began Tom. - -"No, you do the holding on, young man," interrupted the captain -cheerfully. "That's a little heart-to-heart acknowledgment from the -crowd in there, who wanted to cheer you, but they might scare the -natives. Oh, by the way--I came near cheating you. Here's a part of the -contribution." - -The speaker burst into a rollicking roar of laughter as he placed in -Tom's hand a nickel. Tom smiled inquiringly. - -"From the old fat fellow with the life preservers," explained the -captain. - -"Oh," said Tom, amused, "I understand." - -"Good-by, Barnes," said the captain, grasping Tom's hand till he winced. -"I wish I had a boy like you." - -"You will thank those gentlemen for their kindness?" asked Tom. - -"Oh, they're the grateful ones," declared the captain of the _Olivia_. -"I say, Barnes," he shouted, after waving adieu to Tom from the door of -the hotel, "look out for that nickel. It may be real." - -Tom hurried to the dock. He found Bill getting the launch ready for the -return trip. The storm had almost passed over by this time. - -"Is it home, Tom?" inquired Bill. - -"Right away," assented the young wireless operator, "and the sooner the -better. I have some work at the tower before me." - -"They are going to start back with the tug for Garvey rocks, I heard -them say," remarked Bill, as the _Beulah_ got under way. "They may be -able to do something with her, at least save something." - -Tom did not talk much on the journey back to the pier. His mind and his -heart were both full. He had so much to commend his loyal comrade for, -that he did not wish to spoil it by not choosing just the right time, -and saying just the right words to impress Bill with a sense of his -unaffected worthiness. - -Bill insisted on taking him clear down to Sandy Point. When Tom landed, -he remarked: - -"If you're not going home, Bill, I'd like to see you at the station for -a little while." - -"Oh, I'm not going home," responded the Barber boy. "There's that eleven -dollars and seventy-five cents to get from that measly cad, Bert -Aldrich, you know; and I'm going to stick till I catch him." - -"Forget that, Bill," advised Tom. "We have about taken out that eleven -dollars and seventy-five cents in use of the _Beulah_. You come down to -the tower, as I say. I've got something better than eleven dollars and -seventy-five cents to interest you in." - -"Have?" propounded Bill, in his rough blunt way. "What is it, now?" - -"You come and see." - -"All right." - -"That fellow has a grand streak in him," ruminated Tom, as the _Beulah_ -sped on its course and he made for the station. "He doesn't seem to have -the least conception of his heroic bravery, and never thinks of reward. -I'll give him a surprise." - -Tom set at work the minute he reached the tower. He sent messages to the -life-saving station, briefly detailing the event of the night, and a -routine report to headquarters. Then he took out the roll of bills the -captain of the _Olivia_ had given him. - -"One hundred and ninety dollars," counted Tom,--"and five cents. There, -that's Bill's share," and he set aside one hundred dollars. "The nickel -we'll nail up on the wall." - -"Why, what's all that money?" inquired the Barber boy, when he came into -the tower an hour later. - -"This little heap," replied Tom, placing in Bill's lap a pile of -banknotes, "is yours." - -"Mine?" exclaimed Bill in a gasp, staring at the money in wonder. - -"Yours--one hundred dollars! It is your share of a testimonial given us -by the passengers and crew of the _Olivia_," and Tom explained the -incident of his interview with the steamer captain at the Brookville -hotel. - -A pathetic look came into Bill Barber's eyes. He looked at the money and -gasped. He glanced up at Tom and his lips twitched. - -"One hundred dollars!" he said slowly, impressively; "a whole one -hundred dollars, and mine! I can get a new suit--why, Tom, I can buy a -bulldog now, a real bulldog. Oh, crackey!" - -Bill looked again at Tom. His tone changed, a queer longing expression -came into his face. His voice broke. - -"Tom Barnes," he said huskily, "it's a heap of a fortune to me, but, -more than the money is what you said to-night--that I was pure gold, -that I was--was every inch a man! Tom, it's too much--oh, it, it's all -come on me like a burst of glory!" - -And Bill Barber broke down utterly, and bawled like a baby. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV--THE KIDNAPPED BOY - - -"Well, I see you have made it, Tom?" - -"Made what, Dr. Burr?" - -"A brave record. I compliment you on it, my boy. You deserve all they -say about you." - -"I don't understand what you are talking about, doctor." - -"That will tell you, then," and with a friendly smile the Rockley Cove -physician pressed upon Tom a newspaper he had been carrying when he met -his young friend. - -Tom was in a great hurry. He told the doctor so and hastened homewards. -It was the morning after the rescue of those aboard the _Olivia_. Tom -had remained on duty at Station Z all night, and Bill Barber had -insisted on keeping him company. - -There had been little of real business to attend to, but Tom had -concluded it was the right time to look out for disasters, as witness -the lucky reception of the wireless from the ill-fated _Olivia_. - -Bill had relieved Tom in watching and sleeping, and Tom had dozed enough -to keep him from feeling done out, despite the rigorous experience of -the early evening hours. - -Just an hour previous Ben Dixon had put in a dejected and disconsolate -appearance at the tower. The minute Tom caught sight of his face he knew -that his chum had failed in his search for the missing Harry Ashley. - -"No use, Tom," was Ben's blunt report. "Your father and I reached -Wadhams and visited the circus, but we were too late." - -"How too late, Ben?" inquired Tom. - -"Harry was gone." - -"Then he had been there?" - -"We found that out all right. Twelve hours earlier, and we would have -reached him. There were two kidnappers, all right, and one of them -answered the description of the fellow you noticed spying on Harry the -day he was in swimming with the boys." - -"Were they holding Harry a prisoner?" - -"A safe and sound one. The men had been circus peddlers once. They took -Harry to an open, roofless canvas where a lot of truck was stored. It -seems that an old friend of theirs had charge of it. From all your -father could get this man to say, Brady and Casey--those are the names -of Tom's kidnappers--made him believe he was a bad runaway boy they were -authorized and paid for to return to his friends. I don't believe that -myself. I think the three men were in cahoots, and that the circus -tender was in on the scheme, whatever it is. Anyhow, in the roofless -tent was a lion's cage. Its occupant had died a few days before Harry's -arrival. It was a safe place to shut the lad in, and they did it. They -sort of partitioned the cage off by itself, and kept close watch on -Harry, so he wouldn't raise a rumpus. Brady was away for two days, I -found out, so their plot was working." - -"And what about the toy balloons?" inquired Tom. - -"Why, the way I got it was that one of the circus peddlers who had a lot -of them for sale, kept his surplus stock in the storage tent. In some -way Harry must have been struck with the idea of using them as -messengers to tell of his captivity. Anyhow, he managed to reach them -with a stick or string, or in some ingenious way, and had all night to -equip them with the cards. Brady and Casey let Harry out of the cage, -and took him away in an automobile night before last." - -"You couldn't find out their destination?" - -"The circus keeper declared that he didn't know. Your father inquired -around of others, though, and from what he heard he thinks they were -headed for Springville. We weren't sure. We decided that Harry would be -kept in closer hiding than ever, and we sort of got discouraged and gave -it up." - -"I won't give it up!" cried Tom, his eyes snapping; and preparing to -leave the tower at once. "I'll find the man I saw at the river if I have -to chase him all over the state." - -"Well, you see, you'd know him by sight, and we wouldn't," submitted -Ben. - -"I feel it my duty to do all I can to find Harry," proceeded Tom. "At -any rate, I am going to try. You stay on duty at the station, Ben. It -simply isn't in me to remain quiet where we don't know what fate may -threaten that poor boy." - -Now, after leaving the tower, Tom had met Dr. Burr, and hurried -homewards. He took a look at the newspaper the physician had given him. -Its heading told that it was a daily print from a nearby city, received -at Rockley Cove by a few residents early in the morning. - -Tom, as has been said, was in urgent haste, but one glance at the -printed sheet halted him as suddenly as if it had been a warrant -presented unexpectedly by an officer of the law. - -In glaring headlines the feature of the news of the day, the rescue of -the passengers of the _Olivia_, was indicated. In bold, broad type his -name stood out as the hero of a grand occasion. Tom's eye lit up as in -the same glaring type he read also the name of his loyal adherent, Bill -Barber. It was "William Barber," the dignified way the paper put it, and -Tom was unutterably glad. - -He merely skimmed the three columns of details that followed. Then he -crumpled up the paper and started on a run for home with the breathless -exclamation: - -"It's wonderful!" - -Tom did not mean that the chronicled rescue was wonderful. He was too -modest for that. What stirred and startled him were the remarkable -evidences of journalistic ability displayed by the newspaper. He decided -that after he and Bill had left Brookville the captain of the Olivia -must have got in immediate connection with New York and other places by -telegraph. - -"He must have had a busy time of it, giving all those details," -ruminated Tom. "They have made a big thing of it, sure enough. Well, it -will please father and mother, and as for myself--I hope I deserve all -they say about me." - -Tom reached the house to find that the news of his part in the rescue of -the _Olivia_ had preceded him. When the newspaper was discovered, every -member of the family, even the hired men, crowded about to stare in -wonder at the printed page over the shoulder of Ted Barnes, who began to -read in a tragic, breathless tone. - -Mr. Barnes looked considerably stirred up, and there was a new respect -for the "new-fangled" wireless in his mind, Tom felt certain. His mother -tremulously clung close to him as she asked solicitous questions, to be -sure that he had not suffered in limb or health from his hard battle -with the waves. - -As soon as things had quieted down somewhat, Tom took his father aside. -He told his parents of his resolve to go in search of Harry Ashley, and -his father encouraged him. - -A hired man was to drive our hero over to Wadhams in the farm gig. Tom -reached that town about noon. He went at once to the circus, to find it -in confusion. They were dismantling the show to exhibit in another town, -and the man who knew Brady and Casey had gone forward with the first -contingent. - -About to follow, Tom paused. A sudden thought came to his mind. The two -kidnappers had left Wadhams with Harry in an automobile. It was scarcely -probable that the machine was their own. - -"They must have borrowed or hired it," reflected Tom, "most likely the -latter. It's worth while trying to find out." - -Tom made due inquiries in regard to the location of public livery -garages in the town. There were three, he ascertained, and he started in -to visit them in turn. - -At the first garage he received no encouragement; at the second one the -result was more satisfactory. The call book of the garage showed that a -machine had been sent to the circus two nights before, and had made a -run to Springville. - -"That's the one," decided Harry; and questioning the garage owner, he -was soon in touch with the chauffeur who had made the run. - -"I'm the man, and that's the bunch," declared the chauffeur, as soon as -Tom had told the object of his mission. - -"Where did you take them?" inquired Tom--"I mean where in Springville?" - -"To the edge of a little city park," replied the chauffeur. "They made -me stop there to hide all later trace, I surmised; but it was none of my -business as long as I got my pay." - -"Didn't you notice the boy they had with them?" - -"I did," answered the chauffeur. "He was quite stupid like, as if he'd -been doped. I suspected things weren't all straight and regular, but the -man I heard called Brady kept telling me he was a runaway lad who had -made all kinds of trouble and disgrace for his people." - -Tom thanked the man for the information he had imparted, and at once -took the trolley for Springville, which was about twenty miles distant. -When he arrived he had no definite plan of action outside of going -straight to the local police in an effort to interest them in his story. - -"I'll look around a bit first, though," Tom decided. "I may accidentally -run across some hint or clew that may help me." - -Tom strolled about the place, his eye on the alert. He had a faithful -mental picture of the ill-favored fellow he had caught spying on Harry -Ashley at Rockley Cove, and was sure he would recognize the rascal on -sight. - -He put in two hours in a stroll into such parts of the city which he -fancied a man like Brady would choose in seeking a refuge. He chased -down two or three persons a view of whose backs suggested the man for -whom he was looking. He had paused at a street corner as a great -jangling of bells and the shouts and hurryings of the crowds suggested -some pending excitement. - -"It's a fire," someone shouted, and pointed at dense volumes of smoke a -few blocks away. - -Tom started to cross the street in that direction. - -Just ahead of him he casually noticed the hurrying figure of a bulky -clumsy-limbed man carrying a big, old-fashioned carpet bag. - -"Hi! Out of the way, there!" shouted a sharp warning voice, as a fire -engine turned the corner suddenly, bearing directly down upon the -awkward pedestrian. - -The man got flustered and made a forward spring. The satchel he carried -slipped from his grasp. He ran back to rescue it. - -The ponderous rushing fire vehicle was fairly upon him. Tom instantly -saw his peril. There was only one thing to do, and our hero did it -promptly and effectively. - -Making a forward dash at top speed, Tom fairly bunted into the stooping -man. With all his force he struck him, sending him sliding head over -heels into the gutter. - -The feet of one of the horses attached to the fire engine just grazed -Tom's heel, and, striking the carpet bag, lifted it ten feet in the air. -It landed at the curb broken open, its contents scattering far and wide. - -Tom slid against the prostrate owner of the satchel, picked himself up, -and turned to ascertain the possible injuries of the man whose life he -had certainly saved. - -There was, however, no gratified expression in the face of the man. In -utter concern and disgust he stared at his scattered possessions, wildly -threw up his hands in a frantic despairing gesture, and bolted out the -echoing word: - -"Donner! Donner!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXV--TOM ON THE TRAIL--CONCLUSION - - -"Donneer! Donner!" - -At the mention of that startling word, Tom Barnes was instantly -convinced that he had made a great discovery; in fact, he was satisfied -that he had at last discovered one of the "spooks" of Station Z. - -Donner had been a mystery. The owner of the satchel was quite mysterious -in appearance. As Tom tried to help him to his feet, he noticed that the -man wore a wig and enormous whiskers. They were false, for the fall had -sent them quite awry. - -"Donner," Tom had learned, was quite a common word in Germany. It was -equivalent to our own "Thunder!" Tom, however, had never heard the word -used outside of his wireless experience. To hear it used now by a -suspicious individual in the very city where Harry Ashley was supposed -to be, suggested strangely to Tom that the odd individual before him -might be the erratic amateur operator, who had been sending out messages -referring to a runaway boy, one Ernest Warren, with "sun, moon and stars -tattooed on his left shoulder." - -"Are you hurt, sir?" inquired Tom. - -The man who had so narrowly escaped destruction seemed to be more -frightened than grateful. He hurriedly adjusted his facial disguise and -looked about him to see if he was especially observed. Then he shouted -hoarsely, with a despairing look at the scattered contents of the -satchel: - -"My baggage--quick, get it!" - -Tom hurriedly collected the articles. He was amazed at their oddness and -variety. There were one or two articles of clothing, and besides these, -two old-fashioned horse pistols, an ancient dirk, four or five wigs, and -as many false beards and moustaches. The odd collection suggested an -actor with a limited stage outfit. - -The minute Tom handed the satchel to the man with its contents restored, -the latter made a wild dash down the street. Tom was bound that he would -not lose sight of him, and followed fast on his heels. - -He came upon the fugitive posted in a doorway and anxiously gazing -beyond its shadows along the street. Tom paused near to him. - -"Can I be of any use to you, sir?" he asked, eager to keep up an -acquaintance he felt sure would lead to some definite results. - -"Is anyone following me or watching me?" inquired the man breathlessly. - -"Not at all," responded Tom reassuringly. "Everybody is running to the -fire." - -"Ah, that is good, most good!" exclaimed the man in a relieved tone. -"The troubles--all at once. I am all turned around. You are a good -honest boy," he added, scanning Tom critically. "You would not bring -troubles to a poor old man?" - -"Not I," declared Tom. - -"You would help him?" - -"I would be glad to," said Tom, delighted at getting more closely into -the confidence of his companion. - -"Then you shall earn a dollar. See, I am a stranger in the city. You -must direct me--to that address." - -The speaker fumbled in a pocket and produced a card which he handed to -Tom. It bore an address, and below it the words: "Go to section 4. Wait -for Brady." - -"What luck!" breathed Tom ardently. "This man is certainly the -mysterious operator, and he is going to see one of the men who kidnapped -Harry Ashley." - -It took about twenty minutes to reach the address indicated on the card. -Tom pointed out the restaurant to his companion, who gave him a dollar -bill. Then with a brusque nod and a searching glance all about him, he -entered the restaurant. - -Tom crossed the street and reached a sheltering doorway. His eyes were -fixed on the restaurant. What should he do next? He had almost decided -to recross the street, enter the place and attempt to get nearer to the -object of his interest, when a man came around the corner. - -"It's Brady--it is the man I saw at Rockley Cove," declared Tom. - -Brady wore a hat pulled well down over his face. His manner was hurried -and furtive, like that of a person suspicious of every passer-by. He -bolted quickly into the restaurant. - -"I must do something now--something worth while," breathed Tom -hurriedly. "There can be no doubt in the world that those two men have -met here to do something about Harry. They may go away by some other -exit. I'll do it." - -These last words announced a definite decision on the part of Tom, as -his eye fell upon a policeman in uniform standing at the nearest street -corner. Tom approached him, full of his plan. - -"Officer," he said politely, "do you ever arrest a person without a -warrant?" - -"I'd arrest me own brother on suspicions if he deserved it," announced -the man in uniform bluntly. - -"I am in trouble," said Tom rapidly, "and I wish you would help me." - -"Spake out, me lad," directed the big bustling officer. - -"A friend of mine, a boy, has been kidnapped. One of the men who carried -him away is in that restaurant yonder. If you will only take him and the -man with him to the police station, I am sure I can convince you that -they both deserve arrest." - -Tom briefly narrated the story of the kidnapping. - -"Come on, me lad," ordered the policeman. "It's a case for the captain. -Sure I'll take them in the act. This'll get in the newspapers, and -Officer Lahey's name along with it. Show me the rascals, me young -friend, and I'll do the rest." - -Tom entered the restaurant, the officer following him. At one side of -the place there were half a dozen partitioned-off compartments. As they -neared the fourth one of the tier Tom heard the man he had brought there -speak out: - -"I will only pay the five hundred, as I promised." - -"It's five thousand, or you never see the boy again." - -"I arrest both of yez!" here announced the policeman, stalking into the -compartment, and placing a hand on the shoulder of each of the two men, -who arose in alarm to their feet. - -"What's this?" snapped out Brady. - -"Resisting an officer of the law, are yez?" shouted the policeman, as -Brady tried to escape his clutch, and he shaking the culprit till his -teeth chattered, - -"Donner! I am lost!" gasped the other prisoner. - -"I say----" protested Brady anew. - -"Shut up!" ordered the policeman. "You'll have a chance to explain to -the captain at headquarters." - -"Aha!" hissed Brady, as, pulled out into the main room, he for the first -time observed Tom. Evidently he recognized him, for a sullen, surly look -came into his crafty face. - -At the door of the restaurant the policeman paused. - -"Go to the second corner, lad," he directed Tom, "and tell officer Moore -his partner needs his assistance." - -Tom did as directed, and five minutes later the prisoners were led down -the street, each in the charge of a stalwart guardian of the law. - -When the party reached the station, the first policeman beckoned to Tom -and led him to the office of the police captain. Tom told his story in a -simple direct way. The captain came out and looked first at the -grotesque figure and affrighted face of the big man, and then at Brady. - -"Ah, it's you, is it?" exclaimed the police official, with a start of -recognition. "Circus Jake." - -"I think you are mistaken," muttered Brady, in a surly tone. - -"Oh, no, I'm not. If you think so, I'll just send for your picture from -the Rogues' Gallery, and go over a few records. Lahey, keep your eye -close on this fellow till I need him. You two come with me." - -The speaker led Tom and the man with the big satchel into his private -office, and beckoned both of them to seats after closing the door. - -"Now then, young man," he directed Tom, "tell your story before this -man." - -Tom began at the commencement of the Donner incident, and followed it up -to its present climax. All through the recital, as reference was made to -Harry Ashley, the old man started, ejaculated, grimaced and groaned. - -"Ah, he was not Harry Ashley, he was Ernest Warren, the son of my -benefactor, my friend! Did he ever say that I, Blennerhassett, abused -him?" - -"He never said anything about you, for we did not know that he was -Ernest Warren," explained Tom. - -"Now, then, for your story, Mr. Blennerhassett, if that is your name," -spoke the police captain. - -The old man looked flustered and frightened. He cast an apprehensive -glance out at the street, an appealing one at the captain. - -"The Czar of Russia shall not be told?" he at length articulated. - -"The Czar of Russia?" repeated the official, with a mystified stare. -"What has he got to do with it?" - -"Everything," declared Blennerhassett, with a groan. "You will not -advise the spies of foreign governments?" he persisted, very seriously. - -The captain evidently concluded that he was dealing with a lunatic, for -he said indulgently: - -"Surely not." - -"And no notoriety in the newspapers, so that I might be trailed down by -assassins?" - -"Not a word, provided you tell the truth." - -The old man began his story, which was an interesting one. It seemed he -had been a Russian spy, and a price was set on his head. A fugitive, he -chanced to meet in Germany the father of Ernest Warren. The latter was -very kind to him. Mr. Warren was a civil engineer engaged on some large -public work. He took sick and died. He had learned to trust -Blennerhassett as a loyal friend, and had given him all his money with -directions to repair to the United States and take personal charge of -Ernest. - -The latter, it seemed, was one of the heirs to an estate in litigation. -It was to the interest of others after the fortune to have him -disappear. Not only to protect Ernest, but also because he was fearful -the Russian government might hunt him down personally, Blennerhassett -had made his new home in an isolated old house about fifty miles up the -coast from Rockley Cove. - -He never explained to Ernest the cause of this seclusion and mystery. -The lad had rebelled against such a solitary life, had run away after -accidentally destroying five hundred dollars by fire, and -Blennerhassett, not daring to come out openly, had surreptitiously -visited a nearby wireless station when its operator was absent, and -under cover had tried to communicate with the outside world. - -He had incidentally come across Brady, and had started him on a search -for the runaway, promising a five hundred dollar reward for finding him. -The day before the present one a demand had come from Brady for five -thousand dollars to be brought to Springville at once, or the boy would -never be returned. - -"The five hundred dollars Ernest burned up was his own money," explained -Blennerhassett. "I love him as my own son. All I ask is that I find -him." - -The police captain opened the door of his office and called out into the -station main room. - -"Bring that man in here," he directed; and Brady slouched into the -private office. - -"Now then," said the captain, "short and sweet's the word for you. Think -we don't know you, eh? I suppose you're not the man who advertised a set -of parlor furniture by mail for fifty cents, and a yard of silk for a -quarter, and a plan to save your gas bills for a dollar, and how to kill -cockroaches for a dime?" - -"That's old," growled the discomfited Brady. - -"Why," explained the police official, "he sent a toy set of furniture to -investors, and a yard of sewing silk, told them to save their gas bills -on a file, and advised them to get a board and a club and whack the -roaches. Now, sharp and brisk. You've kidnapped this man's charge. I'll -send two officers with you to your partner to give him up. Produce him, -and you go free. Otherwise I'll telegraph all over the country to find -out your latest schemes, and lock you up for abduction and extortion in -the meanwhile." - -"I've done my work for this old man," blurted out Brady. - -"Yes," assented Blennerhassett, "and the price was to be five hundred -dollars, not five thousand dollars. I'll pay the five hundred." - -"All right," muttered Brady, "I'll give in." - -"And I'll go with him to see that the boy is all right," said -Blennerhassett. - -Brady was released later, for the old man returned to the police station -within an hour. Harry Ashley, or Ernest Warren, as his real name was, -came in his company. - -There was a joyful meeting between Tom and his friend. It was made still -more happy when Ernest was informed that the estate in which he was -interested had been settled, and his share was some twenty thousand -dollars. - -The guardian and his ward accompanied Tom back to Rockley Cove as guests -at the Barnes homestead. Tom at once repaired to the wireless station. -He put his excitable chum in transports of delight when he announced the -success of his search for the stolen Harry Ashley. - -"Had some visitors here this afternoon," announced Ben. "Mart Walters -and young Aldrich came along. Aldrich was hot and furious to know if you -had used his launch. Just as I explained to them that you had, and -thereby saved Grace Morgan's life, and they toned down a little, along -came Grace herself. She overheard their squabbling, and turned her back -on them and wouldn't speak to them. They sneaked away." - -"Oh, Grace was here?" said Tom, trying to look only ordinarily -interested. - -"She was," replied Ben sprightly, "and spent a pleasant hour. She made -me tell her all about the way we telegraph. She even made me teach her -certain dots and dashes. Hello! why, there's a call from my home -wireless outfit." - -The receiver began to buzz and click. Tom looked suspiciously at his -comrade. - -"T-o-m B-a-r-n-e-s, y-o-u a-r-e m-z m-x m-y h-e-r-o. A-u-n-t B-e-r-t-h-a -w-a-n-t-s t-o s-e-e y-o-u. G-r-a-c-e," came the message. - -"H-m," commented Tom, flushing as his chum chuckled audibly. "Up to -tricks, are you? What are you laughing at?" - -"Why," smiled Ben seriously, "I was just thinking what a whole lot the -Morgan family think of you, Tom!" - -It took two full weeks for Rockley Cove and its vicinity to get over the -courageous exploit of Tom Barnes in saving the passengers and crew of -the _Olivia_. - -Bill Barber shared in the general commendation. He appeared on the -streets of the village, chipper, ambitious and well dressed, with the -great desire of his life, a full-blooded bulldog, at his heels. - -He boasted proudly that he had given Bert Aldrich a receipt in full for -the eleven dollars and seventy-five cents, in lieu of the use of the -_Beulah_ the night of the big storm. - -"I told him I could loan him a few dollars if he was so hard up he -couldn't get along," chuckled Bill, jingling some coins in his pocket. - -The steamship company sent a substantial reward to both Tom and Bill, -and offered the latter a good position on their line, which he accepted -promptly. - -Bert Aldrich sneaked away from Rockley Cove with his crack launch, -without being even permitted to say good-by to Grace; and Mart Walters -remained in the back of the books of that offended little lady for a -long time to come. - -Tom became a regular visitor at the Morgan home. His ability as a -wireless operator had attracted the attention of headquarters, where he -was offered a good position. - -Even his parents were willing that he should accept it, and for two -years Tom worked his way up to an inspectorship, taking a technical -evening course in a college at New York City. - -A new expert operator was put in charge at Station Z, but Ben was still -retained as a helper. Ernest and old Blennerhassett settled down at -Rockley Cove, and after a year at school the old Harry Ashley got an -appointment as a regular man at the tower. Blennerhassett gradually -worked out of his foolish fears of foreign enemies. - -Both Ben and Ernest were fascinated with the wireless business, and the -frequent visits of Tom along the circuit encouraged them. - -Tom spent nearly half his time at Rockley Cove. He was a regular visitor -at the Morgan home. One morning Ben came into the tower with a happy -smile on his face. He went at once to the instrument and called -headquarters. - -"Why so cheerful, Ben?" inquired Ernest. - -"Message." - -"Yes, I know, but what is its purport?" - -"Mr. Morgan wishes me to send a society announcement to the New York -press." - -"Indeed?" - -"Exactly--the engagement of our sweet little friend, Grace, to our old -time chum, Tom Barnes, the young wireless operator of Rockley Cove." - -THE END - - - - -THE WEBSTER SERIES - -By FRANK V. WEBSTER - -Mr. Webster's style is very much like that of the boys' favorite author, -the late lamented Horatio Alger, Jr., but his tales are thoroughly -up-to-date. - -Cloth. 12mo. Over 200 pages each. Illustrated. Stamped in various -colors. - -Price per volume, 50 cents, postpaid. - -Only A Farm Boy - _or Dan Hardy's Rise in Life_ - -The Boy From The Ranch - _or Roy Bradner's City Experiences_ - -The Young Treasure Hunter - _or Fred Stanley's Trip to Alaska_ - -The Boy Pilot of the Lakes - _or Nat Morton's Perils_ - -Tom The Telephone Boy - _or The Mystery of a Message_ - -Bob The Castaway - _or The Wreck of the Eagle_ - -The Newsboy Partners - _or Who Was Dick Box?_ - -Two Boy Gold Miners - _or Lost in the Mountains_ - -The Young Firemen of Lakeville - _or Herbert Dare's Pluck_ - -The Boys of Bellwood School - _or Frank Jordan's Triumph_ - -Jack the Runaway - _or On the Road with a Circus_ - -Bob Chester's Grit - _or From Ranch to Riches_ - -Airship Andy - _or The Luck of a Brave Boy_ - -High School Rivals - _or Fred Markham's Struggles_ - -Darry The Life Saver - _or The Heroes of the Coast_ - -Dick The Bank Boy - _or A Missing Fortune_ - -Ben Hardy's Flying Machine - _or Making a Record for Himself_ - -Harry Watson's High School Days - _or The Rivals of Rivertown_ - -Comrades of the Saddle - _or The Young Rough Riders of the Plains_ - -Tom Taylor at West Point - _or The Old Army Officer's Secret_ - -The Boy Scouts of Lennox - _or Hiking Over Big Bear Mountain_ - -The Boys of the Wireless - _or a Stirring Rescue from the Deep_ - -Cowboy Dave - _or The Round-up at Rolling River_ - -Jack of the Pony Express - _or The Young Rider of the Mountain Trail_ - -The Boys of the Battleship - _or For the Honor of Uncle Sam_ - -CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK - - - - -THE SADDLE BOYS SERIES - -By CAPTAIN JAMES CARSON - -12mo. Illustrated. Price per volume, 50 cents, postpaid. - -All lads who love life in the open air and a good steed, will want to -peruse these books. Captain Carson knows his subject thoroughly, and his -stories are as pleasing as they are healthful and instructive. - -THE SADDLE BOYS OF THE ROCKIES - _or Lost on Thunder Mountain_ - -Telling how the lads started out to solve the mystery of a great noise -in the mountains--how they got lost--and of the things they discovered. - -THE SADDLE BOYS IN THE GRAND CANYON - _or The Hermit of the Cave_ - -A weird and wonderful story of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, told in -a most absorbing manner. The Saddle Boys are to the front in a manner to -please all young readers. - -THE SADDLE BOYS ON THE PLAINS - _or After a Treasure of Gold_ - -In this story the scene is shifted to the great plains of the southwest -and then to the Mexican border. There is a stirring struggle for gold, -told as only Captain Carson can tell it. - -THE SADDLE BOYS AT CIRCLE RANCH - _or In at the Grand Round-up_ - -Here we have lively times at the ranch, and likewise the particulars of -a grand round-up of cattle and encounters with wild animals and also -cattle thieves. A story that breathes the very air of the plains. - -THE SADDLE BOYS ON MEXICAN TRAILS - _or In the Hands of the Enemy_ - -The scene is shifted in this volume to Mexico. The boys go on an -important errand, and are caught between the lines of the Mexican -soldiers. They are captured and for a while things look black for them; -but all ends happily. - -CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK - - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOYS OF THE WIRELESS *** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35044 - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one -owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and -you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission -and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the -General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and -distributing Project Gutenberg(tm) electronic works to protect the -Project Gutenberg(tm) concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a -registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, -unless you receive specific permission. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the <a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#project-gutenberg-license">Project Gutenberg License</a> -included with this eBook or online at -<a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/license">http://www.gutenberg.org/license</a>.</p> - -<hr class="vspace" style="height: 1em"/> - -<div class="container" id="pg-machine-header"> -<p class="noindent pfirst">Title: The Boys of the Wireless</p> -<p class="noindent pnext">Author: Frank V. Webster</p> -<p class="noindent pnext">Release Date: January 22, 2011 [EBook #35044]</p> -<p class="noindent pnext">Language: English</p> -<p class="noindent pnext">Character set encoding: UTF-8</p> - -<hr class="vspace" style="height: 1em"/> - -<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-start-line">*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOYS OF THE WIRELESS ***</p> </div> <hr class="vspace" style="height: 4em"/> @@ -6249,344 +6229,6 @@ things look black for them; but all ends happily.</p> <hr class="vspace" style="height: 5em"/> -<p class="pfirst" id="pg-end-line">*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOYS OF THE WIRELESS ***</p> - -<hr class="pbr"/> - -</div> -<div class="level-2 section" id="a-word-from-project-gutenberg"> -<span id="pg-footer"/><h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title">A Word from Project Gutenberg</h2> -<p class="pfirst">We will update this book if we find any errors.</p> -<p class="pnext">This book can be found under: <a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35044">http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35044</a></p> -<p class="pnext">Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one -owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and -you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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-
-.. meta::
- :PG.Id: 35044
- :PG.Title: The Boys of the Wireless
- :PG.Released: 2011-01-22
- :PG.Rights: Public Domain
- :PG.Producer: Roger Frank
- :PG.Producer: the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
- :DC.Creator: Frank V. Webster
- :DC.Title: The Boys of the Wireless
- :DC.Language: en
- :DC.Created: 1912
- :coverpage: images/cover.jpg
-
-===============================
- The Boys of the Wireless
-===============================
-
-.. _pg-header:
-
-.. container::
-
- .. style:: paragraph
- :class: noindent
-
- This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
- almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
- re-use it under the terms of the `Project Gutenberg License`_
- included with this eBook or online at
- http://www.gutenberg.org/license.
-
-
-
- .. vspace:: 1
-
- .. _pg-machine-header:
-
- .. container::
-
- Title: The Boys of the Wireless
-
- Author: Frank V. Webster
-
- Release Date: January 22, 2011 [EBook #35044]
-
- Language: English
-
- Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
- .. vspace:: 1
-
- .. _pg-start-line:
-
- \*\*\* START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOYS OF THE WIRELESS \*\*\*
-
- .. vspace:: 4
-
- .. _pg-produced-by:
-
- .. container::
-
- Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net.
-
- .. vspace:: 1
-
-
-
-
-.. figure:: images/illus-fpc.jpg
- :align: center
-
- TOM SPEEDILY GAVE THE CALL TO THE STATION AT THE DIXON PLACE.
-
-|
-|
-
-.. role:: xl
- :class: x-large
-
-.. role:: l
- :class: larger
-
-.. role:: s
- :class: smaller
-
-.. class:: center
-
- :xl:`THE BOYS OF THE WIRELESS`
-
- Or
-
- :l:`A Stirring Rescue from the Deep`
-
- BY
-
- :l:`FRANK V. WEBSTER`
-
-.. class:: center smaller
-
- | AUTHOR OF “AIRSHIP ANDY,” “COMRADES OF THE SADDLE,”
- | “BEN HARDY’S FLYING MACHINE,” “BOB THE CASTAWAY,” ETC.
-
-.. class:: center
-
- | ILLUSTRATED
- |
- | :s:`NEW YORK`
- | CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY
- | :s:`PUBLISHERS`
-
-|
-|
-|
-
-.. class:: center
-
- BOOKS FOR BOYS
-
- By FRANK V. WEBSTER
-
- 12mo. Cloth. Illustrated.
-
-.. class:: smaller center
-
- | ONLY A FARM BOY
- | TOM, THE TELEPHONE BOY
- | THE BOY FROM THE RANCH
- | THE YOUNG TREASURE HUNTER
- | BOB, THE CASTAWAY
- | THE YOUNG FIREMEN OF LAKEVILLE
- | THE NEWSBOY PARTNERS
- | THE BOY PILOT OF THE LAKES
- | THE TWO BOY GOLD MINERS
- | JACK, THE RUNAWAY
- | COMRADES OF THE SADDLE
- | THE BOYS OF BELLWOOD SCHOOL
- | THE HIGH SCHOOL RIVALS
- | BOB CHESTER’S GRIT
- | AIRSHIP ANDY
- | DARRY, THE LIFE SAVER
- | DICK, THE BANK BOY
- | BEN HARDY’S FLYING MACHINE
- | THE BOYS OF THE WIRELESS
- | HARRY WATSON’S HIGH SCHOOL DAYS
-
-.. class:: center
-
- Cupples & Leon Co., Publishers, New York
-
-|
-|
-|
-
-.. class:: center
-
- | Copyright, 1912, by
- | CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY
- | THE BOYS OF THE WIRELESS
-
-.. contents:: Contents
- :backlinks: entry
- :depth: 1
-
-|
-|
-|
-
-.. class:: center
-
- :xl:`THE BOYS OF THE WIRELESS`
-
-CHAPTER I—TOM BARNES’ WIRELESS
-==============================
-
-“What’s that new-fangled thing on the blasted
-oak, Tom?”
-
-“That, Ben, is a wireless.”
-
-“Oh, you don’t say so!”
-
-“Or, rather the start of one.”
-
-“Say, you aren’t original or ambitious or anything
-like that, are you?”
-
-The speaker, Ben Dixon, bestowed a look of
-admiration and interest on the chum he liked best
-of all in the world, Tom Barnes.
-
-Tom was reckoned a genius in the little community
-in which he lived. He had the record of
-“always being up to something.” In the present
-instance he had been up a tree, it seemed. From
-“the new-fangled thing” Ben had discovered in
-passing the familiar landmark, the blasted oak,
-wires and rods ran up to quite a height, showing
-that some one had done some climbing.
-
-Ben became instantly absorbed in an inspection
-of the contrivance before him. He himself had
-some mechanical talent. His father had been an
-inventor in a small way, and anything in which
-Tom had a part always attracted him.
-
-“Tell me about it. What’s that thing up
-there?” asked Ben, pointing directly at some
-metal rods attached to the broken-off top of the
-tree.
-
-“Those are antennae.”
-
-“Looks like an—twenty!” chuckled Ben over
-his own joke. “There’s a whole network of
-them, isn’t there?”
-
-“They run down to a relay, Ben, catching the
-electric waves striking the decoherer, which taps
-the coherer and disarranges a lot of brass filings
-by mechanical vibration. That’s the whole essence
-of the wireless—otherwise it is no different
-from common telegraphy—a group of parts each
-for individual service in transmitting or receiving
-the electric waves.”
-
-“Thank you!” observed Ben drily. “How delightfully
-plain that all is! You rattle those scientific
-terms off good and spry, though.”
-
-“So will you, as soon as you do what I’ve been
-doing,” asserted Tom.
-
-“And what’s that?”
-
-“Getting a glance at the real wireless outfit Mr.
-Edson is operating down at Sandy Point.”
-
-“I heard of that,” nodded Ben.
-
-“He’s a fine man,” said Tom enthusiastically.
-“He’s taken all kinds of trouble to post me and
-explain things I wanted to know. This little
-side show of mine is just an experiment on a
-small scale. I don’t expect any grand results. It
-will work out the principle, though, and when I
-get to taking messages——”
-
-“What! you don’t mean to say you can do
-that?”
-
-“Just that, Ben,” declared Tom confidently.
-
-“From where?”
-
-“Well, mostly from Mr. Edson’s station at
-Sandy Point, and maybe some stray ones that may
-slip past him.”
-
-“Say!” cried Ben, on fire at once with emulation
-and optimism, “what’s the matter with me
-starting a station, too, down at my house? Then
-we could have all kinds of fun over our line.”
-
-“It isn’t much work nor expense,” said Tom.
-“You can get an outfit cheap for a home-made
-apparatus—you need some coarse and fine wire
-for the main coil, a glass tube, a bell, sounder and
-a buzzer, some electromagnets——”
-
-“I see,” interrupted Ben with a mock groan,
-“just a few things picked up anywhere. Oh,
-yes!”
-
-“You won’t be discouraged once you get interested,
-Ben,” assured Tom. “We’ll talk about
-your starting a station later. Just now you can
-help me quite a bit if you want to.”
-
-“Sure!” returned the enterprising Ben with
-vim.
-
-“All right; I want to string a coil of new wire
-I got yesterday,” explained Tom, going around
-to the other side of the tree. “Why, it’s gone!”
-he cried.
-
-“What’s gone?” queried Ben.
-
-“The wire. Now, isn’t that a shame!” cried
-Tom indignantly, fussing around among the grass
-and bushes. “That coil couldn’t have walked
-away. Some one must have stolen it.”
-
-“Don’t be too hasty, Tom. Some one passing
-by may have picked it up. You know the fellows
-are playing ball over in the meadow just beyond
-here. Some of them may have cut across and
-stumbled over your wire.”
-
-“Couldn’t they see that I was putting up a
-station here?” demanded Tom with asperity.
-
-“Station?” repeated Ben with a jolly laugh.
-“See here, old fellow, you forget that we scientific
-numbskulls wouldn’t know your contrivance
-here from a clothes dryer.”
-
-“Well, come on, anyway. I’ve got to find that
-wire,” said Tom with determination.
-
-In the distance they could hear the shouts of
-boys at play, and passing through some brushwood they
-came to the edge of the open meadow
-lining the river.
-
-Half a dozen boys were engaged in various
-pastimes. Two of them playing at catch greeted
-Tom with enthusiasm.
-
-There was no boy at Rockley Cove more popular
-than Tom Barnes. His father had farmed
-it, as the saying goes, at the edge of the little
-village for over a quarter of a century. While
-Mr. Barnes was not exactly a wealthy man he
-made a good living, and Tom dressed pretty well,
-and was kept at school right along. Now it was
-vacation time, and outside of a few chores about
-the house morning and evening Tom’s time was
-his own.
-
-The result was that usually Tom had abundant
-leisure for sports. The welcome with which his
-advent was hailed therefore, was quite natural.
-
-“I say, Tom,” suddenly spoke Ben, seizing the
-arm of his companion in some excitement, “there’s
-Mart Walters.”
-
-“Ah, he’s here, is he?” exclaimed Tom, and
-started rapidly across the meadow to where a
-crowd of boys were grouped about a diving plank
-running out over the stream. “I’m bothered
-about that missing coil, but I guess I can take time
-to attend to Walters.”
-
-The boy he alluded to was talking to several
-companions as Tom and Ben came up. His back
-was to the newcomers and he did not see them
-approach. Mart Walters was a fop and a braggart.
-Tom noticed that he was arrayed in his
-best, and his first overheard words announced
-that he was bragging as usual.
-
-Mart was explaining to a credulous audience
-some of the wonderful feats in diving and swimming
-he had engaged in during a recent stay in
-Boston. With a good deal of boastful pride he
-alluded to a friend, Bert Aldrich, whose father
-was a part owner of a big city natatorium. Tom
-interrupted his bombast unceremoniously by suddenly
-appearing directly in front of the boaster.
-
-“Hello, Mart Walters,” he hailed in a sort
-of aggressive way.
-
-“Hello yourself,” retorted Mart, with a slight
-uneasiness of manner.
-
-“I’ve been looking for you,” said Tom bluntly.
-
-“Have?”
-
-“Yes, ever since I heard some criticisms of
-yours yesterday on my bungling swimming.”
-
-“Oh, I didn’t say much,” declared Mart evasively.
-
-“You said enough to make the crowd believe
-you could beat me all hollow at diving.”
-
-“Well,” flustered Mart desperately, “I can.”
-
-“Want to prove that?” challenged Tom sharply.
-
-“Some time.”
-
-“Why not now? We’re all here and the water
-is fine. We’ll make it a dash for the half-mile
-fence and return, under water test, somersaults
-and diving.”
-
-Mart had begun to retreat. He flushed and
-stammered. Finally he blurted out:
-
-“I’m due now at Morgan’s with a message
-from my folks.”
-
-“You haven’t seemed in a hurry,” suggested
-Ben.
-
-“Well, I am now.”
-
-“Yes, might muss your collar if you got wet!”
-sneered a fellow in the crowd.
-
-“All right,” said Tom, “when will you be
-back?”
-
-“Can’t say,” declared Mart. “You see, I don’t
-know how long I may be.”
-
-He started off, flushed and sheep-faced under
-the critical gaze of the crowd. As he did so Tom
-noticed that he had something in his hand.
-
-“Here!” he cried, “where did you get that?”
-
-Tom had discovered his missing coil of wire.
-His hand seized it. Mart’s did not let go. The
-latter gave a jerk, Tom a twist.
-
-“That’s mine,” Tom said simply. “You took
-it from where I was stringing up my wireless.”
-
-“I found it,” shouted Mart, thoroughly infuriated
-in being crossed in any of his plans. “It
-was kicking around loose. I’ll have it too—take
-that!”
-
-He came at Tom so suddenly that the latter,
-unprepared for the attack, went swinging to the
-ground under a dizzying blow.
-
-It looked as if Mart was about to follow up
-the assault with a kick. Tom offset that peril with
-a dextrous maneuvre.
-
-Seated flat, he spun about like a top. His feet
-met the ankles of the onrushing Mart.
-
-Mart stumbled, tripped and slipped. He tried
-to catch himself, lost his balance, fell backward,
-and the next instant went headlong into the water
-with a resounding splash.
-
-CHAPTER II—STATION Z
-====================
-
-A yell of derisive delight went up from the
-smaller youths of the crowd as Mart Walters went
-toppling into the water. Mart did not have a
-real friend in Rockley Cove, and the little fellows
-Welcomed an opportunity for showing their dislike.
-
-Tom, however, promptly on his feet was making
-for the spot where Mart was puffing and
-splashing about, when two of his friends in bathing
-attire anticipated his helpful action, reached
-Mart, and led him, blinded and dripping, onto
-dry land.
-
-Mart was a sight. All the starch was taken
-out of him, and out of his clothes. He did not
-linger to renew the conflict. He only shook his
-fist at Tom with the half Whimpered words:
-
-“I’ll fix you, Tom Barnes, see if I don’t! This
-will be a sorry day for you.”
-
-“Who started it?” demanded Tom bluntly.
-
-“I’ll get even with you for this treatment,”
-threatened Mart direfully, sneaking off.
-
-“You’ve made an enemy for life of that fellow,
-Tom,” declared Ben.
-
-“Well, he never was very friendly towards me,”
-responded Tom. “Where’s the wire? I’ve got
-it,” and he picked it up from the ground where
-it had dropped. “I’m sorry this thing occurred,
-but he brought it on himself. Come on, Ben.”
-
-“You’re going to stay and have some fun, aren’t
-you, Tom?” inquired one of the swimmers.
-
-“Can’t, boys—that is, just now. I’ve got
-something to attend to. See you again.”
-
-Tom and Ben had not proceeded fifty feet,
-however, when a hurried call halted them. Tom’s
-younger brother came running towards them.
-
-“Oh, Tom!” he hailed breathlessly, “I’ve run
-all the way from the house. I’ve got a message
-for you.”
-
-“What is it, Ted?”
-
-“Mr. Edson was passing the house and told me
-to find you and ask you to come down to the tower
-as soon as you could.”
-
-“All right, Ted,” replied Tom. “I wonder
-what’s up?”
-
-“Why?” questioned Ben.
-
-“I saw Mr. Edson early this morning down at
-the Point, and thought I’d got him to talk himself
-out for a week to come asking him so many questions
-about the wireless.”
-
-“Are you going to drop rigging out your plant
-at the old oak till you see him?”
-
-“We’ll have to. It may be something important
-Mr. Edson wants to see me about. You come
-too, Ben.”
-
-“Had I better?”
-
-“You want to, don’t you?”
-
-“Well, I guess!” replied Ben with undisguised
-fervor. “I’ve envied the way he’s posting you in
-this wireless ever since I first saw his outfit.”
-
-The boys pursued their way to Sandy Point,
-passing the old blasted oak. Here Tom took
-pains to stow the coil of wire safely in a tree.
-Resuming their walk they neared Sandy Point
-twenty minutes later.
-
-The Point was a high but level stretch of shore
-with one or two small houses in its vicinity. It
-was really a part of Rockley Cove, but the center
-of the village was half a mile inland.
-
-A high metal framework designated the Point,
-and could be seen from quite a distance. This,
-however, was no recent construction nor a beacon
-point, nor originally erected for its present use as
-a wireless station.
-
-It had served as a windmill for a farmer who
-once operated an eighty-acre tract of land. One
-night his house and barns burned down. For
-years the spot was abandoned. Recently, however,
-the Mr. Edson Tom had alluded to had
-come to Rockley Cove and established “Station Z”
-at the old windmill.
-
-He had built a room or tower as he called it
-midway up the windmill structure. This was
-reached through a trap door by a fixed iron ladder.
-The height and open construction of the
-windmill enabled the setting of upper wireless
-paraphernalia in a fine way, and the whole layout
-was found especially serviceable in carrying out
-Mr. Edson’s ideas.
-
-The operator was at the window of the little
-operating room he had built, and waved a cheery
-welcome to his two young friends. Tom and Ben
-were up the ladder speedily and through the trap
-door.
-
-“Did you send for me, Mr. Edson?” inquired
-Tom.
-
-“Yes, Tom,” replied the operator, “and I’m
-glad you came so promptly. I’ve got to leave
-Rockley Cove on short notice.”
-
-“Oh, Mr. Edson, I am very sorry for that!”
-declared Tom.
-
-“I regret it too, especially so far as you are
-concerned,” admitted Mr. Edson.
-
-“I was getting on finely,” said Tom in a disappointed
-tone.
-
-“No reason why you shouldn’t continue,” declared
-the operator encouragingly. “You have
-been strictly business all along, Tom. I want to
-commend you for it, and I have sent for you to
-make you a business proposition.”
-
-“A proposition?” repeated Tom wonderingly.
-
-“Yes. You have got so that there is very
-little about the outfit here that you do not understand.
-The transmitting and receiving end of it
-is old history to you. In fact I am going to leave
-you here in entire charge of the station.”
-
-“Oh, Mr. Edson!” exclaimed Tom, “I am
-afraid you rate me too highly.”
-
-“Not at all. You have got sense, patience,
-and you want to learn. As you know, my starting
-the station here was a private enterprise, but
-it was no idle fad. I expected to work something
-practicable and profitable out of it. You
-can carry on the work.”
-
-“Why are you giving it up, sir, if I may ask?”
-
-“I received a letter only an hour since, with an
-unexpected offer of a very fine position with one
-of the operating wireless companies in Canada.
-They expect me at a conference in New York
-City Friday, and I do not doubt that I shall close
-an engagement with them. As I have told you,
-I have very little capital. In fact, about all my
-surplus has been invested in the station here.”
-
-Ben was looking around the place with his usual
-devouring glance. Tom felt that some important
-disclosure was about to be made and was
-duly impressed.
-
-“There is a good chance for a live young fellow
-in a business that can send a message hundreds
-of miles in a few seconds,” continued Mr. Edson.
-“The business is now only in its infancy, and
-those who get in first have the best chance. The
-only hope here of the international circuit is to
-make a killing.”
-
-“What do you mean by a killing, Mr. Edson?”
-inquired the big-eyed, interested Ben.
-
-“Catching a stray message and making a home
-shot with it. The fellow who saved an ocean
-liner last week by sending help quick, just when
-needed, got more pay in one hour than many people
-earn in a lifetime. Now then, Tom, as to my
-proposition.”
-
-“Yes, sir,” nodded Tom, eagerly.
-
-“I want you to buy me out.”
-
-“To buy you out?” repeated Tom slowly and
-in a puzzled way.
-
-“That’s it.”
-
-“You mean with money?” put in the ever-attentive
-Ben.
-
-“It’s got to be money, I am obliged to say,”
-replied Mr. Edson. “I shall need all the ready
-cash I can get hold of in taking my new position,
-for I have a lot of debts to clean up. Between you
-and me, Tom, I can sell the outfit here to certain
-people, but it would throw you out. Of course,
-I don’t expect you, a boy to have any great amount
-of money to invest, but I had an idea that some
-of your relatives or friends might help you.”
-
-Tom was silent, deeply thoughtful for a minute
-or two. His eyes wandered wistfully over the
-apparatus that so fascinated him. Then, very
-timorously, he asked:
-
-“How much would it take, Mr. Edson?”
-
-“One hundred dollars to you, Tom,” said Mr.
-Edson.
-
-Ben squirmed. Tom’s voice was quite tremulous
-as he inquired:
-
-“How soon would you have to have the
-money?”
-
-“By next Tuesday.”
-
-“Will you give me till then to—to try?” asked
-Tom.
-
-“Surely. I hope you can make it, Tom. I like
-you very much. You are the right sort, and I
-think you should be encouraged in your interest
-in the wireless. I’ll show you just what the equipment
-here is.”
-
-Ben voted the hour that followed the most
-interesting of his life. For the first time in his
-career he began to get a faint conception of spark
-lengths, spark voltage, condensers, circuits, vibrators,
-grounds, concentric radiations, wire cores
-and armatures. He had been dabbling for over
-a week with both Morse and the Continental alphabets,
-and when Tom mentioned the possibility
-of establishing a sub-station at the Dixon home instead
-of at the old blasted oak, Mr. Edson was
-quite encouraging, and offered to contribute some
-of the equipment necessary to carry out the idea.
-
-The expert operator engrossed the attention of
-the boys. It was a ramble in a field of rare delight
-as they passed from one part of the wireless
-mechanism to another.
-
-“Now then, sit down, boys, for a few minutes,”
-said Mr. Edson at length. “I don’t want you to
-buy a pig in a poke. There are a couple of attachments
-that go with the station, and you should
-know about them.”
-
-“Attachments?” repeated Ben.
-
-“What are they, Mr. Edson?” inquired Tom
-with curiosity.
-
-“Spooks,” was the ominous reply.
-
-CHAPTER III—“SPOOKS!”
-=====================
-
-“Spooks?” repeated Tom, with a stare of
-wonder.
-
-“Spooks,” echoed Ben, edging a trifle away
-from the open trap door.
-
-“Call it that,” said Mr. Edson, with a quiet
-smile. “Perhaps I had better say—mysterious
-happenings.”
-
-“What may they be, Mr. Edson?” inquired
-Ben, always interested in any sensational disclosures.
-
-“Well, first—let me see,” and the speaker
-reached over for a slip of documents held with
-others in a paper clip on the table; “yes, here it
-is—‘Donner.’”
-
-“Who’s he?” inquired Tom, puzzled.
-
-“Say rather what is he?” corrected Mr. Edson.
-“Frankly, I don’t know.”
-
-“It’s a name,” observed Ben; “a man’s name,
-isn’t it?”
-
-“I don’t know that,” responded Mr. Edson.
-
-“Neither do the other fellows on the circuit. Perhaps
-I’d better explain, though, so when this
-Donner comes along you will be prepared for
-him.”
-
-“Yes, you have excited our curiosity and we’ll
-be on the lookout,” said Tom.
-
-“Well, for nearly three weeks, at odd and unexpected
-times, with no sense or reason to it, no
-call or ‘sine,’ abruptly and mysteriously zip! the
-wires have gone, and in floats a jumbled, erratic
-message.”
-
-“As how?” propounded Ben.
-
-“‘Donner.’ That always, first. It may be an
-explanation, it may be a name, it may mean nothing,
-but all the same splutter—splutter! on she
-comes. At first it was spelled out slowly, lamely,
-sometimes wrong, and then corrected as if an
-amateur beginner was at the other end of the
-line.”
-
-“And that was all—‘Donner’” questioned
-Ben, aggravatingly consumed with curiosity.
-
-“Not after a few days. Then ‘Donner’ began
-to add something of a message. That, too, was a
-jumble, wrong dots and dashes and all that. Finally,
-though, this queer crank of a sender began to
-say something about a boy.”
-
-“A boy?” murmured the engrossed Ben.
-
-“It looked as if he was trying to describe some
-one. However, as I say, his sending was so
-faulty that not much could be made out of it. It
-got clearer, but no more coherent and enlightening.
-I tried to trace the sender. So did others
-on the circuit. I got in touch with Seagrove.”
-
-“What did they say? Mr. Edson?” asked
-Tom.
-
-“They confessed themselves fully as much puzzled
-as I was. The last three or four days ‘Donner’
-has gotten into action trying to tell something
-about money. First it was a hundred dollars,
-then two hundred, then five, and about an
-hour since the same old string of jangled talk
-came in over the receiver: ‘Donner boy—a thousand
-dollars.’”
-
-“How strange,” commented Tom.
-
-“Oh, you’ll get some of it,” declared Mr. Edson.
-“Early in the morning about daylight, always
-at noon, sometimes just about dusk, the
-message comes through the air.”
-
-“How do you explain it?” submitted Tom.
-
-“Why, I have to think it is some person who
-has rigged up an old station somewhere in range,
-and is trying to tell something he is too ignorant
-to express clearly. Pay no attention to it as a
-serious circumstance. It is only one of the freaks
-of the wireless experience.”
-
-“That’s one of the spooks you told about?”
-inquired Ben.
-
-“Yes,” nodded Mr. Edson.
-
-“Any more?”
-
-“Something more tangible this time,” observed
-Mr. Edson. “For about a week some one has
-invaded my den here nights regularly.”
-
-“Maybe this same mysterious ‘Donner’” suggested
-Ben.
-
-“Hardly. You see, I am pretty regular in my
-hours here. I have come on at about eight in the
-morning and leave at six in the evening always.”
-
-“And the second spook you speak about?”
-interrogated Tom.
-
-“Puts in an appearance after my departure in
-the night time. Here’s the gist of it: Every
-morning when I come down here, the ground under
-the windmill for a space of about fifty feet
-is swept as clean as a ballroom floor.”
-
-“Yes, I’ve noticed that,” observed Tom.
-
-“I leave the den up here in some slight disorder
-evenings, preferring to put it in shape in
-the morning. Well,” declared Mr. Edson, “I find
-it all cleaned up for me.”
-
-“You don’t say so!” ejaculated Ben.
-
-“Nothing is touched about the apparatus, my
-papers are not disturbed. One night I carelessly
-forgot my pocketbook. I found it placed carefully
-on the paper tab with the contents intact.”
-
-“Well, that’s a helpful, honest, useful kind of a
-spook, isn’t it, now?” cried Ben.
-
-“I think this harmless intruder sleeps on the
-floor here nights,” said Mr. Edson. “Anyhow,
-I’ve apprised you of the mysteries as well as the
-excellencies of Station Z. I must be going,
-Barnes,” added Mr. Edson, consulting his watch
-and arising and taking up his satchel from a corner
-of the room. “Think over my proposition.”
-
-“I certainly shall,” declared Tom, quickly.
-
-“It’s a dandy chance,” remarked Ben.
-
-“Use your best intelligence and judgment in
-running the business here until I come back,”
-added Mr. Edson. “You can come down to the
-house with me if you like and get some stuff that
-will help you rig up your home-made wireless.”
-
-“All right,” assented Tom, “I’d like to do
-that.”
-
-The professional operator followed his young
-guests down the ladder, locking the trap door
-padlock and tendering the key to Tom.
-
-“You’re in charge now,” he said in a pleasant
-way.
-
-Tom’s finger tips tingled with pleasure at the
-possession of the key, and Ben’s eyes brightened
-with glowing anticipations.
-
-The boys waited outside on a bench on the porch
-of Mr. Edson’s boarding house when they reached
-that place. He went up to his room and soon
-returned with an oblong box.
-
-“You’ll find the stuff in there I told you about,”
-he explained.
-
-“Many thanks,” said Tom.
-
-“I’m in that, too!” echoed Ben. “I only
-hope we can really rig up a plant at my house like
-you talk about,” he added eagerly.
-
-“That will be easy,” advised Mr. Edson.
-“And now good-by, my young friends, and good
-luck.”
-
-Mr. Edson shook hands in a friendly way with
-Tom and Ben. The boys started down the village
-street in the direction of the Barnes home.
-
-Ben walked as if he were treading on air. His
-comrade, carrying the box, was thoughtfully going
-over the great fund of information he had obtained
-in the preceding two hours.
-
-“I say!” he spoke suddenly, coming to a halt.
-
-“What’s up?” challenged Ben.
-
-“I was thinking it would be handier to leave
-this box at the station.”
-
-“I’m sure it would. You see, it’s nearer our
-place,” counselled Ben eagerly, glad of any excuse
-that would take them back to the fascinating
-influence of Station Z.
-
-They faced about and proceeded back over the
-course they had come.
-
-“Look here, Tom,” broke in Ben on the
-thoughts of his comrade, “are you going to try
-and raise that hundred dollars?”
-
-“Yes, if possible.”
-
-“Wish I could help you. Going to ask your
-father?”
-
-“No,” replied Tom. “In the first place, I
-don’t think he would let me have it. You know
-he calls my craze after wireless, as he terms it,
-all a fad,—says I’d better think of getting through
-school before I take up outside things.”
-
-“Yes, I know.”
-
-“Then again,” continued Tom, “I have a sort
-of pride of starting in business life on my own
-resources.”
-
-“But you’ve got to have some money help.”
-
-“I’ve thought of that, and I’ll tell you what I’ll
-do. You remember my Aunt Samantha?”
-
-“Down at Westport?”
-
-“Exactly. I have always been a favorite of
-hers. Many a time she has hinted at all the
-money she is going to leave me in her will some
-day. Many a time, too, after a visit to our house,
-she has reminded me that any time I need help to
-write her.”
-
-“And you’re going to?”
-
-“Yes,” replied Tom, “just as soon as I get
-home this evening. I’m going to offer her my
-note, and I mean to pay it, too.”
-
-“Say, Tom,” cried his loyal companion, “I’ll
-endorse for you.”
-
-Tom had to laugh outright at the proposal.
-
-Then, seeing that he had hurt Ben’s feelings, he
-said kindly:
-
-“That’s all right, Ben; you mean well, but if
-Aunt Samantha won’t let me have the money
-alone, she won’t give it to the two of us.”
-
-It had been growing dusk as the chums proceeded
-on their way. They passed through the
-village and beyond it, and finally approached the
-wireless station. Tom was fumbling in his pocket
-for the key to the trap door when Ben suddenly
-caught his arm.
-
-“Tom, hold on!”
-
-“What’s the matter?” questioned Tom.
-
-“Look yonder!”
-
-Ben pointed directly at the old windmill framework.
-Both stared intently.
-
-Climbing up one of the outer girders was a
-boy. As he reached the level of the window of the
-little aerial room aloft, he swung towards it, in
-some deft way lifted or pried up the sash, and
-disappeared suddenly from view.
-
-.. figure:: images/illus-024.jpg
- :align: center
-
- BEN POINTED DIRECTLY AT THE OLD WINDMILL FRAMEWORK.
-
-CHAPTER IV—“DONNER”
-===================
-
-“Well!” ejaculated Tom in startled amazement.
-
-“Don’t you see?” gasped Ben.
-
-“What?”
-
-“One of the spooks Mr. Edson spoke about!”
-
-“That’s so, it must be,” assented Tom. “The
-nightly intruder, as sure as fate!”
-
-The window was lowered from the inside. In
-a minute or two a faint light showed. Tom
-started forward, joined by Ben, who was in a
-quiver of excitement and suspense.
-
-“What are you going to do, Tom?” he inquired.
-
-“Find out who this mysterious trespasser is.
-Don’t make any noise, Ben, but keep close to me.”
-
-Tom gave the box into the possession of his
-companion, and started up the ladder. Very cautiously
-he inserted the key into the padlock.
-He managed to turn it and remove the padlock
-without making any alarming sound. Then very
-slowly Tom pushed up the trap door.
-
-A glance across to one corner of the room interested
-him. Upon the floor lay the intruder. He
-had upset a chair, and he was using its slanting
-back as a pillow. On another chair he had set a
-lighted piece of candle. In a posture of ease
-and comfort he lay reading a well-thumbed book,
-while gnawing away at a great hunk of dry bread.
-His face was turned away from the trap door.
-He was so engrossed in eating and reading, that,
-unobserved, Tom was able to get up into the
-room and Ben was half way through the trap
-door before the trespasser was aware of it.
-
-“Well, we’ve caught you right in the act, have
-we?” spoke Tom suddenly.
-
-With a slight cry and starting up into a sitting
-posture, the intruder stared hard at his unexpected
-visitors. He seemed to scan their faces
-searchingly. His own, at first startled, broke into
-a pleasant smile.
-
-“That’s just what you’ve done,” he admitted.
-
-“Pretty cool about it,” observed Ben.
-
-“Not so cool as I’ve been, sleeping in the damp
-grass a few foggy mornings lately. What are you
-going to do with me, fellows?”
-
-The speaker rose to his feet with something
-of an effort. Then Tom noticed that he limped on
-one foot. The lad was thin and pale, too. He
-righted the upset chair and sat down on it. Ben
-placed the box on a table and leaned against it,
-regarding the stranger with curiosity. Tom sank
-into another chair.
-
-“We’re not judges or officers,” he said, “but
-we are in charge here now.”
-
-“Then I’d better get out, I suppose,” said the
-boy.
-
-“What did you come in for in the first place?
-That’s what we’re interested in knowing,” remarked
-Ben pointedly.
-
-The stranger shrugged his shoulders in a way
-that was quite pathetic.
-
-“See here,” he said soberly, “if you had a
-foot pretty nigh cut off by a scythe right on top
-of a hard spell of the typhoid fever, and no
-place to eat or sleep, you’d burrow in most anywhere
-lying around loose, wouldn’t you?”
-
-“Does that describe your case?” questioned
-Tom.
-
-“Just exactly,” responded the lad, a quick dry
-click in his throat. “I’m not able to do my old
-work, and you might call me a roving convalescent,
-see?” and he chuckled. “I manage to pick
-up enough food. I spotted this place, tried to
-keep out of anybody’s way, and tidied it up to
-pay for wearing out the floor boards. Then, too,
-I frightened off two tramps one night, who would
-have ransacked everything in sight if I hadn’t
-made them believe I was a private watchman.”
-
-“But where do you live?” asked Ben.
-
-“Here, if you’ll let me,” was the prompt reply.
-
-“We’ll do better than that,” said Tom, who
-had been studying the boy’s face and manner
-closely, and each succeeding moment was attracted
-more and more by his honest eyes and frank ways.
-
-“Will you?” questioned the lad wonderingly.
-
-“Yes,” assured Tom. “To be plain about it,
-you are homeless and friendless.”
-
-“To be plain about it, you’ve just hit the nail
-on the head.”
-
-“All right; when we leave here you come
-along.”
-
-“Where to?”
-
-“My home. You shall have a good supper, and
-I’m sure my mother will let me rig up a comfortable
-bed for you in the garret.”
-
-“Mattress?” queried the stranger with a grin.
-
-“Of course.”
-
-“Pillow?” he asked additionally
-
-“Yes.”
-
-The boy chuckled.
-
-“Say,” he spoke in a half sad, half gloating
-way, “it’s so long since I saw such things I can
-hardly realize it. I suppose you want to know
-my name?”
-
-“We’d like to,” said Ben.
-
-“Then call me Ashley, Harry Ashley. If anybody
-asks what I am, just tell them a poor lonely
-fellow in hard luck, but mending as fast as he
-can, and not afraid to tackle any job that means
-pay for work.”
-
-“That rings true,” said Ben.
-
-Tom got busy shoving the box he had brought
-from the village under the table. He had lighted
-a lamp. About to extinguish it, he glanced around
-the room to see that everything was in shape for
-the night.
-
-“Come on, Ben, you too,” directed Tom.
-“Blow out your candle, and we’ll make a start.”
-
-The boy calling himself Harry Ashley limped
-over towards the chair holding the candle. At
-that moment there was an interruption. With a
-sharp tang the receiver began to pop out dots,
-dashes and echoing clicks.
-
-“Some one on the line!” pronounced Ben
-quickly.
-
-“Yes,” nodded Tom, hastening over to the instrument.
-“Hello!”
-
-Tom gave a vivid start. For over a month he
-had been acquiring the Morse code alphabet.
-Novice as he was, he was able to translate the
-rapid furious dots and dashes that sounded in the
-earpiece of the apparatus.
-
-“The spooks!” Ben gasped.
-
-“Yes,” assented Tom quite stirred up himself—“‘Donner!’”
-
-“What’s that?” exclaimed Harry Ashley. He
-turned as white as a sheet, and began trembling
-all over, and stood staring askance at Tom, the
-instrument and Ben.
-
-CHAPTER V—A BOY WITH A MYSTERY
-==============================
-
-Tom did not take much notice of the strange
-conduct of the refugee. He was intent on learning
-what further the receiver would immediately
-tap out. Ben noted particularly the excitement
-of their new companion. His attention, too, was
-instantly diverted through his eagerness to catch
-the message coming all strange and jumbled by
-wireless.
-
-“Just as Mr. Edson told us——” he began.
-
-“Ah!” commented Tom.
-
-The big distended eyes of Ben Dixon devoured
-the instrument with its shining coils and connections.
-He stood now rooted like a statue.
-
-Finally the message ended. A queer smile
-crossed Tom’s face.
-
-“Well,” he observed, “Mr. Edson certainly
-described it perfectly.”
-
-“Yes.”
-
-“And two thousand dollars this time.”
-
-“What else was the fellow trying to send?”
-
-“It was gibberish to me. Oh, we’ll have to
-pass it up, Ben, just as Mr. Edson said.”
-
-“Yes,” assented Ben, “it’s some novice or
-joker or crank experimenting, or trying to be
-smart. What’s the matter?” challenged Ben,
-turning now upon the boy calling himself Harry
-Ashley, hoping for some explanation of his queer
-startled actions of a few minutes previous.
-
-But whatever the refugee had on his mind
-he evidently was not disposed to impart it to his
-questioner.
-
-Harry Ashley had somewhat recovered his
-composure. He still looked disturbed, but he said
-with assumed carelessness:
-
-“Oh, nothing. I get a pretty sharp twinge
-in my lame foot every once in a while.”
-
-“I see,” observed Ben, drily and unbelievingly.
-
-The boys were soon on the ground and on
-their way towards the village. Tom kept up a
-casual conversation. He did not ask the strange
-waif who had drifted into their keeping any
-leading questions, however. Much as he was
-interested in knowing more about Harry Ashley,
-there was something in the lad’s manner that
-repelled curiosity. Furthermore, Tom did not
-wish to embarrass a comrade he had invited to
-become his guest.
-
-Ben was quite silent. He stole many a furtive
-look at Harry as they proceeded on their way.
-He was half satisfied with the lame explanation
-of his actions the boy had made in the wireless
-tower. He forged ahead a few yards with Tom
-as they came to the road leading south towards
-his home.
-
-“I say, Tom,” he remarked in a low tone,
-“there’s some mystery about that fellow.”
-
-“Well, if that’s true,” returned Tom, “let
-the future work it out. He strikes me as a poor
-unfortunate who needs some help, and I’m going
-to give it to him.”
-
-“That’s natural,” retorted Ben, “you’re always
-helping somebody.”
-
-Tom rejoined Harry. The latter became more
-chatty now. He did not say much about himself,
-but from what he did impart Tom surmised that
-he was practically a tramp, picking up a living
-at odd jobs.
-
-“See here,” said Harry, as Tom indicated the
-cheery lights of the old Barnes homestead, “it
-won’t put you in bad with your folks, will it?”
-
-“What do you mean?”
-
-“Lugging in a ragged stranger like me.”
-
-“My mother will answer that,” replied Tom
-with a smile, leading the way around the house.
-
-His companion halted outside the kitchen door,
-as Tom sang out to a portly bustling lady directing
-the operations of a hired girl.
-
-“Mother, I’ve brought some company home
-to supper.”
-
-The kindly glance of the hospitable Mrs.
-Barnes swept the forlorn refugee, clearly reviewed
-in the light streaming out across the door-step.
-
-“Come right in,” she said, with a genial smile
-of welcome.
-
-“It’s Harry Ashley,” explained Tom. “He
-may stay all night.”
-
-“You arrange where he shall sleep, then, Tom.
-Go into the dining room, boys. Father seems
-to be delayed in town, and we needn’t wait for
-him.”
-
-Tom did not regret the kindness he was showing
-to his new friend. When he went to bed that
-night he felt that he had never passed a more
-satisfactory evening. He had never seen a boy
-enjoy a meal as Harry Ashley did that supper.
-It was enough to warm the heart of a stone, he
-decided, to witness the happy comfort of Harry,
-as in the cozy sitting room he showed the stranger
-his books, and some of the electrical toys he had
-made for his young brother Ted.
-
-Harry looked around the airy attic with a
-smile of pleasure as he noted a mattress filled
-with clean straw in one corner, a white coverlid
-and a pillow.
-
-“Makes you think of home, doesn’t it?”
-questioned Tom.
-
-“No, it doesn’t,” sharply, almost rudely,
-snapped out Harry, and then, a slight moisture
-visible in his eyes, he added apologetically,
-“you’ve touched a sore spot, Barnes.”
-
-“I won’t again,” promised Tom gently.
-
-“That’s all right,” replied Harry in his usual
-offhand way. “When you know me better I’ll
-explain some things. I’ll dream like a prince
-in a palace to-night.”
-
-Tom went to his own room. His head was
-pretty full with all the varied and exciting events
-of the day. Of course wireless details predominated.
-He went to sleep building in fancy the
-station for his friend, Ben, down at his home.
-He woke up to the lively sound of whistling outside
-of the house. Tom went to the window
-and looked out.
-
-Bright as a cricket, cheery and clean faced,
-Harry was surveying what had been a jumbled-up
-mass of kindling the night before. He had piled
-it up symmetrically and had swept up the last
-stray sliver of wood on the ground. Over
-towards the vegetable beds was a five-foot heap
-of weeds which his industry had collected.
-
-Suddenly the happy whistle ceased. Tom saw
-his father come out of the house, stare at the
-strange boy, then at the evidence of his enterprise,
-and smile grimly. Mr. Barnes hailed the boy.
-
-“You’re the lad my wife told me about, I
-reckon,” observed the farmer.
-
-“If you mean the boy she was so kind to, yes
-sir,” promptly responded Harry.
-
-“Who hired you?” demanded Mr. Barnes.
-
-“Who hired me?” repeated Harry in a
-puzzled way.
-
-“Yes, to do that,” and Mr. Barnes’ hand swept
-the woodpile and the weed heap suggestively.
-
-“Oh, that’s to pay for supper and lodging,”
-explained Harry brightly.
-
-“Well, we’ll count breakfast into the bargain,”
-stipulated Mr. Barnes, “and if you get tired
-doing nothing there’s five hundred weight of
-grain in the barn I’ll pay you to grind.”
-
-“You will?” cried Harry, his eyes sparkling.
-“Show it to me, will you, please?”
-
-“Good for him,” commented Tom. “He’s
-the real sort, and he’s got father on his side
-all right.”
-
-Kindness, attention and the prospect of work
-seemed to have wrought a marvellous change
-in Harry. He little suggested the homeless forlorn
-refuge of the previous night as he sat at the
-breakfast table. He was lively and chatty, acting
-the pleasant chum with Tom, the grateful guest
-to motherly Mrs. Barnes, and narrating comical
-experiences with amateur farmers he had worked
-for to Mr. Barnes, keeping the latter in rare
-good humor throughout the meal.
-
-About an hour later Ben arrived on the scene.
-
-“Say, Tom,” was his first sprightly hail,
-“Father says I’ve been hopping about like a chicken
-with her head cut off ever since I got up—and
-that was five o’clock.”
-
-“What’s the trouble, Ben?” inquired Tom
-with a smile, guessing.
-
-“Fever—the wireless kind,” chuckled Ben.
-“I’ve got five fellows down at the old oak ready
-to give all day to helping me get the outfit in
-down at my house. Say, Tom, give me the key
-to the tower and let me get that box of trimmings
-Mr. Edson gave us, will you?”
-
-“I shall have to go on duty at the station soon,
-Ben,” explained Tom, “but here’s the key. Get
-down to the oak right away, and I’ll instruct you
-how to dismantle my unfinished plant and start
-you in at your house. Then at noon I’ll give
-you another hour.”
-
-“You’d better come right up to our house for
-supper, Tom,” suggested Ben, “and we can have
-two full working hours by daylight after you
-quit work.”
-
-“Very well,” agreed Tom gladly.
-
-Never did a boy spend a more entrancing day
-than Ben Dixon. His helpers at the blasted oak
-were delighted to climb like monkeys to remove
-the spirals and wires from the old tree, and handle
-the queer contrivances contained in the box Mr.
-Edson had donated.
-
-Harry Ashley spent the day between working
-about the farm, visiting the scene of activity at
-the Dixon place, and limping up to the tower.
-
-Only some exchange test calls came to Station Z
-that day. Tom was encouraged to find how quickly
-he could read them, and send the necessary replies.
-
-Nearly every lad in the neighborhood was on
-hand that evening, when Tom arrived at the
-Dixon place, and began to connect the various
-devices of the wireless outfit. It took into the
-next day fully to adjust the various parts.
-
-Ben was in a rare fever of excitement
-and expectancy the second evening about seven
-o’clock, when Tom announced to him that the
-finishing touches of the experiment were in
-process.
-
-“She’s all there, Ben,” he said triumphantly,
-as he drew smooth the tinfoil tongues of the
-setts of the coherer. “I’ll run down to Station Z
-and give you a call to see if she works all
-right.”
-
-Ben Dixon stood staring fixedly at the apparatus
-rigged up in a shed running up to the spirals
-strung to tree tops near the old barn. Six ardent
-watchers sat astride a bench, mouths agape and
-eyes bolting from their heads, resembling lads
-awaiting the touching of a match to a powder
-mine.
-
-Finally a thrill ran instantaneously from the
-metallic poles through the vibrating parts of the
-apparatus. As one after another the boys listened
-at the telephone-like receiver, they heard
-the tell-tale dots and dashes.
-
-“Hurrah!” shouted Ben Dixon in a frenzy
-of wild delight.
-
-CHAPTER VI—A TIP VIA WIRELESS
-=============================
-
-“This means business!” exclaimed Tom.
-
-What Mr. Edson had predicted had happened—a
-stray message that meant something, the accidental
-discovery of news perhaps of vast importance
-to the person for whom it was intended.
-
-The young wireless operator was a quick thinker.
-The call was for O-17. Tom knew from
-hearsay where that station was located.
-
-Mr. Morgan had a large stock farm a little
-outside of a small hamlet called Deepdale. That
-settlement had no telephone or telegraph service.
-It was located nearly twenty miles from a railroad
-station and any stranger sojourning there
-was temporarily outside of civilization so far
-as communication with the world was concerned.
-
-Tom was aware of all this. He readily figured
-out as well why the message had been sent per
-wireless to Station O-17. This was operated on
-a high point of rocks directly on the coast
-outside of Deepdale. It was one of a regular
-chain in the coast service.
-
-The sender in New York City had some reason
-for believing that Mr. Morgan was at his stock
-farm and not at his home at Fernwood, near
-Rockley Cove. It was imperative that he get in
-communication with him within an hour. He
-had risked all on the message finding Mr.
-Morgan at Deepdale.
-
-“Why, I met Mr. Morgan this morning in
-his automobile coming from the direction of
-Deepdale,” soliloquized Tom. “He must have
-changed his plans. No delay now. This must
-be important.”
-
-Tom trusted to his memory as to the subject
-matter of the wireless message. As he hastily
-descended from the tower, however, he repeated
-it over mentally to make sure he would not forget
-any salient point.
-
-“The message mentioned ‘U. Cal.’,” breathed
-Tom. “I can guess what that means.”
-
-To his way of thinking it meant “United Calcium.”
-Only two days previous in the Rockley
-Cove *Weekly Clarion* Tom had read a bit of
-current gossip about the present subject of his
-thoughts.
-
-The item had referred to some late investments
-of the retired capitalist. It specifically cited the
-fact that “our esteemed townsman,” Mr. Walter
-Morgan, it was rumored, was negotiating for
-the control of the stock of the United Calcium
-Company. The investment, it was stated, would
-involve nearly a quarter of a million dollars of
-capital.
-
-Now it appeared the partner or business representative
-of Mr. Morgan in New York City
-had discovered a flaw in the proposition, and had
-anxiously and urgently wired for instructions.
-
-Station Z was just two miles from Fernwood,
-the summer home of the Morgans. It lay directly
-on the ocean, and was a straight course.
-Tom thought of Grace Morgan as he braced up
-for a vigorous walk. That was quite natural,
-for they were good friends. He lamented that
-he was not in very dressy shape to meet the dainty
-little miss, whom he would probably find in the
-pink of perfection as to garb and appearance,
-as she generally was.
-
-“Can’t help it, this is business,” decided Tom
-grimly. “Maybe I won’t meet her,” he added
-hopefully.
-
-Tom undertook a big spurt of speed. As he
-came to Silver Creek, two school chums getting
-ready to start fishing yelled at him.
-
-“Hey, Tom!” cried one mandatorily.
-
-“Yes, we want you,” piped the other.
-
-“Can’t stop,” panted Tom, waving his hand,
-and speeding on as if he were entered for a
-Marathon.
-
-“I’ve lost no time, that’s sure,” he decided as
-he passed the boathouse at the end of the private
-pier belonging to Fernwood.
-
-Tom came to the terrace in front of the Morgan
-mansion. A fluttering white dress attracted
-his attention from the front porch of the house,
-and Grace came into view.
-
-“Why, Tom!” she said in a genuine friendly
-welcome. “Come up and sit down. You look
-tired out.”
-
-“Yes, been running hard,” explained Tom,
-short-breathed and excited. “Must see your
-father.”
-
-“Father?” repeated Grace, quite surprised.
-
-“Yes, Mr. Morgan, is he at home?”
-
-“Why, no, Tom.”
-
-“Where will I find him, then?”
-
-“Why, you are so excited, Tom!”
-
-“Reason to be,” gulped Tom. “Please don’t
-delay. It’s important.”
-
-“Papa just left in the automobile for Springville.
-There is a meeting of bank directors there,
-he told me. There’s the horn now.”
-
-“Excuse me,” said Tom hastily, and bolted
-unceremoniously around the side of the house
-where the announcement from the automobile had
-echoed.
-
-Pretty Miss Morgan looked amazed, and
-tapped her daintily slippered foot in a vexed
-way at the ungallant disappearance of her acquaintance.
-Tom, however, did not wait for explanations.
-He had caught sight of the Morgan
-automobile. It was just passing upon the roadway
-leading west from the rear of the grounds.
-
-“Hold on—stop!” yelled Tom irrepressibly.
-
-The puffing of the newly-started machine apparently
-drowned out his hail. The hood of
-the tonneau shut Tom out from sight of Mr.
-Morgan and his chauffeur.
-
-Tom ran no farther after the rapidly-gliding
-car. He saw in a flash that his only chance of
-stopping it was by a sharp swift dash diagonally
-to a point where the circling road cut south. He
-speeded reckless of flower beds and fences on
-his mission, flew heedless of mud and water
-through an obstructing swale, and, breathless and
-pretty nearly exhausted, gained the main-road.
-
-Honk! honk!—not a hundred yards distant
-the chauffeur sounded a warning as Tom sprang
-into the middle of the highway, waving his arms
-violently to call a halt.
-
-“What’s this?” demanded Mr. Morgan sharply,
-as the chauffeur perforce let the machine down
-to a dead stop.
-
-“I beg your pardon, Mr. Morgan——” began
-Tom.
-
-“Young Barnes?” observed the capitalist, with
-a surprised stare at Tom.
-
-“Yes, sir,” hurried on Tom. “I have some
-important news for you.”
-
-“Important news for me?” repeated Mr.
-Morgan vaguely.
-
-“Yes, sir.”
-
-“Who from?”
-
-“Your partner, sir, or agent in New York
-City.”
-
-“What?” cried Mr. Morgan. “How does it
-come through you?”
-
-“By wireless,” reported Tom promptly.
-
-“Oh, I’ve heard something about your dabbling
-in that.”
-
-“Can I speak before your chauffeur?” inquired
-Tom.
-
-“If you have anything to say, go ahead.”
-
-“Well, sir,” said Tom, “I caught a message
-sent to wireless station O-17, up at Deepdale.
-It seems that the sender expected to reach you
-there. His name appears to be Dunbar.”
-
-“Yes, yes,” urged Mr. Morgan impatiently,
-“I sent word I would be at Deepdale until to-morrow,
-but changed my plans.”
-
-“It was fortunate that I knew you were back,”
-said Tom. “The message seems important.”
-
-“Out with it,” ordered Mr. Morgan.
-
-“I think I can repeat it word for word.”
-
-“Do so, then.”
-
-“‘Have a tip that U. Cal. cannot prove up on
-patents. News will be public before night.
-Order your subscription cancelled before afternoon
-session of Stock Exchange, or there will be a
-heavy loss.’”
-
-“Thunder!”
-
-Mr. Morgan jumped up fully a foot on the
-cushioned seat of the tonneau. His face went
-white as chalk. He seemed about to spring from
-the automobile. Then he jerked out his watch,
-fell back, and, trembling all over, gasped out
-to the chauffeur:
-
-“Drive for your life to the telegraph office at
-Rockley Cove. Don’t lose a second!”
-
-CHAPTER VII—GRACE MORGAN
-========================
-
-Tom stepped aside quickly as the chauffeur set
-the power, and the machine made a sharp jump.
-As it flashed around a curve bound townwards Mr.
-Morgan leaned over the back of the tonneau.
-
-“I won’t forget this, Barnes,” he bawled loudly.
-
-“Good for the wireless!” exclaimed Tom,
-with a genuine flush of delight.
-
-He felt well satisfied with the exploit of the
-moment. He was flushed, bedraggled and exhausted,
-but there was the thrill of a big action
-accomplished and the utility of Station Z established.
-
-Tom glanced longingly in the direction of
-Fernwood and then at his soaked shoes, and
-shook his head dolefully.
-
-“It won’t do,” he ruminated. “Grace is probably
-offended at me for bolting away so unceremoniously,
-and I’ll wait until I can make my
-apologies in better trim.”
-
-Tom kept a patch of timber between himself
-and the Morgan place, and reached the beach
-road on a detour. He was summarily halted as
-he passed the flight of steps leading up to the
-terrace. A silvery but peremptory voice called
-out:
-
-“Stop there, Tom Barnes!”
-
-Grace Morgan came tripping down the steps
-a minute later. There was a pretty pout of pettishness
-on her winsome face, and her eyes did
-not look altogether pleased.
-
-“What do you mean by running away from
-me, sir?” she challenged, gaining the side of
-Tom, and regarding him as if she was never
-going to forgive him.
-
-“Business is my only excuse,” explained Tom
-meekly.
-
-“You mean with my father?”
-
-“Yes——”
-
-“Did you overtake him?”
-
-“I am glad to say I did,” replied Tom, “and
-I think your father is, too.”
-
-“What was it about?”
-
-Tom laughed evasively,
-
-“You must ask him that yourself.”
-
-Miss Morgan looked mild daggers at Tom.
-
-“I never met such rude, unfriendly boys!”
-she declared.
-
-“Oh, there are more offenders than my poor
-humble self?” interrogated Tom archly.
-
-“Yes, there are,” declared the indignant miss.
-“Mart Walters has a friend from Boston visiting
-him—Bert Aldrich. He made an engagement to
-be here an hour ago with his gasoline launch. Gentlemen
-keep their engagements!” concluded Grace
-with emphasis.
-
-Unconsciously Grace had walked along with
-Tom, much to his personal pleasure.
-
-“Well, I’m glad,” he observed.
-
-“Glad of what?” demanded Miss Morgan
-suspiciously.
-
-“Oh, everything,” replied Tom bluntly, with
-a significance that caused Grace to blush. “As
-to my own transgression,” he went on, “as I
-told you, I can’t explain details, but I do not
-think your father would mind my telling you that
-I brought him an important message from my
-wireless.”
-
-“Your wireless?” exclaimed Grace in a
-sprightly tone. “Oh, Tom, I heard about that.
-Is it really true that you know how to telegraph
-all over the world, and rescue sinking steamers,
-and catch fleeing criminals, and—and all that?”
-
-Impetuous Miss Morgan had gone off in a
-rhapsody over the great enthusiastic theme of
-Tom’s mind, and he was truly delighted.
-
-“Well, hardly,” he said. “You see, I haven’t
-reached that yet. It may come—I hope it does.
-That’s why I’m sticking to it.”
-
-“Can I come and see you do it?” implored
-Grace excitedly. “Can I come into the tower
-and watch the messages come in, and see everything?”
-
-“I shall feel honored if you do,” replied Tom
-proudly. “Ah, there’s another of those shells.”
-
-Tom’s foot had kicked up a pearly odd-shaped
-shell in the sand. He stooped and secured it.
-
-“Oh, how odd and beautiful!” cried Grace.
-“Oh, Tom, can I have it for my collection? I
-haven’t one like it.”
-
-“You certainly can,” answered Tom gladly.
-“We call that the peach blow, and it’s pretty rare.
-I didn’t know you were interested in shells.”
-
-“I dote on them,” declared Grace. “Oh,
-Tom!”
-
-From his pocket he had taken a handful of
-exquisite specimens of star pebbles and shells he
-had gathered up within a week, and tendered them
-for a choice to his pretty companion.
-
-They strolled on for nearly half a mile. Tom
-explained that he must get back to the wireless
-station, but he could not resist lingering when
-Grace sat down to rest on an upturned boat on
-the beach. She occupied the time between admiring
-the pretty shells he had given her and
-inquiring into the details of his work at the
-wireless tower. Tom was in the midst of a
-description of some of the methods employed in
-sending wireless messages, when he paused and
-glanced seawards.
-
-“There is your friend, Grace,” said Tom.
-
-A natty gasoline launch was approaching the
-pier up-shore. Tom made out two passengers,
-both of whom he recognized. One was Mart
-Walters. The other boatman was at the wheel.
-Tom had seen him twice on the street of Rockley
-Cove and knew who he was—young Aldrich, the
-friend about whom Mart was so continually
-boasting.
-
-Grace Morgan glanced in the direction of the
-pier. Then, as if totally uninterested in what
-was going on there, she turned her back upon it
-and led an animated conversation with her companion.
-Tom kept facing the pier. From the
-launch Aldrich finally leaped ashore, evidently
-made them out, and leaving Mart in charge of
-the launch walked rapidly up the beach.
-
-“I think I had better be getting back to the
-tower,” said Tom, as the newcomer neared them,
-
-“Don’t be in a hurry, Tom,” advised Grace,
-with a slightly malicious twinkle in her eye. “Oh,
-you, Mr. Aldrich?” she added, arising with a
-formal bow to the young man, who, arrayed in
-fancy yachting costume, was quite a “swell”
-sight, indeed.
-
-She introduced them, but Mr. Aldrich was not
-inclined to make any friendly advances towards a
-boy in common working clothes. He deliberately
-turned his back on Tom, and began a conversation
-with Grace.
-
-“Had we not better start out on our cruise?”
-he asked.
-
-“Why, I had forgotten all about it, quite,”
-declared the wilful miss, with an encouraging
-smile at Tom, which quite nettled the newcomer.
-
-“The water is very smooth,” observed young
-Aldrich. “I am sure you will enjoy it.”
-
-“I regret it very much,” replied Grace, “but
-I was ready an hour ago. It is my time for
-musical practice now, and you will have to excuse
-me. Don’t hasten, Tom,” she added, crossing
-over to Tom.
-
-“I think I had better be getting back on duty
-at the wireless station,” said our hero.
-
-“Wireless, eh?” young Aldrich condescended
-to observe at this juncture. “In with that fad,
-eh?”
-
-“I am trying to make something more than a
-fad out of it,” replied Tom pleasantly.
-
-“Wire repairer or something of that sort?”
-intimated Bert Aldrich with a supercilious stare
-at Tom’s working clothes.
-
-“Indeed, no,” flashed out Grace resentfully.
-“Tom is quite an expert, aren’t you, Tom? He
-has been telling me the most delightful and fascinating
-things about the wireless. Oh, there
-is papa!”
-
-There was an abrupt lull in the conversation
-as the Morgan automobile came down the beach
-road from the direction of Rockley Cove. Mr.
-Morgan gave the chauffeur the signal to stop and
-leaped from the machine in an excited way.
-
-The politic young Aldrich advanced to meet
-the capitalist, all smiles and ceremony. Mr.
-Morgan almost brushed him aside, not even noticing
-the extended hand.
-
-He went straight up to Tom, and his eyes
-glowed with friendly interest. Mr. Morgan
-caught both of Tom’s hands in his own and gave
-them a hearty shake.
-
-“Barnes,” he said, “I stopped to say just a
-word to you. I must get to the city at once, but
-when I return I want you to come down to Fernwood.
-I have something important to say to
-you.”
-
-“Thank you, Mr. Morgan,” bowed Tom
-courteously.
-
-“You have saved me much of my fortune,”
-declared the capitalist in a tremulous, grateful
-tone. “How shall I ever repay you? Going up
-to the house, Grace?” he inquired of his daughter.
-
-“Yes, papa, it is my practice hour.”
-
-With a bewitching smile for Tom and a crisp
-little nod to Bert Aldrich the miss sprang airily
-into the car.
-
-“Oh, Tom,” she called back to the young
-wireless operator, as she mischievously noted the
-discomfited look on the face of young Aldrich,
-“I won’t be like some people—I’ll be on time to-morrow
-to have you show me all the wonders
-of that delightful wireless tower of yours.”
-
-CHAPTER VIII—QUICK ACTION
-=========================
-
-“Whew!”
-
-“Some storm, Tom!”
-
-“I shouldn’t fancy many gusts like that last one.”
-
-Station Z quivered like an eggshell in the hand
-of a giant. A loose piece of wood from the roof
-of the operating cabin struck a sash, demolishing
-two panes of glass, and the iron framework
-rocked to and fro in the heaviest wind storm that
-had struck Sandy Point in years.
-
-Tom Barnes glanced anxiously at the delicate
-wireless apparatus which shared sensitively in
-the pervading disturbance. His companion, Harry
-Ashley, was looking around for something to
-fasten over the broken window to shut out the
-driving rain.
-
-It was three days after the Morgan incident,
-and Tom was now fairly in the wireless harness.
-It had been lowering weather all day, and Tom
-had been glad that the rain had held off until
-Grace Morgan, who, with her music teacher, had
-spent a delightful hour going over the wonders
-of Station Z, had gotten home before the tempest
-broke.
-
-Tom had obtained his mother’s consent to his
-remaining all night at the tower. It was the current
-conviction among all coast wireless men that
-a stormy night usually brought urgent and important
-service. A storm generally meant distress
-of some kind at sea, and Tom wanted to
-be on hand in case of emergency, as he had promised
-Mr. Edson.
-
-It was agreed that Harry Ashley should remain
-with him, and Mrs. Barnes had put up a
-fine lunch. About five o’clock when the wind
-began to rise with low rumblings of thunder in
-the distance and fitful gusts of wind, Tom held
-eye and attention close on the apparatus, ready
-for what might come.
-
-Within an hour, however, his thoughts, as well
-as those of his companion, were mainly concerned
-in their own immediate environment. The storm
-was not accompanied by very vivid lightning, but
-the wind had risen to hurricane force.
-
-Just before dusk a particularly severe gust
-broke down a large elm tree in sight. A little
-later a boat shed near the beach toppled over,
-and the fragments were carried like kindling wood
-out into the hissing, boiling surf.
-
-About half an hour after dark, Harry, at
-the window, had sounded a quick alarm.
-
-“Tom!” he had shouted, “every light in the
-town has shut off in a second!”
-
-This meant that the storm had carried down
-the electric supply line from Springville. Tom
-thought uneasily of the folks at home. Then the
-assaults of the high breeze on their aerial perch
-caused him to center his attention on their own
-position, and be ready to save themselves if collapse
-came.
-
-“Here, Harry, use this,” ordered Tom, as his
-companion picked up a coat to stop up the hole
-in the broken sash.
-
-Harry took the square piece of matting Tom
-tendered. He picked a hammer and nails to
-secure it across the sash. About to set it in
-place, however, he interrupted proceedings with
-a violent:
-
-“Hark!”
-
-“What’s the matter, Harry?” questioned
-Tom.
-
-Harry held up a hand, warningly. He bent
-his ear keenly towards the aperture. Then he
-turned to Tom.
-
-“Did you hear it?” he demanded.
-
-“Hear what?”
-
-“That shout—a cry?”
-
-“Wasn’t it the wind?”
-
-“No, I am sure not. Come here. There it
-is again!”
-
-Tom ran to the window. Both held their
-breath in suspense. Both started with intelligence
-and certainty now.
-
-A fearful echoing cry rose far above the
-whistling, shrieking storm—the echo of a human
-voice.
-
-“Help! help! help!”
-
-“That’s no imagination,” declared Harry.
-
-“No, someone is in trouble,” acquiesced Tom.
-
-“It’s right down on the road running to the
-beach,” said Harry.
-
-“Come on,” urged Tom definitely, “we must
-investigate this.”
-
-He seized a lantern and threw open the trap
-door. Harry was at his heels promptly. A
-gust of wind and a forceful dash of rain nearly
-swept them off their feet as they reached the
-ground.
-
-“Which way?” asked Harry quickly.
-
-“Hark!” interrupted Tom.
-
-Again the cry rang out. It was fainter, less
-emphatic than before, but nearer. Tom could
-trace the point of the compass from which it
-came. He ran in that direction, holding the lantern
-before him.
-
-“There he is!” cried Harry suddenly.
-“Don’t run over him, Tom.”
-
-Coming to an abrupt halt, both boys stared
-in startled excitement at a human being on hands
-and knees making his way from the side of the
-road. Near to him was a tangled mass of wreckage
-which had been a bicycle. Its shattered skeleton
-covered a big flat rock, into which it had
-run to be completely demolished.
-
-The recent rider was bareheaded, and from a
-wound in his temple the blood trickled down
-over his face and hands. One arm was helpless,
-and doubled up under him at every futile attempt
-at forward progress.
-
-“Why,” shouted Tom, swinging the lantern
-forward so that its rays covered the man, “it’s
-Mr. Barton.”
-
-“Tom—Tom—” quavered the man, looking
-up through half blinded eyes, “quick—the doctor!”
-
-“What’s that?” Tom challenged, keenly alive
-to the fact that Mr. Barton’s presence and condition
-signified some important circumstance.
-
-But the man with a groan fell flat, rolled over
-on his side, and lay like one dead in the road.
-
-“Say, Tom, what shall we do?” inquired
-Harry in an awesome whisper.
-
-“We mustn’t let this man die here, exposed
-to the storm. He may be seriously injured.”
-
-“It looks that way. I suppose he ran or was
-blown into that big rock yonder.”
-
-“Yes,” nodded Tom.
-
-“What was he doing, though, out such a night
-as this on a bicycle?”
-
-“He said something about a doctor. Help
-me, Harry, we must get him under shelter.”
-
-“We can’t carry him up into the tower.”
-
-“There’s the old tool shed. Ready?”
-
-“Yes, Tom.”
-
-They managed to convey the insensible man
-to the dilapidated structure Tom had mentioned.
-Its roof was like a sieve, and several boards were
-missing from its sides, but it afforded some security
-from the tempest.
-
-Tom placed a pile of old bags under the man’s
-head and set the lantern near.
-
-“Do you know him, Tom?” asked Harry.
-
-“Oh, yes, he is almost a neighbor of ours.
-He runs a small truck farm and has quite a
-family. Wet this, Harry, soaking.”
-
-Tom gave his handkerchief to his companion,
-who went outside and saturated it in a deep
-puddle. Tom washed the dirt from the face of
-the injured man and tried to staunch the flow of
-blood.
-
-He listened at his heart and to his breathing,
-and lifted the limb that seemed to have lost its
-natural power.
-
-“He breathes all right,” reported Tom to his
-anxious companion. “His arm is sprained or
-broken, though.”,
-
-“We must get him home, Tom.”
-
-“In this storm—with no conveyance?”
-
-“That’s so. He might die, though, if we
-don’t get a doctor.”
-
-“He’s coming to,” said Tom suddenly. “Mr.
-Barton! Mr. Barton!” called Tom gently.
-“Don’t you know me?”
-
-The man opened his eyes, stared vaguely, and
-then tried to arise. He fell back again instantly,
-however, with a moan of weakness.
-
-“No use!” he gasped. “My head is splitting
-and I’ve got no strength left in me at all. It was
-a fearful shock, a header full force, and—the
-doctor!” he shouted suddenly, almost in a
-scream.
-
-“What doctor, Mr. Barton?” inquired Tom
-solicitously.
-
-“From Rockville.”
-
-“What about him?”
-
-“My child—dying!” wailed the man. “Dr.
-Burr, the only one in Rockley Cove, is away.”
-
-“That’s so, I remember hearing of that,”
-assented Tom.
-
-“Lights in town shut off, telephone lines all
-down—the doctor, quick!”
-
-With these last words pronounced in a painful gasp,
-Mr. Barton succumbed and fell back
-unconscious again.
-
-“Tom, we’ve got to do something!” cried
-Harry, greatly worked up by all that was happening.
-
-Tom’s face showed the greatest anxiety and
-concern. The situation as revealed by the disconnected
-utterance of the injured man was serious
-and critical.
-
-Tom pictured the storm-swept village in his
-mind’s eye—the lights out, telephone service disrupted,
-and a father despairingly endeavoring to
-get word to the nearest doctor, five miles distant.
-
-“Wait here, watch him,” ordered Tom sharply,
-making up his mind what he would do.
-
-“Can you do anything?” questioned Harry
-eagerly.
-
-“I’ll try,” replied Tom, starting in the direction
-of the tower.
-
-“The wireless!” cried Harry, his eyes snapping
-animatedly.
-
-“Yes.”
-
-Tom was up the ladder and through the trap
-door in a hurry. He had his plan, but its success
-depended on two circumstances: first, if Ben
-Dixon was in reach of the amateur wireless outfit
-at the home nest; and second, if the telephone
-circuit the Dixon home was on, which belonged
-to a different system to that at Rockley Cove, was
-in working order.
-
-Tom speedily gave the call to the station at
-the Dixon place. He did not wait for any response.
-He repeated the call briskly. Then he
-flashed off the message he had in mind. Then
-he repeated the message twice. Then—Tom
-waited.
-
-There was a lapse of nearly ten minutes. Tom
-began to consider that Ben was not on duty.
-Suddenly there was a spitting crackle in the receiver.
-
-“O.K.,” came the slow message. “Telephone
-all right. Reached doctor. On way to Rockley
-Cove now.”
-
-“Good!” cried Tom.
-
-CHAPTER IX—STRICTLY BUSINESS
-============================
-
-Tom’s face was hopeful and pleased as he descended
-through the trap door to the ground
-with his good news.
-
-“How is he?” was his eager inquiry, as he
-stepped inside the doorway of the old tool shed.
-
-“He’s just begun to move again,” reported
-Harry, “but he has been twisting about and
-moaning terribly.”
-
-“Mr. Barton! Mr. Barton!” shouted Tom
-in the ear of their patient, as the eyes of the latter
-opened and stared wildly at him.
-
-“I remember now,” spoke Mr. Barton weakly.
-“It’s Tom Barnes?”
-
-“Yes,” assented Tom. “That’s better,” he
-added, as the man sat up. “Don’t give way
-again, Mr. Barton, it’s all right.”
-
-“What’s all right, Tom?”
-
-“Good news. The doctor.”
-
-“Yes! yes!”
-
-“I sent word to him.”
-
-“How could you? The telephone lines are
-dead.”
-
-“By wireless, to my friend, Ben Dixon, who
-runs a small station. He got my message. Their
-telephone service is all right. The doctor is now
-on his way to your home.”
-
-“Oh, thank you, Tom, thank you!” cried Mr.
-Barton fervently.
-
-“That’s great, Tom,” commented Harry heartily.
-
-“I noticed a light in the nearest house yonder,”
-proceeded Tom. “The wind has gone
-down a good deal. Could you make it, do you
-think, Harry?”
-
-“You mean get to the house?”
-
-“Yes.”
-
-“Why, of course.”
-
-“Take your lantern so you won’t run into anything
-or lose your way.”
-
-“All right. What then?”
-
-“An old fish peddler lives there. Tell him of
-the fix Mr. Barton is in.”
-
-“I understand.”
-
-“And ask him to hitch up and try and get
-him home.”
-
-“I’ll do that,” said Harry promptly, as he
-picked up the lantern and put for the door.
-
-Tom urged hope and patience on his charge.
-The announcement that he had succeeded in getting a
-doctor started for Rockley Cove had
-worked a great change in the patient. He forgot
-his sufferings in his joy at the knowledge that help
-was on the way to his dying child at home.
-
-It was about ten minutes later when there was
-a rattle of decrepit wheels and a resounding call:
-
-“Whoa!”
-
-“We’re here,” reported Harry, springing
-from the peddler’s wagon.
-
-Its owner had spread some blankets on the
-floor of the vehicle, making a comfortable bed
-for the injured man. They lifted him into the
-wagon box as carefully as they could.
-
-“How shall I ever thank you, Tom?” asked
-Mr. Barton gratefully.
-
-“Don’t try,” said Tom. “Just get home and
-get mended up, and I hope the doctor is in time
-to save your child.”
-
-Tom, left alone, returned to the tower. He
-felt well satisfied with the way affairs were progressing.
-He had been able to demonstrate some
-practicability to Station Z, and the fact encouraged
-him greatly.
-
-The storm had subsided considerably. The
-rain had ceased entirely, and the wind came only
-in occasional gusts, diminishing gradually in their
-violence.
-
-It must have been an hour later when Tom,
-almost dozing in his chair before the operating
-table, gave a great start as a cheery signal whistle
-rang out from below.
-
-“Ben,” he soliloquized, quite glad to welcome
-a companion in his loneliness.
-
-“I’ve come,” announced his chum, appearing
-through the trap opening. “Ugh! but it was a
-tough fight part of the way! I was nearly blown
-into the surf once or twice.”
-
-“What brought you out such a night as this?”
-challenged Tom.
-
-“Just what is keeping you here,” retorted
-Ben; “the chance of something exciting happening.
-Say, that message of yours has just stirred
-me up.”
-
-“You got it all right?”
-
-“The first time. I expected there might be
-business such a night as this, and kept watch for
-it. Our ’phone was all right, and I got the doctor
-at once. He said he would start without
-delay for Rockley Cove.”
-
-“I hope he made it,” said Tom.
-
-“He must have, for he had the smooth sheltered
-turnpike to take, and the storm is nothing
-much now. Our folks were delighted to think
-that our toy telegraph, as they call it, did something
-really useful, and they let me come down
-to stay all night.”
-
-“I’m glad of it, Ben,” replied Tom. “Harry
-will be back soon. We’ve got a lunch mother put
-up for us, and we can make a pleasant night of
-it.”
-
-“That’s just famous!”
-
-Ben removed his wet jacket and took up a
-comfortable position in a chair. Tom told of
-the injured Mr. Barton and what he had done
-for him.
-
-“I say, Tom,” suddenly asked Ben, during the
-pause after they had discussed current topics,
-“heard anything from Mr. Edson lately?”
-
-Tom’s face fell instantly, as though the remark
-suggested some unpleasant and disturbing subject.
-He looked quite anxious.
-
-“Yes, Ben,” he replied, “I got a letter this
-morning. He will be here to-morrow.”
-
-“How’s that?”
-
-“It seems he has made his arrangement to
-go into paid service on the North Atlantic coast.”
-
-“And he wants his money?” questioned Ben
-uneasily.
-
-“That’s about it,” answered Tom in a subdued
-tone.
-
-“Too bad!” murmured Ben. “You can’t
-reach it any way, Tom?”
-
-“I’m afraid not,” responded Tom. “As you
-know, my aunt wrote me yesterday that she had
-everything invested. She said that the first of
-the month she had some interest money coming
-in, and would send me a hundred dollars as soon
-as it did.”
-
-“But that’s too late to do any good.”
-
-“Yes,” admitted Tom reluctantly.
-
-“Then you’ll have to give up the station
-here?”
-
-“I’m afraid I will,” answered Tom with a
-sigh. “I’ll tell you frankly, I felt pretty hopeful
-of getting the money from another source, but
-I’m disappointed in that, too.”
-
-“What source, Tom?”
-
-“Mr. Morgan.”
-
-“Oh, yes! Well,” declared Ben, “he ought
-to.”
-
-“I am sure he would help me if he were at
-home,” said Tom.
-
-“You did a big thing for him, Tom.”
-
-“Mr. Morgan thinks that way himself. I am
-sure of it, from what he said.”
-
-“Maybe he will return to-morrow,” suggested
-Ben.
-
-“Grace says he has business in New York
-until the end of the week.”
-
-“Too bad!” exclaimed Ben.
-
-“Well, it can’t be helped,” said Tom philosophically.
-“I’ll just have to start in a more
-modest way. Mr. Edson is poor, and has got
-to realize right off from his investment here, he
-wrote me. Just think of it,” added Tom, gazing about
-the room with longing enthusiastic
-eyes, “we’ve got to give it all up, maybe the
-chance of a lifetime, because we can’t raise the
-money.”
-
-“How much do you need?” challenged a sharp
-voice suddenly, bringing both boys to their feet
-with a shock.
-
-CHAPTER X—A YOUNG CAPITALIST
-============================
-
-Harry Ashley stuck his head up through the
-trap opening, and climbed into the room with
-the announcement:
-
-“Overheard what you said, so—how much do
-you want?”
-
-Tom only smiled. The idea of a money offer
-from Harry was amusing. Ben assumed a mock
-gravity of manner with the words:
-
-“Give us a check right on the spot, I suppose?”
-
-“About that, if you don’t want too much,”
-answered Harry seriously.
-
-“We won’t call on you just yet, Harry,” said
-Tom. “What about Mr. Barton?”
-
-“We got him home all right.”
-
-“And the child?”
-
-“You’ve done a big piece of work with your
-wireless this night, Tom Barnes,” replied Harry,
-his eyes brightening. “We found the doctor at
-the Barton home when we arrived. He got
-there just in time. Said half an hour more and
-the patient would have been beyond help.”
-
-“That’s grand!” voiced Ben.
-
-“He’s fixed up Mr. Barton’s bruises. Says
-his arm is only sprained, and that he’ll be around
-as well as ever in a week. I wish you’d heard
-that mother speak when they told her about what
-you had done in saving her child.”
-
-“With your help, remember that.”
-
-“H’m,” said Harry with a wriggle, and blushing
-like a school girl. “The peddler has gone
-out into the country to bring a sister of Mrs.
-Barton to the house, and I wanted to get back
-here. Now that Ben is here, it seems jollier
-than ever. I must go to the peddler’s house,
-though, and tell his wife that her husband won’t
-be home for an hour or two. I promised him
-I would.”
-
-“All right, Harry,” said Tom briskly. “Then
-we’ll have a little lunch.”
-
-But Harry tarried. About to descend the
-ladder, he turned around with the pertinent
-query:
-
-“About that money that had to be paid, or
-you’d lose the station here.”
-
-“You heard about it, did you?” questioned
-Tom.
-
-“Didn’t I tell you I did? Come, Tom, how
-much do you want?”
-
-“Supposing you knew, what good would that
-do?”
-
-“I may help you.”
-
-Ben looked skeptical and grinned. Then,
-sobering down, he said:
-
-“Don’t make fun of us.”
-
-“I’m not.”
-
-“It’s serious enough as it is. Tom needs
-a hundred dollars.”
-
-“Does he?” exclaimed Harry with animation.
-“Well, he can have it.”
-
-“Who from?”
-
-“Me. One hundred? Oh, that’s easy—awfully
-easy,” declared Harry, as if very much
-pleased.
-
-“I suppose you are ready to supply the amount,
-cash down?” said Ben.
-
-“On the nail head!” cried Harry, a ring of
-genuine confidence in his tone. “See here, you
-fellows, you’ve been the truest chums I ever ran
-across. I’ve got a hundred dollars, yes, nearly
-double that, and all you’ve got to do is to take
-it.”
-
-“I only want to borrow—until my aunt collects
-her interest money,” said Tom, half hopeful,
-half doubting that unexpected good fortune was
-about to materialize.
-
-“Six months, a year—it’s all the same to me,”
-declared Harry gaily. “I’d give it to you outright
-if—if I could,” he stammered rather blunderingly.
-“There you are.”
-
-Ben in his stupefaction and Tom in wonder
-regarded the strange boy who had so warmly
-won their friendship during the brief period of
-their acquaintanceship. Harry had drawn off
-his rather threadbare coat. Then he reached
-inside the shirt he wore.
-
-“Well, what next?” interrogated Ben, watching
-the movement curiously.
-
-“The hundred dollars, of course,” pronounced
-Harry. “Think I’m fooling?”
-
-He had been fumbling with one hand inside his
-shirt. Something clicked like a snap of a buckle.
-Then he drew into view a long snake-like object.
-
-“A belt,” murmured Ben.
-
-“That’s right,” nodded Harry.
-
-With a clang he landed it on the table. He
-beckoned to Tom and Ben to approach.
-
-“I made that belt myself,” he went on, with
-some pride in his tone. “Looks like a sectional
-rattlesnake, eh? It’s made out of snakeskin. See,
-it’s got pockets. This one,” and Harry unsnapped
-a button—“pennies.”
-
-A dozen cent pieces rolled out. He gave them
-a peep into five other similar pockets.
-
-“Nickels, dimes, quarters, half dollars,” recited
-Harry. “Then this one at the end—ten,
-twenty, forty, sixty, eighty, one hundred. There’s
-your money, Tom. I’ll take your note when it’s
-convenient.”
-
-From a last compartment in the belt the speaker
-had produced a goodly roll of banknotes. He
-counted off the bills with the flippancy and skill
-of a bank cashier. Tom sat staring at the little
-heap that meant his business salvation, fairly
-agape.
-
-“The mischief!” giggled the petrified Ben.
-“It’s real money!”
-
-“Yes, and hard earned, and mine,” said Harry.
-
-“But how, where——”
-
-“Did I get it?” smiled Harry. “Work, hard
-work, fellows,” and there was a mingled pride
-and fondness in Harry’s voice. “That little heap
-means over a year of hard knocks and close
-scrapings, before I had the typhoid fever.”
-
-A strange silence fell over the trio of chums.
-Harry had come into the life of Tom and Ben
-in a strange way, and had won their confidence
-and friendship from the start. He had become
-quite a fixture at the Barnes homestead. Mr.
-Barnes had come to depend on him for an hour
-or two of pottering around at odd tasks on the
-farm, and felt that his young helper amply paid
-for his meals and lodging. At length Tom spoke,
-his face flushed with pleasure.
-
-“You’re a queer fellow, Harry,” he said heartily,
-“and you are a good fellow. You are willing
-to lend me this money?”
-
-“Willing?” repeated Harry. “Glad, honored,
-delighted. Is a hundred enough?”
-
-“Yes, indeed.”
-
-“All right, there it is. Don’t you look at me
-in that leery way, Ben Dixon,” said Harry, with
-a chuckle. “I haven’t been stealing anything.
-That money is mine, all mine, and honestly mine.
-There is this much I will tell you about it, though:
-it is a part of a certain amount I am hoping to
-reach to pay a certain person.”
-
-“Money that you owe?” ventured Ben, consumed
-with curiosity.
-
-“Yes, and no. I’m to save five hundred dollars,”
-
-“Whew! that’s a heap.”
-
-“I’ll reach it,” declared Harry confidently—“in
-time. It’s money that I must repay.”
-
-“That you borrowed?”
-
-“No.”
-
-“Oh, that you took?” insinuated Ben, in his
-blunt, straightforward way.
-
-“No, sir! Do you take me for a thief?”
-cried Harry indignantly. “I’ll tell you this much
-more: I was living with a man I didn’t like so
-very much. I made up my mind to cut out from
-him. I wanted first to find some papers of mine
-I believed he had in his possession. When he
-was away from home one night, I took a lighted
-candle and made a tour of investigation. I came
-across a pile of banknotes. A strip around them
-said ‘Five Hundred Dollars.’ I went on searching
-for what I was after, but didn’t find it. When
-I turned around to take up the candle, the drawer
-in which I had placed it was all ablaze. The
-banknotes were a heap of crisp cinders.”
-
-“Well!” ejaculated Ben.
-
-“I tell you I was scared,” confessed Harry.
-“He was a close-fisted, mysterious old fellow,
-and—well, I decided to get out. I left a note
-telling the circumstances of the accident, and said
-that I would work my finger nails off to earn that
-five hundred dollars and bring it back to him,
-some day. I’ve been doing it ever since.”
-
-“That’s a remarkable story, Harry Ashley,”
-said Ben, in earnest admiration.
-
-Harry pushed the bills over to Tom, restored
-the belt to its place, and, with the indifference of
-a millionaire, started for the trap door.
-
-“I must tell the peddler’s wife about her husband’s
-delay,” he said. “Glad to oblige you,
-Tom. I’ll be back soon.”
-
-Tom grasped the banknotes thoughtfully, and
-with an expression of gladness and relief on his
-face.
-
-“What luck!” commented Ben.
-
-“I am awfully glad to get the money,” said
-Tom, with deep feeling. “Harry is a splendid
-fellow. It’s only a loan, but think what it means
-to me just at this time!”
-
-“There’s something!” exclaimed Ben suddenly.
-
-“Hello!” said Tom, all attention at once to
-the clicks. Then his face broke into a smile.
-
-“‘Donner’ again!” cried Ben.
-
-“After a lapse of two days,” observed Tom.
-“Listen.”
-
-The mysterious “spook” of Mr. Edson was in
-evidence once more.
-
-“He’s getting along better,” said Ben.
-
-“‘Donner’ tapped that out pretty fair. ‘Lost
-boy.’ What’s that? ‘Money’ again. Thousand
-dollars.’ He’s getting extravagant. ‘Donner.’
-H’m!”
-
-There was a lapse. Tom laughed and Ben
-chuckled. “Donner” was a standing joke now.
-
-“There, he’s at it again,” announced Ben a
-moment later. “‘Donner. Lost boy.’ Yes,
-we’ve heard that before. Hello! here’s something
-new.”
-
-“Yes,” nodded Tom, translating the message:
-“Lost boy named Ernest Warren. Look out for
-sun, moon and stars on his left shoulder.”
-
-“Wonder who the lost boy can be?” said
-Ben in a ruminative tone.
-
-They were soon to learn that—in a startling
-and unexpected manner.
-
-CHAPTER XI—A GREAT STEP FORWARD
-===============================
-
-“Mr. Barnes, I believe?”
-
-“Yes, I am Tom Barnes,” said the young wireless
-operator of station Z.
-
-Tom was in the old windmill tower, and had
-been tidying up generally. He had just come
-from dinner, and was alone in the operating room.
-
-He had checked himself in the middle of a
-whistling tune to survey a head and then the
-shoulders and body of a stranger, coming up
-through the trap door.
-
-The intruder was a keen-eyed, sharp-featured
-man of about thirty, very neatly dressed, and
-very erect and soldierly in his general appearance.
-
-He nodded briskly to Tom, crossed the room,
-and, uninvited, sank into the nearest chair.
-
-“Glad I found you,” he said, and then took
-a close survey of Tom and of the furnishings
-of the room. “Heard about you at the town,
-and being somewhat interested in these new-fangled
-wireless ideas, I thought you wouldn’t
-mind a casual visitor.”
-
-“No, indeed,” answered Tom readily. “I am
-only too glad to meet anybody who is interested
-as to our little station here.”
-
-“It’s quite a plant,” declared the stranger.
-“Tell me something about it, will you?”
-
-An enthusiastic boy like Tom was only too
-ready to enter into a general description of the
-parts and utilities of the apparatus. The stranger
-listened intently, approbatively too, it seemed to
-Tom. He followed the indication of Tom’s
-finger as it pointed out this and that attachment
-of the general operating device; and arose and
-looked closer as Tom explained in detail and
-very clearly some intricate features of the mechanism.
-
-“That’s pretty interesting,” voiced the man
-at length, “and you seem to know your business.”
-
-“Oh, I’m only a novice, a mere amateur,” insisted
-Tom modestly.
-
-“What’s that now?” inquired the visitor,
-reaching a careless hand very near to the coherer.
-
-“Look out!” shouted Tom warningly.
-
-“What’s the trouble?” calmly interrogated
-the man.
-
-“Danger. You’ll get a hard shock if you
-touch that.”
-
-“I’ll be careful,” pledged the stranger, and
-to Tom’s amazement with a deft expert touch
-he dislodged the cap of one of the glass tubes.
-“I say, my friend,” he added, gazing down into
-the cup critically, “you’d get much better action
-if you’d mix in some fine brass filings here. The
-old stuff is pretty well corroded.”
-
-“I had noticed that,” said Tom, “and have
-sent to the city for new material.”
-
-“There’s another point worth your attention,”
-resumed the man, pointing up at the secondary
-circuit. “A double coil to that condenser would
-strengthen your current.”
-
-Tom stared at the speaker in a vague way. He
-was a good deal surprised and also suspicious
-at the facility with which this avowed seeker for
-information exhibited a profound knowledge of
-the very subject under discussion.
-
-“You seem to know something about it,” observed
-Tom.
-
-The man did not reply. He busied himself
-with a fixed and calculating glance through the
-roof skylight up at the metal nets and spirals.
-
-“Very good,” he said, half aloud, “and kept
-in very fair order, too.”
-
-“I’m glad to hear you say it, Mr ——?”
-
-“I am expecting a friend who will introduce
-us,” said the stranger, with a peculiar smile.
-“Ah, there he is now.”
-
-He moved to the window, and in quite a friendly fashion
-waved his hand to an occupant of an
-automobile that had just driven up from the
-beach road.
-
-Tom at once recognized it as the Morgan
-machine. Its owner alighted, and a minute later
-came up the ladder.
-
-“Glad to see you, Barnes,” he hailed cheerily,
-shaking hands with the young wireless operator.
-“You didn’t wait for me at the village as agreed,
-Mr. Mason,” he added, addressing Tom’s guest.
-
-“I fancied I had better come on ahead and
-get an unprejudiced view of the proposition,”
-observed Mr. Mason.
-
-“Strike you all right?” intimated the magnate
-pleasantly.
-
-“Capital,” answered the stranger with emphasis.
-
-“That’s good. Barnes, this is Mr. Mason,
-inspector for the International Wireless Company,
-of New York.”
-
-“Oh,” said Tom, a little dubiously and a trifle
-flustered.
-
-“I knew how you were interested in this wireless
-business, Barnes,” resumed Mr. Morgan,
-“and I spoke to my friend here of the independent
-station you were running.”
-
-“Which I wish to take into the service, you
-included,” broke in Mr. Mason in a clear,
-straightforward way. “I hear of some good
-work you have done here. The location can
-be made an important one, and, if you are ready
-for it, I’ll talk business with you.”
-
-“There is not much doubt about the utility
-of the station here,” observed Mr. Morgan.
-“Barnes saved me half my fortune through an
-intercepted wireless. He has my unqualified
-recommendation and support, Mr. Mason.”
-
-“So you told me,” returned the wireless professional
-in a brusque, business-like way. “Practically
-you own the apparatus here, Mr. Barnes?”
-he questioned.
-
-“Yes, sir,” announced Tom.
-
-“Is there any lease on the site?”
-
-“You mean the old tower here?”
-
-“Yes.”
-
-“No, sir. It belongs to the house that burned
-down about a year ago, and is entirely out of
-commission as a windmill.”
-
-“I see.”
-
-“The man who owns the place gave Mr.
-Edson full permission to use the old wreck free
-of charge as long as he liked.”
-
-“The company would like a formal lease for
-two years. Do you think you could arrange
-that?”
-
-“Oh, yes, I am sure of it,” replied Tom.
-
-“Very well. Offer him a trifle—say fifty dollars
-for the term. Now then, as to your outfit
-here. Would you be willing to turn over your
-right and interest here to the company at a fair
-price, in consideration of a contract for two years
-establishing you here as their accredited operator?”
-
-Tom’s face changed to all colors. His eye
-sparkled.
-
-“Mr. Mason,” he said frankly, “you take my
-breath away!”
-
-The wireless professional smiled indulgently.
-Mr. Morgan rested a friendly, encouraging hand
-on Tom’s shoulder.
-
-“The equipment here,” continued Mr. Mason,
-making a swift mental calculation, “is not worth
-a great deal. The installation, however, cost
-something. I shall recommend the company to
-offer you five hundred dollars for the outfit.”
-
-Tom gasped now. Business was business, and
-he realized that the keen-faced man of affairs who
-was talking to him was too shrewd to throw
-anything away or buy a bad bargain. For all
-that, he was fairly stunned at the good fortune
-that had come to him.
-
-“I will be glad to do as you suggest,” he said,
-choked up from varied emotions.
-
-“Good!” cried Mr. Mason. “The papers
-will be sent to you soon as I can report to headquarters.
-In the meantime, you can negotiate
-for the lease we spoke about I will have a contract
-forwarded to you, accompanying full instructions
-as to your duties as our representative.”
-
-“What will you pay Barnes?” inquired Mr.
-Morgan, a practical business man on all occasions.
-
-“Sixty dollars a month,” was the reply.
-
-“Don’t fall off your chair, Barnes!” laughed
-Mr. Morgan, “You’re going to reach bigger
-things than that in the wireless line, I predict.”
-
-“There was one thing,” said Tom a little
-anxiously; “I have a friend, a chum, who knows
-almost as much as I do about the business.”
-
-Mr. Mason took out his memorandum book.
-
-“What is his name?” he inquired.
-
-“Ben Dixon.”
-
-“Very good. We’ll start him with a commission
-as substitute and relief man. I intended
-to send one of our men for the shift, but if you
-think this young Dixon can do the work, I will
-recommend him.”
-
-“I am sure of it,” declared Tom.
-
-“Good-bye, Barnes,” said Mr. Morgan, as he
-and his companion prepared to leave the tower.
-“I have a little something I wish to add to your
-bank account when you come up to the house
-again.”
-
-“Please don’t mention such a thing, Mr. Morgan,”
-pleaded Tom.
-
-“And, remember, call on me as a ready friend
-whenever I can help you in any way,” went on
-the gentleman; and then he and Mr. Mason
-went away.
-
-“My!” was all Tom could say when he returned
-to the tower, and flung himself into a chair
-in a dazed, overwhelmed way. “My! it all seems
-like a dream!”
-
-CHAPTER XII—“SUN, MOON AND STARS”
-=================================
-
-“The Mercedes in the lead,” announced Ben
-Dixon.
-
-“All right,” returned Tom Barnes.
-
-The buzzer was going merrily; Tom was
-on his professional mettle and thoroughly enjoying
-himself. He was tallying off the information
-shouted down in sections through the tower
-skylight by his faithful assistant.
-
-Ben, astride a cross arm beam of the old windmill,
-balanced an elongated telescope seaward
-focussed on several yachts engaged in a race.
-
-It had been part of the day’s instructions received
-that morning from headquarters for the
-operators at Station Z to watch out and announce
-the order in which the yachts passed Rockley
-Cove. The information was wanted for newspapers
-and persons interested at the starting point
-of the race. The names and pennant colors of
-the various craft had been furnished to Tom,
-and Ben was able, with this basis to work from,
-to report like an expert.
-
-“*Druid* second,” he announced sharply two
-minutes later.
-
-The entire flotilla had passed within half an
-hour, and Ben descended into the operating room.
-
-“That was easy and pleasant,” he observed.
-
-“Say, Tom, we’ve got a dandy plant here, and
-no mistake.”
-
-Tom replied by nodding in a gratified way,
-and glancing with pride and approval at the well-ordered
-equipment about him.
-
-Tom was now a duly authorized operator in
-the service of the International Wireless Company.
-Mr. Mason had carried out the plans
-outlined during his original talk with Tom, and
-that rising young wireless operator was now
-working on instructions and a liberal salary, and
-had over five hundred dollars in the bank.
-
-Mr. Morgan had insisted on Tom accepting
-a check for two hundred dollars as a slight recognition
-of his service in respect to the United
-Calcium securities.
-
-What pleased Tom most of all, however, was
-that he was given the privilege of employing
-extra help when in his judgment the same was
-required, and Ben was put in a way to earn many
-a welcome dollar.
-
-Station Z was not in the regular service. It
-was maintained by the International Wireless
-Company as a sort of demonstration station.
-The object was to do little commercial business,
-but to pick up important messages sent in cases
-of emergency. The purpose of the company was
-to demonstrate to the general public the chance
-utility of an isolated station.
-
-Tom had paid Mr. Edson the hundred dollars,
-he had secured the lease of the station site,
-had returned to Harry Ashley the money borrowed
-from him, and was a happy, hopeful enthusiast,
-every day learning more and more concerning
-the wonderful wireless.
-
-He sat back in his chair now, comfortable
-and at ease, with the satisfaction of a person
-understanding his business and doing his duty.
-Ben swung back luxuriously in a hammock they
-had rigged up in one corner of the room. The
-sunshine was bright, the air balmy, the sea refreshingly
-blue and cool looking, and both boys
-enjoyed the acme of comfort and satisfaction.
-
-“I say, Tom,” began Ben lazily, after a spell
-of indolent rest, “what about that letter? Did
-you bring it?”
-
-“Oh yes,” answered Tom, feeling in the pocket
-of his coat. “Here it is.”
-
-Ben took a mussed-up envelope from the hand
-of his chum. It was directed in crooked, printed
-letters: “mister tom barns.”
-
-“I found it stuck under our front door last
-night, as I told you,” recounted Tom, and Ben
-perused the enclosed sheet covered with straggling
-words and sentences, and read it aloud:
-
- | “Warnin to tom barns, keep yure own turtory,
- | or it’l be the worst fer you and yer frens.
- | sined: the Black Kaps.”
-
-“Sort of blood-curdling, eh, Ben?” mused
-Tom.
-
-“It don’t scare you one little bit?”
-
-“Not a particle.”
-
-“What does it mean?”
-
-“Why, Ben, the only way I can figure out, is
-that the so-called Black Caps are in active operation
-again.”
-
-“Phew!” observed Ben, and fell into a prolonged
-fit of musing. Both he and Tom were
-quite familiar with the past operations of that
-sinister concern. Like all country communities,
-Rockley Cove had some undesirables. Over the
-village line, in fact, between it and the residence
-of the Morgans, was a little community of fishermen
-whose social condition was not very high.
-
-One particular family with numerous branches
-was quite notorious. The name was Barber, and
-the younger members of the family constituted
-an uncouth and troublesome set. They and some
-neighboring lads formed what they called a secret society
-called the “Black Caps.” They soon
-became the terror of adjoining communities.
-
-Out of pure perversity they stole fishing nets
-and tackle, robbed farmers’ hen roosts, and dismantled
-yachts and yawls. When these pilferings
-were brought home to them, they destroyed
-fishing outfits, scuttled boats, and burned down
-several haystacks. Six of them were finally arrested,
-and among the witnesses against them
-were Tom and Ben. The young desperadoes,
-who had established a dead line over which few
-Rockley Cove boys dared to venture, were locked
-up in the county jail for thirty days and in addition
-their parents had to pay fines for them.
-
-All this had happened about a year before
-Station Z was started. The Black Caps had been
-disrupted, it seemed, and Tom had heard little of
-the Barbers for some time. If they continued
-their former marauding course, it was in some
-new territory, for they neither noticed nor molested
-any more Rockley Cove boys or property.
-
-Now, however, the old-time tactics so common
-in the past had been revived, it seemed, as witness
-the warning note Tom had received. It
-was over this that Ben was cogitating. Finally
-Tom expressed an opinion.
-
-“I can’t account for any fresh antipathy on
-the part of the Barbers,” he said, “unless it is
-because they see me going down to Mr. Morgan’s
-once or twice a week.”
-
-“I’ll bet that’s it,” exclaimed Ben. “You generally
-take the cut inland near the settlement,
-don’t you, Tom?”
-
-“Nearly always.”
-
-“That must be it, then. They think you are
-sort of watching them—invading their territory,
-as they call it. I don’t think, though, they would
-cut up very rough with you.”
-
-“Why not?”
-
-“Well, Bill Barber said before he got out of
-jail you had made up for telling what you had
-to tell against him, by pleading with the judge
-to let them off light for a first offence.”
-
-“I shall not lose any sleep over the terrible
-warning,” laughed Tom lightly.
-
-“I’d take the beach road when I went up to
-see Grace Morgan, though, if I were you,” suggested
-Ben. “Talking of something else, Tom,
-have you said anything to Harry along the ‘Donner’
-line?”
-
-“Not a word. Our mysterious spook seems
-to have given up his erratic messages.”
-
-“That name, ‘Donner,’ struck Harry all of
-a heap, just the same.”
-
-“Well, he’s a fine fellow, and I’m not going
-to pry into his secrets.”
-
-“I wonder what old ‘Donner’ was after, anyhow?” observed
-Ben, “with his mysterious ‘messages,’
-and his ‘thousand dollars.’”
-
-“And the boy with the sun, moon and stars
-on his left shoulder,” smiled Tom.
-
-No orders had come to Station Z for work
-that night, and at five o’clock the boys locked up
-the tower. They parted when they reached the
-village, Ben taking the road south and Tom proceeding
-homeward alone.
-
-He was up in his room changing his working
-clothes, when his mother appeared at the bottom
-of the stairs to tell him that Ben Dixon was on
-the telephone.
-
-“Ben wants you to call him up before you go
-out to-night,” advised Mrs. Barnes.
-
-“All right,” sang down Tom.
-
-He forgot all about Ben when he came downstairs,
-full of his plans for the evening. Grace
-Morgan had invited him down to Fernwood, so
-Tom had asked his mother to give him an early
-supper. Then, in the bustle of getting a lift as
-far as the crossroads in a passing rig, he left the
-house in a great hurry, and never thought of
-his chum again until he left the wagon.
-
-“I won’t go back,” decided Tom. “It can’t
-be anything very particular Ben wants to see me
-about. I’ve got plenty of time, too, and can
-stroll around his way before I go to see Grace.”
-
-Tom passed down the winding road, but on
-the way ringing boyish shouts beyond a thicket
-caused him to deviate from his course. As he
-came to where a fringe of shrubbery lined the
-banks of Silver Brook, he nearly ran into a man
-who stood peering past them at a merry group
-of boys sporting in the sparkling waters of the
-stream.
-
-There was so much that was ill-favored in
-the face of the man, something so sinister in his
-pose, that it suggested to Tom the lurker with
-a purpose. Tom halted and regarded the man
-closely. Then he peered past him at the group
-sporting in the water.
-
-Their leader was Harry Ashley, and he was
-in great evidence. At just that moment he was
-giving them a specimen of rapid hand over hand
-water climbing. His admiring friends cheered
-as Harry made a marvelous dash of some fifty
-yards, described a disappearing dive with wonderful
-dexterity, and, coming to the surface, landed
-on a rock not twenty feet away from the
-observing stranger and Tom, and stood shaking
-the water from hair and face.
-
-“Ah-h!” suddenly exclaimed the strange man,
-craning his neck, losing his balance, falling flat;
-and then, discovering Tom, he scowled at him,
-and suddenly disappeared in the underbrush.
-
-“The mischief!” ejaculated Tom, as he too
-glanced at Harry.
-
-The back of the latter was towards him. Tom
-experienced a queer thrill as he saw what the
-stranger had also seen.
-
-Upon Harry Ashley’s left shoulder, plainly
-tattooed, was a sun, a moon and some stars!
-
-CHAPTER XIII—THE BLACK CAPS
-===========================
-
-Harry Ashley, all unconscious of the fact
-that he was under inspection from others than
-his aquatic comrades, gave a yell and dove away
-from the rock.
-
-“Here’s something to think about!” said Tom
-in startled wonderment. “Ben was right—Harry
-is a boy with a mystery, just as he said.”
-
-Tom’s first impulse was to advance among the
-noisy crowd of swimmers, or linger under cover
-and intercept Harry when he started for home,
-and challenge him for some explanation.
-
-Then it occurred to him that he had no right
-to pry into Harry’s secrets. At first the case
-looked strange and grave. At second thought,
-however, it occurred to Tom that the discovery
-of the fact that a man whom they called “Donner”
-was supposedly seeking a certain Ernest
-Warren, and that Harry Ashley fitted into the
-affair because he had tattooed marks on his back,
-was not such an important circumstance after all.
-
-Presumably this wireless operator was the
-man whose five hundred dollars Harry had accidentally
-burned up. This set Tom thinking on a
-new tack.
-
-“‘Donner’ is certainly very anxious to find
-Harry, if he really is this Ernest Warren,” mused
-Tom. “He seems willing to pay money to find
-him. What for—to punish him? Hardly. Then
-something of importance may have happened to
-change the face of affairs, and if this would be
-of any benefit to Harry he ought to know about
-it. I know what I’ll do—I’ll get down and tell
-Ben what I have discovered, and we’ll decide
-together what is best to do in the case.”
-
-Tom started to leave the spot. He glanced
-all about for some trace of the sinister appearing
-lurker he had seen watching the swimmers, but
-found none.
-
-“Maybe I am just imagining that fellow was
-particularly interested in Harry,” ruminated Tom.
-“He is probably some strolling tramp, and was
-casually watching those antics in the water.”
-
-Tom glanced at his watch. It was two miles
-over to the Dixon place. It was fast getting on
-to dusk. Tom calculated that he would reach
-the farm by dusk, have half an hour to spare with
-Ben, and reach the Morgan mansion by eight
-o’clock. He had changed his plans since leaving
-home, his original purpose being to arrive before
-nightfall at the Morgan home while there was
-enough daylight left to play a game of tennis
-with Grace.
-
-It was a short cut to the Dixon place by taking
-a road through the woods, and Tom kept on
-planning how he would utilize the moments until
-he reached Fernwood, and anticipating the usual
-pleasant time he always had with pretty Grace
-Morgan. He was just thinking how happily
-and usefully life was rounding out for him, when
-there came an abrupt interruption to his pleasing
-reverie.
-
-Just as he was passing a thick copse where the
-road turned and high trees on either side shut the
-highway into dimness and obscurity, there was a
-rustle in the underbrush.
-
-“Halt!”
-
-A form stepped into view suddenly. It was
-that of a boy. In his hand he poised a long pole
-sharpened at the end. This he directed straight
-at Tom.
-
-“Halt!”
-
-A second figure came quite as magically into
-view. Then a third, a fourth, a fifth and sixth,
-and the astounded Tom stared vaguely at a
-perfect circle formed about him by the sextette.
-
-“Why,” he began, turning in a ring and discovering
-that each one of the group wore a sable-lined
-hood over his head with slits cut in for eyes,
-nose and mouth, “I understand now—the Black
-Caps.”
-
-“That’s right,” responded a voice from behind
-one of the masks, disguised into great gruffness.
-“March!”
-
-“March where?” demanded Tom, a half
-amused smile on his face.
-
-“Don’t fool,” spoke a second voice quickly.
-“Get him under cover.”
-
-“Yes, someone may come along,” spoke another
-of the masked crowd.
-
-“Now!”
-
-The leader of the gang gave the order. His
-coterie was well trained. To a man they dropped
-their spears to the ground, and made a general
-rush for Tom.
-
-“Hold on, Bill Barber!” said Tom, as he was
-seized by five pairs of sturdy hands.
-
-“Bill Barber isn’t here,” declared the former
-gruff voice.
-
-“What do you want of me, whoever you are?”
-demanded Tom.
-
-“You come along and see.”
-
-“I will not,” retorted Tom.
-
-He struck out with his fists and laid two of
-his assailants low. They were promptly on their
-feet. Then the united strength of the group was
-exerted to seize and throw our hero down. He
-found his arms and feet securely bound by strong
-ropes.
-
-“Someone is coming,” spoke one of the crowd
-sharply.
-
-“Rush him,” ordered the leader.
-
-Tom set up a loud shout.
-
-“The gag,” came the quick command.
-
-Tom’s outcry was hushed in an instant by the
-application of an elastic band fastened to a padded
-stick, which was tightly pressed between his
-lips. He was lifted bodily and carried away
-from the road just as a wagon rattled past the
-spot where he had been confronted by the gang.
-
-The members spoke not a word as, bodily lifting
-their captive, they bore him helpless on their
-shoulders through the woods. They proceeded
-a quarter of a mile, finally halting at a low structure
-which Tom recognized.
-
-It was the abandoned hut of a man who had
-passed a hermit-like existence in the densest part
-of a thicket. Tom was carried inside and placed
-on the broken floor of the hut, which was covered
-with dead leaves.
-
-“What’s the orders, chief?” asked one of the
-crowd.
-
-A whispered reply that Tom could not over-hear
-led to five of the party filing out of the hut
-like trained soldiers. The sixth, the leader, remained
-behind for half a minute.
-
-“We’re coming back soon,” he said. “We’ll
-bring a skull and cross bones when we do. If
-you’ll swear on ’em never to cross our dead line
-again, maybe we’ll leave you go this time. If
-you don’t——”
-
-The speaker aspirated a long low hiss and
-ground his teeth tragically. Then he, too, disappeared.
-
-Tom had ample time for reflection as he lay
-alone in the darkness. He could not figure out
-what the Black Caps were up to. The whole
-proceeding was freakish, and carried along in the
-most heroic style of juvenile roysterers aping
-pirates and outlaws; yet Tom believed there was
-some definite motive underlying it all. What it
-was he could not at the moment decide.
-
-A half hour passed by. The Black Caps had
-apparently retired to a distance. Then the crackling
-of dry twigs outside the hut announced the
-approach of someone.
-
-“Hello, there, Tom Barnes!” spoke the owner
-of a head thrust past the open doorway.
-
-Tom at once identified the tones. They belonged
-to Mart Walters.
-
-CHAPTER XIV—TURNING THE TABLES
-==============================
-
-“This is getting interesting—I think I am beginning
-to understand this affair,” murmured
-Tom amid his helpless discomfort.
-
-Mart Walters stepped into the hut. He felt
-about with his feet, and even groped with his
-hands. As one toe touched the prostrate Tom
-the visitor came to a stop.
-
-“We’ll have a little light on the subject,” he
-observed, drawing out a cigar lighter. Mart
-fancied it was “mannish” and grand to exhibit
-this appurtenance when he lit a cigarette. He
-snapped a light and held the flame over Tom.
-Then he extinguished it, and stooping unsnapped
-the gag from the captive’s lips, letting it drop
-under his chin.
-
-Mart had not spoken to Tom since the day of
-the ducking at the creek. Twice Tom had met
-him in Rockley Cove, and had nodded to him
-pleasantly. This courtesy had been rewarded
-with a malevolent scowl. It was evidently still
-in the mind of our hero’s enemy to “get even”
-with him.
-
-More than once Tom had seen Mart on the
-Fernwood pier or in the powerful launch with the
-elegant young swell, Bert Aldrich. Several evenings
-Tom had passed at the Morgan mansion at
-little social gatherings of Miss Grace and her
-friends. On these occasions, however, Aldrich
-and his satellite had made a point to cut Tom
-direct. Tom had not minded this in the least,
-for Grace had laughed outright at such ridiculous
-manœuvres.
-
-Tom now instantly made up his mind that the
-present episode had something to do with his
-visits to Grace. Mart was not above mean plotting,
-and his supercilious friend, Bert Aldrich,
-had always struck Tom as an unpleasant cad.
-
-“There’s only just about five minutes to spare,
-Tom Barnes,” spoke Mart smartly.
-
-“For what?” demanded Tom.
-
-“For me to save you.”
-
-“What from?”
-
-“The Black Caps.”
-
-“You train with them, do you?” interrogated
-Tom.
-
-“Who, me? No, indeed!” answered Mart.
-“It’s this way: I’m your friend.”
-
-“Go ahead, Mart.”
-
-“The Barbers don’t like you any too well.
-They think the best way they can beat your game
-is to keep you from coming here.”
-
-“Coming where?” challenged Tom specifically.
-
-“Well, down to the Morgan place. They
-don’t want you sneaking around anywhere near
-them.”
-
-“Oh, that’s it, is it?” observed Tom.
-
-“I overheard their talk. They’ve gone to
-get some tar and feathers. They’re going to
-muss you up bad. I know them pretty well.”
-
-“I see you do,” remarked Tom, significantly.
-
-“Oh, I don’t mean that I chum with them, or
-anything like that,” corrected Mart, in a flustered
-manner. “But, I have—why, well—influence,
-that’s it, with them. Then again, I’m interested
-personally.”
-
-“How are you interested?” inquired Tom.
-
-“Well, I’ll just be plain with you. My friend,
-Bert Aldrich, is sweet on Grace Morgan, and
-you’ve spoiled it.”
-
-“Indeed,” said Tom simply.
-
-“He thinks you have prejudiced Grace against
-him, and he’s mad as a hatter about it. See here,
-she isn’t your class. You know she ain’t—half
-a million, classy family. Why, you’re poor.
-Then again, she’s going south soon, and when
-she gets into society she’ll have to meet Bert and
-his family, and take up with him again—see?”
-
-“Get along, Mart,” railed Tom, “you’re
-progressing finely.”
-
-“I’ll save you from the Black Caps if you’ll
-agree to keep away from Grace Morgan.
-There’s the straight of it. What do you say?”
-
-“I say no,” responded Tom promptly.
-
-“You won’t do it?”
-
-“Hardly.”
-
-“You’ll be sorry.”
-
-“All right.”
-
-“Suppose—suppose Bert gives you fifty dollars,
-will you keep away?”
-
-“Say, Mart,” observed Tom, quietly, but with
-force, “you’re too cheap. Grace Morgan is
-worth a million, if she is worth a cent. You
-can’t scare me off nor buy me off. She’s a dear
-little lady, my good friend, and I wouldn’t give
-up her company under any circumstances as long
-as my coming seems to please her.”
-
-“Rot you!” shouted Mart, fairly infuriated
-at the failure of his cherished schemes. “I’ve
-a good mind to kick you. I’ll do it, yes, I
-will——”
-
-“Stop there, you miserable scamp!”
-
-“Let go!”
-
-“Speak another word, and I’ll half choke the
-life out of you!”
-
-“Ben!” murmured Tom gratefully.
-
-A form had flashed through the doorway.
-There was the sound of a struggle, a thud, as
-Mart Walters’ body struck the floor.
-
-“I’m sitting on him, Tom,” announced the newcomer.
-“Lie still, or I’ll knock you silly.
-Where’s that gag, Tom? I’ve got it.”
-
-Tom felt the hand of his friend grope in the
-dark and remove the gag from under his chin.
-Then, from the squirmings and splutterings of
-Mart, he knew that Ben had silenced him effectually.
-Next, Ben whipped out his pocket knife,
-and the ropes holding Tom a prisoner were
-severed.
-
-“Trim and tidy,” reported the diligent Ben
-as he helped Tom to his feet. “I’ve gagged
-him and tied him for keeps. Come outside.”
-
-“Why, how in the world did you happen to
-come along in the nick of time?” propounded
-Tom, wonderingly.
-
-“Never mind that now. You do just what I
-tell you to do. You were bound for Morgan’s?”
-
-“Yes.”
-
-“Get there, then. I’ll come along a little later.
-I’ve got something else to do hereabouts.”
-
-“But Mart, here?”
-
-“He’ll be taken care of, never fear,” retorted
-Ben with a chuckle.
-
-“And the Black Caps?”
-
-“You forget all about it till I see you later,”
-insisted Ben. “There will be quite a story to tell.
-Don’t spoil it by hanging around here. I know
-my business. Go along.”
-
-Tom did as directed. He could guess that
-there was some motive in his chum’s insistence.
-He rearranged his disordered attire, left the spot,
-and half an hour later had followed Ben’s directions,
-having indeed forgotten everything except
-that he was seated on the Morgan porch with
-charming Grace as his companion.
-
-“What is that?” exclaimed Grace suddenly.
-
-Tom arose quickly to his feet at the startling
-inquiry. The light from the front rooms illumined
-the porch, but beyond the shadows were
-vague and dim. Amid these, Tom, peering, discerned
-some bustling forms.
-
-He moved towards the button controlling the
-electric lights at either side of the pillars at the
-steps. Just as he pressed it, ear-splitting sounds
-rang out.
-
-“The Black Caps!” exclaimed Tom, as he
-recognized his recent persecutors.
-
-“Oh, what are they here for?” cried Grace,
-timidly clinging to Tom’s arm.
-
-“Fire him, men!”
-
-A struggling form in the grasp of the six
-young outlaws was forcibly propelled forward,
-landed on the porch steps and rolled over on
-the gravel walk.
-
-“Cut for it!” came the sharp mandate.
-
-The Black Caps vanished as if by magic. Tom
-stared hard. Grace, trembling with excitement,
-gazed vaguely at the figure arising to its feet.
-
-“Why,” she faltered, catching sight of the
-terrified face of the unwilling visitor, “it is Mart
-Walters!”
-
-It was Mart, indeed, and he was a sight.
-From head to foot loose fluttering feathers waved
-ghost-like in the night breeze. Mart was not
-bound now, but the gag was still in his mouth.
-He cast one appalled glance at Grace and Tom,
-tore the gag loose and uttered a shrill yell of
-rage and chagrin. Then, throwing his hands
-above his head, he, too, disappeared.
-
-“What does it all mean, Tom?” quavered
-Grace with a bloodless face. “There—there is
-somebody else!”
-
-She shrank back anew with the words.
-
-“It’s all right,” Tom reassured her. “It is
-Ben Dixon.”
-
-Ben, smothering a laugh, came up the steps,
-lifting his cap and smiling, his eyes twinkling.
-
-“The biter bit, the tables turned, Miss Grace,”
-he said.
-
-“Ben, explain what it all means,” pleaded
-Grace. “Tom won’t.”
-
-.. figure:: images/illus-108.jpg
- :align: center
-
- “WHY,” SHE FALTERED, “IT IS MART WALTERS!”
-
-“It’s like him not to,” declared Tom’s staunch
-chum. “I got a hint from a friend early in the
-evening that the Barber boys were on the rampage.
-I missed Tom by ’phone and started to
-intercept him on his way here, when I ran across
-the crowd talking with Mart Walters. I learned
-the whole scheme, and followed Walters to a hut
-where the gang had imprisoned Tom, and—well,
-I set Tom free and tied and gagged Walters in
-his place.”
-
-“What for?” questioned Grace.
-
-“To give him a needed lesson,” answered
-Ben promptly. “When the crowd returned
-I suppose they had arranged if Walters didn’t
-come back to them they were to ‘fix’ Tom, as
-they called it. Two of them carried a feather
-bed. Two others carried pails of soft soap. It
-seemed they intended to use tar, but couldn’t get
-any. They ripped open the bed, deluged Walters
-with the soap, mistaking him for Tom, rolled
-him in among the feathers, and—you saw him.
-They never got onto the fact that it was the
-fellow who had hired them who got the dose
-they intended for Tom.”
-
-“Why did he hire them?” inquired Grace.
-
-“Because that Aldrich cad plotted with Walters
-to scare Tom away from coming here to
-see you,” explained Ben bluntly.
-
-Grace Morgan’s eyes flashed. A flush of real
-anger came into her cheeks.
-
-“Mart and Mr. Aldrich did that?” she cried.
-“Oh, they shall never come into this house
-again.” And on hearing this Tom Barnes felt
-rewarded for all the tribulation he had gone
-through that night.
-
-CHAPTER XV—AN UNEXPECTED RESCUER
-================================
-
-“Have you spoken to Harry yet, Tom?” inquired
-Ben, two days after the overturning of
-the plots of Mart Walters and his city friend,
-Bert Aldrich.
-
-It was the middle of the afternoon, and things
-wireless had been slack at Station Z ever since
-morning. Tom turned from his chair at the
-window where he had been dreamily surveying
-the open sea.
-
-“No, Ben,” he replied a little gravely. “I
-came near doing it last night, but I didn’t know
-but it might worry him, or make him think I was
-trying to pry into his personal business.”
-
-“I tell you, Tom, I think Harry ought to be
-told about the mysterious ‘Donner’ messages,
-and asked to explain about the tattooed sun,
-moon and stars on his left shoulder.”
-
-“I fancy he’s about through with his task in
-the pasture by now,” said Tom. “Supposing
-you go up to the house, get him down here, and
-we’ll try to introduce the subject so it won’t
-frighten or bother him.”
-
-“All right,” assented Ben with alacrity, and
-was forthwith on his way.
-
-Tom resumed his place at the window. His
-back was to the road running up from the beach to
-the village, and he was not aware of an unexpected
-arrival from that direction until a man’s voice
-sounding within the room hailed him.
-
-“Hey, boy, who’s in charge here?”
-
-“I am,” answered Tom, turning to confront
-two men who in turn entered the tower by way
-of the trap door. They were strangers in Rockley
-Cove, and Tom did not at all like their looks.
-The man who had accosted him had a sharp, hard
-eye. His companion was furtive-faced, and suggested
-a person constantly on the watch.
-
-“We want to send a message,” the former proceeded.
-“In cypher.”
-
-“Where to?” inquired Tom.
-
-“The man pointed seawards.”
-
-“To a ship?”
-
-“Yes, to the *Councillor*, bound for Canada.”
-
-Tom shook his head discouragingly.
-
-“You will have to go to Station O at Deepdale.
-This is only a demonstration plant, and I
-have no orders to take commercial business,” explained
-Tom.
-
-The man drew out a pocketbook.
-
-“See here,” he said, “I’ll give you ten dollars
-to send the message.”
-
-“I’m sorry, but it’s against the rules.”
-
-“Jackson, do it yourself,” spoke the other man
-quickly, pressing close to his companion’s side.
-
-“I’m out of practice.”
-
-“Oh, you can manage it.”
-
-“Hold on, there. I can’t allow any interference
-with the apparatus here,” said Tom, stepping in
-front of the first man as he started over towards
-the operating table.
-
-“Can’t, eh?” sneered the man. “Well, you’ll
-have to. Keep him quiet, Griffin.”
-
-“I’ve got him,” announced the man addressed.
-
-He had caught Tom by the wrist. As the latter
-struggled to free himself, his captor dragged him
-toward a closet in one corner of the room.
-
-Its door stood open. The closet was oak
-framed, built into the wall of the room, and had a
-stout door with a small circular slit in it. Mr.
-Edson had utilized it to lock up things he did not
-wish to leave lying around loose, when he left
-the tower at night. Tom had used it as a storeroom
-for surplus parts of the wireless outfit.
-
-It had a strong padlock. The man threw Tom
-in roughly, secured the padlock, and then went
-up to the table. His companion was closely inspecting
-the apparatus.
-
-“I’m at home at the regular key,” he said. “I
-don’t know whether I can work this, though.”
-
-“Of course you can,” urged the other. “Get
-ready. I’ve got the cypher key and the message
-right here,” and he took two sheets of paper from
-his pocket.
-
-Tom was helpless. He could not possibly
-force the heavy door of the closet from its fastenings.
-Shouting would do no good. If he attempted
-it, his jailers would probably treat him
-roughly, for they were vicious-looking fellows.
-Tom hoped for the return of Ben and Harry, or
-the arrival of someone else to interrupt the man
-at the table. Meanwhile he was on the keen
-alert as to all that individual was doing.
-
-The minute this man got his bearings, he
-started in with confidence. Tom learned that he
-was flashing a message to the steamer *Councillor*,
-bound from New York to Halifax. In plain
-English, the operator on the *Councillor* was instructed
-to deliver a message to a passenger answering
-to the name of Daniel Ritchie. The
-message itself was a lot of private code-words,
-utterly unintelligible to Tom.
-
-The sender repeated the message and got up
-from the table.
-
-“Hit or miss, that is the best I can do,” he
-remarked.
-
-“Hit or miss, you’ve done all that could be
-expected of you,” remarked his companion.
-“What are you going to do with him?” questioned
-the speaker, with a shrug of his shoulders
-towards Tom’s place of imprisonment.
-
-“Oh, leave him where he is. We want a start,
-and someone will come along to let him out. So
-long, son. You might have made ten dollars if
-you’d saved me the trouble of showing you that
-I’m some wireless myself.”
-
-Both men laughed coarsely and left the tower.
-Tom knew it was futile to expect his liberty except
-through the accidental visit of someone. He
-contented himself by trying to recall what he could
-remember of the message sent. He tried also
-to figure out the motive for the men’s actions.
-
-“They have got word to someone aboard the
-steamer *Councillor*,” mused Tom. “The trouble
-they went to to do it looks suspicious and mysterious,
-though. Hello!”
-
-Tom stared hard at the trap door opening.
-Through it a head was protruded.
-
-“Anybody here?” its owner called out.
-
-“Yes, I am here,” announced Tom, moving
-his hand through the slit in the closet door.
-
-“Tom Barnes!”
-
-“That’s right.”
-
-And then Tom gave a start as he recognized his
-unexpected visitor as Bill Barber, head of the
-Black Caps.
-
-CHAPTER XVI—KIDNAPPED
-=====================
-
-“Let me out,” said Tom, rattling the closet
-door.
-
-“Sure, how did you get in there?” asked Bill
-Barber.
-
-“I was locked in.”
-
-“Who by?”
-
-“I’ll tell you later. The key is in the padlock.”
-
-“I see it.”
-
-There was nothing belligerent or threatening in
-Bill’s behavior. On the contrary, he seemed
-anxious to please Tom and glad to do him a favor.
-This was so foreign to the usual attitude of the
-Barber boy, that Tom was both astonished and
-puzzled.
-
-He noticed casually that Bill seemed more
-tidy than usual, and there was not so much of
-the hang dog look about him as in the past.
-
-“Queer,” spoke Bill, staring perplexedly at
-Tom as the latter stepped out into the room.
-“You didn’t shut yourself up in there?”
-
-“No, I’ll tell you how it was soon. Thank
-you, Bill, you’ve done me a big favor in coming
-just when I needed help.”
-
-“I am glad,” voiced Bill, sententiously but
-heartily.
-
-“I’ve something to do, so just sit down till
-I get things to rights, will you?”
-
-“I’ll do that, Tom.”
-
-Bill sat staring wonderingly at the wireless outfit.
-He watched Tom flit about as might a
-wizard among his trick apparatus. Tom flew to
-the operating table. He knew that somehow irregular
-work had been done by his two recent
-visitors. He wondered if he could head off the
-design they had in view, and was intent on getting
-word to headquarters.
-
-Just ready to flash the signal, however, Tom
-ran over to a corner of the room and picked up a
-crumpled wad of paper. As he opened it, revealing
-two sheets, and reviewed their contents, he knew
-that he had discovered something worth while.
-
-“The cypher message and the key to it,” exclaimed
-Tom eagerly. “Those fellows got what
-they came after and carelessly dropped these.
-Now to figure it out.”
-
-Tom ran his eyes first over one sheet and then
-the other. The cypher message dovetailed with
-words he had heard the surreptitious operator
-use. With a pencil he wrote the words out with
-the help of the key. This was the result:
-
- | “Leave the steamer before arrival at Halifax,
- | as New York police have telegraphed there to
- | arrest you.”
-
-“I see it all as clear as daylight,” murmured
-Tom. “The two men who imprisoned me are
-warning a friend, a criminal confederate. I’ll
-block the game.”
-
-Tom was busy at the transmitter for the next
-half hour. He flashed a message to the *Councillor*,
-informing the captain that the passenger,
-Daniel Ritchie, had received a wireless message
-irregularly, and to prevent him from leaving the
-ship until he reported to the police at Halifax.
-
-Then Tom sent a message to headquarters explaining
-the entire proceedings of the past hour,
-giving his construction of the episode, and advising
-an immediate report to the New York police
-authorities.
-
-Pretty tired from his activities, he now sat
-down in a chair. He had to smile as he observed
-the face of Bill Barber. The latter sat like one
-entranced over the manipulation the wireless outfit
-had undergone.
-
-“Say,” he bolted out in mingled awe and
-admiration, “you know how to do things with
-that queer contrivance, don’t you?”
-
-Tom briefly explained some of the minutiæ of
-the wireless and had an ardent listener. When
-he had concluded he intimated pleasantly:
-
-“And how did you chance to come along just
-when I needed you, Bill?”
-
-The Barber boy at once looked serious. A
-furtive embarrassed expression came into his face.
-
-“That’s it,” he mumbled, “I came to tell you,
-Tom, you see?”
-
-“To tell me what, Bill?” asked Tom encouragingly.
-
-“About that tar and feather business. I had
-nothing to do with it, Tom, honest Injun.”
-
-“Who said you did, Bill?” propounded Tom,
-smiling.
-
-“I’ll bet you thought it.”
-
-“Well, wasn’t it quite natural I should?” inquired
-Tom.
-
-“No, sir!” declared Bill, quite indignantly,
-“I wouldn’t play a mean trick like that on you,
-Tom Barnes. I’ve got nothing against you. In
-fact, ever since you spoke up for me at the trial,
-I’ve—well, Tom,” stammered Bill, a little sheepishly,
-“I’ve tried to remember what you said
-about giving me a chance to make a man of myself,
-and I—I hope I’m doing it.”
-
-“Good for you, Bill Barber!” cried Tom
-heartily. “I’m proud of you, to hear you talk
-like that.”
-
-“It was some of my old gang hired out to
-trim you. I’ve thrashed the whole kit of them
-for doing it, and they won’t trouble you again,
-never fear.”
-
-“You’re a good friend, Bill,” declared Tom.
-“Did you say you were working?”
-
-“Yes, but not steady,” answered Bill. “I get
-odd jobs running small launches for the resorters
-down at Sea Grove. Had a trip or two for that
-young Boston cad, who is hanging around with
-Mart Walters. Huh! he brags about what lots
-of money he’s got, and he hasn’t paid me for my
-work yet. I’ll get it, though, or take it out of
-his hide,” declared Bill, ominously. “I say, Tom,
-he’s a bad one, and Mart Walters is worse. Look
-out for them.”
-
-“I shall, Bill, and thank you for your good
-wishes and help. Any time I can return the favor
-call on me as a real friend.”
-
-Bill Barber departed with a pleased face, and
-Tom was not sorry for the chance to help a fellow
-whom he decided had lots of good in him, if
-rightly encouraged.
-
-In about half an hour a message came from
-headquarters. It had the “sine” of the superintendent.
-
-“Good work,” it commended. “Parties interested notified.
-Man on steamer fugitive forger
-wanted by the Government. Probably a reward case.”
-
-Tom felt that he was progressing finely in his
-work. So far, application and straightforward
-devotion to duty had enabled him to perform his
-duties without a censure, and to avoid snares set
-for his downfall.
-
-He was glad when Ben appeared, for Tom was
-full of the theme of the hour, and his chum and
-assistant was a good listener. Something in Ben’s
-face checked the welcome rising to Tom’s lips,
-however, and he eyed Ben keenly.
-
-“Something wrong,” reported Ben, looking
-pale and breathing hard as if he had been running
-fast.
-
-“Where—how?” propounded Tom quickly.
-
-“At the farm—Harry.”
-
-“What do you mean?”
-
-“Harry is in trouble of some kind. I hurried
-to tell you. Tom, Harry has disappeared.”
-
-“You don’t mean for good?” exclaimed Tom
-seriously.
-
-“I don’t know, but he’s been kidnapped.”
-
-CHAPTER XVII—UP TO MISCHIEF
-===========================
-
-“Kidnapped!” repeated Tom, quite startled.
-
-“Yes,” declared Ben. “That much is sure.”
-
-“Did you see Harry?”
-
-“No, but others did. When I went after him
-your father told me that Harry was grubbing out
-some brush in the old pasture lot. I went down
-there. The hoe he had been using was lying on
-the ground. His coat was hanging on the fence,
-but no Harry. I walked out beyond the fence to
-look around for him, and near the big gate was
-his cap, all tramped down in the mud. The
-ground looked as if there had been a scuffle.”
-
-“This all sounds pretty strange,” commented
-Tom.
-
-“I was standing wondering what next to do,
-when the old lady who lives near your house
-came over to me. She asked me whom I was
-looking for, and when I told her she said that
-about an hour before two men, strangers to her,
-had driven up in a covered wagon. They halted
-outside of the pasture lot. One of them stayed
-in the wagon. The other man went up to Harry
-and engaged him in conversation. He seemed to
-induce him by some argument or other to go out
-to the wagon. Once there, the woman said, the
-man tried to force Harry to go with them. He
-must have refused, for there was a scuffle, and the
-men threw Harry into the wagon and drove off
-with him.”
-
-“Did you tell my father?” inquired Tom, arising
-to his feet in a state of deep anxiety and
-excitement.
-
-“I ran to a field where some men were working.
-They told me that your father had gone to
-Westport with a load of hay. Then I ran here to
-tell you about it.”
-
-“Ben, we must do something about this at
-once! You must stay here in charge.”
-
-“I will, Tom. What do you suppose those
-men carried Harry away for?”
-
-“This is no time to lose in theorizing. I have
-my ideas, but never mind them now. I will hurry
-home and start a chase after him.”
-
-Tom lost no time. He gave Ben a few instructions,
-and then hastened homewards on a
-run. Within half an hour he was mounted on
-a horse, and following the main road west in
-the direction the kidnappers had taken. He had
-made a brief explanation to one of his father’s
-field hands, and the man was started on horseback
-down the branching road.
-
-Tom stopped at half a dozen farm houses and
-made inquiries, but found no one who had seen
-a wagon pass answering to his description. He
-reached in turn three small settlements, met with
-no success in his quest, and turned around and
-made for home, disappointed and concerned, but
-hoping that the hired man had met with better
-luck.
-
-His messenger, however, had not returned, he
-found when he reached the farm. There was
-an hour of anxious waiting. Finally the man
-rode up.
-
-“What news?” inquired Tom eagerly.
-
-“I traced the wagon five miles,” reported the
-man, “lost it at the crossroads, and couldn’t get
-the trail again.”
-
-Tom hurried to the telephone and called up
-every exchange within a radius of twenty miles,
-explaining briefly but clearly what he wanted.
-
-“About all you can do is to wait, Tom,” said
-his mother, who tried to conceal her solicitude
-for the missing boy.
-
-“It seems to me those men cannot get through
-the network of people watching out for them,”
-spoke Tom. “I must do all I can, though, myself,
-for Harry.”
-
-Our hero started off again on horseback. He
-took another route this time. It was seven o’clock
-when he got back home again. No trace of the
-kidnappers had been reported.
-
-Ben had locked up at the tower, and was waiting
-for Tom at the Barnes’ home in a great state
-of impatience. Tom, after reporting to his
-mother, called his chum outside.
-
-“Ben,” he said, “I got a description of one
-of the men who drove the wagon, and I know
-who he is.”
-
-“You do?” exclaimed Ben.
-
-“Yes—the man I told you about seeing, the
-day Harry was in swimming, and I discovered
-the tattoo marks on his shoulder.”
-
-“You don’t say so!”
-
-“I am pretty sure of it,” declared Tom.
-
-“That being true, it connects with the ‘Donner’
-business!” cried Ben. “The sun, moon and
-stars message.”
-
-“Perhaps. If Harry is really the Ernest Warren
-they have been telegraphing about, someone
-was trying to find him.”
-
-“And they’ve done it, and gotten him!” cried
-Ben excitedly. “We’ll never see him again, and
-we’ll never know the mystery about him.”
-
-“You give up too easily, Ben,” said Tom, and
-then he hastened to meet his father, who at that
-moment drove into the farm yard.
-
-Mr. Barnes was a peculiar man. He was wilful
-and went to extremes where his likes and dislikes
-were involved. He had taken a great fancy to
-the busy, buoyant lad he had hired, and at once
-manifested the deepest interest in the particulars
-of the strange disappearance of Harry Ashley.
-
-He turned his horses directly around and drove
-to the village. When he returned, he told Tom
-he had got a local constable to start at once and
-try to get some trace of the missing boy.
-
-With that move all were forced to be content.
-Ben stayed at Tom’s house all night, and the boys
-remained up late, hoping some word might come.
-The captors of Harry, however, seemed to have
-well planned their flight, for at the crossroads
-all trace of them had disappeared.
-
-The next day went by with no report as to the
-fate of Harry. Tom and Ben took turns till
-late in the afternoon spelling one another in visits
-to the house, anxious and eager to hear some
-word about their missing comrade.
-
-“We’ll just have to wait,” concluded Ben, as
-they locked up the tower that evening. “You
-see——”
-
-There Ben suddenly interrupted himself. He
-halted, drawing Tom also to a dead stop.
-
-“What’s the matter, Ben?” inquired Tom in
-some surprise.
-
-“S—sh! Ambush.”
-
-“Don’t be mysterious, Ben,” began Tom.
-
-Then, following the indication of the pointed
-finger of his companion, Tom became as much
-startled and interested as his chum.
-
-There was a dense stretch of wild rose bushes
-on a sandy hill about fifty yards distant from the
-tower. Protruding from these, plainly visible,
-was a pair of human feet.
-
-“Some one spying on us,” declared Ben in a
-quivering whisper. The air had been so full of
-mystery the past few days that Ben traced its
-continuance in any unusual happening.
-
-“More like a sleepy tramp,” observed Tom.
-
-“Find out, will you?”
-
-“I intend to.”
-
-Tom picked up a heavy stick, advanced quietly
-to the bushes, and brought it down with a force
-of a policeman’s club directly across the flat soles
-presented.
-
-“Thunder!”
-
-The owner of the shoes leaped to his feet with
-a vivid exclamation.
-
-“Oh, it’s you, Bill?” spoke Tom instantly.
-“What in the world have you got here?”
-
-Peering past Bill Barber, Tom observed a
-double-barreled shotgun where he had been lying
-down. Ben looked dreadfully suspicious. Bill
-flushed and stammered.
-
-“Oh, just hunting,” he spoke evasively.
-
-“In that bunch of brush?” laughed Tom.
-
-Then, placing a rallying hand on Bill’s shoulder,
-he added: “Out with it, Bill, what are you up
-to?”
-
-Bill’s lips came grimly together.
-
-“You won’t interfere with me, if I tell?”
-
-“Why should I?”
-
-“Well, then, I’m watching your station here.”
-
-“What for?”
-
-“Visitors.”
-
-“Indeed?”
-
-“Trespassers, vandals, I had better say,” went
-on Bill. “See here, I’m laying for somebody,
-partly for you, partly because I am interested
-myself. Tom Barnes, I want you to go straight
-home and leave me to my own affairs. You’ve
-got enough confidence in me to believe that I
-wouldn’t harm you or your friends or your wireless,
-haven’t you?”
-
-“There’s my answer,” said Tom promptly.
-
-As he spoke he extended the key to the trap
-door.
-
-“No,” dissented Bill, “I don’t need that, but
-thank you just the same. The fellows I’ve got
-a tip about won’t get as far as the tower.”
-
-“You won’t hurt anybody, Bill?” questioned
-Tom gravely, with a glance at the shotgun.
-
-“No, but I’ll teach them a lesson they won’t
-forget for a long time to come,” was Bill Barber’s
-significant reply.
-
-CHAPTER XVIII—THE TOY BALLOONS
-==============================
-
-“There’s another one—that makes six.”
-
-“Six what, Ben?”
-
-“Balloons.”
-
-Tom walked to the window where Ben had
-been sitting, looked at the sky, made out a tiny
-blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed:
-
-“Oh, you mean toy balloons?”
-
-“Yes. There must be a picnic somewhere.
-Funny thing, too. I noticed they all had a card or
-a tag attached to the trailing strings.”
-
-“Perhaps it is some advertising stunt,” suggested
-Tom.
-
-He resumed the reading of a technical wireless
-book he had received from New York, while Ben
-continued idly looking from the tower window.
-
-Affairs at Station Z had settled down to routine.
-They had learned no results as yet from
-the mysterious appearance of Bill Barber at the
-tower the evening before. Suddenly Ben broke
-out with the words:
-
-“There comes Bill Barber, now.”
-
-Tom awaited the appearance of the former
-captain of the Black Caps with some curiosity.
-He pointed to a chair as the Barber boy came up
-through the trap door.
-
-“What’s the news, Bill?” inquired Tom casually.
-
-Bill’s broad mouth expanded Into a grin. He
-chuckled serenely.
-
-“Haven’t heard anything about last night?”
-
-“Not a word.”
-
-“You will if you go down Fernwood way.”
-
-“Indeed?”
-
-“Yes, there’s two fellows keeping themselves
-mighty scarce. When they walk they wobble,
-and when they talk they squabble.”
-
-“Do I happen to know the parties?” inquired
-Tom, but already guessing their identity.
-
-“I reckon you do,” answered Bill. “Making
-no bones about it, the fellows are Mart Walters
-and Bert Aldrich.”
-
-“I thought so,” put in Ben. “They were up
-to tricks, were they?”
-
-“They were up to queering you fellows,” replied
-Bill, “and I learned of it. I knew yesterday
-they were coming down here after dark to
-wreck your wireless plant. I owed that cad,
-Aldrich, something, and I reckoned to pay off
-two scores at one and the same time. I lay in
-wait.”
-
-“And they showed up?” inquired the interested
-Ben.
-
-“Yes, about nine o’clock. They tried to get
-up through the trap door, me watching them.
-They couldn’t make it, and then they went down
-to the beach and got an armful of big flat stones.
-Aldrich was to go up that tree yonder and Mart
-was to pass up the stones to him. He calculated
-to throw through the tower windows and smash
-your outfit.”
-
-“I see you didn’t let them, Bill,” suggested
-Tom.
-
-“Not I. Both barrels of the shotgun were
-loaded to the muzzle with pepper and salt. Just
-as they got under the tree I let both triggers go.
-It took them around the knees.”
-
-“I hope you didn’t cripple them,” said Tom.
-
-“Oh, they could walk,” replied Bill with a
-guffaw,—“just walk. I understand that Aldrich
-has thrown up his hands and is going to call the
-game closed.”
-
-“What do you mean?”
-
-“He’s going back to Boston some time between
-now and to-morrow night. I guess Miss Morgan
-has turned the cold shoulder on him. Well, he’s
-a good one if he gets away with the eleven dollars
-and seventy-five cents he owes me for work on
-the yacht, and good hard work at that.”
-
-Bill Barber hung around for about an hour.
-He seemed to be glad of an excuse to visit the
-tower. He was mightily interested in the wireless
-outfit, and he seemed pleased to be in Tom’s
-company.
-
-“Bill is not so bad a fellow after all,” remarked
-Ben, as their visitor departed. “What a shame!
-that Aldrich, with all the money he brags about,
-cheating him out of his honest wages.”
-
-“I think Bill is likely to get it,” said Tom.
-“He is a determined and a dangerous fellow,
-too, when he is once aroused.”
-
-“I can see that,” replied Ben.
-
-“He has proven himself a good friend to us,”
-observed Tom.
-
-“Grace Morgan doesn’t seem to have much
-use for Aldrich. I suppose he’ll try to break in
-and bid her good-by. I hear she is going away
-for a month or two.”
-
-“She has gone already,” said Tom, with a
-conscious flush.
-
-“Oh, is that so?”
-
-“Yes, she left for Albion this morning, where
-her aunt resides. They take the steamer *Olivia*
-this evening down the coast. They are going to
-a Virginia Summer resort.”
-
-“You seem pretty well informed as to Miss
-Morgan’s movements,” observed Ben with a wink.
-
-“Why, yes, I saw her last evening,” replied
-Tom. “We are very good friends, you know,
-and I am naturally interested in her plans.”
-
-Tom did not tell his chum that in his breast
-pocket reposed a dainty little card bearing the
-southern address of Grace, nor that she had
-made him promise to write her often about the
-progress he made with “that delightful wireless.”
-
-“I say, there is another one of those balloons,”
-exclaimed Ben suddenly; “a red one this time.
-She’s lighting. No, she isn’t. Yes, she is, but
-in the water. Tom, I’m curious about the tags
-all of those balloons seem to have attached to
-them; I’m going to make a try to get one.”
-
-Ben bolted from the tower. Tom went to the
-window to watch his manœuvres. Ben reached
-the shingly beach, and was reaching out into the
-water with a long tree branch, trying to hook in
-the now exhausted balloon without getting his
-feet wet.
-
-“He’s got it,” tallied Tom, keeping track of
-his movements. “Well,” he inquired a minute
-later, as Ben reappeared in the tower, “what
-does it amount to?”
-
-“There has been some pencilled writing on the
-back of the tag,” explained Ben, “but the water
-has blurred it out.”
-
-“Whose tag is it?”
-
-“Tom,” said Ben, “what do you think? It’s
-one of your own cards!”
-
-“Mine?” exclaimed Tom in surprise.
-
-“Yes—look at it.”
-
-Tom took the soaked piece of cardboard. He
-regarded it in some wonder.
-
-“Why, Ben,” he said finally, “you are quite
-right. This is one of the cards I printed when I
-went into the amateur printing line last Summer.”
-
-“I knew I’d seen it or its like before,” observed
-Ben.
-
-“It’s strange,” ruminated Tom, turning the
-card over and over in his hand in a puzzled way.
-“Say, though,” he cried with a quick start, “I
-gave a lot of those cards to Harry Ashley.”
-
-“When?” asked Ben.
-
-“Last week. I was cleaning up my desk at
-the house, and threw away about two hundred of
-them as useless into the waste basket. Harry
-picked them up and asked for them.”
-
-“And you gave them to him?”
-
-“That’s it. He said one side was blank, and
-he liked to carry something with him he could
-scribble on when he took the fancy.”
-
-“Why, then,” declared Ben, getting very much
-excited, “that card comes from Harry!”
-
-“It looks that way,” admitted Tom.
-
-“Of course that is it,” insisted Ben. “It’s
-Harry who has been sending up those balloons.”
-
-“But how could he do that?”
-
-“There’s the mystery, like all the mysteries
-we’ve been running across lately,” said Ben.
-“Don’t you see, Tom, he had some writing on the
-back of those cards?”
-
-“It’s all washed out now.”
-
-“Yes, I see it is. See here, he is in trouble
-somewhere, and trying to send us word. Don’t
-you think we had better get out and try and find
-some balloon that has dropped on land, or chase
-one and run it down?”
-
-“Well, that might be a good way,” replied
-Tom slowly, as though he was thinking deeply on
-some matter. “But perhaps we can do it easier.”
-
-“How?”
-
-“By trying to decipher the writing on this
-card.”
-
-“But you can’t!” exclaimed Ben half impatiently,
-as he held up the dripping pasteboard.
-“You can’t read it. Try for yourself. Might
-as well try to read in the dark.”
-
-“I know you can’t read it now,” assented Tom,
-“for the water has about soaked off the black
-marks of the pencil. But there may be a way of
-bringing back the writing.”
-
-“How? Do you think Harry used some kind
-of invisible ink? I’ve read of prisoners sending
-secret messages to their friends written with some
-chemical that would not show unless it was heated,
-or something like that. Say!” he cried with sudden
-interest, “do you mean that way, Tom?”
-
-“Well, no, not exactly. Harry didn’t use ink.
-He used a common lead pencil, from all appearances,
-and the water has soaked the black marks
-off. But you know when you use a pencil on paper,
-it always makes little depressions in the surface,
-corresponding to the shape of the letters. Did
-you ever put a piece of paper on top of another
-piece, and write on the top sheet?”
-
-“Of course I have.”
-
-“Then you’ve probably noticed that on the
-second sheet there would be marks by which the
-writing could be read, even though the black pencil
-characters did not show.”
-
-“Of course. I see what you mean.”
-
-“I thought you would. I mean to dry out this
-card, and then, in a good light, we ought to be able
-to tell what the marks are. In that way we can
-decipher what Harry wrote even though the black
-marks are gone.”
-
-“Good! Let’s do it. That’s easier than chasing
-after a balloon. Here, I’ll dry the card.”
-
-He reached for it, and approached the window
-on the sill of which the sun just then shone
-brightly.
-
-“That’s it!” cried Tom. “Meanwhile I’ll get
-out a magnifying glass to use on the card when it’s
-dry. With that we ought to be able to read what
-it says, even if the impressions are very faint.”
-
-“Say, there’s class to us all right,” observed
-Ben with a laugh. “Maybe we can get a job
-somewhere, reading secret messages for the government.
-That would be excitement, and——”
-
-“Here’s some new excitement,” announced
-Tom, with a glance from the window.
-
-“Wonder what’s up now?” speculated Ben,
-as he too took a look. “It’s Bill Barber come
-back, and he’s making for here on the run.”
-
-CHAPTER XIX—A STARTLING MESSAGE
-===============================
-
-“I’ve come back again,” announced the Barber
-boy, bursting upon Tom and Ben breathlessly.
-
-“I see you have,” said Tom pleasantly.
-
-“Got something to show you. Maybe it’s not
-important, but I thought it was, so I hurried
-here.”
-
-“You are doing me a lot of favors, Bill,” said
-Tom.
-
-“Glad to,” declared Bill. “Here it is,” and
-he extended a wrinkled-up object as he spoke.
-
-“Why,” cried Ben, peering curiously, “it’s
-another of those toy balloons!”
-
-“Yes,” assented Bill. “They’ve been flying
-around half the morning. After I left here I ran
-across a crowd of youngsters chasing two sailing
-aloft. One of the boys had a bow and arrow, and
-was trying to hit one and bring it down. I’m
-some on shooting, and asked him for the bow.
-Missed the first time. Next time, though, the
-arrow went through the balloon, busted it, and
-sailed to the ground with it.”
-
-“And this is it?” questioned Tom.
-
-“Yes. The little fellows ran after it and
-fought over it. I happened to see the tag, and
-was kind of curious about it. By the time I got
-it, though, the mob had trampled it in the mud,
-and their feet had torn away half of it. Here’s
-what’s left of it. Your name is on it, Tom, and
-that and the reward——”
-
-“What reward?” inquired Ben quickly.
-
-“It’s on the back of the card,” replied Bill.
-
-“Ben,” said Tom inspecting it, “this is another
-of my old cards.”
-
-“What’s written on the back, Tom?” inquired
-Ben eagerly.
-
-Tom held the card so Ben could read it as well
-as himself. A part of the card was gone, and
-some of the pencilled words it had originally
-contained were blurred and vague. What was
-left of it read:
-
-“Take this to Tom Barnes and get ten dollars
-reward. Tom: I am a prisoner—two bad men—about
-thirty miles—in the—at—in lion’s cage—*Harry
-Ashley*.”
-
-Tom scanned the card again and again. Ben
-noted his serious studious manner. Finally Tom
-turned to their visitor.
-
-“Bill,” he said, “you get the reward. I
-haven’t the money with me, but any time to-morrow
-you call here and get it.”
-
-“Oh, I don’t want any reward,” declared Bill.
-
-“You get it just the same,” insisted Tom firmly.
-
-“I’ll have to be getting along,” said Bill.
-“I’m watching that launch for Aldrich to put
-in an appearance. It’s eleven dollars and seventy-five
-cents or a licking for him, I can tell you.”
-
-“I think I know where those balloons came
-from,” said Tom to Ben, when Bill had departed.
-
-“Where, Tom?”
-
-“A circus.”
-
-“How so?”
-
-“Those fragments of sentences on the card
-lead me to believe that the message should read
-about this way: ‘I am a prisoner in the hands of
-two bad men about thirty miles from Rockley
-Cove, in the circus at Wadhams, shut up in the
-lion’s cage.’”
-
-Ben was on his feet in a bound, his face flushed
-with excitement.
-
-“I’ll bet you’ve solved it, Tom. And there
-is a circus at Wadhams just now. Why, it’s just
-the place where these toy balloons would be likely
-to be on sale. And the mention of a lion’s cage!
-That fits to a circus, too! I don’t understand,
-though, how Harry has managed to send the balloons
-aloft, if he was shut up somewhere
-prisoner.”
-
-“We won’t try to guess that out now,” said
-Tom. “Here is certainly a big clue. Harry
-is an ingenious fellow, and somehow has managed
-to float these messages. I want you to stay here
-alone for a spell.”
-
-“Where are you going?” inquired Ben.
-
-“To report to my father instanter,” replied
-Tom; and he was off speedily.
-
-It was the middle of the afternoon before Tom
-returned. Ben was anxiously awaiting him.
-
-“What’s the program?” he asked eagerly.
-
-“You are to go up to the house at once, Ben.
-My father has the team hitched up and is waiting
-for you. A hired man is going, too, and the constable.
-Telephone your folks from the house
-that you may be away till morning. When you do
-come back, report here right away.”
-
-“All right, Tom.”
-
-“Storm signals are out, and one of us will
-have to stay on duty to-night.”
-
-The sky had been overcast all the morning.
-Long before dusk the forewarnings of a heavy
-storm were discoverable, and Tom realized an
-impending occasion when he was expected to exercise
-unusual vigilance.
-
-At dark one of the field hands came to the
-tower with a warm supper sent by Tom’s mother.
-He chatted with Tom for half an hour and left
-in a wild flurry of wind and rain.
-
-By eight o’clock the full fury of the gale broke
-on land, already dangerous at sea, as Tom had
-noticed for some time previous. The wind arose
-to a hurricane, the rain came in sheets, and at
-times the thunder and lightning became terrific.
-
-Tom was in constant readiness for service.
-His ear was close to the receiver. He knew
-from experience what these tempestuous nights
-meant for those at sea.
-
-Suddenly there was a sharp series of sputtering,
-crackling sounds. Then the receiver gave:
-“y-3——y-3——y-3.”
-
-Tom thrilled. It was the first time in his experience
-as a wireless operator that the signal
-most dreaded had come into Station Z, for the
-quickly repeated letter and its accompanying numeral
-meant that some vessel at sea was in dire
-distress.
-
-Tom clapped the receiver to his ear, and, even
-before it was in place he noted the clicking of the
-diaphragm, which told that the electric current was
-operating through the magnets. Then came a
-snap, as when a central telephone operator accidently
-“rings the bell” into one’s ear. It was
-as though all the powerful current had concentrated
-itself into the receiver.
-
-“Great Scott!” cried Tom. “With this storm
-I may get a shock if I’m not careful!”
-
-He looked to his instruments, and glanced at
-the connections. They seemed to be in perfect
-order, and he was as well safeguarded as was
-possible.
-
-There was a silence, and then more of the
-pounding in the receiver. The lad was forced to
-move it away from his ear, for it nearly deafened
-him.
-
-“This is fierce!” he cried, as a terrific clap of
-thunder, following a vivid lightning flash, seemed
-fairly to shake the tower.
-
-The instrument acted incoherently for the
-minute succeeding, and Tom could not make out
-the message that was coming. He sprang to the
-ropes that connected a tackle with the aerials
-aloft and ran the netting up into tune.
-
-“She’s coming clear now,” said Tom.
-
-“Y-3, off Garvey Rocks,” ran the message.
-“Machinery broken and drifting. Send help.
-Steamer *Olivia*.”
-
-Tom recoiled with a shock. The *Olivia!*! That
-was the steamer upon which Grace Morgan and
-her aunt were passengers!
-
-CHAPTER XX—THE LAUNCH
-=====================
-
-Tom held his nerves steady, although he was
-somewhat shaken. His first business was to
-send a response to the ship in distress. He did
-not know what the facilities might be for receiving
-on board the steamer, but he followed usage.
-He had no means of knowing what other stations
-had caught the flying cry for help. The lifesaving
-station was twenty miles to the north.
-Station Z was the nearest wireless to Garvey
-Rocks by some thirty miles, and everything depended
-on him in the present crisis.
-
-Tom ran to the window and looked out at the
-storm. It was truly a fearful night. The strong
-blast was bending the trees almost to the ground
-and sending the gravel scudding along the beach
-like hailstones.
-
-Aloft the heavens were one constant glow of
-liquid fire, and the thunder crashes reverberated
-as in a hollow vault. The sea was lashed into a
-tremendous fury, the waves sweeping mountain
-high and breaking with a detonating roar that
-added to the babel of the night.
-
-“I wish Ben was here,” murmured Tom in deep
-concern. He could picture the disabled steamer
-vividly in his mind’s eye, the more readily because
-his fond girl friend was in peril.
-
-“Y-3”—again the call came, less distinct this
-time, but more frantic and urgent—”ship aleak
-and sinking.”
-
-“Will get help to you somehow,” flashed back
-Tom.
-
-He was in a tremor. Amid the strain of undue
-excitement Tom’s thoughts ran rapidly. Only
-for a moment, however, did he remain inert and
-undecided.
-
-“Something must be done!” he cried, in an
-excess of frantic anxiety and apparent helplessness.
-“But what? There is not a boat on the
-beach that could live in those waters—except the
-*Beulah*!”
-
-The addendum was a shout. Tom sprang to
-his feet, electrically infused with a sudden suggestion.
-
-*Beulah* was the name of the big pretentious
-gasoline launch in which Bert Aldrich had arrived
-in state at Rockley Cove. He had bragged mightily
-concerning its possibilities. Tom had seen
-him do things with it, too. The *Beulah* was a
-wonder as to speed and staunchness. A thrilling
-resolution fixed our hero’s mind. He would
-arouse the people, reach Aldrich and influence
-him to loan the boat for an attempted rescue at
-sea.
-
-Tom was down the trap ladder in one reckless
-slide. He ran down the shore buffeted, yet
-helped along by the powerful hurricane blast. Bert
-Aldrich was a guest at the home of Mart Walters
-and that was the prospective destination of the
-resolute young wireless operator.
-
-Tom came in sight of the pier where the *Beulah*
-was moored. He could make out her outlines dimly.
-She was hugging the pier fitfully, tossing to
-and fro.
-
-“Why,” exclaimed Tom with a gasp of glad
-discovery, “some one is on board!”
-
-Only for a moment to his vision, apparently inside
-the cabin of the restless tugging craft, a flicker
-of radiance showed. It suggested the lighting
-of a match and then its extinguishment. The
-indication of occupancy of the launch was enough
-for Tom. He diverged from the road, lined the
-beach, ran down the pier, and jumped aboard the
-*Beulah*.
-
-Rounding the cabin Tom recoiled with a shock.
-Some one had leaped from the covert of a deep
-shadow and pinned his arms behind him.
-
-“Got you at last, have I?” shouted a determined
-voice in his ears.
-
-“Hold on,” demurred Tom struggling violently.
-
-“No, you don’t! I’ve got you, Bert Aldrich,
-and we’re going to have a settlement of that eleven
-dollars and seventy-five cents right here and now.”
-
-“I’m not Bert Aldrich! Don’t you know me,
-Bill?”
-
-“Tom Barnes!”
-
-“Yes.”
-
-The Barber boy let Tom go as if he were a hot
-coal.
-
-“Say, excuse me, will you?” he stammered.
-
-“That’s all right, Bill. What are you doing
-here in this storm?”
-
-“Waiting. Can’t you guess—waiting to nail
-Bert Aldrich.”
-
-“It isn’t likely he will show up such a night as
-this.”
-
-“He’s a coward, but he’d risk a good deal to
-get away without meeting me. And what are
-you doing here, Tom Barnes?”
-
-Instantly Tom was recalled to the urgency of
-the moment. The discovery of Bill Barber aboard
-the launch suggested a change in his plans.
-
-“Bill,” he asked quickly, “do you understand
-running this craft?”
-
-“Do I understand?” stormed Bill; “say, if anybody
-but you asked me that I’d knock him down.”
-
-“Something of an expert, are you?”
-
-“Do you want to try me?”
-
-“Just that, Bill,” rejoined Tom seriously.
-“Listen.”
-
-Briefly but graphically Tom recited the cause of
-his visit to the launch. He had Bill literally on
-fire with excitement and energy by the time he had
-concluded.
-
-“See here, Tom Barnes,” cried Bill, “there’s
-no time to lose!”
-
-“That is certain, Bill.”
-
-“The steamer is in danger.”
-
-“Just as I told you.”
-
-“Off Garvey Rocks?”
-
-“Yes.”
-
-“When we get afloat we can probably make
-out her lights?”
-
-“Probably.”
-
-“You want me to help you get to the *Olivia*?”
-
-“We’ve got to.”
-
-“I’m your man.”
-
-“I suppose Aldrich will resent our appropriation
-of his launch.”
-
-“Let him,” said Bill with a laugh. “I’ll take
-out that eleven dollars and seventy-five cents in
-the use of the *Beulah*. See? All aboard! Follow
-me!”
-
-The Barber boy made a dash for the engine
-room of the launch followed by the young wireless
-operator.
-
-CHAPTER XXI—BRAVING THE STORM
-=============================
-
-A violent gust of wind drove Tom up against
-Bill as the latter led the way through the cabin
-doorway. It was with difficulty that the door was
-forced shut after them.
-
-“Stand still—hold on to something to steady
-yourself,” ordered Bill. “I’ll have things fixed
-up in a minute or two.”
-
-Tom heard his companion grope about the
-room. Almost instantly a match was flared and
-a lamp with a broad reflector illumined the place
-brilliantly.
-
-“Now then!” added Bill, all vim and activity.
-
-He threw open a locker, and from its depths
-he fished out two rubber coats and caps.
-
-The two boys resembled old tars in their tarpaulin
-trim. The excitement of the moment was
-intense, but every move they made was progress,
-and their nerves and courage were as steady as
-steel.
-
-“Can you manage the steering gear?” inquired
-Bill.
-
-“I’ve tried it on some smaller boats than this,”
-replied Tom.
-
-“Well, I can do the rest—provided the storm
-let’s us. Br—r!”
-
-Even at anchorage the launch was swinging like
-an eggshell in a tempest. Bill set the lights.
-Then he pointed to the seat at the side of the
-craft next to the engine.
-
-“She sparks automatically,” he explained,
-touching a button, and there was a whistling whir.
-“You control with the lever—understand?”
-
-“Perfectly,” answered Tom.
-
-“I can pilot anywhere inside of fifty miles,”
-boasted Bill. “Garvey Rocks, you said?”
-
-“Yes.”
-
-Bill took his place at the wheel. Tom released
-the shore tackle. Then he was down in his seat
-firmly planted. The *Beulah* made a leap like
-some marine leviathan bounding out of captivity.
-
-Tom had never had much experience with a
-launch, but it was sufficient, with Bill’s constantly
-shouted directions, to enable him to run the engine.
-The thought crossed his mind that he
-would have the indignant ire of Bert Aldrich to
-face on his return. It flitted quickly as the peril
-of the *Olivia* and his loyal girl friend aboard of
-the steamer recurred to him with intensified urgency.
-
-One plunge, obliterating all shore outlines,
-seemed to whirl them into a vortex of battling,
-unrestrained elements. The first splash of spray,
-dense and blinding, covered Bill like a veil. A
-great wave sent the craft hurtling along like an
-arrow. Tom realized that they were bent on a
-desperately dangerous venture.
-
-“We can’t line the shore; we must get out further
-from land,” Bill shouted back.
-
-Bill, once past danger of sandbars and breakers,
-had turned the course due southeast. On
-every calculation of knowledge of locality and distances,
-this it seemed would be sure to bring them
-in direct range of Garvey Rocks. For half an
-hour they drove ahead, neither speaking a word.
-Then Tom fixed his eye on some moving lights
-shorewards. They inspired a sudden thought,
-and setting the lever at steady speed he crept forward
-on hands and knees along the slippery deck.
-
-“Bill!” he shouted hoarsely.
-
-“Hello—what’s the row?” challenged Bill,
-amazed that Tom had deserted his post of duty.
-
-“Made out any lights ahead?”
-
-“Not yet.”
-
-“Neither have I. There’s some ashore,
-though.”
-
-“What of it?” questioned Bill.
-
-“They are of the coaling station at Brookville.
-I am sure some craft is there.”
-
-“Suppose so.”
-
-“We had better advise them of our errand. It
-may be a big steam tug. Two are better than one,
-and the *Olivia* may be in a desperate fix.”
-
-“If she’s really on the rocks she’s stove bad
-long before this,” was the discouraging rejoinder
-of Bill, sending a chill through Tom’s frame.
-
-“We could never pull the steamer off the rocks,
-but a larger craft might,” suggested Tom.
-
-“What are you getting at?” asked Bill.
-
-“I think we had better make Brookville and
-get the boat there, whatever it is, in service.”
-
-“You’re the boss, Tom,” said Bill simply.
-
-Tom made his way back to his seat. Soon the
-launch described a circle, which, masterly as was
-the manœuvre, sent the craft careening at a perilous
-angle. Then they headed straight for shore.
-
-They came alongside a steam tug just through
-coaling at the dock at Brookville. The boat did
-not have steam up, and was moored safely for the
-night. Men were moving about the deck with
-lanterns, making things trim and safe. Tom had
-caught a grapnel on the rail of the tug and secured
-it. Then he swung aboard the tug.
-
-He ran up to a man arrayed like himself in
-foul weather costume, who stood steadying himself
-at a hawser post, and who was giving orders
-to the others. The man stared strangely at Tom’s
-sudden appearance.
-
-“Captain,” shot out Tom tersely.
-
-“That’s me. Where did you come from? Oh,
-I see,” and he caught sight of the outlines of the
-launch. “What’s the trouble?”
-
-Tom briefly, rapidly explained the situation. In
-an instant he realized that he was fortunate in
-finding just the kind of a man he needed. The
-tug captain listened to him in breathless interest.
-When Tom had concluded he rested his hand on
-his shoulder in a friendly way.
-
-“You’re a good one, lad, whoever you are,”
-he said. “Sorry we’re shut down, but we’ll set
-about steaming up in a jiffy. Garvey Rocks, you,
-said?”
-
-“Yes, sir—know them?”
-
-“Like a book. We’ll be on your trail inside
-of half an hour.”
-
-“It’s all right!” shouted Tom, as he regained
-the launch. “Make straight for the steamer,
-now, Bill.”
-
-“No time to lose either,” was the snappy response.
-
-The fresh start gave Bill his bearings more
-clearly than ever.
-
-“I can’t miss it,” he declared. “Speed her
-up, Tom.”
-
-The young wireless operator gazed anxiously
-and eagerly ahead as they dashed forward. No
-lights yet showed, but he knew that the shore line
-described a circular sweep just beyond Brookville.
-They might not be far enough out at sea
-yet to give them a clear view of the waters. His
-anxiety, however, grew to dismal forebodings as
-ten, fifteen, twenty minutes passed by, and the
-same blank unbroken blackness loomed ahead.
-
-Suddenly Tom, who had been watching the
-motor, called out to his companion:
-
-“Say, Bill, you’d better come back here a
-minute.”
-
-“What for? I can’t leave the wheel, unless
-it’s something important.”
-
-“Well, it’s important all right. I don’t like the
-way this machinery is acting. It doesn’t seem to
-be sparking right, if I’m any judge.”
-
-“Great Scott! I hope nothing goes wrong in
-this blow. Wait a second. I’ll be with you. I’ll
-lash the wheel. I guess it will be safe for a little
-while to keep on a straight course.”
-
-Tom heard Bill tossing ropes about as he
-picked up some to lash the wheel. Then he staggered
-into the motor room, being tossed from side
-to side by the pitching of the launch.
-
-Hardly had he reached the side of the young
-wireless operator, than, with a sigh and a moan—a
-sort of apologetic cough—the motor ceased
-working.
-
-“Oh, my!” exclaimed Bill. “There she goes!
-I should say something *was* the matter.”
-
-“What is it?” asked Tom.
-
-“Don’t know yet. I’ll have to take a look. It
-may be the ignition, or the carburetor, or any of
-half a hundred things that can happen to a gasoline
-motor. I’ll have to take a look.”
-
-“Should I have called you sooner?” asked
-Tom. “It was acting queer for several minutes.
-First it would go fast and then slow.”
-
-“Well, I guess coming in any sooner wouldn’t
-have done much good. I’ll take a look now.
-You’d better help me. Get the lantern and bring
-it closer. We won’t need any one at the wheel
-when we aren’t moving.”
-
-The launch was now drifting about at the
-mercy of the wind and waves. She fairly wallowed
-in the water, and it was no easy task to
-keep one’s footing, to say nothing of trying to
-get a balky motor back into commission. But
-the two set about their task bravely, while the
-storm raged about them.
-
-First Bill tested the ignition system. Something
-was evidently wrong with that, for there
-came no responsive buzz in the coil when he
-threw the fly wheel over to make the connections.
-
-“Maybe it’s the make-and-break,” he suggested.
-“I’ll tinker with that.” Which he did,
-tightening and loosening the spring, separating
-and bringing nearer the contact points. But it
-was useless. There was no buzz.
-
-“Are the batteries all right?” asked Tom.
-
-“I’ll test ’em,” was the laconic answer, and
-in a few minutes the announcement came:
-“They’re good and strong. If I can get her to
-start on the batteries I can swing her over onto
-the magneto, and we’ll be all right. But I can’t
-get a spark.”
-
-“How about the plugs?” asked Tom.
-
-“I’ll try them next. Oh, there are plenty of
-things to try.”
-
-“And not much time to do ’em in,” added
-Tom grimly, as he held the lantern where the
-gleam would fall best for his companion. “This
-is fierce, to be delayed this way when there are
-men and women—yes, maybe children, too—who
-need saving!”
-
-“Can’t help it!” cried Bill. “We’re doing the
-best we can.”
-
-With a quick motion he unscrewed the spark
-plugs from the cylinder heads.
-
-“Here’s trouble already, Tom,” he cried.
-“They’re all sooted up. Now I’ve got to soak
-’em in gasoline and——”
-
-“Maybe there are some spare ones aboard!”
-suggested the young wireless operator. “Let’s
-take a look. It’s going to be hard work to clean
-these old ones in this blow. Besides, I don’t like
-the idea of fooling with gasoline in an open can,
-and with a lantern so close.”
-
-“Neither do I. We’ll see if we can’t find
-some extra plugs.”
-
-Together they began to rummage through the
-lockers of the boat. Tossed about as they were,
-slammed from side to side as the waves pitched
-the launch, they spent a hard fifteen minutes in
-the hunt.
-
-“I don’t believe there are any,” said Bill
-despondently.
-
-“Here’s a box we didn’t open!” cried Tom,
-as he saw a small one down in the bottom of a
-port locker. “Let’s try that!”
-
-In another instant he had the cover off. There,
-in the beams of the lantern, he saw the gleam of
-white porcelain.
-
-“Spark plugs!” cried Tom.
-
-“New ones!” added Bill. “This is great.
-Now we’ll move!”
-
-Quickly he adjusted the wires, but, before
-screwing the plugs in the top of the cylinders he
-tested them to see if there was no other break in
-the ignition system.
-
-As the wheel was swung over there came a
-welcome buzz from the coil, and a tiny blue flame
-leaped from point to point of the spark plug, as it
-lay on top of the cylinder head.
-
-“Hurray!” yelled Tom, above the roar of the
-wind.
-
-“That’s it!” shouted Bill. “Now to see what
-happens!”
-
-The plugs were inserted, screwed tight, and
-then came the test. Steadying themselves as best
-they could in the rocking boat they turned the flywheel
-over, Tom having thrown in the battery switch.
-
-There was the tell-tale buzz, which told of the
-working of the spark plug—a buzz and a hum,
-but there was no welcoming explosion. No hearty
-puff from the cylinders that indicated the gasoline
-mixture being set off by the spark.
-
-“Hum!” mused Bill, as he paused to contemplate
-the silent motor.
-
-“Something wrong, still?” asked Tom anxiously,
-gazing off across the dark expanse of water for
-a possible sight of a flickering light that would
-tell of the ill-fated *Olivia*. But he saw nothing.
-
-“Well, we’ll try once more,” exclaimed Bill.
-“Hold the lantern closer, Tom, so I can see how
-the timer works.”
-
-The young wireless operator obeyed. Once
-more the buzz and hum told of the perfect working
-of the ignition system—and yet not perfect
-either, for the motor was still silent, and the
-launch was drifting about more helpless than
-ever.
-
-“Suppose you try, Tom,” suggested Bill.
-“Maybe you’ll have better luck than I had.”
-
-Tom handed his companion the lantern, and
-grasped the wheel, for there was little use in trying
-the automatic starter in such a condition as
-was the machinery now.
-
-But Tom had no better success, though he
-strained and tugged, giving the wheel many
-revolutions.
-
-“Say!” suddenly exclaimed Bill. “The gasoline!
-Didn’t we shut it off when we started to
-see what the trouble was?”
-
-“We sure did,” agreed Tom.
-
-“And we didn’t turn it on again, I’ll wager.
-Look at the tank valve.”
-
-“That’s right!” cried Tom. “Here she
-comes now.”
-
-Waiting a moment for the carburetor to fill,
-Bill once more swung the wheel over. They
-waited anxiously to see if it would continue, but
-with a wheeze it gave up as soon as the muscular
-impetus stopped.
-
-“Carburetor troubles!” muttered Bill. “And
-that’s the worst kind to have in a storm. Well,
-there’s no help for it. Here goes to adjust it.”
-
-As is well known, many carburetors require
-a different adjustment in rainy weather than in
-dry. It was so in this case. Bill screwed and unscrewed
-the air valve and readjusted the butterfly
-automatic. He admitted more gasoline, then
-less, giving a richer and then a thinner mixture.
-After each adjustment he tried the motor, but
-it was not until after about ten trials that, when
-both were on the point of giving up, suddenly the
-motor started.
-
-“Hurray!” cried Tom.
-
-“It’s about time,” murmured Bill. “She’s
-working better than ever now, though,” he said,
-as he listened to the machinery. “I’ll go take
-the wheel now. Watch her carefully, Tom,” and
-he went to the helm again. Once more they were
-under way, and their anxious eyes peered through
-the blackness.
-
-The storm had been bad, but now it was worse.
-The swift dash of the rain formed a kind of mist.
-Tom’s heart sank as he heard Bill at the wheel
-utter a kind of impatient groan.
-
-“What’s amiss?” he shouted to the pilot.
-
-“Something’s wrong—no lights, and I may
-have missed my course. We’ll have to strike
-shore again, Tom,” said Bill.
-
-“Can’t we avoid wasting the time?” inquired Tom.
-
-“There may be no chance for the ship to show
-lights,” suggested Bill, in his broad blunt way.
-“Maybe the *Olivia* has gone down.”
-
-“Oh, surely not that!” cried Tom. “There—there!”
-
-“Good!” chorused Bill, in a gladsome shout;
-“it must be the *Olivia*!”
-
-Directly ahead, but high up in the air, a brilliant
-rocket had pierced the gloom of the tempestuous
-night.
-
-CHAPTER XXII—THE RESCUE
-=======================
-
-Tom hailed the unmistakable signal of distress
-from the steamer *Olivia* with energy and hope.
-
-“I think I understand why we saw no lights,”
-he remarked. “The steamer must have driven
-into the breakers beyond what they call the North
-Sentinel.”
-
-“That must be it,” assented Bill. “Now Tom,
-get to your lever.”
-
-Bill tackled the wheel with renewed vigor and
-Tom braced up magically. At all events, he reflected,
-the *Olivia* had not yet gone down. They
-would be in time for a rescue. The heavy wind,
-the pelting rain, the erratic gyrations of the
-launch, were as nothing to him now. The thought
-that he might be able to save precious human lives
-inspired him with courage.
-
-A second rocket sailed through the mist-laden
-air a few minutes later. Bill, in high animal spirits,
-amid his excitement kept shouting out like a
-schoolboy driving a bicycle.
-
-“Go it! Whoop-la! There’s a dive for you!
-Beats automobiling!”
-
-“Hurrah!” broke in Tom.
-
-“She’s there,” echoed Bill.
-
-“Yes, the *Olivia* at last,” cried Tom.
-
-Veering slightly to southeast, the launch came
-in sight of the bobbing ship’s lights. One, a bulkhead
-reflector, was quite clear and guiding.
-
-“Go cautiously now, Bill,” warned our hero.
-
-“I’ll give you speed signals,” responded Bill.
-“One—two, slow up.”
-
-“All right.”
-
-Tom knew from having visited the Garvey
-Rocks more than once in the past that they were
-nearing dangerous waters. Somehow, however,
-he had confidence in his pilot. Bill was daring,
-and more than once the keel of the *Beulah* grazed
-some obstruction. But Bill shouted back to Tom
-each time that he knew his route, and would bring
-about no disaster through recklessness.
-
-They were now so near to the steamer that they
-could make out her situation quite clearly.
-
-“She’s stove in!” declared Bill. “Her fires are
-out, and there must be a leak. Look at her now,
-Tom—she’s rolling.”
-
-The condition of the *Olivia* was a precarious
-one—Tom discerned this at a glance. She had
-fallen over slightly on one side. The lights on
-deck showed a number of passengers huddled at
-a slanting bow, clinging to a cable which had been
-strung from rail to rail, to prevent them from
-falling or rolling when a particularly heavy billow
-would cause the once staunch ship to quiver and
-topple.
-
-Another rocket went up. It was followed by a
-ringing cheer. The launch, slowing down, came
-directly into the strong central focus of the bulkhead
-reflector. Those working about the ship,
-clinging to this and that as they moved about,
-paused to stare at the staunch little craft of rescue.
-The passengers huddled together lost their
-terror and a babel of excited, hopeful, joyous
-voices sounded out.
-
-“Oh Tom!—Tom!”
-
-The young wireless operator thrilled with an
-emotion he could not analyze. In an instant he
-recognized the voice of Grace Morgan. Could
-she have been thinking of him, that the recognition
-was so prompt; or, despite his unusual garb
-and the clumsy oilcloth cap, did the powerful reflector
-glow bring out his features in strong relief?
-
-“Ease her!” shouted Bill, and his very soul
-seemed centered in working the wheel to prevent
-both collision and retreat.
-
-“Throw them a cable!” roared the trumpet
-tones of the captain of the steamer.
-
-Tom caught the coiling end of the rope and secured
-it, allowing a play of a few feet between the
-two craft.
-
-“Drop the ladder!” came the next order.
-
-“The women first!” shouted one of the
-steamer officers. “Get back, there!”
-
-There was light enough for Tom to see a portly,
-fussy old man press close to the rail, vehemently
-shouting out that he would sue the steamship
-company if they did not instantly get him to
-dry land. He uttered a howl of despair as he was
-ignominiously bundled out of the way.
-
-“I can’t—I won’t, I shall faint!” shrieked a
-rasping feminine voice, as a staunch sailor was
-compelled to carry her down the swaying ladder.
-
-She wriggled like an eel as Tom grabbed her
-and forced her into the cabin of the launch, going
-instantly into hysterics as she landed on a cushioned
-seat.
-
-“There are only eight of the ladies,” called
-down the captain.
-
-“Hold tight, Aunt Bertha,” Tom heard a familiar
-voice speak steadily.
-
-“Oh, dear, I know I shall fall and be
-drowned!” wailed the second of the rescued passengers,
-whom Tom was sure must be the aunt in
-whose charge Grace had started on the present
-unlucky voyage.
-
-.. figure:: images/illus-165.jpg
- :align: center
-
- “YOU BRAVE GIRL!” CRIED TOM IRRESISTIBLY.
-
-“We won’t let you, ma’am,” assured the sailor
-at the rail. “Be speedy now. There’s more to
-follow.”
-
-The descent of seven of the ladies was accomplished.
-Tom had not caught a murmur of protest
-or fear from the plucky little maiden who
-had waited her turn till the last.
-
-A shriek loud and ringing went up from the
-seventh lady, for just as Tom seized her both of
-them were nearly hurled into the water. A fearful
-gust of wind had driven the launch with a
-crash against the hull of the steamer. The same
-terrific force gave the steamer a lurch, and she
-threatened to turn turtle. As she righted, although
-the ladder was flopping about like a whiplash,
-Grace sprang past the sailor at the rail, slid
-one-half the length of the ladder, was swung out,
-and just caught in Tom’s arms as the captain of
-the steamer roared out in thunder tones:
-
-“Slip the cable, you lubber, or the launch will
-be crushed!”
-
-“You brave girl!” cried Tom irresistibly.
-
-“Oh, Tom, can I help?” inquired Grace.
-
-“Yes, quiet those in the cabin.”
-
-Bill sounded the bell at the wheel and Tom with
-lightning speed made a dash for the lever. He
-reversed just as the giant hull of the steamer flung
-down with crushing force.
-
-“Fire! murder! help! police!” yelled the frantic fat
-old man on deck, as his fond hopes vanished
-with the receding launch.
-
-“Stand by!” shouted the captain of the
-steamer to Tom. “There’s a dozen passengers
-left yet.”
-
-“There’s room with crowding, if you can get
-them aboard,” reported Tom.
-
-“Life preservers, all!” roared the captain.
-“One more lurch like that, and she’ll split in two!
-Lower the men passengers.”
-
-“No need,” shouted back Tom just then, as a
-dazzling light rounded the North Sentinel.
-
-“The steam tug!” cried Bill.
-
-“That will serve us. We’re all right now,”
-declared the captain. “Get the women passengers
-ashore.”
-
-With a yell just then a great bulky form came
-shooting over the side of the steamer. It was the
-fussy old man. Tom barely managed to grasp
-something floating behind him, or the suction of
-the passing tug would have drawn him under the
-swiftly revolving steam screw.
-
-“I’m drowned! I’m dead!” bawled the man,
-half choked with salt water, as Tom pulled him to
-the deck of the launch, to find that as many as
-six life preservers encumbered his bulky form.
-
-The steam tug had approached the *Olivia*, running
-her length as if to discover the real merits
-of her situation. Preparing to start the launch
-into the open sea away from the rocks and then
-to run direct for Brookville, Tom and Bill for
-a moment were awed into inactivity as a great
-shout went up.
-
-The steamer again lurched to one side. A
-loud crash sounded above the howling gale, and
-the *Olivia* lay a shattered wreck on the rocks.
-
-CHAPTER XXIII—“EVERY INCH A MAN”
-================================
-
-“She’s a-goner!” shouted Bill, at the wheel.
-
-“Steady!” cried Tom, at the lever.
-
-The sounds of excitement and alarm among the
-passengers still aboard the *Olivia* and her crew
-told of a state of new distress and terror. The
-launch, now at a safe distance from either tug or
-steamer, was instantly put about.
-
-“She can’t hold many more,” declared Bill.
-
-“We can’t see those people drown,” responded
-Tom, and shut off the power, while Bill tried to
-hold the launch steady.
-
-Tom got a boathook and stood braced against
-the cabin, ready to give assistance to any of three
-or four men he had seen leap overboard immediately
-after the *Olivia* had scuttled. His services were
-required, however, only in the case of one
-who was driven by a wave directly up to the
-launch. The others managed to swim to the
-steam tug, and were lifted aboard readily by the
-crew over its low sides.
-
-The captain of the *Olivia* shouted out some
-quick orders. A cable came whirling across the
-deck of the tug. It was caught fast at both ends,
-a pulleyed davit was rigged, and the remaining
-passengers of the steamer slid along this. When
-the captain came last, Tom knew that the steamer
-had been abandoned to her fate.
-
-“It’s all right,” he called to Bill.
-
-“Nobody lost?”
-
-“I think not.”
-
-“Then it’s Brookville for us.”
-
-“Yes, quick as you can make it, Bill.”
-
-The storm had somewhat subsided. The *Beulah*
-struck a straight course shorewards. Tom,
-glancing through the cabin window, observed that
-the lady passengers grouped there seemed quieted
-down and coherent.
-
-The bulky man passenger with the life preservers
-had crawled to the shelter of the stern
-platform, and, wedging himself in between two
-rods, only occasionally shouted out some mad
-threat of a suit against the steamship company.
-
-The dock at Brookville was crowded by residents
-of the little town as the *Beulah* drove into
-comparatively smooth water in the coaling slip.
-Men with lanterns, and some women too, had
-braved the rain and wind, alarmed, and anxious
-to be helpful when the rumor had spread that a
-steamer was aground on Garvey Rocks.
-
-Tom expressed a great sigh of relief as willing
-hands caught the cable he threw to the dock. He
-shut off the power, and as he passed Bill, grim
-and business-like at his post of duty, he bestowed
-a hearty smack between the shoulders.
-
-“Good boy!” he cried exuberantly.
-
-Bill chuckled.
-
-“Mean that?” he propounded.
-
-“I certainly do.”
-
-“Some good, then, ain’t I?”
-
-“Bill Barber,” cried Tom with genuine feeling,
-“you’re pure gold all through, and every inch a
-man!”
-
-The Barber boy thrust out his rough paw of a
-hand to grasp that of his comrade in a hearty
-grip.
-
-“Tom Barnes,” he said, choking up, and yet
-with the echo of a glad cheer in his tones, “I’d
-rather hear you say that than—than—yes, than
-even get that eleven dollars and seventy-five cents
-Bert Aldrich owes me.”
-
-The door of the cabin opened, and Grace
-Morgan stood on its threshold.
-
-“Have we landed, Tom?” she asked.
-
-“Yes, Grace, safe and sound.”
-
-“Oh, how glad Aunt Bertha will be! What
-are we to do now, Tom?”
-
-“You are to be taken in charge by a lot of
-kind people, it looks to me,” responded Tom.
-
-“I will find out their plans, and let you know at
-once. Tell the ladies there is no need of their
-coming out in the rain until arrangements are
-made for their comfort.”
-
-Tom clambered up to the dock. He had to
-answer a dozen questions in one breath for as
-many excited persons eager for news.
-
-Tom allayed the general suspense by expressing
-the conviction that all hands had been saved from
-the wreck. Then he gave full attention to a big
-man in a raincoat who seemed to be the spokesman
-of the community.
-
-“Get the ladies to shelter,” this individual
-ordered those at his side. “We can find room
-for a couple of them up at our house.”
-
-“I’ll go and get the covered ’bus,” suggested
-one of his assistants.
-
-“A good idea.”
-
-In two minutes’ time the proffers of shelter
-exceeded the demand of the occasion.
-
-A fog whistle in the distance out at sea came
-floating in on the strong breeze.
-
-“That is the steam tug with the other passengers
-aboard,” said the big man.
-
-“Yes, sir,” responded Tom.
-
-“How many, do you think?”
-
-“Perhaps fifteen or twenty.”
-
-“They must be provided for,” said the man.
-“There’s the hotel. It’s old and rickety and
-don’t accommodate half a dozen comfortably;
-but it’ll give them a roof, some kind of a shakedown,
-and a warm meal to brace them up.”
-
-“How much the cost?” broke in a sudden
-voice, and the fat man with the life preservers
-trundled into view.
-
-“How much for what?” demanded the other,
-staring in astonishment at the odd figure the stout
-passenger made with his armor of cork life preservers.
-
-“For lodging and meals. I won’t pay much.
-Look at my clothes! All soaked,—and what of
-my baggage back on that pesky steamer? I
-won’t be robbed! I’ll sue everybody! I shan’t
-pay a cent!”
-
-“You won’t have to,” assured the man. “The
-hospitality of this town comes free, gratis, for
-nothing, on such an occasion as this.”
-
-Tom told Bill of the arrangements in order,
-and then reported to Grace. He had never admired
-the little lady as much as now, as he noted
-her kindly soothing treatment of her nervously-unstrung
-aunt, her pretty obliging ways in seeing
-to the care of an old lady with a crutch and a
-young woman with a frightened child in her arms,
-as the ’bus drove up.
-
-“Aunt Bertha is dreadfully nervous,” she said
-to Tom. “She says she will abandon the trip
-entirely now, will never venture on the water
-again, and wants to get to Fernwood right away,
-for she knows she is going to be ill.”
-
-“It is quite a trip to your home from here,
-Grace,” explained Tom. “I might get a vehicle
-somewhere, but the roads must be almost impassable
-in places, and the storm isn’t over yet.
-If I were you, I would try and induce your aunt
-to remain at Brookville till morning. I know
-you will both be taken care of by these good
-people.”
-
-“I will try and console her to your opinion,”
-responded Grace. She gave him a bright look.
-“Oh, Tom,” she cried, bursting girl-like into
-tears of mingled pride and joy, “you have acted
-just—splendid!”
-
-She seized both his hands in her own and smiled
-in grateful friendship at him, as he helped her into
-the ’bus. Just then those on the dock broke out
-into ringing cheers.
-
-“The steam tug!” said Tom, noticing the
-craft approach.
-
-There was the excitement of a new landing,
-eager questioning, rapid explanations; and Bill,
-who had left the launch and mingled with the
-crowd, approached Tom, smiling with good nature,
-his hands in his pockets, a certain element
-of pride and exaltation in his stride.
-
-“Not a person lost,” he reported in glad tones.
-
-“The captain of the *Olivia* is looking for you,
-and——”
-
-“That’s the lad,” sounded the voice of the
-tug captain, and the man with him who wore a
-cap with an official band of gold braid around it,
-seized Tom as if he feared he might run away
-from him.
-
-“I want you,” he said, his hearty grip catching
-Tom’s arm. “Hey, where’s that hotel you’re
-going to stow us in?” he hailed to a villager.
-
-“I’ll pilot you there,” was the prompt reply,
-and passengers and crew of the *Olivia* followed
-the speaker from the dock over to an old dilapidated
-building that had been in its palmy days
-the hotel of the place.
-
-It was well lighted up, and warmed by two red
-hot iron stoves. It had an immense dining room,
-and into this the crowd was ushered, and gathered
-shiveringly about the great heater in the center
-of the room. Adjoining it was a small apartment
-which at one time had been an office. It had a
-light on a table and some chairs.
-
-“Sit down,” said the steamer captain. “My
-friend,” he added, taking out a memorandum
-book and a pencil, “do you realize what you have
-done for my passengers and crew to-night?”
-
-“How about my comrade, plucky Bill Barber?”
-inquired Tom, trying to evade the direct
-compliment.
-
-“We’ll come to him in the final settlement,
-don’t fret about that,” observed the captain definitely.
-“You got the message, you started the
-grand old ball rolling that saved twenty lives!”
-exclaimed the excited captain. “So the tug
-officer tells me. Now, then, a few questions.
-Name?”
-
-Tom gave it, and replied in detail to other
-inquiries of his companion. In fact, before the
-captain had concluded the inquisition he had gathered
-from Tom and jotted down the main facts of
-a pretty circumstantial account of the start and
-finish of the rescue.
-
-“I shall telegraph the outlines of the case at
-once to headquarters,” said the steamer captain.
-“I shall follow it up with the written report of
-your share in the affair. You will hear from the
-company in a very substantial way, count on that,
-young man. Wait here a few minutes.”
-
-The speaker left Tom and went into the big
-room beyond where the rescued male passengers
-and crew of the *Olivia* were gathered. He closed
-the door after him, but Tom caught the echo of
-many voices in animated discussion. He even
-made out the cackling, complaining tones of the
-man with the life preservers.
-
-When the captain came out he placed in Tom’s
-hands a roll of banknotes.
-
-“Hold on——” began Tom.
-
-“No, you do the holding on, young man,” interrupted
-the captain cheerfully. “That’s a little
-heart-to-heart acknowledgment from the crowd in
-there, who wanted to cheer you, but they might
-scare the natives. Oh, by the way—I came near
-cheating you. Here’s a part of the contribution.”
-
-The speaker burst into a rollicking roar of
-laughter as he placed in Tom’s hand a nickel.
-Tom smiled inquiringly.
-
-“From the old fat fellow with the life preservers,”
-explained the captain.
-
-“Oh,” said Tom, amused, “I understand.”
-
-“Good-by, Barnes,” said the captain, grasping
-Tom’s hand till he winced. “I wish I had a boy
-like you.”
-
-“You will thank those gentlemen for their
-kindness?” asked Tom.
-
-“Oh, they’re the grateful ones,” declared the
-captain of the *Olivia*. “I say, Barnes,” he shouted,
-after waving adieu to Tom from the door of
-the hotel, “look out for that nickel. It may be
-real.”
-
-Tom hurried to the dock. He found Bill getting
-the launch ready for the return trip. The
-storm had almost passed over by this time.
-
-“Is it home, Tom?” inquired Bill.
-
-“Right away,” assented the young wireless
-operator, “and the sooner the better. I have
-some work at the tower before me.”
-
-“They are going to start back with the tug for
-Garvey rocks, I heard them say,” remarked Bill,
-as the *Beulah* got under way. “They may be
-able to do something with her, at least save something.”
-
-Tom did not talk much on the journey back
-to the pier. His mind and his heart were both
-full. He had so much to commend his loyal
-comrade for, that he did not wish to spoil it by
-not choosing just the right time, and saying just
-the right words to impress Bill with a sense of
-his unaffected worthiness.
-
-Bill insisted on taking him clear down to Sandy
-Point. When Tom landed, he remarked:
-
-“If you’re not going home, Bill, I’d like to
-see you at the station for a little while.”
-
-“Oh, I’m not going home,” responded the Barber
-boy. “There’s that eleven dollars and
-seventy-five cents to get from that measly cad,
-Bert Aldrich, you know; and I’m going to stick
-till I catch him.”
-
-“Forget that, Bill,” advised Tom. “We have
-about taken out that eleven dollars and seventy-five
-cents in use of the *Beulah*. You come down
-to the tower, as I say. I’ve got something better
-than eleven dollars and seventy-five cents to interest
-you in.”
-
-“Have?” propounded Bill, in his rough blunt
-way. “What is it, now?”
-
-“You come and see.”
-
-“All right.”
-
-“That fellow has a grand streak in him,”
-ruminated Tom, as the *Beulah* sped on its course
-and he made for the station. “He doesn’t seem
-to have the least conception of his heroic bravery,
-and never thinks of reward. I’ll give him a surprise.”
-
-Tom set at work the minute he reached the
-tower. He sent messages to the life-saving station,
-briefly detailing the event of the night, and
-a routine report to headquarters. Then he took
-out the roll of bills the captain of the *Olivia* had
-given him.
-
-“One hundred and ninety dollars,” counted
-Tom,—“and five cents. There, that’s Bill’s
-share,” and he set aside one hundred dollars.
-“The nickel we’ll nail up on the wall.”
-
-“Why, what’s all that money?” inquired the
-Barber boy, when he came into the tower an hour
-later.
-
-“This little heap,” replied Tom, placing in
-Bill’s lap a pile of banknotes, “is yours.”
-
-“Mine?” exclaimed Bill in a gasp, staring at
-the money in wonder.
-
-“Yours—one hundred dollars! It is your
-share of a testimonial given us by the passengers
-and crew of the *Olivia*,” and Tom explained the
-incident of his interview with the steamer captain
-at the Brookville hotel.
-
-A pathetic look came into Bill Barber’s eyes.
-He looked at the money and gasped. He glanced
-up at Tom and his lips twitched.
-
-“One hundred dollars!” he said slowly, impressively;
-“a whole one hundred dollars, and
-mine! I can get a new suit—why, Tom, I can
-buy a bulldog now, a real bulldog. Oh, crackey!”
-
-Bill looked again at Tom. His tone changed,
-a queer longing expression came into his face.
-His voice broke.
-
-“Tom Barnes,” he said huskily, “it’s a heap
-of a fortune to me, but, more than the money is
-what you said to-night—that I was pure gold,
-that I was—was every inch a man! Tom, it’s
-too much—oh, it, it’s all come on me like a burst
-of glory!”
-
-And Bill Barber broke down utterly, and
-bawled like a baby.
-
-CHAPTER XXIV—THE KIDNAPPED BOY
-==============================
-
-“Well, I see you have made it, Tom?”
-
-“Made what, Dr. Burr?”
-
-“A brave record. I compliment you on it,
-my boy. You deserve all they say about you.”
-
-“I don’t understand what you are talking
-about, doctor.”
-
-“That will tell you, then,” and with a friendly
-smile the Rockley Cove physician pressed upon
-Tom a newspaper he had been carrying when he
-met his young friend.
-
-Tom was in a great hurry. He told the doctor
-so and hastened homewards. It was the morning
-after the rescue of those aboard the *Olivia*. Tom
-had remained on duty at Station Z all night, and
-Bill Barber had insisted on keeping him company.
-
-There had been little of real business to attend
-to, but Tom had concluded it was the right time
-to look out for disasters, as witness the lucky
-reception of the wireless from the ill-fated *Olivia*.
-
-Bill had relieved Tom in watching and sleeping,
-and Tom had dozed enough to keep him from
-feeling done out, despite the rigorous experience
-of the early evening hours.
-
-Just an hour previous Ben Dixon had put in
-a dejected and disconsolate appearance at the
-tower. The minute Tom caught sight of his face
-he knew that his chum had failed in his search
-for the missing Harry Ashley.
-
-“No use, Tom,” was Ben’s blunt report.
-“Your father and I reached Wadhams and visited
-the circus, but we were too late.”
-
-“How too late, Ben?” inquired Tom.
-
-“Harry was gone.”
-
-“Then he had been there?”
-
-“We found that out all right. Twelve hours
-earlier, and we would have reached him. There
-were two kidnappers, all right, and one of them
-answered the description of the fellow you noticed
-spying on Harry the day he was in swimming
-with the boys.”
-
-“Were they holding Harry a prisoner?”
-
-“A safe and sound one. The men had been
-circus peddlers once. They took Harry to an
-open, roofless canvas where a lot of truck was
-stored. It seems that an old friend of theirs
-had charge of it. From all your father could get
-this man to say, Brady and Casey—those are the
-names of Tom’s kidnappers—made him believe
-he was a bad runaway boy they were authorized
-and paid for to return to his friends. I don’t
-believe that myself. I think the three men were
-in cahoots, and that the circus tender was in on
-the scheme, whatever it is. Anyhow, in the roofless
-tent was a lion’s cage. Its occupant had died
-a few days before Harry’s arrival. It was a
-safe place to shut the lad in, and they did it.
-They sort of partitioned the cage off by itself,
-and kept close watch on Harry, so he wouldn’t
-raise a rumpus. Brady was away for two days,
-I found out, so their plot was working.”
-
-“And what about the toy balloons?” inquired
-Tom.
-
-“Why, the way I got it was that one of the
-circus peddlers who had a lot of them for sale,
-kept his surplus stock in the storage tent. In
-some way Harry must have been struck with the
-idea of using them as messengers to tell of his
-captivity. Anyhow, he managed to reach them
-with a stick or string, or in some ingenious way,
-and had all night to equip them with the cards.
-Brady and Casey let Harry out of the cage, and
-took him away in an automobile night before last.”
-
-“You couldn’t find out their destination?”
-
-“The circus keeper declared that he didn’t
-know. Your father inquired around of others,
-though, and from what he heard he thinks they
-were headed for Springville. We weren’t sure.
-We decided that Harry would be kept in closer
-hiding than ever, and we sort of got discouraged
-and gave it up.”
-
-“I won’t give it up!” cried Tom, his eyes
-snapping; and preparing to leave the tower at
-once. “I’ll find the man I saw at the river if I
-have to chase him all over the state.”
-
-“Well, you see, you’d know him by sight, and
-we wouldn’t,” submitted Ben.
-
-“I feel it my duty to do all I can to find
-Harry,” proceeded Tom. “At any rate, I am
-going to try. You stay on duty at the station,
-Ben. It simply isn’t in me to remain quiet where
-we don’t know what fate may threaten that poor
-boy.”
-
-Now, after leaving the tower, Tom had met
-Dr. Burr, and hurried homewards. He took a
-look at the newspaper the physician had given
-him. Its heading told that it was a daily print
-from a nearby city, received at Rockley Cove by
-a few residents early in the morning.
-
-Tom, as has been said, was in urgent haste, but
-one glance at the printed sheet halted him as
-suddenly as if it had been a warrant presented
-unexpectedly by an officer of the law.
-
-In glaring headlines the feature of the news
-of the day, the rescue of the passengers of the
-*Olivia*, was indicated. In bold, broad type his
-name stood out as the hero of a grand occasion.
-Tom’s eye lit up as in the same glaring type he
-read also the name of his loyal adherent, Bill
-Barber. It was “William Barber,” the dignified
-way the paper put it, and Tom was unutterably
-glad.
-
-He merely skimmed the three columns of details
-that followed. Then he crumpled up the
-paper and started on a run for home with the
-breathless exclamation:
-
-“It’s wonderful!”
-
-Tom did not mean that the chronicled rescue
-was wonderful. He was too modest for that.
-What stirred and startled him were the remarkable
-evidences of journalistic ability displayed by
-the newspaper. He decided that after he and
-Bill had left Brookville the captain of the Olivia
-must have got in immediate connection with New
-York and other places by telegraph.
-
-“He must have had a busy time of it, giving all
-those details,” ruminated Tom. “They have
-made a big thing of it, sure enough. Well, it will
-please father and mother, and as for myself—I
-hope I deserve all they say about me.”
-
-Tom reached the house to find that the news
-of his part in the rescue of the *Olivia* had preceded
-him. When the newspaper was discovered,
-every member of the family, even the hired men,
-crowded about to stare in wonder at the printed
-page over the shoulder of Ted Barnes, who began
-to read in a tragic, breathless tone.
-
-Mr. Barnes looked considerably stirred up,
-and there was a new respect for the “new-fangled”
-wireless in his mind, Tom felt certain.
-His mother tremulously clung close to him as
-she asked solicitous questions, to be sure that he
-had not suffered in limb or health from his hard
-battle with the waves.
-
-As soon as things had quieted down somewhat,
-Tom took his father aside. He told his parents
-of his resolve to go in search of Harry Ashley,
-and his father encouraged him.
-
-A hired man was to drive our hero over to
-Wadhams in the farm gig. Tom reached that
-town about noon. He went at once to the circus,
-to find it in confusion. They were dismantling
-the show to exhibit in another town, and the man
-who knew Brady and Casey had gone forward
-with the first contingent.
-
-About to follow, Tom paused. A sudden
-thought came to his mind. The two kidnappers
-had left Wadhams with Harry in an automobile.
-It was scarcely probable that the machine was
-their own.
-
-“They must have borrowed or hired it,” reflected
-Tom, “most likely the latter. It’s worth
-while trying to find out.”
-
-Tom made due inquiries in regard to the location
-of public livery garages in the town. There
-were three, he ascertained, and he started in to
-visit them in turn.
-
-At the first garage he received no encouragement;
-at the second one the result was more satisfactory.
-The call book of the garage showed
-that a machine had been sent to the circus two
-nights before, and had made a run to Springville.
-
-“That’s the one,” decided Harry; and questioning
-the garage owner, he was soon in touch
-with the chauffeur who had made the run.
-
-“I’m the man, and that’s the bunch,” declared
-the chauffeur, as soon as Tom had told the object
-of his mission.
-
-“Where did you take them?” inquired Tom—“I
-mean where in Springville?”
-
-“To the edge of a little city park,” replied
-the chauffeur. “They made me stop there to hide
-all later trace, I surmised; but it was none of my
-business as long as I got my pay.”
-
-“Didn’t you notice the boy they had with
-them?”
-
-“I did,” answered the chauffeur. “He was
-quite stupid like, as if he’d been doped. I suspected
-things weren’t all straight and regular,
-but the man I heard called Brady kept telling me
-he was a runaway lad who had made all kinds of
-trouble and disgrace for his people.”
-
-Tom thanked the man for the information he
-had imparted, and at once took the trolley for
-Springville, which was about twenty miles distant.
-When he arrived he had no definite plan of
-action outside of going straight to the local police
-in an effort to interest them in his story.
-
-“I’ll look around a bit first, though,” Tom decided.
-“I may accidentally run across some hint
-or clew that may help me.”
-
-Tom strolled about the place, his eye on the
-alert. He had a faithful mental picture of the
-ill-favored fellow he had caught spying on Harry
-Ashley at Rockley Cove, and was sure he would
-recognize the rascal on sight.
-
-He put in two hours in a stroll into such parts
-of the city which he fancied a man like Brady
-would choose in seeking a refuge. He chased
-down two or three persons a view of whose backs
-suggested the man for whom he was looking.
-He had paused at a street corner as a great jangling
-of bells and the shouts and hurryings of the
-crowds suggested some pending excitement.
-
-“It’s a fire,” someone shouted, and pointed at
-dense volumes of smoke a few blocks away.
-
-Tom started to cross the street in that direction.
-
-Just ahead of him he casually noticed the hurrying
-figure of a bulky clumsy-limbed man carrying
-a big, old-fashioned carpet bag.
-
-“Hi! Out of the way, there!” shouted a
-sharp warning voice, as a fire engine turned the
-corner suddenly, bearing directly down upon the
-awkward pedestrian.
-
-The man got flustered and made a forward
-spring. The satchel he carried slipped from his
-grasp. He ran back to rescue it.
-
-The ponderous rushing fire vehicle was fairly
-upon him. Tom instantly saw his peril. There
-was only one thing to do, and our hero did it
-promptly and effectively.
-
-Making a forward dash at top speed, Tom
-fairly bunted into the stooping man. With all
-his force he struck him, sending him sliding head
-over heels into the gutter.
-
-The feet of one of the horses attached to the
-fire engine just grazed Tom’s heel, and, striking
-the carpet bag, lifted it ten feet in the air. It
-landed at the curb broken open, its contents scattering
-far and wide.
-
-Tom slid against the prostrate owner of the
-satchel, picked himself up, and turned to ascertain
-the possible injuries of the man whose life he had
-certainly saved.
-
-There was, however, no gratified expression
-in the face of the man. In utter concern and
-disgust he stared at his scattered possessions,
-wildly threw up his hands in a frantic despairing
-gesture, and bolted out the echoing word:
-
-“Donner! Donner!”
-
-CHAPTER XXV—TOM ON THE TRAIL—CONCLUSION
-=======================================
-
-“Donneer! Donner!”
-
-At the mention of that startling word, Tom
-Barnes was instantly convinced that he had made
-a great discovery; in fact, he was satisfied that
-he had at last discovered one of the “spooks”
-of Station Z.
-
-Donner had been a mystery. The owner of the
-satchel was quite mysterious in appearance. As
-Tom tried to help him to his feet, he noticed that
-the man wore a wig and enormous whiskers.
-They were false, for the fall had sent them quite
-awry.
-
-“Donner,” Tom had learned, was quite a
-common word in Germany. It was equivalent
-to our own “Thunder!” Tom, however, had
-never heard the word used outside of his wireless
-experience. To hear it used now by a suspicious
-individual in the very city where Harry
-Ashley was supposed to be, suggested strangely
-to Tom that the odd individual before him might
-be the erratic amateur operator, who had been
-sending out messages referring to a runaway boy,
-one Ernest Warren, with “sun, moon and stars
-tattooed on his left shoulder.”
-
-“Are you hurt, sir?” inquired Tom.
-
-The man who had so narrowly escaped destruction
-seemed to be more frightened than grateful.
-He hurriedly adjusted his facial disguise
-and looked about him to see if he was especially
-observed. Then he shouted hoarsely, with a despairing
-look at the scattered contents of the
-satchel:
-
-“My baggage—quick, get it!”
-
-Tom hurriedly collected the articles. He was
-amazed at their oddness and variety. There were
-one or two articles of clothing, and besides these,
-two old-fashioned horse pistols, an ancient dirk,
-four or five wigs, and as many false beards and
-moustaches. The odd collection suggested an
-actor with a limited stage outfit.
-
-The minute Tom handed the satchel to the
-man with its contents restored, the latter made a
-wild dash down the street. Tom was bound that
-he would not lose sight of him, and followed fast
-on his heels.
-
-He came upon the fugitive posted in a doorway
-and anxiously gazing beyond its shadows along
-the street. Tom paused near to him.
-
-“Can I be of any use to you, sir?” he asked,
-eager to keep up an acquaintance he felt sure
-would lead to some definite results.
-
-“Is anyone following me or watching me?”
-inquired the man breathlessly.
-
-“Not at all,” responded Tom reassuringly.
-“Everybody is running to the fire.”
-
-“Ah, that is good, most good!” exclaimed the
-man in a relieved tone. “The troubles—all at
-once. I am all turned around. You are a good
-honest boy,” he added, scanning Tom critically.
-“You would not bring troubles to a poor old
-man?”
-
-“Not I,” declared Tom.
-
-“You would help him?”
-
-“I would be glad to,” said Tom, delighted at
-getting more closely into the confidence of his
-companion.
-
-“Then you shall earn a dollar. See, I am a
-stranger in the city. You must direct me—to
-that address.”
-
-The speaker fumbled in a pocket and produced
-a card which he handed to Tom. It bore an
-address, and below it the words: “Go to section
-4. Wait for Brady.”
-
-“What luck!” breathed Tom ardently. “This
-man is certainly the mysterious operator, and he is
-going to see one of the men who kidnapped Harry
-Ashley.”
-
-It took about twenty minutes to reach the address indicated
-on the card. Tom pointed out the
-restaurant to his companion, who gave him a
-dollar bill. Then with a brusque nod and a
-searching glance all about him, he entered the
-restaurant.
-
-Tom crossed the street and reached a sheltering
-doorway. His eyes were fixed on the restaurant.
-What should he do next? He had almost decided
-to recross the street, enter the place and
-attempt to get nearer to the object of his interest,
-when a man came around the corner.
-
-“It’s Brady—it is the man I saw at Rockley
-Cove,” declared Tom.
-
-Brady wore a hat pulled well down over his
-face. His manner was hurried and furtive, like
-that of a person suspicious of every passer-by.
-He bolted quickly into the restaurant.
-
-“I must do something now—something worth
-while,” breathed Tom hurriedly. “There can
-be no doubt in the world that those two men
-have met here to do something about Harry.
-They may go away by some other exit. I’ll do it.”
-
-These last words announced a definite decision
-on the part of Tom, as his eye fell upon a policeman
-in uniform standing at the nearest street
-corner. Tom approached him, full of his plan.
-
-“Officer,” he said politely, “do you ever arrest
-a person without a warrant?”
-
-“I’d arrest me own brother on suspicions if
-he deserved it,” announced the man in uniform
-bluntly.
-
-“I am in trouble,” said Tom rapidly, “and
-I wish you would help me.”
-
-“Spake out, me lad,” directed the big bustling
-officer.
-
-“A friend of mine, a boy, has been kidnapped.
-One of the men who carried him away is in that
-restaurant yonder. If you will only take him
-and the man with him to the police station, I am
-sure I can convince you that they both deserve
-arrest.”
-
-Tom briefly narrated the story of the kidnapping.
-
-“Come on, me lad,” ordered the policeman.
-“It’s a case for the captain. Sure I’ll take them
-in the act. This’ll get in the newspapers, and
-Officer Lahey’s name along with it. Show me
-the rascals, me young friend, and I’ll do the rest.”
-
-Tom entered the restaurant, the officer following
-him. At one side of the place there were half
-a dozen partitioned-off compartments. As they
-neared the fourth one of the tier Tom heard the
-man he had brought there speak out:
-
-“I will only pay the five hundred, as I promised.”
-
-“It’s five thousand, or you never see the boy
-again.”
-
-“I arrest both of yez!” here announced the
-policeman, stalking into the compartment, and
-placing a hand on the shoulder of each of the
-two men, who arose in alarm to their feet.
-
-“What’s this?” snapped out Brady.
-
-“Resisting an officer of the law, are yez?”
-shouted the policeman, as Brady tried to escape
-his clutch, and he shaking the culprit till his teeth
-chattered,
-
-“Donner! I am lost!” gasped the other prisoner.
-
-“I say——” protested Brady anew.
-
-“Shut up!” ordered the policeman. “You’ll
-have a chance to explain to the captain at headquarters.”
-
-“Aha!” hissed Brady, as, pulled out into the
-main room, he for the first time observed Tom.
-Evidently he recognized him, for a sullen, surly
-look came into his crafty face.
-
-At the door of the restaurant the policeman
-paused.
-
-“Go to the second corner, lad,” he directed
-Tom, “and tell officer Moore his partner needs
-his assistance.”
-
-Tom did as directed, and five minutes later
-the prisoners were led down the street, each in
-the charge of a stalwart guardian of the law.
-
-When the party reached the station, the
-first policeman beckoned to Tom and led him to
-the office of the police captain. Tom told his
-story in a simple direct way. The captain came
-out and looked first at the grotesque figure and
-affrighted face of the big man, and then at Brady.
-
-“Ah, it’s you, is it?” exclaimed the police
-official, with a start of recognition. “Circus
-Jake.”
-
-“I think you are mistaken,” muttered Brady,
-in a surly tone.
-
-“Oh, no, I’m not. If you think so, I’ll just
-send for your picture from the Rogues’ Gallery,
-and go over a few records. Lahey, keep your
-eye close on this fellow till I need him. You
-two come with me.”
-
-The speaker led Tom and the man with the
-big satchel into his private office, and beckoned
-both of them to seats after closing the door.
-
-“Now then, young man,” he directed Tom,
-“tell your story before this man.”
-
-Tom began at the commencement of the Donner
-incident, and followed it up to its present
-climax. All through the recital, as reference was
-made to Harry Ashley, the old man started,
-ejaculated, grimaced and groaned.
-
-“Ah, he was not Harry Ashley, he was Ernest
-Warren, the son of my benefactor, my friend!
-Did he ever say that I, Blennerhassett, abused
-him?”
-
-“He never said anything about you, for we
-did not know that he was Ernest Warren,” explained
-Tom.
-
-“Now, then, for your story, Mr. Blennerhassett,
-if that is your name,” spoke the police
-captain.
-
-The old man looked flustered and frightened.
-He cast an apprehensive glance out at the street,
-an appealing one at the captain.
-
-“The Czar of Russia shall not be told?” he
-at length articulated.
-
-“The Czar of Russia?” repeated the official,
-with a mystified stare. “What has he got to do
-with it?”
-
-“Everything,” declared Blennerhassett, with a
-groan. “You will not advise the spies of foreign
-governments?” he persisted, very seriously.
-
-The captain evidently concluded that he was
-dealing with a lunatic, for he said indulgently:
-
-“Surely not.”
-
-“And no notoriety in the newspapers, so that
-I might be trailed down by assassins?”
-
-“Not a word, provided you tell the truth.”
-
-The old man began his story, which was an
-interesting one. It seemed he had been a Russian
-spy, and a price was set on his head. A fugitive,
-he chanced to meet in Germany the father of
-Ernest Warren. The latter was very kind to him.
-Mr. Warren was a civil engineer engaged on
-some large public work. He took sick and died.
-He had learned to trust Blennerhassett as a loyal
-friend, and had given him all his money with directions
-to repair to the United States and take
-personal charge of Ernest.
-
-The latter, it seemed, was one of the heirs to
-an estate in litigation. It was to the interest of
-others after the fortune to have him disappear.
-Not only to protect Ernest, but also because he
-was fearful the Russian government might hunt
-him down personally, Blennerhassett had made
-his new home in an isolated old house about fifty
-miles up the coast from Rockley Cove.
-
-He never explained to Ernest the cause of
-this seclusion and mystery. The lad had rebelled
-against such a solitary life, had run away after
-accidentally destroying five hundred dollars by
-fire, and Blennerhassett, not daring to come out
-openly, had surreptitiously visited a nearby wireless
-station when its operator was absent, and under
-cover had tried to communicate with the outside
-world.
-
-He had incidentally come across Brady, and
-had started him on a search for the runaway,
-promising a five hundred dollar reward for finding
-him. The day before the present one a demand
-had come from Brady for five thousand
-dollars to be brought to Springville at once, or
-the boy would never be returned.
-
-“The five hundred dollars Ernest burned up
-was his own money,” explained Blennerhassett.
-“I love him as my own son. All I ask is that I
-find him.”
-
-The police captain opened the door of his office
-and called out into the station main room.
-
-“Bring that man in here,” he directed; and
-Brady slouched into the private office.
-
-“Now then,” said the captain, “short and
-sweet’s the word for you. Think we don’t know
-you, eh? I suppose you’re not the man who advertised
-a set of parlor furniture by mail for
-fifty cents, and a yard of silk for a quarter, and
-a plan to save your gas bills for a dollar, and how
-to kill cockroaches for a dime?”
-
-“That’s old,” growled the discomfited Brady.
-
-“Why,” explained the police official, “he sent
-a toy set of furniture to investors, and a yard of
-sewing silk, told them to save their gas bills on
-a file, and advised them to get a board and a club
-and whack the roaches. Now, sharp and brisk.
-You’ve kidnapped this man’s charge. I’ll send
-two officers with you to your partner to give him
-up. Produce him, and you go free. Otherwise
-I’ll telegraph all over the country to find out your
-latest schemes, and lock you up for abduction and
-extortion in the meanwhile.”
-
-“I’ve done my work for this old man,” blurted
-out Brady.
-
-“Yes,” assented Blennerhassett, “and the price
-was to be five hundred dollars, not five thousand
-dollars. I’ll pay the five hundred.”
-
-“All right,” muttered Brady, “I’ll give in.”
-
-“And I’ll go with him to see that the boy is
-all right,” said Blennerhassett.
-
-Brady was released later, for the old man returned
-to the police station within an hour. Harry
-Ashley, or Ernest Warren, as his real name
-was, came in his company.
-
-There was a joyful meeting between Tom and
-his friend. It was made still more happy when
-Ernest was informed that the estate in which he
-was interested had been settled, and his share
-was some twenty thousand dollars.
-
-The guardian and his ward accompanied Tom
-back to Rockley Cove as guests at the Barnes
-homestead. Tom at once repaired to the wireless
-station. He put his excitable chum in transports
-of delight when he announced the success
-of his search for the stolen Harry Ashley.
-
-“Had some visitors here this afternoon,” announced
-Ben. “Mart Walters and young Aldrich
-came along. Aldrich was hot and furious to know
-if you had used his launch. Just as I explained
-to them that you had, and thereby saved Grace
-Morgan’s life, and they toned down a little, along
-came Grace herself. She overheard their squabbling,
-and turned her back on them and wouldn’t
-speak to them. They sneaked away.”
-
-“Oh, Grace was here?” said Tom, trying to
-look only ordinarily interested.
-
-“She was,” replied Ben sprightly, “and spent
-a pleasant hour. She made me tell her all about
-the way we telegraph. She even made me teach
-her certain dots and dashes. Hello! why, there’s
-a call from my home wireless outfit.”
-
-The receiver began to buzz and click. Tom
-looked suspiciously at his comrade.
-
-“T-o-m B-a-r-n-e-s, y-o-u a-r-e m-z m-x m-y
-h-e-r-o. A-u-n-t B-e-r-t-h-a w-a-n-t-s t-o s-e-e
-y-o-u. G-r-a-c-e,” came the message.
-
-“H-m,” commented Tom, flushing as his chum
-chuckled audibly. “Up to tricks, are you? What
-are you laughing at?”
-
-“Why,” smiled Ben seriously, “I was just
-thinking what a whole lot the Morgan family
-think of you, Tom!”
-
-It took two full weeks for Rockley Cove and
-its vicinity to get over the courageous exploit of
-Tom Barnes in saving the passengers and crew of
-the *Olivia*.
-
-Bill Barber shared in the general commendation.
-He appeared on the streets of the village,
-chipper, ambitious and well dressed, with
-the great desire of his life, a full-blooded bulldog,
-at his heels.
-
-He boasted proudly that he had given Bert
-Aldrich a receipt in full for the eleven dollars
-and seventy-five cents, in lieu of the use of the
-*Beulah* the night of the big storm.
-
-“I told him I could loan him a few dollars if
-he was so hard up he couldn’t get along,” chuckled
-Bill, jingling some coins in his pocket.
-
-The steamship company sent a substantial reward
-to both Tom and Bill, and offered the latter
-a good position on their line, which he accepted
-promptly.
-
-Bert Aldrich sneaked away from Rockley Cove
-with his crack launch, without being even permitted
-to say good-by to Grace; and Mart Walters
-remained in the back of the books of that
-offended little lady for a long time to come.
-
-Tom became a regular visitor at the Morgan
-home. His ability as a wireless operator had
-attracted the attention of headquarters, where he
-was offered a good position.
-
-Even his parents were willing that he should
-accept it, and for two years Tom worked his way
-up to an inspectorship, taking a technical evening
-course in a college at New York City.
-
-A new expert operator was put in charge at
-Station Z, but Ben was still retained as a helper.
-Ernest and old Blennerhassett settled down at
-Rockley Cove, and after a year at school the old
-Harry Ashley got an appointment as a regular
-man at the tower. Blennerhassett gradually
-worked out of his foolish fears of foreign enemies.
-
-Both Ben and Ernest were fascinated with the
-wireless business, and the frequent visits of Tom
-along the circuit encouraged them.
-
-Tom spent nearly half his time at Rockley
-Cove. He was a regular visitor at the Morgan
-home. One morning Ben came into the tower
-with a happy smile on his face. He went at once
-to the instrument and called headquarters.
-
-“Why so cheerful, Ben?” inquired Ernest.
-
-“Message.”
-
-“Yes, I know, but what is its purport?”
-
-“Mr. Morgan wishes me to send a society
-announcement to the New York press.”
-
-“Indeed?”
-
-“Exactly—the engagement of our sweet little
-friend, Grace, to our old time chum, Tom Barnes,
-the young wireless operator of Rockley Cove.”
-
-.. class:: center
-
- THE END
-
-|
-|
-|
-
-.. class:: center
-
- :xl:`THE WEBSTER SERIES`
-
- By FRANK V. WEBSTER
-
-Mr. Webster’s style is very much like
-that of the boys’ favorite author, the late
-lamented Horatio Alger, Jr., but his tales
-are thoroughly up-to-date.
-
-Cloth. 12mo. Over 200 pages each. Illustrated.
-Stamped in various colors.
-
-Price per volume, 50 cents, postpaid.
-
-.. class:: smaller
-
- | Only A Farm Boy
- | *or Dan Hardy’s Rise in Life*
- |
- | The Boy From The Ranch
- | *or Roy Bradner’s City Experiences*
- |
- | The Young Treasure Hunter
- | *or Fred Stanley’s Trip to Alaska*
- |
- | The Boy Pilot of the Lakes
- | *or Nat Morton’s Perils*
- |
- | Tom The Telephone Boy
- | *or The Mystery of a Message*
- |
- | Bob The Castaway
- | *or The Wreck of the Eagle*
- |
- | The Newsboy Partners
- | *or Who Was Dick Box?*
- |
- | Two Boy Gold Miners
- | *or Lost in the Mountains*
- |
- | The Young Firemen of Lakeville
- | *or Herbert Dare’s Pluck*
- |
- | The Boys of Bellwood School
- | *or Frank Jordan’s Triumph*
- |
- | Jack the Runaway
- | *or On the Road with a Circus*
- |
- | Bob Chester’s Grit
- | *or From Ranch to Riches*
- |
- | Airship Andy
- | *or The Luck of a Brave Boy*
- |
- | High School Rivals
- | *or Fred Markham’s Struggles*
- |
- | Darry The Life Saver
- | *or The Heroes of the Coast*
- |
- | Dick The Bank Boy
- | *or A Missing Fortune*
- |
- | Ben Hardy’s Flying Machine
- | *or Making a Record for Himself*
- |
- | Harry Watson’s High School Days
- | *or The Rivals of Rivertown*
- |
- | Comrades of the Saddle
- | *or The Young Rough Riders of the Plains*
- |
- | Tom Taylor at West Point
- | *or The Old Army Officer’s Secret*
- |
- | The Boy Scouts of Lennox
- | *or Hiking Over Big Bear Mountain*
- |
- | The Boys of the Wireless
- | *or a Stirring Rescue from the Deep*
- |
- | Cowboy Dave
- | *or The Round-up at Rolling River*
- |
- | Jack of the Pony Express
- | *or The Young Rider of the Mountain Trail*
- |
- | The Boys of the Battleship
- | *or For the Honor of Uncle Sam*
-
-.. class:: center
-
- CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK
-
-
-|
-|
-|
-
-.. class:: center
-
- :xl:`THE SADDLE BOYS SERIES`
-
- By CAPTAIN JAMES CARSON
-
- 12mo. Illustrated. Price per volume, 50 cents, postpaid.
-
-All lads who love life in the open air and a good steed,
-will want to peruse these books. Captain Carson knows his
-subject thoroughly, and his stories are as pleasing as they are
-healthful and instructive.
-
-| THE SADDLE BOYS OF THE ROCKIES
-| *or Lost on Thunder Mountain*
-
-Telling how the lads started out to solve
-the mystery of a great noise in the mountains—how
-they got lost—and of the things
-they discovered.
-
-| THE SADDLE BOYS IN THE GRAND CANYON
-| *or The Hermit of the Cave*
-
-A weird and wonderful story of the Grand
-Canyon of the Colorado, told in a most absorbing
-manner. The Saddle Boys are to the front in a
-manner to please all young readers.
-
-| THE SADDLE BOYS ON THE PLAINS
-| *or After a Treasure of Gold*
-
-In this story the scene is shifted to the great plains of the
-southwest and then to the Mexican border. There is a stirring
-struggle for gold, told as only Captain Carson can tell it.
-
-| THE SADDLE BOYS AT CIRCLE RANCH
-| *or In at the Grand Round-up*
-
-Here we have lively times at the ranch, and likewise the
-particulars of a grand round-up of cattle and encounters with
-wild animals and also cattle thieves. A story that breathes
-the very air of the plains.
-
-| THE SADDLE BOYS ON MEXICAN TRAILS
-| *or In the Hands of the Enemy*
-
-The scene is shifted in this volume to Mexico. The boys
-go on an important errand, and are caught between the lines
-of the Mexican soldiers. They are captured and for a while
-things look black for them; but all ends happily.
-
-.. class:: center
-
- CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK
-
-.. vspace:: 5
-
-.. _pg_end_line:
-
-\*\*\* END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOYS OF THE WIRELESS \*\*\*
-
-.. backmatter::
-
-.. toc-entry::
- :depth: 0
-
-.. _pg-footer:
-
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diff --git a/35044-rst/images/cover.jpg b/35044-rst/images/cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index f3b6719..0000000 --- a/35044-rst/images/cover.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/35044-rst/images/illus-024.jpg b/35044-rst/images/illus-024.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 0e21916..0000000 --- a/35044-rst/images/illus-024.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/35044-rst/images/illus-108.jpg b/35044-rst/images/illus-108.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 78f9645..0000000 --- a/35044-rst/images/illus-108.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/35044-rst/images/illus-165.jpg b/35044-rst/images/illus-165.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index f9fdb4d..0000000 --- a/35044-rst/images/illus-165.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/35044-rst/images/illus-fpc.jpg b/35044-rst/images/illus-fpc.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 88b033b..0000000 --- a/35044-rst/images/illus-fpc.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/35044.txt b/35044.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 574670e..0000000 --- a/35044.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6279 +0,0 @@ - The Boys of the Wireless - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost -no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Title: The Boys of the Wireless - -Author: Frank V. Webster - -Release Date: January 22, 2011 [EBook #35044] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: US-ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOYS OF THE WIRELESS *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net. - - - [Illustration: TOM SPEEDILY GAVE THE CALL TO THE STATION AT THE - DIXON PLACE.] - - - - -THE BOYS OF THE WIRELESS - -Or - -A Stirring Rescue from the Deep - -BY - -FRANK V. WEBSTER - -AUTHOR OF "AIRSHIP ANDY," "COMRADES OF THE SADDLE," -"BEN HARDY'S FLYING MACHINE," "BOB THE CASTAWAY," ETC. - -ILLUSTRATED - -NEW YORK -CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY -PUBLISHERS - - - - -BOOKS FOR BOYS - -By FRANK V. WEBSTER - -12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. - -ONLY A FARM BOY -TOM, THE TELEPHONE BOY -THE BOY FROM THE RANCH -THE YOUNG TREASURE HUNTER -BOB, THE CASTAWAY -THE YOUNG FIREMEN OF LAKEVILLE -THE NEWSBOY PARTNERS -THE BOY PILOT OF THE LAKES -THE TWO BOY GOLD MINERS -JACK, THE RUNAWAY -COMRADES OF THE SADDLE -THE BOYS OF BELLWOOD SCHOOL -THE HIGH SCHOOL RIVALS -BOB CHESTER'S GRIT -AIRSHIP ANDY -DARRY, THE LIFE SAVER -DICK, THE BANK BOY -BEN HARDY'S FLYING MACHINE -THE BOYS OF THE WIRELESS -HARRY WATSON'S HIGH SCHOOL DAYS - -Cupples & Leon Co., Publishers, New York - - - - -Copyright, 1912, by -CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY -THE BOYS OF THE WIRELESS - - - - -Contents - - - - CHAPTER I--TOM BARNES' WIRELESS - - CHAPTER II--STATION Z - - CHAPTER III--"SPOOKS!" - - CHAPTER IV--"DONNER" - - CHAPTER V--A BOY WITH A MYSTERY - - CHAPTER VI--A TIP VIA WIRELESS - - CHAPTER VII--GRACE MORGAN - - CHAPTER VIII--QUICK ACTION - - CHAPTER IX--STRICTLY BUSINESS - - CHAPTER X--A YOUNG CAPITALIST - - CHAPTER XI--A GREAT STEP FORWARD - - CHAPTER XII--"SUN, MOON AND STARS" - - CHAPTER XIII--THE BLACK CAPS - - CHAPTER XIV--TURNING THE TABLES - - CHAPTER XV--AN UNEXPECTED RESCUER - - CHAPTER XVI--KIDNAPPED - - CHAPTER XVII--UP TO MISCHIEF - - CHAPTER XVIII--THE TOY BALLOONS - - CHAPTER XIX--A STARTLING MESSAGE - - CHAPTER XX--THE LAUNCH - - CHAPTER XXI--BRAVING THE STORM - - CHAPTER XXII--THE RESCUE - - CHAPTER XXIII--"EVERY INCH A MAN" - - CHAPTER XXIV--THE KIDNAPPED BOY - - CHAPTER XXV--TOM ON THE TRAIL--CONCLUSION - - - - -THE BOYS OF THE WIRELESS - - - - -CHAPTER I--TOM BARNES' WIRELESS - - -"What's that new-fangled thing on the blasted oak, Tom?" - -"That, Ben, is a wireless." - -"Oh, you don't say so!" - -"Or, rather the start of one." - -"Say, you aren't original or ambitious or anything like that, are you?" - -The speaker, Ben Dixon, bestowed a look of admiration and interest on -the chum he liked best of all in the world, Tom Barnes. - -Tom was reckoned a genius in the little community in which he lived. He -had the record of "always being up to something." In the present -instance he had been up a tree, it seemed. From "the new-fangled thing" -Ben had discovered in passing the familiar landmark, the blasted oak, -wires and rods ran up to quite a height, showing that some one had done -some climbing. - -Ben became instantly absorbed in an inspection of the contrivance before -him. He himself had some mechanical talent. His father had been an -inventor in a small way, and anything in which Tom had a part always -attracted him. - -"Tell me about it. What's that thing up there?" asked Ben, pointing -directly at some metal rods attached to the broken-off top of the tree. - -"Those are antennae." - -"Looks like an--twenty!" chuckled Ben over his own joke. "There's a -whole network of them, isn't there?" - -"They run down to a relay, Ben, catching the electric waves striking the -decoherer, which taps the coherer and disarranges a lot of brass filings -by mechanical vibration. That's the whole essence of the -wireless--otherwise it is no different from common telegraphy--a group -of parts each for individual service in transmitting or receiving the -electric waves." - -"Thank you!" observed Ben drily. "How delightfully plain that all is! -You rattle those scientific terms off good and spry, though." - -"So will you, as soon as you do what I've been doing," asserted Tom. - -"And what's that?" - -"Getting a glance at the real wireless outfit Mr. Edson is operating -down at Sandy Point." - -"I heard of that," nodded Ben. - -"He's a fine man," said Tom enthusiastically. "He's taken all kinds of -trouble to post me and explain things I wanted to know. This little side -show of mine is just an experiment on a small scale. I don't expect any -grand results. It will work out the principle, though, and when I get to -taking messages----" - -"What! you don't mean to say you can do that?" - -"Just that, Ben," declared Tom confidently. - -"From where?" - -"Well, mostly from Mr. Edson's station at Sandy Point, and maybe some -stray ones that may slip past him." - -"Say!" cried Ben, on fire at once with emulation and optimism, "what's -the matter with me starting a station, too, down at my house? Then we -could have all kinds of fun over our line." - -"It isn't much work nor expense," said Tom. "You can get an outfit cheap -for a home-made apparatus--you need some coarse and fine wire for the -main coil, a glass tube, a bell, sounder and a buzzer, some -electromagnets----" - -"I see," interrupted Ben with a mock groan, "just a few things picked up -anywhere. Oh, yes!" - -"You won't be discouraged once you get interested, Ben," assured Tom. -"We'll talk about your starting a station later. Just now you can help -me quite a bit if you want to." - -"Sure!" returned the enterprising Ben with vim. - -"All right; I want to string a coil of new wire I got yesterday," -explained Tom, going around to the other side of the tree. "Why, it's -gone!" he cried. - -"What's gone?" queried Ben. - -"The wire. Now, isn't that a shame!" cried Tom indignantly, fussing -around among the grass and bushes. "That coil couldn't have walked away. -Some one must have stolen it." - -"Don't be too hasty, Tom. Some one passing by may have picked it up. You -know the fellows are playing ball over in the meadow just beyond here. -Some of them may have cut across and stumbled over your wire." - -"Couldn't they see that I was putting up a station here?" demanded Tom -with asperity. - -"Station?" repeated Ben with a jolly laugh. "See here, old fellow, you -forget that we scientific numbskulls wouldn't know your contrivance here -from a clothes dryer." - -"Well, come on, anyway. I've got to find that wire," said Tom with -determination. - -In the distance they could hear the shouts of boys at play, and passing -through some brushwood they came to the edge of the open meadow lining -the river. - -Half a dozen boys were engaged in various pastimes. Two of them playing -at catch greeted Tom with enthusiasm. - -There was no boy at Rockley Cove more popular than Tom Barnes. His -father had farmed it, as the saying goes, at the edge of the little -village for over a quarter of a century. While Mr. Barnes was not -exactly a wealthy man he made a good living, and Tom dressed pretty -well, and was kept at school right along. Now it was vacation time, and -outside of a few chores about the house morning and evening Tom's time -was his own. - -The result was that usually Tom had abundant leisure for sports. The -welcome with which his advent was hailed therefore, was quite natural. - -"I say, Tom," suddenly spoke Ben, seizing the arm of his companion in -some excitement, "there's Mart Walters." - -"Ah, he's here, is he?" exclaimed Tom, and started rapidly across the -meadow to where a crowd of boys were grouped about a diving plank -running out over the stream. "I'm bothered about that missing coil, but -I guess I can take time to attend to Walters." - -The boy he alluded to was talking to several companions as Tom and Ben -came up. His back was to the newcomers and he did not see them approach. -Mart Walters was a fop and a braggart. Tom noticed that he was arrayed -in his best, and his first overheard words announced that he was -bragging as usual. - -Mart was explaining to a credulous audience some of the wonderful feats -in diving and swimming he had engaged in during a recent stay in Boston. -With a good deal of boastful pride he alluded to a friend, Bert Aldrich, -whose father was a part owner of a big city natatorium. Tom interrupted -his bombast unceremoniously by suddenly appearing directly in front of -the boaster. - -"Hello, Mart Walters," he hailed in a sort of aggressive way. - -"Hello yourself," retorted Mart, with a slight uneasiness of manner. - -"I've been looking for you," said Tom bluntly. - -"Have?" - -"Yes, ever since I heard some criticisms of yours yesterday on my -bungling swimming." - -"Oh, I didn't say much," declared Mart evasively. - -"You said enough to make the crowd believe you could beat me all hollow -at diving." - -"Well," flustered Mart desperately, "I can." - -"Want to prove that?" challenged Tom sharply. - -"Some time." - -"Why not now? We're all here and the water is fine. We'll make it a dash -for the half-mile fence and return, under water test, somersaults and -diving." - -Mart had begun to retreat. He flushed and stammered. Finally he blurted -out: - -"I'm due now at Morgan's with a message from my folks." - -"You haven't seemed in a hurry," suggested Ben. - -"Well, I am now." - -"Yes, might muss your collar if you got wet!" sneered a fellow in the -crowd. - -"All right," said Tom, "when will you be back?" - -"Can't say," declared Mart. "You see, I don't know how long I may be." - -He started off, flushed and sheep-faced under the critical gaze of the -crowd. As he did so Tom noticed that he had something in his hand. - -"Here!" he cried, "where did you get that?" - -Tom had discovered his missing coil of wire. His hand seized it. Mart's -did not let go. The latter gave a jerk, Tom a twist. - -"That's mine," Tom said simply. "You took it from where I was stringing -up my wireless." - -"I found it," shouted Mart, thoroughly infuriated in being crossed in -any of his plans. "It was kicking around loose. I'll have it too--take -that!" - -He came at Tom so suddenly that the latter, unprepared for the attack, -went swinging to the ground under a dizzying blow. - -It looked as if Mart was about to follow up the assault with a kick. Tom -offset that peril with a dextrous maneuvre. - -Seated flat, he spun about like a top. His feet met the ankles of the -onrushing Mart. - -Mart stumbled, tripped and slipped. He tried to catch himself, lost his -balance, fell backward, and the next instant went headlong into the -water with a resounding splash. - - - - -CHAPTER II--STATION Z - - -A yell of derisive delight went up from the smaller youths of the crowd -as Mart Walters went toppling into the water. Mart did not have a real -friend in Rockley Cove, and the little fellows Welcomed an opportunity -for showing their dislike. - -Tom, however, promptly on his feet was making for the spot where Mart -was puffing and splashing about, when two of his friends in bathing -attire anticipated his helpful action, reached Mart, and led him, -blinded and dripping, onto dry land. - -Mart was a sight. All the starch was taken out of him, and out of his -clothes. He did not linger to renew the conflict. He only shook his fist -at Tom with the half Whimpered words: - -"I'll fix you, Tom Barnes, see if I don't! This will be a sorry day for -you." - -"Who started it?" demanded Tom bluntly. - -"I'll get even with you for this treatment," threatened Mart direfully, -sneaking off. - -"You've made an enemy for life of that fellow, Tom," declared Ben. - -"Well, he never was very friendly towards me," responded Tom. "Where's -the wire? I've got it," and he picked it up from the ground where it had -dropped. "I'm sorry this thing occurred, but he brought it on himself. -Come on, Ben." - -"You're going to stay and have some fun, aren't you, Tom?" inquired one -of the swimmers. - -"Can't, boys--that is, just now. I've got something to attend to. See -you again." - -Tom and Ben had not proceeded fifty feet, however, when a hurried call -halted them. Tom's younger brother came running towards them. - -"Oh, Tom!" he hailed breathlessly, "I've run all the way from the house. -I've got a message for you." - -"What is it, Ted?" - -"Mr. Edson was passing the house and told me to find you and ask you to -come down to the tower as soon as you could." - -"All right, Ted," replied Tom. "I wonder what's up?" - -"Why?" questioned Ben. - -"I saw Mr. Edson early this morning down at the Point, and thought I'd -got him to talk himself out for a week to come asking him so many -questions about the wireless." - -"Are you going to drop rigging out your plant at the old oak till you -see him?" - -"We'll have to. It may be something important Mr. Edson wants to see me -about. You come too, Ben." - -"Had I better?" - -"You want to, don't you?" - -"Well, I guess!" replied Ben with undisguised fervor. "I've envied the -way he's posting you in this wireless ever since I first saw his -outfit." - -The boys pursued their way to Sandy Point, passing the old blasted oak. -Here Tom took pains to stow the coil of wire safely in a tree. Resuming -their walk they neared Sandy Point twenty minutes later. - -The Point was a high but level stretch of shore with one or two small -houses in its vicinity. It was really a part of Rockley Cove, but the -center of the village was half a mile inland. - -A high metal framework designated the Point, and could be seen from -quite a distance. This, however, was no recent construction nor a beacon -point, nor originally erected for its present use as a wireless station. - -It had served as a windmill for a farmer who once operated an -eighty-acre tract of land. One night his house and barns burned down. -For years the spot was abandoned. Recently, however, the Mr. Edson Tom -had alluded to had come to Rockley Cove and established "Station Z" at -the old windmill. - -He had built a room or tower as he called it midway up the windmill -structure. This was reached through a trap door by a fixed iron ladder. -The height and open construction of the windmill enabled the setting of -upper wireless paraphernalia in a fine way, and the whole layout was -found especially serviceable in carrying out Mr. Edson's ideas. - -The operator was at the window of the little operating room he had -built, and waved a cheery welcome to his two young friends. Tom and Ben -were up the ladder speedily and through the trap door. - -"Did you send for me, Mr. Edson?" inquired Tom. - -"Yes, Tom," replied the operator, "and I'm glad you came so promptly. -I've got to leave Rockley Cove on short notice." - -"Oh, Mr. Edson, I am very sorry for that!" declared Tom. - -"I regret it too, especially so far as you are concerned," admitted Mr. -Edson. - -"I was getting on finely," said Tom in a disappointed tone. - -"No reason why you shouldn't continue," declared the operator -encouragingly. "You have been strictly business all along, Tom. I want -to commend you for it, and I have sent for you to make you a business -proposition." - -"A proposition?" repeated Tom wonderingly. - -"Yes. You have got so that there is very little about the outfit here -that you do not understand. The transmitting and receiving end of it is -old history to you. In fact I am going to leave you here in entire -charge of the station." - -"Oh, Mr. Edson!" exclaimed Tom, "I am afraid you rate me too highly." - -"Not at all. You have got sense, patience, and you want to learn. As you -know, my starting the station here was a private enterprise, but it was -no idle fad. I expected to work something practicable and profitable out -of it. You can carry on the work." - -"Why are you giving it up, sir, if I may ask?" - -"I received a letter only an hour since, with an unexpected offer of a -very fine position with one of the operating wireless companies in -Canada. They expect me at a conference in New York City Friday, and I do -not doubt that I shall close an engagement with them. As I have told -you, I have very little capital. In fact, about all my surplus has been -invested in the station here." - -Ben was looking around the place with his usual devouring glance. Tom -felt that some important disclosure was about to be made and was duly -impressed. - -"There is a good chance for a live young fellow in a business that can -send a message hundreds of miles in a few seconds," continued Mr. Edson. -"The business is now only in its infancy, and those who get in first -have the best chance. The only hope here of the international circuit is -to make a killing." - -"What do you mean by a killing, Mr. Edson?" inquired the big-eyed, -interested Ben. - -"Catching a stray message and making a home shot with it. The fellow who -saved an ocean liner last week by sending help quick, just when needed, -got more pay in one hour than many people earn in a lifetime. Now then, -Tom, as to my proposition." - -"Yes, sir," nodded Tom, eagerly. - -"I want you to buy me out." - -"To buy you out?" repeated Tom slowly and in a puzzled way. - -"That's it." - -"You mean with money?" put in the ever-attentive Ben. - -"It's got to be money, I am obliged to say," replied Mr. Edson. "I shall -need all the ready cash I can get hold of in taking my new position, for -I have a lot of debts to clean up. Between you and me, Tom, I can sell -the outfit here to certain people, but it would throw you out. Of -course, I don't expect you, a boy to have any great amount of money to -invest, but I had an idea that some of your relatives or friends might -help you." - -Tom was silent, deeply thoughtful for a minute or two. His eyes wandered -wistfully over the apparatus that so fascinated him. Then, very -timorously, he asked: - -"How much would it take, Mr. Edson?" - -"One hundred dollars to you, Tom," said Mr. Edson. - -Ben squirmed. Tom's voice was quite tremulous as he inquired: - -"How soon would you have to have the money?" - -"By next Tuesday." - -"Will you give me till then to--to try?" asked Tom. - -"Surely. I hope you can make it, Tom. I like you very much. You are the -right sort, and I think you should be encouraged in your interest in the -wireless. I'll show you just what the equipment here is." - -Ben voted the hour that followed the most interesting of his life. For -the first time in his career he began to get a faint conception of spark -lengths, spark voltage, condensers, circuits, vibrators, grounds, -concentric radiations, wire cores and armatures. He had been dabbling -for over a week with both Morse and the Continental alphabets, and when -Tom mentioned the possibility of establishing a sub-station at the Dixon -home instead of at the old blasted oak, Mr. Edson was quite encouraging, -and offered to contribute some of the equipment necessary to carry out -the idea. - -The expert operator engrossed the attention of the boys. It was a ramble -in a field of rare delight as they passed from one part of the wireless -mechanism to another. - -"Now then, sit down, boys, for a few minutes," said Mr. Edson at length. -"I don't want you to buy a pig in a poke. There are a couple of -attachments that go with the station, and you should know about them." - -"Attachments?" repeated Ben. - -"What are they, Mr. Edson?" inquired Tom with curiosity. - -"Spooks," was the ominous reply. - - - - -CHAPTER III--"SPOOKS!" - - -"Spooks?" repeated Tom, with a stare of wonder. - -"Spooks," echoed Ben, edging a trifle away from the open trap door. - -"Call it that," said Mr. Edson, with a quiet smile. "Perhaps I had -better say--mysterious happenings." - -"What may they be, Mr. Edson?" inquired Ben, always interested in any -sensational disclosures. - -"Well, first--let me see," and the speaker reached over for a slip of -documents held with others in a paper clip on the table; "yes, here it -is--'Donner.'" - -"Who's he?" inquired Tom, puzzled. - -"Say rather what is he?" corrected Mr. Edson. "Frankly, I don't know." - -"It's a name," observed Ben; "a man's name, isn't it?" - -"I don't know that," responded Mr. Edson. - -"Neither do the other fellows on the circuit. Perhaps I'd better -explain, though, so when this Donner comes along you will be prepared -for him." - -"Yes, you have excited our curiosity and we'll be on the lookout," said -Tom. - -"Well, for nearly three weeks, at odd and unexpected times, with no -sense or reason to it, no call or 'sine,' abruptly and mysteriously zip! -the wires have gone, and in floats a jumbled, erratic message." - -"As how?" propounded Ben. - -"'Donner.' That always, first. It may be an explanation, it may be a -name, it may mean nothing, but all the same splutter--splutter! on she -comes. At first it was spelled out slowly, lamely, sometimes wrong, and -then corrected as if an amateur beginner was at the other end of the -line." - -"And that was all--'Donner'" questioned Ben, aggravatingly consumed with -curiosity. - -"Not after a few days. Then 'Donner' began to add something of a -message. That, too, was a jumble, wrong dots and dashes and all that. -Finally, though, this queer crank of a sender began to say something -about a boy." - -"A boy?" murmured the engrossed Ben. - -"It looked as if he was trying to describe some one. However, as I say, -his sending was so faulty that not much could be made out of it. It got -clearer, but no more coherent and enlightening. I tried to trace the -sender. So did others on the circuit. I got in touch with Seagrove." - -"What did they say? Mr. Edson?" asked Tom. - -"They confessed themselves fully as much puzzled as I was. The last -three or four days 'Donner' has gotten into action trying to tell -something about money. First it was a hundred dollars, then two hundred, -then five, and about an hour since the same old string of jangled talk -came in over the receiver: 'Donner boy--a thousand dollars.'" - -"How strange," commented Tom. - -"Oh, you'll get some of it," declared Mr. Edson. "Early in the morning -about daylight, always at noon, sometimes just about dusk, the message -comes through the air." - -"How do you explain it?" submitted Tom. - -"Why, I have to think it is some person who has rigged up an old station -somewhere in range, and is trying to tell something he is too ignorant -to express clearly. Pay no attention to it as a serious circumstance. It -is only one of the freaks of the wireless experience." - -"That's one of the spooks you told about?" inquired Ben. - -"Yes," nodded Mr. Edson. - -"Any more?" - -"Something more tangible this time," observed Mr. Edson. "For about a -week some one has invaded my den here nights regularly." - -"Maybe this same mysterious 'Donner'" suggested Ben. - -"Hardly. You see, I am pretty regular in my hours here. I have come on -at about eight in the morning and leave at six in the evening always." - -"And the second spook you speak about?" interrogated Tom. - -"Puts in an appearance after my departure in the night time. Here's the -gist of it: Every morning when I come down here, the ground under the -windmill for a space of about fifty feet is swept as clean as a ballroom -floor." - -"Yes, I've noticed that," observed Tom. - -"I leave the den up here in some slight disorder evenings, preferring to -put it in shape in the morning. Well," declared Mr. Edson, "I find it -all cleaned up for me." - -"You don't say so!" ejaculated Ben. - -"Nothing is touched about the apparatus, my papers are not disturbed. -One night I carelessly forgot my pocketbook. I found it placed carefully -on the paper tab with the contents intact." - -"Well, that's a helpful, honest, useful kind of a spook, isn't it, now?" -cried Ben. - -"I think this harmless intruder sleeps on the floor here nights," said -Mr. Edson. "Anyhow, I've apprised you of the mysteries as well as the -excellencies of Station Z. I must be going, Barnes," added Mr. Edson, -consulting his watch and arising and taking up his satchel from a corner -of the room. "Think over my proposition." - -"I certainly shall," declared Tom, quickly. - -"It's a dandy chance," remarked Ben. - -"Use your best intelligence and judgment in running the business here -until I come back," added Mr. Edson. "You can come down to the house -with me if you like and get some stuff that will help you rig up your -home-made wireless." - -"All right," assented Tom, "I'd like to do that." - -The professional operator followed his young guests down the ladder, -locking the trap door padlock and tendering the key to Tom. - -"You're in charge now," he said in a pleasant way. - -Tom's finger tips tingled with pleasure at the possession of the key, -and Ben's eyes brightened with glowing anticipations. - -The boys waited outside on a bench on the porch of Mr. Edson's boarding -house when they reached that place. He went up to his room and soon -returned with an oblong box. - -"You'll find the stuff in there I told you about," he explained. - -"Many thanks," said Tom. - -"I'm in that, too!" echoed Ben. "I only hope we can really rig up a -plant at my house like you talk about," he added eagerly. - -"That will be easy," advised Mr. Edson. "And now good-by, my young -friends, and good luck." - -Mr. Edson shook hands in a friendly way with Tom and Ben. The boys -started down the village street in the direction of the Barnes home. - -Ben walked as if he were treading on air. His comrade, carrying the box, -was thoughtfully going over the great fund of information he had -obtained in the preceding two hours. - -"I say!" he spoke suddenly, coming to a halt. - -"What's up?" challenged Ben. - -"I was thinking it would be handier to leave this box at the station." - -"I'm sure it would. You see, it's nearer our place," counselled Ben -eagerly, glad of any excuse that would take them back to the fascinating -influence of Station Z. - -They faced about and proceeded back over the course they had come. - -"Look here, Tom," broke in Ben on the thoughts of his comrade, "are you -going to try and raise that hundred dollars?" - -"Yes, if possible." - -"Wish I could help you. Going to ask your father?" - -"No," replied Tom. "In the first place, I don't think he would let me -have it. You know he calls my craze after wireless, as he terms it, all -a fad,--says I'd better think of getting through school before I take up -outside things." - -"Yes, I know." - -"Then again," continued Tom, "I have a sort of pride of starting in -business life on my own resources." - -"But you've got to have some money help." - -"I've thought of that, and I'll tell you what I'll do. You remember my -Aunt Samantha?" - -"Down at Westport?" - -"Exactly. I have always been a favorite of hers. Many a time she has -hinted at all the money she is going to leave me in her will some day. -Many a time, too, after a visit to our house, she has reminded me that -any time I need help to write her." - -"And you're going to?" - -"Yes," replied Tom, "just as soon as I get home this evening. I'm going -to offer her my note, and I mean to pay it, too." - -"Say, Tom," cried his loyal companion, "I'll endorse for you." - -Tom had to laugh outright at the proposal. - -Then, seeing that he had hurt Ben's feelings, he said kindly: - -"That's all right, Ben; you mean well, but if Aunt Samantha won't let me -have the money alone, she won't give it to the two of us." - -It had been growing dusk as the chums proceeded on their way. They -passed through the village and beyond it, and finally approached the -wireless station. Tom was fumbling in his pocket for the key to the trap -door when Ben suddenly caught his arm. - -"Tom, hold on!" - -"What's the matter?" questioned Tom. - -"Look yonder!" - -Ben pointed directly at the old windmill framework. Both stared -intently. - -Climbing up one of the outer girders was a boy. As he reached the level -of the window of the little aerial room aloft, he swung towards it, in -some deft way lifted or pried up the sash, and disappeared suddenly from -view. - - - [Illustration: BEN POINTED DIRECTLY AT THE OLD WINDMILL - FRAMEWORK.] - - - - -CHAPTER IV--"DONNER" - - -"Well!" ejaculated Tom in startled amazement. - -"Don't you see?" gasped Ben. - -"What?" - -"One of the spooks Mr. Edson spoke about!" - -"That's so, it must be," assented Tom. "The nightly intruder, as sure as -fate!" - -The window was lowered from the inside. In a minute or two a faint light -showed. Tom started forward, joined by Ben, who was in a quiver of -excitement and suspense. - -"What are you going to do, Tom?" he inquired. - -"Find out who this mysterious trespasser is. Don't make any noise, Ben, -but keep close to me." - -Tom gave the box into the possession of his companion, and started up -the ladder. Very cautiously he inserted the key into the padlock. He -managed to turn it and remove the padlock without making any alarming -sound. Then very slowly Tom pushed up the trap door. - -A glance across to one corner of the room interested him. Upon the floor -lay the intruder. He had upset a chair, and he was using its slanting -back as a pillow. On another chair he had set a lighted piece of candle. -In a posture of ease and comfort he lay reading a well-thumbed book, -while gnawing away at a great hunk of dry bread. His face was turned -away from the trap door. He was so engrossed in eating and reading, -that, unobserved, Tom was able to get up into the room and Ben was half -way through the trap door before the trespasser was aware of it. - -"Well, we've caught you right in the act, have we?" spoke Tom suddenly. - -With a slight cry and starting up into a sitting posture, the intruder -stared hard at his unexpected visitors. He seemed to scan their faces -searchingly. His own, at first startled, broke into a pleasant smile. - -"That's just what you've done," he admitted. - -"Pretty cool about it," observed Ben. - -"Not so cool as I've been, sleeping in the damp grass a few foggy -mornings lately. What are you going to do with me, fellows?" - -The speaker rose to his feet with something of an effort. Then Tom -noticed that he limped on one foot. The lad was thin and pale, too. He -righted the upset chair and sat down on it. Ben placed the box on a -table and leaned against it, regarding the stranger with curiosity. Tom -sank into another chair. - -"We're not judges or officers," he said, "but we are in charge here -now." - -"Then I'd better get out, I suppose," said the boy. - -"What did you come in for in the first place? That's what we're -interested in knowing," remarked Ben pointedly. - -The stranger shrugged his shoulders in a way that was quite pathetic. - -"See here," he said soberly, "if you had a foot pretty nigh cut off by a -scythe right on top of a hard spell of the typhoid fever, and no place -to eat or sleep, you'd burrow in most anywhere lying around loose, -wouldn't you?" - -"Does that describe your case?" questioned Tom. - -"Just exactly," responded the lad, a quick dry click in his throat. "I'm -not able to do my old work, and you might call me a roving convalescent, -see?" and he chuckled. "I manage to pick up enough food. I spotted this -place, tried to keep out of anybody's way, and tidied it up to pay for -wearing out the floor boards. Then, too, I frightened off two tramps one -night, who would have ransacked everything in sight if I hadn't made -them believe I was a private watchman." - -"But where do you live?" asked Ben. - -"Here, if you'll let me," was the prompt reply. - -"We'll do better than that," said Tom, who had been studying the boy's -face and manner closely, and each succeeding moment was attracted more -and more by his honest eyes and frank ways. - -"Will you?" questioned the lad wonderingly. - -"Yes," assured Tom. "To be plain about it, you are homeless and -friendless." - -"To be plain about it, you've just hit the nail on the head." - -"All right; when we leave here you come along." - -"Where to?" - -"My home. You shall have a good supper, and I'm sure my mother will let -me rig up a comfortable bed for you in the garret." - -"Mattress?" queried the stranger with a grin. - -"Of course." - -"Pillow?" he asked additionally - -"Yes." - -The boy chuckled. - -"Say," he spoke in a half sad, half gloating way, "it's so long since I -saw such things I can hardly realize it. I suppose you want to know my -name?" - -"We'd like to," said Ben. - -"Then call me Ashley, Harry Ashley. If anybody asks what I am, just tell -them a poor lonely fellow in hard luck, but mending as fast as he can, -and not afraid to tackle any job that means pay for work." - -"That rings true," said Ben. - -Tom got busy shoving the box he had brought from the village under the -table. He had lighted a lamp. About to extinguish it, he glanced around -the room to see that everything was in shape for the night. - -"Come on, Ben, you too," directed Tom. "Blow out your candle, and we'll -make a start." - -The boy calling himself Harry Ashley limped over towards the chair -holding the candle. At that moment there was an interruption. With a -sharp tang the receiver began to pop out dots, dashes and echoing -clicks. - -"Some one on the line!" pronounced Ben quickly. - -"Yes," nodded Tom, hastening over to the instrument. "Hello!" - -Tom gave a vivid start. For over a month he had been acquiring the Morse -code alphabet. Novice as he was, he was able to translate the rapid -furious dots and dashes that sounded in the earpiece of the apparatus. - -"The spooks!" Ben gasped. - -"Yes," assented Tom quite stirred up himself--"'Donner!'" - -"What's that?" exclaimed Harry Ashley. He turned as white as a sheet, -and began trembling all over, and stood staring askance at Tom, the -instrument and Ben. - - - - -CHAPTER V--A BOY WITH A MYSTERY - - -Tom did not take much notice of the strange conduct of the refugee. He -was intent on learning what further the receiver would immediately tap -out. Ben noted particularly the excitement of their new companion. His -attention, too, was instantly diverted through his eagerness to catch -the message coming all strange and jumbled by wireless. - -"Just as Mr. Edson told us----" he began. - -"Ah!" commented Tom. - -The big distended eyes of Ben Dixon devoured the instrument with its -shining coils and connections. He stood now rooted like a statue. - -Finally the message ended. A queer smile crossed Tom's face. - -"Well," he observed, "Mr. Edson certainly described it perfectly." - -"Yes." - -"And two thousand dollars this time." - -"What else was the fellow trying to send?" - -"It was gibberish to me. Oh, we'll have to pass it up, Ben, just as Mr. -Edson said." - -"Yes," assented Ben, "it's some novice or joker or crank experimenting, -or trying to be smart. What's the matter?" challenged Ben, turning now -upon the boy calling himself Harry Ashley, hoping for some explanation -of his queer startled actions of a few minutes previous. - -But whatever the refugee had on his mind he evidently was not disposed -to impart it to his questioner. - -Harry Ashley had somewhat recovered his composure. He still looked -disturbed, but he said with assumed carelessness: - -"Oh, nothing. I get a pretty sharp twinge in my lame foot every once in -a while." - -"I see," observed Ben, drily and unbelievingly. - -The boys were soon on the ground and on their way towards the village. -Tom kept up a casual conversation. He did not ask the strange waif who -had drifted into their keeping any leading questions, however. Much as -he was interested in knowing more about Harry Ashley, there was -something in the lad's manner that repelled curiosity. Furthermore, Tom -did not wish to embarrass a comrade he had invited to become his guest. - -Ben was quite silent. He stole many a furtive look at Harry as they -proceeded on their way. He was half satisfied with the lame explanation -of his actions the boy had made in the wireless tower. He forged ahead a -few yards with Tom as they came to the road leading south towards his -home. - -"I say, Tom," he remarked in a low tone, "there's some mystery about -that fellow." - -"Well, if that's true," returned Tom, "let the future work it out. He -strikes me as a poor unfortunate who needs some help, and I'm going to -give it to him." - -"That's natural," retorted Ben, "you're always helping somebody." - -Tom rejoined Harry. The latter became more chatty now. He did not say -much about himself, but from what he did impart Tom surmised that he was -practically a tramp, picking up a living at odd jobs. - -"See here," said Harry, as Tom indicated the cheery lights of the old -Barnes homestead, "it won't put you in bad with your folks, will it?" - -"What do you mean?" - -"Lugging in a ragged stranger like me." - -"My mother will answer that," replied Tom with a smile, leading the way -around the house. - -His companion halted outside the kitchen door, as Tom sang out to a -portly bustling lady directing the operations of a hired girl. - -"Mother, I've brought some company home to supper." - -The kindly glance of the hospitable Mrs. Barnes swept the forlorn -refugee, clearly reviewed in the light streaming out across the -door-step. - -"Come right in," she said, with a genial smile of welcome. - -"It's Harry Ashley," explained Tom. "He may stay all night." - -"You arrange where he shall sleep, then, Tom. Go into the dining room, -boys. Father seems to be delayed in town, and we needn't wait for him." - -Tom did not regret the kindness he was showing to his new friend. When -he went to bed that night he felt that he had never passed a more -satisfactory evening. He had never seen a boy enjoy a meal as Harry -Ashley did that supper. It was enough to warm the heart of a stone, he -decided, to witness the happy comfort of Harry, as in the cozy sitting -room he showed the stranger his books, and some of the electrical toys -he had made for his young brother Ted. - -Harry looked around the airy attic with a smile of pleasure as he noted -a mattress filled with clean straw in one corner, a white coverlid and a -pillow. - -"Makes you think of home, doesn't it?" questioned Tom. - -"No, it doesn't," sharply, almost rudely, snapped out Harry, and then, a -slight moisture visible in his eyes, he added apologetically, "you've -touched a sore spot, Barnes." - -"I won't again," promised Tom gently. - -"That's all right," replied Harry in his usual offhand way. "When you -know me better I'll explain some things. I'll dream like a prince in a -palace to-night." - -Tom went to his own room. His head was pretty full with all the varied -and exciting events of the day. Of course wireless details predominated. -He went to sleep building in fancy the station for his friend, Ben, down -at his home. He woke up to the lively sound of whistling outside of the -house. Tom went to the window and looked out. - -Bright as a cricket, cheery and clean faced, Harry was surveying what -had been a jumbled-up mass of kindling the night before. He had piled it -up symmetrically and had swept up the last stray sliver of wood on the -ground. Over towards the vegetable beds was a five-foot heap of weeds -which his industry had collected. - -Suddenly the happy whistle ceased. Tom saw his father come out of the -house, stare at the strange boy, then at the evidence of his enterprise, -and smile grimly. Mr. Barnes hailed the boy. - -"You're the lad my wife told me about, I reckon," observed the farmer. - -"If you mean the boy she was so kind to, yes sir," promptly responded -Harry. - -"Who hired you?" demanded Mr. Barnes. - -"Who hired me?" repeated Harry in a puzzled way. - -"Yes, to do that," and Mr. Barnes' hand swept the woodpile and the weed -heap suggestively. - -"Oh, that's to pay for supper and lodging," explained Harry brightly. - -"Well, we'll count breakfast into the bargain," stipulated Mr. Barnes, -"and if you get tired doing nothing there's five hundred weight of grain -in the barn I'll pay you to grind." - -"You will?" cried Harry, his eyes sparkling. "Show it to me, will you, -please?" - -"Good for him," commented Tom. "He's the real sort, and he's got father -on his side all right." - -Kindness, attention and the prospect of work seemed to have wrought a -marvellous change in Harry. He little suggested the homeless forlorn -refuge of the previous night as he sat at the breakfast table. He was -lively and chatty, acting the pleasant chum with Tom, the grateful guest -to motherly Mrs. Barnes, and narrating comical experiences with amateur -farmers he had worked for to Mr. Barnes, keeping the latter in rare good -humor throughout the meal. - -About an hour later Ben arrived on the scene. - -"Say, Tom," was his first sprightly hail, "Father says I've been hopping -about like a chicken with her head cut off ever since I got up--and that -was five o'clock." - -"What's the trouble, Ben?" inquired Tom with a smile, guessing. - -"Fever--the wireless kind," chuckled Ben. "I've got five fellows down at -the old oak ready to give all day to helping me get the outfit in down -at my house. Say, Tom, give me the key to the tower and let me get that -box of trimmings Mr. Edson gave us, will you?" - -"I shall have to go on duty at the station soon, Ben," explained Tom, -"but here's the key. Get down to the oak right away, and I'll instruct -you how to dismantle my unfinished plant and start you in at your house. -Then at noon I'll give you another hour." - -"You'd better come right up to our house for supper, Tom," suggested -Ben, "and we can have two full working hours by daylight after you quit -work." - -"Very well," agreed Tom gladly. - -Never did a boy spend a more entrancing day than Ben Dixon. His helpers -at the blasted oak were delighted to climb like monkeys to remove the -spirals and wires from the old tree, and handle the queer contrivances -contained in the box Mr. Edson had donated. - -Harry Ashley spent the day between working about the farm, visiting the -scene of activity at the Dixon place, and limping up to the tower. - -Only some exchange test calls came to Station Z that day. Tom was -encouraged to find how quickly he could read them, and send the -necessary replies. - -Nearly every lad in the neighborhood was on hand that evening, when Tom -arrived at the Dixon place, and began to connect the various devices of -the wireless outfit. It took into the next day fully to adjust the -various parts. - -Ben was in a rare fever of excitement and expectancy the second evening -about seven o'clock, when Tom announced to him that the finishing -touches of the experiment were in process. - -"She's all there, Ben," he said triumphantly, as he drew smooth the -tinfoil tongues of the setts of the coherer. "I'll run down to Station Z -and give you a call to see if she works all right." - -Ben Dixon stood staring fixedly at the apparatus rigged up in a shed -running up to the spirals strung to tree tops near the old barn. Six -ardent watchers sat astride a bench, mouths agape and eyes bolting from -their heads, resembling lads awaiting the touching of a match to a -powder mine. - -Finally a thrill ran instantaneously from the metallic poles through the -vibrating parts of the apparatus. As one after another the boys listened -at the telephone-like receiver, they heard the tell-tale dots and -dashes. - -"Hurrah!" shouted Ben Dixon in a frenzy of wild delight. - - - - -CHAPTER VI--A TIP VIA WIRELESS - - -"This means business!" exclaimed Tom. - -What Mr. Edson had predicted had happened--a stray message that meant -something, the accidental discovery of news perhaps of vast importance -to the person for whom it was intended. - -The young wireless operator was a quick thinker. The call was for O-17. -Tom knew from hearsay where that station was located. - -Mr. Morgan had a large stock farm a little outside of a small hamlet -called Deepdale. That settlement had no telephone or telegraph service. -It was located nearly twenty miles from a railroad station and any -stranger sojourning there was temporarily outside of civilization so far -as communication with the world was concerned. - -Tom was aware of all this. He readily figured out as well why the -message had been sent per wireless to Station O-17. This was operated on -a high point of rocks directly on the coast outside of Deepdale. It was -one of a regular chain in the coast service. - -The sender in New York City had some reason for believing that Mr. -Morgan was at his stock farm and not at his home at Fernwood, near -Rockley Cove. It was imperative that he get in communication with him -within an hour. He had risked all on the message finding Mr. Morgan at -Deepdale. - -"Why, I met Mr. Morgan this morning in his automobile coming from the -direction of Deepdale," soliloquized Tom. "He must have changed his -plans. No delay now. This must be important." - -Tom trusted to his memory as to the subject matter of the wireless -message. As he hastily descended from the tower, however, he repeated it -over mentally to make sure he would not forget any salient point. - -"The message mentioned 'U. Cal.'," breathed Tom. "I can guess what that -means." - -To his way of thinking it meant "United Calcium." Only two days previous -in the Rockley Cove _Weekly Clarion_ Tom had read a bit of current -gossip about the present subject of his thoughts. - -The item had referred to some late investments of the retired -capitalist. It specifically cited the fact that "our esteemed townsman," -Mr. Walter Morgan, it was rumored, was negotiating for the control of -the stock of the United Calcium Company. The investment, it was stated, -would involve nearly a quarter of a million dollars of capital. - -Now it appeared the partner or business representative of Mr. Morgan in -New York City had discovered a flaw in the proposition, and had -anxiously and urgently wired for instructions. - -Station Z was just two miles from Fernwood, the summer home of the -Morgans. It lay directly on the ocean, and was a straight course. Tom -thought of Grace Morgan as he braced up for a vigorous walk. That was -quite natural, for they were good friends. He lamented that he was not -in very dressy shape to meet the dainty little miss, whom he would -probably find in the pink of perfection as to garb and appearance, as -she generally was. - -"Can't help it, this is business," decided Tom grimly. "Maybe I won't -meet her," he added hopefully. - -Tom undertook a big spurt of speed. As he came to Silver Creek, two -school chums getting ready to start fishing yelled at him. - -"Hey, Tom!" cried one mandatorily. - -"Yes, we want you," piped the other. - -"Can't stop," panted Tom, waving his hand, and speeding on as if he were -entered for a Marathon. - -"I've lost no time, that's sure," he decided as he passed the boathouse -at the end of the private pier belonging to Fernwood. - -Tom came to the terrace in front of the Morgan mansion. A fluttering -white dress attracted his attention from the front porch of the house, -and Grace came into view. - -"Why, Tom!" she said in a genuine friendly welcome. "Come up and sit -down. You look tired out." - -"Yes, been running hard," explained Tom, short-breathed and excited. -"Must see your father." - -"Father?" repeated Grace, quite surprised. - -"Yes, Mr. Morgan, is he at home?" - -"Why, no, Tom." - -"Where will I find him, then?" - -"Why, you are so excited, Tom!" - -"Reason to be," gulped Tom. "Please don't delay. It's important." - -"Papa just left in the automobile for Springville. There is a meeting of -bank directors there, he told me. There's the horn now." - -"Excuse me," said Tom hastily, and bolted unceremoniously around the -side of the house where the announcement from the automobile had echoed. - -Pretty Miss Morgan looked amazed, and tapped her daintily slippered foot -in a vexed way at the ungallant disappearance of her acquaintance. Tom, -however, did not wait for explanations. He had caught sight of the -Morgan automobile. It was just passing upon the roadway leading west -from the rear of the grounds. - -"Hold on--stop!" yelled Tom irrepressibly. - -The puffing of the newly-started machine apparently drowned out his -hail. The hood of the tonneau shut Tom out from sight of Mr. Morgan and -his chauffeur. - -Tom ran no farther after the rapidly-gliding car. He saw in a flash that -his only chance of stopping it was by a sharp swift dash diagonally to a -point where the circling road cut south. He speeded reckless of flower -beds and fences on his mission, flew heedless of mud and water through -an obstructing swale, and, breathless and pretty nearly exhausted, -gained the main-road. - -Honk! honk!--not a hundred yards distant the chauffeur sounded a warning -as Tom sprang into the middle of the highway, waving his arms violently -to call a halt. - -"What's this?" demanded Mr. Morgan sharply, as the chauffeur perforce -let the machine down to a dead stop. - -"I beg your pardon, Mr. Morgan----" began Tom. - -"Young Barnes?" observed the capitalist, with a surprised stare at Tom. - -"Yes, sir," hurried on Tom. "I have some important news for you." - -"Important news for me?" repeated Mr. Morgan vaguely. - -"Yes, sir." - -"Who from?" - -"Your partner, sir, or agent in New York City." - -"What?" cried Mr. Morgan. "How does it come through you?" - -"By wireless," reported Tom promptly. - -"Oh, I've heard something about your dabbling in that." - -"Can I speak before your chauffeur?" inquired Tom. - -"If you have anything to say, go ahead." - -"Well, sir," said Tom, "I caught a message sent to wireless station -O-17, up at Deepdale. It seems that the sender expected to reach you -there. His name appears to be Dunbar." - -"Yes, yes," urged Mr. Morgan impatiently, "I sent word I would be at -Deepdale until to-morrow, but changed my plans." - -"It was fortunate that I knew you were back," said Tom. "The message -seems important." - -"Out with it," ordered Mr. Morgan. - -"I think I can repeat it word for word." - -"Do so, then." - -"'Have a tip that U. Cal. cannot prove up on patents. News will be -public before night. Order your subscription cancelled before afternoon -session of Stock Exchange, or there will be a heavy loss.'" - -"Thunder!" - -Mr. Morgan jumped up fully a foot on the cushioned seat of the tonneau. -His face went white as chalk. He seemed about to spring from the -automobile. Then he jerked out his watch, fell back, and, trembling all -over, gasped out to the chauffeur: - -"Drive for your life to the telegraph office at Rockley Cove. Don't lose -a second!" - - - - -CHAPTER VII--GRACE MORGAN - - -Tom stepped aside quickly as the chauffeur set the power, and the -machine made a sharp jump. As it flashed around a curve bound townwards -Mr. Morgan leaned over the back of the tonneau. - -"I won't forget this, Barnes," he bawled loudly. - -"Good for the wireless!" exclaimed Tom, with a genuine flush of delight. - -He felt well satisfied with the exploit of the moment. He was flushed, -bedraggled and exhausted, but there was the thrill of a big action -accomplished and the utility of Station Z established. - -Tom glanced longingly in the direction of Fernwood and then at his -soaked shoes, and shook his head dolefully. - -"It won't do," he ruminated. "Grace is probably offended at me for -bolting away so unceremoniously, and I'll wait until I can make my -apologies in better trim." - -Tom kept a patch of timber between himself and the Morgan place, and -reached the beach road on a detour. He was summarily halted as he passed -the flight of steps leading up to the terrace. A silvery but peremptory -voice called out: - -"Stop there, Tom Barnes!" - -Grace Morgan came tripping down the steps a minute later. There was a -pretty pout of pettishness on her winsome face, and her eyes did not -look altogether pleased. - -"What do you mean by running away from me, sir?" she challenged, gaining -the side of Tom, and regarding him as if she was never going to forgive -him. - -"Business is my only excuse," explained Tom meekly. - -"You mean with my father?" - -"Yes----" - -"Did you overtake him?" - -"I am glad to say I did," replied Tom, "and I think your father is, -too." - -"What was it about?" - -Tom laughed evasively, - -"You must ask him that yourself." - -Miss Morgan looked mild daggers at Tom. - -"I never met such rude, unfriendly boys!" she declared. - -"Oh, there are more offenders than my poor humble self?" interrogated -Tom archly. - -"Yes, there are," declared the indignant miss. "Mart Walters has a -friend from Boston visiting him--Bert Aldrich. He made an engagement to -be here an hour ago with his gasoline launch. Gentlemen keep their -engagements!" concluded Grace with emphasis. - -Unconsciously Grace had walked along with Tom, much to his personal -pleasure. - -"Well, I'm glad," he observed. - -"Glad of what?" demanded Miss Morgan suspiciously. - -"Oh, everything," replied Tom bluntly, with a significance that caused -Grace to blush. "As to my own transgression," he went on, "as I told -you, I can't explain details, but I do not think your father would mind -my telling you that I brought him an important message from my -wireless." - -"Your wireless?" exclaimed Grace in a sprightly tone. "Oh, Tom, I heard -about that. Is it really true that you know how to telegraph all over -the world, and rescue sinking steamers, and catch fleeing criminals, -and--and all that?" - -Impetuous Miss Morgan had gone off in a rhapsody over the great -enthusiastic theme of Tom's mind, and he was truly delighted. - -"Well, hardly," he said. "You see, I haven't reached that yet. It may -come--I hope it does. That's why I'm sticking to it." - -"Can I come and see you do it?" implored Grace excitedly. "Can I come -into the tower and watch the messages come in, and see everything?" - -"I shall feel honored if you do," replied Tom proudly. "Ah, there's -another of those shells." - -Tom's foot had kicked up a pearly odd-shaped shell in the sand. He -stooped and secured it. - -"Oh, how odd and beautiful!" cried Grace. "Oh, Tom, can I have it for my -collection? I haven't one like it." - -"You certainly can," answered Tom gladly. "We call that the peach blow, -and it's pretty rare. I didn't know you were interested in shells." - -"I dote on them," declared Grace. "Oh, Tom!" - -From his pocket he had taken a handful of exquisite specimens of star -pebbles and shells he had gathered up within a week, and tendered them -for a choice to his pretty companion. - -They strolled on for nearly half a mile. Tom explained that he must get -back to the wireless station, but he could not resist lingering when -Grace sat down to rest on an upturned boat on the beach. She occupied -the time between admiring the pretty shells he had given her and -inquiring into the details of his work at the wireless tower. Tom was in -the midst of a description of some of the methods employed in sending -wireless messages, when he paused and glanced seawards. - -"There is your friend, Grace," said Tom. - -A natty gasoline launch was approaching the pier up-shore. Tom made out -two passengers, both of whom he recognized. One was Mart Walters. The -other boatman was at the wheel. Tom had seen him twice on the street of -Rockley Cove and knew who he was--young Aldrich, the friend about whom -Mart was so continually boasting. - -Grace Morgan glanced in the direction of the pier. Then, as if totally -uninterested in what was going on there, she turned her back upon it and -led an animated conversation with her companion. Tom kept facing the -pier. From the launch Aldrich finally leaped ashore, evidently made them -out, and leaving Mart in charge of the launch walked rapidly up the -beach. - -"I think I had better be getting back to the tower," said Tom, as the -newcomer neared them, - -"Don't be in a hurry, Tom," advised Grace, with a slightly malicious -twinkle in her eye. "Oh, you, Mr. Aldrich?" she added, arising with a -formal bow to the young man, who, arrayed in fancy yachting costume, was -quite a "swell" sight, indeed. - -She introduced them, but Mr. Aldrich was not inclined to make any -friendly advances towards a boy in common working clothes. He -deliberately turned his back on Tom, and began a conversation with -Grace. - -"Had we not better start out on our cruise?" he asked. - -"Why, I had forgotten all about it, quite," declared the wilful miss, -with an encouraging smile at Tom, which quite nettled the newcomer. - -"The water is very smooth," observed young Aldrich. "I am sure you will -enjoy it." - -"I regret it very much," replied Grace, "but I was ready an hour ago. It -is my time for musical practice now, and you will have to excuse me. -Don't hasten, Tom," she added, crossing over to Tom. - -"I think I had better be getting back on duty at the wireless station," -said our hero. - -"Wireless, eh?" young Aldrich condescended to observe at this juncture. -"In with that fad, eh?" - -"I am trying to make something more than a fad out of it," replied Tom -pleasantly. - -"Wire repairer or something of that sort?" intimated Bert Aldrich with a -supercilious stare at Tom's working clothes. - -"Indeed, no," flashed out Grace resentfully. "Tom is quite an expert, -aren't you, Tom? He has been telling me the most delightful and -fascinating things about the wireless. Oh, there is papa!" - -There was an abrupt lull in the conversation as the Morgan automobile -came down the beach road from the direction of Rockley Cove. Mr. Morgan -gave the chauffeur the signal to stop and leaped from the machine in an -excited way. - -The politic young Aldrich advanced to meet the capitalist, all smiles -and ceremony. Mr. Morgan almost brushed him aside, not even noticing the -extended hand. - -He went straight up to Tom, and his eyes glowed with friendly interest. -Mr. Morgan caught both of Tom's hands in his own and gave them a hearty -shake. - -"Barnes," he said, "I stopped to say just a word to you. I must get to -the city at once, but when I return I want you to come down to Fernwood. -I have something important to say to you." - -"Thank you, Mr. Morgan," bowed Tom courteously. - -"You have saved me much of my fortune," declared the capitalist in a -tremulous, grateful tone. "How shall I ever repay you? Going up to the -house, Grace?" he inquired of his daughter. - -"Yes, papa, it is my practice hour." - -With a bewitching smile for Tom and a crisp little nod to Bert Aldrich -the miss sprang airily into the car. - -"Oh, Tom," she called back to the young wireless operator, as she -mischievously noted the discomfited look on the face of young Aldrich, -"I won't be like some people--I'll be on time to-morrow to have you show -me all the wonders of that delightful wireless tower of yours." - - - - -CHAPTER VIII--QUICK ACTION - - -"Whew!" - -"Some storm, Tom!" - -"I shouldn't fancy many gusts like that last one." - -Station Z quivered like an eggshell in the hand of a giant. A loose -piece of wood from the roof of the operating cabin struck a sash, -demolishing two panes of glass, and the iron framework rocked to and fro -in the heaviest wind storm that had struck Sandy Point in years. - -Tom Barnes glanced anxiously at the delicate wireless apparatus which -shared sensitively in the pervading disturbance. His companion, Harry -Ashley, was looking around for something to fasten over the broken -window to shut out the driving rain. - -It was three days after the Morgan incident, and Tom was now fairly in -the wireless harness. It had been lowering weather all day, and Tom had -been glad that the rain had held off until Grace Morgan, who, with her -music teacher, had spent a delightful hour going over the wonders of -Station Z, had gotten home before the tempest broke. - -Tom had obtained his mother's consent to his remaining all night at the -tower. It was the current conviction among all coast wireless men that a -stormy night usually brought urgent and important service. A storm -generally meant distress of some kind at sea, and Tom wanted to be on -hand in case of emergency, as he had promised Mr. Edson. - -It was agreed that Harry Ashley should remain with him, and Mrs. Barnes -had put up a fine lunch. About five o'clock when the wind began to rise -with low rumblings of thunder in the distance and fitful gusts of wind, -Tom held eye and attention close on the apparatus, ready for what might -come. - -Within an hour, however, his thoughts, as well as those of his -companion, were mainly concerned in their own immediate environment. The -storm was not accompanied by very vivid lightning, but the wind had -risen to hurricane force. - -Just before dusk a particularly severe gust broke down a large elm tree -in sight. A little later a boat shed near the beach toppled over, and -the fragments were carried like kindling wood out into the hissing, -boiling surf. - -About half an hour after dark, Harry, at the window, had sounded a quick -alarm. - -"Tom!" he had shouted, "every light in the town has shut off in a -second!" - -This meant that the storm had carried down the electric supply line from -Springville. Tom thought uneasily of the folks at home. Then the -assaults of the high breeze on their aerial perch caused him to center -his attention on their own position, and be ready to save themselves if -collapse came. - -"Here, Harry, use this," ordered Tom, as his companion picked up a coat -to stop up the hole in the broken sash. - -Harry took the square piece of matting Tom tendered. He picked a hammer -and nails to secure it across the sash. About to set it in place, -however, he interrupted proceedings with a violent: - -"Hark!" - -"What's the matter, Harry?" questioned Tom. - -Harry held up a hand, warningly. He bent his ear keenly towards the -aperture. Then he turned to Tom. - -"Did you hear it?" he demanded. - -"Hear what?" - -"That shout--a cry?" - -"Wasn't it the wind?" - -"No, I am sure not. Come here. There it is again!" - -Tom ran to the window. Both held their breath in suspense. Both started -with intelligence and certainty now. - -A fearful echoing cry rose far above the whistling, shrieking storm--the -echo of a human voice. - -"Help! help! help!" - -"That's no imagination," declared Harry. - -"No, someone is in trouble," acquiesced Tom. - -"It's right down on the road running to the beach," said Harry. - -"Come on," urged Tom definitely, "we must investigate this." - -He seized a lantern and threw open the trap door. Harry was at his heels -promptly. A gust of wind and a forceful dash of rain nearly swept them -off their feet as they reached the ground. - -"Which way?" asked Harry quickly. - -"Hark!" interrupted Tom. - -Again the cry rang out. It was fainter, less emphatic than before, but -nearer. Tom could trace the point of the compass from which it came. He -ran in that direction, holding the lantern before him. - -"There he is!" cried Harry suddenly. "Don't run over him, Tom." - -Coming to an abrupt halt, both boys stared in startled excitement at a -human being on hands and knees making his way from the side of the road. -Near to him was a tangled mass of wreckage which had been a bicycle. Its -shattered skeleton covered a big flat rock, into which it had run to be -completely demolished. - -The recent rider was bareheaded, and from a wound in his temple the -blood trickled down over his face and hands. One arm was helpless, and -doubled up under him at every futile attempt at forward progress. - -"Why," shouted Tom, swinging the lantern forward so that its rays -covered the man, "it's Mr. Barton." - -"Tom--Tom--" quavered the man, looking up through half blinded eyes, -"quick--the doctor!" - -"What's that?" Tom challenged, keenly alive to the fact that Mr. -Barton's presence and condition signified some important circumstance. - -But the man with a groan fell flat, rolled over on his side, and lay -like one dead in the road. - -"Say, Tom, what shall we do?" inquired Harry in an awesome whisper. - -"We mustn't let this man die here, exposed to the storm. He may be -seriously injured." - -"It looks that way. I suppose he ran or was blown into that big rock -yonder." - -"Yes," nodded Tom. - -"What was he doing, though, out such a night as this on a bicycle?" - -"He said something about a doctor. Help me, Harry, we must get him under -shelter." - -"We can't carry him up into the tower." - -"There's the old tool shed. Ready?" - -"Yes, Tom." - -They managed to convey the insensible man to the dilapidated structure -Tom had mentioned. Its roof was like a sieve, and several boards were -missing from its sides, but it afforded some security from the tempest. - -Tom placed a pile of old bags under the man's head and set the lantern -near. - -"Do you know him, Tom?" asked Harry. - -"Oh, yes, he is almost a neighbor of ours. He runs a small truck farm -and has quite a family. Wet this, Harry, soaking." - -Tom gave his handkerchief to his companion, who went outside and -saturated it in a deep puddle. Tom washed the dirt from the face of the -injured man and tried to staunch the flow of blood. - -He listened at his heart and to his breathing, and lifted the limb that -seemed to have lost its natural power. - -"He breathes all right," reported Tom to his anxious companion. "His arm -is sprained or broken, though.", - -"We must get him home, Tom." - -"In this storm--with no conveyance?" - -"That's so. He might die, though, if we don't get a doctor." - -"He's coming to," said Tom suddenly. "Mr. Barton! Mr. Barton!" called -Tom gently. "Don't you know me?" - -The man opened his eyes, stared vaguely, and then tried to arise. He -fell back again instantly, however, with a moan of weakness. - -"No use!" he gasped. "My head is splitting and I've got no strength left -in me at all. It was a fearful shock, a header full force, and--the -doctor!" he shouted suddenly, almost in a scream. - -"What doctor, Mr. Barton?" inquired Tom solicitously. - -"From Rockville." - -"What about him?" - -"My child--dying!" wailed the man. "Dr. Burr, the only one in Rockley -Cove, is away." - -"That's so, I remember hearing of that," assented Tom. - -"Lights in town shut off, telephone lines all down--the doctor, quick!" - -With these last words pronounced in a painful gasp, Mr. Barton succumbed -and fell back unconscious again. - -"Tom, we've got to do something!" cried Harry, greatly worked up by all -that was happening. - -Tom's face showed the greatest anxiety and concern. The situation as -revealed by the disconnected utterance of the injured man was serious -and critical. - -Tom pictured the storm-swept village in his mind's eye--the lights out, -telephone service disrupted, and a father despairingly endeavoring to -get word to the nearest doctor, five miles distant. - -"Wait here, watch him," ordered Tom sharply, making up his mind what he -would do. - -"Can you do anything?" questioned Harry eagerly. - -"I'll try," replied Tom, starting in the direction of the tower. - -"The wireless!" cried Harry, his eyes snapping animatedly. - -"Yes." - -Tom was up the ladder and through the trap door in a hurry. He had his -plan, but its success depended on two circumstances: first, if Ben Dixon -was in reach of the amateur wireless outfit at the home nest; and -second, if the telephone circuit the Dixon home was on, which belonged -to a different system to that at Rockley Cove, was in working order. - -Tom speedily gave the call to the station at the Dixon place. He did not -wait for any response. He repeated the call briskly. Then he flashed off -the message he had in mind. Then he repeated the message twice. -Then--Tom waited. - -There was a lapse of nearly ten minutes. Tom began to consider that Ben -was not on duty. Suddenly there was a spitting crackle in the receiver. - -"O.K.," came the slow message. "Telephone all right. Reached doctor. On -way to Rockley Cove now." - -"Good!" cried Tom. - - - - -CHAPTER IX--STRICTLY BUSINESS - - -Tom's face was hopeful and pleased as he descended through the trap door -to the ground with his good news. - -"How is he?" was his eager inquiry, as he stepped inside the doorway of -the old tool shed. - -"He's just begun to move again," reported Harry, "but he has been -twisting about and moaning terribly." - -"Mr. Barton! Mr. Barton!" shouted Tom in the ear of their patient, as -the eyes of the latter opened and stared wildly at him. - -"I remember now," spoke Mr. Barton weakly. "It's Tom Barnes?" - -"Yes," assented Tom. "That's better," he added, as the man sat up. -"Don't give way again, Mr. Barton, it's all right." - -"What's all right, Tom?" - -"Good news. The doctor." - -"Yes! yes!" - -"I sent word to him." - -"How could you? The telephone lines are dead." - -"By wireless, to my friend, Ben Dixon, who runs a small station. He got -my message. Their telephone service is all right. The doctor is now on -his way to your home." - -"Oh, thank you, Tom, thank you!" cried Mr. Barton fervently. - -"That's great, Tom," commented Harry heartily. - -"I noticed a light in the nearest house yonder," proceeded Tom. "The -wind has gone down a good deal. Could you make it, do you think, Harry?" - -"You mean get to the house?" - -"Yes." - -"Why, of course." - -"Take your lantern so you won't run into anything or lose your way." - -"All right. What then?" - -"An old fish peddler lives there. Tell him of the fix Mr. Barton is in." - -"I understand." - -"And ask him to hitch up and try and get him home." - -"I'll do that," said Harry promptly, as he picked up the lantern and put -for the door. - -Tom urged hope and patience on his charge. The announcement that he had -succeeded in getting a doctor started for Rockley Cove had worked a -great change in the patient. He forgot his sufferings in his joy at the -knowledge that help was on the way to his dying child at home. - -It was about ten minutes later when there was a rattle of decrepit -wheels and a resounding call: - -"Whoa!" - -"We're here," reported Harry, springing from the peddler's wagon. - -Its owner had spread some blankets on the floor of the vehicle, making a -comfortable bed for the injured man. They lifted him into the wagon box -as carefully as they could. - -"How shall I ever thank you, Tom?" asked Mr. Barton gratefully. - -"Don't try," said Tom. "Just get home and get mended up, and I hope the -doctor is in time to save your child." - -Tom, left alone, returned to the tower. He felt well satisfied with the -way affairs were progressing. He had been able to demonstrate some -practicability to Station Z, and the fact encouraged him greatly. - -The storm had subsided considerably. The rain had ceased entirely, and -the wind came only in occasional gusts, diminishing gradually in their -violence. - -It must have been an hour later when Tom, almost dozing in his chair -before the operating table, gave a great start as a cheery signal -whistle rang out from below. - -"Ben," he soliloquized, quite glad to welcome a companion in his -loneliness. - -"I've come," announced his chum, appearing through the trap opening. -"Ugh! but it was a tough fight part of the way! I was nearly blown into -the surf once or twice." - -"What brought you out such a night as this?" challenged Tom. - -"Just what is keeping you here," retorted Ben; "the chance of something -exciting happening. Say, that message of yours has just stirred me up." - -"You got it all right?" - -"The first time. I expected there might be business such a night as -this, and kept watch for it. Our 'phone was all right, and I got the -doctor at once. He said he would start without delay for Rockley Cove." - -"I hope he made it," said Tom. - -"He must have, for he had the smooth sheltered turnpike to take, and the -storm is nothing much now. Our folks were delighted to think that our -toy telegraph, as they call it, did something really useful, and they -let me come down to stay all night." - -"I'm glad of it, Ben," replied Tom. "Harry will be back soon. We've got -a lunch mother put up for us, and we can make a pleasant night of it." - -"That's just famous!" - -Ben removed his wet jacket and took up a comfortable position in a -chair. Tom told of the injured Mr. Barton and what he had done for him. - -"I say, Tom," suddenly asked Ben, during the pause after they had -discussed current topics, "heard anything from Mr. Edson lately?" - -Tom's face fell instantly, as though the remark suggested some -unpleasant and disturbing subject. He looked quite anxious. - -"Yes, Ben," he replied, "I got a letter this morning. He will be here -to-morrow." - -"How's that?" - -"It seems he has made his arrangement to go into paid service on the -North Atlantic coast." - -"And he wants his money?" questioned Ben uneasily. - -"That's about it," answered Tom in a subdued tone. - -"Too bad!" murmured Ben. "You can't reach it any way, Tom?" - -"I'm afraid not," responded Tom. "As you know, my aunt wrote me -yesterday that she had everything invested. She said that the first of -the month she had some interest money coming in, and would send me a -hundred dollars as soon as it did." - -"But that's too late to do any good." - -"Yes," admitted Tom reluctantly. - -"Then you'll have to give up the station here?" - -"I'm afraid I will," answered Tom with a sigh. "I'll tell you frankly, I -felt pretty hopeful of getting the money from another source, but I'm -disappointed in that, too." - -"What source, Tom?" - -"Mr. Morgan." - -"Oh, yes! Well," declared Ben, "he ought to." - -"I am sure he would help me if he were at home," said Tom. - -"You did a big thing for him, Tom." - -"Mr. Morgan thinks that way himself. I am sure of it, from what he -said." - -"Maybe he will return to-morrow," suggested Ben. - -"Grace says he has business in New York until the end of the week." - -"Too bad!" exclaimed Ben. - -"Well, it can't be helped," said Tom philosophically. "I'll just have to -start in a more modest way. Mr. Edson is poor, and has got to realize -right off from his investment here, he wrote me. Just think of it," -added Tom, gazing about the room with longing enthusiastic eyes, "we've -got to give it all up, maybe the chance of a lifetime, because we can't -raise the money." - -"How much do you need?" challenged a sharp voice suddenly, bringing both -boys to their feet with a shock. - - - - -CHAPTER X--A YOUNG CAPITALIST - - -Harry Ashley stuck his head up through the trap opening, and climbed -into the room with the announcement: - -"Overheard what you said, so--how much do you want?" - -Tom only smiled. The idea of a money offer from Harry was amusing. Ben -assumed a mock gravity of manner with the words: - -"Give us a check right on the spot, I suppose?" - -"About that, if you don't want too much," answered Harry seriously. - -"We won't call on you just yet, Harry," said Tom. "What about Mr. -Barton?" - -"We got him home all right." - -"And the child?" - -"You've done a big piece of work with your wireless this night, Tom -Barnes," replied Harry, his eyes brightening. "We found the doctor at -the Barton home when we arrived. He got there just in time. Said half an -hour more and the patient would have been beyond help." - -"That's grand!" voiced Ben. - -"He's fixed up Mr. Barton's bruises. Says his arm is only sprained, and -that he'll be around as well as ever in a week. I wish you'd heard that -mother speak when they told her about what you had done in saving her -child." - -"With your help, remember that." - -"H'm," said Harry with a wriggle, and blushing like a school girl. "The -peddler has gone out into the country to bring a sister of Mrs. Barton -to the house, and I wanted to get back here. Now that Ben is here, it -seems jollier than ever. I must go to the peddler's house, though, and -tell his wife that her husband won't be home for an hour or two. I -promised him I would." - -"All right, Harry," said Tom briskly. "Then we'll have a little lunch." - -But Harry tarried. About to descend the ladder, he turned around with -the pertinent query: - -"About that money that had to be paid, or you'd lose the station here." - -"You heard about it, did you?" questioned Tom. - -"Didn't I tell you I did? Come, Tom, how much do you want?" - -"Supposing you knew, what good would that do?" - -"I may help you." - -Ben looked skeptical and grinned. Then, sobering down, he said: - -"Don't make fun of us." - -"I'm not." - -"It's serious enough as it is. Tom needs a hundred dollars." - -"Does he?" exclaimed Harry with animation. "Well, he can have it." - -"Who from?" - -"Me. One hundred? Oh, that's easy--awfully easy," declared Harry, as if -very much pleased. - -"I suppose you are ready to supply the amount, cash down?" said Ben. - -"On the nail head!" cried Harry, a ring of genuine confidence in his -tone. "See here, you fellows, you've been the truest chums I ever ran -across. I've got a hundred dollars, yes, nearly double that, and all -you've got to do is to take it." - -"I only want to borrow--until my aunt collects her interest money," said -Tom, half hopeful, half doubting that unexpected good fortune was about -to materialize. - -"Six months, a year--it's all the same to me," declared Harry gaily. -"I'd give it to you outright if--if I could," he stammered rather -blunderingly. "There you are." - -Ben in his stupefaction and Tom in wonder regarded the strange boy who -had so warmly won their friendship during the brief period of their -acquaintanceship. Harry had drawn off his rather threadbare coat. Then -he reached inside the shirt he wore. - -"Well, what next?" interrogated Ben, watching the movement curiously. - -"The hundred dollars, of course," pronounced Harry. "Think I'm fooling?" - -He had been fumbling with one hand inside his shirt. Something clicked -like a snap of a buckle. Then he drew into view a long snake-like -object. - -"A belt," murmured Ben. - -"That's right," nodded Harry. - -With a clang he landed it on the table. He beckoned to Tom and Ben to -approach. - -"I made that belt myself," he went on, with some pride in his tone. -"Looks like a sectional rattlesnake, eh? It's made out of snakeskin. -See, it's got pockets. This one," and Harry unsnapped a -button--"pennies." - -A dozen cent pieces rolled out. He gave them a peep into five other -similar pockets. - -"Nickels, dimes, quarters, half dollars," recited Harry. "Then this one -at the end--ten, twenty, forty, sixty, eighty, one hundred. There's your -money, Tom. I'll take your note when it's convenient." - -From a last compartment in the belt the speaker had produced a goodly -roll of banknotes. He counted off the bills with the flippancy and skill -of a bank cashier. Tom sat staring at the little heap that meant his -business salvation, fairly agape. - -"The mischief!" giggled the petrified Ben. "It's real money!" - -"Yes, and hard earned, and mine," said Harry. - -"But how, where----" - -"Did I get it?" smiled Harry. "Work, hard work, fellows," and there was -a mingled pride and fondness in Harry's voice. "That little heap means -over a year of hard knocks and close scrapings, before I had the typhoid -fever." - -A strange silence fell over the trio of chums. Harry had come into the -life of Tom and Ben in a strange way, and had won their confidence and -friendship from the start. He had become quite a fixture at the Barnes -homestead. Mr. Barnes had come to depend on him for an hour or two of -pottering around at odd tasks on the farm, and felt that his young -helper amply paid for his meals and lodging. At length Tom spoke, his -face flushed with pleasure. - -"You're a queer fellow, Harry," he said heartily, "and you are a good -fellow. You are willing to lend me this money?" - -"Willing?" repeated Harry. "Glad, honored, delighted. Is a hundred -enough?" - -"Yes, indeed." - -"All right, there it is. Don't you look at me in that leery way, Ben -Dixon," said Harry, with a chuckle. "I haven't been stealing anything. -That money is mine, all mine, and honestly mine. There is this much I -will tell you about it, though: it is a part of a certain amount I am -hoping to reach to pay a certain person." - -"Money that you owe?" ventured Ben, consumed with curiosity. - -"Yes, and no. I'm to save five hundred dollars," - -"Whew! that's a heap." - -"I'll reach it," declared Harry confidently--"in time. It's money that I -must repay." - -"That you borrowed?" - -"No." - -"Oh, that you took?" insinuated Ben, in his blunt, straightforward way. - -"No, sir! Do you take me for a thief?" cried Harry indignantly. "I'll -tell you this much more: I was living with a man I didn't like so very -much. I made up my mind to cut out from him. I wanted first to find some -papers of mine I believed he had in his possession. When he was away -from home one night, I took a lighted candle and made a tour of -investigation. I came across a pile of banknotes. A strip around them -said 'Five Hundred Dollars.' I went on searching for what I was after, -but didn't find it. When I turned around to take up the candle, the -drawer in which I had placed it was all ablaze. The banknotes were a -heap of crisp cinders." - -"Well!" ejaculated Ben. - -"I tell you I was scared," confessed Harry. "He was a close-fisted, -mysterious old fellow, and--well, I decided to get out. I left a note -telling the circumstances of the accident, and said that I would work my -finger nails off to earn that five hundred dollars and bring it back to -him, some day. I've been doing it ever since." - -"That's a remarkable story, Harry Ashley," said Ben, in earnest -admiration. - -Harry pushed the bills over to Tom, restored the belt to its place, and, -with the indifference of a millionaire, started for the trap door. - -"I must tell the peddler's wife about her husband's delay," he said. -"Glad to oblige you, Tom. I'll be back soon." - -Tom grasped the banknotes thoughtfully, and with an expression of -gladness and relief on his face. - -"What luck!" commented Ben. - -"I am awfully glad to get the money," said Tom, with deep feeling. -"Harry is a splendid fellow. It's only a loan, but think what it means -to me just at this time!" - -"There's something!" exclaimed Ben suddenly. - -"Hello!" said Tom, all attention at once to the clicks. Then his face -broke into a smile. - -"'Donner' again!" cried Ben. - -"After a lapse of two days," observed Tom. "Listen." - -The mysterious "spook" of Mr. Edson was in evidence once more. - -"He's getting along better," said Ben. - -"'Donner' tapped that out pretty fair. 'Lost boy.' What's that? 'Money' -again. Thousand dollars.' He's getting extravagant. 'Donner.' H'm!" - -There was a lapse. Tom laughed and Ben chuckled. "Donner" was a standing -joke now. - -"There, he's at it again," announced Ben a moment later. "'Donner. Lost -boy.' Yes, we've heard that before. Hello! here's something new." - -"Yes," nodded Tom, translating the message: "Lost boy named Ernest -Warren. Look out for sun, moon and stars on his left shoulder." - -"Wonder who the lost boy can be?" said Ben in a ruminative tone. - -They were soon to learn that--in a startling and unexpected manner. - - - - -CHAPTER XI--A GREAT STEP FORWARD - - -"Mr. Barnes, I believe?" - -"Yes, I am Tom Barnes," said the young wireless operator of station Z. - -Tom was in the old windmill tower, and had been tidying up generally. He -had just come from dinner, and was alone in the operating room. - -He had checked himself in the middle of a whistling tune to survey a -head and then the shoulders and body of a stranger, coming up through -the trap door. - -The intruder was a keen-eyed, sharp-featured man of about thirty, very -neatly dressed, and very erect and soldierly in his general appearance. - -He nodded briskly to Tom, crossed the room, and, uninvited, sank into -the nearest chair. - -"Glad I found you," he said, and then took a close survey of Tom and of -the furnishings of the room. "Heard about you at the town, and being -somewhat interested in these new-fangled wireless ideas, I thought you -wouldn't mind a casual visitor." - -"No, indeed," answered Tom readily. "I am only too glad to meet anybody -who is interested as to our little station here." - -"It's quite a plant," declared the stranger. "Tell me something about -it, will you?" - -An enthusiastic boy like Tom was only too ready to enter into a general -description of the parts and utilities of the apparatus. The stranger -listened intently, approbatively too, it seemed to Tom. He followed the -indication of Tom's finger as it pointed out this and that attachment of -the general operating device; and arose and looked closer as Tom -explained in detail and very clearly some intricate features of the -mechanism. - -"That's pretty interesting," voiced the man at length, "and you seem to -know your business." - -"Oh, I'm only a novice, a mere amateur," insisted Tom modestly. - -"What's that now?" inquired the visitor, reaching a careless hand very -near to the coherer. - -"Look out!" shouted Tom warningly. - -"What's the trouble?" calmly interrogated the man. - -"Danger. You'll get a hard shock if you touch that." - -"I'll be careful," pledged the stranger, and to Tom's amazement with a -deft expert touch he dislodged the cap of one of the glass tubes. "I -say, my friend," he added, gazing down into the cup critically, "you'd -get much better action if you'd mix in some fine brass filings here. The -old stuff is pretty well corroded." - -"I had noticed that," said Tom, "and have sent to the city for new -material." - -"There's another point worth your attention," resumed the man, pointing -up at the secondary circuit. "A double coil to that condenser would -strengthen your current." - -Tom stared at the speaker in a vague way. He was a good deal surprised -and also suspicious at the facility with which this avowed seeker for -information exhibited a profound knowledge of the very subject under -discussion. - -"You seem to know something about it," observed Tom. - -The man did not reply. He busied himself with a fixed and calculating -glance through the roof skylight up at the metal nets and spirals. - -"Very good," he said, half aloud, "and kept in very fair order, too." - -"I'm glad to hear you say it, Mr ----?" - -"I am expecting a friend who will introduce us," said the stranger, with -a peculiar smile. "Ah, there he is now." - -He moved to the window, and in quite a friendly fashion waved his hand -to an occupant of an automobile that had just driven up from the beach -road. - -Tom at once recognized it as the Morgan machine. Its owner alighted, and -a minute later came up the ladder. - -"Glad to see you, Barnes," he hailed cheerily, shaking hands with the -young wireless operator. "You didn't wait for me at the village as -agreed, Mr. Mason," he added, addressing Tom's guest. - -"I fancied I had better come on ahead and get an unprejudiced view of -the proposition," observed Mr. Mason. - -"Strike you all right?" intimated the magnate pleasantly. - -"Capital," answered the stranger with emphasis. - -"That's good. Barnes, this is Mr. Mason, inspector for the International -Wireless Company, of New York." - -"Oh," said Tom, a little dubiously and a trifle flustered. - -"I knew how you were interested in this wireless business, Barnes," -resumed Mr. Morgan, "and I spoke to my friend here of the independent -station you were running." - -"Which I wish to take into the service, you included," broke in Mr. -Mason in a clear, straightforward way. "I hear of some good work you -have done here. The location can be made an important one, and, if you -are ready for it, I'll talk business with you." - -"There is not much doubt about the utility of the station here," -observed Mr. Morgan. "Barnes saved me half my fortune through an -intercepted wireless. He has my unqualified recommendation and support, -Mr. Mason." - -"So you told me," returned the wireless professional in a brusque, -business-like way. "Practically you own the apparatus here, Mr. Barnes?" -he questioned. - -"Yes, sir," announced Tom. - -"Is there any lease on the site?" - -"You mean the old tower here?" - -"Yes." - -"No, sir. It belongs to the house that burned down about a year ago, and -is entirely out of commission as a windmill." - -"I see." - -"The man who owns the place gave Mr. Edson full permission to use the -old wreck free of charge as long as he liked." - -"The company would like a formal lease for two years. Do you think you -could arrange that?" - -"Oh, yes, I am sure of it," replied Tom. - -"Very well. Offer him a trifle--say fifty dollars for the term. Now -then, as to your outfit here. Would you be willing to turn over your -right and interest here to the company at a fair price, in consideration -of a contract for two years establishing you here as their accredited -operator?" - -Tom's face changed to all colors. His eye sparkled. - -"Mr. Mason," he said frankly, "you take my breath away!" - -The wireless professional smiled indulgently. Mr. Morgan rested a -friendly, encouraging hand on Tom's shoulder. - -"The equipment here," continued Mr. Mason, making a swift mental -calculation, "is not worth a great deal. The installation, however, cost -something. I shall recommend the company to offer you five hundred -dollars for the outfit." - -Tom gasped now. Business was business, and he realized that the -keen-faced man of affairs who was talking to him was too shrewd to throw -anything away or buy a bad bargain. For all that, he was fairly stunned -at the good fortune that had come to him. - -"I will be glad to do as you suggest," he said, choked up from varied -emotions. - -"Good!" cried Mr. Mason. "The papers will be sent to you soon as I can -report to headquarters. In the meantime, you can negotiate for the lease -we spoke about I will have a contract forwarded to you, accompanying -full instructions as to your duties as our representative." - -"What will you pay Barnes?" inquired Mr. Morgan, a practical business -man on all occasions. - -"Sixty dollars a month," was the reply. - -"Don't fall off your chair, Barnes!" laughed Mr. Morgan, "You're going -to reach bigger things than that in the wireless line, I predict." - -"There was one thing," said Tom a little anxiously; "I have a friend, a -chum, who knows almost as much as I do about the business." - -Mr. Mason took out his memorandum book. - -"What is his name?" he inquired. - -"Ben Dixon." - -"Very good. We'll start him with a commission as substitute and relief -man. I intended to send one of our men for the shift, but if you think -this young Dixon can do the work, I will recommend him." - -"I am sure of it," declared Tom. - -"Good-bye, Barnes," said Mr. Morgan, as he and his companion prepared to -leave the tower. "I have a little something I wish to add to your bank -account when you come up to the house again." - -"Please don't mention such a thing, Mr. Morgan," pleaded Tom. - -"And, remember, call on me as a ready friend whenever I can help you in -any way," went on the gentleman; and then he and Mr. Mason went away. - -"My!" was all Tom could say when he returned to the tower, and flung -himself into a chair in a dazed, overwhelmed way. "My! it all seems like -a dream!" - - - - -CHAPTER XII--"SUN, MOON AND STARS" - - -"The Mercedes in the lead," announced Ben Dixon. - -"All right," returned Tom Barnes. - -The buzzer was going merrily; Tom was on his professional mettle and -thoroughly enjoying himself. He was tallying off the information shouted -down in sections through the tower skylight by his faithful assistant. - -Ben, astride a cross arm beam of the old windmill, balanced an elongated -telescope seaward focussed on several yachts engaged in a race. - -It had been part of the day's instructions received that morning from -headquarters for the operators at Station Z to watch out and announce -the order in which the yachts passed Rockley Cove. The information was -wanted for newspapers and persons interested at the starting point of -the race. The names and pennant colors of the various craft had been -furnished to Tom, and Ben was able, with this basis to work from, to -report like an expert. - -"_Druid_ second," he announced sharply two minutes later. - -The entire flotilla had passed within half an hour, and Ben descended -into the operating room. - -"That was easy and pleasant," he observed. - -"Say, Tom, we've got a dandy plant here, and no mistake." - -Tom replied by nodding in a gratified way, and glancing with pride and -approval at the well-ordered equipment about him. - -Tom was now a duly authorized operator in the service of the -International Wireless Company. Mr. Mason had carried out the plans -outlined during his original talk with Tom, and that rising young -wireless operator was now working on instructions and a liberal salary, -and had over five hundred dollars in the bank. - -Mr. Morgan had insisted on Tom accepting a check for two hundred dollars -as a slight recognition of his service in respect to the United Calcium -securities. - -What pleased Tom most of all, however, was that he was given the -privilege of employing extra help when in his judgment the same was -required, and Ben was put in a way to earn many a welcome dollar. - -Station Z was not in the regular service. It was maintained by the -International Wireless Company as a sort of demonstration station. The -object was to do little commercial business, but to pick up important -messages sent in cases of emergency. The purpose of the company was to -demonstrate to the general public the chance utility of an isolated -station. - -Tom had paid Mr. Edson the hundred dollars, he had secured the lease of -the station site, had returned to Harry Ashley the money borrowed from -him, and was a happy, hopeful enthusiast, every day learning more and -more concerning the wonderful wireless. - -He sat back in his chair now, comfortable and at ease, with the -satisfaction of a person understanding his business and doing his duty. -Ben swung back luxuriously in a hammock they had rigged up in one corner -of the room. The sunshine was bright, the air balmy, the sea -refreshingly blue and cool looking, and both boys enjoyed the acme of -comfort and satisfaction. - -"I say, Tom," began Ben lazily, after a spell of indolent rest, "what -about that letter? Did you bring it?" - -"Oh yes," answered Tom, feeling in the pocket of his coat. "Here it is." - -Ben took a mussed-up envelope from the hand of his chum. It was directed -in crooked, printed letters: "mister tom barns." - -"I found it stuck under our front door last night, as I told you," -recounted Tom, and Ben perused the enclosed sheet covered with -straggling words and sentences, and read it aloud: - - "Warnin to tom barns, keep yure own turtory, - or it'l be the worst fer you and yer frens. - sined: the Black Kaps." - -"Sort of blood-curdling, eh, Ben?" mused Tom. - -"It don't scare you one little bit?" - -"Not a particle." - -"What does it mean?" - -"Why, Ben, the only way I can figure out, is that the so-called Black -Caps are in active operation again." - -"Phew!" observed Ben, and fell into a prolonged fit of musing. Both he -and Tom were quite familiar with the past operations of that sinister -concern. Like all country communities, Rockley Cove had some -undesirables. Over the village line, in fact, between it and the -residence of the Morgans, was a little community of fishermen whose -social condition was not very high. - -One particular family with numerous branches was quite notorious. The -name was Barber, and the younger members of the family constituted an -uncouth and troublesome set. They and some neighboring lads formed what -they called a secret society called the "Black Caps." They soon became -the terror of adjoining communities. - -Out of pure perversity they stole fishing nets and tackle, robbed -farmers' hen roosts, and dismantled yachts and yawls. When these -pilferings were brought home to them, they destroyed fishing outfits, -scuttled boats, and burned down several haystacks. Six of them were -finally arrested, and among the witnesses against them were Tom and Ben. -The young desperadoes, who had established a dead line over which few -Rockley Cove boys dared to venture, were locked up in the county jail -for thirty days and in addition their parents had to pay fines for them. - -All this had happened about a year before Station Z was started. The -Black Caps had been disrupted, it seemed, and Tom had heard little of -the Barbers for some time. If they continued their former marauding -course, it was in some new territory, for they neither noticed nor -molested any more Rockley Cove boys or property. - -Now, however, the old-time tactics so common in the past had been -revived, it seemed, as witness the warning note Tom had received. It was -over this that Ben was cogitating. Finally Tom expressed an opinion. - -"I can't account for any fresh antipathy on the part of the Barbers," he -said, "unless it is because they see me going down to Mr. Morgan's once -or twice a week." - -"I'll bet that's it," exclaimed Ben. "You generally take the cut inland -near the settlement, don't you, Tom?" - -"Nearly always." - -"That must be it, then. They think you are sort of watching -them--invading their territory, as they call it. I don't think, though, -they would cut up very rough with you." - -"Why not?" - -"Well, Bill Barber said before he got out of jail you had made up for -telling what you had to tell against him, by pleading with the judge to -let them off light for a first offence." - -"I shall not lose any sleep over the terrible warning," laughed Tom -lightly. - -"I'd take the beach road when I went up to see Grace Morgan, though, if -I were you," suggested Ben. "Talking of something else, Tom, have you -said anything to Harry along the 'Donner' line?" - -"Not a word. Our mysterious spook seems to have given up his erratic -messages." - -"That name, 'Donner,' struck Harry all of a heap, just the same." - -"Well, he's a fine fellow, and I'm not going to pry into his secrets." - -"I wonder what old 'Donner' was after, anyhow?" observed Ben, "with his -mysterious 'messages,' and his 'thousand dollars.'" - -"And the boy with the sun, moon and stars on his left shoulder," smiled -Tom. - -No orders had come to Station Z for work that night, and at five o'clock -the boys locked up the tower. They parted when they reached the village, -Ben taking the road south and Tom proceeding homeward alone. - -He was up in his room changing his working clothes, when his mother -appeared at the bottom of the stairs to tell him that Ben Dixon was on -the telephone. - -"Ben wants you to call him up before you go out to-night," advised Mrs. -Barnes. - -"All right," sang down Tom. - -He forgot all about Ben when he came downstairs, full of his plans for -the evening. Grace Morgan had invited him down to Fernwood, so Tom had -asked his mother to give him an early supper. Then, in the bustle of -getting a lift as far as the crossroads in a passing rig, he left the -house in a great hurry, and never thought of his chum again until he -left the wagon. - -"I won't go back," decided Tom. "It can't be anything very particular -Ben wants to see me about. I've got plenty of time, too, and can stroll -around his way before I go to see Grace." - -Tom passed down the winding road, but on the way ringing boyish shouts -beyond a thicket caused him to deviate from his course. As he came to -where a fringe of shrubbery lined the banks of Silver Brook, he nearly -ran into a man who stood peering past them at a merry group of boys -sporting in the sparkling waters of the stream. - -There was so much that was ill-favored in the face of the man, something -so sinister in his pose, that it suggested to Tom the lurker with a -purpose. Tom halted and regarded the man closely. Then he peered past -him at the group sporting in the water. - -Their leader was Harry Ashley, and he was in great evidence. At just -that moment he was giving them a specimen of rapid hand over hand water -climbing. His admiring friends cheered as Harry made a marvelous dash of -some fifty yards, described a disappearing dive with wonderful -dexterity, and, coming to the surface, landed on a rock not twenty feet -away from the observing stranger and Tom, and stood shaking the water -from hair and face. - -"Ah-h!" suddenly exclaimed the strange man, craning his neck, losing his -balance, falling flat; and then, discovering Tom, he scowled at him, and -suddenly disappeared in the underbrush. - -"The mischief!" ejaculated Tom, as he too glanced at Harry. - -The back of the latter was towards him. Tom experienced a queer thrill -as he saw what the stranger had also seen. - -Upon Harry Ashley's left shoulder, plainly tattooed, was a sun, a moon -and some stars! - - - - -CHAPTER XIII--THE BLACK CAPS - - -Harry Ashley, all unconscious of the fact that he was under inspection -from others than his aquatic comrades, gave a yell and dove away from -the rock. - -"Here's something to think about!" said Tom in startled wonderment. "Ben -was right--Harry is a boy with a mystery, just as he said." - -Tom's first impulse was to advance among the noisy crowd of swimmers, or -linger under cover and intercept Harry when he started for home, and -challenge him for some explanation. - -Then it occurred to him that he had no right to pry into Harry's -secrets. At first the case looked strange and grave. At second thought, -however, it occurred to Tom that the discovery of the fact that a man -whom they called "Donner" was supposedly seeking a certain Ernest -Warren, and that Harry Ashley fitted into the affair because he had -tattooed marks on his back, was not such an important circumstance after -all. - -Presumably this wireless operator was the man whose five hundred dollars -Harry had accidentally burned up. This set Tom thinking on a new tack. - -"'Donner' is certainly very anxious to find Harry, if he really is this -Ernest Warren," mused Tom. "He seems willing to pay money to find him. -What for--to punish him? Hardly. Then something of importance may have -happened to change the face of affairs, and if this would be of any -benefit to Harry he ought to know about it. I know what I'll do--I'll -get down and tell Ben what I have discovered, and we'll decide together -what is best to do in the case." - -Tom started to leave the spot. He glanced all about for some trace of -the sinister appearing lurker he had seen watching the swimmers, but -found none. - -"Maybe I am just imagining that fellow was particularly interested in -Harry," ruminated Tom. "He is probably some strolling tramp, and was -casually watching those antics in the water." - -Tom glanced at his watch. It was two miles over to the Dixon place. It -was fast getting on to dusk. Tom calculated that he would reach the farm -by dusk, have half an hour to spare with Ben, and reach the Morgan -mansion by eight o'clock. He had changed his plans since leaving home, -his original purpose being to arrive before nightfall at the Morgan home -while there was enough daylight left to play a game of tennis with -Grace. - -It was a short cut to the Dixon place by taking a road through the -woods, and Tom kept on planning how he would utilize the moments until -he reached Fernwood, and anticipating the usual pleasant time he always -had with pretty Grace Morgan. He was just thinking how happily and -usefully life was rounding out for him, when there came an abrupt -interruption to his pleasing reverie. - -Just as he was passing a thick copse where the road turned and high -trees on either side shut the highway into dimness and obscurity, there -was a rustle in the underbrush. - -"Halt!" - -A form stepped into view suddenly. It was that of a boy. In his hand he -poised a long pole sharpened at the end. This he directed straight at -Tom. - -"Halt!" - -A second figure came quite as magically into view. Then a third, a -fourth, a fifth and sixth, and the astounded Tom stared vaguely at a -perfect circle formed about him by the sextette. - -"Why," he began, turning in a ring and discovering that each one of the -group wore a sable-lined hood over his head with slits cut in for eyes, -nose and mouth, "I understand now--the Black Caps." - -"That's right," responded a voice from behind one of the masks, -disguised into great gruffness. "March!" - -"March where?" demanded Tom, a half amused smile on his face. - -"Don't fool," spoke a second voice quickly. "Get him under cover." - -"Yes, someone may come along," spoke another of the masked crowd. - -"Now!" - -The leader of the gang gave the order. His coterie was well trained. To -a man they dropped their spears to the ground, and made a general rush -for Tom. - -"Hold on, Bill Barber!" said Tom, as he was seized by five pairs of -sturdy hands. - -"Bill Barber isn't here," declared the former gruff voice. - -"What do you want of me, whoever you are?" demanded Tom. - -"You come along and see." - -"I will not," retorted Tom. - -He struck out with his fists and laid two of his assailants low. They -were promptly on their feet. Then the united strength of the group was -exerted to seize and throw our hero down. He found his arms and feet -securely bound by strong ropes. - -"Someone is coming," spoke one of the crowd sharply. - -"Rush him," ordered the leader. - -Tom set up a loud shout. - -"The gag," came the quick command. - -Tom's outcry was hushed in an instant by the application of an elastic -band fastened to a padded stick, which was tightly pressed between his -lips. He was lifted bodily and carried away from the road just as a -wagon rattled past the spot where he had been confronted by the gang. - -The members spoke not a word as, bodily lifting their captive, they bore -him helpless on their shoulders through the woods. They proceeded a -quarter of a mile, finally halting at a low structure which Tom -recognized. - -It was the abandoned hut of a man who had passed a hermit-like existence -in the densest part of a thicket. Tom was carried inside and placed on -the broken floor of the hut, which was covered with dead leaves. - -"What's the orders, chief?" asked one of the crowd. - -A whispered reply that Tom could not over-hear led to five of the party -filing out of the hut like trained soldiers. The sixth, the leader, -remained behind for half a minute. - -"We're coming back soon," he said. "We'll bring a skull and cross bones -when we do. If you'll swear on 'em never to cross our dead line again, -maybe we'll leave you go this time. If you don't----" - -The speaker aspirated a long low hiss and ground his teeth tragically. -Then he, too, disappeared. - -Tom had ample time for reflection as he lay alone in the darkness. He -could not figure out what the Black Caps were up to. The whole -proceeding was freakish, and carried along in the most heroic style of -juvenile roysterers aping pirates and outlaws; yet Tom believed there -was some definite motive underlying it all. What it was he could not at -the moment decide. - -A half hour passed by. The Black Caps had apparently retired to a -distance. Then the crackling of dry twigs outside the hut announced the -approach of someone. - -"Hello, there, Tom Barnes!" spoke the owner of a head thrust past the -open doorway. - -Tom at once identified the tones. They belonged to Mart Walters. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV--TURNING THE TABLES - - -"This is getting interesting--I think I am beginning to understand this -affair," murmured Tom amid his helpless discomfort. - -Mart Walters stepped into the hut. He felt about with his feet, and even -groped with his hands. As one toe touched the prostrate Tom the visitor -came to a stop. - -"We'll have a little light on the subject," he observed, drawing out a -cigar lighter. Mart fancied it was "mannish" and grand to exhibit this -appurtenance when he lit a cigarette. He snapped a light and held the -flame over Tom. Then he extinguished it, and stooping unsnapped the gag -from the captive's lips, letting it drop under his chin. - -Mart had not spoken to Tom since the day of the ducking at the creek. -Twice Tom had met him in Rockley Cove, and had nodded to him pleasantly. -This courtesy had been rewarded with a malevolent scowl. It was -evidently still in the mind of our hero's enemy to "get even" with him. - -More than once Tom had seen Mart on the Fernwood pier or in the powerful -launch with the elegant young swell, Bert Aldrich. Several evenings Tom -had passed at the Morgan mansion at little social gatherings of Miss -Grace and her friends. On these occasions, however, Aldrich and his -satellite had made a point to cut Tom direct. Tom had not minded this in -the least, for Grace had laughed outright at such ridiculous manoeuvres. - -Tom now instantly made up his mind that the present episode had -something to do with his visits to Grace. Mart was not above mean -plotting, and his supercilious friend, Bert Aldrich, had always struck -Tom as an unpleasant cad. - -"There's only just about five minutes to spare, Tom Barnes," spoke Mart -smartly. - -"For what?" demanded Tom. - -"For me to save you." - -"What from?" - -"The Black Caps." - -"You train with them, do you?" interrogated Tom. - -"Who, me? No, indeed!" answered Mart. "It's this way: I'm your friend." - -"Go ahead, Mart." - -"The Barbers don't like you any too well. They think the best way they -can beat your game is to keep you from coming here." - -"Coming where?" challenged Tom specifically. - -"Well, down to the Morgan place. They don't want you sneaking around -anywhere near them." - -"Oh, that's it, is it?" observed Tom. - -"I overheard their talk. They've gone to get some tar and feathers. -They're going to muss you up bad. I know them pretty well." - -"I see you do," remarked Tom, significantly. - -"Oh, I don't mean that I chum with them, or anything like that," -corrected Mart, in a flustered manner. "But, I have--why, -well--influence, that's it, with them. Then again, I'm interested -personally." - -"How are you interested?" inquired Tom. - -"Well, I'll just be plain with you. My friend, Bert Aldrich, is sweet on -Grace Morgan, and you've spoiled it." - -"Indeed," said Tom simply. - -"He thinks you have prejudiced Grace against him, and he's mad as a -hatter about it. See here, she isn't your class. You know she -ain't--half a million, classy family. Why, you're poor. Then again, -she's going south soon, and when she gets into society she'll have to -meet Bert and his family, and take up with him again--see?" - -"Get along, Mart," railed Tom, "you're progressing finely." - -"I'll save you from the Black Caps if you'll agree to keep away from -Grace Morgan. There's the straight of it. What do you say?" - -"I say no," responded Tom promptly. - -"You won't do it?" - -"Hardly." - -"You'll be sorry." - -"All right." - -"Suppose--suppose Bert gives you fifty dollars, will you keep away?" - -"Say, Mart," observed Tom, quietly, but with force, "you're too cheap. -Grace Morgan is worth a million, if she is worth a cent. You can't scare -me off nor buy me off. She's a dear little lady, my good friend, and I -wouldn't give up her company under any circumstances as long as my -coming seems to please her." - -"Rot you!" shouted Mart, fairly infuriated at the failure of his -cherished schemes. "I've a good mind to kick you. I'll do it, yes, I -will----" - -"Stop there, you miserable scamp!" - -"Let go!" - -"Speak another word, and I'll half choke the life out of you!" - -"Ben!" murmured Tom gratefully. - -A form had flashed through the doorway. There was the sound of a -struggle, a thud, as Mart Walters' body struck the floor. - -"I'm sitting on him, Tom," announced the newcomer. "Lie still, or I'll -knock you silly. Where's that gag, Tom? I've got it." - -Tom felt the hand of his friend grope in the dark and remove the gag -from under his chin. Then, from the squirmings and splutterings of Mart, -he knew that Ben had silenced him effectually. Next, Ben whipped out his -pocket knife, and the ropes holding Tom a prisoner were severed. - -"Trim and tidy," reported the diligent Ben as he helped Tom to his feet. -"I've gagged him and tied him for keeps. Come outside." - -"Why, how in the world did you happen to come along in the nick of -time?" propounded Tom, wonderingly. - -"Never mind that now. You do just what I tell you to do. You were bound -for Morgan's?" - -"Yes." - -"Get there, then. I'll come along a little later. I've got something -else to do hereabouts." - -"But Mart, here?" - -"He'll be taken care of, never fear," retorted Ben with a chuckle. - -"And the Black Caps?" - -"You forget all about it till I see you later," insisted Ben. "There -will be quite a story to tell. Don't spoil it by hanging around here. I -know my business. Go along." - -Tom did as directed. He could guess that there was some motive in his -chum's insistence. He rearranged his disordered attire, left the spot, -and half an hour later had followed Ben's directions, having indeed -forgotten everything except that he was seated on the Morgan porch with -charming Grace as his companion. - -"What is that?" exclaimed Grace suddenly. - -Tom arose quickly to his feet at the startling inquiry. The light from -the front rooms illumined the porch, but beyond the shadows were vague -and dim. Amid these, Tom, peering, discerned some bustling forms. - -He moved towards the button controlling the electric lights at either -side of the pillars at the steps. Just as he pressed it, ear-splitting -sounds rang out. - -"The Black Caps!" exclaimed Tom, as he recognized his recent -persecutors. - -"Oh, what are they here for?" cried Grace, timidly clinging to Tom's -arm. - -"Fire him, men!" - -A struggling form in the grasp of the six young outlaws was forcibly -propelled forward, landed on the porch steps and rolled over on the -gravel walk. - -"Cut for it!" came the sharp mandate. - -The Black Caps vanished as if by magic. Tom stared hard. Grace, -trembling with excitement, gazed vaguely at the figure arising to its -feet. - -"Why," she faltered, catching sight of the terrified face of the -unwilling visitor, "it is Mart Walters!" - -It was Mart, indeed, and he was a sight. From head to foot loose -fluttering feathers waved ghost-like in the night breeze. Mart was not -bound now, but the gag was still in his mouth. He cast one appalled -glance at Grace and Tom, tore the gag loose and uttered a shrill yell of -rage and chagrin. Then, throwing his hands above his head, he, too, -disappeared. - -"What does it all mean, Tom?" quavered Grace with a bloodless face. -"There--there is somebody else!" - -She shrank back anew with the words. - -"It's all right," Tom reassured her. "It is Ben Dixon." - -Ben, smothering a laugh, came up the steps, lifting his cap and smiling, -his eyes twinkling. - -"The biter bit, the tables turned, Miss Grace," he said. - -"Ben, explain what it all means," pleaded Grace. "Tom won't." - - - [Illustration: "WHY," SHE FALTERED, "IT IS MART WALTERS!"] - - -"It's like him not to," declared Tom's staunch chum. "I got a hint from -a friend early in the evening that the Barber boys were on the rampage. -I missed Tom by 'phone and started to intercept him on his way here, -when I ran across the crowd talking with Mart Walters. I learned the -whole scheme, and followed Walters to a hut where the gang had -imprisoned Tom, and--well, I set Tom free and tied and gagged Walters in -his place." - -"What for?" questioned Grace. - -"To give him a needed lesson," answered Ben promptly. "When the crowd -returned I suppose they had arranged if Walters didn't come back to them -they were to 'fix' Tom, as they called it. Two of them carried a feather -bed. Two others carried pails of soft soap. It seemed they intended to -use tar, but couldn't get any. They ripped open the bed, deluged Walters -with the soap, mistaking him for Tom, rolled him in among the feathers, -and--you saw him. They never got onto the fact that it was the fellow -who had hired them who got the dose they intended for Tom." - -"Why did he hire them?" inquired Grace. - -"Because that Aldrich cad plotted with Walters to scare Tom away from -coming here to see you," explained Ben bluntly. - -Grace Morgan's eyes flashed. A flush of real anger came into her cheeks. - -"Mart and Mr. Aldrich did that?" she cried. "Oh, they shall never come -into this house again." And on hearing this Tom Barnes felt rewarded for -all the tribulation he had gone through that night. - - - - -CHAPTER XV--AN UNEXPECTED RESCUER - - -"Have you spoken to Harry yet, Tom?" inquired Ben, two days after the -overturning of the plots of Mart Walters and his city friend, Bert -Aldrich. - -It was the middle of the afternoon, and things wireless had been slack -at Station Z ever since morning. Tom turned from his chair at the window -where he had been dreamily surveying the open sea. - -"No, Ben," he replied a little gravely. "I came near doing it last -night, but I didn't know but it might worry him, or make him think I was -trying to pry into his personal business." - -"I tell you, Tom, I think Harry ought to be told about the mysterious -'Donner' messages, and asked to explain about the tattooed sun, moon and -stars on his left shoulder." - -"I fancy he's about through with his task in the pasture by now," said -Tom. "Supposing you go up to the house, get him down here, and we'll try -to introduce the subject so it won't frighten or bother him." - -"All right," assented Ben with alacrity, and was forthwith on his way. - -Tom resumed his place at the window. His back was to the road running up -from the beach to the village, and he was not aware of an unexpected -arrival from that direction until a man's voice sounding within the room -hailed him. - -"Hey, boy, who's in charge here?" - -"I am," answered Tom, turning to confront two men who in turn entered -the tower by way of the trap door. They were strangers in Rockley Cove, -and Tom did not at all like their looks. The man who had accosted him -had a sharp, hard eye. His companion was furtive-faced, and suggested a -person constantly on the watch. - -"We want to send a message," the former proceeded. "In cypher." - -"Where to?" inquired Tom. - -"The man pointed seawards." - -"To a ship?" - -"Yes, to the _Councillor_, bound for Canada." - -Tom shook his head discouragingly. - -"You will have to go to Station O at Deepdale. This is only a -demonstration plant, and I have no orders to take commercial business," -explained Tom. - -The man drew out a pocketbook. - -"See here," he said, "I'll give you ten dollars to send the message." - -"I'm sorry, but it's against the rules." - -"Jackson, do it yourself," spoke the other man quickly, pressing close -to his companion's side. - -"I'm out of practice." - -"Oh, you can manage it." - -"Hold on, there. I can't allow any interference with the apparatus -here," said Tom, stepping in front of the first man as he started over -towards the operating table. - -"Can't, eh?" sneered the man. "Well, you'll have to. Keep him quiet, -Griffin." - -"I've got him," announced the man addressed. - -He had caught Tom by the wrist. As the latter struggled to free himself, -his captor dragged him toward a closet in one corner of the room. - -Its door stood open. The closet was oak framed, built into the wall of -the room, and had a stout door with a small circular slit in it. Mr. -Edson had utilized it to lock up things he did not wish to leave lying -around loose, when he left the tower at night. Tom had used it as a -storeroom for surplus parts of the wireless outfit. - -It had a strong padlock. The man threw Tom in roughly, secured the -padlock, and then went up to the table. His companion was closely -inspecting the apparatus. - -"I'm at home at the regular key," he said. "I don't know whether I can -work this, though." - -"Of course you can," urged the other. "Get ready. I've got the cypher -key and the message right here," and he took two sheets of paper from -his pocket. - -Tom was helpless. He could not possibly force the heavy door of the -closet from its fastenings. Shouting would do no good. If he attempted -it, his jailers would probably treat him roughly, for they were -vicious-looking fellows. Tom hoped for the return of Ben and Harry, or -the arrival of someone else to interrupt the man at the table. Meanwhile -he was on the keen alert as to all that individual was doing. - -The minute this man got his bearings, he started in with confidence. Tom -learned that he was flashing a message to the steamer _Councillor_, -bound from New York to Halifax. In plain English, the operator on the -_Councillor_ was instructed to deliver a message to a passenger -answering to the name of Daniel Ritchie. The message itself was a lot of -private code-words, utterly unintelligible to Tom. - -The sender repeated the message and got up from the table. - -"Hit or miss, that is the best I can do," he remarked. - -"Hit or miss, you've done all that could be expected of you," remarked -his companion. "What are you going to do with him?" questioned the -speaker, with a shrug of his shoulders towards Tom's place of -imprisonment. - -"Oh, leave him where he is. We want a start, and someone will come along -to let him out. So long, son. You might have made ten dollars if you'd -saved me the trouble of showing you that I'm some wireless myself." - -Both men laughed coarsely and left the tower. Tom knew it was futile to -expect his liberty except through the accidental visit of someone. He -contented himself by trying to recall what he could remember of the -message sent. He tried also to figure out the motive for the men's -actions. - -"They have got word to someone aboard the steamer _Councillor_," mused -Tom. "The trouble they went to to do it looks suspicious and mysterious, -though. Hello!" - -Tom stared hard at the trap door opening. Through it a head was -protruded. - -"Anybody here?" its owner called out. - -"Yes, I am here," announced Tom, moving his hand through the slit in the -closet door. - -"Tom Barnes!" - -"That's right." - -And then Tom gave a start as he recognized his unexpected visitor as -Bill Barber, head of the Black Caps. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI--KIDNAPPED - - -"Let me out," said Tom, rattling the closet door. - -"Sure, how did you get in there?" asked Bill Barber. - -"I was locked in." - -"Who by?" - -"I'll tell you later. The key is in the padlock." - -"I see it." - -There was nothing belligerent or threatening in Bill's behavior. On the -contrary, he seemed anxious to please Tom and glad to do him a favor. -This was so foreign to the usual attitude of the Barber boy, that Tom -was both astonished and puzzled. - -He noticed casually that Bill seemed more tidy than usual, and there was -not so much of the hang dog look about him as in the past. - -"Queer," spoke Bill, staring perplexedly at Tom as the latter stepped -out into the room. "You didn't shut yourself up in there?" - -"No, I'll tell you how it was soon. Thank you, Bill, you've done me a -big favor in coming just when I needed help." - -"I am glad," voiced Bill, sententiously but heartily. - -"I've something to do, so just sit down till I get things to rights, -will you?" - -"I'll do that, Tom." - -Bill sat staring wonderingly at the wireless outfit. He watched Tom flit -about as might a wizard among his trick apparatus. Tom flew to the -operating table. He knew that somehow irregular work had been done by -his two recent visitors. He wondered if he could head off the design -they had in view, and was intent on getting word to headquarters. - -Just ready to flash the signal, however, Tom ran over to a corner of the -room and picked up a crumpled wad of paper. As he opened it, revealing -two sheets, and reviewed their contents, he knew that he had discovered -something worth while. - -"The cypher message and the key to it," exclaimed Tom eagerly. "Those -fellows got what they came after and carelessly dropped these. Now to -figure it out." - -Tom ran his eyes first over one sheet and then the other. The cypher -message dovetailed with words he had heard the surreptitious operator -use. With a pencil he wrote the words out with the help of the key. This -was the result: - - "Leave the steamer before arrival at Halifax, - as New York police have telegraphed there to - arrest you." - -"I see it all as clear as daylight," murmured Tom. "The two men who -imprisoned me are warning a friend, a criminal confederate. I'll block -the game." - -Tom was busy at the transmitter for the next half hour. He flashed a -message to the _Councillor_, informing the captain that the passenger, -Daniel Ritchie, had received a wireless message irregularly, and to -prevent him from leaving the ship until he reported to the police at -Halifax. - -Then Tom sent a message to headquarters explaining the entire -proceedings of the past hour, giving his construction of the episode, -and advising an immediate report to the New York police authorities. - -Pretty tired from his activities, he now sat down in a chair. He had to -smile as he observed the face of Bill Barber. The latter sat like one -entranced over the manipulation the wireless outfit had undergone. - -"Say," he bolted out in mingled awe and admiration, "you know how to do -things with that queer contrivance, don't you?" - -Tom briefly explained some of the minutiae of the wireless and had an -ardent listener. When he had concluded he intimated pleasantly: - -"And how did you chance to come along just when I needed you, Bill?" - -The Barber boy at once looked serious. A furtive embarrassed expression -came into his face. - -"That's it," he mumbled, "I came to tell you, Tom, you see?" - -"To tell me what, Bill?" asked Tom encouragingly. - -"About that tar and feather business. I had nothing to do with it, Tom, -honest Injun." - -"Who said you did, Bill?" propounded Tom, smiling. - -"I'll bet you thought it." - -"Well, wasn't it quite natural I should?" inquired Tom. - -"No, sir!" declared Bill, quite indignantly, "I wouldn't play a mean -trick like that on you, Tom Barnes. I've got nothing against you. In -fact, ever since you spoke up for me at the trial, I've--well, Tom," -stammered Bill, a little sheepishly, "I've tried to remember what you -said about giving me a chance to make a man of myself, and I--I hope I'm -doing it." - -"Good for you, Bill Barber!" cried Tom heartily. "I'm proud of you, to -hear you talk like that." - -"It was some of my old gang hired out to trim you. I've thrashed the -whole kit of them for doing it, and they won't trouble you again, never -fear." - -"You're a good friend, Bill," declared Tom. "Did you say you were -working?" - -"Yes, but not steady," answered Bill. "I get odd jobs running small -launches for the resorters down at Sea Grove. Had a trip or two for that -young Boston cad, who is hanging around with Mart Walters. Huh! he brags -about what lots of money he's got, and he hasn't paid me for my work -yet. I'll get it, though, or take it out of his hide," declared Bill, -ominously. "I say, Tom, he's a bad one, and Mart Walters is worse. Look -out for them." - -"I shall, Bill, and thank you for your good wishes and help. Any time I -can return the favor call on me as a real friend." - -Bill Barber departed with a pleased face, and Tom was not sorry for the -chance to help a fellow whom he decided had lots of good in him, if -rightly encouraged. - -In about half an hour a message came from headquarters. It had the -"sine" of the superintendent. - -"Good work," it commended. "Parties interested notified. Man on steamer -fugitive forger wanted by the Government. Probably a reward case." - -Tom felt that he was progressing finely in his work. So far, application -and straightforward devotion to duty had enabled him to perform his -duties without a censure, and to avoid snares set for his downfall. - -He was glad when Ben appeared, for Tom was full of the theme of the -hour, and his chum and assistant was a good listener. Something in Ben's -face checked the welcome rising to Tom's lips, however, and he eyed Ben -keenly. - -"Something wrong," reported Ben, looking pale and breathing hard as if -he had been running fast. - -"Where--how?" propounded Tom quickly. - -"At the farm--Harry." - -"What do you mean?" - -"Harry is in trouble of some kind. I hurried to tell you. Tom, Harry has -disappeared." - -"You don't mean for good?" exclaimed Tom seriously. - -"I don't know, but he's been kidnapped." - - - - -CHAPTER XVII--UP TO MISCHIEF - - -"Kidnapped!" repeated Tom, quite startled. - -"Yes," declared Ben. "That much is sure." - -"Did you see Harry?" - -"No, but others did. When I went after him your father told me that -Harry was grubbing out some brush in the old pasture lot. I went down -there. The hoe he had been using was lying on the ground. His coat was -hanging on the fence, but no Harry. I walked out beyond the fence to -look around for him, and near the big gate was his cap, all tramped down -in the mud. The ground looked as if there had been a scuffle." - -"This all sounds pretty strange," commented Tom. - -"I was standing wondering what next to do, when the old lady who lives -near your house came over to me. She asked me whom I was looking for, -and when I told her she said that about an hour before two men, -strangers to her, had driven up in a covered wagon. They halted outside -of the pasture lot. One of them stayed in the wagon. The other man went -up to Harry and engaged him in conversation. He seemed to induce him by -some argument or other to go out to the wagon. Once there, the woman -said, the man tried to force Harry to go with them. He must have -refused, for there was a scuffle, and the men threw Harry into the wagon -and drove off with him." - -"Did you tell my father?" inquired Tom, arising to his feet in a state -of deep anxiety and excitement. - -"I ran to a field where some men were working. They told me that your -father had gone to Westport with a load of hay. Then I ran here to tell -you about it." - -"Ben, we must do something about this at once! You must stay here in -charge." - -"I will, Tom. What do you suppose those men carried Harry away for?" - -"This is no time to lose in theorizing. I have my ideas, but never mind -them now. I will hurry home and start a chase after him." - -Tom lost no time. He gave Ben a few instructions, and then hastened -homewards on a run. Within half an hour he was mounted on a horse, and -following the main road west in the direction the kidnappers had taken. -He had made a brief explanation to one of his father's field hands, and -the man was started on horseback down the branching road. - -Tom stopped at half a dozen farm houses and made inquiries, but found no -one who had seen a wagon pass answering to his description. He reached -in turn three small settlements, met with no success in his quest, and -turned around and made for home, disappointed and concerned, but hoping -that the hired man had met with better luck. - -His messenger, however, had not returned, he found when he reached the -farm. There was an hour of anxious waiting. Finally the man rode up. - -"What news?" inquired Tom eagerly. - -"I traced the wagon five miles," reported the man, "lost it at the -crossroads, and couldn't get the trail again." - -Tom hurried to the telephone and called up every exchange within a -radius of twenty miles, explaining briefly but clearly what he wanted. - -"About all you can do is to wait, Tom," said his mother, who tried to -conceal her solicitude for the missing boy. - -"It seems to me those men cannot get through the network of people -watching out for them," spoke Tom. "I must do all I can, though, myself, -for Harry." - -Our hero started off again on horseback. He took another route this -time. It was seven o'clock when he got back home again. No trace of the -kidnappers had been reported. - -Ben had locked up at the tower, and was waiting for Tom at the Barnes' -home in a great state of impatience. Tom, after reporting to his mother, -called his chum outside. - -"Ben," he said, "I got a description of one of the men who drove the -wagon, and I know who he is." - -"You do?" exclaimed Ben. - -"Yes--the man I told you about seeing, the day Harry was in swimming, -and I discovered the tattoo marks on his shoulder." - -"You don't say so!" - -"I am pretty sure of it," declared Tom. - -"That being true, it connects with the 'Donner' business!" cried Ben. -"The sun, moon and stars message." - -"Perhaps. If Harry is really the Ernest Warren they have been -telegraphing about, someone was trying to find him." - -"And they've done it, and gotten him!" cried Ben excitedly. "We'll never -see him again, and we'll never know the mystery about him." - -"You give up too easily, Ben," said Tom, and then he hastened to meet -his father, who at that moment drove into the farm yard. - -Mr. Barnes was a peculiar man. He was wilful and went to extremes where -his likes and dislikes were involved. He had taken a great fancy to the -busy, buoyant lad he had hired, and at once manifested the deepest -interest in the particulars of the strange disappearance of Harry -Ashley. - -He turned his horses directly around and drove to the village. When he -returned, he told Tom he had got a local constable to start at once and -try to get some trace of the missing boy. - -With that move all were forced to be content. Ben stayed at Tom's house -all night, and the boys remained up late, hoping some word might come. -The captors of Harry, however, seemed to have well planned their flight, -for at the crossroads all trace of them had disappeared. - -The next day went by with no report as to the fate of Harry. Tom and Ben -took turns till late in the afternoon spelling one another in visits to -the house, anxious and eager to hear some word about their missing -comrade. - -"We'll just have to wait," concluded Ben, as they locked up the tower -that evening. "You see----" - -There Ben suddenly interrupted himself. He halted, drawing Tom also to a -dead stop. - -"What's the matter, Ben?" inquired Tom in some surprise. - -"S--sh! Ambush." - -"Don't be mysterious, Ben," began Tom. - -Then, following the indication of the pointed finger of his companion, -Tom became as much startled and interested as his chum. - -There was a dense stretch of wild rose bushes on a sandy hill about -fifty yards distant from the tower. Protruding from these, plainly -visible, was a pair of human feet. - -"Some one spying on us," declared Ben in a quivering whisper. The air -had been so full of mystery the past few days that Ben traced its -continuance in any unusual happening. - -"More like a sleepy tramp," observed Tom. - -"Find out, will you?" - -"I intend to." - -Tom picked up a heavy stick, advanced quietly to the bushes, and brought -it down with a force of a policeman's club directly across the flat -soles presented. - -"Thunder!" - -The owner of the shoes leaped to his feet with a vivid exclamation. - -"Oh, it's you, Bill?" spoke Tom instantly. "What in the world have you -got here?" - -Peering past Bill Barber, Tom observed a double-barreled shotgun where -he had been lying down. Ben looked dreadfully suspicious. Bill flushed -and stammered. - -"Oh, just hunting," he spoke evasively. - -"In that bunch of brush?" laughed Tom. - -Then, placing a rallying hand on Bill's shoulder, he added: "Out with -it, Bill, what are you up to?" - -Bill's lips came grimly together. - -"You won't interfere with me, if I tell?" - -"Why should I?" - -"Well, then, I'm watching your station here." - -"What for?" - -"Visitors." - -"Indeed?" - -"Trespassers, vandals, I had better say," went on Bill. "See here, I'm -laying for somebody, partly for you, partly because I am interested -myself. Tom Barnes, I want you to go straight home and leave me to my -own affairs. You've got enough confidence in me to believe that I -wouldn't harm you or your friends or your wireless, haven't you?" - -"There's my answer," said Tom promptly. - -As he spoke he extended the key to the trap door. - -"No," dissented Bill, "I don't need that, but thank you just the same. -The fellows I've got a tip about won't get as far as the tower." - -"You won't hurt anybody, Bill?" questioned Tom gravely, with a glance at -the shotgun. - -"No, but I'll teach them a lesson they won't forget for a long time to -come," was Bill Barber's significant reply. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII--THE TOY BALLOONS - - -"There's another one--that makes six." - -"Six what, Ben?" - -"Balloons." - -Tom walked to the window where Ben had been sitting, looked at the sky, -made out a tiny blue dot sailing aerially seawards, and observed: - -"Oh, you mean toy balloons?" - -"Yes. There must be a picnic somewhere. Funny thing, too. I noticed they -all had a card or a tag attached to the trailing strings." - -"Perhaps it is some advertising stunt," suggested Tom. - -He resumed the reading of a technical wireless book he had received from -New York, while Ben continued idly looking from the tower window. - -Affairs at Station Z had settled down to routine. They had learned no -results as yet from the mysterious appearance of Bill Barber at the -tower the evening before. Suddenly Ben broke out with the words: - -"There comes Bill Barber, now." - -Tom awaited the appearance of the former captain of the Black Caps with -some curiosity. He pointed to a chair as the Barber boy came up through -the trap door. - -"What's the news, Bill?" inquired Tom casually. - -Bill's broad mouth expanded Into a grin. He chuckled serenely. - -"Haven't heard anything about last night?" - -"Not a word." - -"You will if you go down Fernwood way." - -"Indeed?" - -"Yes, there's two fellows keeping themselves mighty scarce. When they -walk they wobble, and when they talk they squabble." - -"Do I happen to know the parties?" inquired Tom, but already guessing -their identity. - -"I reckon you do," answered Bill. "Making no bones about it, the fellows -are Mart Walters and Bert Aldrich." - -"I thought so," put in Ben. "They were up to tricks, were they?" - -"They were up to queering you fellows," replied Bill, "and I learned of -it. I knew yesterday they were coming down here after dark to wreck your -wireless plant. I owed that cad, Aldrich, something, and I reckoned to -pay off two scores at one and the same time. I lay in wait." - -"And they showed up?" inquired the interested Ben. - -"Yes, about nine o'clock. They tried to get up through the trap door, me -watching them. They couldn't make it, and then they went down to the -beach and got an armful of big flat stones. Aldrich was to go up that -tree yonder and Mart was to pass up the stones to him. He calculated to -throw through the tower windows and smash your outfit." - -"I see you didn't let them, Bill," suggested Tom. - -"Not I. Both barrels of the shotgun were loaded to the muzzle with -pepper and salt. Just as they got under the tree I let both triggers go. -It took them around the knees." - -"I hope you didn't cripple them," said Tom. - -"Oh, they could walk," replied Bill with a guffaw,--"just walk. I -understand that Aldrich has thrown up his hands and is going to call the -game closed." - -"What do you mean?" - -"He's going back to Boston some time between now and to-morrow night. I -guess Miss Morgan has turned the cold shoulder on him. Well, he's a good -one if he gets away with the eleven dollars and seventy-five cents he -owes me for work on the yacht, and good hard work at that." - -Bill Barber hung around for about an hour. He seemed to be glad of an -excuse to visit the tower. He was mightily interested in the wireless -outfit, and he seemed pleased to be in Tom's company. - -"Bill is not so bad a fellow after all," remarked Ben, as their visitor -departed. "What a shame! that Aldrich, with all the money he brags -about, cheating him out of his honest wages." - -"I think Bill is likely to get it," said Tom. "He is a determined and a -dangerous fellow, too, when he is once aroused." - -"I can see that," replied Ben. - -"He has proven himself a good friend to us," observed Tom. - -"Grace Morgan doesn't seem to have much use for Aldrich. I suppose he'll -try to break in and bid her good-by. I hear she is going away for a -month or two." - -"She has gone already," said Tom, with a conscious flush. - -"Oh, is that so?" - -"Yes, she left for Albion this morning, where her aunt resides. They -take the steamer _Olivia_ this evening down the coast. They are going to -a Virginia Summer resort." - -"You seem pretty well informed as to Miss Morgan's movements," observed -Ben with a wink. - -"Why, yes, I saw her last evening," replied Tom. "We are very good -friends, you know, and I am naturally interested in her plans." - -Tom did not tell his chum that in his breast pocket reposed a dainty -little card bearing the southern address of Grace, nor that she had made -him promise to write her often about the progress he made with "that -delightful wireless." - -"I say, there is another one of those balloons," exclaimed Ben suddenly; -"a red one this time. She's lighting. No, she isn't. Yes, she is, but in -the water. Tom, I'm curious about the tags all of those balloons seem to -have attached to them; I'm going to make a try to get one." - -Ben bolted from the tower. Tom went to the window to watch his -manoeuvres. Ben reached the shingly beach, and was reaching out into the -water with a long tree branch, trying to hook in the now exhausted -balloon without getting his feet wet. - -"He's got it," tallied Tom, keeping track of his movements. "Well," he -inquired a minute later, as Ben reappeared in the tower, "what does it -amount to?" - -"There has been some pencilled writing on the back of the tag," -explained Ben, "but the water has blurred it out." - -"Whose tag is it?" - -"Tom," said Ben, "what do you think? It's one of your own cards!" - -"Mine?" exclaimed Tom in surprise. - -"Yes--look at it." - -Tom took the soaked piece of cardboard. He regarded it in some wonder. - -"Why, Ben," he said finally, "you are quite right. This is one of the -cards I printed when I went into the amateur printing line last Summer." - -"I knew I'd seen it or its like before," observed Ben. - -"It's strange," ruminated Tom, turning the card over and over in his -hand in a puzzled way. "Say, though," he cried with a quick start, "I -gave a lot of those cards to Harry Ashley." - -"When?" asked Ben. - -"Last week. I was cleaning up my desk at the house, and threw away about -two hundred of them as useless into the waste basket. Harry picked them -up and asked for them." - -"And you gave them to him?" - -"That's it. He said one side was blank, and he liked to carry something -with him he could scribble on when he took the fancy." - -"Why, then," declared Ben, getting very much excited, "that card comes -from Harry!" - -"It looks that way," admitted Tom. - -"Of course that is it," insisted Ben. "It's Harry who has been sending -up those balloons." - -"But how could he do that?" - -"There's the mystery, like all the mysteries we've been running across -lately," said Ben. "Don't you see, Tom, he had some writing on the back -of those cards?" - -"It's all washed out now." - -"Yes, I see it is. See here, he is in trouble somewhere, and trying to -send us word. Don't you think we had better get out and try and find -some balloon that has dropped on land, or chase one and run it down?" - -"Well, that might be a good way," replied Tom slowly, as though he was -thinking deeply on some matter. "But perhaps we can do it easier." - -"How?" - -"By trying to decipher the writing on this card." - -"But you can't!" exclaimed Ben half impatiently, as he held up the -dripping pasteboard. "You can't read it. Try for yourself. Might as well -try to read in the dark." - -"I know you can't read it now," assented Tom, "for the water has about -soaked off the black marks of the pencil. But there may be a way of -bringing back the writing." - -"How? Do you think Harry used some kind of invisible ink? I've read of -prisoners sending secret messages to their friends written with some -chemical that would not show unless it was heated, or something like -that. Say!" he cried with sudden interest, "do you mean that way, Tom?" - -"Well, no, not exactly. Harry didn't use ink. He used a common lead -pencil, from all appearances, and the water has soaked the black marks -off. But you know when you use a pencil on paper, it always makes little -depressions in the surface, corresponding to the shape of the letters. -Did you ever put a piece of paper on top of another piece, and write on -the top sheet?" - -"Of course I have." - -"Then you've probably noticed that on the second sheet there would be -marks by which the writing could be read, even though the black pencil -characters did not show." - -"Of course. I see what you mean." - -"I thought you would. I mean to dry out this card, and then, in a good -light, we ought to be able to tell what the marks are. In that way we -can decipher what Harry wrote even though the black marks are gone." - -"Good! Let's do it. That's easier than chasing after a balloon. Here, -I'll dry the card." - -He reached for it, and approached the window on the sill of which the -sun just then shone brightly. - -"That's it!" cried Tom. "Meanwhile I'll get out a magnifying glass to -use on the card when it's dry. With that we ought to be able to read -what it says, even if the impressions are very faint." - -"Say, there's class to us all right," observed Ben with a laugh. "Maybe -we can get a job somewhere, reading secret messages for the government. -That would be excitement, and----" - -"Here's some new excitement," announced Tom, with a glance from the -window. - -"Wonder what's up now?" speculated Ben, as he too took a look. "It's -Bill Barber come back, and he's making for here on the run." - - - - -CHAPTER XIX--A STARTLING MESSAGE - - -"I've come back again," announced the Barber boy, bursting upon Tom and -Ben breathlessly. - -"I see you have," said Tom pleasantly. - -"Got something to show you. Maybe it's not important, but I thought it -was, so I hurried here." - -"You are doing me a lot of favors, Bill," said Tom. - -"Glad to," declared Bill. "Here it is," and he extended a wrinkled-up -object as he spoke. - -"Why," cried Ben, peering curiously, "it's another of those toy -balloons!" - -"Yes," assented Bill. "They've been flying around half the morning. -After I left here I ran across a crowd of youngsters chasing two sailing -aloft. One of the boys had a bow and arrow, and was trying to hit one -and bring it down. I'm some on shooting, and asked him for the bow. -Missed the first time. Next time, though, the arrow went through the -balloon, busted it, and sailed to the ground with it." - -"And this is it?" questioned Tom. - -"Yes. The little fellows ran after it and fought over it. I happened to -see the tag, and was kind of curious about it. By the time I got it, -though, the mob had trampled it in the mud, and their feet had torn away -half of it. Here's what's left of it. Your name is on it, Tom, and that -and the reward----" - -"What reward?" inquired Ben quickly. - -"It's on the back of the card," replied Bill. - -"Ben," said Tom inspecting it, "this is another of my old cards." - -"What's written on the back, Tom?" inquired Ben eagerly. - -Tom held the card so Ben could read it as well as himself. A part of the -card was gone, and some of the pencilled words it had originally -contained were blurred and vague. What was left of it read: - -"Take this to Tom Barnes and get ten dollars reward. Tom: I am a -prisoner--two bad men--about thirty miles--in the--at--in lion's -cage--_Harry Ashley_." - -Tom scanned the card again and again. Ben noted his serious studious -manner. Finally Tom turned to their visitor. - -"Bill," he said, "you get the reward. I haven't the money with me, but -any time to-morrow you call here and get it." - -"Oh, I don't want any reward," declared Bill. - -"You get it just the same," insisted Tom firmly. - -"I'll have to be getting along," said Bill. "I'm watching that launch -for Aldrich to put in an appearance. It's eleven dollars and -seventy-five cents or a licking for him, I can tell you." - -"I think I know where those balloons came from," said Tom to Ben, when -Bill had departed. - -"Where, Tom?" - -"A circus." - -"How so?" - -"Those fragments of sentences on the card lead me to believe that the -message should read about this way: 'I am a prisoner in the hands of two -bad men about thirty miles from Rockley Cove, in the circus at Wadhams, -shut up in the lion's cage.'" - -Ben was on his feet in a bound, his face flushed with excitement. - -"I'll bet you've solved it, Tom. And there is a circus at Wadhams just -now. Why, it's just the place where these toy balloons would be likely -to be on sale. And the mention of a lion's cage! That fits to a circus, -too! I don't understand, though, how Harry has managed to send the -balloons aloft, if he was shut up somewhere prisoner." - -"We won't try to guess that out now," said Tom. "Here is certainly a big -clue. Harry is an ingenious fellow, and somehow has managed to float -these messages. I want you to stay here alone for a spell." - -"Where are you going?" inquired Ben. - -"To report to my father instanter," replied Tom; and he was off -speedily. - -It was the middle of the afternoon before Tom returned. Ben was -anxiously awaiting him. - -"What's the program?" he asked eagerly. - -"You are to go up to the house at once, Ben. My father has the team -hitched up and is waiting for you. A hired man is going, too, and the -constable. Telephone your folks from the house that you may be away till -morning. When you do come back, report here right away." - -"All right, Tom." - -"Storm signals are out, and one of us will have to stay on duty -to-night." - -The sky had been overcast all the morning. Long before dusk the -forewarnings of a heavy storm were discoverable, and Tom realized an -impending occasion when he was expected to exercise unusual vigilance. - -At dark one of the field hands came to the tower with a warm supper sent -by Tom's mother. He chatted with Tom for half an hour and left in a wild -flurry of wind and rain. - -By eight o'clock the full fury of the gale broke on land, already -dangerous at sea, as Tom had noticed for some time previous. The wind -arose to a hurricane, the rain came in sheets, and at times the thunder -and lightning became terrific. - -Tom was in constant readiness for service. His ear was close to the -receiver. He knew from experience what these tempestuous nights meant -for those at sea. - -Suddenly there was a sharp series of sputtering, crackling sounds. Then -the receiver gave: "y-3----y-3----y-3." - -Tom thrilled. It was the first time in his experience as a wireless -operator that the signal most dreaded had come into Station Z, for the -quickly repeated letter and its accompanying numeral meant that some -vessel at sea was in dire distress. - -Tom clapped the receiver to his ear, and, even before it was in place he -noted the clicking of the diaphragm, which told that the electric -current was operating through the magnets. Then came a snap, as when a -central telephone operator accidently "rings the bell" into one's ear. -It was as though all the powerful current had concentrated itself into -the receiver. - -"Great Scott!" cried Tom. "With this storm I may get a shock if I'm not -careful!" - -He looked to his instruments, and glanced at the connections. They -seemed to be in perfect order, and he was as well safeguarded as was -possible. - -There was a silence, and then more of the pounding in the receiver. The -lad was forced to move it away from his ear, for it nearly deafened him. - -"This is fierce!" he cried, as a terrific clap of thunder, following a -vivid lightning flash, seemed fairly to shake the tower. - -The instrument acted incoherently for the minute succeeding, and Tom -could not make out the message that was coming. He sprang to the ropes -that connected a tackle with the aerials aloft and ran the netting up -into tune. - -"She's coming clear now," said Tom. - -"Y-3, off Garvey Rocks," ran the message. "Machinery broken and -drifting. Send help. Steamer _Olivia_." - -Tom recoiled with a shock. The _Olivia!_! That was the steamer upon -which Grace Morgan and her aunt were passengers! - - - - -CHAPTER XX--THE LAUNCH - - -Tom held his nerves steady, although he was somewhat shaken. His first -business was to send a response to the ship in distress. He did not know -what the facilities might be for receiving on board the steamer, but he -followed usage. He had no means of knowing what other stations had -caught the flying cry for help. The lifesaving station was twenty miles -to the north. Station Z was the nearest wireless to Garvey Rocks by some -thirty miles, and everything depended on him in the present crisis. - -Tom ran to the window and looked out at the storm. It was truly a -fearful night. The strong blast was bending the trees almost to the -ground and sending the gravel scudding along the beach like hailstones. - -Aloft the heavens were one constant glow of liquid fire, and the thunder -crashes reverberated as in a hollow vault. The sea was lashed into a -tremendous fury, the waves sweeping mountain high and breaking with a -detonating roar that added to the babel of the night. - -"I wish Ben was here," murmured Tom in deep concern. He could picture -the disabled steamer vividly in his mind's eye, the more readily because -his fond girl friend was in peril. - -"Y-3"--again the call came, less distinct this time, but more frantic -and urgent--"ship aleak and sinking." - -"Will get help to you somehow," flashed back Tom. - -He was in a tremor. Amid the strain of undue excitement Tom's thoughts -ran rapidly. Only for a moment, however, did he remain inert and -undecided. - -"Something must be done!" he cried, in an excess of frantic anxiety and -apparent helplessness. "But what? There is not a boat on the beach that -could live in those waters--except the _Beulah_!" - -The addendum was a shout. Tom sprang to his feet, electrically infused -with a sudden suggestion. - -_Beulah_ was the name of the big pretentious gasoline launch in which -Bert Aldrich had arrived in state at Rockley Cove. He had bragged -mightily concerning its possibilities. Tom had seen him do things with -it, too. The _Beulah_ was a wonder as to speed and staunchness. A -thrilling resolution fixed our hero's mind. He would arouse the people, -reach Aldrich and influence him to loan the boat for an attempted rescue -at sea. - -Tom was down the trap ladder in one reckless slide. He ran down the -shore buffeted, yet helped along by the powerful hurricane blast. Bert -Aldrich was a guest at the home of Mart Walters and that was the -prospective destination of the resolute young wireless operator. - -Tom came in sight of the pier where the _Beulah_ was moored. He could -make out her outlines dimly. She was hugging the pier fitfully, tossing -to and fro. - -"Why," exclaimed Tom with a gasp of glad discovery, "some one is on -board!" - -Only for a moment to his vision, apparently inside the cabin of the -restless tugging craft, a flicker of radiance showed. It suggested the -lighting of a match and then its extinguishment. The indication of -occupancy of the launch was enough for Tom. He diverged from the road, -lined the beach, ran down the pier, and jumped aboard the _Beulah_. - -Rounding the cabin Tom recoiled with a shock. Some one had leaped from -the covert of a deep shadow and pinned his arms behind him. - -"Got you at last, have I?" shouted a determined voice in his ears. - -"Hold on," demurred Tom struggling violently. - -"No, you don't! I've got you, Bert Aldrich, and we're going to have a -settlement of that eleven dollars and seventy-five cents right here and -now." - -"I'm not Bert Aldrich! Don't you know me, Bill?" - -"Tom Barnes!" - -"Yes." - -The Barber boy let Tom go as if he were a hot coal. - -"Say, excuse me, will you?" he stammered. - -"That's all right, Bill. What are you doing here in this storm?" - -"Waiting. Can't you guess--waiting to nail Bert Aldrich." - -"It isn't likely he will show up such a night as this." - -"He's a coward, but he'd risk a good deal to get away without meeting -me. And what are you doing here, Tom Barnes?" - -Instantly Tom was recalled to the urgency of the moment. The discovery -of Bill Barber aboard the launch suggested a change in his plans. - -"Bill," he asked quickly, "do you understand running this craft?" - -"Do I understand?" stormed Bill; "say, if anybody but you asked me that -I'd knock him down." - -"Something of an expert, are you?" - -"Do you want to try me?" - -"Just that, Bill," rejoined Tom seriously. "Listen." - -Briefly but graphically Tom recited the cause of his visit to the -launch. He had Bill literally on fire with excitement and energy by the -time he had concluded. - -"See here, Tom Barnes," cried Bill, "there's no time to lose!" - -"That is certain, Bill." - -"The steamer is in danger." - -"Just as I told you." - -"Off Garvey Rocks?" - -"Yes." - -"When we get afloat we can probably make out her lights?" - -"Probably." - -"You want me to help you get to the _Olivia_?" - -"We've got to." - -"I'm your man." - -"I suppose Aldrich will resent our appropriation of his launch." - -"Let him," said Bill with a laugh. "I'll take out that eleven dollars -and seventy-five cents in the use of the _Beulah_. See? All aboard! -Follow me!" - -The Barber boy made a dash for the engine room of the launch followed by -the young wireless operator. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI--BRAVING THE STORM - - -A violent gust of wind drove Tom up against Bill as the latter led the -way through the cabin doorway. It was with difficulty that the door was -forced shut after them. - -"Stand still--hold on to something to steady yourself," ordered Bill. -"I'll have things fixed up in a minute or two." - -Tom heard his companion grope about the room. Almost instantly a match -was flared and a lamp with a broad reflector illumined the place -brilliantly. - -"Now then!" added Bill, all vim and activity. - -He threw open a locker, and from its depths he fished out two rubber -coats and caps. - -The two boys resembled old tars in their tarpaulin trim. The excitement -of the moment was intense, but every move they made was progress, and -their nerves and courage were as steady as steel. - -"Can you manage the steering gear?" inquired Bill. - -"I've tried it on some smaller boats than this," replied Tom. - -"Well, I can do the rest--provided the storm let's us. Br--r!" - -Even at anchorage the launch was swinging like an eggshell in a tempest. -Bill set the lights. Then he pointed to the seat at the side of the -craft next to the engine. - -"She sparks automatically," he explained, touching a button, and there -was a whistling whir. "You control with the lever--understand?" - -"Perfectly," answered Tom. - -"I can pilot anywhere inside of fifty miles," boasted Bill. "Garvey -Rocks, you said?" - -"Yes." - -Bill took his place at the wheel. Tom released the shore tackle. Then he -was down in his seat firmly planted. The _Beulah_ made a leap like some -marine leviathan bounding out of captivity. - -Tom had never had much experience with a launch, but it was sufficient, -with Bill's constantly shouted directions, to enable him to run the -engine. The thought crossed his mind that he would have the indignant -ire of Bert Aldrich to face on his return. It flitted quickly as the -peril of the _Olivia_ and his loyal girl friend aboard of the steamer -recurred to him with intensified urgency. - -One plunge, obliterating all shore outlines, seemed to whirl them into a -vortex of battling, unrestrained elements. The first splash of spray, -dense and blinding, covered Bill like a veil. A great wave sent the -craft hurtling along like an arrow. Tom realized that they were bent on -a desperately dangerous venture. - -"We can't line the shore; we must get out further from land," Bill -shouted back. - -Bill, once past danger of sandbars and breakers, had turned the course -due southeast. On every calculation of knowledge of locality and -distances, this it seemed would be sure to bring them in direct range of -Garvey Rocks. For half an hour they drove ahead, neither speaking a -word. Then Tom fixed his eye on some moving lights shorewards. They -inspired a sudden thought, and setting the lever at steady speed he -crept forward on hands and knees along the slippery deck. - -"Bill!" he shouted hoarsely. - -"Hello--what's the row?" challenged Bill, amazed that Tom had deserted -his post of duty. - -"Made out any lights ahead?" - -"Not yet." - -"Neither have I. There's some ashore, though." - -"What of it?" questioned Bill. - -"They are of the coaling station at Brookville. I am sure some craft is -there." - -"Suppose so." - -"We had better advise them of our errand. It may be a big steam tug. Two -are better than one, and the _Olivia_ may be in a desperate fix." - -"If she's really on the rocks she's stove bad long before this," was the -discouraging rejoinder of Bill, sending a chill through Tom's frame. - -"We could never pull the steamer off the rocks, but a larger craft -might," suggested Tom. - -"What are you getting at?" asked Bill. - -"I think we had better make Brookville and get the boat there, whatever -it is, in service." - -"You're the boss, Tom," said Bill simply. - -Tom made his way back to his seat. Soon the launch described a circle, -which, masterly as was the manoeuvre, sent the craft careening at a -perilous angle. Then they headed straight for shore. - -They came alongside a steam tug just through coaling at the dock at -Brookville. The boat did not have steam up, and was moored safely for -the night. Men were moving about the deck with lanterns, making things -trim and safe. Tom had caught a grapnel on the rail of the tug and -secured it. Then he swung aboard the tug. - -He ran up to a man arrayed like himself in foul weather costume, who -stood steadying himself at a hawser post, and who was giving orders to -the others. The man stared strangely at Tom's sudden appearance. - -"Captain," shot out Tom tersely. - -"That's me. Where did you come from? Oh, I see," and he caught sight of -the outlines of the launch. "What's the trouble?" - -Tom briefly, rapidly explained the situation. In an instant he realized -that he was fortunate in finding just the kind of a man he needed. The -tug captain listened to him in breathless interest. When Tom had -concluded he rested his hand on his shoulder in a friendly way. - -"You're a good one, lad, whoever you are," he said. "Sorry we're shut -down, but we'll set about steaming up in a jiffy. Garvey Rocks, you, -said?" - -"Yes, sir--know them?" - -"Like a book. We'll be on your trail inside of half an hour." - -"It's all right!" shouted Tom, as he regained the launch. "Make straight -for the steamer, now, Bill." - -"No time to lose either," was the snappy response. - -The fresh start gave Bill his bearings more clearly than ever. - -"I can't miss it," he declared. "Speed her up, Tom." - -The young wireless operator gazed anxiously and eagerly ahead as they -dashed forward. No lights yet showed, but he knew that the shore line -described a circular sweep just beyond Brookville. They might not be far -enough out at sea yet to give them a clear view of the waters. His -anxiety, however, grew to dismal forebodings as ten, fifteen, twenty -minutes passed by, and the same blank unbroken blackness loomed ahead. - -Suddenly Tom, who had been watching the motor, called out to his -companion: - -"Say, Bill, you'd better come back here a minute." - -"What for? I can't leave the wheel, unless it's something important." - -"Well, it's important all right. I don't like the way this machinery is -acting. It doesn't seem to be sparking right, if I'm any judge." - -"Great Scott! I hope nothing goes wrong in this blow. Wait a second. -I'll be with you. I'll lash the wheel. I guess it will be safe for a -little while to keep on a straight course." - -Tom heard Bill tossing ropes about as he picked up some to lash the -wheel. Then he staggered into the motor room, being tossed from side to -side by the pitching of the launch. - -Hardly had he reached the side of the young wireless operator, than, -with a sigh and a moan--a sort of apologetic cough--the motor ceased -working. - -"Oh, my!" exclaimed Bill. "There she goes! I should say something _was_ -the matter." - -"What is it?" asked Tom. - -"Don't know yet. I'll have to take a look. It may be the ignition, or -the carburetor, or any of half a hundred things that can happen to a -gasoline motor. I'll have to take a look." - -"Should I have called you sooner?" asked Tom. "It was acting queer for -several minutes. First it would go fast and then slow." - -"Well, I guess coming in any sooner wouldn't have done much good. I'll -take a look now. You'd better help me. Get the lantern and bring it -closer. We won't need any one at the wheel when we aren't moving." - -The launch was now drifting about at the mercy of the wind and waves. -She fairly wallowed in the water, and it was no easy task to keep one's -footing, to say nothing of trying to get a balky motor back into -commission. But the two set about their task bravely, while the storm -raged about them. - -First Bill tested the ignition system. Something was evidently wrong -with that, for there came no responsive buzz in the coil when he threw -the fly wheel over to make the connections. - -"Maybe it's the make-and-break," he suggested. "I'll tinker with that." -Which he did, tightening and loosening the spring, separating and -bringing nearer the contact points. But it was useless. There was no -buzz. - -"Are the batteries all right?" asked Tom. - -"I'll test 'em," was the laconic answer, and in a few minutes the -announcement came: "They're good and strong. If I can get her to start -on the batteries I can swing her over onto the magneto, and we'll be all -right. But I can't get a spark." - -"How about the plugs?" asked Tom. - -"I'll try them next. Oh, there are plenty of things to try." - -"And not much time to do 'em in," added Tom grimly, as he held the -lantern where the gleam would fall best for his companion. "This is -fierce, to be delayed this way when there are men and women--yes, maybe -children, too--who need saving!" - -"Can't help it!" cried Bill. "We're doing the best we can." - -With a quick motion he unscrewed the spark plugs from the cylinder -heads. - -"Here's trouble already, Tom," he cried. "They're all sooted up. Now -I've got to soak 'em in gasoline and----" - -"Maybe there are some spare ones aboard!" suggested the young wireless -operator. "Let's take a look. It's going to be hard work to clean these -old ones in this blow. Besides, I don't like the idea of fooling with -gasoline in an open can, and with a lantern so close." - -"Neither do I. We'll see if we can't find some extra plugs." - -Together they began to rummage through the lockers of the boat. Tossed -about as they were, slammed from side to side as the waves pitched the -launch, they spent a hard fifteen minutes in the hunt. - -"I don't believe there are any," said Bill despondently. - -"Here's a box we didn't open!" cried Tom, as he saw a small one down in -the bottom of a port locker. "Let's try that!" - -In another instant he had the cover off. There, in the beams of the -lantern, he saw the gleam of white porcelain. - -"Spark plugs!" cried Tom. - -"New ones!" added Bill. "This is great. Now we'll move!" - -Quickly he adjusted the wires, but, before screwing the plugs in the top -of the cylinders he tested them to see if there was no other break in -the ignition system. - -As the wheel was swung over there came a welcome buzz from the coil, and -a tiny blue flame leaped from point to point of the spark plug, as it -lay on top of the cylinder head. - -"Hurray!" yelled Tom, above the roar of the wind. - -"That's it!" shouted Bill. "Now to see what happens!" - -The plugs were inserted, screwed tight, and then came the test. -Steadying themselves as best they could in the rocking boat they turned -the flywheel over, Tom having thrown in the battery switch. - -There was the tell-tale buzz, which told of the working of the spark -plug--a buzz and a hum, but there was no welcoming explosion. No hearty -puff from the cylinders that indicated the gasoline mixture being set -off by the spark. - -"Hum!" mused Bill, as he paused to contemplate the silent motor. - -"Something wrong, still?" asked Tom anxiously, gazing off across the -dark expanse of water for a possible sight of a flickering light that -would tell of the ill-fated _Olivia_. But he saw nothing. - -"Well, we'll try once more," exclaimed Bill. "Hold the lantern closer, -Tom, so I can see how the timer works." - -The young wireless operator obeyed. Once more the buzz and hum told of -the perfect working of the ignition system--and yet not perfect either, -for the motor was still silent, and the launch was drifting about more -helpless than ever. - -"Suppose you try, Tom," suggested Bill. "Maybe you'll have better luck -than I had." - -Tom handed his companion the lantern, and grasped the wheel, for there -was little use in trying the automatic starter in such a condition as -was the machinery now. - -But Tom had no better success, though he strained and tugged, giving the -wheel many revolutions. - -"Say!" suddenly exclaimed Bill. "The gasoline! Didn't we shut it off -when we started to see what the trouble was?" - -"We sure did," agreed Tom. - -"And we didn't turn it on again, I'll wager. Look at the tank valve." - -"That's right!" cried Tom. "Here she comes now." - -Waiting a moment for the carburetor to fill, Bill once more swung the -wheel over. They waited anxiously to see if it would continue, but with -a wheeze it gave up as soon as the muscular impetus stopped. - -"Carburetor troubles!" muttered Bill. "And that's the worst kind to have -in a storm. Well, there's no help for it. Here goes to adjust it." - -As is well known, many carburetors require a different adjustment in -rainy weather than in dry. It was so in this case. Bill screwed and -unscrewed the air valve and readjusted the butterfly automatic. He -admitted more gasoline, then less, giving a richer and then a thinner -mixture. After each adjustment he tried the motor, but it was not until -after about ten trials that, when both were on the point of giving up, -suddenly the motor started. - -"Hurray!" cried Tom. - -"It's about time," murmured Bill. "She's working better than ever now, -though," he said, as he listened to the machinery. "I'll go take the -wheel now. Watch her carefully, Tom," and he went to the helm again. -Once more they were under way, and their anxious eyes peered through the -blackness. - -The storm had been bad, but now it was worse. The swift dash of the rain -formed a kind of mist. Tom's heart sank as he heard Bill at the wheel -utter a kind of impatient groan. - -"What's amiss?" he shouted to the pilot. - -"Something's wrong--no lights, and I may have missed my course. We'll -have to strike shore again, Tom," said Bill. - -"Can't we avoid wasting the time?" inquired Tom. - -"There may be no chance for the ship to show lights," suggested Bill, in -his broad blunt way. "Maybe the _Olivia_ has gone down." - -"Oh, surely not that!" cried Tom. "There--there!" - -"Good!" chorused Bill, in a gladsome shout; "it must be the _Olivia_!" - -Directly ahead, but high up in the air, a brilliant rocket had pierced -the gloom of the tempestuous night. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII--THE RESCUE - - -Tom hailed the unmistakable signal of distress from the steamer _Olivia_ -with energy and hope. - -"I think I understand why we saw no lights," he remarked. "The steamer -must have driven into the breakers beyond what they call the North -Sentinel." - -"That must be it," assented Bill. "Now Tom, get to your lever." - -Bill tackled the wheel with renewed vigor and Tom braced up magically. -At all events, he reflected, the _Olivia_ had not yet gone down. They -would be in time for a rescue. The heavy wind, the pelting rain, the -erratic gyrations of the launch, were as nothing to him now. The thought -that he might be able to save precious human lives inspired him with -courage. - -A second rocket sailed through the mist-laden air a few minutes later. -Bill, in high animal spirits, amid his excitement kept shouting out like -a schoolboy driving a bicycle. - -"Go it! Whoop-la! There's a dive for you! Beats automobiling!" - -"Hurrah!" broke in Tom. - -"She's there," echoed Bill. - -"Yes, the _Olivia_ at last," cried Tom. - -Veering slightly to southeast, the launch came in sight of the bobbing -ship's lights. One, a bulkhead reflector, was quite clear and guiding. - -"Go cautiously now, Bill," warned our hero. - -"I'll give you speed signals," responded Bill. "One--two, slow up." - -"All right." - -Tom knew from having visited the Garvey Rocks more than once in the past -that they were nearing dangerous waters. Somehow, however, he had -confidence in his pilot. Bill was daring, and more than once the keel of -the _Beulah_ grazed some obstruction. But Bill shouted back to Tom each -time that he knew his route, and would bring about no disaster through -recklessness. - -They were now so near to the steamer that they could make out her -situation quite clearly. - -"She's stove in!" declared Bill. "Her fires are out, and there must be a -leak. Look at her now, Tom--she's rolling." - -The condition of the _Olivia_ was a precarious one--Tom discerned this -at a glance. She had fallen over slightly on one side. The lights on -deck showed a number of passengers huddled at a slanting bow, clinging -to a cable which had been strung from rail to rail, to prevent them from -falling or rolling when a particularly heavy billow would cause the once -staunch ship to quiver and topple. - -Another rocket went up. It was followed by a ringing cheer. The launch, -slowing down, came directly into the strong central focus of the -bulkhead reflector. Those working about the ship, clinging to this and -that as they moved about, paused to stare at the staunch little craft of -rescue. The passengers huddled together lost their terror and a babel of -excited, hopeful, joyous voices sounded out. - -"Oh Tom!--Tom!" - -The young wireless operator thrilled with an emotion he could not -analyze. In an instant he recognized the voice of Grace Morgan. Could -she have been thinking of him, that the recognition was so prompt; or, -despite his unusual garb and the clumsy oilcloth cap, did the powerful -reflector glow bring out his features in strong relief? - -"Ease her!" shouted Bill, and his very soul seemed centered in working -the wheel to prevent both collision and retreat. - -"Throw them a cable!" roared the trumpet tones of the captain of the -steamer. - -Tom caught the coiling end of the rope and secured it, allowing a play -of a few feet between the two craft. - -"Drop the ladder!" came the next order. - -"The women first!" shouted one of the steamer officers. "Get back, -there!" - -There was light enough for Tom to see a portly, fussy old man press -close to the rail, vehemently shouting out that he would sue the -steamship company if they did not instantly get him to dry land. He -uttered a howl of despair as he was ignominiously bundled out of the -way. - -"I can't--I won't, I shall faint!" shrieked a rasping feminine voice, as -a staunch sailor was compelled to carry her down the swaying ladder. - -She wriggled like an eel as Tom grabbed her and forced her into the -cabin of the launch, going instantly into hysterics as she landed on a -cushioned seat. - -"There are only eight of the ladies," called down the captain. - -"Hold tight, Aunt Bertha," Tom heard a familiar voice speak steadily. - -"Oh, dear, I know I shall fall and be drowned!" wailed the second of the -rescued passengers, whom Tom was sure must be the aunt in whose charge -Grace had started on the present unlucky voyage. - - - [Illustration: "YOU BRAVE GIRL!" CRIED TOM IRRESISTIBLY.] - - -"We won't let you, ma'am," assured the sailor at the rail. "Be speedy -now. There's more to follow." - -The descent of seven of the ladies was accomplished. Tom had not caught -a murmur of protest or fear from the plucky little maiden who had waited -her turn till the last. - -A shriek loud and ringing went up from the seventh lady, for just as Tom -seized her both of them were nearly hurled into the water. A fearful -gust of wind had driven the launch with a crash against the hull of the -steamer. The same terrific force gave the steamer a lurch, and she -threatened to turn turtle. As she righted, although the ladder was -flopping about like a whiplash, Grace sprang past the sailor at the -rail, slid one-half the length of the ladder, was swung out, and just -caught in Tom's arms as the captain of the steamer roared out in thunder -tones: - -"Slip the cable, you lubber, or the launch will be crushed!" - -"You brave girl!" cried Tom irresistibly. - -"Oh, Tom, can I help?" inquired Grace. - -"Yes, quiet those in the cabin." - -Bill sounded the bell at the wheel and Tom with lightning speed made a -dash for the lever. He reversed just as the giant hull of the steamer -flung down with crushing force. - -"Fire! murder! help! police!" yelled the frantic fat old man on deck, as -his fond hopes vanished with the receding launch. - -"Stand by!" shouted the captain of the steamer to Tom. "There's a dozen -passengers left yet." - -"There's room with crowding, if you can get them aboard," reported Tom. - -"Life preservers, all!" roared the captain. "One more lurch like that, -and she'll split in two! Lower the men passengers." - -"No need," shouted back Tom just then, as a dazzling light rounded the -North Sentinel. - -"The steam tug!" cried Bill. - -"That will serve us. We're all right now," declared the captain. "Get -the women passengers ashore." - -With a yell just then a great bulky form came shooting over the side of -the steamer. It was the fussy old man. Tom barely managed to grasp -something floating behind him, or the suction of the passing tug would -have drawn him under the swiftly revolving steam screw. - -"I'm drowned! I'm dead!" bawled the man, half choked with salt water, as -Tom pulled him to the deck of the launch, to find that as many as six -life preservers encumbered his bulky form. - -The steam tug had approached the _Olivia_, running her length as if to -discover the real merits of her situation. Preparing to start the launch -into the open sea away from the rocks and then to run direct for -Brookville, Tom and Bill for a moment were awed into inactivity as a -great shout went up. - -The steamer again lurched to one side. A loud crash sounded above the -howling gale, and the _Olivia_ lay a shattered wreck on the rocks. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII--"EVERY INCH A MAN" - - -"She's a-goner!" shouted Bill, at the wheel. - -"Steady!" cried Tom, at the lever. - -The sounds of excitement and alarm among the passengers still aboard the -_Olivia_ and her crew told of a state of new distress and terror. The -launch, now at a safe distance from either tug or steamer, was instantly -put about. - -"She can't hold many more," declared Bill. - -"We can't see those people drown," responded Tom, and shut off the -power, while Bill tried to hold the launch steady. - -Tom got a boathook and stood braced against the cabin, ready to give -assistance to any of three or four men he had seen leap overboard -immediately after the _Olivia_ had scuttled. His services were required, -however, only in the case of one who was driven by a wave directly up to -the launch. The others managed to swim to the steam tug, and were lifted -aboard readily by the crew over its low sides. - -The captain of the _Olivia_ shouted out some quick orders. A cable came -whirling across the deck of the tug. It was caught fast at both ends, a -pulleyed davit was rigged, and the remaining passengers of the steamer -slid along this. When the captain came last, Tom knew that the steamer -had been abandoned to her fate. - -"It's all right," he called to Bill. - -"Nobody lost?" - -"I think not." - -"Then it's Brookville for us." - -"Yes, quick as you can make it, Bill." - -The storm had somewhat subsided. The _Beulah_ struck a straight course -shorewards. Tom, glancing through the cabin window, observed that the -lady passengers grouped there seemed quieted down and coherent. - -The bulky man passenger with the life preservers had crawled to the -shelter of the stern platform, and, wedging himself in between two rods, -only occasionally shouted out some mad threat of a suit against the -steamship company. - -The dock at Brookville was crowded by residents of the little town as -the _Beulah_ drove into comparatively smooth water in the coaling slip. -Men with lanterns, and some women too, had braved the rain and wind, -alarmed, and anxious to be helpful when the rumor had spread that a -steamer was aground on Garvey Rocks. - -Tom expressed a great sigh of relief as willing hands caught the cable -he threw to the dock. He shut off the power, and as he passed Bill, grim -and business-like at his post of duty, he bestowed a hearty smack -between the shoulders. - -"Good boy!" he cried exuberantly. - -Bill chuckled. - -"Mean that?" he propounded. - -"I certainly do." - -"Some good, then, ain't I?" - -"Bill Barber," cried Tom with genuine feeling, "you're pure gold all -through, and every inch a man!" - -The Barber boy thrust out his rough paw of a hand to grasp that of his -comrade in a hearty grip. - -"Tom Barnes," he said, choking up, and yet with the echo of a glad cheer -in his tones, "I'd rather hear you say that than--than--yes, than even -get that eleven dollars and seventy-five cents Bert Aldrich owes me." - -The door of the cabin opened, and Grace Morgan stood on its threshold. - -"Have we landed, Tom?" she asked. - -"Yes, Grace, safe and sound." - -"Oh, how glad Aunt Bertha will be! What are we to do now, Tom?" - -"You are to be taken in charge by a lot of kind people, it looks to me," -responded Tom. - -"I will find out their plans, and let you know at once. Tell the ladies -there is no need of their coming out in the rain until arrangements are -made for their comfort." - -Tom clambered up to the dock. He had to answer a dozen questions in one -breath for as many excited persons eager for news. - -Tom allayed the general suspense by expressing the conviction that all -hands had been saved from the wreck. Then he gave full attention to a -big man in a raincoat who seemed to be the spokesman of the community. - -"Get the ladies to shelter," this individual ordered those at his side. -"We can find room for a couple of them up at our house." - -"I'll go and get the covered 'bus," suggested one of his assistants. - -"A good idea." - -In two minutes' time the proffers of shelter exceeded the demand of the -occasion. - -A fog whistle in the distance out at sea came floating in on the strong -breeze. - -"That is the steam tug with the other passengers aboard," said the big -man. - -"Yes, sir," responded Tom. - -"How many, do you think?" - -"Perhaps fifteen or twenty." - -"They must be provided for," said the man. "There's the hotel. It's old -and rickety and don't accommodate half a dozen comfortably; but it'll -give them a roof, some kind of a shakedown, and a warm meal to brace -them up." - -"How much the cost?" broke in a sudden voice, and the fat man with the -life preservers trundled into view. - -"How much for what?" demanded the other, staring in astonishment at the -odd figure the stout passenger made with his armor of cork life -preservers. - -"For lodging and meals. I won't pay much. Look at my clothes! All -soaked,--and what of my baggage back on that pesky steamer? I won't be -robbed! I'll sue everybody! I shan't pay a cent!" - -"You won't have to," assured the man. "The hospitality of this town -comes free, gratis, for nothing, on such an occasion as this." - -Tom told Bill of the arrangements in order, and then reported to Grace. -He had never admired the little lady as much as now, as he noted her -kindly soothing treatment of her nervously-unstrung aunt, her pretty -obliging ways in seeing to the care of an old lady with a crutch and a -young woman with a frightened child in her arms, as the 'bus drove up. - -"Aunt Bertha is dreadfully nervous," she said to Tom. "She says she will -abandon the trip entirely now, will never venture on the water again, -and wants to get to Fernwood right away, for she knows she is going to -be ill." - -"It is quite a trip to your home from here, Grace," explained Tom. "I -might get a vehicle somewhere, but the roads must be almost impassable -in places, and the storm isn't over yet. If I were you, I would try and -induce your aunt to remain at Brookville till morning. I know you will -both be taken care of by these good people." - -"I will try and console her to your opinion," responded Grace. She gave -him a bright look. "Oh, Tom," she cried, bursting girl-like into tears -of mingled pride and joy, "you have acted just--splendid!" - -She seized both his hands in her own and smiled in grateful friendship -at him, as he helped her into the 'bus. Just then those on the dock -broke out into ringing cheers. - -"The steam tug!" said Tom, noticing the craft approach. - -There was the excitement of a new landing, eager questioning, rapid -explanations; and Bill, who had left the launch and mingled with the -crowd, approached Tom, smiling with good nature, his hands in his -pockets, a certain element of pride and exaltation in his stride. - -"Not a person lost," he reported in glad tones. - -"The captain of the _Olivia_ is looking for you, and----" - -"That's the lad," sounded the voice of the tug captain, and the man with -him who wore a cap with an official band of gold braid around it, seized -Tom as if he feared he might run away from him. - -"I want you," he said, his hearty grip catching Tom's arm. "Hey, where's -that hotel you're going to stow us in?" he hailed to a villager. - -"I'll pilot you there," was the prompt reply, and passengers and crew of -the _Olivia_ followed the speaker from the dock over to an old -dilapidated building that had been in its palmy days the hotel of the -place. - -It was well lighted up, and warmed by two red hot iron stoves. It had an -immense dining room, and into this the crowd was ushered, and gathered -shiveringly about the great heater in the center of the room. Adjoining -it was a small apartment which at one time had been an office. It had a -light on a table and some chairs. - -"Sit down," said the steamer captain. "My friend," he added, taking out -a memorandum book and a pencil, "do you realize what you have done for -my passengers and crew to-night?" - -"How about my comrade, plucky Bill Barber?" inquired Tom, trying to -evade the direct compliment. - -"We'll come to him in the final settlement, don't fret about that," -observed the captain definitely. "You got the message, you started the -grand old ball rolling that saved twenty lives!" exclaimed the excited -captain. "So the tug officer tells me. Now, then, a few questions. -Name?" - -Tom gave it, and replied in detail to other inquiries of his companion. -In fact, before the captain had concluded the inquisition he had -gathered from Tom and jotted down the main facts of a pretty -circumstantial account of the start and finish of the rescue. - -"I shall telegraph the outlines of the case at once to headquarters," -said the steamer captain. "I shall follow it up with the written report -of your share in the affair. You will hear from the company in a very -substantial way, count on that, young man. Wait here a few minutes." - -The speaker left Tom and went into the big room beyond where the rescued -male passengers and crew of the _Olivia_ were gathered. He closed the -door after him, but Tom caught the echo of many voices in animated -discussion. He even made out the cackling, complaining tones of the man -with the life preservers. - -When the captain came out he placed in Tom's hands a roll of banknotes. - -"Hold on----" began Tom. - -"No, you do the holding on, young man," interrupted the captain -cheerfully. "That's a little heart-to-heart acknowledgment from the -crowd in there, who wanted to cheer you, but they might scare the -natives. Oh, by the way--I came near cheating you. Here's a part of the -contribution." - -The speaker burst into a rollicking roar of laughter as he placed in -Tom's hand a nickel. Tom smiled inquiringly. - -"From the old fat fellow with the life preservers," explained the -captain. - -"Oh," said Tom, amused, "I understand." - -"Good-by, Barnes," said the captain, grasping Tom's hand till he winced. -"I wish I had a boy like you." - -"You will thank those gentlemen for their kindness?" asked Tom. - -"Oh, they're the grateful ones," declared the captain of the _Olivia_. -"I say, Barnes," he shouted, after waving adieu to Tom from the door of -the hotel, "look out for that nickel. It may be real." - -Tom hurried to the dock. He found Bill getting the launch ready for the -return trip. The storm had almost passed over by this time. - -"Is it home, Tom?" inquired Bill. - -"Right away," assented the young wireless operator, "and the sooner the -better. I have some work at the tower before me." - -"They are going to start back with the tug for Garvey rocks, I heard -them say," remarked Bill, as the _Beulah_ got under way. "They may be -able to do something with her, at least save something." - -Tom did not talk much on the journey back to the pier. His mind and his -heart were both full. He had so much to commend his loyal comrade for, -that he did not wish to spoil it by not choosing just the right time, -and saying just the right words to impress Bill with a sense of his -unaffected worthiness. - -Bill insisted on taking him clear down to Sandy Point. When Tom landed, -he remarked: - -"If you're not going home, Bill, I'd like to see you at the station for -a little while." - -"Oh, I'm not going home," responded the Barber boy. "There's that eleven -dollars and seventy-five cents to get from that measly cad, Bert -Aldrich, you know; and I'm going to stick till I catch him." - -"Forget that, Bill," advised Tom. "We have about taken out that eleven -dollars and seventy-five cents in use of the _Beulah_. You come down to -the tower, as I say. I've got something better than eleven dollars and -seventy-five cents to interest you in." - -"Have?" propounded Bill, in his rough blunt way. "What is it, now?" - -"You come and see." - -"All right." - -"That fellow has a grand streak in him," ruminated Tom, as the _Beulah_ -sped on its course and he made for the station. "He doesn't seem to have -the least conception of his heroic bravery, and never thinks of reward. -I'll give him a surprise." - -Tom set at work the minute he reached the tower. He sent messages to the -life-saving station, briefly detailing the event of the night, and a -routine report to headquarters. Then he took out the roll of bills the -captain of the _Olivia_ had given him. - -"One hundred and ninety dollars," counted Tom,--"and five cents. There, -that's Bill's share," and he set aside one hundred dollars. "The nickel -we'll nail up on the wall." - -"Why, what's all that money?" inquired the Barber boy, when he came into -the tower an hour later. - -"This little heap," replied Tom, placing in Bill's lap a pile of -banknotes, "is yours." - -"Mine?" exclaimed Bill in a gasp, staring at the money in wonder. - -"Yours--one hundred dollars! It is your share of a testimonial given us -by the passengers and crew of the _Olivia_," and Tom explained the -incident of his interview with the steamer captain at the Brookville -hotel. - -A pathetic look came into Bill Barber's eyes. He looked at the money and -gasped. He glanced up at Tom and his lips twitched. - -"One hundred dollars!" he said slowly, impressively; "a whole one -hundred dollars, and mine! I can get a new suit--why, Tom, I can buy a -bulldog now, a real bulldog. Oh, crackey!" - -Bill looked again at Tom. His tone changed, a queer longing expression -came into his face. His voice broke. - -"Tom Barnes," he said huskily, "it's a heap of a fortune to me, but, -more than the money is what you said to-night--that I was pure gold, -that I was--was every inch a man! Tom, it's too much--oh, it, it's all -come on me like a burst of glory!" - -And Bill Barber broke down utterly, and bawled like a baby. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV--THE KIDNAPPED BOY - - -"Well, I see you have made it, Tom?" - -"Made what, Dr. Burr?" - -"A brave record. I compliment you on it, my boy. You deserve all they -say about you." - -"I don't understand what you are talking about, doctor." - -"That will tell you, then," and with a friendly smile the Rockley Cove -physician pressed upon Tom a newspaper he had been carrying when he met -his young friend. - -Tom was in a great hurry. He told the doctor so and hastened homewards. -It was the morning after the rescue of those aboard the _Olivia_. Tom -had remained on duty at Station Z all night, and Bill Barber had -insisted on keeping him company. - -There had been little of real business to attend to, but Tom had -concluded it was the right time to look out for disasters, as witness -the lucky reception of the wireless from the ill-fated _Olivia_. - -Bill had relieved Tom in watching and sleeping, and Tom had dozed enough -to keep him from feeling done out, despite the rigorous experience of -the early evening hours. - -Just an hour previous Ben Dixon had put in a dejected and disconsolate -appearance at the tower. The minute Tom caught sight of his face he knew -that his chum had failed in his search for the missing Harry Ashley. - -"No use, Tom," was Ben's blunt report. "Your father and I reached -Wadhams and visited the circus, but we were too late." - -"How too late, Ben?" inquired Tom. - -"Harry was gone." - -"Then he had been there?" - -"We found that out all right. Twelve hours earlier, and we would have -reached him. There were two kidnappers, all right, and one of them -answered the description of the fellow you noticed spying on Harry the -day he was in swimming with the boys." - -"Were they holding Harry a prisoner?" - -"A safe and sound one. The men had been circus peddlers once. They took -Harry to an open, roofless canvas where a lot of truck was stored. It -seems that an old friend of theirs had charge of it. From all your -father could get this man to say, Brady and Casey--those are the names -of Tom's kidnappers--made him believe he was a bad runaway boy they were -authorized and paid for to return to his friends. I don't believe that -myself. I think the three men were in cahoots, and that the circus -tender was in on the scheme, whatever it is. Anyhow, in the roofless -tent was a lion's cage. Its occupant had died a few days before Harry's -arrival. It was a safe place to shut the lad in, and they did it. They -sort of partitioned the cage off by itself, and kept close watch on -Harry, so he wouldn't raise a rumpus. Brady was away for two days, I -found out, so their plot was working." - -"And what about the toy balloons?" inquired Tom. - -"Why, the way I got it was that one of the circus peddlers who had a lot -of them for sale, kept his surplus stock in the storage tent. In some -way Harry must have been struck with the idea of using them as -messengers to tell of his captivity. Anyhow, he managed to reach them -with a stick or string, or in some ingenious way, and had all night to -equip them with the cards. Brady and Casey let Harry out of the cage, -and took him away in an automobile night before last." - -"You couldn't find out their destination?" - -"The circus keeper declared that he didn't know. Your father inquired -around of others, though, and from what he heard he thinks they were -headed for Springville. We weren't sure. We decided that Harry would be -kept in closer hiding than ever, and we sort of got discouraged and gave -it up." - -"I won't give it up!" cried Tom, his eyes snapping; and preparing to -leave the tower at once. "I'll find the man I saw at the river if I have -to chase him all over the state." - -"Well, you see, you'd know him by sight, and we wouldn't," submitted -Ben. - -"I feel it my duty to do all I can to find Harry," proceeded Tom. "At -any rate, I am going to try. You stay on duty at the station, Ben. It -simply isn't in me to remain quiet where we don't know what fate may -threaten that poor boy." - -Now, after leaving the tower, Tom had met Dr. Burr, and hurried -homewards. He took a look at the newspaper the physician had given him. -Its heading told that it was a daily print from a nearby city, received -at Rockley Cove by a few residents early in the morning. - -Tom, as has been said, was in urgent haste, but one glance at the -printed sheet halted him as suddenly as if it had been a warrant -presented unexpectedly by an officer of the law. - -In glaring headlines the feature of the news of the day, the rescue of -the passengers of the _Olivia_, was indicated. In bold, broad type his -name stood out as the hero of a grand occasion. Tom's eye lit up as in -the same glaring type he read also the name of his loyal adherent, Bill -Barber. It was "William Barber," the dignified way the paper put it, and -Tom was unutterably glad. - -He merely skimmed the three columns of details that followed. Then he -crumpled up the paper and started on a run for home with the breathless -exclamation: - -"It's wonderful!" - -Tom did not mean that the chronicled rescue was wonderful. He was too -modest for that. What stirred and startled him were the remarkable -evidences of journalistic ability displayed by the newspaper. He decided -that after he and Bill had left Brookville the captain of the Olivia -must have got in immediate connection with New York and other places by -telegraph. - -"He must have had a busy time of it, giving all those details," -ruminated Tom. "They have made a big thing of it, sure enough. Well, it -will please father and mother, and as for myself--I hope I deserve all -they say about me." - -Tom reached the house to find that the news of his part in the rescue of -the _Olivia_ had preceded him. When the newspaper was discovered, every -member of the family, even the hired men, crowded about to stare in -wonder at the printed page over the shoulder of Ted Barnes, who began to -read in a tragic, breathless tone. - -Mr. Barnes looked considerably stirred up, and there was a new respect -for the "new-fangled" wireless in his mind, Tom felt certain. His mother -tremulously clung close to him as she asked solicitous questions, to be -sure that he had not suffered in limb or health from his hard battle -with the waves. - -As soon as things had quieted down somewhat, Tom took his father aside. -He told his parents of his resolve to go in search of Harry Ashley, and -his father encouraged him. - -A hired man was to drive our hero over to Wadhams in the farm gig. Tom -reached that town about noon. He went at once to the circus, to find it -in confusion. They were dismantling the show to exhibit in another town, -and the man who knew Brady and Casey had gone forward with the first -contingent. - -About to follow, Tom paused. A sudden thought came to his mind. The two -kidnappers had left Wadhams with Harry in an automobile. It was scarcely -probable that the machine was their own. - -"They must have borrowed or hired it," reflected Tom, "most likely the -latter. It's worth while trying to find out." - -Tom made due inquiries in regard to the location of public livery -garages in the town. There were three, he ascertained, and he started in -to visit them in turn. - -At the first garage he received no encouragement; at the second one the -result was more satisfactory. The call book of the garage showed that a -machine had been sent to the circus two nights before, and had made a -run to Springville. - -"That's the one," decided Harry; and questioning the garage owner, he -was soon in touch with the chauffeur who had made the run. - -"I'm the man, and that's the bunch," declared the chauffeur, as soon as -Tom had told the object of his mission. - -"Where did you take them?" inquired Tom--"I mean where in Springville?" - -"To the edge of a little city park," replied the chauffeur. "They made -me stop there to hide all later trace, I surmised; but it was none of my -business as long as I got my pay." - -"Didn't you notice the boy they had with them?" - -"I did," answered the chauffeur. "He was quite stupid like, as if he'd -been doped. I suspected things weren't all straight and regular, but the -man I heard called Brady kept telling me he was a runaway lad who had -made all kinds of trouble and disgrace for his people." - -Tom thanked the man for the information he had imparted, and at once -took the trolley for Springville, which was about twenty miles distant. -When he arrived he had no definite plan of action outside of going -straight to the local police in an effort to interest them in his story. - -"I'll look around a bit first, though," Tom decided. "I may accidentally -run across some hint or clew that may help me." - -Tom strolled about the place, his eye on the alert. He had a faithful -mental picture of the ill-favored fellow he had caught spying on Harry -Ashley at Rockley Cove, and was sure he would recognize the rascal on -sight. - -He put in two hours in a stroll into such parts of the city which he -fancied a man like Brady would choose in seeking a refuge. He chased -down two or three persons a view of whose backs suggested the man for -whom he was looking. He had paused at a street corner as a great -jangling of bells and the shouts and hurryings of the crowds suggested -some pending excitement. - -"It's a fire," someone shouted, and pointed at dense volumes of smoke a -few blocks away. - -Tom started to cross the street in that direction. - -Just ahead of him he casually noticed the hurrying figure of a bulky -clumsy-limbed man carrying a big, old-fashioned carpet bag. - -"Hi! Out of the way, there!" shouted a sharp warning voice, as a fire -engine turned the corner suddenly, bearing directly down upon the -awkward pedestrian. - -The man got flustered and made a forward spring. The satchel he carried -slipped from his grasp. He ran back to rescue it. - -The ponderous rushing fire vehicle was fairly upon him. Tom instantly -saw his peril. There was only one thing to do, and our hero did it -promptly and effectively. - -Making a forward dash at top speed, Tom fairly bunted into the stooping -man. With all his force he struck him, sending him sliding head over -heels into the gutter. - -The feet of one of the horses attached to the fire engine just grazed -Tom's heel, and, striking the carpet bag, lifted it ten feet in the air. -It landed at the curb broken open, its contents scattering far and wide. - -Tom slid against the prostrate owner of the satchel, picked himself up, -and turned to ascertain the possible injuries of the man whose life he -had certainly saved. - -There was, however, no gratified expression in the face of the man. In -utter concern and disgust he stared at his scattered possessions, wildly -threw up his hands in a frantic despairing gesture, and bolted out the -echoing word: - -"Donner! Donner!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXV--TOM ON THE TRAIL--CONCLUSION - - -"Donneer! Donner!" - -At the mention of that startling word, Tom Barnes was instantly -convinced that he had made a great discovery; in fact, he was satisfied -that he had at last discovered one of the "spooks" of Station Z. - -Donner had been a mystery. The owner of the satchel was quite mysterious -in appearance. As Tom tried to help him to his feet, he noticed that the -man wore a wig and enormous whiskers. They were false, for the fall had -sent them quite awry. - -"Donner," Tom had learned, was quite a common word in Germany. It was -equivalent to our own "Thunder!" Tom, however, had never heard the word -used outside of his wireless experience. To hear it used now by a -suspicious individual in the very city where Harry Ashley was supposed -to be, suggested strangely to Tom that the odd individual before him -might be the erratic amateur operator, who had been sending out messages -referring to a runaway boy, one Ernest Warren, with "sun, moon and stars -tattooed on his left shoulder." - -"Are you hurt, sir?" inquired Tom. - -The man who had so narrowly escaped destruction seemed to be more -frightened than grateful. He hurriedly adjusted his facial disguise and -looked about him to see if he was especially observed. Then he shouted -hoarsely, with a despairing look at the scattered contents of the -satchel: - -"My baggage--quick, get it!" - -Tom hurriedly collected the articles. He was amazed at their oddness and -variety. There were one or two articles of clothing, and besides these, -two old-fashioned horse pistols, an ancient dirk, four or five wigs, and -as many false beards and moustaches. The odd collection suggested an -actor with a limited stage outfit. - -The minute Tom handed the satchel to the man with its contents restored, -the latter made a wild dash down the street. Tom was bound that he would -not lose sight of him, and followed fast on his heels. - -He came upon the fugitive posted in a doorway and anxiously gazing -beyond its shadows along the street. Tom paused near to him. - -"Can I be of any use to you, sir?" he asked, eager to keep up an -acquaintance he felt sure would lead to some definite results. - -"Is anyone following me or watching me?" inquired the man breathlessly. - -"Not at all," responded Tom reassuringly. "Everybody is running to the -fire." - -"Ah, that is good, most good!" exclaimed the man in a relieved tone. -"The troubles--all at once. I am all turned around. You are a good -honest boy," he added, scanning Tom critically. "You would not bring -troubles to a poor old man?" - -"Not I," declared Tom. - -"You would help him?" - -"I would be glad to," said Tom, delighted at getting more closely into -the confidence of his companion. - -"Then you shall earn a dollar. See, I am a stranger in the city. You -must direct me--to that address." - -The speaker fumbled in a pocket and produced a card which he handed to -Tom. It bore an address, and below it the words: "Go to section 4. Wait -for Brady." - -"What luck!" breathed Tom ardently. "This man is certainly the -mysterious operator, and he is going to see one of the men who kidnapped -Harry Ashley." - -It took about twenty minutes to reach the address indicated on the card. -Tom pointed out the restaurant to his companion, who gave him a dollar -bill. Then with a brusque nod and a searching glance all about him, he -entered the restaurant. - -Tom crossed the street and reached a sheltering doorway. His eyes were -fixed on the restaurant. What should he do next? He had almost decided -to recross the street, enter the place and attempt to get nearer to the -object of his interest, when a man came around the corner. - -"It's Brady--it is the man I saw at Rockley Cove," declared Tom. - -Brady wore a hat pulled well down over his face. His manner was hurried -and furtive, like that of a person suspicious of every passer-by. He -bolted quickly into the restaurant. - -"I must do something now--something worth while," breathed Tom -hurriedly. "There can be no doubt in the world that those two men have -met here to do something about Harry. They may go away by some other -exit. I'll do it." - -These last words announced a definite decision on the part of Tom, as -his eye fell upon a policeman in uniform standing at the nearest street -corner. Tom approached him, full of his plan. - -"Officer," he said politely, "do you ever arrest a person without a -warrant?" - -"I'd arrest me own brother on suspicions if he deserved it," announced -the man in uniform bluntly. - -"I am in trouble," said Tom rapidly, "and I wish you would help me." - -"Spake out, me lad," directed the big bustling officer. - -"A friend of mine, a boy, has been kidnapped. One of the men who carried -him away is in that restaurant yonder. If you will only take him and the -man with him to the police station, I am sure I can convince you that -they both deserve arrest." - -Tom briefly narrated the story of the kidnapping. - -"Come on, me lad," ordered the policeman. "It's a case for the captain. -Sure I'll take them in the act. This'll get in the newspapers, and -Officer Lahey's name along with it. Show me the rascals, me young -friend, and I'll do the rest." - -Tom entered the restaurant, the officer following him. At one side of -the place there were half a dozen partitioned-off compartments. As they -neared the fourth one of the tier Tom heard the man he had brought there -speak out: - -"I will only pay the five hundred, as I promised." - -"It's five thousand, or you never see the boy again." - -"I arrest both of yez!" here announced the policeman, stalking into the -compartment, and placing a hand on the shoulder of each of the two men, -who arose in alarm to their feet. - -"What's this?" snapped out Brady. - -"Resisting an officer of the law, are yez?" shouted the policeman, as -Brady tried to escape his clutch, and he shaking the culprit till his -teeth chattered, - -"Donner! I am lost!" gasped the other prisoner. - -"I say----" protested Brady anew. - -"Shut up!" ordered the policeman. "You'll have a chance to explain to -the captain at headquarters." - -"Aha!" hissed Brady, as, pulled out into the main room, he for the first -time observed Tom. Evidently he recognized him, for a sullen, surly look -came into his crafty face. - -At the door of the restaurant the policeman paused. - -"Go to the second corner, lad," he directed Tom, "and tell officer Moore -his partner needs his assistance." - -Tom did as directed, and five minutes later the prisoners were led down -the street, each in the charge of a stalwart guardian of the law. - -When the party reached the station, the first policeman beckoned to Tom -and led him to the office of the police captain. Tom told his story in a -simple direct way. The captain came out and looked first at the -grotesque figure and affrighted face of the big man, and then at Brady. - -"Ah, it's you, is it?" exclaimed the police official, with a start of -recognition. "Circus Jake." - -"I think you are mistaken," muttered Brady, in a surly tone. - -"Oh, no, I'm not. If you think so, I'll just send for your picture from -the Rogues' Gallery, and go over a few records. Lahey, keep your eye -close on this fellow till I need him. You two come with me." - -The speaker led Tom and the man with the big satchel into his private -office, and beckoned both of them to seats after closing the door. - -"Now then, young man," he directed Tom, "tell your story before this -man." - -Tom began at the commencement of the Donner incident, and followed it up -to its present climax. All through the recital, as reference was made to -Harry Ashley, the old man started, ejaculated, grimaced and groaned. - -"Ah, he was not Harry Ashley, he was Ernest Warren, the son of my -benefactor, my friend! Did he ever say that I, Blennerhassett, abused -him?" - -"He never said anything about you, for we did not know that he was -Ernest Warren," explained Tom. - -"Now, then, for your story, Mr. Blennerhassett, if that is your name," -spoke the police captain. - -The old man looked flustered and frightened. He cast an apprehensive -glance out at the street, an appealing one at the captain. - -"The Czar of Russia shall not be told?" he at length articulated. - -"The Czar of Russia?" repeated the official, with a mystified stare. -"What has he got to do with it?" - -"Everything," declared Blennerhassett, with a groan. "You will not -advise the spies of foreign governments?" he persisted, very seriously. - -The captain evidently concluded that he was dealing with a lunatic, for -he said indulgently: - -"Surely not." - -"And no notoriety in the newspapers, so that I might be trailed down by -assassins?" - -"Not a word, provided you tell the truth." - -The old man began his story, which was an interesting one. It seemed he -had been a Russian spy, and a price was set on his head. A fugitive, he -chanced to meet in Germany the father of Ernest Warren. The latter was -very kind to him. Mr. Warren was a civil engineer engaged on some large -public work. He took sick and died. He had learned to trust -Blennerhassett as a loyal friend, and had given him all his money with -directions to repair to the United States and take personal charge of -Ernest. - -The latter, it seemed, was one of the heirs to an estate in litigation. -It was to the interest of others after the fortune to have him -disappear. Not only to protect Ernest, but also because he was fearful -the Russian government might hunt him down personally, Blennerhassett -had made his new home in an isolated old house about fifty miles up the -coast from Rockley Cove. - -He never explained to Ernest the cause of this seclusion and mystery. -The lad had rebelled against such a solitary life, had run away after -accidentally destroying five hundred dollars by fire, and -Blennerhassett, not daring to come out openly, had surreptitiously -visited a nearby wireless station when its operator was absent, and -under cover had tried to communicate with the outside world. - -He had incidentally come across Brady, and had started him on a search -for the runaway, promising a five hundred dollar reward for finding him. -The day before the present one a demand had come from Brady for five -thousand dollars to be brought to Springville at once, or the boy would -never be returned. - -"The five hundred dollars Ernest burned up was his own money," explained -Blennerhassett. "I love him as my own son. All I ask is that I find -him." - -The police captain opened the door of his office and called out into the -station main room. - -"Bring that man in here," he directed; and Brady slouched into the -private office. - -"Now then," said the captain, "short and sweet's the word for you. Think -we don't know you, eh? I suppose you're not the man who advertised a set -of parlor furniture by mail for fifty cents, and a yard of silk for a -quarter, and a plan to save your gas bills for a dollar, and how to kill -cockroaches for a dime?" - -"That's old," growled the discomfited Brady. - -"Why," explained the police official, "he sent a toy set of furniture to -investors, and a yard of sewing silk, told them to save their gas bills -on a file, and advised them to get a board and a club and whack the -roaches. Now, sharp and brisk. You've kidnapped this man's charge. I'll -send two officers with you to your partner to give him up. Produce him, -and you go free. Otherwise I'll telegraph all over the country to find -out your latest schemes, and lock you up for abduction and extortion in -the meanwhile." - -"I've done my work for this old man," blurted out Brady. - -"Yes," assented Blennerhassett, "and the price was to be five hundred -dollars, not five thousand dollars. I'll pay the five hundred." - -"All right," muttered Brady, "I'll give in." - -"And I'll go with him to see that the boy is all right," said -Blennerhassett. - -Brady was released later, for the old man returned to the police station -within an hour. Harry Ashley, or Ernest Warren, as his real name was, -came in his company. - -There was a joyful meeting between Tom and his friend. It was made still -more happy when Ernest was informed that the estate in which he was -interested had been settled, and his share was some twenty thousand -dollars. - -The guardian and his ward accompanied Tom back to Rockley Cove as guests -at the Barnes homestead. Tom at once repaired to the wireless station. -He put his excitable chum in transports of delight when he announced the -success of his search for the stolen Harry Ashley. - -"Had some visitors here this afternoon," announced Ben. "Mart Walters -and young Aldrich came along. Aldrich was hot and furious to know if you -had used his launch. Just as I explained to them that you had, and -thereby saved Grace Morgan's life, and they toned down a little, along -came Grace herself. She overheard their squabbling, and turned her back -on them and wouldn't speak to them. They sneaked away." - -"Oh, Grace was here?" said Tom, trying to look only ordinarily -interested. - -"She was," replied Ben sprightly, "and spent a pleasant hour. She made -me tell her all about the way we telegraph. She even made me teach her -certain dots and dashes. Hello! why, there's a call from my home -wireless outfit." - -The receiver began to buzz and click. Tom looked suspiciously at his -comrade. - -"T-o-m B-a-r-n-e-s, y-o-u a-r-e m-z m-x m-y h-e-r-o. A-u-n-t B-e-r-t-h-a -w-a-n-t-s t-o s-e-e y-o-u. G-r-a-c-e," came the message. - -"H-m," commented Tom, flushing as his chum chuckled audibly. "Up to -tricks, are you? What are you laughing at?" - -"Why," smiled Ben seriously, "I was just thinking what a whole lot the -Morgan family think of you, Tom!" - -It took two full weeks for Rockley Cove and its vicinity to get over the -courageous exploit of Tom Barnes in saving the passengers and crew of -the _Olivia_. - -Bill Barber shared in the general commendation. He appeared on the -streets of the village, chipper, ambitious and well dressed, with the -great desire of his life, a full-blooded bulldog, at his heels. - -He boasted proudly that he had given Bert Aldrich a receipt in full for -the eleven dollars and seventy-five cents, in lieu of the use of the -_Beulah_ the night of the big storm. - -"I told him I could loan him a few dollars if he was so hard up he -couldn't get along," chuckled Bill, jingling some coins in his pocket. - -The steamship company sent a substantial reward to both Tom and Bill, -and offered the latter a good position on their line, which he accepted -promptly. - -Bert Aldrich sneaked away from Rockley Cove with his crack launch, -without being even permitted to say good-by to Grace; and Mart Walters -remained in the back of the books of that offended little lady for a -long time to come. - -Tom became a regular visitor at the Morgan home. His ability as a -wireless operator had attracted the attention of headquarters, where he -was offered a good position. - -Even his parents were willing that he should accept it, and for two -years Tom worked his way up to an inspectorship, taking a technical -evening course in a college at New York City. - -A new expert operator was put in charge at Station Z, but Ben was still -retained as a helper. Ernest and old Blennerhassett settled down at -Rockley Cove, and after a year at school the old Harry Ashley got an -appointment as a regular man at the tower. Blennerhassett gradually -worked out of his foolish fears of foreign enemies. - -Both Ben and Ernest were fascinated with the wireless business, and the -frequent visits of Tom along the circuit encouraged them. - -Tom spent nearly half his time at Rockley Cove. He was a regular visitor -at the Morgan home. One morning Ben came into the tower with a happy -smile on his face. He went at once to the instrument and called -headquarters. - -"Why so cheerful, Ben?" inquired Ernest. - -"Message." - -"Yes, I know, but what is its purport?" - -"Mr. Morgan wishes me to send a society announcement to the New York -press." - -"Indeed?" - -"Exactly--the engagement of our sweet little friend, Grace, to our old -time chum, Tom Barnes, the young wireless operator of Rockley Cove." - -THE END - - - - -THE WEBSTER SERIES - -By FRANK V. WEBSTER - -Mr. Webster's style is very much like that of the boys' favorite author, -the late lamented Horatio Alger, Jr., but his tales are thoroughly -up-to-date. - -Cloth. 12mo. Over 200 pages each. Illustrated. Stamped in various -colors. - -Price per volume, 50 cents, postpaid. - -Only A Farm Boy - _or Dan Hardy's Rise in Life_ - -The Boy From The Ranch - _or Roy Bradner's City Experiences_ - -The Young Treasure Hunter - _or Fred Stanley's Trip to Alaska_ - -The Boy Pilot of the Lakes - _or Nat Morton's Perils_ - -Tom The Telephone Boy - _or The Mystery of a Message_ - -Bob The Castaway - _or The Wreck of the Eagle_ - -The Newsboy Partners - _or Who Was Dick Box?_ - -Two Boy Gold Miners - _or Lost in the Mountains_ - -The Young Firemen of Lakeville - _or Herbert Dare's Pluck_ - -The Boys of Bellwood School - _or Frank Jordan's Triumph_ - -Jack the Runaway - _or On the Road with a Circus_ - -Bob Chester's Grit - _or From Ranch to Riches_ - -Airship Andy - _or The Luck of a Brave Boy_ - -High School Rivals - _or Fred Markham's Struggles_ - -Darry The Life Saver - _or The Heroes of the Coast_ - -Dick The Bank Boy - _or A Missing Fortune_ - -Ben Hardy's Flying Machine - _or Making a Record for Himself_ - -Harry Watson's High School Days - _or The Rivals of Rivertown_ - -Comrades of the Saddle - _or The Young Rough Riders of the Plains_ - -Tom Taylor at West Point - _or The Old Army Officer's Secret_ - -The Boy Scouts of Lennox - _or Hiking Over Big Bear Mountain_ - -The Boys of the Wireless - _or a Stirring Rescue from the Deep_ - -Cowboy Dave - _or The Round-up at Rolling River_ - -Jack of the Pony Express - _or The Young Rider of the Mountain Trail_ - -The Boys of the Battleship - _or For the Honor of Uncle Sam_ - -CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK - - - - -THE SADDLE BOYS SERIES - -By CAPTAIN JAMES CARSON - -12mo. Illustrated. Price per volume, 50 cents, postpaid. - -All lads who love life in the open air and a good steed, will want to -peruse these books. Captain Carson knows his subject thoroughly, and his -stories are as pleasing as they are healthful and instructive. - -THE SADDLE BOYS OF THE ROCKIES - _or Lost on Thunder Mountain_ - -Telling how the lads started out to solve the mystery of a great noise -in the mountains--how they got lost--and of the things they discovered. - -THE SADDLE BOYS IN THE GRAND CANYON - _or The Hermit of the Cave_ - -A weird and wonderful story of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, told in -a most absorbing manner. The Saddle Boys are to the front in a manner to -please all young readers. - -THE SADDLE BOYS ON THE PLAINS - _or After a Treasure of Gold_ - -In this story the scene is shifted to the great plains of the southwest -and then to the Mexican border. There is a stirring struggle for gold, -told as only Captain Carson can tell it. - -THE SADDLE BOYS AT CIRCLE RANCH - _or In at the Grand Round-up_ - -Here we have lively times at the ranch, and likewise the particulars of -a grand round-up of cattle and encounters with wild animals and also -cattle thieves. A story that breathes the very air of the plains. - -THE SADDLE BOYS ON MEXICAN TRAILS - _or In the Hands of the Enemy_ - -The scene is shifted in this volume to Mexico. The boys go on an -important errand, and are caught between the lines of the Mexican -soldiers. They are captured and for a while things look black for them; -but all ends happily. - -CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK - - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOYS OF THE WIRELESS *** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35044 - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one -owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and -you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission -and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the -General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and -distributing Project Gutenberg(tm) electronic works to protect the -Project Gutenberg(tm) concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a -registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, -unless you receive specific permission. 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