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author: nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> 2025-03-03 04:45:29 -0800
committer: nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> 2025-03-03 04:45:29 -0800
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+<title>THE RADIO BOYS AT OCEAN POINT</title>
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+<body>
+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 35594 ***</div>
+<div class="document" id="the-radio-boys-at-ocean-point">
+<h1 class="document-title level-1 pfirst title">THE RADIO BOYS AT OCEAN POINT</h1>
+</div>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em">
+</div>
+<div class="container" id="pg-produced-by">
+<p class="noindent pfirst">Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at <a class="reference external" href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>.</p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em">
+</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure" style="margin-left: 29%; width: 42%" id="figure-1">
+<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/illus-fpc.jpg" src="images/illus-fpc.jpg" width="100%"/>
+<div class="caption italics">
+Getting up the aerial was a blistering hot job.</div>
+</div>
+<hr class="docutils"/>
+<div class="center line-block noindent">
+<div class="line">
+<span class="x-large">
+THE RADIO BOYS SERIES</span></div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+(Trademark Registered)</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+THE RADIO BOYS AT OCEAN POINT</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+OR</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+THE MESSAGE THAT SAVED THE SHIP</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+BY</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+ALLEN CHAPMAN</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+AUTHOR OF</div>
+<div class="line">
+The Radio Boys’ First Wireless</div>
+<div class="line">
+The Radio Boys at Mountain Pass</div>
+<div class="line">
+Ralph of the Roundhouse</div>
+<div class="line">
+Ralph the Train Despatcher, Etc.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+WITH FOREWORD BY JACK BINNS</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+<em class="italics">ILLUSTRATED</em></div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+NEW YORK</div>
+<div class="line">
+GROSSET &amp; DUNLAP</div>
+<div class="line">
+PUBLISHERS</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+Made in the United States of America</div>
+</div>
+<hr class="docutils"/>
+<div class="center line-block noindent">
+<div class="line">
+<strong class="bold">BOOKS FOR BOYS</strong></div>
+<div class="line">
+By Allen Chapman</div>
+<div class="line">
+12mo. Cloth. Illustrated.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+<strong class="bold">THE RADIO BOYS SERIES</strong></div>
+<div class="line">
+(Trademark Registered)</div>
+</div>
+<!--  -->
+<blockquote><div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+THE RADIO BOYS’ FIRST WIRELESS</div>
+<div class="line">
+Or Winning the Ferberton Prize</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+THE RADIO BOYS AT OCEAN POINT</div>
+<div class="line">
+Or The Message that Saved the Ship</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+THE RADIO BOYS AT THE SENDING STATION</div>
+<div class="line">
+Or Making Good in the Wireless Room</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+THE RADIO BOYS AT MOUNTAIN PASS</div>
+<div class="line">
+Or The Midnight Call for Assistance</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+THE RADIO BOYS TRAILING A VOICE</div>
+<div class="line">
+Or Solving a Wireless Mystery</div>
+</div>
+</div></blockquote>
+<p class="center pfirst"><strong class="bold">THE RAILROAD SERIES</strong></p>
+<!--  -->
+<blockquote><div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+RALPH OF THE ROUNDHOUSE</div>
+<div class="line">
+Or Bound to Become a Railroad Man</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+RALPH IN THE SWITCH TOWER</div>
+<div class="line">
+Or Clearing the Track</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+RALPH ON THE ENGINE</div>
+<div class="line">
+Or The Young Fireman of the Limited Mail</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+RALPH ON THE OVERLAND EXPRESS</div>
+<div class="line">
+Or The Trials and Triumphs of a Young Engineer</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+RALPH THE TRAIN DESPATCHER</div>
+<div class="line">
+Or The Mystery of the Pay Car</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+RALPH ON THE ARMY TRAIN</div>
+<div class="line">
+Or The Young Railroader’s Most Daring Exploit</div>
+</div>
+</div></blockquote>
+<p class="center pfirst">GROSSET &amp; DUNLAP, Publishers, New York</p>
+<hr class="docutils"/>
+<div class="center line-block noindent">
+<div class="line">
+Copyright, 1922, by GROSSET &amp; DUNLAP</div>
+<div class="line">
+<em class="italics">The Radio Boys at Ocean Point</em></div>
+<div class="line">
+Published June, 1922</div>
+</div>
+<hr class="docutils"/>
+<p class="center pfirst">FOREWORD</p>
+<p class="center pnext">By Jack Binns</p>
+<p class="pnext">In these days of Radio broadcasting, when
+the country has gone wild over wireless music
+and entertainment, there is a tendency to overlook
+the other phases of radio—such as its use as a
+means of saving life at sea, and for navigational
+purposes generally. There is no doubt about the
+interesting character of broadcasting, and
+equally, there is no doubt about the importance
+of radio as a means of life saving.</p>
+<p class="pnext">With this thought in mind, I think that the
+present volume, detailing the adventures of the
+Radio Boys, serves a very useful purpose in that
+it forcibly portrays the use of wireless to bring
+aid to a disabled ship on the high seas in a storm.</p>
+<p class="pnext">By doing this it will inculcate a desire among
+boys to learn the wireless code and transmit wireless
+telegraphy messages themselves, and in doing
+so will tend to develop that nucleus of communication
+experts in the coming generation, which
+is always an imperative necessity to every nation.</p>
+<div class="align-right auto-scaled figure" style="margin-left: 69%; width: 31%">
+<img style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="images/illus-sig.png" src="images/illus-sig.png" width="100%"/>
+</div>
+<hr class="docutils"/>
+<div class="contents level-2 section" id="id1">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title">CONTENTS</h2>
+<ul class="simple toc-list">
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-itaken-unawares" id="id2">CHAPTER I—TAKEN UNAWARES</a></li>
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-iijust-in-time" id="id3">CHAPTER II—JUST IN TIME</a></li>
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-iiimarvels-of-radio" id="id4">CHAPTER III—MARVELS OF RADIO</a></li>
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-ivfacing-the-bully" id="id5">CHAPTER IV—FACING THE BULLY</a></li>
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-va-big-advance" id="id6">CHAPTER V—A BIG ADVANCE</a></li>
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-vithe-wonderful-tube" id="id7">CHAPTER VI—THE WONDERFUL TUBE</a></li>
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-viibaseball-by-wireless" id="id8">CHAPTER VII—BASEBALL BY WIRELESS</a></li>
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-viiia-thrilling-climax" id="id9">CHAPTER VIII—A THRILLING CLIMAX</a></li>
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-ixthe-loop" id="id10">CHAPTER IX—THE LOOP</a></li>
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xoff-for-the-sea-shore" id="id11">CHAPTER X—OFF FOR THE SEA SHORE</a></li>
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xia-long-swim" id="id12">CHAPTER XI—A LONG SWIM</a></li>
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xiithe-radio-station" id="id13">CHAPTER XII—THE RADIO STATION</a></li>
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xiiiexciting-sports" id="id14">CHAPTER XIII—EXCITING SPORTS</a></li>
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xivfun-in-the-surf" id="id15">CHAPTER XIV—FUN IN THE SURF</a></li>
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xvskimming-the-waves" id="id16">CHAPTER XV—SKIMMING THE WAVES</a></li>
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xvia-thankless-rescue" id="id17">CHAPTER XVI—A THANKLESS RESCUE</a></li>
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xviian-ocean-buckboard" id="id18">CHAPTER XVII—AN OCEAN BUCKBOARD</a></li>
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xviiiin-the-wireless-room" id="id19">CHAPTER XVIII—IN THE WIRELESS ROOM</a></li>
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xixdancing-to-radio" id="id20">CHAPTER XIX—DANCING TO RADIO</a></li>
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xxthe-radio-concert" id="id21">CHAPTER XX—THE RADIO CONCERT</a></li>
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xxia-dastardly-attack" id="id22">CHAPTER XXI—A DASTARDLY ATTACK</a></li>
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xxiiin-the-grip-of-the-storm" id="id23">CHAPTER XXII—IN THE GRIP OF THE STORM</a></li>
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xxiiifrom-the-jaws-of-death" id="id24">CHAPTER XXIII—FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH</a></li>
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xxiva-terrible-plight" id="id25">CHAPTER XXIV—A TERRIBLE PLIGHT</a></li>
+<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><a class="reference internal pginternal" href="#chapter-xxvthe-fight-in-the-dark" id="id26">CHAPTER XXV—THE FIGHT IN THE DARK</a></li>
+</ul>
+</div>
+<hr class="docutils"/>
+<p class="center pfirst x-large">THE RADIO BOYS AT OCEAN POINT</p>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-itaken-unawares">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id2">CHAPTER I—TAKEN UNAWARES</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">“Jiminy, but this is hot work!” exclaimed Bob
+Layton, as he laid down the hammer he was
+using and wiped his perspiring forehead.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Hot is right,” agreed his friend, Joe Atwood,
+as he also took a moment’s breathing space.
+“You might almost think it was August instead
+of early June. Old Sol must have got mixed up
+in his calendar.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’d call it a day and knock off right now if
+we were doing anything else,” remarked Bob.
+“But, somehow, when I get going on this radio
+business I can’t seem to quit. There’s something
+about this wireless that grips a fellow. Work
+seems like play.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Same here,” said Joe. “I guess we’re thirty-third
+degree radio fans all right. I find myself
+talking radio, thinking radio, dreaming radio. If
+there was any such thing as radio breakfast food
+I’d be eating it.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’m afraid we’ll get thin if we wait for that,”
+laughed Bob, picking up his hammer and resuming
+work on the aerial that they were stringing
+on the top of his father’s barn. “But come along
+now, old scout, and get a hustle on. We’re going
+to finish this job to-day if it takes a leg.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Joe stretched himself lazily.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I hope it won’t come to that,” he replied. “I
+need both legs in my business.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, come along and shake a leg anyway,”
+counseled Bob. “I’m not asking you to lose one.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’m glad we decided to make this aerial in
+umbrella shape,” remarked Joe, as, following his
+friend’s example, he set busily to work. “I think
+it has it all over the vertical one. We’ll be able to
+hear the messages from the broadcasting station
+a heap better than we ever did before.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’m sure we shall,” returned Bob. “That’s
+the kind Doctor Dale is using on his set, and he
+tried both the vertical and the flat-top kind before
+he finally settled on this. It’s better for long-wave
+work. It stands to reason that since it has
+the greatest surface area it also has the greatest
+capacity. Then, too, the end of the antenna that
+has the greatest potential is nearest the ground.
+The doctor gave me a lot of dope about it that
+sounded reasonable. He knows by actual experience,
+and that’s better than all the theory in the
+world.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“What Doctor Dale says goes with me all
+right,” replied Joe. “He’s never been wrong yet
+in any of the tips he’s given us. It’s funny, isn’t
+it,” he continued, as he deftly drove a nail, “that
+we’re never satisfied with what we’ve got in this
+radio work? That first set we put together looked
+pretty good to us at the time. Then the ones
+with which we won the Ferberton prizes looked a
+good deal better yet. But now here we are making
+it still better.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That’s the beauty of radio,” said Bob, with
+enthusiasm. “The surface of it hasn’t been more
+than scratched so far. It’s practically a brand
+new thing with a million features to be explored
+and countless improvements to be made. I suppose
+a few years from now we’ll be laughing at
+the instruments we’re using now. They’ll seem
+as old fashioned as the stage coach and the kerosene
+lamp. Some of the best brains in the world
+are working at it now, and there’s hardly a day
+that you don’t hear of something new in connection
+with it. It keeps you guessing all the time
+as to what will turn up next.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Right you are,” agreed Joe. “Did you read
+the other day about that man in Paris who runs
+his house by radio? You know they have a powerful
+radio outfit on the Eiffel Tower. That
+starts operations at six o’clock every morning.
+This fellow has rigged up things all over his house
+that are controlled by the waves that come from
+the tower. First the shutters fly open, then the
+curtains are drawn back, then electric heaters get
+into action and begin to make the coffee——”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Say,” interrupted Bob, turning to look at his
+friend, “what are you giving me? Trying to
+get me on a string?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Honest to goodness, I’m not trying to kid
+you,” replied Joe. “This is straight goods. The
+coffee begins to bubble in the percolator, the
+breakfast is started cooking, and the people are
+waked up by electric bells placed alongside their
+beds. If the weather is hot, the electric fans are
+started working.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Does it wash and dress the baby, too?” demanded
+Bob, with a laugh.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I don’t know whether they’ve got as far as
+that yet,” replied Joe, with a grin; “but it starts
+a lullaby at night and sings the baby to sleep. It
+sure does wonders. There seems to be no limit to
+what it can be made to do.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We’ll have to tell Jimmy about that,” chuckled
+Bob. “Anything that will save work will make a
+hit with him. He’ll want to hitch it up so that
+it will saw wood for him and mow the front lawn.
+By the way, Joe, when did Jimmy say he’d be
+around? He promised to help us out with this.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“He said he wouldn’t be able to get here before
+three,” replied Joe. “He had to go on an
+errand for his father. But to-day’s baking day at
+his house, and I smelled doughnuts cooking as I
+came past. Ten to one he’s filling up on those.
+That beats working on a roof in a hot sun.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I shouldn’t wonder if you were more than half
+right,” agreed Bob. “But what’s keeping Herb?
+He promised to help out on the job.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“There’s company at his house,” explained
+Joe. “But he said he’d slip away as soon as he
+could and get over here.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Sounds mighty uncertain,” said Bob. “Looks
+like a case of doing it ourselves if we want it done.
+And it’s got to be done this afternoon. They’ve
+got a dandy program on at the broadcasting station
+to-night, and I don’t want to miss it.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The two boys set to work with redoubled energy,
+despite the sweat that rolled down their
+faces and made them have frequent recourse to
+their handkerchiefs.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“What’s the idea of all those rocks down at
+the side of the barn, Bob?” inquired Joe, at the
+moment that his work brought him close to the
+edge of the roof.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“They’re for some repairing that dad’s going
+to do to the barn,” replied Bob. “The side of it
+has settled some, and he’s going to put in a new
+stone foundation. The old shebang needs a lot
+of fixing, anyway. The water pipes are rusty,
+and they’ll have to be replaced. He wants to get
+the place in shape before we go down to Ocean
+Point for the summer.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Ocean Point!” repeated Joe, with a sigh.
+“Why do you want to bring that up now when
+I’m dripping with sweat? It’s cruelty to animals.
+Say, Bob, what would you give just at this minute
+to be taking a dip in the briny? Just imagine
+yourself at the end of the pier with your hands
+above your head, ready to dive down into that
+cool green water, down, down, down, and feel it
+closing all around you and——”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Who’s cruel now?” groaned Bob. “Stop
+right where you are or I’ll throw something at
+you. Don’t you suppose I’m just as crazy as you
+to get down there? It’s only last night that I
+dreamed I was there. Oh, boy! The swimming,
+the fishing, the boating, the games on the sand,
+the——”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Radio,” suggested Joe.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Righto!” agreed Bob. “That will be a new
+thing there that we’ve never had before. And
+instead of being in a hot, stuffy room, we can sit
+on the veranda, with the sea breeze blowing all
+around us, and the ocean stretched before us in
+the moonlight, and the lights of ships passing
+up and down the coast and——”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Back up,” laughed Joe. “You’re getting poetical.
+You could almost set that to music. But
+you’re dead right that it will be just what the
+doctor ordered to listen to a radio concert under
+such conditions. Where can we put up our radio
+set? In your cottage or mine, I suppose.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’ve got an idea it would be a good thing to
+put it up in the community hall,” replied Bob.
+“Then everybody could enjoy it, and there’s a
+broader and bigger piazza there than any of the
+cottages have. We’re all like one big family there
+anyway.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That’s a dandy plan,” agreed Joe. “I
+shouldn’t wonder, too, if we caught a good many
+messages from ships while we are down there.
+Almost all the vessels now are equipped with
+wireless, and we ought to be able to listen in on
+lots of talk going on with the shore.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I only wish we could talk back to them,” said
+Bob. “I’m keen for the time when we can send
+messages, as well as listen in on them. But that
+will be possible, too, before the end of the summer.
+I’m studying up hard on the code and I know you
+are too, and we ought to be able to pass our examinations
+soon and get the right to have a sending
+station. But look who’s going down the
+street, Joe!” he exclaimed, interrupting himself
+suddenly.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Joe followed the direction of his glance and
+gave a grunt of disgust.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Buck Looker and his bunch,” he remarked
+contemptuously. “Carl Lutz and Terry Mooney
+always trailing along with him! I wonder what
+low-down thing they’re cooking up now.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“No knowing,” replied Bob carelessly.
+“They’ve steered pretty clear of us since we got
+back that set of Jimmy’s that they took. I have
+to laugh whenever I think of them rolling over
+and over in the dark and fighting each other when
+they thought they were fighting us.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Joe laughed too at the recollection.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We put one over on them then all right,” he
+agreed. “And I have to laugh, too, when I think
+how he crawled yesterday when you called him
+down in the school yard while he was bullying
+little Sam Ashton.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I didn’t want to soil my hands with him,” returned
+Bob. “I’d made up my mind never to
+speak to him again. But it made my blood boil
+when I saw the way he was tormenting a boy half
+his size and I had to interfere.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It did me good to see how he backed down,”
+chuckled Joe. “I really hoped he wouldn’t, for
+I wanted to see him get a good trimming. But
+Buck’s memory is good, and I guess he remembered
+the thrashing you handed him the night he
+was trying to wreck your aerial.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Perhaps,” laughed Bob. “I sure was sore at
+him that night and I guess I gave him good and
+plenty.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“The pity of it was,” said Joe, “that nobody
+was around to see you do it. Ten to one he told
+his cronies afterward that it was he who licked
+you. But there was no mistake yesterday. Lutz
+and Mooney were standing close by and saw him
+take water. He turned fairly green with fright
+when he saw you double up your fists. You want
+to keep your eyes open, Bob, for he’ll try to get
+even by doing you a dirty trick whenever he
+thinks he can get away with it safely.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Let him try,” replied Bob indifferently.
+“That’s the least of my worries. What’s bothering
+me a good deal more now is why Jimmy
+and Herb haven’t turned up to help us out on this
+job.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Guess they’ve got stalled somewhere,” hazarded
+Joe. “But even if they don’t turn up we’ll
+be done in half an hour or so. Then it’s me for
+a cold bath and some dry clothes! I’m drenched
+to the skin.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">A half hour later there was no sign of the
+truants, but the job was done, and Bob and Joe
+ran their eyes over it with keen satisfaction.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Some little mechanics, old scout!” chuckled
+Bob, slapping his friend on the shoulder. “Now
+for that cold bath you were——”</p>
+<p class="pnext">He stopped suddenly and gave vent to an exclamation
+of surprise.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“What’s the matter?” queried Joe, who was
+adjusting his belt.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“The ladder!” exclaimed Bob. “It’s gone!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Joe looked toward the edge of the roof, and
+saw that the top of the ladder by which they had
+mounted was no longer in sight.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It must have fallen down,” he said; “but it’s
+queer we didn’t hear it.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Fallen nothing!” snorted Bob, as he crawled
+to the edge of the roof and looked over. “It
+was resting solidly against the roof when we left
+it, for I shook it with my hand to make sure.
+Somebody has taken it down. There it is lying
+on the ground, twenty feet away from the barn.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Now we’re in a nice fix!” exclaimed Joe, in
+dismay. “Have we got to stay here all the afternoon
+and be baked to a frizzle by this scorching
+sun? Call to somebody in the house, Bob.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That’s the worst of it,” replied Bob lugubriously.
+“Mother’s out calling to-day and there isn’t
+a soul at home.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The boys looked at each other, and the same
+thought came into the minds of both.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Buck Looker!” they exclaimed in one voice.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That’s who it was,” declared Bob savagely.
+“He and his gang have done this. If we could
+see him, it follows that he could see us, and he
+thought he’d keep us up here broiling while he
+had the laugh on us. No doubt the whole crowd
+are hiding somewhere and watching us at this
+minute.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, they’re not going to make a show of
+us,” Joe almost shouted in his wrath. “I’m going
+to get down off this roof and I’m going to get
+down quick, ladder or no ladder.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Before Bob could stop him he had grasped the
+water pipe that ran alongside the barn and started
+to slide down.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Don’t! Don’t!” cried Bob, in alarm. “The
+pipe’s rusty! It’ll break! For the love of
+Pete——”</p>
+<p class="pnext">His voice ended almost in a scream.</p>
+<p class="pnext">For at that moment what he feared happened.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The pipe broke beneath Joe’s weight. The
+lad felt it going and grabbed frantically at the
+upper part that was still fastened to the roof. He
+caught it and held on, his legs dangling in the
+air directly over the pile of rocks more than
+twenty feet below. To fall on those rocks meant
+broken limbs or death!</p>
+</div>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-iijust-in-time">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id3">CHAPTER II—JUST IN TIME</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">At just the place in the pipe that Joe had
+grabbed there was a band running around it, perhaps
+a quarter of an inch thick. It was smooth
+and slippery, but yet gave more support to his
+clutching hands than would have been afforded
+by the pipe itself. To this precarious support
+poor Joe clung with desperation that was rapidly
+becoming despair as he felt his arms tiring and
+his hands slipping. A glance below had told
+him what awaited him if he fell on that pile of
+rocks.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Simultaneously with the breaking of the pipe
+Bob had flung himself at full length on the roof,
+with his arm extended over the edge. His feet
+felt around frantically and found a cleat in the
+roof in which he gripped his toes. Reaching as
+far as he could over the edge with one hand and
+holding on with the other, he found that he
+could just reach Joe’s hands with his own.</p>
+<p class="pnext">If the roof had been flat, he might have been
+able by sheer strength to pull his friend up. But
+it was sloping, and, as he lay, his feet were considerably
+higher than his head. So he had no
+purchase, no way to brace himself and pull upward.
+As it was, he had to dig his toes tightly
+against the cleat just to sustain the weight of his
+own body.</p>
+<p class="pnext">There was imminent danger that if he even
+grasped Joe’s hand the added weight would pull
+him over the edge of the roof. But this did not
+deter him for a second. He reached down and
+caught Joe around one of his wrists.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I can’t pull you up, Joe,” he panted; “but
+I can hold on to you until help comes.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">He lifted up his voice to shout for help, when
+just at that instant Herb Fennington and Jimmy
+Plummer turned the corner of the barn. They
+were talking and laughing gaily together, but
+stopped short with a cry of alarm as they saw
+the terrible plight of their friends.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Quick! Quick!” cried Bob. “Get the ladder
+and put it up. Quick!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">There was no need of his frantic adjuration,
+for Jimmy and Herb understood instantly the
+tragedy that impended. They ran for the ladder,
+and with some difficulty, for it was long and
+heavy, put it up alongside the barn and close
+to Joe’s swaying figure.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Then Herb, who was the stronger of the two,
+ran up the rungs until he was directly opposite his
+comrade.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’ll hold on to one arm, Joe,” cried Bob.
+“Let go the pipe with the other and give it to
+Herb.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Joe did as directed and the two boys swung
+him over to the ladder. He felt for the rung
+with his feet, and when they were firmly planted
+on it, Herb placed one of his hands on another
+rung and Bob followed suit. Then while Jimmy
+held the ladder at the foot to keep it from slipping,
+Joe and Herb made their way slowly to the
+ground and Bob came after.</p>
+<p class="pnext">They seated Joe on a box that stood nearby,
+and his comrades crowded around him; joyful
+beyond words at his narrow escape, clasping his
+hands and slapping him on the back.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Joe was gasping under the muscular and nervous
+strain that he had undergone in the few
+minutes that had seemed to him like ages, but
+he rallied gamely and tried to joke.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I said I was going to get down off that roof
+quick,” he said. “But I came mighty near coming
+down quicker than I wanted to. I can’t thank
+you fellows enough.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">And while they stand around him jubilating
+over his rescue, it may be well, for the benefit of
+those who have not read the preceding volume of
+this series, to tell who the Radio Boys were and
+what had been their adventures up to the time
+this story opens.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Bob Layton was a stalwart, vigorous youth of
+fifteen years, who lived in the thriving town of
+Clintonia, a city of about ten thousand population
+and located some seventy-five miles from New
+York City. His father was a prosperous druggist
+and chemist, esteemed and respected, and a
+leader in the civic life of the town. Bob was tall
+for his years, of dark complexion, with merry,
+flashing eyes. He was a leader in baseball, football,
+and the other athletic sports in which boys
+of his age delight. He was frank, truthful,
+courageous and a general favorite.</p>
+<p class="pnext">His special chum was Joe Atwood, son of a
+prominent doctor of Clintonia. Joe differed from
+Bob in being fair-skinned instead of dark. But
+the qualities of character of both boys were such
+as to make them close friends, and where one was
+to be found the other was seldom very far away.
+Joe, however, was impulsive, and his temper was
+of the “hair trigger” variety that required frequent
+curbing from his cooler-headed chum.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Of the many friends they had in town, the chief
+perhaps were Herbert Fennington and Jimmy
+Plummer. Herbert, or Herb, as he was usually
+called, was the son of a merchant, and was an
+easy-going, good-natured boy who was not especially
+fond of work, but who had an unusual liking for jokes
+and conundrums. He was slightly
+younger than Bob and Joe, but not enough to
+make much difference. Jimmy Plummer, the
+youngest of the four, was the son of a carpenter.
+He was jolly, fat, and round, with an appetite that
+made him the subject of good-natured jesting
+on the part of the other boys. He had been nicknamed
+“Doughnuts” because of his special fondness
+for that toothsome delicacy, and he did his
+best to live up to the name.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The boys were always much together, but of
+late their association had become still closer because
+of their common interest in the wonders of
+the wireless telephone. The marvelous features
+of this great invention had caught fast hold of
+their youthful imaginations, and they were soon
+so much absorbed in it that almost everything
+else was forgotten, or at least had to take second
+place.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Two things happened at almost the same time
+that increased their enthusiasm in this subject.
+One was a talk given to them on radio discoveries
+by Dr. Amory Dale, the pastor of the Old First
+Church of Clintonia, who had a scientific turn of
+mind and was most keenly interested in radio.
+The inspiration he gave them by his talk, together
+with practical object lessons on the making of
+radio sets, had an importance that could hardly
+be overestimated.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Shortly after this the member of Congress
+from the district in which Clintonia was included,
+Mr. Ferberton, offered prizes open for competition
+to all the boys of the district for the best
+radio sets made by the boys themselves. As the
+first prize was for a hundred dollars and the
+second for fifty, they were well worth trying for,
+and Bob, Joe, and Jimmy set to work in earnest
+to win one of them. Herb, owing to his natural
+indolence, did not enter into the competition, a
+circumstance that he afterward regretted.</p>
+<p class="pnext">They had a good many troubles and misadventures
+about this time, owing chiefly to the
+malice of Buck Looker, a bully of the town,
+who, together with his cronies, Carl Lutz and
+Terry Mooney, almost as bad as himself, did all
+they could to hinder the radio boys in their
+plans. Jimmy’s set was stolen by them on one
+occasion and on another Bob detected Buck trying
+to destroy his aerial at night, and gave the
+bully the trouncing that he richly deserved.</p>
+<p class="pnext">A curious accident that happened in the town
+opened to the boys a mystery that seemed difficult
+of solution and set their feet on the path of
+exciting adventures. How they rescued a girl
+whose automobile had run wild and dashed
+through the windows of a store, what they learned
+of her story and how they got on the track of a
+rascal who had swindled her, and what part the
+radio played in the unraveling of the plot, are
+narrated in the first book of this series, entitled:
+“The Radio Boys’ First Wireless; Or, Winning
+the Ferberton Prize.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">It did not take Joe long to recover from the
+shock he had had when he found himself suspended
+in midair over the rocks that had been
+gathered for the repairing of the foundation of
+the barn. Bob’s danger also had been great, and
+all felt that they had reason for being profoundly
+grateful over the happy outcome of the adventure.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You just came in time, fellows,” said Bob.
+“Joe is no featherweight, and my arm was getting
+numb. A minute or two more and we’d both
+have had a tumble that I hate to think about.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That shows what good judgment we had in
+picking just the right time to come,” replied
+Jimmy, winking slily at Herb. “It takes some
+brains to be Johnny-on-the-spot just when you’re
+needed. Not a minute too late, not a minute too
+soon——that’s my motto.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’ll admit that you took good care not to get
+here too soon,” replied Bob, with a laugh.
+“Where have you been all the afternoon? Why
+did you leave Joe and me to hold the bag?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Look at his pockets and you’ll find the answer,”
+said Joe, pointing to suspicious bulges in
+Jimmy’s jacket pockets.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That’s all the credit a fellow gets when he
+tries to be generous,” complained Jimmy, in an
+aggrieved tone, as he emptied the pockets in
+question of half a dozen doughnuts. “Here I
+wait until the doughnuts are made so that I can
+bring along a lot for you fellows, and what do
+I get? Nothing but abuse. I was just crazy
+to help you fellows put up that aerial, but I sacrificed
+my own feelings and waited for the doughnuts
+so that you could have some.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Those doughnuts were cooking three hours
+ago,” retorted Joe.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“How do you know?” asked Jimmy.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Because I smelled them as I came past your
+house,” replied Joe.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, that was the first batch,” explained
+Jimmy. “Most of those have gone by now.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“What became of them?” grinned Bob.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“How do I know?” countered Jimmy. “My
+father and mother have pretty good appetites.
+Then of course I sampled one or two. Mother
+would have thought I didn’t like her cooking if I
+hadn’t. And if there’s anything I won’t do it’s to
+hurt my mother’s feelings. We never have more
+than one mother, you know,” he added virtuously.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Sampled one or two!” sniffed Joe. “One or
+two dozen you mean.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“How did you fellows come to get in such a
+fix?” queried Herb. “Did the ladder fall down?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It did not,” returned Bob with emphasis. “It
+was taken down while we weren’t looking by
+somebody who wanted to play a trick on us. And
+I can come pretty near to guessing who did it,
+too,” he added.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Why not come right out with it?” said Joe,
+his face flushing with indignation. “It was Buck
+Looker and his gang who did it. I’m just as sure
+of it as though I had seen them. It’s no thanks
+to them that I’m not dead or a cripple this
+minute.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That explains something that Jimmy and I
+noticed just before we came up,” said Herb eagerly.
+“We saw Buck and Lutz hot-footing it
+down one street and Terry Mooney down another.
+I thought they were having a race around the
+block or something like that.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That just proves what I said,” declared Joe.
+“They were waiting around to gloat over the hole
+they thought they had put us in. Then when
+they saw that one or both of us were going to be
+smashed on the rocks and perhaps killed, they
+got scared and lit out so as to be as far away
+as possible when the thing happened. Then they
+couldn’t be suspected of being mixed up in it. It’s
+all as clear as daylight, and it adds another tally
+to the score we have against those fellows.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, well, a yellow dog is a yellow dog, and he
+acts according to his nature,” said Bob. “But
+now since you fellows are here, come up the ladder
+and take a look at the aerial and see what
+kind of job we’ve made of it.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Herb and Jimmy followed him up the ladder
+and were loud in their praises of the new contrivance.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Couldn’t have done it better myself,” said
+Jimmy patronizingly. “I didn’t worry about my
+not being here, for I had the fullest confidence
+in you and Joe. I knew you’d get it up all right.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">He avoided the pass that Bob made at him, and
+after the boys had gathered up the tools and left
+everything shipshape, they came down the ladder
+and rejoined their comrade.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I guess it’s home for us now,” said Herb.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“And mighty glad I am that none of us has to
+be carried home,” put in Bob.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You bet,” remarked Joe, as he rose to go.
+“Do you remember what you said, Bob, about
+finishing that job if it took a leg? Well, it came
+pretty near to taking one—or two—or perhaps
+even worse than that.”</p>
+</div>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-iiimarvels-of-radio">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id4">CHAPTER III—MARVELS OF RADIO</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">“Don’t forget now,” Bob reminded them, as
+his friends passed out of the gate on the way
+to their respective homes. “Be over at the house
+a little before eight, for the concert begins at
+eight o’clock sharp, and there aren’t many things
+in it that we want to miss. It’s the best program
+that I’ve seen for a month past. There’s violin
+music and band marches and opera selections and
+a bit of jazz mixed in.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Sounds as if it were going to be the cat’s
+whiskers,” said Jimmy.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Jimmy, I’m ashamed of you,” said Bob, with
+mock severity. “When are you going to leave
+off using that horrible slang?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“He might at least have said the ‘feline’s hirsute
+adornments,’ ” muttered Joe. “That would
+have been a little more dignified. But dignity
+and Jimmy parted company a long time ago.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I didn’t know they’d ever met,” remarked
+Herb. “But if they were ‘lovers once they’re
+strangers now.’ ”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I shook it when I found that it wasn’t good
+to eat,” said the graceless Jimmy, nowise abashed.
+“But you fellows had better stop picking on me
+or it’ll be good-bye to any more doughnuts.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">They laughed and parted with another admonition
+by Bob to be on time. He himself went into
+the house and solaced himself with the cold bath
+and change of clothes that he had been promising
+himself all through that hot afternoon. A brisk
+rubdown with a rough towel did wonders, and by
+the time his mother returned he was feeling in
+as good shape as ever, with the exception of a
+touch of lameness in the right arm that had been
+subjected to such an unusual strain that day.</p>
+<p class="pnext">There were grave looks on the faces of both
+his parents as, at the supper table, he narrated
+the events of the afternoon. Mingled with their
+gratitude at his and Joe’s escape from injury, was
+a feeling of deep indignation against the probable
+authors of the trick.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That Buck Looker is one of the worst if not
+the very worst boy in town!” ejaculated Mr. Layton.
+“There’s hardly a week goes by without
+hearing something mean or rowdyish with which
+he’s mixed up. He’s the kind of boy that criminals
+are made of after they grow up.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“One might have overlooked the taking down
+of the ladder in itself,” commented Mrs. Layton;
+“but the contemptible part was in running away
+instead of running to help when he saw that the
+boys were in danger of being crippled or killed.
+He and his cronies could have got the ladder up
+in time, for they knew of the danger before Herb
+and Jimmy did. But he’d have let the boys be
+killed rather than take a chance of himself being
+blamed. That shows the stuff the boy is made
+of.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Pretty poor stuff, I’m afraid,” agreed Bob.
+“But, after all, Mother, here I am safe and sound,
+and all’s well that ends well.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">By a quarter to eight that evening the boys
+began to come, and even the tardy Jimmy was
+on hand before the time scheduled for the concert
+to begin. In addition to the pleasure they
+anticipated from the unusually fine program, they
+were keenly curious to learn what improvement,
+if any, had been made by the installation of the
+umbrella aerial.</p>
+<p class="pnext">They were not long left in doubt. From the
+very first tuning in there was an increase in the
+clearness and volume of the sound that surpassed
+all their expectations. The opening number
+chanced to be a violin solo, played by a master
+of the instrument. It represented a dance of the
+fairies and called for such rapid transitions up
+and down the scale as to form a veritable cascade
+of rippling notes, following each other with almost
+inconceivable swiftness. And yet so clearly
+was each note reproduced, so distinctly was each
+delicate shading of the melody indicated, that the
+player might have been in the next room or even
+in the same room behind a screen.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The boys and the others were delighted. They
+listened spellbound, and when in a glorious burst
+of what might have been angel music the selection
+ended, the lads clapped their hands in enthusiastic
+applause.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That’s what you can call music!” ejaculated
+Bob.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That player knows what he’s about,” was
+Herb’s tribute.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“And how perfectly we heard every note,”
+cried Joe. “We certainly made a ten strike, Bob,
+when we rigged up that new aerial. It’s got the
+other beaten twenty ways.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I guess you’re right about that,” said Jimmy.
+“I don’t grudge a minute of the time you spent
+this afternoon in putting it up. It was worth
+all the trouble.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Bob looked hard at him, but Jimmy was as sober
+as a judge, and before either Bob or Joe could
+frame a suitable retort the crashing notes of a
+military band came to their ears and put from
+them the thought of anything else. It was a medley
+that the band played, composed of well-known
+airs ranging from “Hail Columbia” to “Dixie”
+and so inspiring was it that the boys’ hands were
+moving and their feet jigging in time with the
+music all through the performance.</p>
+<p class="pnext">For fully two hours they sat entranced through
+a varied program that included things so dissimilar
+as famous grand opera selections, the plaintive
+melodies of Hawaiian guitars, and some jazz, and
+when at last the list was ended the boys sat back
+with a sigh of satisfaction, their faces flushed
+and their eyes shining.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Ever hear anything like it?” asked Bob, as he
+relaxed into his chair and took off his ear pieces.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It’s the best ever!” declared Joe. “And to
+think that we can have something like it almost
+any night we choose, and all of that without going
+out of this room!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That’s the beauty of it,” Bob assented. “To
+hear a concert that included such fine talent as
+that we’d have to go to New York. That would
+mean all the time and trouble of dressing up, the
+long ride on the railroad train, the getting back
+home at two or three o’clock in the morning, to
+say nothing of the ten dollars apiece or thereabouts
+that we’d have to pay for train fare and
+tickets for the concert. For us four that would
+mean about forty dollars. Now we haven’t paid
+forty cents, not even one cent, we haven’t had to
+dress, we’ve sat around here lazy and comfy, we
+can go to bed whenever we like, and we’ve had
+the concert just the same. And what we did
+to-night we can do any night. I tell you, fellows,
+we haven’t begun yet to realize what a wonderful
+thing this radio is. It’s simply a miracle.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Right you are,” agreed Joe. “And just remember
+that what’s true of us four is true of four
+thousand or perhaps four hundred thousand.
+Take the biggest concert hall in the United States
+and perhaps it will hold five thousand. When it’s
+full, everybody else has to stay away. But there’s
+no staying away with radio. And every one has
+as good a seat as any one else. Think where that
+concert’s been heard to-night. People out as far
+as Chicago and Detroit have heard it. They’ve
+listened to it on board of ships out at sea. In
+lonely farmhouses people have enjoyed it. Men
+sitting around campfires up in the Adirondacks
+have had receivers at their ears. Sick people and
+cripples lying on their beds have been cheered by
+it. Lonely people in hotel rooms far away from
+home have found pleasure in it. There’s absolutely
+no limit to what the radio can do. It seems
+to me that it throws in the shade everything else
+that’s ever been invented.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You haven’t put it a bit too strong,” chimed
+in Herb. “But talking about a lot of people hearing
+it makes me think that perhaps we fellows
+have been a bit selfish.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“What do you mean?” asked Jimmy in some
+surprise. “It isn’t so long ago that we got
+the old folks and sick folks together and gave
+them a concert at Doctor Dale’s house—Joel
+Banks and Aunty Bixby and the rest of them.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I don’t mean that,” explained Herb. “That
+was all right as far as it went, and I hope we’ll
+do it soon again. But what I have in mind are
+our own folks and our friends. Our fathers and
+mothers haven’t heard much of this concert to-night,
+and there are some of the fellows that we
+might have invited in.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“But we have only four sets of ear pieces,” objected
+Jimmy. “I suppose of course we could attach
+a few more——”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I get Herb’s idea,” interrupted Bob, “and it’s
+a good one. He thinks that we ought to have a
+loud-speaker—a horn that would fill the room with
+sound and do away with the ear pieces altogether.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You hit the bull’s-eye the first time,” Herb
+conceded. “In other words, instead of having a
+concert for four have it for fourteen or forty.”</p>
+</div>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-ivfacing-the-bully">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id5">CHAPTER IV—FACING THE BULLY</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">The radio boys ruminated over Herb’s suggestion
+for a little while.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“The idea itself is all right,” pronounced Joe
+slowly, “but the trouble is that we couldn’t do
+it very well with this set, which is the best we’ve
+been able to make so far. We can hear the sound
+that comes over the wire well with these earpieces
+glued to our ears, but the sound would be lost
+if it were spread all over the room.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Wouldn’t the horn help out on that?” asked
+Herb.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Not by itself, it wouldn’t,” answered Bob.
+“It’s a mistake to think that the horn itself makes
+the sound or increases its loudness. The only
+use of the horn is to act as a relay for the
+diaphragm of the receiver and connect it with
+the air in the room. But the sound itself must
+first be in the receiver. And with a crystal detector,
+such as we’re using in this set, I’m afraid
+that we couldn’t get volume of sound enough. It
+would be spread out over the room so thinly that
+no one would be able to hear anything. We’ll
+have to amplify the sound, and to do that there’s
+nothing better than a vacuum tube. That’s the
+best thing that the world has discovered so far.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I guess it is,” remarked Jimmy. “Doctor
+Dale has one in his set.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Yes,” chimed in Joe. “He even has more than
+one. The more there are the louder and clearer
+the sound.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I don’t suppose we could make one,” Herb
+remarked.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“No; that’s one thing that costs real money,”
+replied Bob. “But don’t let that bother you. I’ve
+got quite a lot left of that hundred dollars of the
+Ferberton prize, and there’s nothing I’d rather
+spend it for than to improve the radio set.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Count me in on that, too,” said Joe. “I’ve
+scarcely touched my fifty.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“How about the horn?” queried Jimmy. “Will
+that have to be bought, too?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“No,” replied Bob. “That’s something you can
+make. That is, if you’re not too tired from the
+work you did on setting up the aerial this afternoon.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“But,” objected Jimmy, ignoring the gibe, “I
+don’t know anything about working in tin or steel.
+I haven’t any tools for that.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“The horn doesn’t have to be made of metal,”
+answered Bob. “In fact, it’s better if it’s not.
+Some horns are even made of concrete——”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Use your head for that, Jimmy,” broke in
+Herb irreverently.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“But best of all,” Bob continued, while Jimmy
+favored the interrupter with a glare, “is to make
+the horn of wood. Take some good hard wood,
+like mahogany or maple, polish the inside with
+sandpaper after you’ve hollowed it out, give it a
+coat of varnish or shellac, and you’ll have a horn
+that can’t be beaten. It’s very simple.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Sure!” said Jimmy sarcastically. “Very simple!
+Just like that! Simple when you say it
+quick. Simple as the fellow that tells me how to
+do it.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Just imagine you’re hollowing out a doughnut,”
+put in Joe, grinning. “You’re an expert at
+that.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’ll tell the world he is,” agreed Herb, with
+enthusiasm.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That reminds me,” said Bob, “that there’s
+some pie in the pantry and sarsaparilla in the ice-box
+that mother told me to pass around among
+you fellows. That is, of course, if you care for
+it,” he added, as he paused in seeming doubt.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“If we care for it!” cried Jimmy, the creases of
+perplexity in his brow disappearing as if by magic.
+“Lead me to that pie. I’ll fall on its neck like a
+long-lost brother.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It’ll fall into your neck, you mean,” chuckled
+Herb, and in less than two minutes saw his
+prophecy verified.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“And now,” said Bob, after the last crumb and
+drop had disappeared, “I don’t want to tie the
+can to you fellows, but I hear dad moving around
+and locking up, and that’s a sign to skiddoo.
+We’ll think over that idea of Herb’s and get a tip
+from Doctor Dale as to the best way to go about
+it.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">There was a chorus of hearty good-nights and
+the radio boys separated.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Two days later, as Bob and Joe were coming
+home from school, the latter, looking behind him,
+gave vent to an exclamation that drew Bob’s attention.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“What’s up?” he asked, turning his head in the
+same direction.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It’s Buck Looker and his bunch!” exclaimed
+Joe, a flush mounting to his brow and his eyes
+beginning to flame. “He’s been careful to keep
+out of my way so far. Let’s wait here until he
+catches up to us.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You’ll wait a long time then, I guess,” replied
+Bob, “for he’s seen us, too, and he’s slowing
+up already. He doesn’t seem a bit anxious
+to overtake us.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Then we’ll have to go back and meet him,”
+said Joe grimly. “I’m going to have it out with
+him right here and now. He needn’t think he’s
+going to get away scot free after the trick he
+played on me.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“What’s the use, Joe?” counseled Bob. “You
+can’t prove it on him and he’ll only lie out of it.
+It’s bad policy to kick a skunk.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">But Joe had already turned and was striding
+rapidly back toward Buck and his companions,
+and Bob went along with him.</p>
+<p class="pnext">There was a hurried confabulation between
+Buck and his cronies as they saw Bob and Joe advancing
+toward them, and a hasty looking from
+side to side, as though to seek some means of
+escape. But there was no street handy to turn
+into, and as it would have been too rank a confession
+of cowardice to turn their backs and
+run, the trio assumed a defiant attitude and waited
+the approach of the swiftly moving couple.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Joe stopped directly in front of the bully, while
+Bob ranged alongside, keeping a sharp watch on
+the movements of Lutz and Mooney.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Why did you take down that ladder the other
+afternoon, Buck Looker?” asked Joe, looking his
+opponent straight in the eye.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Buck’s look shifted before Joe’s gaze, but he
+affected ignorance.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“What ladder and what afternoon?” he countered, sparring
+for time. “I don’t know what
+you’re talking about, and for that matter I guess
+you don’t either.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I know perfectly well what I’m talking about,
+and so do you,” replied Joe, coming so near to
+him that Buck gave ground. “You and your
+gang took away the ladder from the side of Bob’s
+barn, and in trying to get down I nearly broke my
+neck.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Pity you didn’t,” blustered Buck. “If your
+ladder fell down and you didn’t have sense enough
+to wait for some one to come along and put it up
+for you, that wasn’t any fault of mine. I wasn’t
+anywhere near Layton’s barn that whole afternoon.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We know better,” said Joe. “Bob and I saw
+you going along the street a little while before
+we missed the ladder, and Herb Fennington and
+Jimmy Plummer saw you and your crowd running
+away like mad while I was hanging to the
+pipe alongside the barn.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You shut up!” yelled Buck, in a burst of rage.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Take off your coat, Buck Looker,” cried Joe,
+dropping his books to the ground, “and I’ll give
+you the same kind of a trimming that Bob gave
+you the night you tried to wreck his aerial.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">For answer Buck tightened his grip on the
+strap that held his books.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You stand back, Joe Atwood,” he cried, with
+a quaver in his voice, “or I’ll soak you with these
+books!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Joe laughed his disdain.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You coward!” he exclaimed, and was springing
+forward when a warning exclamation came
+from Bob.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Stop, Joe,” he commanded. “Here comes Mr.
+Preston.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">A look of vexation came into Joe’s eyes and a
+look of relief into Buck’s as they looked and saw
+the principal of the high school walking rapidly
+toward them.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-va-big-advance">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id6">CHAPTER V—A BIG ADVANCE</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">With the coming of the school principal and
+the certainty that the threatened row was over,
+for the present at least, all Buck Looker’s usual
+truculence returned.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It’s lucky for you that Preston happened to
+turn up just now,” he snarled. “I was just getting
+ready to give you the licking of your life.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I noticed that,” said Joe dryly, as he picked up
+his books. “Only instead of doing it with your
+fists, you were going to do it with your books,
+like the coward that you are. You gave yourself
+away that time, Buck. It isn’t necessary for
+any one to show you up. You can be depended
+on to do that job yourself.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">By this time the principal was only a few
+yards away, and Buck and his friends walked
+away rapidly, while Bob and Joe followed more
+slowly, so that Mr. Preston soon caught up with
+them.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Good afternoon, boys,” he said, as he came
+abreast of them. “You seemed to be a little excited
+about something.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Yes, we were having a little argument,” admitted
+Joe.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The principal looked at them sharply and
+waited as though he expected to hear more. But
+as nothing further was said, he did not press the
+matter. If the trouble had taken place in the
+school or on the school premises, he would have
+felt it his duty to go to the bottom of the affair.
+But he had no jurisdiction here, and he was too
+wise a man to mix in things that did not directly
+concern him or his work.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, how goes radio?” he asked, changing
+the subject. “Are you boys just as enthusiastic
+over it as you were the night you won the Ferberton
+prizes?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“More so than ever,” replied Bob, and Joe confirmed
+this with a nod of the head. “It’s getting
+so that almost every minute we have out of
+school we’re either tinkering with our set or listening
+in. We’ve just finished putting up a new
+umbrella aerial, and it’s a dandy.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I use that kind myself,” said Mr. Preston. “I
+get better results with it than I do with anything
+else.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Why, are you a radio enthusiast, too?” asked
+Bob, in some surprise. “I didn’t have any idea
+you were interested in it.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, yes,” affirmed the principal, with a smile.
+“I’m one of the great and constantly increasing
+army of radio fans. I understand there are more
+than a million of them in the United States now,
+and their ranks are being swelled by thousands
+with every day that passes. I use it for my own
+personal pleasure and for that of my family, but
+I also have an interest in it because of my profession.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I understand it’s becoming quite a feature in
+education,” remarked Joe.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It certainly is,” replied Mr. Preston. “Many
+colleges and high schools now have radio classes
+as a regular part of their course. College professors
+give lectures that go by radio to thousands
+where formerly they were heard by scores. I’ve
+been thinking of a plan that might be of help in
+the geography classes, for instance. Suppose
+some great lecturer or traveler who has been in
+faraway lands should give a travel talk from some
+broadcasting station. Then while he was describing
+China, for instance, we might have moving
+pictures thrown on a screen in the classroom
+showing Chinese cities and customs and types.
+Both the eye and the ear would be taught at the
+same time, and in a most interesting way, it seems
+to me. What do you think of the idea?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Fine,” said Bob.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Dandy,” agreed Joe. “There wouldn’t be any
+lack of interest in those classes. The boys would
+be eager to have the time for them come.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well,” smiled Mr. Preston, “it’s only an idea
+as yet, but it’s perfectly feasible and I shouldn’t
+be surprised to see it in general use in a year or
+two.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">He turned into a side street just then with a
+pleasant good-bye, and the boys went on their
+way together, picking up Jimmy, who was just
+emerging from a store.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“What was Mr. Preston talking to you about?”
+asked Jimmy, with some curiosity, for he had
+witnessed the parting. “Hauling you over the
+coals, was he, for something you’ve done or
+haven’t done?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Nothing like that,” replied Joe. “We just
+found out that he is a radio fan like the rest of
+us.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Funny, isn’t it, how that thing is spreading?”
+murmured Jimmy musingly. “You couldn’t
+throw a stone now without hitting somebody who
+is interested in radio.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“All the same, I wish he hadn’t caught up to us
+when he did,” grumbled Joe. “I was just going
+to mix it with Buck Looker when he came along.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Buck has lots of luck,” commented Jimmy.
+“Tell me all about it.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">They told him all the details of the meeting,
+and became so engrossed in it that they almost ran
+into Dr. Dale, who was just coming up from the
+railroad station.</p>
+<p class="pnext">He greeted them with great cordiality, which
+met with quite as hearty a response on their part,
+for the minister was a prime favorite with them
+and they always felt at their ease with him.
+There was nothing prim or professional about
+him, and his influence among the young people
+was unbounded.</p>
+<p class="pnext">He chatted with them for a few minutes until
+they reached Bob’s gate.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Won’t you come up on the porch for a few
+minutes, Doctor?” asked Bob. “There are some
+things we’d like to ask you about radio.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Certainly I will,” replied the doctor, with a
+smile. “There’s not much that I’d rather talk
+about. In fact, I was just about to tell you of an
+interesting experience that I had this very afternoon.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">He went with the boys up the steps and dropped
+into the chair that Bob drew up for him.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Tell us about that first, Doctor,” urged Bob.
+“Our questions can come afterward.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I just had the luck to get on a train coming
+home that had a car attached to it where they were
+trying out a new radio system,” replied the minister.
+“I heard about it from the conductor,
+whom I know very well, and he arranged it so
+that I could go into the car where they were
+making the experiments. They had a radio set in
+there with a horn, and the set was connected with
+an aerial on the roof of the car. They sent out
+signals to various stations while the train was
+going along at the rate of forty miles an hour,
+and got replies that we could hear as plainly as
+though one of the people in the car were talking
+to the others. The whole thing was a complete
+success, and one of the officials of the road who
+happened to be in the party told me that the express
+trains on the road were going to be equipped
+with it.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Of course, if one road does that, it will not
+be any time before all the others will, too. It’ll
+not be long before we can be sitting in a car
+traveling, let us say from New York to Albany,
+and chat with a friend who may be on another
+train traveling between Chicago and Denver. Or
+if a business man has started from New York to
+Chicago and happens to remember something important
+in his office he can call up his manager
+and give him directions just the same as though
+he pressed a buzzer and called him in from the
+next room.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It sounds like magic,” remarked Bob, drawing
+a long breath.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“If we’d even talked about such things a few
+hundred years ago we’d have been burned at the
+stake as wizards,” laughed the doctor.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“The most important thing about this railroad
+development,” he went on, “is not the convenience
+it may be in social and business life, but in the
+prevention of accidents. As it is now, after a
+train leaves a station it can’t get any orders or
+information until it gets to the next station. A
+train may be coming toward it head on, or another
+train ahead of it and going in the same direction
+may be stalled. Often in the first case orders
+have come to the station agent to hold a train until
+another one has passed. But the station agent
+gets the message just a minute too late, and the
+train has already left the station and is rushing
+on to its fate. Then all the agent can do is to
+shudder and wait for news of the crash. With
+the radio equipment he can call up the train, tell
+of the danger, and direct it to come back.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Or take the second case where a train is
+stopped by some accident and knows that another
+train is coming behind it on the same track and
+is due in a few minutes. All they can do now is
+to send back a man with a red flag to stop the
+second train. But it may be foggy or dark, and
+the engineer of the second train doesn’t see the
+flags and comes plunging on into the first train.
+With the radio, the instant a train is halted for
+any reason, it can send a message to the second
+train telling just where it is and warning of the
+danger. Hundreds have been killed and millions
+of dollars in property have been lost in the past
+just because of the old conditions. With the
+radio installed on trains, that sort of thing will
+be made almost impossible in the future.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“But there,” he said, with a smile, “I came up
+here to answer your questions, and I’ve been doing
+all the talking. Now just what is it you wanted
+to ask me about radio?”</p>
+</div>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-vithe-wonderful-tube">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id7">CHAPTER VI—THE WONDERFUL TUBE</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">“It’s about getting a vacuum tube,” replied
+Bob, in answer to the doctor’s question. “The
+crystal detector is all right when we use the ear
+pieces. But we got to thinking about a horn so
+that lots of people could enjoy the concerts at
+the same time, and we figured that the crystal
+wouldn’t be quite good enough for that.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The doctor smiled genially.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I knew you’d be wanting that sooner or later,”
+he said. “It’s the second natural step in radio
+development. While you were still getting
+familiar with the working of the wireless, the
+crystal would do very well. But there comes a
+time to all amateurs when they get to hankering
+after something that is undeniably better. And
+the vacuum tube is that thing.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It seems funny to me that the vacuum tube
+could have any use in radio,” put in Jimmy. “I
+never thought of it in any way but as being used
+for an electric light.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Neither did lots of other people,” replied the
+doctor, smiling. “Even Mr. Edison himself
+didn’t realize what its possibilities were. He did,
+though, discover some very curious things about
+it. In fact, he made the first step that led to its
+use for radio. He put a plate in one of his lamps.
+The plate didn’t touch the filament, but formed
+part of a circuit of its own with a current indicator
+attached. Then when he turned on the
+light and the filament began to glow, the needle
+of the indicator began to twitch. Since the filament
+and the plate weren’t touching, the movement
+of the needle indicated that the electricity
+must have jumped the gap between the two. But
+this simply showed that an invisible connection
+was established between the filament and the plate
+and nothing more came of it at the time.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Now, it’s likely that even yet we shouldn’t
+have had that discovery of Edison’s used for the
+development of radio if it hadn’t been for the
+new theory of what electricity really is. That
+theory is that everything is electricity. This chair
+I’m sitting on, the railing to this porch, the hat
+that Jimmy is holding in his hand—all that is
+electricity.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Jimmy gave a little jump at this, and held his
+hat rather gingerly at arm’s length and looked
+at it suspiciously.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The doctor joined in the laugh that followed.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, you needn’t be afraid that you’ll get a
+shock,” he said. “Electricity won’t hurt you as
+long as it’s at rest. It’s only when it gets stirred
+up that high jinks are apt to follow.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Jimmy looked relieved.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Now,” continued the doctor, “the theory is
+that all matter is composed of an infinite number
+of electrons. An electron is the smallest thing
+that can be conceived, smaller even than the atom
+which used to be thought of as the unit. There
+may be millions, billions, quadrillions of them in
+a thing as big as a hickory nut. And when these
+electrons get busy you can look out for things
+to happen.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Every hot object sends out electrons. That’s
+the reason that the filament in the electric light
+tube sends them out.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I suppose a red-hot stove would send them
+out, too,” suggested Joe. “If that is so, I should
+think that people would have found out about
+them long ago.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Ah, but there’s this difference,” explained the
+doctor. “The red-hot stove does send them out,
+but the air stops them. Remember that the atoms
+of which the air is composed are so large that the
+poor little electrons have no chance against them.
+It’s like a baby pushing against a giant. It can’t
+get by.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Now the vacuum tube comes along, knocks out
+the giant of the air, and lets the baby electrons
+pet past him. The air is pumped out of the tube
+and the electrons have nothing to stop them.
+That’s why Mr. Edison saw the needle on the
+plate begin to move, although the plate wasn’t
+touching the filament. The electrons jumped
+across the gap between the filament and the plate
+because there was nothing to stop them.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“With this discovery of Mr. Edison’s to aid
+him, a man named Fleming came along, who
+found that the oscillations caused by the flow of
+electrons to the plate could be utilized for the
+telephone by the use of what he called an oscillation
+valve that permitted the passage of the current
+in one direction only. That was the second
+important step.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“But these two steps alone wouldn’t have made
+radio what it is to-day if it hadn’t been for the
+wonderful improvement made by DeForest. He
+mounted a grid of wire between the filament and
+the plate connected with a battery. He found
+that the slightest change in the current to the grid
+made a wonderfully powerful increase in the current
+that passed from the filament to the plate.
+Just as when you touch the trigger of a rifle you
+have a loud explosion, so the grid magnifies tremendously
+the sound that would otherwise be
+weak or only ordinary. And by adding one
+vacuum valve to another the sound can be still
+further magnified until the crawling of a fly will
+sound like the tread of an elephant, until a mere
+whisper can become a crash of thunder, until the
+ticking of a watch will remind you of the din
+of a boiler factory, and the sighing of the wind
+through the trees on a summer night will be like
+the roar of Niagara.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“But there,” he broke off, with a little laugh,
+“I’m letting my enthusiasm carry me away. It’s
+hard to keep calm and cold-blooded when I get
+to talking about radio.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, you don’t care to talk about it more
+than we care to hear about it, you can be sure
+of that,” said Joe warmly.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Yes,” chimed in Jimmy, “to me it’s more interesting
+than a—a pirate story,” he added rather
+lamely.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“With the advantage,” laughed Dr. Dale, “that
+the pirate story usually has lots of pain and misery
+in it for somebody, while the radio has nothing
+but benefit for everybody. Why, you can
+scarcely think of any experience in which the
+radio won’t help. Take an Arctic expedition for
+instance. It used to be that when a ship once disappeared
+in the ice floes of the Arctic regions it
+was lost to the world for years. Nobody knew
+whether the explorers were alive or dead, were
+failing or succeeding, were safe and snug on board
+their ship or were shipwrecked and freezing on
+some field of ice. Look at the Greeley expedition,
+when for months the men were freezing and
+starving to death. If they had had a radio outfit
+with them, they could have communicated with
+the outside world, told all about their plight, given
+the exact place they were in, and help would have
+gone to them at once. Not a man need have perished.
+So if a crew were shipwrecked on a desert
+island, they wouldn’t to-day have to depend on a
+flag or bonfire to catch the attention of some ship
+that might just happen to be passing near the
+island. All they would have to do would be to
+send out a radio message—provided, of course,
+they had one from the wrecked ship’s stores or
+had material to make one—and a dozen vessels
+would go hurrying toward them. Those naval
+balloonists that were lost in the wilds of Canada a
+couple of years ago, that other expedition that
+perished in the heart of Labrador, and similar
+cases that might be counted by the dozens—all
+could have been helped if they had been able to
+tell their troubles to the outside world. I tell
+you, boys, we haven’t half begun to realize what
+the discovery of radio means to the world.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Now all this leads us back to vacuum tubes, for
+it’s only with them that all these things would be
+possible. Perhaps in the future something better
+yet will be invented, but they’re the best we
+have at present. I’m heartily in favor of you
+boys using a tube instead of a crystal, because it
+will give you vastly more enjoyment in your work.
+I wouldn’t have more than one at the start, but
+later on it may be well to have more. I have a
+catalogue up at my house of the various makes
+and prices, and if you’ll run up there any time
+I’ll give it to you. At the same time I’ll show you
+just how it’s got to be inserted and attached.
+Maybe also I’ll be able to help you in the making
+of the horn. I’ll have to go now,” he added, looking
+at his watch. “It’s surprising how the time
+flies when we get on this subject. Good-bye,
+boys, and don’t forget to drop in at the house
+whenever you can.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The radio boys watched the minister’s straight,
+alert figure as he went rapidly up the street.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Isn’t he all to the good?” asked Bob admiringly.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You bet he is!” agreed Jimmy emphatically,
+the others nodding their assent.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-viibaseball-by-wireless">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id8">CHAPTER VII—BASEBALL BY WIRELESS</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">For the next week the radio boys worked like
+beavers. They had pored over the catalogue that,
+according to his promise, Dr. Dale had lent them,
+and, acting on his advice, had picked out a tube
+of well-known make that could be bought for a
+moderate price. They had had to send to New
+York for it, because Dave Slocum did not have
+just that kind in stock, and they were feverish
+with impatience until it arrived. In the period
+of waiting they pitched in and helped Jimmy with
+the horn, and even Herb became sufficiently infected
+by the energy of the others to turn to and
+do his share of the work.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The precious tube arrived on Saturday morning,
+and Bob, who had ordered it, was gloating
+over it when the other boys came over to the
+house.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It’s come at last!” he cried exultantly, holding
+up the tube for their inspection.</p>
+<p class="pnext">There were exclamations of satisfaction as the
+others gathered round Bob and examined it.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“And it’s come just in time to get a good
+christening,” declared Joe. “That is, if we can
+have everything ready by three o’clock this afternoon.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“What do you mean?” asked Bob.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Why, I just read in the morning paper that
+the broadcasting station is going to send out the
+big baseball game between the Giants and the
+Pittsburghs at the Polo Grounds this afternoon,”
+replied Joe. “They say that they’re going to send
+out the game play by play, every ball pitched,
+every strike, every hit, every base stolen, every
+run scored, so that you can follow the game from
+the time the first man goes to the bat till the last
+man goes out in the ninth inning. What do you
+think of that?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">What they thought of it was evident from the
+chorus of jubilation that followed. All of them
+were ardent baseball fans, and in addition to that
+were good players themselves. Bob was pitcher
+and Joe first baseman on the High School nine,
+while Jimmy played a good game at short and
+Herb took care of the center field garden.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Naturally, with this love of the game, they were
+keenly interested in the championship races of
+the big major league ball teams and, during the
+season, followed the ups and downs of their favorites
+with the closest attention. That spring the
+race had been especially hot between the Giants
+and the Pittsburghs. Both had started out well,
+and the Giants had cleaned up the majority of
+games in the East, while the Pittsburghs had been
+cutting a big swath in the West.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Now the Pittsburghs were coming to New York
+on their first invasion of the year, and interest
+ran fever high in the Metropolis and the section
+round about. The newspapers were devoting columns
+of space to the teams, and it was certain
+that there would be a record attendance at the
+game that afternoon.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Bully!” cried Herb, as he danced a jig on
+the receipt of Joe’s news.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It will be almost as good as sitting in the
+grandstand behind the home plate,” exulted
+Jimmy.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Best thing I’ve heard since Sitting Bull sat
+down!” exclaimed Bob, as he clapped his friend
+on the shoulder.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“First time we’ll ever have seen a championship
+baseball game without paying for it,” laughed
+Joe.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I wouldn’t exactly call it seeing the game,”
+said Bob. “But it’s certainly the next thing to
+it. But now let’s get busy so that we’ll be sure
+to have everything ready by the time the game
+begins.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">They needed no urging and worked so fast and
+well that by dinner time they had the tube and
+horn arranged to their satisfaction. That left
+them time enough to go around among their
+friends and invite them to come in and enjoy the
+game with them. The invitation was accepted
+with alacrity, and some time before the hour set
+for the game to begin Bob’s room was filled with
+expectant boys.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Naturally, Bob, as host, was a little anxious
+and nervous as the moment approached when his
+improved set would be put to the test. It would
+have been a mortifying thing for him to fail.</p>
+<p class="pnext">He felt sure that every attachment and connection
+had been properly made and that nothing
+essential had been overlooked. Still, it was with
+a certain feeling of apprehension that he turned
+the knob to tune in when his watch told him that
+it was three o’clock. The day was hot, and
+“static” was likely to be troublesome.</p>
+<p class="pnext">There was a moment of hissing and whistling
+while he was getting perfectly tuned. Then he
+caught it just right, and into the room, clear and
+strong, came the announcement of the umpire,
+repeated by the man at the broadcasting station:</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Ladies and gentlemen: The batteries for to-day’s
+game are Blake and McCarthy for Pittsburgh,
+Hardy and Thompson for New York.
+Play ball!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">There was a roar of delight from the boys in
+the crowded room and a clapping of hands that
+made Bob’s face flush with pleasure. But he
+held up his hand for silence, and the excited boys
+settled back in their chairs, listening intently so as
+not to miss a feature of the game.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Then followed, play by play, the story of the
+first inning with the Pittsburghs, as the visiting
+team, first at bat.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The hum of conversation had ceased in the
+room, and the boys leaned forward intently, anxious
+not to lose a syllable.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Strike one!” came in stentorian tones.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Ball one!” followed.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Strike two!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Elton singles to center. Allison made a bad
+return of the ball, and Elton by fast running
+reached second. Maginn at bat.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Strike one!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Maginn lays down a sacrifice between first
+and second and is out at first. Elton gets to
+third on the play.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">It was evident that the Giant pitcher had not
+yet got into his stride, for he passed the next
+two batters, and the bases were filled with only one
+man out.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“He’s as wild as a March hare,” whispered
+Jimmy to Herb.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Sure looks like a run with Krug coming up,”
+replied Herb. “He can everlastingly lambaste
+the ball. He’s made two homers this week already.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Ball one,” “ball two,” “ball three,” followed in
+quick succession.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Looks as if he were going to pass him, too, to
+get a chance at Hofmeyer,” murmured Joe.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That would be poor dope, for it would force
+in a run,” replied Bob. “I guess he simply can’t
+locate the plate. It’s funny the manager doesn’t
+take him out.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Krug hits a sharp grounder to Helmer,” came
+the voice. “Helmer shoots the ball to Menken,
+forcing Ackerson at second, and Menken by a
+lightning throw gets Krug at first. Three out.
+One hit, no runs.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">There was a ripple of applause at the snappy
+double play.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That pulled the pitcher out of a tight hole all
+right,” laughed Bob. “Gee, but I bet the Pittsburghs
+are sore. The bases full and only one
+man out, and yet they couldn’t score.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That’s what makes a baseball game so exciting,”
+returned Joe. “You can’t be sure of anything.
+Just when you think the game is all
+sewed up something happens and the whole thing
+goes ke-flooey.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Can’t you imagine how the Giant rooters are
+yelling their heads off at the Polo Grounds?”
+chuckled Jimmy.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The Giants in their turn at bat went out in
+one, two, three order.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Ladies and gentlemen,” came the voice a moment
+later: “Roberts now pitching for New
+York.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I thought they’d take out Hardy,” commented
+Herb. “He was as wild as a hawk in that first
+inning, and the manager isn’t going to take
+chances.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">In the next three innings neither side scored.
+Roberts, the new choice of the manager, was
+pitching like a house afire, and did not let a man
+reach first. The Pittsburgh pitcher was also on
+his mettle, and mowed his opponents down almost
+as fast as they came to the plate.</p>
+<p class="pnext">In the fifth inning, however, the Giants broke
+the ice.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Wharton lifts a Texas leaguer back of second,”
+came the voice. “Krug and Hofmeyer
+went for it, but the ball fell between them.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Strike one!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Foul—strike two!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Miller lines the ball to right. Maginn, instead
+of waiting for the ball on the bound, rushes
+in to make a shoestring catch and the ball gets
+past him. Elton retrieves the ball and makes a
+great throw to the plate to catch Wharton, who
+has rounded third and is racing for home. He
+slides under the catcher’s arm and scores. Miller
+in the meantime makes third.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Again there came the murmur of applause that
+showed how the boys were wrought up by the
+play that they saw in their minds’ eye almost
+as plainly as if it were right before them.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Helmer hits to Hofmeyer,” went on the voice,
+“and Miller is run down between third and home,
+the batter reaching second on the play.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Ball one!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Ball two!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Helmer makes a clean steal of third.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Ball three!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Guess the Pittsburgh pitcher is getting a little
+nervous,” whispered Jimmy.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That steal, together with the error in center,
+is getting his goat,” assented Herb.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Allison sends the ball on a line into the right
+field bleachers for a homer, scoring Helmer in
+front of him,” the voice announced.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Gee, but that must have been some clout!”
+ejaculated Joe. “That fellow sure can kill the
+ball.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The pause that followed told them as plainly
+as words of the yelling and excitement at the
+grounds that were holding up the game.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Ladies and gentlemen,” came the announcement: “Ralston
+now pitching for the Pittsburghs.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Batted the other fellow out of the box!” exclaimed
+Jimmy gleefully, who made no bones of
+the fact that he was rooting for the Giants.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Him for the showers,” agreed Herb, who was
+also a Giant adherent.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I guess the Giants have put the game on ice,”
+exulted Joe.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Don’t be too sure,” warned Bob. “Those
+Pittsburghs are fence breakers, and they may
+stage a rally any minute. It takes more than a
+three-run lead to make them curl up.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">That they were not going to “curl up” became
+evident as the game progressed toward its close.
+They fought like tigers for every advantage, made
+hair-raising stops and throws and slugged the ball
+ferociously. But a Giant fielder seemed to be
+in front of every ball, and when the Pittsburghs
+came up for their last inning the score was still
+3 to 0 in favor of the New York team.</p>
+<p class="pnext">But in that ninth inning!</p>
+</div>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-viiia-thrilling-climax">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id9">CHAPTER VIII—A THRILLING CLIMAX</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">It is certain that the Polo Grounds was a bad
+place for any one troubled with a weak heart
+during that ninth inning of the Giant-Pittsburgh
+game.</p>
+<p class="pnext">That the boys from the Smoky City were “out
+for blood” was evident from the moment that
+Elton, the first man up, faced the pitcher.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Elton swings at the first ball offered and
+sends a screaming liner to left,” proclaimed the
+radio voice. “It caromed off the left field wall
+and was skilfully handled by Miller, who by a
+quick return was able to hold the runner to two
+bags.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Pretty good beginning,” murmured Herb,
+shifting a little uneasily in his seat.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, that’s nothing,” Joe reassured him.
+“One swallow doesn’t make a summer and one hit
+doesn’t win a ball game.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Maginn sends a grasser between second and
+third,” continued the voice. “Elton scored easily
+and Maginn reached second on a close decision.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That saves Pittsburgh from a shut-out anyway,”
+muttered Jimmy. “But I guess that’ll be
+about all.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">In this, however, he was mistaken.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Wilson drives the ball on a line over second,”
+went on the voice. “Menken made a great attempt
+to spear it but couldn’t reach. A quick relay
+of the ball kept Maginn from getting beyond
+third, but on the throw-in Wilson reached
+second.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Men on second and third and no man out!”
+ejaculated Joe.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Those fellows have got their batting clothes
+on,” commented Bob. “Did you notice that each
+one of them offered at the first ball pitched? I
+guess they’ve solved Roberts at last.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">That the manager of the Giants had reached the
+same conclusion was evident from the pause that
+followed and the subsequent notice that Compton
+had taken Roberts’ place in the box.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Strike one!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Strike two!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That begins to sound better,” Jimmy comforted
+himself.</p>
+<p class="pnext">His satisfaction was of short duration.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Ackerson hits to deep short. The ball took a
+high bound and Helmer by a brilliant effort
+knocked it down, but too late to get the runner
+at first. Maginn scored and Wilson reached
+third.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That makes two runs,” sighed Herb. “One
+more and they’ll tie the score.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“And with two men on bases and nobody out,
+they’re almost sure to do that much at least,”
+muttered Bob. “It’s too bad to have the Giants
+blow the game just when they had it in their
+kit bags.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The silence was almost painful as the boys
+waited for the next announcement.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Ackerson steals second just beating Thompson’s
+good throw by a hook slide.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Almost a groan went up in the crowded room.
+Some of the boys got so restless that they rose
+and paced the room, or sat forward in their chairs
+as though they were straining their eyes to look
+at the actual diamond.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“A single now will bring in two runs and put
+Pittsburgh in the lead,” groaned Jimmy.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“And with Krug, their clean-up man at the
+bat!” said Bob glumly.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Strike one!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Ball one!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Ball two!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“He’s trying to make him bite at bad ones,”
+commented Herb.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Strike two!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Ball three!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Now he’s got Compton in a hole,” murmured
+Jimmy. “He’s got to put the next ball over.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“And if he does, I’m afraid that Krug will kill
+it,” gloomed Joe.</p>
+<p class="pnext">There was a momentary pause.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Krug hits a terrific drive to the box,” announced
+the voice. “Compton leaps into the air
+and spears it with his left hand. He throws to
+Albers and catches Wilson, who had left the bag,
+Albers hurls the ball to Menken and gets Ackerson,
+who was trying to scramble back to second.
+Triple play, three men out and the Giants win,
+three to two!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">There was a moment of stupefaction in the
+crowded room. Then a roar broke out that
+brought Mrs. Layton up to the room in a hurry
+under the impression that something dreadful had
+happened.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It’s all right, Mother,” laughed Bob. “We’re
+only excited over the baseball game. It came
+out so unexpectedly that it took us all off our
+feet.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You seem to be all on your feet, as far as I can
+judge,” Mrs. Layton smiled back. “But you can
+make all the noise you want as long as you are
+happy,” and with a wave of her hand she left
+them.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“A triple play!” exclaimed Bob hilariously.
+“The thing that happens only once in a blue moon.
+Say, fellows, maybe we didn’t pick out a corking
+game to christen our radio with!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“And almost as good as though we were right
+at the grounds,” cried Joe. “I’ve seen many a
+game, and I never got more real excitement over
+one than I’ve had this afternoon. I could almost
+hear my heart beat while I was wondering what
+Krug was going to do.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“And just think what it will be when the
+World’s Series comes along in the fall!” chuckled
+Jimmy. “We’ll take in every game without going
+out of Clintonia.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That is, if it’s played in the East,” put in
+Herb. “It may not be so easy if it’s played in
+the West.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It doesn’t matter where it’s played,” rejoined
+Jimmy. “By the time fall comes, we’ll probably
+have improved our radio set so that we can listen
+in on Chicago just as easily as we have to-day on
+Newark. And, anyway, the results will be sent to
+the Newark station so that it can be broadcasted
+all over the East. We’ll take them all in, never
+you fear, and we won’t have to pay a fortune to
+speculators for the tickets either. But what is
+that I smell?” he broke off suddenly, sniffing the
+air that had become laden with savory odors.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“See his nose twitch,” gibed Joe. “Trust him
+to forget baseball or anything else when doughnuts
+are around.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Doughnuts!” exclaimed Jimmy, an expression
+of cherubic bliss coming on his face. “Can it
+be? Yes, there can be no mistake. It must be—it
+is—doughnuts!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Right the first time,” laughed Bob. “I didn’t
+want to say anything about it while the game was
+on, but Mother gave me a tip that she’d start
+making them so that we could have them fresh
+and hot by the time we were through. So come
+ahead downstairs, fellows, and if any of you get
+away without having your fill of about the niftiest
+doughnuts ever made, it will be your own
+fault.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">There was no need of a second invitation, and
+the boys, with Jimmy in the van, hurried downstairs
+where several big dishes heaped high with
+crisp, delicious doughnuts awaited them. They
+fell to at once, and the table was swept clear as
+though by magic.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That puts the finishing touch on a perfect
+day,” sighed Jimmy, with perfect content.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Right you are,” agreed Joe. “And say, fellows,
+wasn’t that a peach of a game?”</p>
+</div>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-ixthe-loop">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id10">CHAPTER IX—THE LOOP</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">“Do you know, fellows,” remarked Bob, as
+he was talking with his friends a few days later,
+“I’ve been thinking——”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Bob’s been thinking!” cried Herb. “Fire the
+cannon, ring the bells, hang out the flags. Bob’s
+been thinking!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Are you sure it’s that, or have you only been
+thinking that you’ve been thinking?” grinned Joe.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“When did it attack you first?” asked Jimmy,
+with great solicitude. “And where does it hurt
+you worst? Are you taking anything for it?
+You don’t want to let it go too long, Bob. I knew
+a fellow who had that same trouble and didn’t
+think it was worth while to send for a doctor, and
+before he knew it——”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Bob made a dive at him that Jimmy adroitly
+ducked, losing nothing but his hat in the process.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Listen to me, you boneheads,” Bob commanded,
+“and I’ll try to get down on the same
+level with your feeble intelligence. I’ve been
+thinking that perhaps we can better our set still
+more in the matter of aerials.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Alexander always looking for new worlds
+to conquer,” murmured Joe. “We nearly got
+killed the last time we bettered our aerial. What’s
+the matter with the umbrella type? I thought
+that was the <em class="italics">ne plus ultra</em>, the <em class="italics">sine qua non</em>, the—the——”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“The <em class="italics">e pluribus unum</em>,” Herb helped him out,
+“the <em class="italics">hoc propter quod</em>, the <em class="italics">hic jacet</em>, the <em class="italics">requiescat
+in pace</em>, the——”</p>
+<p class="pnext">At this point his hat followed Jimmy’s.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“The umbrella kind is good, all right,” admitted
+Bob; “and, for that matter, I’m not dead sure
+that it isn’t the best. It certainly gave us fine results
+in the baseball game on Saturday. But
+there’s nothing so good that there may not be
+something better, and I thought it might be well
+to rig up a loop some day and try it out. If
+it works as well or better than the umbrella, we
+may use it when we come to set up our radio at
+Ocean Point.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Is it a big job?” asked Herb, who as a rule
+was not on speaking terms with anything that
+looked like work.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“No,” answered Bob. “It’s easy enough to
+make. We’ll just get Jimmy here to make a
+frame for it down in his father’s carpenter
+shop——.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Jimmy!” repeated that individual, in an aggrieved
+tone. “We’ll just get Jimmy to make
+the horn. Sure! We’ll just get Jimmy to make
+a frame. Sure! I suppose if one of us was
+marked out to die, you’d say, ‘We’ll just let
+Jimmy do it.’ Just as easy as that.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Stop right there, Jimmy,” commanded Joe.
+“You’ll have me crying in a minute, and it’s an
+awful thing to see a strong man weep.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“After Jimmy has made the frame,” continued
+Bob, not at all moved by the pathos of the situation,
+“all we’ll have to do will be to wind it about
+eight times with copper wire. That will give us
+a lot of receiving area and capacity. The frame
+ought to be about four feet square. It’ll have to be
+mounted on a pivot——”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Let Jimmy make the pivot,” murmured
+Jimmy.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“So that it can be swung end on in the direction
+of the broadcasting station,” continued Bob,
+not deigning to notice the interruption. “It has to
+be pointed in that direction in order to get the
+message. If it were at right angles, for instance,
+we probably would hear only very little or perhaps
+nothing at all. You see, with that kind of aerial
+we don’t have to put up anything on the roof at
+all. We could have it inside the room. It could
+be fastened to a hook in the ceiling, so that when
+we weren’t using it we could hoist it up and get
+it out of the way. That kind is used a lot on
+ships and at ship stations on shore. They call
+it sometimes a ‘radio compass.’ You can see it
+must be pretty good or they wouldn’t use it so
+widely.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It is good,” broke in a bass voice behind them,
+and as they turned in surprise they were delighted
+to recognize in the owner of the voice Mr.
+Frank Brandon, the radio inspector, by whose
+aid they had been able to track down Dan Cassey,
+the rascal who had tried to defraud Nellie Berwick,
+an orphan girl, of her money.</p>
+<p class="pnext">There was an exclamation of pleasure from all
+of the boys, with whom Mr. Brandon was a great
+favorite.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“What good wind blew you down this way?”
+asked Bob, after the greetings and hand-shakings
+were over.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“A little matter of business brought me down
+to a neighboring town, and while I was so near
+I thought I would run over to Clintonia and call
+on my old friend, Doctor Dale,” replied Brandon.
+“He told me that you boys won the Ferberton
+prizes,” he continued, addressing Bob and Joe,
+“and I congratulate you. I wasn’t surprised, for
+I knew you’d been doing hard and intelligent work
+on your sets. And I can see from the conversation
+I overheard that you’re just as much interested
+in it as ever.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“More than ever,” affirmed Bob, and the others
+agreed. “We’re just crazy about it. We think
+it’s just the greatest thing that ever happened.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“There are lots more who think the same
+thing,” said Brandon, with a smile. “And I guess
+they’re about right. By the way, there’s an interesting
+thing about that radio compass you
+were speaking about that isn’t generally known.
+I was over on the other side when the thing happened,
+and I got some inside dope on it.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Tell us about it,” urged Bob, and the others
+joined in.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It was just before the battle of Jutland,” replied
+Brandon, “which, as of course you know,
+was the biggest naval battle fought during the
+World War. The German fleet had been tied
+up in their own home waters for nearly two years,
+and hadn’t ventured out to try conclusions with
+the British fleet that was patrolling the North
+Seas. In fact, it began to be thought that they
+never would come out. But at last the German
+naval leaders determined to risk a battle. They
+made their preparations with the greatest secrecy,
+because, their vessels not being as numerous as
+those of the British, their only chance of success
+lay in catching a part of the British fleet unawares
+before the rest of the fleet could come to their
+rescue.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“But the British naval authorities were on the
+alert. They had this radio compass you were talking
+about developed to a high point of efficiency
+and were able to listen in on the orders given by
+the German commanders to their vessels. The
+Germans hadn’t any idea that they could be overheard
+and used their wireless signals freely.
+Now, you remember that the battle took place on
+May thirty-first.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">They did not remember at all, but they nodded
+their heads and tried to look as wise as possible.
+Jimmy especially had such an owlish expression
+that the others could hardly keep from laughing.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“On the night of May thirtieth,” resumed
+Brandon, “the German flagship wirelessed a lot
+of instructions that were heard at several places
+on the British coast. These were compared and
+it was possible to ascertain just where the flagship
+was stationed. The next morning the flagship
+sent another lot of orders, that were also heard
+by the British. It was then found that the flagship
+had moved seven miles down the river from
+the station where she had been the night before.
+That showed that the fleet was on the move. Instantly
+the British fleet was sent out to meet them.
+So when the Germans came out to surprise the
+British, they found that it was the other way
+around and it was they themselves that were surprised.
+Well, you know the result. The German
+ships had to retreat to their harbor, and
+they never came out again except to surrender
+after the war was over. That was one way that
+radio helped to win the war.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Just as it helped our aviators,” put in Joe.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Precisely,” assented Mr. Brandon. “The Germans
+are usually pretty well up in science, but we
+put it all over them in the matter of wireless while
+the war was on.”</p>
+</div>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xoff-for-the-sea-shore">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id11">CHAPTER X—OFF FOR THE SEA SHORE</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">“But valuable as the radio was in war,” Brandon
+went on, “I believe it is going to be still more
+valuable in the matter of maintaining peace. I
+think, in fact, that it may do away with war altogether.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I don’t quite get you,” said Bob, with a puzzled
+air.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“In this way,” explained Brandon. “It’s going
+to make all the people of the world neighbors.
+And when people are neighbors they’re usually
+more or less friends. They have to a large extent
+the same interests and they understand each other.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Now, most wars have been due to exclusiveness
+and misunderstandings. Each nation has
+dwelt in its own borders, behind its own mountains
+or its own rivers, and they’ve shut out of
+their minds and interests all people outside of
+themselves. They’ve grown to think that a
+stranger must necessarily be an enemy. Some
+little thing happens that makes them mad and
+they’re ready to fight.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“But the radio is going to break down all these
+barriers of exclusiveness and remove these misunderstandings.
+When people get to talking together
+each finds that the other one isn’t such a
+bad fellow after all. When a man in Paris picks
+up his telephone and has a chat with one man in
+England and then another man in Spain and still
+another in Italy he finds that they are all human
+beings and very much like himself. If he had the
+Englishman, the Spaniard, the Italian in his office
+together, he’d probably invite them out to dinner
+and they’d all have a good time. When the time
+comes that in every country in South America
+men can tune in on the radio and listen to the
+inaugural address of the President of the United
+States coming from his own lips, they’ll know
+that we have no unfriendly designs on their country
+and are only anxious to see them happy and
+prosperous. We’ll hear the same speeches, we’ll
+listen to the same concerts, and gradually we’ll
+come to feel that we’re all neighbors. That’s why
+I say that the radio may in the course of time
+make all wars impossible, or at least very improbable.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It sounds reasonable,” commented Bob. “I
+only hope that you’re right.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’m mighty glad that we happened to be in
+town when you dropped in to see the doctor,” said
+Joe. “A few days later and we’d all have
+been down at Ocean Point for the summer.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Ocean Point!” exclaimed Mr. Brandon. “Is
+that where you boys are going?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Yes,” replied Joe. “Our folks have a little
+colony down there, and we go every summer.
+Why, do you know anything about the place?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I should say I did!” replied Mr. Brandon, “I
+usually spend a week or two at Ocean Point myself,
+and I have a cousin there who has charge of
+the Ocean Point radio station. His name is
+Brandon Harvey. His first name you see is the
+same as my last name.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Why, that’s fine!” exclaimed Bob.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Radio seems to run in your family,” said
+Herb, with a smile.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We’ll look him up and introduce ourselves,”
+said Joe. “We’re all radio fans, and that’s a sort
+of freemasonry.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You’ll find him a good fellow,” said Brandon.
+“And I’m sure he’ll be glad to meet you. If I
+happen to get down there about the same time
+that you do, I’ll take you around and introduce
+you myself. You’ll find that what he doesn’t
+know about radio isn’t worth knowing. He can
+run rings all around me.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“He must be pretty good then,” laughed Bob.
+“Though I don’t believe it. But it will be dandy
+if you are able to spend part of the summer with
+us down there.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“What time are you going?” asked Mr. Brandon.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Just as soon as school closes,” answered Bob.
+“The closing exercises are to be held next
+Wednesday, and we expect to get off the next
+day.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Not losing any time, are you?” smiled Brandon.
+“Well, I’ll see how I can fix it, and I
+shouldn’t be surprised if you’d find me waiting
+for you when you get there.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">They had reached the school gate by this time,
+and with cordial farewells they separated.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The next few days passed with great rapidity.
+The boys were busy in preparing for the closing
+examinations, and even their beloved radio had
+to be laid aside for a time. Bob and Joe had kept
+well up in their classes and did not anticipate much
+trouble in passing, but Jimmy and Herb had been
+more remiss, and it took many anxious nights and
+much “boning” to prepare for the ordeal.</p>
+<p class="pnext">However, they all got through, Bob and Joe
+with flying colors and Jimmy and Herb with
+marks that were at least respectable. And it was
+a happy group of boys who on the Wednesday
+afternoon that the school term came to a close
+tossed their books up on the shelves, not to be disturbed
+again until the fall.</p>
+<p class="pnext">But there is apt to be a fly in the ointment, and
+the fly on this occasion was the news that Jimmy
+passed on to his companions the night before
+they left for Ocean Point.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Say, fellows, who do you think is going down
+to Ocean Point for the summer besides our
+bunch?” he asked, almost out of breath with the
+haste he had made to come over to the Laytons’
+house, where the friends were seated on the porch
+enjoying the evening breeze after a hot day.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“President of the United States, for all I
+know,” answered Joe flippantly, as he fanned
+himself with his cap.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Jimmy glared at him.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It can’t be the old Kaiser,” said Herb. “Don’t
+tell me, Doughnuts, that it’s the Kaiser.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Worse than that,” answered Jimmy. “Buck
+Looker and his gang are going to be there.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">There was a general straightening up of his
+astonished hearers.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“What?” ejaculated Bob. “I’m knocked all in
+a heap!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Say that again,” demanded Joe. “Or, rather,
+don’t say it again. Let me think it’s all a horrible
+dream.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Sure as shooting,” affirmed Jimmy. “I was
+in Dave Slocum’s store when Mr. Looker came in
+to get some fishing tackle. He got to talking to
+Dave, and told him that he was going to take his
+family down to Ocean Point for the summer, and
+that Buck was going to take a couple of his friends
+along with him. He didn’t say who the friends
+were, but of course we know it wouldn’t be any
+one but Carl Lutz and Terry Mooney. In fact,
+those are the only fellows he hangs out with.
+None of the decent fellows in town will have anything
+to do with him. So what do you think of
+that?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Punk!” declared Joe.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It’s a shame that we can’t get rid of that gang
+even in vacation time,” said Bob. “Half the fun
+of getting through with school was the thought
+that we wouldn’t have to look on Buck’s ugly
+face for a couple of months.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It’s lucky the air down at the Point is salt,
+or Buck would poison it,” remarked Herb disconsolately.
+“That fellow’s a regular hoodoo.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, well,” Bob comforted himself, “we don’t
+have to mix up with him, anyway. He won’t
+be living in our little separate colony, and our
+folks and his never had anything to do with each
+other. It’ll probably be only once in a while when
+we have to come across him. And it’s more than
+likely that he’ll steer clear of us, for he knows
+he’s about as popular with us as a rattlesnake at a
+picnic party.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“If he tries any of his low-down tricks there
+won’t be any Mr. Preston to save him again from
+a licking,” put in Joe. “But let’s forget him and
+think of something pleasant.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The women of the party had gone that same
+day to the Point in order to get everything ready
+for the coming of the boys and their sisters on the
+morrow. The fathers were still in town, where
+business or profession detained them. Their plan
+for the summer was to go down to the Point for
+the week-ends only.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Dr. Atwood, Joe’s father, had taken his wife
+and the other women down to the resort in his
+spacious car early in the morning. It was only a
+pleasant spin of about forty miles, and after seeing
+them comfortably settled, he had returned in order
+to take the boys and girls down on the following
+day.</p>
+<p class="pnext">He found on his return, however, that a friend
+of Herb Fennington’s sisters, Agnes and Amy,
+had arranged to take the girls down early that
+evening. They had asked Rose Atwood to go
+down with them, so that left only the radio boys
+to take the trip down the next day in the doctor’s
+car.</p>
+<p class="pnext">And as the boys had to pack their suitcases and
+get their fishing tackle and other sporting material
+together they stayed chatting only for a little
+while on Bob’s porch that evening and separated
+early.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The next morning dawned gloriously and gave
+promise of a perfect day. The doctor was on
+hand at about ten o’clock, and the boys bundled
+into the car, full of the highest spirits and looking
+forward to a summer of unalloyed fun and
+sport.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The doctor himself drove, and the car, under his
+skilful handling, made rapid time along the beautiful
+roads. The boys joked and laughed and
+sang and enjoyed themselves to the full. They
+were like so many frisky colts let out to pasture.</p>
+<p class="pnext">As they passed through the little town of Lisburn
+they saw a young girl watering the flowers
+in the garden of one of the houses. Bob’s keen
+eye detected and recognized her at once.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It’s Miss Berwick!” he cried. “Doctor, would
+you mind stopping here a minute?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Certainly I’ll stop,” replied the doctor, with a
+smile, and slowed down immediately. “Take all
+the time you want.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Bob and Joe jumped out and ran to the gate.
+The girl looked at them for a moment and then
+with a glad cry came hurrying toward them.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“How glad I am to see you,” she cried, extending
+both hands in welcome. “Come into the
+house.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Thank you,” answered Bob. “We’d like to,
+but we’re with a party and can stay only a minute.
+But we had to stop to say how do you do and ask
+you how everything was going with you.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Couldn’t be better,” she answered, with a
+smile. “I’ve got my health back completely. And
+I have my house, and my mind’s at rest, thanks to
+you two boys. I’ll never forget what you did for
+me in rescuing me from that wrecked auto and
+then later in getting that mortgage back from the
+man who was trying to cheat me.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, what we did was nothing much, and anybody
+else would have done the same thing,” disclaimed
+Bob. “But tell us about that rascal, Dan
+Cassey. Have you seen or heard anything about
+him?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Only once,” replied Miss Berwick. “He came
+back to this vicinity to wind up his affairs and
+get out. I met him one day on the road when no
+one else was about. I was going to pass him
+without speaking, for I dread the man almost as
+much as I despise him, but he planted himself in
+my way and went on dreadfully about you boys.
+Said he was going to fix you for butting into his
+affairs—those were the words he used. Some one
+came in sight just then and he passed on. But
+what he said has worried me. I do hope you boys
+will keep on your guard against him. I’d feel
+dreadful if anything happened to you for being
+so good to me.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Don’t worry about us,” Bob adjured her.
+“We’re able to take care of ourselves.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Did he stutter as much as usual?” asked Joe,
+with a grin.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Worse, if anything,” Miss Berwick answered.
+“He had to whistle to go on.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">They all laughed, and after a moment more of
+conversation and repeated warnings from the
+girl to be careful, the boys said good-bye and
+went to the car. She waved to them until the car
+was out of sight.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The doctor put on a little extra speed to make
+up for the delay, and the car purred along the
+road until finally Ocean Point came in sight. A
+cry of delight broke from the boys as they saw
+the ocean stretched out before them, that shimmering,
+sunlit ocean that seemed so friendly now,
+but whose menace and danger they were soon
+to feel.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xia-long-swim">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id12">CHAPTER XI—A LONG SWIM</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">“Ocean Point strikes me as being just all
+right,” said Bob, as he stretched out luxuriously
+in one of the comfortable chairs on the shady
+porch.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Right you are,” agreed Joe, heartily. “We
+ought to acquire a coat of sunburn here that will
+last over the winter and into next spring.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It wouldn’t take long out in that sun to get
+cooked nice and brown on both sides,” said Bob.
+“It’s going to be hot work putting up the aerials.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Yes, but the best of it is that, no matter how
+hot you get, you can always cool off again in jig
+time by taking a dive in the ocean,” said Joe.
+“And that’s what I’m going to do pretty soon,
+too.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You won’t have to go alone, I can promise
+you that,” said Jimmy. “I don’t want to go in
+before we get the antenna strung up, though,
+because when I once do get there, I shan’t want
+to come out in a hurry.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You’ll come out soon enough, Doughnuts,
+when you find a big shark chasing you,” said
+Herb, with a sly wink at the others. “I’ve been
+told that there’s a big man-eating shark around
+here that’s just lying in wait for somebody to
+come in and furnish a nice dinner for him.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Shark, nothing!” exclaimed Jimmy. “Anyway,
+if there were sharks around here, they’d be
+just as apt to eat you or Bob or Joe as they would
+be to go after me.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Not a bit of it,” said Herb seriously. “This
+shark I’m telling you about doesn’t care for any
+one but very fat people. That’s what makes me
+think it would be dangerous for you to go in.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, I don’t know that I can blame the shark
+for preferring me to you,” said Jimmy, refusing,
+with the wisdom born of long experience, to take
+Herb’s story seriously. “If the shark swallowed
+you, I’ll bet he’d die of indigestion afterwards.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“All right, then, do as you please, but don’t
+say I didn’t warn you,” said Herb resignedly.
+“You don’t get much gratitude for trying to do
+people favors anyway, I’ve found.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“If you fellows put as much energy into getting
+that aerial strung as you do in chinning with each
+other, we’d be receiving messages by now,” said
+Bob, laughing. “Let’s get busy and get things
+fixed up, and then we’ll go down and see if there’s
+any sign of that shark friend of Herb’s.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The radio boys all agreed to this, and without
+further delay took up the business of stringing
+the antenna. They had brought two masts with
+them, and these they proceeded to mount on the
+roofs of the two bungalows occupied by the Laytons
+and the Atwoods. These were so situated
+that the umbrella antenna ran directly over the
+community living room, thus giving an ideal condition
+for sending, as the boys intended to set up
+their apparatus in the big living room, so that
+everybody in the little colony could get the benefit
+of the nightly concerts and news bulletins sent
+out by the big broadcasting stations.</p>
+<p class="pnext">As the radio boys had surmised, getting up the
+aerial was a blisteringly hot job, and before they
+had been at it many minutes the perspiration was
+running off them in streams. They kept doggedly
+at it, however, and at last the final turn-buckle
+had been tightened up, and everything
+looked taut and shipshape.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“There!” exclaimed Bob, looking with satisfaction
+at the result of their labors. “I guess it
+will take a pretty strong gale to knock that outfit
+over.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“A cyclone, you mean,” said Joe. “I don’t
+think anything short of that would even bother
+it.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, we’ll hope not,” said Bob. “Who’s
+going for a swim? It would take a whole school
+of sharks to keep me out of the water now.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The others were of the same mind, and it did
+not take them long to jump into their bathing
+suits and make a dash for the white beach. A
+gentle surf was breaking with a cool, splashing
+rumble that seemed almost like an invitation to
+come in and get cool. The boys were not long in
+accepting it, and dashed in with shouts and
+laughter. They were all good swimmers, and
+they gave themselves up to the delight of breasting
+the incoming breakers, rising and falling with
+the slow heave and swell of the cool, green ocean.
+Puffing and blowing, flinging the spray from
+their eyes, they passed beyond the surf, and then
+slowed down, just exerting themselves enough to
+keep their heads above water.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Wow!” exclaimed Jimmy. “This is the life,
+eh, fellows?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’ll say so!” agreed Bob. “Where’s that
+shark of yours, Herb?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, I suppose he’s away visiting some friends
+of his,” said Herb. “But if you wait around
+long enough, we’ll probably see him. Just have
+a little patience, can’t you?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“All the patience in the world,” laughed Joe.
+“I don’t really care how long he stays away, myself.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“He couldn’t catch me if he did come around,”
+boasted Jimmy. “I’ll bet none of you hobos can
+catch me, anyway,” and he was off in a smother
+of foam.</p>
+<p class="pnext">This was a challenge not to be overlooked, and
+the rest were after him like hounds after a fox.
+Jimmy soon found it an impossibility to make
+good his boast, and before he had gone fifty
+yards he was overhauled by Bob, and then by
+Joe. Herb did his best for a while, but soon decided
+that it was more trouble than it was worth,
+and turned over on his back and floated instead.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Why, you couldn’t beat a lame crab, Doughnuts,”
+chaffed Bob, as they all slowed up to get
+their wind. “I thought from the way you talked
+that you were the boy wonder of the world.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, I don’t care. I made you fellows work
+hard, anyway,” panted Jimmy, puffing out a
+mouthful of water that he had inadvertently
+shipped. “This is one place where I can exercise
+without getting overheated, anyway.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“No danger of that,” said Joe. “I’m about
+ready to go in for a while. How about you
+fellows?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Guess it might be a good idea,” said Bob.
+“We’re out further than I thought, as it is.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">In fact, when the boys looked toward the shore,
+it did look a long distance away. But they swam
+in easily, with long, easy strokes, reveling in the
+clean tang of the salt water and the joy of the
+brilliant sun on their faces as they clove through
+the sparkling waves. Before long they had
+reached the outer line of gentle combers, and let
+themselves be carried shoreward in a rush and
+swirl of white foam. A little further, and they
+felt the hard sand of the beach, and got on their
+feet, somewhat winded, but intoxicated with the
+joy and sense of glorious well being that comes of
+salt spray, glinting sun, and salty breeze.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That was the greatest ever!” exclaimed Bob,
+flinging himself down in the soft, hot sand.
+“Fresh water is all right, but give me old ocean
+for real sport.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Each boy burrowed out a comfortable nest in
+the sand, which felt very warm and grateful after
+the cold sea water. But it was not very long before
+the sun began to make itself felt, and pretty
+soon their bathing suits were steaming.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Say!” exclaimed Jimmy, at length, scrambling
+to his feet, “it’s me for the water again. I can
+begin to feel my skin drying up and getting nice
+and crispy. Who’s game for another swim?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">It appeared that they all were, and with shouts
+and laughter they once more dashed into the surf.
+They did not stay in so long this time, however,
+as it was drawing on toward evening, and they
+all had ravenous appetites that told them it must
+be nearly supper time.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Jimmy was the first to put this thought into
+words.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I feel as though I hadn’t eaten anything in
+days,” he remarked. “I’ve often heard that salt
+water was a great thing to give a person an appetite,
+and now I know it.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Yes, but I don’t believe that you have to come
+all the way to Ocean Point, Doughnuts, to get
+one,” said Herb. “I don’t see how you could very
+well eat more than you do when you’re in Clintonia.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Huh! I don’t suppose you feel hungry at all,
+do you?” asked Jimmy.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, I must admit I feel as though I could
+punish a pretty square meal,” said Herb. “But
+if I were as fat as some people I know, I’d be
+ashamed to talk about eating, even.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Maybe if I floated around on my back while
+I’m in the water, instead of really swimming, I
+wouldn’t feel so hungry, either,” said Jimmy
+scathingly, and this turned the laugh on Herb.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“He’s got you there, Herb,” said Bob. “If
+you keep on you’ll be getting fat yourself. If
+you ever do, you’ll be out of luck, because Jimmy
+will never get through pestering you about it.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I guess I won’t have to worry about that for
+a while yet,” said Herb. “It will take me a good
+many years to catch up with Jimmy.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Don’t you worry about me,” said that aggrieved
+individual. “I don’t worry about you
+just because you look like an animated clothespin,
+do I?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Herb was still trying to think up some fitting
+reply to this when his meditations were cut short
+by their arrival at the little bungalow colony.</p>
+<p class="pnext">There were several small bungalows grouped
+about one much larger one. This latter contained
+a large dining and living room and a kitchen big
+enough to supply the needs of all the families
+residing in the smaller buildings. It was in this
+large central living room that the boys had started
+to set up their radio apparatus when the lure of
+the ocean had tempted them away.</p>
+<p class="pnext">They returned none too soon, for the evening
+meal was ready, but, as Joe remarked, “It was
+no more ready than they were.” They did all
+the good things ample justice, and then went out
+on the wide veranda to rest and allow digestion to
+take its course.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We ought to be able to get the set working
+this evening,” remarked Bob, as they sat looking
+out over the sand, with the boom of the surf in
+their ears, “provided, of course, we all feel energetic
+enough to tackle it.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, I’m willing to take a fling at it a little
+later,” said Joe. “But just at present I don’t
+feel strong enough even to handle a screw driver.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’ll bet Jimmy’s crazy to get to work, anyway,” said
+Bob. “How about it, old energetic?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">But the only answer was a gentle snore from
+Jimmy’s direction, and everybody laughed.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Guess that swim has tired him out,” said Joe.
+“Swimming in salt water always seems to leave
+you mighty lazy afterward.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You boys must be more careful when you go
+swimming, and not go out so far from shore,”
+said Mrs. Atwood, Joe’s mother. “This afternoon
+I was watching you from the porch, and it
+seemed to me you went for a dreadful distance
+before you started back.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, that’s two-thirds of the fun of swimming,
+Mother,” said Joe. “There’s no use in puttering
+around close to shore. What’s the use in knowing
+how to swim, if you do that?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We keep pretty close together, anyway,” Bob
+added. “So if one should get tired, the others
+could help him in.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Yes, I know,” said Mrs. Atwood. “But just
+the same, I wish you’d be careful.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The boys promised that they would, and then,
+feeling somewhat rested, they woke Jimmy, after
+some difficulty, and went inside to rig up their
+receiving set.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xiithe-radio-station">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id13">CHAPTER XII—THE RADIO STATION</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">“Just when I was having a swell nap, too,”
+complained Jimmy. “Somebody’s always taking
+the joy out of life.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Never mind about that now, Doughnuts,”
+said Bob. “Just grab hold of a screw driver and
+open some of these boxes. There’s nothing like
+a little exercise to drive the sleep out of your
+eyes.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You’ll find sympathy in the dictionary,
+Jimmy,” said Joe heartlessly.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Yes, and that’s about the only place I will
+find it around here,” said Jimmy. “But give
+me the screw driver. Somebody’s got to do all
+the hard work, and I suppose I’m elected, as
+usual.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">In spite of his grumbling, he worked faithfully,
+and soon had the lids off a number of mysterious
+looking boxes, from which the boys got out much
+complicated looking apparatus. They had brought
+Bob’s set, the one that had been awarded the big
+prize the previous spring, and Bob handled this
+lovingly.</p>
+<p class="pnext">All the radio boys worked with a will, and
+the way in which the various apparently unrelated
+parts became connected up into a compact and
+highly efficient receiving station was surprising.
+After two hours of steady work they had the set
+in condition to test.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I don’t think we’ve forgotten anything,” said
+Bob, carefully going over the various connections.
+“Everything looks all right to me, so here goes to
+test it out.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">And sure enough, it was not long before they
+heard the familiar call of the big Newark broadcasting
+station and were listening to a big band
+perform in stirring style.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That sounds familiar,” said Joe, as the band
+finished its selection with a flourish. “It doesn’t
+seem to be any different than when we were in
+Clintonia, even though we’re considerably further
+away from the sending station.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I guess a few miles don’t make much difference
+to old man Electricity,” said Herb.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It wouldn’t make any difference to me, if I
+could travel as fast as he does,” grinned Jimmy.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You’ve got to train down a good deal before
+you can do that,” remarked Herb.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, I guess my chances of traveling one
+hundred and eighty six thousand miles per second
+are about as good as yours, anyway.” retorted
+Jimmy.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Who’s talking about traveling at such extremely
+high rates of speed?” asked a voice behind
+them that they all recognized. Turning,
+they saw Frank Brandon, the government radio
+inspector who had been of so much assistance to
+them a few months before in locating the
+scoundrel, Dan Cassey.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Glad to see you. Sit down and make yourself
+at home,” they chorused, and almost before
+he knew it the radio inspector found himself
+seated in the most comfortable chair with a set of
+earphones over his head.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You see, I haven’t lost any time coming to see
+you, as I promised,” he remarked. “I spoke to
+my cousin, Brandon Harvey, about you fellows,
+and he said to bring you up to the big station any
+time you wanted to go, and he’d show you all
+around it.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That’s fine!” exclaimed Bob. “That’s what
+we’ve all been wanting to see for a long time. I
+think we’ll take your cousin at his word and land
+down on him to-morrow. How about it, fellows?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">This met with the enthusiastic approval of all
+the radio boys, so it was settled that they should
+go to the big station early the following day,
+where Frank Brandon would be waiting for them
+and would introduce them to his cousin.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Accordingly, they set out the next day immediately
+after breakfast. The station was
+located something over a mile from the bungalow
+colony, but it was a beautiful day, and the walk
+seemed like nothing to the boys. The antenna
+of the station covered a large tract of land, and
+the station was capable of sending and receiving
+messages of almost any wave length. The
+station itself was a snug-looking building, ample
+enough to accommodate all the apparatus, and provide
+comfortable sleeping quarters for the operators
+as well.</p>
+<p class="pnext">As the boys approached this building they could
+see their friend, the inspector, sitting on the porch.
+When he caught sight of the boys he rose and
+stood waiting for them.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You’re earlier than I expected you,” he said.
+“You must have set the alarm clock away ahead.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“No, not that. But we had a hunch that there
+would be a lot to see, and we thought the earlier
+we started the better it would be,” said Bob.
+“Besides, we didn’t want to keep you waiting.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’ve only been here a few minutes myself,” replied
+Brandon. “Come inside, and I’ll introduce
+you to my cousin. He’s even more of a radio fan
+than I am.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The boys followed him into a large, well-lighted
+room that seemed literally packed with
+electrical apparatus. Switchboards, dials and
+various recording instruments lined the walls,
+while in one corner stood a glittering high frequency
+alternator. Seated at a table covered
+with wires was a young fellow of about Brandon’s
+own age, who looked enough like him to
+proclaim their relationship.</p>
+<p class="pnext">At the time the radio boys entered he was receiving
+some message, but as soon as he had
+finished he took the headphones off and turned
+to greet his visitors.</p>
+<p class="pnext">He and the boys were introduced, and their
+common interest in radio work made them all feel
+like old friends in a short time.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I suppose you fellows want to see all there is
+to see,” said Brandon Harvey, after they had
+chatted on general subjects a few minutes. “We
+have a pretty complete layout here, and I’ll be
+glad to show you around and tell you all I can
+about it.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The boys were not slow to avail themselves of
+this offer. The radio inspector volunteered to
+substitute for his cousin while the latter was busy
+with the boys, which left Mr. Harvey free to explain
+the bewildering details of the plant to his
+guests.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I wouldn’t take this much trouble with everybody,”
+he said. “But Frank tells me that you
+fellows are so interested in the subject and have
+studied it up so much that you’ll be able to understand
+what I show you. Lots of people come
+in here that know absolutely nothing about radiophony,
+and expect me to explain the whole science
+to them while they wait.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“They’d have to wait a long while,” grinned
+the irrepressible Jimmy. “I’ve just about learned
+enough about it to know I don’t know anything,
+if you understand what I mean.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I get you, all right,” returned Harvey, with a
+smile. “I’ve worked at it a long time myself, but
+as it is I can hardly keep up with all the new developments.
+There seems to be something new
+discovered every day.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">All that morning he took the boys about the
+plant, showing and explaining the various instruments.
+Some of these the boys were familiar
+with, while others were entirely new to them.
+But by dint of asking many questions, which
+were answered with great patience by the wireless
+man, they obtained a reasonably clear idea of
+the functions of the various parts and their relations
+to each other, and when they finally departed
+they felt that they had learned a great deal.
+Harvey even allowed them to “listen in” to messages
+arriving from big ships hundreds of miles
+out at sea.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, we’ve had a wonderful morning and
+learned a lot, but I guess we must have tired you
+out, Mr. Harvey,” said Bob, as the boys were
+taking their leave.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Not a bit of it,” denied the radio man. “I’ll
+be glad to see you any time you want to drop in.
+Lots of times there isn’t much coming in, and it
+gets pretty lonely around here.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You can bet we’ll be only too glad to come,”
+said Bob, and the boys left with many expressions
+of friendliness on both sides.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We’re in luck to be located so near this
+station and to be friends with one of the operators,”
+said Joe, as the boys started homeward.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We surely are!” agreed Bob. “I know I feel
+as though I’d learned a good deal this morning,
+and I guess you fellows do, too.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Mr. Harvey is certainly a prince,” declared
+Jimmy enthusiastically. “He answers questions
+without making you feel as though you were a
+natural born fool for having asked them, the
+way some teachers I know do.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Yes, we’ll have to take advantage of Mr.
+Harvey’s invitation and visit him often while
+we’re down here,” said Bob. “He even promised
+that he’d give me lessons in sending when he had
+time.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Good enough!” exclaimed Joe. “It’s lots of
+fun receiving, but that’s only half the game.
+We ought to be able to send, too.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“If you like, we’ll study up on the code a little
+this evening,” said Bob. “I brought the book
+with me. We’ve already got so much from it
+that we ought to be able now to finish up.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I agree to that,” said Joe, and so that was
+settled.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“How quiet the ocean is to-day,” remarked
+Herb, as they noted how little surf there was and
+how lazily the waves were breaking on the beach.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You wouldn’t think there was anything cruel
+about it to look at it now,” said Jimmy. “And
+yet we know that it is about the most cruel thing
+in the world.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It’s taken millions of lives without the least
+thought of mercy,” put in Bob thoughtfully.
+“To-day it’s like a tiger asleep. But it’s a tiger
+just the same, and when it wakes up—then look
+out!”</p>
+</div>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xiiiexciting-sports">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id14">CHAPTER XIII—EXCITING SPORTS</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">By this time the boys were almost home, and
+their pace was accelerated as they drew nearby
+the sound of a musical and welcome dinner bell.
+In fact, walking seemed entirely too slow under
+the circumstances, and the last hundred yards
+was covered in close to record time.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I was beginning to think something dreadful
+had happened to you,” said Mrs. Layton, as they
+dashed panting up on the porch. “Was the wireless
+station so interesting, then?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I should say it was!” said Bob, answering for
+all of them. “We’ll tell you all about it while
+we’re eating lunch.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">This was not so easy to do, however, as the
+feminine portion of the family had not the interest
+in wireless possessed by the boys.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Instead of going to that old wireless station,
+why don’t you boys go and catch some crabs for
+us once in a while?” queried Rose, Joe’s sister.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We’ve heard that there are lots of them in that
+inlet back of the beach, and I don’t see why you
+couldn’t catch some just as well as not.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Girls do have good ideas once in a while, don’t
+they?” said Joe. “What do you say to going
+crabbing this afternoon?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Great!” his chums exclaimed, and resolved to
+start on the expedition immediately after lunch.
+In anticipation of this, the grown-ups had brought
+crab nets with them, so it only remained to secure
+some chunks of meat as bait, and the boys were
+off to the beach intent on reducing the number
+of the crab population. Rose Atwood and Agnes
+and Amy Fennington had been invited to go, too,
+but had refused on the ground that while they
+liked crabs after they were cooked, they did not
+like them while they were alive.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Don’t know that I blame them much,” said
+Jimmy, commenting on this. “A crab is a mean
+customer, and can give you a bad nip from those
+big claws of his.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“The idea is not to let him get close enough to
+do it,” said Herb.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I know that’s the idea, all right,” said Jimmie.
+“But sometimes it doesn’t work out.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We don’t have to worry about that yet,”
+said Bob. “Chances are we won’t see a crab all
+afternoon. It usually happens that way, it seems
+to me.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">But contrary to this prophecy the boys saw
+many crabs. There was a wide, shallow inlet
+where the ocean had worked a way in back of the
+beach for a considerable distance. At high tide
+the water here was several feet deep, but at low
+tide it was anywhere from six inches to a foot.
+Many crabs were washed in here with the tide,
+and remained after the tide had gone out. They
+had a way of hiding under bunches of seaweed,
+and when dislodged would go scuttling away
+along the sandy bottom for dear life. It looked
+easy to drop the crab net over one of these
+awkward creatures, but the boys soon discovered
+that it was more difficult than it appeared. The
+crustaceans exhibited a surprising nimbleness,
+and in addition, when they were in imminent
+danger of being captured, had a trick of suddenly
+changing their course and darting toward their
+pursuers with claws waving and giving every
+evidence of being willing and able to do battle.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The boys were in their bathing suits, and as
+they waded barefooted through the shallow water,
+they found the sport more exciting than they had
+anticipated.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Gee!” exclaimed Jimmy, making a wild dash
+for shore, after a sudden but futile sweep of his
+net into the water. “That fellow was after my
+toes as though he meant business. I’d about as
+soon tackle a cage full of wild tigers as these man-eating
+crabs.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Stick to it, Jimmy,” said Bob, as he deftly
+scooped up a struggling crab in his net. “At the
+worst you’ll only lose a leg or two.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Yes, and what’s that to the pleasure of having
+nice fresh crabs for dinner to-night?” said Herb.
+“You don’t go at it in the right spirit, Doughnuts.
+Just watch—yeow! ouch!” he ended, with a yell,
+and kicked out wildly with one foot, to which
+a crab, a determined and stubborn crab, was clinging.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Joe, who was nearest, lashed at the clinging
+crustacean with his net, and caught the creature
+fairly in the middle with the iron frame. The
+crab dropped back into the water, and Herbert
+dashed to the safety of the beach.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, my poor foot!” he groaned. “I’ll bet
+that confounded crab could pinch the propeller
+off a battleship.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, don’t mind a little thing like that,” said
+Jimmy vengefully. “Just think of the nice crabs
+you’ll have for dinner to-night, and it won’t hurt
+any more.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, shut up!” exclaimed Herb, for Bob and
+Joe, while they were sorry for him, could not help
+laughing at his woebegone appearance. “It won’t
+be as much fun when one of you gets nipped.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I get out before they have a chance to catch
+me,” said Jimmy.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, you’d better get in again, and do some
+catching yourself,” said Joe. “Bob and I aren’t
+going to catch them for the whole bunch. Just
+make a swipe at them with the net as soon as you
+see them. Don’t chase along after them first, because
+then they know you’re after them, and they
+turn and go for you.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Herbert was rather doubtful about venturing
+back into the water. But he knew the others
+would never get through chaffing him if he did
+not; so, after nursing his injured foot awhile,
+he ventured in. Following Joe’s advice, he
+escaped further accident, and at the end of a
+couple of hours the boys had enough crabs in
+their baskets to supply the whole four families.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It seems to me there must be an especially
+wicked and scrappy lot of crabs in this neighborhood,”
+said Bob. “Just look at them in the basket.
+They’re fighting each other just as though
+they enjoyed it.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Probably they do,” said Jimmy. “A crab is
+foolish enough to like anything.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“They remind me of Buck Looker and his
+gang,” said Herb, laughing. “They’re always on
+the lookout for trouble, and they usually get the
+worst of it when trouble comes along.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Yes, but these fellows are real scrappers,
+while Buck is just a big bully,” said Bob. “I
+wonder if they’ve come to Ocean Point yet. I
+suppose if they had, we’d have seen something
+of them.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, I suppose they’ll come pestering around
+as soon as they get here,” said Joe. “But if they
+do, I guess we’ll be able to take care of them.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We’ll do our best, anyway,” said Bob.
+“They’re still sore about the way we broke into
+their shack after they’d stolen Jimmy’s wireless
+outfit.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It only served them right,” said Jimmy. “I
+think we let them off pretty easily that time.
+Next time we’d better rub it in a little harder.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, don’t let’s spoil a perfect day by thinking
+about that crowd,” said Joe, shouldering the
+basket of crabs. “I’ll carry this until my back begins
+to break, and then somebody else can have
+a chance at it.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That’s fair enough,” assented Bob, and the
+boys started for home, well pleased with the result
+of their expedition. There were so many
+jokes bandied back and forth that Joe forgot all
+about the weight of the basket, and it was only
+when he threw his load down on the porch that
+he remembered that none of the others had done
+his share. And by that time it was of no use to
+protest.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well!” exclaimed Rose, when she saw the
+laden basket, “old Izaak Walton didn’t have anything
+on you. I never had any idea that you’d
+catch as many as that. To tell the truth, the
+honest truth, I didn’t think you’d catch any.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That’s all the confidence my sister has in me,
+you see,” said Joe, with a resigned air.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“They’re all alike,” said Herb. “They none of
+them really appreciate what a blessing it is to have
+a brother.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We do appreciate it once in a while,” returned
+Agnes. “Especially when they work up energy
+enough to go and catch some nice fat crabs. I
+just dote on crab salad.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“If you only knew how close your brother
+came to losing his foot on account of those same
+crabs, you’d feel sorry for him,” said Bob, with
+a mischievous grin.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, do tell us about it,” said Amy. “What
+happened, Herb?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Aw, why can’t you keep quiet about that,
+Bob?” protested Herb.</p>
+<p class="pnext">But the girls were not to be put off so easily,
+and had to be told the story of Herb’s defeat at
+the claws, as it were, of one small crab.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, I don’t care,” he said, goaded by the
+laughter of the girls, “I’ll get even by eating as
+many of those animals as I can, and maybe one of
+them will be the one that bit me.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It won’t do any harm to think so,” said Bob.
+“I hated to tell on you, Herb, but that story was
+too good to keep.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“All right! I’ll get even with you some day,”
+threatened Herb. “It’s just your confounded
+luck that you didn’t get nipped instead of me.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, well, it’s all in the day’s fun,” said Bob.
+“I’ll bet these fellows will taste so good we’ll forget
+about the trouble we had while we were
+catching them.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">This prophecy was fully justified that evening
+when the unfortunate crabs disappeared as if by
+magic.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We’ll have to try this again some day soon,”
+said Bob. “I never knew a crab could taste so
+good.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">They all agreed to this, and were still discussing
+the afternoon’s fun when they heard a familiar
+voice on the porch, and a moment later Dr.
+Amory Dale walked into the room. They all
+sprang to their feet and gave him a hearty welcome.</p>
+<p class="pnext">He told them all the local news of Clintonia,
+and then broached the real object of his visit.
+He had conceived the idea of making up a party
+consisting only of the adults and taking a tour
+through the South, taking in Washington and
+other of the larger Southern cities. As outlined
+by him, the party was to go by rail, and return by
+steamer from Norfolk, Virginia, to Boston.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Mrs. Dale has not been well recently,” he concluded,
+“and, as the doctor has ordered a change
+of scene for her, I thought it would be nice to get
+a small party of friends and all take the trip together.
+What do you think of the proposition?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">All the adult members of the party received the
+idea with approbation, although for one reason
+or another some of them feared that they would
+be unable to go. Their objections were argued
+away by Doctor Dale, however, and before the
+evening was over Mr. and Mrs. Layton, Mrs.
+Plummer, and Mrs. Atwood had promised to
+make the trip. Rose begged so hard to go that
+finally she, too, was included. The rest of the
+evening was taken up by excited discussion of
+the proposed trip. Dr. Dale was urged to stay
+all night, and finally, as it was getting late, he
+agreed. He found time to question the boys
+about their trip to the big wireless station, and
+they told him enthusiastically all about it. The
+evening passed so quickly that they were all surprised
+to find that it was considerably past their
+usual bedtime, and it was a tired but happy quartette
+of lads that finally said “good-night” and left
+the older people to complete the plans of their
+forthcoming trip.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xivfun-in-the-surf">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id15">CHAPTER XIV—FUN IN THE SURF</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">The next morning the boys learned that the
+tourists had decided to leave on the following
+day. Mrs. Fennington, Herbert’s mother, had
+decided to stay at Ocean Point and “take care of
+the boys and her girls,” she said. All that day
+there was great excitement and bustle of packing,
+and by evening all was ready for the tourists’ departure.
+Everybody went to bed early that evening,
+as they intended to get the early train to
+Clintonia, whence they were to go direct to Washington.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Everything went according to schedule, the
+boys going down to the station with their parents
+to see them off. Many were the injunctions
+laid on the boys to “be careful” and “not to
+swim out too far.” This was duly promised, although
+the boys prudently forebore to say just
+what they considered “too far.” Anything less
+than a mile was all right, as they figured it.</p>
+<p class="pnext">At last the train pulled out, and after it was lost
+to view around a curve the boys took their way
+rather more quietly than usual back to the bungalows,
+which seemed to them to wear a rather
+forlorn and deserted air. But their usual good
+spirits soon asserted themselves, and they began
+to plan what they should do for the rest of the
+day.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It’s a swell day for a swim,” said Bob. “Let’s
+jump into our bathing suits and fool the hot
+weather.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’ll never say no to a swim,” said Jimmy. “It
+seems to me that all I do all summer is melt and
+sizzle except when I can get into the ocean.
+That’s about the only time I feel comfortable.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“A swim it is, then,” said Joe. “And the last
+one down to the beach gets thrown in by the
+others.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">There was a mad scramble as the boys rushed
+into their respective bungalows and changed from
+regular clothes to bathing suits. Articles of
+clothing flew in every direction, and in an incredibly
+short space of time Joe emerged, followed
+closely by Bob, and they set off at an easy
+pace for the beach, looking backward from time
+to time to see if the others were coming. Jimmy
+was the next to emerge, and he started off with
+head down and hands and feet flying, evidently
+determined not to be the last this time.</p>
+<p class="pnext">But he had hardly started when Herbert came
+bursting out of the door and made after his
+corpulent friend. But Jimmy had gained quite a
+lead, and it was hard to predict which would be
+the last to the beach and therefore subject to a
+thorough ducking at the hands of his friends.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Bob and Joe were so far in the lead that they
+were in no danger, and they enjoyed the race between
+Jimmy and Herb immensely.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“They say an elephant can run fast, and
+Jimmy’s just like one,” said Joe. “He’s certainly
+putting his heart into it. Which do you think
+will win, Bob?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It’s hard to tell,” laughed Bob. “But if
+Jimmy loses he’ll be so hot that he won’t mind being
+ducked, so it will be all right anyway.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">They were all close to the beach now and Herb
+was fast catching up with Jimmy, who was
+making heavy weather of it in the deep sand.
+Herb kept gaining. He was not three feet back
+of Jimmy when suddenly the latter stumbled and
+fell. Herb was so close to him that he had no
+time to stop or swerve, and he tripped over his
+prostrate companion and went sprawling. Like
+a flash Jimmy was on his feet again, and before
+Herb could recover from his fall and get started
+again, Jimmy had reached the edge of the water,
+where Bob and Joe were already waiting.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Herb came along a few seconds later, primed
+for an argument.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You tripped me up on purpose, Jimmy,” he
+accused, when he could get his breath. “That
+was nothing but a trick.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You bet it was a trick, and a mighty good one,
+too,” said Jimmy. “It saved me a ducking, anyway.
+You’d better get ready to take your
+medicine.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Jimmy’s right,” ruled Bob. “Come on, fellows.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">With one accord the other three rushed on the
+unfortunate Herb, cutting short his vehement
+protests. Seizing him by the hands and feet, they
+lugged him out until the water was three feet or
+so deep, and then, swinging him back and forth a
+few times like a pendulum, they threw him with
+a resounding splash into the crest of an incoming
+breaker.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Herb struggled to the surface in a few seconds,
+puffing and sputtering.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Aw, I don’t care!” he shouted. “I was going
+in anyway, so you just saved me the trouble of
+walking in. So long! I’m going to swim to
+Boston!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">But he did not get very far on this extended
+journey, for the surf was so high that day that
+the boys were content to spend their time diving
+into the big combers and letting themselves be
+carried shoreward by the big waves. After they
+had had enough of this, they went up on the
+beach and played ball with a cork surf ball that
+Bob had brought with him.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“This beats digging away in school, by a long
+sight,” said Jimmy. “Next winter when we’re
+working away like real good boys, we can think
+of this and wish we were back here.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Not on your life!” said Joe. “This place is
+very nifty now, but there’s nothing more cold
+looking than a beach in winter.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, well, you know what I mean, you big
+prune,” said Jimmy. “We’ll wish it were summer
+and we were back here. It’s just as easy to
+wish for two things as it is for one.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Who’s a big prune?” demanded Joe. “Did
+you hear that insult, Bob? What shall I do to
+him?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Make him lie down in the sand and roll over,”
+replied Bob, grinning. “You can’t let him call
+you a prune, even if you are one.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That’s what I’ll make him do,” said Joe,
+ignoring this last thrust, and he went after
+Jimmy.</p>
+<p class="pnext">But that individual did not wait his coming,
+but meekly lay down on the sand and rolled over
+in most approved fashion.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Want me to do it again?” he asked Joe.
+“Anything to make you happy, you know.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Once is enough,” said Joe. “That means
+that you’re sorry and apologize, you know.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Like fun it does!” said Jimmy. “I just did
+that because it was less trouble than throwing
+you into the drink, and, besides, I was afraid of
+hurting you.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, I see,” said Joe. “But don’t let that
+stop you, Doughnuts. I’ll take a chance of
+getting hurt.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“No, I guess I’ll stay here,” said Jimmy,
+gazing placidly up at the blue sky. “Please
+don’t bother me any more. Make him stop
+bothering me, Bob.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Joe picked up a double handful of heavy wet
+sand and dropped it squarely on Jimmy’s rotund
+body.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Let’s see you make me stop, Bob,” he called,
+as Jimmy emitted an outraged howl.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Bob was not slow to accept the challenge, and
+made a flying leap for Joe. The sand flew as they
+wrestled back and forth, each one striving to
+throw the other. Finally both went down with
+a thud, and Bob managed to land on top. Laughing,
+the two friends scrambled to their feet and
+dug the sand out of their eyes and ears.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Thanks, Bob,” said Jimmy. “You landed
+on him almost as hard as that sand landed on me,
+so we’re quits. Before anything else happens to
+me, I’m going home and get something to eat, so
+as to have strength to stand it. You fellows may
+not know it’s pretty near dinner time, but I do.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Thus reminded, all the boys suddenly discovered
+that they were hungry, and they started for home,
+after taking one more dip to wash the sand off.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Do you know,” said Bob, as they started off,
+“Mr. Harvey told me the other day that we could
+borrow his motor boat any time we wanted it and
+he wasn’t going to use it? What do you say if
+we try and get it to-morrow and take a little
+cruise?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">This proposal met with instant favor, and that
+evening the boys planned to leave immediately
+after breakfast the next morning and try to
+borrow the motor boat from their new friend at
+the radio station.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xvskimming-the-waves">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id16">CHAPTER XV—SKIMMING THE WAVES</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">The next morning dawned without a cloud in
+the sky, and the boys were so anxious to get
+started that they could hardly take breakfast.
+Crisp brown bacon and fried eggs are not to be
+lightly ignored, however, and they managed to eat
+a pretty hearty meal, starting on their expedition
+immediately afterward.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We couldn’t have picked out a better day if
+we’d planned for a week ahead of time,” observed
+Joe. “If we can only get that boat now, everything
+will be fine and dandy.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I think we’ll be able to get it, all right,” said
+Bob. “The only thing that can stop us is the
+chance that Mr. Harvey will want to use it himself,
+and even then, likely enough, he’d take us
+along.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, there’s no use worrying about it till
+we get there,” said Jimmy philosophically.
+“Even if we can’t get it, I guess we’ll be able
+to survive the shock.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">But when they arrived at the big station they
+found their misgivings had been groundless. Mr.
+Harvey seemed very glad to see them, and when
+they asked him about the motor boat he told
+them to “go as far as they liked.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’m pretty busy here these days, and don’t
+have much time to use it myself,” said the radio
+man. “You boys will be welcome to the use of
+it to-day, or any other time. It seems a shame
+for it to be lying idle a day like this.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, if you’ll show us where you keep it,
+we’ll see that it gets a little exercise,” said Bob.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Sure thing,” said the wireless man. “Come
+along.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">He led the boys a short distance from the
+station to a narrow inlet that ran back from the
+ocean. At the head of this inlet was a snug little
+boathouse which Brandon Harvey unlocked.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“There she is,” he said, a note of pride in his;
+voice. “What do you think of her?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“She’s a little beauty!” exclaimed Bob.
+“That’s a mighty nifty boat, Mr. Harvey.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The others were equally unqualified in their
+praise, because the boat was a beautiful model,
+twenty-five feet long, with a snug little hunting
+cabin built up forward. It had a sturdy four
+cylinder engine, and everything looked to be in
+perfect order.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Mr. Harvey was evidently pleased by their appreciation
+of his pet, and pointed out some of the
+boat’s good qualities.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“She’s as staunch as they make ’em,” he said.
+“She’s a mighty seaworthy and dependable little
+craft. I think you’ll find plenty of gasoline in
+the tank, so you won’t have to worry about anything.
+I only wish I could go with you.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I wish you could,” said Bob. “But we’ll
+take the best of care of it, and we’ll be back before
+dark. We’ll not go far, anyway.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, enjoy yourselves,” said Brandon Harvey.
+“Can you get the engine started all right?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">For answer Bob gave the flywheel a twirl, and
+the engine started upon the first revolution. Joe
+took the wheel, while Bob acted as engineer.
+They backed carefully out of the boathouse, and
+then shifted into forward speed and proceeded
+slowly down the creek toward the bay, the engine
+throttled down until one could almost count the
+explosions, and yet running sweetly and steadily,
+without a miss.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Say, this engine is a bird!” said Bob enthusiastically.
+“Just make out I wouldn’t like to own
+a boat like this!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Who wouldn’t?” asked Joe. “It’s about the
+neatest boat of its size I ever saw. I’ll bet it
+can go some if you want it to, too.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We’ll, you know Mr. Harvey told us it could
+make twenty-five miles an hour, and that’s fast
+enough to beat anything but a racer,” said Herb.</p>
+<p class="pnext">By this time they had reached the mouth of the
+creek, and the whole expanse of the big bay
+opened out in front of them. There was just
+enough breeze to ruffle the surface of the water,
+upon which the sun played in a million points of
+flashing light. The cool, exhilarating salt wind
+filled their lungs, and they shouted and sang with
+the pure joy of living.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“A life on the ocean wave, a home on the rolling
+deep!” chanted Jimmy. “Whoever wrote
+that song knew what he was talking about.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“He’d probably never have written it if he had
+known you were going to sing it,” said Joe.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You mind your own business and steer the
+boat,” retorted Jimmy. “I’ve got lots of courage
+to sing at all with you steering us. You’ll likely
+run us onto a rock or a sandbar before we fairly
+get started.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Leave that to me,” said Joe. “The nearest
+sandbar is about half a mile away now—straight
+down.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, that isn’t any too far for safety when
+you’re the pilot,” said Jimmy. “Anyway, I’m
+going up on top of that cabin and have a sun bath.
+Please don’t wreck us until I have a chance to rest
+up a little, will you? It looks like a long swim
+to shore.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Go ahead then, you blooming landlubber,”
+grinned Joe. “Leave the running of the ship to a
+real salty old mariner like me.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">With a grunt that might mean anything, Jimmy
+clambered up on the low cabin, and in a few
+minutes, lulled by the gentle motion of the boat,
+was sound asleep. Herb propped himself comfortably
+against the side of the cabin and gazed
+dreamily out over the bright expanse of the bay.
+Bob opened the throttle a little, and the boat
+picked up speed, her sharp bows cutting through
+the water in fine style, with a slow rise and fall
+as they went further from shore and began to
+feel the ocean swell. White clouds flecked the
+deep blue sky, and sea gulls wheeled and soared
+overhead, calling to one another and ever and
+anon swooping swiftly downward to seize some
+unfortunate fish that had ventured too near the
+surface.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The splash and gurgle of the water alongside
+was beginning to make the boys feel drowsy when
+they suddenly noticed another boat ahead of them.
+This craft was holding a course diagonal to
+their own, so that the two boats were drawing
+slowly together, although at present they were
+perhaps a mile apart.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“There are some other people out enjoying
+themselves,” said Bob. “Wonder if they’re anybody
+we know.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We’ll soon be close enough to tell,” said Joe.
+“By Jimmy!” he exclaimed, a few moments later.
+“I believe we do know ’em, Bob, worse luck.
+Don’t you recognize that big fellow that’s steering?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Bob shaded his eyes with his hand and gazed
+steadily for a few seconds.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Buck Looker!” he exclaimed finally. “And
+if I’m not much mistaken, his whole gang is with
+him.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Yes, I can see Carl Lutz and that little beast,
+Terry Mooney,” said Joe. “And I guess they’ve
+recognized us, too. See how they’re pointing in
+this direction?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The motor boats were drawing closer together,
+and their occupants could now see each other
+plainly. Looker and his friends were in a freakish
+looking craft. It looked as though it might
+have been a speed boat once, but now wore a
+shabby and dilapidated air.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xvia-thankless-rescue">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id17">CHAPTER XVI—A THANKLESS RESCUE</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">The two motor boats by now had drawn close
+together and were holding parallel courses.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Hey, you fellows!” yelled Buck Looker. “I
+suppose you think you’ve got a fine, fancy boat
+there, don’t you?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That’s just about what we think, all right,”
+called back Bob. “It looks it, doesn’t it?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Looks ain’t much,” said Buck.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“The looks of that tub of yours aren’t, anyway,”
+said Herb sarcastically. “A few gallons
+of paint would make it look more like a real
+boat.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, is that so?” said Buck, with a sneer.
+“Well, let me tell you, this is a fast boat. We
+can make circles around that thing you’ve got
+there.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Open her up, Buck, and run away from
+them,” urged Lutz. “Show them what speed
+looks like.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We’ll have to admit you fellows are good at
+running away,” commented Joe. “But this time
+it may not be as easy as you think.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We’ll show you!” squeaked Terry Mooney.
+“Open ’er up, Buck.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">His amiable friend did “open ’er up,” and, with
+a terrific noise from the exhaust and a cloud of
+smoke, their boat darted ahead.</p>
+<p class="pnext">But Bob opened the throttle of the <em class="italics">Sea Bird</em> a
+little, and their boat surged forward, apparently
+without an effort, until they were again abreast
+of the Looker coterie.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“What’s the matter, Buck?” queried Joe, with
+mock solicitude. “Won’t it go any faster to-day?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Both boats were hitting a pretty speedy clip, and
+this question seemed to infuriate Buck.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You bet it can go faster!” he yelled. “Pump
+some more oil into that engine, Carl.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">His friend did as directed, and Buck juggled
+the spark and throttle controls until his craft
+attained a speed that would have been sufficient
+to have left the average cruising motor boat far
+in the rear. But the <em class="italics">Sea Bird</em> was built both for
+long distance cruising and for speed, and the
+faster Buck’s craft went, the faster went the
+Harvey craft.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Straight out to sea the boats headed, diving
+into the rollers and throwing showers of spray
+over their occupants. Crouching low in the
+engine cock-pit, Bob nursed the motor lovingly,
+an oil can in one hand and a bunch of greasy
+waste in the other. He was mottled with oil and
+grease, and the perspiration trickled down his face
+in little rivulets, but he had never been happier
+in his life. The engine was running like clockwork,
+and he knew there was plenty of power
+and speed in reserve if he needed them.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Buck, on the other hand, was fussing and fuming
+over his engine, trying to make it go a little
+faster. But it was working up to its limit, and
+do what he would, he could not coax an extra
+revolution out of it.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Joe, who was steering the <em class="italics">Sea Bird</em>, looked back
+at Bob, a question in his eyes. He yelled something
+that Bob could not hear above the whistle
+of the wind and the throb of the engine, but he
+knew what Joe meant, and nodded his head.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The time had come to show Looker and his
+friends what speed really was. Bob opened the
+throttle to the limit. The engine responded instantly,
+and the <em class="italics">Sea Bird</em> leapt forward, gathering
+more speed every second. Leaping from wave to
+wave, it seemed to be trying to live up to its name,
+and actually fly. Buck Looker’s craft dropped
+away as though standing still, and there was soon
+a long strip of swirling white water between the
+two boats.</p>
+<p class="pnext">All four radio boys laughed and shouted
+exultantly, and Jimmy and Herb pounded each
+other madly on the back in the excess of their
+joy.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“This is some little through express!” screamed
+Jimmy into his companion’s ear. “Can’t she hit
+it up, though?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">But now Buck Looker and his friends were
+quite a way astern, and Bob was forced to slow
+down, as they were plunging into the waves at a
+dangerous speed. One big wave swept over the
+boat and left them dripping, and for the first time
+they realized how high the seas were running.
+They were now well outside the bay, and a stiff
+southwest wind had arisen and was kicking up a
+nasty chop. Bob slowed down to half speed,
+after which they took the big seas more easily,
+but they all judged it was high time to start back.
+In the excitement of the race they had gone much
+further than they had intended, and Joe made
+haste to swing the bow around and head back for
+quieter waters.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I wonder how Buck is making out,” shouted
+Bob to Joe. “Can you see them yet?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Yes, I can see them. But they seem to be
+having trouble of some sort,” replied Joe.
+“They’re rolling around in the trough of the
+waves, and I can only see them when they come
+up on top of one.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“If they’re in trouble, I suppose we’ll have to
+help them out,” said Bob, and as there could be
+no question about this, the radio boys directed
+their course toward their erstwhile competitors.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Buck and his cronies were indeed in a bad
+plight, for their engine had stalled and they were
+unable to get it going again. This left them at
+the mercy of the waves, as they had not even an
+oar aboard. Their boat had not been designed
+for rough weather, and now it rolled dangerously
+broadside on to the waves, threatening at any
+moment to capsize.</p>
+<p class="pnext">As the radio boys approached the helpless craft
+Terry and Carl stopped long enough in their
+frantic bailing to shout wildly for help. Buck
+was still tinkering with the engine, but without
+result. Their boat was drifting out to sea, and
+altogether they were in a sorry plight.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Joe approached the helpless craft cautiously,
+while Bob throttled the engine down until they
+had only steerage way.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You’ll have to jump for it!” yelled Joe.
+“We’ll come as close as we can, and then you can
+jump aboard.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Terry Mooney was the first to make ready to
+jump. He gave a wild leap, but fell short, and
+would have fallen into the ocean, had not Herb
+and Jimmy grasped him as he fell and dragged
+him aboard. Buck and Carl had better luck, and
+landed safely on the deck of the <em class="italics">Sea Bird</em>.
+They left their craft none too soon, for one of
+its seams had started to leak, and it was rapidly
+filling with water. At first the radio boys
+thought they might be able to tow the disabled
+craft in with them, but it soon became apparent
+that it would not stay afloat long enough for this.
+It settled lower and lower, and even as the <em class="italics">Sea
+Bird</em> picked up speed for the run home the unfortunate
+craft dived under as an unusually large
+wave broke over it, filling it with water.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We got you off just in the nick of time,” said
+Bob. “If we hadn’t been around, it looks as
+though you would have had a long swim home.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, somebody else would have picked us up
+if you hadn’t,” said Buck ungraciously. “This
+boat isn’t the only one at Ocean Point, you know.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It seems to be the only one around just now,”
+said Joe, which was true enough. There was no
+other craft in sight, and it would have fared ill
+with Buck Looker and his cronies had the radio
+boys not been at hand to aid them.</p>
+<p class="pnext">However, gratitude was not to be expected of
+such boys as Buck and his friends. They drew
+off sullenly to the stern of the <em class="italics">Sea Bird</em>, and as
+for the radio boys, they wasted no more breath
+on them. They headed directly for the mouth
+of the little creek leading to the wireless station,
+and as they came within the sheltering headlands
+of the bay the sea became less rough and gradually
+lessened in violence as they entered more
+shallow waters.</p>
+<p class="pnext">As they went out that morning, the radio boys
+had taken special note of conspicuous landmarks,
+so that they had little difficulty in locating the
+inlet. Bob throttled the engine down to a low
+speed, and they were soon creeping up the quiet
+waters of the creek that were in striking contrast
+to the turbulent seas outside.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Mr. Harvey had left the doors of the boathouse
+open, so the boys nosed the <em class="italics">Sea Bird</em> carefully
+into its berth, Herb and Jimmy standing by
+with fenders to keep it from bumping against the
+timbers and taking off paint.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Bob had hardly shut off the engine before Buck
+Looker and Terry and Lutz, without a word of
+thanks or even saying good-bye, leaped ashore and
+made off.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, well, it’s good riddance,” said Jimmy
+cheerfully. “I’m sure we don’t want them hanging
+around.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I suppose they felt sore about losing their
+boat,” said Bob. “But they could hardly blame
+us for that. It was they who proposed to race.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“And they got all the race they wanted,” said
+Joe. “Isn’t this boat a little peacherino, though?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It’s a wonder,” said Bob. “I’d almost be
+willing to undertake a trip to Europe in it. I’ll
+bet she’d make it all right.”
+The others agreed with him in this estimate of
+the <em class="italics">Sea Bird’s</em> prowess, and they discussed her
+many virtues as they cleaned up the decks and
+made everything neat and shipshape. This accomplished,
+they proceeded to the wireless station,
+where they met their friend just coming off duty.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, how did you enjoy yourselves?” he
+questioned. “Did the boat act up all right?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I should say she did!” said Bob, and gave him
+a brief account of the day’s happenings.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Shucks!” exclaimed Harvey, when he had finished.
+“Those boys must be poison mean not to
+have even thanked you for picking them up. I
+didn’t think anybody could be quite that ungrateful.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You haven’t had the experience with them that
+we have,” said Bob. “But we enjoyed the trip
+immensely, anyway, and certainly want to thank
+you for lending us your boat.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, that’s all right,” said Harvey heartily.
+“Any time you want it again, just say so. When
+are you coming to visit me at the station again?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Why, we’ve been meaning to get there for
+several days past,” said Bob. “If you’re going
+to be there to-morrow, we can drop in then. How
+about it, fellows?” turning to his friends.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Sure thing,” said they all, and so it was
+agreed. Mr. Harvey had been walking with them
+in the direction of the bungalow colony while the
+foregoing conversation took place, but now his
+path branched off from theirs, and he said good-night
+after reminding them of their promise to
+visit him the following day.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The boys continued on home, discussing the
+events of the day. They arrived just a little before
+the evening meal was served, and they fell
+on the repast like a pack of young wolves, as they
+had taken no lunch with them, not expecting to be
+out so late.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“My goodness!” exclaimed Mrs. Fennington,
+when they had at last finished. “I’m glad you
+boys don’t go motor boating every day. You’d
+soon eat us out of house and home if you did.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“If we owned the <em class="italics">Sea Bird</em>, Mother, we
+wouldn’t need any home,” said Herb. “We’d
+live aboard, wouldn’t we, fellows?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The others laughingly agreed to this.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“There’s a dandy concert on to-night,” remarked
+Jimmy. “I saw the program in the newspaper.
+Some colored singers from a college down
+South.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Suits me,” returned Joe, and a little later all
+the boys and a number of the others were listening
+in. The musical numbers were well rendered,
+and they listened with delight.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Hark!” cried Bob, when they were waiting
+for another announcement by wireless. “There
+goes a regular code message. Wish we could
+read it.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I can make out some of it,” answered Joe.
+“W—I—K—no, I guess that was L. Maybe it
+was WILL. Might be ‘will arrive,’ or something
+like that,“ and he sighed. “Gee, if we only could
+get onto it!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We will some day,” answered Bob.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You bet!”</p>
+</div>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xviian-ocean-buckboard">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id18">CHAPTER XVII—AN OCEAN BUCKBOARD</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">One morning soon after their arrival at Ocean
+Point the boys went down to the beach equipped
+with a novelty that they had often heard about,
+but had never seen until the night before.</p>
+<p class="pnext">It had been Jimmy’s birthday, and his father
+had made and sent him a gayly decorated surfboard
+to celebrate the occasion. When he first
+saw it Jimmy was at a loss to know what kind of
+strange present he had received, but when he
+showed it to the other radio boys, Bob quickly
+told him what it was for.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I saw a moving picture once that showed the
+beach at Tampa,” said Bob. “It looked as though
+almost everybody had one of those surfboards,
+as they are called.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Yes, but what do you do with the thing?
+That’s what I want to know,” complained Jimmy.
+“It looks like something that would be fine for
+scaring the birds away from the garden, but,
+aside from that, I can’t think of much use for it.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Why, you just flop down on it against the
+crest of a surf wave, and the wave does the rest,”
+explained Bob. “At least, that’s the way it
+looked in the pictures. The wave carries you and
+the surfboard along in front of it, and believe
+me, you travel some, too.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, that listens all right,” said Jimmy
+dubiously. “But since you know all about it,
+it’s up to you to try it out, Bob.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Surest thing you know, I’ll try it out,” returned
+Bob. “I suppose we’ll get plenty of duckings
+while we’re learning how, but we’ll be out
+for a swim, anyway, so what’s the difference?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">On the morning following they sallied out
+bright and early, eager to experiment with this
+latest means of amusement.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I only hope there’s a good surf running,” said
+Bob. “I suppose now that we want it to be a
+little rough, the sea will be as smooth as a
+mill pond.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, I hope not,” said Jimmy. “I’ve never
+seen a mill pond myself, but according to all the
+dope they must be about the stillest things that
+ever happened. I wonder if there is such a
+thing as a rough mill pond. If there is, I’d be
+willing to go a long way to see it.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, there are lots of things like that,” said
+Herb, laughing. “For instance, whoever saw an
+aspen leaf that didn’t quiver?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Yes, or a terrier that didn’t shake a rat,” said
+Joe.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Or a pirate that didn’t swagger,” said Jimmy.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Or even a pancake that wasn’t flat,” added
+Bob.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Good night!” laughed Herb. “What have I
+started here, anyway? We’ll all be candidates
+for the lunatic asylum if we keep this up very
+long.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, well, after being around with you so long,
+we’d feel right at home,” said Jimmy sarcastically.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I haven’t any doubt <em class="italics">you’d</em> feel at home, all
+right,” retorted Herb. “I’ll bet you’d feel at
+home right away.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You bet I would,” said Jimmy. “All I’d have
+to do would be to tell them some of your bum
+jokes, and they’d elect me a charter member
+right off the bat.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I think Jimmy would show up even better as
+a member of the Pie-eater’s Union,” said Joe.
+“He has such a special gift in that direction that
+he’d soon be champion of the whole outfit.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, it’s something to be a champion of anything
+in these days of competition in sports,” said
+Jimmy. “But here we are, Bob, and here’s <em class="italics">your</em>
+chance to demonstrate how to become a champion
+surfboard artist.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“All right, I’m game,” said Bob. “Hand over
+that instrument of torture, and I’ll be the goat
+and give you fellows a good chance to laugh at
+me.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The surfboard was about the shape and size of
+a small ironing board, although much lighter.
+Equipped with this device, Bob waded into the
+surf, holding the surfboard over his head until
+he got into water as deep as his shoulders. There
+was a fairly high surf running, in spite of his
+pessimistic prophecy to the contrary. Bob
+waited until an unusually high breaker came curling
+in, and then launched himself and the surfboard
+against the green wall of water.</p>
+<p class="pnext">More by good luck than anything else he caught
+it at the right angle, and went whirling toward the
+shore at breath-taking speed. For perhaps a hundred
+feet he held his position, but then tilted to
+one side, and in a moment he and the surfboard
+disappeared in a smother of foam and spray.
+Tumbled over and over, he finally got to his feet,
+after the force of the wave had spent itself, and
+waded into shore, puffing and blowing.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I got a good start, anyway,” he panted. “I
+guess it takes practice to keep your balance and
+come all the way in, but it’s a great sensation.
+I’m going to try it again.” Suiting the action to
+the word, Bob waded valiantly in again. After
+several attempts he finally caught a big wave
+just right, and by frantic balancing rode all the
+way in to shallow water.
+“There you are!” exclaimed Bob triumphantly.
+“Say, when we once get on to this, it ought to
+be barrels of fun. Who’s going to be the next
+one to try it?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’ll take a whirl at it,” said Joe. “It looked
+easy enough the way you rode in the last time.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Sure it’s easy,” grinned Bob, shaking the
+water out of his ears. “Go to it, Joe. I’ll stand
+by to rescue you if you need it.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Joe made several attempts, and received some
+rough handling from some big breakers before he
+finally contrived to make a fairly successful trip.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Wow!” he exclaimed, scrambling to shore
+and throwing the surfboard at Jimmy. “It’s fun
+if you have luck, but I thought I was going to
+drink the whole Atlantic Ocean once or twice.
+You try it, Jimmy. It’s your board, anyway.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Yes, I know it’s my board,” said Jimmy.
+“Don’t you want to try it next, Herb?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, I wouldn’t think of using it before you,”
+said Herb. “I want to have the fun of seeing you
+get drowned before me, Doughnuts.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, I suppose I shouldn’t refuse to give you
+that pleasure, so here goes,” returned Jimmy, and
+he waded manfully into the surf, the board poised
+above his head.</p>
+<p class="pnext">He made a lunge at the first big breaker that
+came along, but instead of planting the board at
+an angle, he slapped it against the wave in a vertical
+position, and the next second he was underneath
+the board and was being ignominiously
+rolled and tumbled along the sandy bottom.
+When the wave finally left him, he staggered to
+his feet and found the treacherous surfboard
+floating within a yard of him.</p>
+<p class="pnext">His companions, seeing him safe, laughed heartily
+at his woebegone and bedraggled appearance.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It’s great sport, isn’t it, Jimmy?” chaffed Bob.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Sure it is, when you do it right,” sputtered
+Jimmy. “I’m going to try it again, if it kills me,”
+and he seized the recalcitrant surfboard and
+waded doggedly out again. This time his persistence
+met with a better reward, for, warned
+by his previous experience, he placed the board
+flatter this time, and rode in almost to shore
+before getting upset.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That’s enough for a starter,” he gasped.
+“There certainly is plenty of excitement to it. Go ahead
+and try it, Herb, with my blessing.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Herb did not seem any too anxious to follow
+his friend’s bidding, but nevertheless he took
+the board, and after several attempts got the hang
+of it well enough to get enthusiastic over it.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It’s simply great when you get started right!”
+he exclaimed. “We’ll each have to get one, and
+we’ll have more sport than a little with them.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">For the rest of the morning the boys took turns
+with the contrivance, and by the time they stopped
+to go home for lunch had gotten quite expert.
+That afternoon they got their tools, and by evening
+had fashioned three duplicates of Jimmy’s
+board. On following days they used them to good
+effect, and before they left Ocean Point that summer
+they were all adepts at this new form of
+sport.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xviiiin-the-wireless-room">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id19">CHAPTER XVIII—IN THE WIRELESS ROOM</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">“SAY, Bob,” said Joe, as the four radio boys
+were walking briskly in the direction of the wireless
+station the following morning, “we must get
+Mr. Harvey to give us lessons in sending. That
+must be half the fun of radiophony, and we might
+as well do all there is to do. What do you say?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I think you’re dead right,” said Bob heartily.
+“We’ll speak to him about it to-day, and I guess
+he’ll show us how all right. In fact, he offered to
+do that very thing the first time we were there, if
+you remember.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I know he did,” said Joe. “And I’m going
+to remind him of it as soon as I get a chance.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The chance was not long in coming, for that
+was one of the first things Mr. Harvey spoke of
+after their arrival at the station.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You fellows ought to practice up on receiving
+and sending,” he said. “You can’t really claim
+to be full-fledged radio fans until you can do
+that.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That’s just what we were speaking of on our
+way here,” said Bob. “If it wouldn’t be asking
+too much of you, we’d like nothing better than
+to have you show us how.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, of course, it doesn’t take very long to
+learn the international code, and after that it’s
+chiefly a matter of practice,” said the radio man.
+“I have a practice sending set here now, and if
+you like I’ll give you your first lesson.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The boys were only too glad to take advantage
+of this friendly offer. Harvey had a simple telegraph
+key, connected up to a buzzer and a couple
+of dry cells. The buzzer was tuned to give a
+sound very much like an actual buzz in an ear-phone.
+In addition he had a metal plate on which
+all the letters of the alphabet were represented by
+raised surfaces, a short surface for a dot, and a
+long one for a dash. The low spaces in between
+were insulated with enamel. In this way, if one
+wire was attached to the brass plate and the other
+brushed over the raised contact surfaces, each letter
+would be reproduced in the buzzer with the
+proper dots and dashes.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The boys found this device a big help, as they
+could memorize the proper dots and dashes for
+each letter, and then by moving the wire along
+the plate could hear the letter in the buzzer just as
+it should sound.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“But with this thing, it seems to me you don’t
+need to take the trouble to memorize the code,”
+said Herb. “Why, I could send a message with it
+right now.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You could, but it would be a mighty slow
+one,” replied Brandon Harvey. “That thing is
+useful to a beginner, but it wouldn’t work out
+very well for actual sending. It’s too clumsy.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Yes, I suppose that’s so,” admitted Herb.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You fellows can take that along with you
+when you go,” said the radio man. “You can
+dope out the code from that, but you’ll need a
+key to practice with, too. If you like, I’ll lend
+you this whole practice set until you get a chance
+to buy one yourselves.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You bet we’ll take it, and many thanks!” exclaimed
+Bob. “We should have brought something
+of the kind down with us, but we didn’t, so
+your set will be just the thing for us.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It’s been some time since I’ve had any use for
+it,” said Harvey. “But I came across it the other
+day, and it occurred to me that maybe you fellows
+could use it, as you told me the first time you were
+here that you intended to take up sending.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It was mighty nice of you to think of us,”
+said Joe, his face beaming.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, well, we radio fans have to stick together,”
+returned Harvey, with a smile. “There’s
+some extra head sets lying around here somewhere,
+and, if you like, you can listen in on some
+of the messages coming in. Things were pretty
+lively just before you fellows came in.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The boys lost no time in taking advantage of
+this offer, and were soon absorbed in listening
+to the reports of shipping, weather conditions, and
+occasional snatches of conversation that came
+drifting in over the antenna. Harvey’s pencil
+was busy as he jotted down reports and memoranda.
+The boys felt that they were in intimate
+touch with the whole wide world, and the
+morning flew by so fast that they were all astonished
+when Harvey announced that it was lunch
+time.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Say, but you certainly have an interesting job,
+Mr. Harvey,” said Bob. “I only wish I were a
+regular radio man, too.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“So do I,” said Joe. “It’s about the most fascinating
+work I can think of.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You might not like it so much if you were
+doing it every day,” said Brandon Harvey. “But
+it’s a big field, and getting bigger every day, so
+maybe a few years from now you may join the
+brotherhood. If you ever do, why, all the experience
+you’re getting now will come in mighty
+handy.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Yes, but I know something else that might
+come in pretty handy, too,” put in Jimmy, “and
+that’s a little lunch. I think we’d better make
+tracks toward home mighty soon.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Nothing doing!” protested Harvey. “You’re
+going to stay here and have lunch with me. I
+can’t give you much, but it will probably enable
+you to totter along until this evening, anyway.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The boys protested against putting the radio
+man to so much trouble, but he would not take
+no for an answer, so they allowed themselves to
+be persuaded, gladly enough, in truth.</p>
+<p class="pnext">It did not take the radio man long to prepare
+a simple but nourishing meal, all the cooking
+being done on an electric stove he had rigged up
+himself. While they ate they talked, and Brandon
+Harvey told them something about himself.
+It seemed that he had formerly been an accountant,
+having taken up radio as a hobby at first, but
+then, finding himself deeply interested in it, had
+resolved to make it his life work.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I still do a little at my old trade, though,”
+Harvey told them. “I’m treasurer of the Ocean
+Point Building and Loan Association, and that
+sometimes keeps me pretty busy in the evenings
+after I’m off duty here.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I should think it would,” commented Bob.
+“What do you have to do, anyway?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, I keep the books straightened out, and
+occasionally I make collections of cash,” answered
+Harvey. “I’ll probably get knocked on the head
+sometime when I’m carrying the money around
+with me. I always feel rather uneasy when I
+have any large sum about, there seem to be so
+many holdups these days.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Have you a good safe place here to keep the
+money?” asked Joe.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Yes, fairly safe,” responded Harvey. “I put
+it in the Company’s safe here, and I don’t suppose
+anybody would bother about it. But just
+the same, I don’t leave it here unless I simply
+haven’t had time to deposit it in the bank.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The talk drifted into other channels, and the
+boys thought little more of what he had told them
+at that time. After lunch they practiced sending
+with the buzzer set, and got so that they could
+recognize some of the letters when they were sent
+very slowly.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Huh,” said Jimmy, elated at his success in
+making out two letters in succession, “I’ll be sending
+and receiving thirty words a minute in a little
+while.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“How little?” grinned Bob.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Just about a hundred years or so,” put in
+Herb, before Jimmy could answer.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Hundred nothing!” said Jimmy indignantly.
+“Don’t think because it will take you that long that
+I’ll be just as slow. I’m going to show you some
+speed.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Go on!” chaffed Herb. “Who ever heard of
+anybody as fat as you showing speed? You don’t
+know what that word means.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Just the same, I haven’t seen you read <em class="italics">any</em>
+words yet,” retorted Jimmy. “About the only one
+you know is E, and that’s because it’s only one
+dot.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, I’ll know the whole blamed thing pretty
+soon,” said Herb. “You see if I don’t.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’ve no doubt you’ll all be experts in a little
+while,” laughed Harvey. “ ‘Practice makes perfect’
+in that as in most other things.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The boys remained at the big station until late
+in the afternoon, and then, with many thanks to
+their friend for his assistance, they started back
+home.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Mr. Harvey is one of the finest men I’ve ever
+met,” said Bob, as they walked briskly along.
+“He and his cousin are a good deal alike. They
+both know a lot, and they’re both willing to help
+other people understand the things they’re interested
+in.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Yes, we couldn’t have made a better friend,”
+said Joe. “I only hope we have the chance to do
+something for him some day. I feel as though
+I’d learned a lot about radio just since we came
+to Ocean Point.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Jimmy and Herb warmly indorsed this statement,
+and had the radio man been able to hear
+them, he would probably have felt fully repaid
+for his efforts in their behalf.</p>
+<p class="pnext">He, for his part, felt indebted to the boys.
+Their eager enthusiasm had stirred him deeply,
+and their laughter and good fellowship had come
+like a fresh breeze into the routine of his daily
+life. He was still young enough himself to feel
+in perfect touch with them, and he welcomed their
+coming and regretted their departure.</p>
+<p class="pnext">He sat for some time musing, with a smile on
+his lips after they had left him. Then the conversation
+he had with them about the money he
+held in trust recurred to him, and he stepped over
+to the safe, took out the funds and counted them.</p>
+<p class="pnext">He gave a whistle of surprise when he realized
+how much had accumulated.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Too much to have on hand at one time,” he
+said to himself, as he closed the safe. “I must
+get that over to the bank!”</p>
+</div>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xixdancing-to-radio">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id20">CHAPTER XIX—DANCING TO RADIO</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">“That talk with Mr. Harvey has certainly
+made me ambitious,” remarked Bob that evening,
+as the boys were tinkering with their radio
+set.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Who was that poet who said:</p>
+<blockquote><div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+‘I charge thee, fling away ambition,</div>
+<div class="line">
+’Twas through ambition that the angels fell,’</div>
+</div>
+</div></blockquote>
+<p class="pfirst">quoted Joe.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Pretty good dope, too, if you ask me,” said
+Jimmy.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I might have expected that that would hit you
+pretty hard,” replied Bob, with what was meant
+to be withering sarcasm, though Jimmy did not
+“bat an eyelash.” “But it doesn’t apply to me at
+all. In the first place, I’m not an angel——”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“How you surprise us,” murmured Herb.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“So that what happened to angels needn’t necessarily
+happen to me,” continued Bob.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I prithee, gentle stranger, in what direction
+doth thy ambition lead?” asked Herb, at the same
+time looking around at the others and tapping his
+forehead significantly.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“In the direction of that loop aerial that we
+were talking about before we left Clintonia,”
+answered Bob. “You know Mr. Brandon said it
+was good, and you remember what he told us
+about the way the British used it to trap the
+German fleet. That’s been running in my head
+ever since. What do you say to rigging one up
+and seeing just what it will do? If we find it
+better than our present aerial, we’ll use it altogether.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, I’m ready to try anything once,” chimed
+in Joe.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I suppose here’s where Jimmy gets busy in
+making a frame for it?” suggested Jimmy, in an
+aggrieved tone.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Likely enough,” replied Bob heartlessly.
+“You need a little work to get some of that fat
+off of you, anyway. But after you get the frame
+and the pivot made——”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, yes, the pivot, too!” said Jimmy. “All
+right, go ahead. Be sure you don’t overlook
+anything.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“The rest of us will pitch in and wind the
+wire,” finished Bob.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Jimmy heaved a long sigh, and to revive his
+drooping spirits, produced a pound box of assorted
+chocolates that an aunt in Clintonia had
+sent him.</p>
+<p class="pnext">But Jimmy chose an unfortunate moment to
+exhibit these delicacies, for at that moment Herb’s
+sisters, Amy and Agnes, entered the room and
+immediately espied the box of tempting confections.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, isn’t that nice!” exclaimed Agnes. “Did
+you bring these just for Amy and me, Jimmy?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well—er—not exactly,” stammered Jimmy.
+“I was figuring that we’d all have a hack at them,
+I guess.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“But I thought boys didn’t care for chocolate
+creams,” said Agnes. “They’re just for girls,
+aren’t they?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Jimmy fidgeted uncomfortably, but before he
+could think of anything to say, Herb came to his
+rescue.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You’d better act nicely or you won’t get any,”
+he said with true brotherly frankness. “If you’re
+real good we may let you have one or two,
+though, just as a special favor.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I thought those candies belonged to Jimmy,”
+said Amy quickly. “I don’t see what you’ve got
+to say about them, anyway, Herbert darling.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I guess we’d better compromise,” suggested
+Bob, laughing. “Suppose we set them on the
+center table, and then we can all help ourselves.
+That’s fair enough, isn’t it?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Yes it is not!” exclaimed Herb. “The girls’ll
+eat them all while we boys are fooling with the
+radio. But I suppose we might as well let them
+have the things that way as any other. They’ll
+get them some way, you can bet on that.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You’re just mad because you can’t have them
+all yourself,” said Agnes serenely, as she nibbled
+at a chocolate. “You boys go ahead with your
+radio. We’ll take care of the candies.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“What did I tell you?” said Herb disdainfully.
+“That’s about all girls think of anyway—eating
+candy.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, go on,” said Amy. “We don’t like them
+a bit better than you boys do, only you won’t
+admit it.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“They couldn’t like them much better than
+Jimmy does, that’s a fact,” said Joe.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Aw, forget it,” said Jimmy. “We’re all in the
+same boat when it comes to that. Let’s get busy
+with the radio.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The candy incident was soon forgotten in the
+interest of the concert they heard that evening.
+There was an unusually fine program, one of the
+features of which was a lecture on radiophony.
+The boys listened attentively to this, and got some
+valuable information in regard to the latest developments
+of the science. After this was over
+there were a number of band and orchestral selections.
+The girls listened to these, too, and
+when they were over, Agnes made a suggestion.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Since your set works so well, why couldn’t we
+give a dance?” she asked. “You can always find
+a station that is sending out dance music, can’t
+you?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Say, that’s a pretty good idea!” exclaimed
+Bob. “There are plenty of other young people
+in the bungalows around here, and I don’t think
+we’d have any trouble in getting a good crowd.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Fine and dandy!” exclaimed Joe. “By that
+time we may have our loop aerial finished, and
+it will be a good chance to try it out.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Suits me all right, provided I can work the
+set and don’t have to dance,” stipulated Jimmy.
+“If I try to dance these hot nights, I’ll just melt
+away like a snowball in front of the fire.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Maybe when some of the pretty girls around
+here come in you’ll change your mind,” said
+Agnes.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, we ought to have lots of fun, anyway,”
+said Bob. “We’ll leave it to the girls to give the
+invitations, and we’ll guarantee to furnish all the
+music you want. We’ll make Ocean Point sit
+up and take notice.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You’ve got to ask some of the younger girls,
+too, and not just your own set,” put in Herb
+quickly, for his sisters were both older than he
+was by a few years.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, of course,” promised Agnes. “This will
+be a free for all.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The rest of the evening they spent in making
+plans for the forthcoming party, and the next
+morning the boys set to work like beavers on the
+loop aerial. They hardly paused for meals, and
+before the day was over they had it completely
+made and set up. The girls, as well as the boys,
+were greatly interested in the first test, and they
+all waited breathlessly for the sounds that should
+issue from the throat of the horn. It was not
+long before the boys picked up a concert that
+was going on in Boston, and the effect was startling.
+After they had tuned out all interferences
+the music came in sweet and full and in such
+volume that they even had to tone it down a
+little. Mrs. Fennington, seated on the porch,
+could hear everything distinctly, and applauded
+each number.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The evening of the party arrived in due course,
+and the guests all arrived early, many of them
+curious and somewhat sceptical about hearing
+dance music by radio. Agnes and Amy had told
+them about the loud-speaking apparatus, and they
+were all prepared for something novel.</p>
+<p class="pnext">But it is safe to say that few of them were
+prepared for as pleasant an evening as this one
+turned out to be. Receiving conditions had never
+been better, and the boys had no trouble in picking
+up fox trots, waltzes, or any other style of dance
+music. Between the dances they got some more
+serious music that happened to be “in the air”
+from some other station than that sending out the
+dance music, and their entire apparatus worked
+like a charm all through the evening.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The radio boys did not spend all their time over
+the radio set, either. They found plenty of opportunity
+to dance and laugh with the many pretty
+girls who had been invited, and everybody concerned
+enjoyed the evening hugely. Mrs. Fennington
+had provided plenty of ice-cream, cake,
+and lemonade, articles which did not lack appreciation
+among the youthful company.</p>
+<p class="pnext">When the party finally broke up all who had
+been present expressed themselves as having had
+a wonderful evening.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I think we just had a perfectly spiffy time,”
+said Agnes, somewhat slangily but with undoubted
+feeling. “I think I’ll be as crazy about
+radio as you boys are, pretty soon.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It’s about time,” commented Herb. “You
+never cared so much about it before, but now
+that you can dance to it, you think it’s fine.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, she’s right,” said Amy, coming to the
+defense of her sister. “What is there that’s better
+than dancing?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, the world’s full of better things,” declared
+Herb. “But there’s no use my trying to
+tell you what they are, I suppose.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You can’t tell ’em anything,” chuckled Jimmy.
+“They won’t believe you if you do.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“If we believed all the fairy stories Herb has
+told us, we’d have to be pretty silly,” said Agnes.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, you’re both pretty, anyway,” said Joe
+gallantly.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Thank you,” said Agnes. “That’s more than
+Herb would say in a hundred years.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I heard him saying that to one of the girls he
+was dancing with this evening,” said Bob slyly.
+“How about it, Herb?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Aw, you didn’t anything of the kind,” declared
+Herb, but he betrayed himself by blushing
+furiously.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Poor old Herb,” said Joe. “He must be
+pretty hard hit. What do you think, Bob?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Looks that way to me,” answered Bob. “He
+sounded as though he meant it, anyway.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, so I did,” said Herb. “If she hadn’t
+been pretty, I shouldn’t have been dancing with
+her.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Gracious! how my young brother hates himself,”
+exclaimed Agnes.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“How can I hate myself, when all the girls
+fall for me so?” asked Herb brazenly.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, you’re a hopeless kid,” said Agnes, laughing.
+“Come, Amy, I’m going to bed,” and the
+two girls said good-night and left the room.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I guess it’s about time we all turned in,” said
+Bob. “We’ve had a mighty fine evening, though,
+and I’m proud of the way our outfit showed up.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The others felt the same way. They were just
+about to disperse when Mrs. Fennington entered
+the room.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“This evening has been so successful,” she said,
+“that I was wondering if we couldn’t give a concert
+in aid of the new sanitarium that is being
+built here. They are greatly in need of money
+to carry the project on, and I’m sure you would
+be doing a wonderful thing if you could help it
+along.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The boys were for the project at once, and said
+so.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“But do you think people will pay to hear a
+radio concert?” asked Herbert.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Of course they will!” exclaimed his mother.
+“They pay to hear every other kind of a concert,
+don’t they? And when they know it is to aid
+the new sanitarium they will be all the more
+anxious to come.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’m sure we’ll do our share,” said Bob. “We’ll
+be glad to give the concert, and if people shouldn’t
+come to it, that wouldn’t be our fault.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That will be excellent then,” said Mrs. Fennington.
+“I’ll speak to some of the other ladies
+about it, and we’ll set a date and make all the
+arrangements.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That plan of mother’s reminds me of something
+I was reading about the other day,” said
+Herb, after Mrs. Fennington had left the room.
+“It was in connection with that drive they were
+making for the disabled war veterans. Do you
+remember the ‘flying parson’ that won the transcontinental
+air race a couple of years ago? Well,
+he has a radio attached to his airplane and he arranged
+to have an opera singer give a concert over
+it. She sat in the plane and sang, and her voice
+was heard over a radius of five hundred miles.
+Then the parson gave a short, red-hot talk in
+behalf of the soldiers, and thousands of people
+heard about the drive that wouldn’t have known
+of it otherwise. They say that money poured into
+headquarters by mail during the next few days.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Good stuff!” exclaimed Bob. “Our work
+will be on a smaller scale, but the spirit will be
+there just the same, and I bet our old radio will
+rake in a heap of coin for the sanitarium.”</p>
+</div>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xxthe-radio-concert">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id21">CHAPTER XX—THE RADIO CONCERT</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">“When do we give the concert, Herb?” asked
+Bob at breakfast the next morning.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Mother isn’t quite sure yet,” replied Herb to
+Bob’s question. “Not until she consults with
+some of the others, anyway. But she thinks that
+a week from to-night will be all right. Guess
+one night’s the same as another as far as we are
+concerned.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">As a matter of fact, the projected concert was
+scheduled several days sooner than Herb had
+predicted, being set for the ensuing Saturday
+night, so as to get as many of the week-end visitors
+as possible. Tickets to the affair sold well,
+and from the first it became evident that there
+would be a large attendance. People were only
+too glad to come, both for the sake of hearing
+good music and to know that they were contributing
+to a worthy charity. The boys, as the volume
+of sales increased, realized that it was up to them
+to see that the visitors should have the worth of
+their money and they went over the set with a
+“fine-tooth comb,” to use Herb’s expression, in
+order to make sure that every part of it was in
+fine working order.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We’ll have to test everything out pretty thoroughly,”
+remarked Bob, that Saturday morning.
+“We’d never hear the last of it if anything went
+wrong to-night.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You bet!” said Joe. “We’ve got to have
+everything in apple-pie order.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The audience began to arrive early. A large
+space had been roped off in front of the central
+bungalow and furnished with rows of campchairs.
+The boys had set up the loud-speaking horn on a
+small table on the porch, running leads from it to
+their apparatus in the living room. This enabled
+them to operate the set out of sight of the audience.</p>
+<p class="pnext">By eight o’clock almost everybody was in his
+place, waiting expectantly, and in some cases
+somewhat sceptically, for the music to begin.</p>
+<p class="pnext">But they had not long to wait. Inside the
+bungalow the boys, excited and tense, heard the
+familiar voice of the announcer at WJZ, the big
+Newark broadcasting station. While he was
+speaking the boys had the horn outside disconnected,
+but with their head phones they tuned
+until the announcer’s voice was distinct and clear
+and all other sounds had been tuned out. Then,
+as the announcer ceased speaking, and in the brief
+pause that ensued before the first selection on the
+program started, the boys connected in the loud-speaker
+on the porch.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The concert commenced. Violin solos, vocal
+selections, and orchestral numbers followed each
+other in quick succession, every note and shade
+of tone being reproduced faithfully by the radio
+boys’ set.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The audience sat in absorbed silence, listening
+spellbound to this miracle of modern science. At
+intervals they could not resist applauding, although
+the artists producing the music were many
+miles away. When the concert was over at last
+there was a regular storm of handclapping and
+calls for the boys, who at length had to appear on
+the porch, looking, it must be confessed, as though
+they would rather have been almost anywhere
+else.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Cries of “Speech! Speech!” came from the
+audience, and at last Bob stepped forward.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We’re mighty glad if all you folks enjoyed
+the concert,” he said. “We boys are all very
+much interested in radio, and we want to have
+everybody know what it is like. Maybe before
+the sanitarium gets finished you’ll have to listen
+to another concert,” he added, with a grin.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Cries of “we hope so” and “make it soon” came
+from the audience, which then dispersed with
+many expressions of commendation for the evening’s
+entertainment.</p>
+<p class="pnext">When the receipts for the evening were counted
+it was found that they had taken in over four
+hundred dollars, which was soon turned over to
+the trustees of the sanitarium.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The concert was the chief topic of conversation
+in the neighborhood for the next few days, and
+the radio boys were deluged with requests for
+information concerning radio and radio equipment.
+They were somewhat surprised at the
+furor caused by their concert, but that was probably
+the first time that most of those present had
+ever heard radio music or had reason to give
+more than passing thought to the subject.</p>
+<p class="pnext">But the boys had other interests in addition to
+radiophony to absorb their attention. At last
+word had come that the tourists had started home,
+and the boys were excited at the thought of soon
+seeing their parents and Rose again. They had
+written that they would come from Norfolk to
+Boston on the steamer <em class="italics">Horolusa</em>, a combination
+freight and passenger ship.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Say!” exclaimed Bob, when he read this,
+“wouldn’t it be great if they’d send us a wireless
+message from their ship when they pass Ocean
+Point on the way to Boston?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You bet it would,” said Joe. “Do you suppose
+they’ll think of it?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“They’ll probably be passing here some time
+to-morrow,” said Jimmy; “so it will be up to us
+to keep close to the radio outfit in case they do
+send a message. Probably they’ll never think of
+it, though.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I hope they have good weather for the trip,”
+said Bob. “It doesn’t look very favorable just
+now.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It doesn’t, for a fact,” agreed Joe. “It’s been
+cloudy and muggy for the last two days, and it’s
+worse than ever to-day. But it probably won’t
+amount to anything. There isn’t apt to be a bad
+storm at this time of year.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">But the weather failed to justify Joe’s optimism.
+As the day wore on the cloudiness increased,
+and toward evening a breeze sprang up
+that kept freshening until it had attained the proportions
+of a gale. All that night it blew with increasing
+violence, and the next day, when the boys
+went down to look at the ocean, they were
+alarmed at the size and fury of the surf. Toward
+evening their anxiety increased, as no word
+had come from the <em class="italics">Horolusa</em>, although they had
+spent the afternoon at their radio set. They
+overheard messages of distress from other vessels,
+however, and knew that the storm was creating
+havoc along the coast. Night came on early,
+with the gale still blowing with unabated fury,
+and after supper Bob proposed that they go to
+the big radio station and see if there was any
+news there of the <em class="italics">Horolusa</em>.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That will be fine,” said Jimmy. “If they
+haven’t received any news of the ship there, we
+can be pretty sure that she is all right, because
+they would have been sure to get any distress
+message if it had been sent out.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The boys made a hasty end of their meal, and
+then started through the storm and darkness for
+the wireless station. It was raining in torrents
+that were driven before the gale and penetrated
+the thickest clothing. The only light the boys had
+came from an occasional jagged flash of lightning,
+and they kept to the path more by instinct than
+knowledge of its direction. But, with heads
+lowered to the storm, they plodded doggedly on,
+their minds filled with forebodings of disaster to
+their loved ones. The terrible roar of the
+breakers on the beach made them shudder with
+dread.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Suddenly a tremendous flash of lightning split
+the sky, and in the fraction of a second that the
+vivid glare endured they saw a man coming toward
+them whom Bob and Joe recognized at once.
+It was Dan Cassey, the scoundrel who had tried
+to cheat Nellie Berwick in the matter of the
+mortgage on her home.</p>
+<p class="pnext">More from instinct than anything else, the
+radio boys sought to block the man’s path,
+guessing that he was probably on some evil errand
+and remembering the warning that Miss
+Berwick had given them. Cassey struck out at
+random, and one lucky blow caught Joe unawares
+and knocked him down. The other boys sprang
+at Cassey, but in the darkness he managed to
+elude them and took to his heels.</p>
+<p class="pnext">It was hopeless to attempt to find the rascal in
+the pitch blackness, and after running a few steps
+the boys realized this and returned to help their
+comrade.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The latter had gotten to his feet and was
+fuming with anger, and it was all that his friends
+could do to dissuade him from rushing off
+through the darkness in quest of his assailant.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“But he was headed for the village probably,”
+expostulated Joe. “We’ll probably find him
+there if we get there before he has time to light
+out.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Maybe. But it’s more important just now
+to get to the wireless station and find out if there’s
+any news of the <em class="italics">Horolusa</em>,” said Bob. “If we
+find out that she’s all right, we can get after Cassey
+later.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That’s good dope,” said Jimmy. “The sight
+of that rascal has made me feel more scared than
+ever for the folks. He’s a hoodoo, a raven, a
+sign of bad luck. I’m not superstitious, but
+meeting him has given me the creeps.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The boys resumed their interrupted journey,
+and before long could see the lights of the radio
+station shining through the rain.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Now, if we can only find out that the steamer
+is safe!” sighed Bob.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“If we only do!” came from Joe. “It would
+be terrible if anything went wrong in this awful
+storm.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The boys increased their pace, and were soon
+mounting the steps of the porch. To their surprise,
+the door was wide open, and almost by instinct
+they felt that something was wrong.
+Their suspicions were confirmed the next moment,
+for as they entered the house the first object they
+saw was their friend, Brandon Harvey, stretched
+unconscious on the floor with blood trickling from
+a wound on his head. The little safe of which
+he had spoken the last time the boys were there
+stood wide open, and the cash drawer lay empty
+on the floor.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xxia-dastardly-attack">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id22">CHAPTER XXI—A DASTARDLY ATTACK</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">With horror-struck faces the radio boys
+hastened to examine and aid their friend.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“He isn’t dead,” said Bob, as he felt the
+wounded man’s heart beat. “Somebody’s given
+him a terrible blow, though. Let’s lift him over
+to that couch, and I’ll get him a drink of water
+and see if we can’t bring him around.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">This was quickly done, and the boys chafed his
+wrists and did everything they could think of to
+restore him to consciousness. At last their efforts
+were rewarded, for Brandon Harvey’s eyelids
+flickered, and a spot of color came into his
+cheeks. As his eyes opened recognition came
+into them, and he made a feeble effort to rise, but
+sank back on the couch with a groan.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Who hit you?” asked Bob. “Do you remember
+what happened?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I was at the table, taking a message,” panted
+Harvey, in a voice little above a whisper. “I remember
+hearing a footstep behind me, but before
+I could turn around somebody struck me on
+the head, and I knew nothing more until I came
+to and found you boys here. Is the safe all
+right?” he exclaimed suddenly, as a terrible
+thought crossed his mind.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’m afraid that whoever hit you robbed the
+safe, too,” replied Bob. “It’s empty now, anyway.
+The door of it was open when we came
+in.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Good Heaven!” exclaimed Harvey, and would
+have leaped to his feet had the boys not restrained
+him. “Why, there was over three thousand
+dollars in that safe! I had been meaning to go
+to the bank, but the weather was so bad that I let
+it slide. I can’t imagine who the thief could have
+been.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The same thought occurred to all the boys at
+once, and was voiced by Bob.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’ll bet any money I know who the thief was!”
+he exclaimed. “It must have been that low-down
+crook, Dan Cassey. He was hurrying
+away from here when he bumped into us,
+fellows.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That’s about the size of it!” Joe ejaculated.
+“And to think that we let him get away from us!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Dan Cassey?” queried the wireless man.
+“Why, that’s the same man my cousin was telling
+me about; the one you fellows had trouble with
+last spring. Are you sure this was the same
+one?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“No doubt of it,” declared Bob. “We had a
+scrimmage with him not half an hour ago, but in
+the darkness he managed to get away from us.
+If we had had any idea that he had attacked and
+robbed you this way, though, we’d have gone after
+him.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“But we can’t be sure that he was the thief,
+anyway,” said Brandon Harvey. “How did you
+boys happen to be coming here?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Before we talk any more I’m going to fix your
+head up,” said Bob. “You’ve had a pretty bad
+crack there, and you’d better stay as quiet as you
+can. After I’ve fixed you up, I’ll tell you what
+we came for.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The wireless station was equipped with a complete
+medical outfit. Bob sponged the ugly looking
+gash, then applied iodine and bandaged the
+wound as well as he could.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“There!” he exclaimed. “That isn’t very
+fancy, but it’s a whole lot better than nothing.
+How do you feel now?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Pretty much all in,” Harvey confessed, essaying
+a smile. “I don’t mind the rap on the
+head as much as I do the loss of the money. I’ll
+have to make it good, and that will take some
+while out of a wireless operator’s pay.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Don’t worry about that money,” said Joe.
+“It isn’t as though you didn’t know who took it.
+There isn’t a doubt in any of our minds but
+Cassey is the guilty party. If we can locate him,
+we’ll either make him give it back or else wish he
+had.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, I only hope so,” said Harvey doubtfully.
+“But you haven’t told me yet what lucky
+accident brought you to my assistance.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Why, we wanted to find out if there was any
+news of the <em class="italics">Horolusa</em>, the steamer that our folks
+are coming home on,” explained Bob. “We’ve
+been listening at our set all the afternoon for word
+from her, but haven’t heard anything. We
+thought that perhaps you had caught something
+that got past us.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“No, I haven’t heard a thing from that particular
+ship,” said Harvey, shaking his head. “There
+are plenty of others, though, having a hard time
+of it. This is the worst storm on record for this
+time of year. I don’t remember—ah! there’s a
+distress signal now. I’ll have to answer it,”
+and he attempted to get to his feet, but fell back
+on the couch with a face as white as chalk.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The boys looked at each other in dismay, for
+while they had been practicing sending and receiving
+in the international code, they hardly felt
+competent to take an important message like this.
+But after a second’s hesitation, Bob jumped to
+the big table.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’ve got to try, anyhow,” he muttered, grimly.
+He snatched the head phones and fastened them
+over his ears. At first he was so excited that he
+could make nothing of the jumble of buzzings in
+the receiver that sounded like a gigantic swarm
+of hornets. But in a few seconds he began to
+catch words here and there, and, seizing a pencil,
+he began feverishly jotting them down.</p>
+<blockquote><div>
+<p class="pfirst">“Steamer <em class="italics">Horolusa</em>,” he wrote. “Have struck
+derelict—sinking—help—quick—are about five
+miles—Barnegat shoals.”</p>
+</div></blockquote>
+<p class="pfirst">Bob reached for the sending key, while the
+other boys, their faces white, read the message
+that he had just written down.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Outside the wind roared and howled, the rain
+dashed against the windows in sheets, and, although
+they were quite a way from the beach,
+the boys could hear above everything else the
+angry roar of the breakers. They could envision
+the ill-fated vessel fighting a losing battle with the
+elements, and their hearts stood still as they
+thought of the terrible peril in which their dear
+ones stood.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Bob manipulated the sending key slowly and
+no doubt made more than one mistake, but nevertheless
+succeeded in making himself understood
+by the operator on board the <em class="italics">Horolusa</em>.</p>
+<blockquote><div>
+<p class="pfirst">“Message received at Station YS,” he sent.
+“Will relay to all ships. How are things with
+you now?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Lifeboats smashed as soon as put overboard,”
+came back the answer. “Only chance is to be
+picked up by other vessel. For God’s sake, do
+your best.”</p>
+</div></blockquote>
+<p class="pfirst">“They’re in a pretty bad fix,” said Bob, turning
+a tragic face to his friends, “I’ll relay the
+S. O. S. call, and probably we’ll reach ships that
+the <em class="italics">Horolusa’s</em> wireless couldn’t, as this station is
+so much more powerful. While I’m doing that,
+why don’t you fellows call up the life saving
+station at Barnegat, and tell them to be on the
+lookout.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That’s a good idea!” exclaimed Joe, and he
+rushed for the telephone, while Bob sent out the
+call for help for the <em class="italics">Horolusa</em>.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Central must be asleep!” exclaimed Joe impatiently.
+“I can’t get any answer at all to this
+blamed thing,” and he worked the hook up and
+down, but to no effect.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Meanwhile Bob had had better success with his
+instrument, and had got into communication with
+two ships that promised to go immediately to the
+aid of the <em class="italics">Horolusa</em>. They were both only a few
+miles from that unfortunate vessel, so when at
+last Bob left the key, the load of anxiety that had
+lain so heavily on his heart was considerably
+lightened.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“What’s the matter, Joe?” he inquired of his
+friend, who was still making frantic but ineffectual
+efforts to get into communication with
+the life saving station. “Can’t you get any answer?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Not a word, worse luck!” exclaimed Joe.
+“I guess the wires must have been blown down
+by the storm.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Yes, or they might have been cut by the thief
+before he attacked Mr. Harvey,” suggested Herb,
+struck by a sudden thought.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’ll bet that’s just what’s the trouble!” exclaimed
+Joe. “I’m going outside and investigate.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">He caught up a flashlight that was lying on the
+table, and dashed outside, followed by the others.
+Sure enough, the telephone wires had been cut a
+few feet above the ground. Evidently the thief
+had planned everything carefully.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Good night!” ejaculated Joe disgustedly.
+“No wonder I couldn’t get any answer. And all
+the time I was blaming the poor operator for being
+asleep.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">When the boys went inside again they found
+Brandon Harvey sitting up, and he declared that
+he felt a good deal better.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’ll be as good as ever in a little while,” he
+declared. “I guess I was in the land of dreams
+for a little while, though. What’s been going on
+while I was down and out?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The boys told him about the message from the
+<em class="italics">Horolusa</em> and about the telephone wires being
+cut.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, I guess you’ve done about all that can
+be done,” he remarked, after they had finished.
+“Chances are those two vessels you spoke will
+stand by the <em class="italics">Horolusa</em> and take the passengers off
+in case it becomes certain that she’s going to
+founder. But I think I’m strong enough to push
+a key down now, if you’ll help me over to the
+table.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">This was soon done, and while the wireless
+man was still somewhat shaky, he nevertheless
+stated that he had recovered enough to carry on
+the duties of the station.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You fellows don’t need to worry about me,”
+he said. “I’ll hold down the station all right, if
+you want to go after this Cassey. You might be
+able to catch him before he leaves the town, because
+he didn’t leave here in time to catch the last
+train out, and I doubt if he’d be able to hire an
+automobile on a night like this. It would be
+worth an attempt, anyway.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It doesn’t seem right to leave you here alone,”
+said Bob doubtfully. “But I suppose you know
+best how you feel.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We’ll hook up the telephone before we go,
+and get a message through to the life saving
+station,” said Joe.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The radio boys set about this task without loss
+of time. They soon had the instrument working
+again, and this time had no difficulty in getting a
+connection with the life saving station. The life
+savers reported that there was no vessel near the
+shoals at that time, but promised to keep a vigilant
+lookout.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well,” said Bob, when this had been accomplished,
+“I suppose there isn’t much more that
+we can do around here, so let’s get after Cassey.
+We’ll have to flash a lot of speed if we’re going
+to stand any chance of catching him.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I guess we can do that, all right,” said Joe.
+“Let’s go,” and with that the boys were off on
+the trail of the thief.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xxiiin-the-grip-of-the-storm">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id23">CHAPTER XXII—IN THE GRIP OF THE STORM</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">The <em class="italics">Horolusa</em> had left Norfolk with the sun
+shining, but after she had steamed a day on her
+way to Boston the weather changed, the sun becoming
+obscured by heavy clouds and the air
+growing sultry and heavy. The passengers took
+little note of this, except in a casual way, but the
+ships’ officers wore a somewhat worried look as
+they went about their duties, for the barometer
+had been falling steadily all the morning and had
+now reached a low point that forecasted trouble,
+and that in the near future. The sea was calm,
+with a long, oily heave that soon sent a number of
+the passengers to the seclusion of their staterooms.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Dr. Dale and his party were fairly good sailors,
+however, and they stayed in a corner of the deck
+that they had preëmpted, and discussed the various
+happenings during the trip. Everybody had
+had an enjoyable time, and they could look back
+and think of a dozen pleasant incidents that had
+made the tour one to be remembered in after
+years.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I think it was nothing short of an inspiration
+that led you to propose this trip, Doctor Dale,”
+said Mrs. Layton. “I anticipated a good time,
+but I never imagined that it could be half so enjoyable
+as it has turned out to be.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It has indeed been a memorable one,” agreed
+the doctor. “In fact, it has been so very successful
+that I think we should take others from
+time to time. The change is good for all of us,
+too. Mrs. Dale claims to feel infinitely better
+than when we started, and I am sure we can all
+say the same thing.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Yes, indeed,” agreed Mrs. Plummer. “I hope
+the weather will continue as perfect as it has been
+so far, although it doesn’t look very promising
+just at present.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It has clouded over rather rapidly,” said the
+doctor, surveying the gloomy sky. “But I hardly
+imagine it will amount to anything. It is very
+unlikely that we shall have a storm at this time of
+year, you know.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Even as he spoke a sharp puff of wind blew
+across the decks, whistled in the rigging, and died
+away. A few minutes later another gust came,
+this time a little stronger, and before they fairly
+realized it, a brisk breeze was blowing. Meanwhile,
+the cloudiness had deepened, and the sea
+was beginning to rise. Under the lowering sky
+the ocean turned a dull gray color, flecked by
+little white caps as the breeze continually freshened.</p>
+<p class="pnext">By the time the dinner gong sounded, the little
+party was glad to go below decks out of the
+wind, which had a raw edge to it. The boat was
+now rolling and pitching considerably, and there
+was a comparatively scanty gathering around
+the long tables. Conversation was rather limited,
+and immediately after dinner the ladies of the
+party retired to their staterooms.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Dr. Dale and Mr. Layton went up on deck
+again, and they were astonished at the change
+which had taken place even in the short time they
+had been below.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The wind had risen to a gale, and was driving
+before it big rolling seas crested with foam.
+The vessel plowed into these, at times plunging
+her bows completely under and sending a flood
+of green water back over her decks as she rose
+and shook herself free of the weight of water.
+Life lines had been rigged about the decks, and
+without these it would have been almost impossible
+to get about at all. The doctor and Mr.
+Layton and a few other men sought the lee of a
+deck house, where they gazed out over the wild
+waste of waters with astonishment not unmixed
+with alarm. Still, they knew that their ship was
+a staunch one and that they had little to fear unless
+some unforeseen accident took place.</p>
+<p class="pnext">All that afternoon the ship wallowed and
+plunged through the angry seas, her speed reduced
+until she had only enough to keep her head
+into the wind. At times the stern would rise
+high in the air, until the propeller was lifted clear
+of the water, whereupon the engines would race
+madly for a few seconds before the stern went
+down and the propeller bit into the water once
+more. Everything moveable about the decks had
+been lashed down, or it would have been over
+the side long ago.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Darkness came early over the tossing waste of
+waters, and the men retired to the snug smoking
+room, where they discussed the storm in a desultory
+manner.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Those who felt so inclined had just risen to go
+to the dining room for supper when they were
+thrown back into their chairs by a shock that
+caused the vessel to shiver from stem to stern.
+It seemed to hesitate and stand still for a moment,
+and then started on again as though nothing had
+happened. Excited voices and footsteps were
+heard all over the ship, and those in the smoking
+room gazed at one another in consternation.</p>
+<p class="pnext">A few minutes later the engines stopped, and as
+her steerage-way slackened the great vessel fell
+into the trough of the waves, where she rolled
+and wallowed in a helpless manner.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We’d better go and look after the ladies,”
+said Dr. Dale. “I’m afraid something serious
+has happened.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Dr. Dale and Mr. Layton made their way with
+all possible speed to the staterooms occupied by
+the ladies, whom they found grouped together in
+the corridor anxiously awaiting their arrival.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Meanwhile events were moving quickly on the
+ship’s bridge and in her wireless room. The
+<em class="italics">Horolusa</em> had struck a derelict, floating awash
+with the surface of the sea, and a big rent had been
+torn in her bows. The ship’s officers realized at
+once the serious nature of the accident. The
+pumps were set going and the wireless man was
+instructed to send a call for assistance. For what
+seemed an age he repeated the S. O. S. call without
+receiving any answer, but at last his receiver
+buzzed, and he listened eagerly for the
+answer. But at once a puzzled look came over
+his face, and he turned to his fellow wireless
+man.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Whoever’s answering our message gives the
+call of the Ocean Point station, and yet it can’t
+be either of the regular radio men there,” he said.
+“This message is being sent by an amateur, I’ll
+swear to that.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Sounds that way,” the other agreed, after
+listening to the head set a moment. “But you
+can tell by the strength of the signals that it can’t
+be just an amateur station. Possibly the regular
+operator is away or sick, and some amateur has
+taken his place.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, he says he will relay our call, anyway,”
+said the other. “Amateur or not, he seems to be
+on the job and doing the best he can for us. And
+Heaven knows we need all the help we can get,
+because we’re in a bad way.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The <em class="italics">Horolusa</em> was indeed in sore straits. Her
+bow had settled low in the water and the big
+waves broke over it continually. The crew had
+made several attempts to launch the lifeboats,
+but the vessel was rolling so badly that they
+were smashed to splinters against her sides before
+they could reach the water. The wind howled
+wildly around the superstructure and in the
+rigging, and it was also raining heavily, soaking
+the shivering passengers to the skin as they stood
+huddled about the decks. Life preservers had
+been handed about and nearly everybody wore
+one of these.</p>
+<p class="pnext">High up in the wireless cabin the two operators
+could hear the call for help flashing out loud and
+clear from the powerful land station as it was repeated
+over and over by the unknown sender
+there. Little did Bob’s father and mother suspect
+that their son was aware of their peril and was
+trying desperately to save their lives and those
+of the hundreds of other passengers on the big
+ship.</p>
+<p class="pnext">At last, after what seemed an interminable time
+to the anxious wireless men, they heard an answering
+call from some ship laboring through the
+black and stormy night, and a little while later
+they heard still another ship promise to go to
+their assistance.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Glory be!” they exclaimed, in unison. “I
+hope they’re not far away,” said one. “I’m
+afraid the old <em class="italics">Horolusa</em> has taken her last voyage.
+If the forward bulkhead gives way, she’ll
+go down like a shot.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“They can’t make much speed in a sea like this,
+either,” said the other anxiously. “But I see
+the YS station has stopped sending. I guess he
+must have heard those boats promise to come to
+our help. And they sure can’t get here a bit too
+soon.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The <em class="italics">Horolusa</em> was indeed in a desperate condition.
+Below decks the engineer force was
+laboring mightily to brace the forward bulkhead
+so that it would stand against the tremendous
+pressure of the water without. The bulkhead
+was sagging inward, and even as the men labored
+they could see flakes of paint come off the iron
+as it bent inward. It took the highest kind of
+courage to work in the face of such peril, because
+they knew if the bulkhead once gave way they
+would be drowned under tons of water without
+any chance whatever to escape. They braced
+big timbers against the frail wall that meant the
+only barrier between them and instant death.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I guess that’s about all we can do, men,” said
+the chief engineer at length. “I’ll call for a few
+volunteers to stay below and keep the pumps
+running, and the rest of you had better get up
+on deck. She’s likely to go at any minute.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">A few hardy souls volunteered, and the rest
+swarmed up the long iron ladders, thankful to
+get away from the awful menace of that bulging
+bulkhead. Arrived on deck, they found conditions
+there little better than those they had just
+left below. Several of the lifeboats had been
+wrecked by big seas, and the remainder had been
+stove in when the crew attempted to lower them
+down the side.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Dr. Dale’s little party kept together, and they
+all did the best they could to encourage each
+other. The passengers had been informed that
+two vessels were coming to their assistance, but
+even to the inexperienced eye of a landsman it
+was evident that the <em class="italics">Horolusa</em> was settling
+steadily lower in the water. Big seas broke constantly
+over her bows and encroached further and
+further up the sloping decks as the passengers
+were driven steadily toward the stern. The ship’s
+officers passed about the decks, keeping order and
+doing the best they could to reassure the passengers.
+The captain had ordered rockets sent
+off from the bridge, and these soared aloft at
+intervals and cast a momentary light over the
+wild and endless succession of mountainous
+waves that seemed like a victorious army
+marching on a helpless city.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Dr. Dale offered up an earnest prayer for
+their safe deliverance from this terrible peril,
+in which all those within hearing joined; and
+it seemed indeed as though nothing short of
+divine interposition could save them from a
+watery grave.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The clank of the pumps resounded through
+the ship and sounded to the passengers like the
+knell of doom. The crew worked in relays, and
+as fast as one shift had toiled to the verge of exhaustion
+another group took their places. They
+worked with the energy of desperation, for they
+knew that they were fighting for their own lives
+as well as for those of the passengers.</p>
+<p class="pnext">In the meantime the engineers were risking
+their lives a dozen times over in trying to patch up
+the rent in the damaged bow of the boat. Some
+of them had been lowered over the side by means
+of ropes, and the sea dashed over them constantly
+as they sought to cover the rent with heavy canvas.
+If this could be done successfully it would
+keep out the bulk of the water, and the pumps
+might be able to keep the vessel going until the
+promised help arrived.</p>
+<p class="pnext">That help seemed an endless time in coming, but
+at length the captain’s night glasses caught sight
+of a point of light upon the waves. It came
+nearer and nearer until it became evident that a
+ship was bearing down upon them. A great
+rocket soared into the air in answer to those sent
+up by the <em class="italics">Horolusa</em>, and in the light from it could
+be seen the outline of a large steamer that
+changed its course and swept around until it was
+parallel with the <em class="italics">Horolusa</em> and yet at a sufficient
+distance to prevent the vessels being driven into
+each other.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The roar of the storm prevented any call being
+heard from one captain to the other, but down in
+the wireless room the operators were busy and a
+plan of action was agreed upon. By this time
+the patch of sail had been fastened over the hole
+in the bow of the <em class="italics">Horolusa</em>, and she had ceased
+to settle in the water. With the sea shut out from
+the bow, the pumps speedily cleared out the water
+that was already in the hold of the ship and she
+was perceptibly rising in the water. If the patch
+held, the vessel might still be saved, or at least
+kept afloat until the sea calmed down, when permanent
+repairs could be made.</p>
+<p class="pnext">As the fate of the <em class="italics">Horolusa’s</em> lifeboats had
+proved that it was impossible for small boats
+to live in such a sea, it was arranged that the
+<em class="italics">Falcon</em> as the rescuing vessel was named, would
+stand by until morning or until the storm abated,
+and then either take the <em class="italics">Horolusa’s</em> passengers
+aboard or try to help the vessel itself into port.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Two hours later the lights of another vessel
+loomed above the horizon and the steamer
+<em class="italics">Esperanto</em> came hurrying to help. She too offered
+to stand by and give every assistance in her
+power.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The relief of the passengers of the <em class="italics">Horolusa</em>,
+who for hours had been gazing into the very eyes
+of death, were beyond the power of words to
+express. When Dr. Dale, who had visited the
+wireless room, came back to report that the
+S. O. S. message that had brought the two vessels
+to their aid had been relayed from Ocean Point
+the wonder of those from Clintonia broke out in
+exclamations.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“And a curious thing,” the doctor added, “is
+that the operators feel sure that the call was sent
+by amateurs. There was something about it—something
+halting, uncertain—that made them
+sure it didn’t come from a professional. Perhaps—who
+knows?—it may have been Bob or
+Joe whose message saved the ship!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“If we are really saved,” came with a shudder
+from Mrs. Layton. “If only the storm were
+over!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“And we were safe on land,” added Mrs.
+Plummer.</p>
+<p class="pnext">She had scarcely spoken when the steamer gave
+a mighty heave and they heard the rush of water
+over her bow.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We’re sinking! We’re sinking!” came a
+scream from one frightened passenger.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Not yet,” added another quickly. “But it
+looks mighty bad.”</p>
+</div>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xxiiifrom-the-jaws-of-death">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id24">CHAPTER XXIII—FROM THE JAWS OF DEATH</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">It was in a tumult of excitement that the radio
+boys started out to run down Dan Cassey, who
+they felt sure was the rascal who had assaulted
+Brandon Harvey and robbed the safe. They
+were, too, in a frenzy of apprehension about
+the fate of their parents and friends out on the
+stormy sea.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Still they had been relieved to some extent by
+the assurances that vessels were hastening over
+the wild wastes of water to the help of the imperiled
+ship and by the knowledge that all had
+been done that could be done under the circumstances.
+It seemed to them that it was now
+clearly their duty to assist in the running down
+of a criminal who had made such a dastardly attack
+upon one of their best friends.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Their task was made the harder by the blackness
+of the night and the fury of the storm. The
+gale had risen in violence until it had reached
+nearly a hundred miles an hour. It buffeted
+them about, and at times turned them completely
+around. Fortunately the sand was sodden with
+rain, otherwise the boys would have been choked
+and blinded by the flying particles.</p>
+<p class="pnext">But the rain that helped them in this respect
+hindered them in another, for it drenched their
+clothes and made them cling close to their skins
+so that rapid progress was made almost impossible.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Never mind, fellows,” Bob shouted. “The
+same things that are bothering us are bothering
+Cassey too. But there’s no use in our all sticking
+close together. Let’s spread out like a fan,
+and if one of us doesn’t come across him, another
+may. The first fellow that catches sight of him
+can let out a shout and we’ll all close in. Come
+ahead now, fellows. Speed’s the word.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">They set out with redoubled determination and
+made their way the best they could against the
+fury of the elements. The din created by the
+roaring of the gale and the thunderous beating of
+the surf upon the beach was beyond description.
+It was like the roar of a dozen Niagaras, and
+fairly deafened the boys as they plowed along
+with heads down against the storm. And if it
+was as terrible as this on land, where at least
+they were safe, what must it be on the howling
+waste where was tossing at this moment the
+crippled ship that held their loved ones.</p>
+<p class="pnext">In the mind of each was that same vision—that
+ship a mere speck on the mighty waters, as
+helpless as a bird with a broken wing, utterly at
+the mercy of the giant of the storm.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Yet not utterly, thank God! The wonderful
+radio had flashed its message through the black
+night, had reached out over the mighty waves,
+had gone to one ship and said “Come,” had gone
+to still another and said “Come,” perhaps to still
+another and still another, always with the same
+message “Come! A comrade is in danger. I’ll
+lead you to him. Come! Come quickly!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">And one gallant ship had heard and answered;
+and still another had heard and turned its prow
+in the direction of the sinking vessel, and by this
+time perhaps others were tearing through the
+waves toward the helpless craft that the ocean
+threatened to engulf.</p>
+<p class="pnext">This was the hope that buoyed up the comrades
+and kept them from despair as they hurried
+as fast as they could through the Egyptian darkness
+of the night.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The path that they were following, or rather
+the direction in which they were going—for in
+that blackness no path could be seen—was toward
+the bungalow colony, beyond which lay the town.
+It was their plan to go straight on to the town, if
+they were not successful in coming up with Cassey
+before they got there, and send out a description of
+the scoundrel to all nearby towns
+and warn the authorities to be on the alert to apprehend
+him.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Between the radio station and the bungalow
+colony was a little inlet into which the sea ebbed
+and flowed with the movement of the tide. It
+was from fifty to sixty feet wide, and a bridge
+stretched across it at a height of twenty feet
+above the water.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The inlet, or cove, was a comparatively quiet
+place and was much frequented by the boys, and
+indeed all the members of the bungalow colony,
+for fishing and paddling about in rowboats and
+canoes, craft that would have been too frail for
+the open sea.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Must be getting pretty near the bridge, don’t
+you think, fellows?” asked Bob, after they had
+got some distance from the radio station.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Seems so to me,” replied Joe. “Though in
+this darkness you can hardly see your hand before
+your face.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We’ve got to be mighty careful and watch our
+step, or one of us will be tumbling in,” said Herb.
+“And while I’m fond enough of bathing as a rule,
+I want to go in of my own accord.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I guess we’ll have to depend on our ears instead
+of our eyes to warn us when we’re getting
+close,” replied Joe. “And from what I think
+I hear, our ears will be quite sufficient. Listen!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The boys stood still for a moment, and then
+they all heard a sibilant, shrill, hissing sound that
+was entirely distinct from the beating of the surf
+along the shore.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That’s something new,” remarked Bob. “We
+didn’t hear that when we came from the colony a
+little while ago.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“No,” replied Joe. “But in the meantime the
+ocean has been getting in its work and has forced
+its way into the inlet. From the sound, the
+water’s rushing through there like a mill race.
+And it’s all the fiercer because the channel is so
+narrow. I guess Herb was right when he said
+we’d have to watch our step.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Let’s all keep close together until we’ve got
+on the other side,” suggested Bob. “It seems
+to me that I can see the outline of the bridge
+just a little way ahead.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">By advancing slowly, step at a time, they found
+their way to the entrance to the bridge and Bob
+heaved a sigh of relief as his hand rested on the
+railing.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Here we are all right,” he said. “Now follow
+close in Indian file.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“The inlet has surely gone on a rampage,” Joe
+remarked. “Just hear the way the water goes
+tearing along. And from the sound it isn’t so
+far below the level of the bridge. Don’t let’s
+dawdle, fellows. I for one will feel a mighty
+sight better when we get on the other side.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The others felt the same way, and all quickened
+their steps. Nor was their apprehension allayed
+by the way the bridge shook and quivered beneath
+their feet.</p>
+<p class="pnext">They had nearly reached the middle of the span
+when an ominous cracking was heard.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Quick, fellows, quick!” shouted Bob. “The
+bridge is breaking. Run for your lives!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">He sprang forward like a deer and the others
+followed him pell-mell. They could feel the bridge
+giving way beneath them, and the hiss of the
+water was drowned by the horrid roar of crashing
+timbers. One last frantic rush and they
+cleared the bridge and felt the solid ground beneath
+their feet.</p>
+<p class="pnext">They were not an instant too soon. Even
+as their feet left the planking there was a splintering
+crash and the bridge parted in the middle.
+The ends still clung to the abutments on either
+side, but the central portions fell into the stream,
+where they were swung to and fro by the force
+of the current so violently that it seemed that but
+a short time would elapse before the ends also
+would be torn loose from the banks and the whole
+structure swept down toward the sea.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Cold chills chased each other up and down the
+boys’ spines as they realized what a narrow escape
+they had had from being engulfed in those
+raging waters.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“That was a close call,” panted Bob, as he took
+out his handkerchief and wiped the perspiration
+from his face.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’ll tell the world it was,” agreed Joe.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Another five minutes, yes, another five seconds,
+and we’d have gone down with it,” said
+Herb. “And I hate to think what it would mean
+to be fighting for life in that whirlpool.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, we didn’t go down, thank Heaven,” rejoined
+Bob. “And a miss is as good as a mile.
+But where’s Jimmy?” he asked suddenly, as he
+saw that only two were standing beside him.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Why, he must be right around here,” replied
+Joe, peering into the darkness on either
+side. “I suppose he’s sitting down for a minute
+to get his breath. Jimmy,” he called.</p>
+<p class="pnext">There was no answer.</p>
+<p class="pnext">An awful fear clutched at the boys’ hearts.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“He’s trying to scare us,” ventured Herb, but
+without much conviction in his tones.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Jimmy! Jimmy!” called Bob. “Don’t
+frighten us, old scout. Where are you?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Again that dead, terrible silence.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Then, so thin and weak that it sounded as
+though from a great way off, they heard Jimmy’s
+voice.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Help! Help!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“He’s down in the water,” cried Joe.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“He didn’t get off the bridge in time,” Herb
+shrieked, in an agony of apprehension.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The three boys rushed to the bank and peered
+down into the dense darkness where the only
+light they could discern came from the white
+spray that crested the waves of the raging torrent.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Jimmy!” Bob shouted at the top of his voice.
+“Where are you?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’m down here in the water,” came Jimmy’s
+voice. “I’m holding on to the broken end of the
+bridge. But I can’t hold on much longer. Hurry
+up, fellows, or I’m a goner.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">The boys were frantic with excitement.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Hold on, Jimmy!” yelled Bob. “Hold on, for
+the love of Pete! We’ll get you!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">But how?</p>
+<p class="pnext">The broken part of the bridge hung almost
+perpendicularly for a distance of nearly twenty
+feet before it reached the water. The rain had
+made it as slippery as glass. The end on the
+bank was grinding at its supports and threatened
+every moment to tear loose and fall into the
+stream.</p>
+<p class="pnext">All these things Bob took in, in a flash.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“There’s only one way,” he said grimly. “And
+I’m going to take it. I’m going to work my way
+down and try to get him.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Let me go,” put in Joe, but Bob was off before
+any one could stop him.</p>
+<p class="pnext">He threw himself down flat on the bridge and
+began to work his way down backward on his
+hands and knees. The slope was so steep that
+it was like going down a ladder, with the difference
+that with a ladder he would have had rungs
+on which he could have planted his feet solidly,
+while here he had to dig his fingers and toes into
+every crevice he could find to keep himself from
+sliding down into the abyss of waters. Foot by
+foot, with infinite care and caution, he let himself
+down, keeping his eyes shut so that the sight of
+the madly racing waters beneath him should not
+make him dizzy and force him to let go his hold.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’m coming!” he shouted. “Hold on. I’m
+coming. I’ll be with you in a minute.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’ll try to, but my arm is getting numb,” answered
+Jimmy. “Hurt it when I went down, I
+guess. My fingers are slipping. Hurry.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">A flash of lightning came just then, and Bob,
+looking over his shoulder, caught a glimpse of
+Jimmy’s face, usually so ruddy, but now ghastly
+white. His body was in the water and swung to
+and fro, while one hand clung desperately to a
+part of the broken bridge railing from which the
+waves were trying to wrench him.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’m going,” cried Jimmy despairingly. “Oh,
+Bob, hurry!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Hold on,” shouted Bob. “Hold on just one
+second more!”</p>
+<p class="pnext">He reached his comrade just as Jimmy’s
+cramped fingers were torn from their support.
+Like lightning, Bob’s arm shot out and grasped
+Jimmy’s wrist.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’ve got you, old boy,” he shouted. “Just
+try to keep your head above water and I’ll pull
+you out.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">With one arm thrown over the railing of the
+bridge to give him purchase, he pulled Jimmy
+toward him with all his strength. The current
+tugged at Jimmy’s body like a ravenous beast unwilling
+to be balked of its prey. But although
+the muscles of Bob’s arm felt as though they
+would break, the indomitable will behind them
+had its way, and inch by inch he drew Jimmy in
+until the latter was able to get hold of the swaying
+planks and lessen in part the strain. Then with
+infinite care and the utmost exertion of his
+strength, he half helped, half lifted Jimmy out
+on the planking, where he lay exhausted and
+gasping.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xxiva-terrible-plight">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id25">CHAPTER XXIV—A TERRIBLE PLIGHT</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">For a few moments both boys were so used up
+by the terrific mental and physical strain they had
+been through that they were unable to move.
+But the danger was still imminent, and how great
+it was they learned through a call that came from
+above.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Hurry up, fellows,” came from Joe. “The
+bridge is giving way up here and the whole thing
+may go down any minute. I’m coming down to
+help you get Jimmy up.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“No, don’t do that,” cried Bob, rousing himself
+to fresh exertions. “Your weight down here
+would only help to pull the bridge down the
+quicker. You and Herb stand by to give us a
+hand when we get near the top.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Now, Jimmy,” he continued, turning to his
+comrade, “we’ve got to brace and get up to the
+top somehow just as soon as we can. You crawl
+up alongside of me, grabbing anything you can
+find to give a hold to your fingers in the cracks of
+the planking, and I’ll boost you along just as much
+as I can.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Jimmy summoned up the last remnants of his
+strength, and they commenced their arduous
+climb up the slippery planks of the bridge.</p>
+<p class="pnext">It was like a nightmare. They would advance
+a little and then slip back, losing sometimes as
+much as they had gained. But they kept on with
+an energy born of desperation. As often as Bob
+found a secure grip with his right hand, he
+would reach out with his left and give Jimmy a
+vigorous boost upward and forward. Every
+second now was precious, for they could tell from
+the grinding noise above and the increased swaying
+of the bridge that its last supports were
+rapidly giving way. Yet despite their utmost
+endeavor, they were only gaining inches when
+they should have been gaining feet.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Buck up, Jimmy,” Bob encouraged his comrade,
+though his own strength was fast ebbing.
+“We’ve only got six feet more to go.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Not that much,” cried a voice that they recognized
+as Joe’s, and the next instant a pair of vigorous
+arms reached out and two strong hands
+gripped Jimmy’s wrists.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Joe had thrown himself flat, head downward,
+from the top of the bridge, while Herb at the top
+held on to his heels.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Leave Jimmy to me,” commanded Joe.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We’ll swing him up and then we’ll give you a
+hand. Pull away, Herb.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Herb, with his feet braced in two deep holes
+he had dug in the sand, pulled with all his might
+until Joe’s knees were over the top, thus giving
+him a purchase. The next instant they had
+Jimmy up and lying on his back on the bank.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Bob in the meantime, relieved of his care for
+Jimmy, had got close to the top. Joe rushed
+to him, caught one of his arms with his two and
+pulled him off the bridge just as the last support
+gave way and the whole structure, with a hideous
+crash, went down into the boiling torrent.</p>
+<p class="pnext">For a little while not one of the boys could
+speak. They had been engaged in a fight with
+death and they had conquered only by the narrowest
+of margins. They were spent and breathless,
+but above all they were supremely grateful.</p>
+<p class="pnext">When at last they had recovered somewhat,
+they turned their attention to Jimmy, who had
+been the greatest sufferer in the events of that
+never to be forgotten night.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“How are you feeling now?” asked Bob, as
+he clapped the stout boy affectionately on the
+shoulder.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“About as though I had been drawn through
+a knothole,” replied Jimmy, trying to grin.
+“I’m as sore as an aching tooth all over, but I
+guess there are no bones broken. I’m bruised
+most in my feelings, I reckon. Don’t see any
+signs of my hair having turned white, do you?”
+he joked.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“No,” laughed Bob. “Though in this darkness
+I couldn’t tell whether it was white or black.
+But you went through enough to turn it white,
+I’ll vouch for that.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Not much more than you went through for
+me,” replied Jimmy gratefully. “I’ll never forget
+as long as I live, Bob, how you took your
+life in your hands to come to my help.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Oh, forget it,” returned Bob lightly. “It’s
+just exactly what any one of you fellows would
+have done for me if I’d been in the same fix. I
+tell you, Jimmy, our hearts stood still for a minute
+when we found you weren’t with us.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“It all happened so quickly that I don’t know
+just yet how I came to be hanging on to that bit
+of railing,” said Jimmy. “I can just remember
+a fearful crash, and then I went tumbling down
+with the same feeling at the pit of my stomach
+that you feel when you drop down fast in an
+elevator. Then the water closed in over me, and
+I just reached out wildly and caught hold of
+something and held on for dear life. I called
+out two or three times before you heard me.
+The water was making such a fearful racket
+that it’s a wonder you heard me at all.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We’d have come down as soon as we missed
+you on a chance of finding you, even if we hadn’t
+heard you at all,” replied Bob. “But we sure had
+a close call. That was a dandy idea of Joe’s
+and Herb’s of forming a human chain. If they
+hadn’t done it, we would have gone down with
+the bridge.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Well, now that we’re safe and sound, let’s
+get after Cassey,” suggested Jimmy. “We’re
+losing time staying here.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Bob laughed outright, and Joe and Herb joined
+in.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You sure have kept your grit, Jimmy, old
+boy,” said Bob admiringly. “But you’ve done all
+the chasing after Cassey that you’re going to do
+to-night. It’s you for the bungalow and bed just
+as fast as we can get you there. Then the rest
+of us will keep up the hunt for that rascal.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Jimmy protested strongly that he was as well
+as ever, but when he got on his feet he was so
+weak and trembling from his terrible experience
+that he could scarcely stand. So he had to give
+in, and with the other boys supporting him he
+made his way painfully and slowly to his parents’
+bungalow.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Their arrival created a sensation with Mrs.
+Fennington and the girls, who were deeply concerned
+when they heard of the strenuous doings
+of the night. Jimmy was taken in charge at once
+and put to bed. There was grief and consternation
+also when they heard of the plight of the
+<em class="italics">Horolusa</em> and her precious freight, but the boys
+allayed this as much as possible by the reassuring
+news that other vessels had been signaled and
+were hurrying to her assistance.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“And now,” said Bob, after they had briefly
+recounted the news, “we still have a lot of work
+to do and we must be off. We’re going to head
+off that Cassey if possible, and then we’re going
+back to the wireless station. We’ll let you know
+all that happens just as soon as we can.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">With many adjurations to be careful ringing
+in their ears, they hurried out. Once again in the
+open, they hastily laid out the plan of their further
+campaign.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Suppose, Herb, you go right on to the police
+station,” suggested Bob. “Tell them just what
+has happened and urge them to get busy in sending
+out messages to surrounding towns and try to
+have Cassey rounded up. In the meantime, Joe
+and I will go to the garages and try to find out
+whether Cassey has been to any of them trying
+to get a car. That would be the thing he’d most
+likely do, since there are no trains that he could
+get away on.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">They all made haste, and in a few minutes
+reached the town. Herb made a bee line for
+police headquarters, while Bob and Joe hurried
+to make inquiries in the three garages of which
+the town boasted.</p>
+<p class="pnext">At the first two they got no clue. But they
+were luckier at the third.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Any one inquiring for a car?” repeated the
+owner of the garage. “Yes, there was one fellow
+not fifteen minutes ago. Wanted to get to Allendale,
+where he said he could catch a train.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Did the man stutter?” asked Bob eagerly.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Should say he did!” replied the garage owner,
+grinning. “Got so tangled up that he had to
+whistle to go on.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Cassey!” cried the boys in one breath.</p>
+</div>
+<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-xxvthe-fight-in-the-dark">
+<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref pginternal" href="#id26">CHAPTER XXV—THE FIGHT IN THE DARK</a></h2>
+<p class="pfirst">The man looked at them curiously.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Friend of yours?” he questioned.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Friend!” exclaimed Bob. “He’s a thief, and
+it’s only luck that he isn’t a murderer. He blackjacked
+Mr. Harvey over at the radio station and
+got away with a pile of money. Which way did
+he go?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Over in the direction of Allendale,” replied
+the man, pointing out into the darkness. “So
+he’s a thief, is he? If I had known that I’d
+have nabbed him. That explains why he was so
+excited. He offered me any money for a car,
+but mine were all out at the time.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I tell you what!” said Bob. “We’ve got to
+get that man and we can’t waste a minute. Suppose
+you go to the police station and tell them
+what you know and have them call up the Allendale
+police and tell them to be on the watch for a
+man that stutters.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’ll do that, sure,” replied the man, and immediately
+suited the action to the word.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Come along, Joe,” cried Bob, and they both
+plunged into the darkness, following the direction
+that the man had pointed out.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Cassey had had a fifteen-minute start, but the
+distance to Allendale was nearly four miles, and
+the boys had no doubt that they would be able
+to overcome that handicap, provided Cassey kept
+to one of the two roads by which it was possible
+to reach the town. Those roads ran nearly
+parallel for quite a distance, separated at places
+by a quarter of a mile and at others by half a
+mile, but joining each other about half a mile before
+Allendale was reached.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Of course, we don’t know just which road
+Cassey has taken, and if we stick to either one
+we may make the wrong guess,” said Bob. “So
+it will be good dope for us to separate and each
+take one of the roads. If either of us gets the
+skunk he can give our regular yodel call and the
+other one can come hurrying to him across the
+fields. We’ll never be more than half a mile from
+each other.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Joe assented to this and took the road that ran
+almost parallel to but at the left of the one that
+Bob was following.</p>
+<p class="pnext">The rain by this time had diminished somewhat
+in violence, but the roads were muddy and progress
+for Bob was slow. It was so dark that it
+was impossible to choose one’s footing, and he
+had to splash along as best he could.</p>
+<p class="pnext">On a night like that no one was abroad that
+was not compelled to be, and the road was completely
+deserted. For the first mile there was
+nothing to indicate that Bob was anywhere near
+his quarry. And he had almost covered a second
+mile before he thought that he could hear footsteps
+splashing along in front of him.</p>
+<p class="pnext">He quickened his pace, and the sound of steps
+ahead grew louder. But that his own steps could
+also be heard by the fugitive was indicated by the
+sudden cessation of the noise in front.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Had Cassey, if he were indeed the man in front,
+stopped? Was he hiding until his pursuer had
+passed? Was he lying in wait to brain him as
+he came along?</p>
+<p class="pnext">All these reflections passed through Bob’s mind
+like a flash. And he too stopped for a moment
+while he pondered his course of action.</p>
+<p class="pnext">For less than a minute he hesitated. Then he
+moved forward. Anything was better than inaction.
+If his enemy was lying in wait for him
+and they came to handgrips—well, that was what
+he was looking for. All he asked was a chance
+to lay his hands on the villain who had assaulted
+and narrowly escaped killing his friend. Boy as
+he was, he was as tall and muscular as many a
+man, and he was willing to take his chance.</p>
+<p class="pnext">He had gone perhaps a hundred feet when
+nature came to his aid. There was a terrific clap
+of thunder, and the lightning flash that followed
+flooded all the landscape with light.</p>
+<p class="pnext">There at the side of the road, not ten feet from
+him, was Cassey, trying to climb a fence. His intent
+was obvious—to steal off through the fields
+while his pursuer was vainly hunting him along
+the road.</p>
+<p class="pnext">With a shout Bob leaped toward him. He
+covered the ground in two jumps, caught Cassey
+by the coat, and yanked him back to the
+ground</p>
+<p class="pnext">With a savage snarl the rascal drew a blackjack
+and aimed a blow at Bob’s head that would
+certainly have knocked him out had it landed.
+But with pantherlike swiftness Bob leaped aside,
+and as Cassey tried to regain his balance, Bob’s
+fist shot out with terrific force and caught Cassey
+right on the point of the jaw. Cassey went
+down in the mud, and in an instant Bob was on
+top of him and had wrenched the weapon from
+his hand.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Now, Cassey,” Bob commanded, emphasizing
+his words by a tap with the blackjack, “keep
+quiet or I’ll give you a crack with this that will
+send you to the land of dreams. Understand?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">That Cassey understood was shown by the fact
+that he instantly ceased to struggle and lay limp
+beneath his captor, who sat astride of him.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Keeping the weapon ready for instant use and
+not taking his eyes from his captive, Bob lifted
+up his voice in the yodel call that had been agreed
+upon between him and Joe. The shrill call carried
+far, and Bob had no doubt that it would be
+heard.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Knowing that force was of no avail, Cassey resorted
+to pleading.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“L-l-let me g-go,” he begged. “I’ll g-g-give
+you a th-th-thousand dollars if you l-let me go.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Keep still, you skunk,” ordered Bob. “Do
+you think I’m a crook like yourself?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I’ll m-m-m-make it two th-th-thousand,”
+stuttered Cassey.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Not if you made it a hundred thousand,” replied
+Bob. “I’ve got you, Cassey, and you won’t
+get off this time as easily as you did when you
+tried to rob an orphan girl. It’s you for jail,
+and you’ll stay a good long while where the dogs
+won’t bite you.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">At intervals Bob repeated his call in order to
+guide his friend, and in a few minutes there was
+a crashing of the bushes and Joe stood at his side,
+almost breathless with the haste he had made.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“What is it, Bob?” he asked, peering down on
+the prostrate form of Cassey, on which Bob was
+still sitting.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“I have met the enemy and he is ours,” answered
+Bob exultingly. “I’m afraid he’s a little
+out of breath from my sitting on him. So just
+slip off your belt, Joe, and fasten his feet together
+and then I can get up and stretch my legs.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">It took but a minute for Joe to pinion Cassey’s
+feet securely, and then Bob got up. He told
+Joe briefly what had taken place.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“There’s just one thing to do, Joe,” Bob concluded.
+“You streak it for town and bring a
+policeman and we’ll turn this fellow over to him.
+In the meantime I’ll stand guard—Hello, what’s
+that?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">There was a glare of light from the lamps of
+an automobile that was coming from the direction
+of Ocean Point. The car had just turned
+a curve in the road a hundred yards away and was
+bearing down upon them rapidly.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Both boys leaped into the center of the road
+and waved their hands. The driver of the car
+saw the boys and slowed down, and as the car
+came to a stop Herb jumped down and ran toward
+them.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We’ve got Cassey,” shouted Bob.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Glory hallelujah!” cried Herb. “I got this
+car and came after you, and I’ve got a couple of
+policemen with me. Where is the rascal?”</p>
+<p class="pnext">They dragged Cassey to his feet and delivered
+him into the care of the two officers, who had followed
+close on Herb’s heels. They bundled him
+into the car and the whole party drove rapidly
+back to town. There the rascal was searched,
+and the whole amount of the theft was found
+stowed away in his pockets. The money was
+taken in charge by the proper officials to be delivered
+to Brandon Harvey in the morning, and
+Cassey was dragged off to a cell. Then the boys
+left the station, with their cheeks burning from
+the praise that was heaped on them by the authorities
+for their quick-wittedness and bravery.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Such a night!” exclaimed Bob, as the boys
+took their seats in the car which they had retained
+to carry them over to the radio station.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We’ll never have such an exciting one again
+as long as we live,” declared Joe emphatically.</p>
+<p class="pnext">But he was mistaken, as will be seen in the next
+volume of this series, entitled: “The Radio Boys
+at the Sending Station; Or, Making Good in the
+Wireless Room.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">As the bridge was down they had to skirt the
+head of the inlet to reach the radio station.
+There they found Mr. Harvey, still badly shaken
+by the attack, but steadily getting better. His
+cousin, Frank Brandon, who had been notified
+of the trouble, was with him and was attending
+to the duties of the station.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Both men leaped to their feet as the boys
+entered. The sight of the three happy faces
+told its own story.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“We got him!” cried Bob. “Nailed him on
+the road between here and Allendale. And
+we’ve got back every cent of the money.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Infinite relief dawned in Brandon Harvey’s
+eyes as he shook hands with the boys and thanked
+them again and again.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“You’ve given me a new lease of life,” he cried.
+“And now I’ve got some good news for you in
+return. The <em class="italics">Horolusa</em> is safe. The leak is
+patched up, the <em class="italics">Falcon</em> and <em class="italics">Esperanto</em> are standing
+by, and the storm is subsiding. In a day
+or two your folks will again be with you, safe
+and sound at Ocean Point.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">Then jubilee broke loose and the boys fairly
+danced about the room in their relief and delight.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“How can we ever thank you enough!” cried
+Bob.</p>
+<p class="pnext">“Don’t thank me,” returned Harvey. “I did
+a little, but you did more. For don’t forget that
+it was your message that saved the ship.”</p>
+<p class="center pnext">THE END</p>
+<hr class="docutils"/>
+<p class="pfirst"><strong class="bold">THE TOM SWIFT SERIES</strong></p>
+<p class="pnext">By VICTOR APPLETON</p>
+<p class="pnext">UNIFORM STYLE OF BINDING. INDIVIDUAL COLORED WRAPPERS.</p>
+<p class="pnext">These spirited tales, convey in a realistic way, the wonderful
+advances in land and sea locomotion. Stories like these are impressed
+upon the memory and their reading is productive only of good.</p>
+<blockquote><div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT AND HIS MOTOR CYCLE</div>
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT AND HIS MOTOR BOAT</div>
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT AND HIS AIRSHIP</div>
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT AND HIS SUBMARINE BOAT</div>
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT AND HIS ELECTRIC RUNABOUT</div>
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT AND HIS WIRELESS MESSAGE</div>
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT AMONG THE DIAMOND MAKERS</div>
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT IN THE CAVES OF ICE</div>
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT AND HIS SKY RACER</div>
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT AND HIS ELECTRIC RIFLE</div>
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT IN THE CITY OF GOLD</div>
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT AND HIS AIR GLIDER</div>
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT IN CAPTIVITY</div>
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT AND HIS WIZARD CAMERA</div>
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT AND HIS GREAT SEARCHLIGHT</div>
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT AND HIS GIANT CANNON</div>
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT AND HIS PHOTO TELEPHONE</div>
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT AND HIS AERIAL WARSHIP</div>
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT AND HIS BIG TUNNEL</div>
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT IN THE LAND OF WONDERS</div>
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT AND HIS WAR TANK</div>
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT AND HIS AIR SCOUT</div>
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT AND HIS UNDERSEA SEARCH</div>
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT AMONG THE FIRE FIGHTERS</div>
+<div class="line">
+TOM SWIFT AND HIS ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE</div>
+</div>
+</div></blockquote>
+<p class="pfirst">Grossett &amp; Dunlap, Publishers, New York</p>
+<hr class="docutils"/>
+<p class="pfirst"><strong class="bold">THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS SERIES</strong></p>
+<p class="pnext">BY VICTOR APPLETON</p>
+<p class="pnext">UNIFORM STYLE OF BINDING. INDIVIDUAL COLORED WRAPPERS.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Moving pictures and photo-plays are famous the world over,
+and in this line of books the reader is given a full description
+of how the films are made—the scenes of little dramas, indoors
+and out, trick pictures to satisfy the curious, soul-stirring pictures
+of city affairs, life in the Wild West, among the cowboys
+and Indians, thrilling rescues along the seacoast, the daring of
+picture hunters in the jungle among savage beasts, and the
+great risks run in picturing conditions in a land of earthquakes.
+The volumes teem with adventures and will be found
+interesting from first chapter to last.</p>
+<blockquote><div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS IN THE WEST</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS ON THE COAST</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS IN THE JUNGLE</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS IN EARTHQUAKE LAND</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS AND THE FLOOD</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS AT PANAMA</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS UNDER THE SEA</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS ON THE WAR FRONT</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS ON FRENCH BATTLEFIELDS</div>
+<div class="line">
+MOVING PICTURE BOYS’ FIRST SHOWHOUSE</div>
+<div class="line">
+MOVING PICTURE BOYS AT SEASIDE PARK</div>
+<div class="line">
+MOVING PICTURE BOYS ON BROADWAY</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS’ OUTDOOR EXHIBITION</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE MOVING PICTURE BOYS’ NEW IDEA</div>
+</div>
+</div></blockquote>
+<p class="pfirst">Grossett &amp; Dunlap, Publishers, New York</p>
+<hr class="docutils"/>
+<p class="pfirst"><strong class="bold">THE BOYS OF COLUMBIA HIGH SERIES</strong></p>
+<p class="pnext">By GRAHAM B. FORBES</p>
+<p class="pnext">Never was there a cleaner, brighter, more manly boy
+than Frank Allen, the hero of this series of boys’ tales, and
+never was there a better crowd of lads to associate with than
+the students of the School. All boys will read these stories
+with deep interest. The rivalry between the towns along the
+river was of the keenest, and plots and counterplots to win
+the champions, at baseball, at football, at boat racing, at
+track athletics, and at ice hockey, were without number.
+Any lad reading one volume of this series will surely want
+the others.</p>
+<blockquote><div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+THE BOYS OF COLUMBIA HIGH</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or The All Around Rivals of the School</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE BOYS OF COLUMBIA HIGH ON THE DIAMOND</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or Winning Out by Pluck</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE BOYS OF COLUMBIA HIGH ON THE RIVER</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or The Boat Race Plot that Failed</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE BOYS OF COLUMBIA HIGH ON THE GRIDIRON</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or The Struggle for the Silver Cup</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE BOYS OF COLUMBIA HIGH ON THE ICE</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or Out for the Hockey Championship</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE BOYS OF COLUMBIA HIGH IN TRACK ATHLETICS</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or A Long Run that Won</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE BOYS OF COLUMBIA HIGH IN WINTER SPORTS</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or Stirring Doings on Skates and Iceboats</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div></blockquote>
+<p class="pfirst">12mo. Illustrated. Handsomely bound in cloth, with cover
+design and wrappers in colors.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Grossett &amp; Dunlap, Publishers, New York</p>
+<hr class="docutils"/>
+<p class="pfirst"><strong class="bold">THE OUTDOOR CHUMS SERIES</strong></p>
+<p class="pnext">By CAPTAIN QUINCY ALLEN</p>
+<p class="pnext">The outdoor chums are four wide-awake lads, sons of
+wealthy men of a small city located on a lake. The boys
+love outdoor life, and are greatly interested in hunting, fishing,
+and picture taking. They have motor cycles, motor
+boats, canoes, etc., and during their vacations go everywhere
+and have all sorts of thrilling adventures. The stories give
+full directions for camping out, how to fish, how to hunt wild
+animals and prepare the skins for stuffing, how to manage a
+canoe, how to swim, etc. Full of the spirit of outdoor life.</p>
+<blockquote><div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+THE OUTDOOR CHUMS</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or The First Tour of the Rod, Gun and Camera Club.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE OUTDOOR CHUMS ON THE LAKE</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or Lively Adventures on Wildcat Island.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE OUTDOOR CHUMS IN THE FOREST</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or Laying the Ghost of Oak Ridge.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE OUTDOOR CHUMS ON THE GULF</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or Rescuing the Lost Balloonists.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE OUTDOOR CHUMS AFTER BIG GAME</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or Perilous Adventures in the Wilderness.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE OUTDOOR CHUMS ON A HOUSEBOAT</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or The Rivals of the Mississippi.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE OUTDOOR CHUMS IN THE BIG WOODS</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or The Rival Hunters at Lumber Run.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE OUTDOOR CHUMS AT CABIN POINT</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or The Golden Cup Mystery.</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div></blockquote>
+<p class="pfirst">12mo. Averaging 240 pages. Illustrated. Handsomely bound in Cloth.</p>
+<p class="pnext">Grossett &amp; Dunlap, Publishers, New York</p>
+<hr class="docutils"/>
+<p class="pfirst"><strong class="bold">THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS SERIES</strong></p>
+<p class="pnext">By LAURA LEE HOPE</p>
+<p class="pnext">Author of “The Bobbsey Twins Series.”</p>
+<p class="pnext">12mo. BOUND IN CLOTH. ILLUSTRATED. UNIFORM STYLE OF BINDING</p>
+<p class="pnext">The adventures of Ruth and Alice DeVere. Their father,
+a widower, is an actor who has taken up work for the
+“movies.” Both girls wish to aid him in his work and visit
+various localities to act in all sorts of pictures.</p>
+<blockquote><div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or First Appearance in Photo Dramas.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+Having lost his voice, the father of the girls goes into the movies</div>
+<div class="line">
+and the girls follow. Tells how many “parlor dramas” are filmed.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT OAK FARM</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or Queer Happenings While Taking Rural Plays.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+Full of fun in the country, the haps and mishaps of taking film</div>
+<div class="line">
+plays, and giving an account of two unusual discoveries.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS SNOWBOUND</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or The Proof on the Film.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+A tale of winter adventures in the wilderness, showing how the</div>
+<div class="line">
+photo-play actors sometimes suffer.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS UNDER THE PALMS</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or Lost in the Wilds of Florida.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+How they went to the land of palms, played many parts in dramas</div>
+<div class="line">
+before the camera; were lost, and aided others who were also lost.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT ROCKY RANCH</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or Great Days Among the Cowboys.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+All who have ever seen moving pictures of the great West will</div>
+<div class="line">
+want to know just how they are made. This volume gives every detail</div>
+<div class="line">
+and is full of clean fun and excitement.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or a Pictured Shipwreck that Became Real.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+A thrilling account of the girls’ experiences on the water,</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+<div class="line">
+THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS IN WAR PLAYS</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or The Sham Battles at Oak Farm.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+The girls play important parts in big battle scenes and have plenty</div>
+<div class="line">
+of hard work along with considerable fun.</div>
+</div>
+</div></blockquote>
+<p class="pfirst">Grossett &amp; Dunlap, Publishers, New York</p>
+<hr class="docutils"/>
+<p class="pfirst"><strong class="bold">THE OUTDOOR GIRLS SERIES</strong></p>
+<p class="pnext">By LAURA LEE HOPE</p>
+<p class="pnext">Author of the popular “Bobbsey Twin Books” and “Bunny
+Brown” Series.</p>
+<p class="pnext">UNIFORM STYLE OF BINDING. INDIVIDUAL COLORED WRAPPERS.</p>
+<p class="pnext">These tales take in the various adventures participated
+in by several bright, up-to-date girls who love outdoor life.
+They are clean and wholesome, free from sensationalism,
+and absorbing from the first chapter to the last.</p>
+<blockquote><div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+THE OUTDOOR GIRLS OF DEEPDALE</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or Camping and Tramping for Fun and Health.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT RAINBOW LAKE</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or Stirring Cruise of the Motor Boat Gem.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A MOTOR CAR</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or The Haunted Mansion of Shadow Valley.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN A WINTER CAMP</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or Glorious Days on Skates and Ice Boats.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN FLORIDA</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or Wintering in the Sunny South.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT OCEAN VIEW</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or The Box that Was Found in the Sand.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE OUTDOOR GIRLS ON PINE ISLAND</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or A Cave and What it Contained.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN ARMY SERVICE</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or Doing Their Bit for Uncle Sam.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT THE HOSTESS HOUSE</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or Doing Their Best for the Soldiers.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT BLUFF POINT</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or A Wreck and A Rescue.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE OUTDOOR GIRLS AT WILD ROSE LODGE</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or The Hermit of Moonlight Falls.</div>
+<div class="line">
+ </div>
+</div>
+<div class="line">
+THE OUTDOOR GIRLS IN THE SADDLE</div>
+<div class="line-block">
+<div class="line">
+Or The Girl Miner of Gold Run.</div>
+</div>
+</div>
+</div></blockquote>
+<p class="pfirst">Grossett &amp; Dunlap, Publishers, New York</p>
+<div class="vspace" style="height: 5em">
+</div>
+<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 35594 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
author	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-03-03 04:45:29 -0800
committer	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-03-03 04:45:29 -0800
commit	3c9e9c2b61fc7c18aa91fa8a9a79a031f239eb62 (patch)
tree	fcaeb551592a53f4cf7b08a291184130ccfa7998 /35594-h/35594-h.htm
parent	93993bf34e3aa0237cec3ca4bcda6819e815c1bf (diff)