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diff --git a/old/53269-0.txt b/old/53269-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 0d5030e..0000000 --- a/old/53269-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4112 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Atom Mystery, by Charles Ira Coombs - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Atom Mystery - [Young Atom Detective] - -Author: Charles Ira Coombs - -Illustrator: G. Dean Lewis - -Release Date: October 13, 2016 [EBook #53269] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ATOM MYSTERY *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, MFR and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - YOUNG READERS - Atom Mystery - [YOUNG ATOM DETECTIVE] - - - By CHARLES COOMBS - - ILLUSTRATED BY - G. DEAN LEWIS - - _Publishers_ GROSSET & DUNLAP, INC. _New York_ - - ©1958 BY LANTERN PRESS, INC. - Under the title: “YOUNG ATOM DETECTIVE” - BY ARRANGEMENT WITH LANTERN PRESS, INC. - MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - - - - - CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER ONE 11 - CHAPTER TWO 27 - CHAPTER THREE 45 - CHAPTER FOUR 58 - CHAPTER FIVE 72 - CHAPTER SIX 89 - CHAPTER SEVEN 107 - CHAPTER EIGHT 117 - CHAPTER NINE 135 - CHAPTER TEN 151 - CHAPTER ELEVEN 161 - CHAPTER TWELVE 172 - - - - - ILLUSTRATIONS - - - Page - _“Hi, there,” Eddie greeted, “Any luck?”_ 51 - “_Come on, Eddie, let’s go back._” 104 - _The cylinder was simple to locate._ 137 - _... he saw the small rubber boat moving in._ 179 - - - - - YOUNG READERS - Atom Mystery - - - - - CHAPTER ONE - - -It was only a dream. Eddie Taylor would like to have finished it, but -the bar of morning sunlight poking in under the window shade pried his -eyes open. The dream fled. Eddie kicked off the sheet, swung his feet to -the floor, and groped under the bed for his tennis shoes. - -He heard his father’s heavy footsteps in the hallway. They stopped -outside of his bedroom door. - -“You awake, Eddie?” - -“I’m awake, Dad,” Eddie answered. - -“Breakfast’s ready. Get washed and dressed.” - -“Be right there,” Eddie said. Then, remembering the dream, he added, -“Oh, Dad, is it all right if I use the Geiger counter today?” - -Mr. Taylor opened the door. He was a big man, broad-shouldered and still -thin-waisted. Eddie found it easy to believe the stories he had heard -about his father being an outstanding football player in his time. Even -his glasses and the gray hair at his temples didn’t add much age, -although Eddie knew it had been eighteen years since his father had -played his last game of college football. - -“You may use the Geiger counter any time you want, Eddie,” Mr. Taylor -said, “as long as you take good care of it. You figured out where you -can find some uranium ore?” - -Eddie smiled sheepishly. “I—I had a dream,” he said. “Plain as day. It -was out on Cedar Point. I was walking along over some rocks. Suddenly -the Geiger counter began clicking like everything.” - -“Cedar Point?” his father asked. “I’ve never been out there. But, from -what I hear, there are plenty of rock formations. Might be worth a try, -at that. You never can tell where you might strike some radioactivity.” - -“Do you believe in dreams, Dad?” - -“Well, now, that’s a tough question, son. I can’t say that I really do. -Still, one clue is as good as another when it comes to hunting uranium -ore, I guess. But right now we’d better get out to breakfast before your -mother scalps us. Hurry it up.” His father turned and went back down the -hallway toward the kitchen. - -Eddie pulled on his trousers and T shirt and went into the bathroom. He -washed hurriedly, knowing that even if he missed a spot or two, he was -fairly safe. During the summer months his freckles got so thick and dark -that it would take a magnifying glass to detect any small smudges of -dirt hiding among them. He plastered some water on his dark-red hair, -pushed a comb through it, and shrugged as it snapped back almost to its -original position. Oh, well, he had tried. - -He grinned into the mirror, reached a finger into his mouth, and -unhooked the small rubber bands from his tooth braces. He dropped them -into the waste basket. He’d put fresh ones in after breakfast. - -He brushed his teeth carefully, taking particular pains around the metal -braces. The tooth-straightening orthodontist had warned him about -letting food gather around the metal clamps. It could start cavities. - -Finished, Eddie went out to breakfast. - -“Good morning, dear,” his mother greeted him, handing him a plate of -eggs. - -“Hi, Mom,” Eddie said. “Gotta hurry. Big day today.” - -“So your father says. But I’m afraid your big day will have to start -with sorting out and tying up those newspapers and magazines that have -been collecting in the garage.” - -“Aw, Mom—” - -“Eddie, I asked you to do it three days ago. Remember? And the Goodwill -truck comes around today.” - -“But, Mom—” - -“No arguments, son,” his father put in calmly but firmly. “School -vacation doesn’t mean that your chores around here are on vacation, too. -Get at it right away, and you’ll still have time to hunt your uranium. - -“Well,” Mr. Taylor added, excusing himself from the table, “I’d better -be getting over to school. I’m expecting to receive shipment of a new -radioisotope today.” - -The very word excited Eddie. In fact, anything having to do with atomic -science excited him. He knew something about isotopes—pronounced -_eye-suh-tope_. You couldn’t have a father who was head of the -atomic-science department at Oceanview College without picking up a -little knowledge along the way. Eddie knew that a radioisotope was a -material which had been “cooked” in an atomic reactor until it was “hot” -with radioactivity. When carefully controlled, the radiation stored up -in such isotopes was used in many beneficial ways. - -“Why don’t college professors get summer vacations, too?” Eddie asked. -One reason for asking that particular question was to keep from prying -deeper into the subject of the radioisotope. Much of his father’s work -at Oceanview College was of a secret nature. Eddie had learned not to -ask questions about it. His father usually volunteered any information -he wanted known, so Eddie stuck to questions which could and would be -answered. - -“We get vacations,” his father said. “But—well, my work is a little -different, you know. At the speed atomic science is moving today, we -simply can’t afford to waste time. But don’t worry. We’ll take a week or -so off before school starts in the fall. Maybe head for the mountains -with our tent and sleeping bags.” - -“And Geiger counter?” Eddie asked eagerly. - -“Wouldn’t think of leaving it home,” his father said, smiling. “By the -way, I put new batteries in it the other day. Take it easy on them. -Remember to switch it off when you’re not actually using it.” - -“I will,” Eddie promised. He had forgotten several times before, -weakening the batteries. - -It took Eddie over an hour to sort out the newspapers and magazines in -the garage, tie them in neat bundles, and place them out on the front -curb for the Goodwill pickup. By that time the sun was high overhead. It -had driven off the coolness which the ocean air had provided during the -earlier hours. - -“Anything else, Mom?” he asked, returning to the house and getting the -Geiger counter out of the closet. He edged toward the back door before -his mother had much time to think of something more for him to do. - -“I guess not, dear,” Mrs. Taylor said, smiling over his hasty retreat. -“What are you going to do?” - -“Think I’ll do a little prospecting,” Eddie said. - -“Where?” - -“Probably in the hills beyond the college,” Eddie said. The more he -thought about it, the more he realized it was a little late in the day -to go to Cedar Point. The best way to get there was by rowboat across -Moon Bay, and that was too long a row to be starting now. Besides, there -were plenty of other places around the outskirts of Oceanview where -likely looking rock formations invited search with a Geiger counter. - -“Are you going alone?” his mother asked. - -“Oh, guess I’ll stop by and see if Teena wants to go,” Eddie answered -casually. He tried to make it sound as though he would be doing Teena -Ross a big favor. After all, she was only a girl. Eddie didn’t figure a -girl would make a very good uranium prospecting partner, but most of the -fellows he knew were away at camp, or vacationing with their folks, or -something like that. - -“She’ll enjoy it, I’m sure,” his mother said. - -“I’ll take Sandy, too,” Eddie said. “He needs the exercise.” - -“That’s a good idea, dear. Be back in time for an early dinner.” - -Eddie let Sandy off his chain. The taffy-colored cocker spaniel yipped -wildly over his freedom, racing back and forth as Eddie started down the -street. - -Christina Ross—whom everybody called Teena—lived at the far end of the -block. Eddie went around to the side door of the light-green stucco -house and knocked. - -“Oh, hi, Eddie,” Teena greeted him, appearing at the screen door. “I was -hoping you’d come over.” - -“Well, I—I just happened to be going by,” Eddie said. “Thought you might -want to watch me do a little prospecting with the Geiger counter. But -maybe you’re too busy.” - -That’s how to handle it, Eddie thought. Don’t act anxious. Let Teena be -anxious. Then maybe she’ll even offer to bring along a couple of -sandwiches or some fruit. - -“Oh, I’d love to go,” Teena said eagerly, “but I’m just finishing the -dishes. Come on in.” - -“I’m in kind of a hurry.” - -“I’ll only be a minute.” She pushed the screen door open for him. “I’ll -make us some sandwiches.” - -“Stay here, Sandy,” Eddie said. “Sit.” The dog minded, although he -looked a bit rebellious. - -Eddie went inside and followed Teena to the kitchen. He felt triumphant -about the sandwiches. - -Teena tossed him a dish towel. “You dry them,” she said. - -“Who, me?” - -“Why not? You’re in a hurry, aren’t you? I can make the sandwiches while -you dry the silverware.” She smiled, putting tiny crinkles in her small, -slightly upturned nose. She wore her hair in a pony tail. Even though -her hair was blond all year long, it seemed even lighter in the summer. -Eddie couldn’t tell whether the sun had faded it, or whether her deep -summer tan simply made her hair look lighter by contrast. Maybe both. - -“Hello, Eddie,” Mrs. Ross said, coming into the kitchen. “Looks like -Teena put you to work.” - -“She always does, Mrs. Ross,” Eddie said, pretending great injury. -“Don’t know why I keep coming over here.” - -“I know,” Teena spoke up quickly. “It’s because we’re friends, that’s -why.” - -Eddie knew she was right. They were friends—good friends. They had been -ever since Eddie’s family had moved to Oceanview and his father had -become head of the college’s atomic-science department. In fact, their -parents were close friends, also. Teena’s father was chief engineer for -the Acme Aviation Company, one of the coast town’s largest manufacturing -concerns. - -“Well, I’ll be glad to finish them, Eddie,” Mrs. Ross offered. “I know -how boys detest doing dishes.” - -“Oh, I don’t really mind, Mrs. Ross,” Eddie said. “Besides, Teena’s -making sandwiches to take with us.” - -“Another prospecting trip?” Teena’s mother glanced at the Geiger counter -which Eddie had set carefully on the dinette table. - -“I still think there must be some uranium around here,” Eddie insisted. -“And we can find it if anyone can.” - -“I agree,” Mrs. Ross said. “But even if you don’t find it, you both seem -to enjoy your hikes.” - -“Oh, yes, it’s fun, Mother,” Teena replied, wrapping wax paper around a -sandwich. “Guess I’m ready. I’ve got a bone for Sandy, too.” - -“Don’t go too far out from town,” Mrs. Ross cautioned, as Eddie picked -up the Geiger counter. “And stick near the main roads. You know the -rules.” - -“We sure do, Mrs. Ross,” Eddie assured her. “And we’ll be back early.” - -They walked past the college campus, and toward the rocky foothills -beyond. At various rock mounds and outcroppings, Eddie switched on the -Geiger counter. The needle of the dial on the black box wavered -slightly. A slow clicking came through the earphones, but Eddie knew -these indicated no more than a normal background count. There were -slight traces of radioactivity in almost all earth or rocks. It was in -the air itself, caused by mysterious and ever-present cosmic rays, so -there was always a mild background count when the Geiger counter was -turned on; but to mean anything, the needle had to jump far ahead on the -gauge, and the clicking through the earphones had to speed up until it -sounded almost like bacon frying in a hot skillet. - -There was none of that today. After they had hiked and searched most of -the forenoon, Eddie said, “We might as well call it a day, Teena. -Doesn’t seem to be anything out here.” - -“It’s all right with me,” Teena agreed, plucking foxtails from Sandy’s -ears. “Pretty hot, anyway. Let’s eat our sandwiches and go back home.” - -“All right,” Eddie said. “You know, one of these days I’d like to go out -to Cedar Point and scout around. Maybe we’ll find something there.” Then -he told Teena about his dream. - -Teena smiled. “A dream sure isn’t much to go on,” she said, “but they -say it’s pretty out on Cedar Point. I’ll go any time you want to, -Eddie.” She handed him one of the sandwiches. - -It was midafternoon by the time they arrived back at Teena’s house. They -worked a while on a new jigsaw puzzle Teena had received on a recent -birthday. Then Eddie said good-by and went on down the street toward his -own home. - -After putting Sandy on his long chain and filling his water dish, Eddie -went in the back door. He put the Geiger counter in the closet and went -into the kitchen. - -“What’s for dinner, Mom?” he asked. - -Mrs. Taylor turned from the sink. Eddie knew at once, just seeing the -expression on his mother’s face, that something was wrong. - -“Dinner?” his mother said absently. “It’s not quite four o’clock yet, -Eddie. Besides, dinner may be a little late today.” - -“But this morning you said it would be early,” Eddie reminded her, -puzzled. - -“This morning I didn’t know what might happen.” - -Then Eddie heard the sound of his father’s voice coming from the den. -There was a strange urgent tone in it. The door to the den was open. -Eddie went through the dining room and glanced into the den. His father -sat stiffly behind his homemade desk, talking rapidly into the -telephone. Eddie caught only the last few sketchy words. Then his father -placed the telephone in its cradle, glanced up, and saw Eddie. - -If there had been even the slightest doubt in Eddie’s mind about -something being wrong, it vanished now. Mr. Taylor looked years older -than he had that very morning. Worry lay deep in his eyes. He fumbled -thoughtfully with a pencil, turning it end over end on his desk. - -“Hello, son,” he said. He didn’t even ask whether Eddie had discovered -any uranium ore that day. Always before, he had shown genuine interest -in Eddie’s prospecting trips. - -“Dad,” Eddie said anxiously, “what—what’s the matter?” - -“It shows that much, does it, son?” his father said tiredly. - -“What’s wrong, Dad?” Eddie prompted. “Or can’t you tell me?” - -Mr. Taylor leaned back. “Quite a bit’s wrong, Eddie,” he said, “and I -guess there’s no reason why I shouldn’t tell you. It’ll be in the -evening papers, anyway.” - -“Evening papers?” - -“Eddie, you remember me mentioning this morning about that radioisotope -shipment I was expecting today?” - -“I remember,” Eddie said. “Did it come?” - -“It did—and it didn’t,” his father said. - -“What does that mean, Dad?” Eddie asked, puzzled. - -“The delivery truck arrived at the school with it,” his father -explained, “but while the driver was inquiring where to put it, the -container disappeared.” - -“Disappeared?” - -“The radioisotope was stolen, Eddie,” his father said slowly. “Stolen -right out from under our noses!” - - - - - CHAPTER TWO - - -At the moment, Eddie didn’t pry for further information on the theft of -the valuable radioactive isotope. His father had plenty on his mind, as -it was. The main information was in the evening _Globe_, which Eddie -rushed out to get as soon as he heard it plop onto the front porch. - -He took the newspaper to his father to read first. After having -finished, Mr. Taylor handed the paper to Eddie and leaned back -thoughtfully in his chair. - -“They’ve got it pretty straight, at that,” Mr. Taylor said, “but I’m -afraid this is going to stir up quite a bit of trouble.” - -“It wasn’t your fault, was it, Dad?” Eddie defended. - -“It was as much mine as anybody’s, son,” his father said. “Probably more -so. After all, I am head of the department. I knew about the shipment. -That should make it my responsibility to see that it was properly -received and placed in our atomic-materials storage vault. But there is -little point in trying to place the blame on anyone. I’m willing to -accept that part of it. The important thing is that we recover that -radioisotope. Not only is it of a secret nature, but it is also -dangerously radioactive if improperly handled.” - -“But—but wasn’t it in a safe container?” Eddie asked. - -“Of course,” his father said. “There were only two ounces of it in a -fifty-pound lead capsule. As long as it remains in that capsule it’s -safe. As you know, the lead prevents any radiation from escaping. Out of -that capsule, however, those two ounces of radioisotope can be very -dangerous.” - -“Fifty pounds,” Eddie said thoughtfully. “That’s a pretty big thing to -steal, isn’t it?” - -“Not when it’s lead, son,” his father replied. “Not much bigger than a -two-quart milk bottle, in fact.” - -“Even at that, no kid could have taken it,” Eddie said. - -“Kid?” His father smiled thinly. “We don’t think it was any kid, Eddie. -Not by a long shot. The whole thing was carefully planned and carefully -carried out. It was not the work of amateurs.” - -Eddie read the newspaper account. The small truck from Drake Ridge, -where one of the country’s newest atomic reactors was located, had -arrived earlier than expected at Oceanview College. It had backed up to -the receiving dock where all of the college supplies were delivered. -Since deliveries during vacation months were few, there was no one on -the dock when the truck arrived. A half hour later, when the delivery -was expected, there would have been. The truck’s early arrival had -caught them unprepared. - -The driver had left the truck and had gone around the building to the -front office. It had taken him less than five minutes to locate the -receiving-dock foreman. Together, they had returned through the small -warehouse and opened the rear door onto the dock. - -During that short time someone had pried open the heavy padlock on the -delivery truck’s rear door and had stolen the fifty-pound lead capsule -containing the radioisotope. - -Dusty footprints on the pavement around the rear of the truck indicated -that two men had carried out the theft. A heavy iron pry bar had been -dropped at the rear of the truck after the lock was sprung. It was a -common type used by carpenters. There were no fingerprints or other -identifying marks on it. The footprints were barely visible and of no -help other than to indicate that two men were involved in the crime. - -“Dad,” Eddie asked, looking up from the paper, “how could anyone carry -away something weighing fifty pounds without being noticed?” - -“Chances are they had their car parked nearby,” his father said. “As you -know, there are no fences or gates around Oceanview College. People come -and go as they please. As a matter of fact, there are always quite a few -automobiles parked around the shipping and receiving building, and -parking space is scarce even during summer sessions. Anyone could park -and wait there unnoticed. Or they could walk around without attracting -any undue attention.” - -“But, Dad,” Eddie continued, “how would the men know that the delivery -truck would arrive a half hour early?” - -“They wouldn’t,” his father said. “They may have had another plan. The -way things worked out, they didn’t need to use it. The early delivery -and the business of leaving the truck unguarded for a few minutes -probably gave them a better opportunity than they had expected. At -least, they took quick advantage of it.” - -“I don’t see what anyone would want with a radioisotope,” Eddie said. -“Maybe they figured there was something else inside of that lead -capsule.” - -“That’s unlikely, son,” Mr. Taylor said. “Believe me, it was no common -theft. Nor were the thieves ordinary thieves. That isotope was a new -one. A very secret one. Our job at the college was to conduct various -tests with it in order to find out exactly how it could best be put to -use as a cure for disease, or for sterilizing food, or even as a source -of power.” - -“Power?” Eddie said. “Boy, it must have been a strong isotope.” He knew -that the strength of radioisotopes could be controlled largely by the -length of time they were allowed to “cook” in an atomic reactor and soak -up radioactivity. - -“We weren’t planning to run a submarine with it,” his father said. “It -wasn’t that strong. Still, it doesn’t take so very much radioactivity to -make two ounces of an isotope quite powerful—and quite deadly. I only -hope whoever stole it knows what he’s doing. However, I’m sure he does.” - -“You mean he must have been an atomic scientist himself?” Eddie asked. - -“Let’s just say he—or both of them—have enough training in the subject -to know how to handle that isotope safely,” Mr. Taylor said. - -“But, Dad,” Eddie wondered, “what could they do with it?” - -“They could study it,” his father explained. “At least, they could send -it somewhere to be broken down and studied. Being a new isotope, the -formula is of great value.” - -“What do you mean, send it somewhere?” Eddie asked. - -“Perhaps to some other country.” - -“Then—then you mean whoever stole it were spies!” Eddie exclaimed -breathlessly. - -“That’s entirely possible,” his father said. “In fact, it’s the only -logical explanation I can think of. People simply don’t go around -stealing radioactive isotopes without a mighty important reason.” - -“Dinner’s ready,” Eddie’s mother called from the kitchen. - -During dinner Eddie wasn’t sure just what he was eating. The idea of -spies stealing atomic materials kept building up in his mind. By the -time dessert was finished, he was anxious to talk with someone, yet he -knew he shouldn’t bother his father with any more questions. He asked if -he could go over and visit with Teena for a while. - -“Well, you were together most of the day,” his mother said, “but I guess -it’s all right. Be back in about an hour, though.” - -It was a balmy evening. On such evenings, he and Teena sometimes walked -along the beach barefoot, collecting sea shells. Today Eddie had no -desire to do that. He ran down the block. - -Teena answered his knock. - -“Come on in, Eddie,” she invited, seeming surprised to see him. “Mother -and I are just finishing dinner.” - -“Oh, I figured you’d be through by now,” Eddie apologized, following her -inside. - -“Hello, Eddie,” Mrs. Ross said, but she didn’t seem as cheerful as -usual. - -“Good evening, Mrs. Ross,” Eddie said. “I—I hope I’m not making a pest -of myself.” He looked around for Mr. Ross, but Teena’s father apparently -hadn’t arrived home from Acme Aircraft yet. There wasn’t a place set for -him at the table, either. - -“You’re never a pest, Eddie,” Mrs. Ross assured him. “I was going to -call your mother in a little while about that newspaper write-up.” - -“Oh, you read it?” Eddie said. - -“How could anyone miss it?” Teena said. “Right on the front page.” - -“I suppose your father is quite concerned over it,” Teena’s mother said. - -“Oh, yes,” Eddie affirmed. “He was the one who ordered the isotope.” - -“What’s an isotope?” Teena asked. - -“I’m not sure I know, either,” Mrs. Ross said. “Maybe we could -understand more of what it’s all about if you could explain what a -radioisotope is, Eddie.” - -“Well,” Eddie said slowly, “it’s not easy to explain, but I’ll try. You -know how rare uranium is. There’s not nearly enough of it to fill all -the needs for radioactive materials. Besides, pure uranium is so -powerful and expensive and dangerous to handle that it’s not a very good -idea to try using it in its true form. So they build an atomic reactor -like the one at Drake Ridge.” - -“We’ve driven by it,” Mrs. Ross said. “My, it’s a big place.” - -“I’ll say,” Eddie agreed. “Of course, only one building holds the -reactor itself. It’s the biggest building near the center.” - -“I remember it,” Teena said. - -“Well, the reactor is about four stories high,” Eddie went on. “They -call it a uranium ‘pile.’ It’s made up of hundreds and hundreds of -graphite bricks. That’s where they get the name ‘pile’—from brick pile. -Anyway, scattered around in between the bricks are small bits of -uranium. Uranium atoms are radioactive. That is, they keep splitting up -and sending out rays.” - -“Why do they do that?” Teena asked. - -“It’s just the way nature made uranium, I guess,” Eddie said. “Most -atoms stay in one piece, although they move around lickety-split all of -the time. Uranium atoms not only move around, but they break apart. They -shoot out little particles called neutrons. These neutrons hit other -atoms and split them apart, sending out more neutrons. It’s a regular -chain reaction.” - -“I’ve heard of chain reactions,” Mrs. Ross said. - -“Well, with all of the splitting up and moving around of the uranium -atoms,” Eddie went on, “an awful lot of heat builds up. If they don’t -control it—well, you’ve seen pictures of atomic-bomb explosions. That’s -a chain reaction out of control.” - -“Out of control is right,” Teena said. - -“But the atomic piles control the reaction,” Eddie said. “The graphite -bricks keep the splitting-up atoms apart so one neutron won’t go -smashing into other atoms unless they want it to. They have ways of -controlling it so that only as much radiation builds up as they want. -You can even hear the reactor hum as the radioactive rays go tearing -through it. But by careful tending, the scientists keep the atomic -collisions far enough apart so the thing doesn’t blow up.” - -“Boy, that sounds dangerous,” Teena said. - -“Well, they know just how to do it,” Eddie replied. - -“Aren’t the rays dangerous?” Mrs. Ross asked. - -“I’ll say they’re dangerous,” Eddie said. “But the whole pile is covered -by a shield of concrete about eight feet thick. That keeps the rays from -getting out and injuring the workmen.” - -“Goodness. Eight feet is a lot of cement.” - -“It takes a lot to stop radioactive atomic particles,” Eddie explained. -“Especially the gamma rays. They’re the fastest and most dangerous, and -the hardest to stop. Alpha and beta rays are fairly easy to stop. But -the gamma rays are regular high-velocity invisible bullets. They’ll go -right through a stone wall unless it’s plenty thick. Of course, you -can’t see them. Not with even the most powerful microscope in the -world.” - -“I wouldn’t want to work around a place where I might get shot at by—by -dangerous rays you can’t even see,” Teena said. - -“I would,” Eddie said. “Everyone is carefully protected. They see to -that. Well, anyway, if all of those uranium atoms were shooting -radioactive rays around inside of that pile and doing nothing, there -would be an awful lot of energy going to waste. So the atomic scientists -take certain elements which aren’t radioactive, but can be made -radioactive, and shove small pieces of them into holes drilled in the -pile.” - -“Isn’t that dangerous?” Teena asked. - -“They don’t shove them in with their bare hands,” Eddie said, trying not -to show exasperation. “They use long holders to push the small chunks of -material into the holes in the reactor. Then, as those uranium atoms -keep splitting up and shooting particles around inside of the pile, some -of them smack into the chunks of material, and stick there. Most -elements will soak up radiation, just like a sponge soaks up water.” - -“My, that’s interesting, Eddie,” Mrs. Ross said. - -“I’ve seen them do it,” Eddie said proudly, then added, “from behind a -protective shield, of course. When the material has soaked up enough -radiation, they pull it back out. They say it’s ‘cooked.’” - -“You mean it’s hot?” Teena asked. - -“It’s hot,” Eddie said, “but not like if it came out of a stove. By hot, -they mean it’s radioactive. If you touched it, or even got near it, you -would get burned, but you probably wouldn’t even know it for a while. It -would be a radiation burn. That’s a kind of burn you don’t feel, but it -destroys your blood cells and tissues, and—well, you’ve had it.” - -“So that’s what a radioisotope is,” Mrs. Ross said. “It’s like a sponge. -Only instead of soaking up water, it soaks up radiation.” - -“That’s about it,” Eddie said. “My dad says that as more is learned -about the ways to use isotopes, the whole world is going to be improved. -You’ve heard of radiocobalt for curing cancer. Well, that’s an isotope. -They make it by cooking cobalt in an atomic reactor. Oh, there are -hundreds of different isotopes. Like I said, isotopes can be made of -most of the elements. And there are over a hundred elements. Some soak -up a lot of radioactivity, and are strong and dangerous. Others absorb -only a little and are pretty safe to use. Depends, too, on how long they -let them cook in the reactor.” - -“What kind was the one stolen from the college today?” Teena asked. - -“Dad didn’t say exactly,” Eddie answered, “except he did say that if -whoever took it didn’t know what he was doing and opened up the lead -capsule, it could kill him. Of course, even the mild isotopes are deadly -if they’re not handled right.” - -“My goodness, it is a serious matter, isn’t it?” Mrs. Ross said. - -Eddie nodded. It was even more serious than its threat of danger to -anyone who handled it carelessly. It was a new isotope—a secret isotope. -His father hadn’t said whether it had been developed for curing things -or for destroying things. But many radioisotopes could do either; it -depended on how they were used. Eddie assumed that anyone who would -stoop to stealing isotopes more than likely would be interested in their -ability to destroy rather than their ability to benefit mankind. - -“Well, I certainly do hope everything works out all right,” Teena’s -mother said. - -“So do I,” Teena agreed. - -Eddie glanced at the kitchen clock. “Oh, boy,” he said, “I’d better be -heading back home. I didn’t mean to come over here and talk so long.” - -“Oh, we’re glad you did, Eddie,” Mrs. Ross said. “I’m afraid too few of -us know anything about this atom business.” - -“That’s right, Mrs. Ross,” Eddie agreed. “People should talk more and -read more about it. After all, this is an atomic age. We might as well -face it. My father says that in horse-and-buggy days everyone knew how -to feed a horse and grease a wagon wheel. They knew what was needed to -get the work done. But now that atoms are being harnessed to do the -work, not many people even bother to find out what an atom is.” - -Mrs. Ross smiled. “I guess you’re right, Eddie,” she said, “but I -wouldn’t quite know how to go about feeding an atom.” - -“Or greasing one,” Teena added. - -Eddie laughed. “I sure wouldn’t want the job of trying to feed a herd of -them the size of a period,” he said. “Did you know that there are about -three million billion atoms of carbon in a single period printed at the -end of a sentence. That’s how small atoms are.” - -“Three million billion is a lot of something,” a man’s voice spoke -behind him. “What are we talking about, Eddie?” - -“Oh, hello, Mr. Ross,” Eddie said, turning around and standing up. “I -didn’t hear you come in.” - -Teena’s father was a medium-sized man with light-brown hair which was -getting somewhat thin on top. He was usually quite cheerful and full of -fun, but tonight his face seemed unusually drawn and sober. He stepped -to the table, leaned over, and gave both Teena and Mrs. Ross a kiss on -the cheek. - -“Eddie was telling us about atoms,” Teena’s mother said. “Did you know -there were three million billion of them in a period?” - -“How many in a comma?” Mr. Ross said to Eddie, then added quickly, -“forget it, Eddie. It wasn’t very funny. I—I’m afraid I don’t feel very -funny tonight.” - -“Sit down, dear,” Mrs. Ross said. “I’ll warm your dinner. You didn’t -sound very cheerful when you called to say you would be late. How did -everything go at the plant today?” - -“Not so good,” Teena’s father said tiredly. “In fact, not good at all.” - -Problems. It seemed that everyone had problems, Eddie thought, as he -started to leave. - - - - - CHAPTER THREE - - -Three days later Eddie learned the nature of the trouble at Acme -Aircraft Company. It was midmorning Saturday. Carrying a picnic lunch, -he and Teena were hiking along the beach toward the distant U.S. Coast -Guard lighthouse which stood on a high point overlooking Moon Bay. Old -Captain Daniels, the lightkeeper, had been a friend of theirs for nearly -two years. Every once in a while Teena and Eddie went to visit “Cap,” as -they fondly called him. Teena would put up a picnic lunch which they -shared with the kindly old man whose lonely vigil over the light had -warned ships off the rocky coast for a good many years. - -Eddie wasn’t sure exactly how the conversation got around to Acme -Aircraft Company. It seemed that Teena mentioned something about -trouble. Eddie asked, “What trouble?” - -“Didn’t you read the paper this morning?” Teena asked. - -“We don’t take the morning paper,” Eddie said. “We take the _Globe_.” - -“The aircraft company has been keeping it quiet,” Teena said, “but -somehow the news leaked out. It was all in this morning’s paper.” - -Actually, Eddie doubted that he would have noticed it, even if they had -taken the morning paper. The big thing around his house was the -disappearance of the radioisotope. No promising clues had been found. -The theft of the isotope remained as much a mystery as it had been from -the first day. The few times he had seen his father, he had noticed how -much deeper the lines of worry on his face had become. Eddie had avoided -asking questions, yet he couldn’t help wondering if his father was in -danger of losing his job at the college. Some of the things his mother -had said seemed to hint at the possibility. - -The newspapers had taken a dim view of the robbery. They protested -against the carelessness which would enable the theft, in broad -daylight, of such a valuable, secret, and hazardous thing as a -radioactive isotope. - -The blame, of course, fell primarily upon Mr. Taylor’s shoulders. - -“Eddie,” Teena said, “you’re not even listening to me.” - -“I—I’m sorry,” Eddie answered. “What did you say?” - -“I merely said that some important blueprints are missing from my -father’s department at Acme Aircraft,” Teena explained. - -“Maybe someone put them in the wrong drawer or something,” Eddie -suggested. - -“They’ve looked everywhere, Eddie,” Teena said. “That’s why my father’s -been getting home late every day. They’ve searched absolutely -everywhere.” - -“Well, I guess they can always make new blueprints,” Eddie said. He -really couldn’t see why it was so important, especially not if you -compared it to stolen radioisotopes. - -“That’s not the point,” Teena said sharply. “They were top-secret -blueprints—something to do with guiding a new missile Acme Aircraft is -getting ready to make. If the plans were stolen—well, you know what that -could mean.” - -The importance of what Teena was saying struck Eddie suddenly. Could -there be any connection between the missing blueprints and the stolen -isotope? - -The idea sent a chill along Eddie’s spine. Perhaps there was a whole spy -ring operating around Oceanview! - -He mentioned it to Teena. - -“I thought the same thing,” she said. “But, Eddie, we’re not at war or -anything. It’s silly to think there are spies and things like that -running around. That’s comic-book stuff.” - -“Not to me, it isn’t,” Eddie said. “There’s plenty of spying going on, -war or no war. Every once in a while you hear about it.” - -“Aw, you’re just trying to scare me,” Teena said. She stopped and picked -up a shell, looked it over, then skipped it into the surf. Sandy chased -it, yipping happily, but turned and scurried back just ahead of the -foaming surf. - -Eddie smiled. “Maybe I am,” he said. “Maybe I’m scaring myself, too. -Anyway, if we’re going to hike all the way to the lighthouse, we’ll have -to hurry up.” - -As they walked on up the coast, the sandy beach gave way to rock -formations which jutted out into the ocean. They picked their way -carefully over the rocks. Now and then they stopped to inspect some tide -pool for small crabs and other sea life left by the receding water. -Sandy was beside himself with joy as he chased small crabs into rock -crevices. - -Teena found a starfish which she dropped into a small cloth sack she had -brought along. Eddie had never been very interested in gathering shells -and other sea souvenirs, but Teena had quite a collection at home. - -They crossed over the rocks and dropped down into a sandy cove. - -“There’s someone with a boat,” Teena said, pointing along the curving -beach. A rowboat was pulled up on the sand. Two men stood beside it. - -“Fishermen,” Eddie said. “Let’s see if they caught anything.” - -There were several other small boats out on Moon Bay. Eddie and his -father had fished the bay several times themselves. Although shallow in -places, there were spots in the bay where good-sized perch and bass, and -occasional halibut were caught. - -Eddie and Teena hurried along the beach. The two men looked up as they -approached. - -“Hi, there,” Eddie greeted. “Any luck?” - -The two men glanced at each other, seeming to pass a silent question -back and forth. - -Eddie laughed. “It’s O.K.,” he said. “I know most of the fishing spots -out there. You won’t be giving away any secrets.” - -[Illustration: _“Hi, there,” Eddie greeted. “Any luck?”_] - -“Secrets?” one of the men said. He was tall and thin. His cheekbones -pushed sharply outward against the sides of his face. His skin was -strangely white for that of a fisherman in midsummer. Most week-end -fishermen around Oceanview had pretty good tans by this time. Both men -wore faded blue denims, white sneakers, and bright-colored sports -shirts. The fact that their clothes looked new made Eddie think it might -be the first time they had fished Moon Bay. The orange-and-white rowboat -pulled up on the sand had been rented from Anderson’s Landing. Both -Eddie and Teena knew Mr. Anderson well. - -“We know fishermen don’t like to give away their fishing secrets,” Teena -said, “so if you caught any, you don’t need to tell us where you got -them.” - -The other man smiled then. He looked relieved, Eddie thought. In -appearance, he was almost the opposite of his companion. He was short -and squat, almost fat. Despite the slight cool breeze from the ocean, -the warm sun made his chubby face glisten with sweat. He seemed a little -more willing to smile than the tall man. Eddie didn’t feel uncomfortable -under his gaze, as he did under the stare of the tall man. - -“To tell you the truth,” the short man said, “we haven’t been fishing -yet. So I guess you couldn’t say we’ve had any luck.” - -“Oh, I see,” Eddie said thoughtfully. Sandy began sniffing around the -rowboat. - -“Get that mutt away from there,” the tall man said. - -“He won’t hurt anything, mister,” Eddie assured him. - -He went over, though, and took hold of Sandy’s collar. As he did so he -glanced into the beached rowboat. There were no fish, or even signs of -fish. There were a couple bamboo poles which Eddie recognized also as -having been rented from Anderson’s Landing. There was a box, probably -the men’s lunch. - -And under the plank seat stretching across the beam Eddie saw a round -metal cylinder. At first he thought it was the kind of tube used as a -carrying case to hold the sections of a jointed trout rod, but as he got -a better look, it didn’t seem long enough for that. - -Besides, who would use a light trout rod for ocean fishing? It wouldn’t -be any good to catch the big bass which were sometimes caught in the -bay. It’d probably snap in two if you tried to horse a halibut in with -it. - -“What are you looking at, kid?” The tall man’s harsh voice jerked Eddie -out of his thoughts. - -“N-nothin’,” Eddie said. - -“Then stay away from the boat.” - -“Take it easy, Simms,” the short man said. “These kids don’t mean any -harm. They—they’re not trying to steal our fishing secrets. Now, are -you?” He smiled at Teena, displaying a mouthful of yellowish uneven -teeth. - -Looking at those teeth made Eddie mighty glad his teeth would never look -like that. What little bother his braces and the cleaning were would -sure be worth it in the long run. He never wanted yellow, uneven teeth -like that man had. - -“I should say we wouldn’t try to steal any fishing secrets,” Teena -answered the fat man’s question. “You’re welcome to all the fish you can -catch.” - -“We don’t care how you catch them, or what with,” Eddie added, “long as -it’s legal.” - -“Anyway, we’re on our way to visit Captain Daniels at the lighthouse,” -Teena said. “Come on, Eddie.” - -“Don’t go away mad,” the heavy-set man said. “We didn’t mean any harm.” - -“Let ’em go, Roy,” Simms said. “We’ve got work to do.” - -Eddie motioned to Teena and called Sandy. He had intended to tell the -men of a good fishing spot only a few hundred yards out from the cove, -but the way the men acted made him change his mind. - -At the far end of the cove, Eddie and Teena stopped and turned to watch -the two men as they shoved the rowboat into the calm surf and climbed in -clumsily over the side. - -“Boy, I’m glad all fishermen aren’t like that,” Teena said. “That tall -man sure acted mean. I hope they don’t catch any fish.” - -“I don’t think they will,” Eddie said. “I saw their bait can. Know what -they’re using?” - -“Sand crabs?” - -“No. That’s what they should be using. They had some old dried up -mussels. The fish here in Moon Bay don’t bite on mussel. Dad and I have -tried it.” - -“Then I wonder why Mr. Anderson sold it to them,” Teena said. “Mr. -Anderson usually helps the fishermen. It’s good for his boat-rental -business to sell the right bait.” - -“I’ll bet they didn’t even ask what kind of bait was best,” Eddie said. -“They probably grabbed the first thing they came to. And Mr. Anderson -always has a few mussels in his bait bins.” - -“I didn’t think fishing was so good in the middle of the day,” Teena -said. She pointed out across the water. “See, most of the boats have -gone ashore.” - -“That’s right,” Eddie said. “If those guys wanted to catch fish they -should have been out there early this morning when the big ones were -biting.” - -“Guess they don’t know much about fishing, huh, Eddie?” Teena said, -smiling. - -“That’s what I figure,” Eddie agreed. “Besides, they didn’t even act -like fishermen. That tall fellow really was a grouch. First time I ever -ran across a grouchy fisherman.” - -“Anyway, let’s quit worrying about them,” Teena suggested. “It’s almost -noon. We want to reach the lighthouse before Cap has lunch. He can’t -very well eat his lunch and ours, too.” - -“O.K.,” Eddie agreed, taking one last glance at the two men rowing out -on the blue water of the bay. “But something smells fishy about those -two—and I don’t mean the kind you catch on a hook!” - - - - - CHAPTER FOUR - - -The lighthouse was a tall concrete finger, painted dazzling white with -broad red rings around it. It stood on the top of a rock palisade which -rose steeply from the beach. Steel stairs spiraled upward on the -outside, leading to the strong glass-enclosed electric eye at the top. - -Eddie and Teena paused on the beach below and looked up. Crude steps -hewn out of the rocks led up to the lighthouse. - -“I’ll carry the lunch,” Eddie volunteered. “And be careful. The sea -spray can make those steps slippery.” - -They took their time getting to the top. Sandy went ahead, sniffing in -every crevice on the way. - -“Phew!” Teena gasped as they reached the base of the lighthouse. “There -seem to be more steps every time we climb it.” - -Eddie smiled and shifted the lunch sack to his other hand. “You’re -getting old, Teena,” he teased. - -“Welcome aboard, mates,” a deep, kindly voice spoke from nearby. - -They turned and saw Captain Daniels standing outside the door of his -living quarters, a tiny three-room cottage located about fifty feet from -the base of the lighthouse. - -“Oh, hello, Captain Daniels,” Teena called. “Sure glad you’re home.” - -“Home?” the former sea captain said, smiling. “A lightkeeper is always -home.” - -In Eddie’s opinion, Captain Daniels looked exactly like an old ship’s -captain or a lightkeeper should look. He wore a fringe of white beard -which formed a half-circle, starting under one ear and curving across -his chin and up the other side. His bushy white hair fairly exploded -from beneath the battered dark-blue seaman’s cap which he wore even -while eating. Eddie sometimes wondered if Captain Daniels wore the cap -to bed. - -The old mariner also had sharp blue eyes. Eddie pictured all stout -seamen as having sharp blue eyes. - -“We brought a little lunch with us, Captain Daniels,” Teena said. “Hope -you haven’t eaten already.” - -A twinkle came into Cap’s eyes. “I might have,” he said, “but I reckon I -better confess that I saw you through my telescope coming up the beach. -Thought I’d better hold off on lunch—just in case.” - -“Can we eat outside?” Teena asked. - -“The lawn’s nice and dry,” Cap said. - -“Let’s make it a picnic,” Eddie suggested. - -“Good idea, mate,” the retired seafarer said. - -Captain Daniels took great pride in his small patch of grass. It seemed -to grow right out of the rock on which the lighthouse stood. However, -Captain Daniels had hauled in topsoil from miles away and spread it -carefully to make the lawn. He tended it, and the flower beds which -bordered it, with an affection that seemed strangely out of place for a -swashbuckling ship’s captain who had roamed the seven seas. - -The three of them sat down on the lawn. Teena passed around the -sandwiches, opened the potato chips, and unwrapped the pickles and -olives. - -They ate for a while in silence, looking off across the blue water of -the bay toward the open ocean beyond. Eddie’s gaze followed the curving -shore line to the north. Land’s end in that direction was Cedar Point, -which stuck its rocky finger out into the ocean. It was wildly rugged -country, difficult to get to except by boat across the bay. Eddie -supposed that was why the lighthouse had been built on the smaller point -located on the more civilized curve of the bay. Yet the lighthouse was -high and plainly visible to ships at sea. - -Captain Daniels finished his lunch, dug a pipe from his pocket, and -tamped tobacco into the bowl. “Mighty good,” he said. “Sure nice of you -young folks to share your rations with me.” - -“Oh, we like to do it, Captain Daniels,” Teena said. “It’s so much fun -coming up here to visit you.” - -“From what I’ve been reading in the papers,” the lightkeeper said, “I -hardly expected to see you for a while.” - -“You mean the stolen isotope?” Eddie asked. - -“I don’t know much about isotopes,” Cap said, “but I do know that the -newspapers have been making your father walk the plank for letting it be -stolen.” - -“It really wasn’t his fault,” Eddie defended. - -“Of course not,” Captain Daniels agreed. “But someone always gets -blamed. Just like those missing blueprints I read about in this -morning’s paper. Teena’s father probably has nothing to do with guarding -them, but when they turn up missing, he’s the one who gets lashed to the -mast. The captain of a ship takes the blame for everything that happens -aboard. Actually, that’s the way it should be, I suppose.” - -Eddie had to agree, but he didn’t like to think about the worry his -father and Mr. Ross were going through. He had been trying not to think -about it. - -Captain Daniels seemed to sense this. He quickly changed the subject. - -“Don’t seem to be many fishermen out today,” he said, looking off across -the bay. “And there’s one boat out there that could just as well have -stayed ashore. Won’t catch anything worth frying out there on top of the -sand bar.” - -The rowboat had been anchored over the light-blue strip of water which -marked the familiar sand bar stretching nearly a half mile across the -middle of the bay. The sand bar lay about ten feet beneath the surface -of the water. It was marked by three buoys, one at each end and one in -the middle. Deep-draft boats avoided the sand bar. Fishermen kept away -from it, as the larger fish lay in deeper water. - -“Isn’t that the boat with those two men, Eddie?” Teena asked. - -“I think so,” Eddie said, squinting through the sunlight. - -“What two men?” Cap asked. - -Quickly Eddie told him about the two strangers he and Teena had come -across at the cove. Captain Daniels reached into his pocket and brought -out a small telescope. He pulled its sections out to full length and -handed it to Eddie. “See for yourself,” he invited. - -Eddie adjusted the lens to his vision. With the telescope it was easy to -see that the two men in the rowboat were the tall one called Simms and -the chunky one called Roy. - -“Anyway,” Eddie said, “they don’t seem to be pulling in any fish.” He -passed the telescope to Teena. - -“It doesn’t look like they’re even trying,” Teena said. “There’s only -one line in.” - -“Maybe they’re just relaxing,” Captain Daniels said. “Some people don’t -care whether they catch any fish or not. They rent a boat, row it out -and anchor it, and then sit around soothing their nerves. People build -up a lot of tensions these days, you know. Folks have different ways of -getting rid of them.” - -“They were nervous, all right,” Teena said. “Especially the tall one.” -She handed the telescope back to Captain Daniels. - -“Well, let’s forget about them,” Eddie suggested. “Captain Daniels, -would you like us to help polish the light again today?” - -“You know you’re always welcome to help with that,” the lightkeeper -said, “but I don’t want you coming up here thinking I expect you to -work.” - -“Oh, but that isn’t work,” Teena said. “It’s fun.” - -Eddie agreed with that. Not only was it fun, but it was a great thrill -to climb up to the top of the lighthouse. - -Captain Daniels got some rags and a can of window cleaner out of a small -tool shed at the foot of the lighthouse. - -“Why don’t you let us do it today, Captain Daniels?” Teena asked. “No -use in your climbing all of those stairs.” - -“You win,” the lightkeeper said, smiling. “I’ll wait down here.” - -Eddie and Teena took the rags and cleaner and started up the steel -stairs which spiraled up the outside to the top of the lighthouse. The -stairs were perfectly safe, as a waist-high railing prevented any -possibility of an accident. - -Reaching the top, they paused on the narrow steel balcony that circled -the light. The view across the bay was spectacular—blue water and -whitecaps as far as they could see. A couple of steamers dragged banners -of smoke across the distant horizon. In the other direction they saw -Oceanview sprawling out inland from the shore of the bay. Both Acme -Aircraft Company and the college campus were in plain view. - -After filling themselves with the view, they got busy on the light. It -was like polishing a giant lantern chimney. It had thick, wavy glass to -magnify the beam of the enormous electric lamp which rotated inside, -making three complete turns a minute. Being daytime, the light was -turned off. In fact, Eddie never had seen the light up close at night. -He imagined it would be very blinding, although he doubted if anyone -ever would be foolish enough to climb up and look into it. It was bright -enough, even from a distance, as it swept its white warning finger -through the sky. - -He and Teena worked away at spreading the window cleaner. After it had -dried on the thick glass, they went over it carefully with their soft -rags. The dirt and the white deposit left from the salt spray came off -easily, leaving the glass bright as crystal. - -“I guess that’s it,” Eddie said, after they had made a complete circle -of the glass. He paused to take one last look around. - -“We’d better be getting back home, too,” Teena suggested. “It must be -three o’clock.” - -Eddie glanced up at the sun. “You’re about right,” he said. - -They made their way back down the stairs. Cap was waiting at the bottom. - -“It’s as bright as the northern star, mates,” he said, craning his neck -to get a good look at their handiwork. “I sure do thank you both.” - -“We’re the ones to thank you for letting us come out here to visit you, -Captain Daniels,” Eddie said. - -“Any time,” the old mariner invited. “You’re always welcome. And I don’t -expect you to bring a lunch or polish the light, either.” - -“We have to go now,” Teena said. “But we’ll come out to see you again -before long. Come on, Sandy.” - -“I’ll be looking for you,” Captain Daniels called after them, as they -started down the rock steps toward the beach. - -Later, when they reached the cove they noticed that the rowboat was no -longer anchored out over the sand bar. Then Eddie saw it in close to -shore, heading for Anderson’s Landing. He didn’t give it any more -thought. - -As they approached Anderson’s Landing, the two strangers were tying up -at the dock. - -“Let’s see if they caught anything,” Eddie suggested. - -“Let’s not,” Teena objected. “They weren’t very nice to us.” - -“They didn’t mean anything,” Eddie said. “Maybe someone should tell them -that the fishing is no good over the sand bar.” - -“I’ll bet they found that out for themselves,” Teena said. - -But Eddie already had started walking out onto the plank boat dock. -Teena followed. - -“Here, mister, I’ll help you,” Eddie offered as the heavy-set man -removed the oars from the oarlocks and moved toward the prow of the -boat. - -“O.K.,” the man said, trying to keep his balance in the rocking boat. -Then he glanced up. “Hey, you’re the kids we saw earlier, aren’t you? -You following us or something?” - -“No, sir,” Eddie said. “We were on our way home. Just thought we’d come -out and see what kind of luck you had.” - -“We did all right, didn’t we, Roy?” the tall man said. - -“But where are your fish?” Teena asked. - -“We left them in the bay,” Roy, the portly man, said. - -“I guess so,” Eddie said, smiling. “No one ever catches any fish out -over the sand bar. The fish hang around in the deeper water.” - -“Well, we don’t care much for fish, anyway,” Roy said. - -“Then why do you go fishing?” Teena wondered. - -“We do it to get away from kids who ask silly questions,” Simms said -curtly. “Now beat it and leave us alone.” He tossed the two fishing -poles onto the dock and climbed out of the boat. - -“Sure, mister,” Eddie said. “We didn’t mean to bother you.” - -“Don’t get sore, kids,” Roy said. “Simms is a little sunburned, that’s -all. Makes him cranky.” - -The tall man was sunburned, all right. Eddie had noticed that. But then, -he had expected it. Neither man boasted any kind of a tan, and the sun -had been hot all afternoon. - -Eddie also had noticed something else. It struck him as strange, -although he didn’t know what to make of it. The metal tube which he had -noticed in the bottom of the boat when they had first met the men in the -cove was no longer in sight. - -If it had contained a collapsible fishing rod as he had guessed, why -wasn’t it still there in the bottom of the boat? Eddie was certain the -men hadn’t put in to shore between the time they had left the cove and -now. If they had he and Teena would have noticed it from the lighthouse. - -A metal tube like the one Eddie had seen earlier in the bottom of the -rowboat simply would not disappear. Perhaps it hadn’t contained a -collapsible fishing rod, as he had guessed. If not, what was in the -cylinder? - -And where was it now? - - - - - CHAPTER FIVE - - -Nearly a week went by. The lead capsule containing the stolen -radioisotope had not been found. In fact, as far as Eddie knew, there -had been no worthwhile clues on which to base a search. Curious as he -was, Eddie still managed to keep from asking his father a lot of -questions. Around home, Mr. Taylor had been thoughtfully silent. Eddie -knew that his father must be very worried. - -Eddie gathered enough from the conversations between his parents to know -that the search for the stolen isotope was still going on. In fact, it -was pretty well known that FBI agents had arrived in Oceanview to lend a -hand. Eddie hadn’t seen them, but several of his friends had. It was -hard to keep secrets in a college town like Oceanview. - -The newspapers had temporarily dropped the story. After all, when the -radioisotope had been stolen it had made a big story, but nothing more -had happened, so there was nothing more to write about. - -There were still articles in the newspapers about the Acme Aircraft -Company problem of the missing blueprints. Actually, it seemed to Eddie -that the newspapers were making more of a mystery out of the missing -blueprints than of the stolen radioisotopes. Perhaps that was because it -had not yet been decided whether the blueprints had been stolen, -destroyed by accident, or simply lost. In an aircraft plant, where -thousands and thousands of plans are being used at all times, some -carelessness is apt to occur. Eddie found it hard to believe that anyone -could get careless with top-secret blueprints, yet such things did -happen. - -Maybe the reason people remained curious about the missing blueprints -was that everyone knew what a blueprint was. Even the word -“radioisotope” meant very little to most readers. What they were and -what they did were even less well known. - -Friday morning Teena came whistling up to the back door at Eddie’s house -to see if he wanted to do anything. - -“Mom’s gone shopping,” Eddie said. “She’ll be back in a few minutes. -Then maybe we could take the Geiger counter and—” - -His words were interrupted by the telephone ringing inside. - -“Be right back,” he said, hurrying into the house. - -His father was on the other end of the line. - -“Eddie,” he said, “there’s a dark-green notebook on my desk in the -study. I forgot it this morning. Can’t get away from here, and I need -it.” - -“I’ll bring it over, Dad,” Eddie volunteered quickly. - -“Good. I’ll be outside the botany building. Know where that is?” - -“Botany? Where they raise all the plants and stuff?” Eddie asked. - -“That’s right.” - -“I know where it is,” Eddie said. “Be there in five minutes.” - -He went into the study, got the notebook off the desk, and went back -outside. - -“I’ve got to tear over to school with this notebook,” he explained to -Teena. “That was my dad.” - -“I’ll go with you,” Teena said. - -“O.K.” - -It was only a few blocks to the college campus. Reaching the grounds, -they took a short cut past the men’s gymnasium, crossed the athletic -field, and arrived at the Botany Building. - -“I see Dad over there,” Eddie said, pointing. There were several men -standing in a group in the small cultivated field which the botany -department used to grow test plants of various kinds. Eddie and Teena -picked their way carefully between the rows. - -“You made good time, Eddie,” his father said, taking the notebook. -“Morning, Teena. Hope I didn’t interrupt any big plans.” - -“Oh, no, Mr. Taylor,” Teena said. “We weren’t doing anything special.” - -Eddie was about to turn and leave, when he noticed that several of the -young men—students, no doubt—were wearing strange-looking, long, heavy -gloves. - -“Why the gloves, Dad?” he asked. - -Mr. Taylor glanced up from the notebook. “We’re experimenting with -radioactive tracers,” he said. “They’re weak—certainly not dangerous—but -there’s no harm in taking a little extra precaution. The gloves are -lead-lined and absorb any of the rays which might possibly be picked up -from handling the plants.” - -“What are tracers, Mr. Taylor?” Teena asked. - -Eddie shot her a quick scowl. He doubted that his father wanted to be -bothered with questions at the moment. Then Eddie noticed one of the -students holding the wandlike probe—or diode—of a Geiger counter down -close to the leaves of one plant. It seemed a strange thing to be doing. -Who would prospect for uranium in plants. - -“That’s a good question, Teena,” Mr. Taylor said. “Glad to see you’re -interested.” He turned and spoke to the student with the Geiger counter. -“Jim, you want to explain to this young lady, and my son here, what -tracers are?” - -Eddie smiled to himself. His father was the kind of a professor who -believed his students should have the chance to use their knowledge -whenever possible. - -“Maybe we should all listen to this,” Eddie’s father said to the others. - -They gathered around as the dark-haired student switched off the Geiger -counter, swallowed a bit uncomfortably, and turned to face the outdoor -classroom which Teena’s question had formed on the spot. - -“Well, er—” Jim began, addressing Teena, “a tracer is a radioactive -isotope which we—well, send out on a journey, then follow it with a -Geiger counter.” - -“I’m afraid that’s not too clear, Jim,” Mr. Taylor said. “Teena’s not an -atomic scientist. Can you simplify it for her?” - -“Oh, I know what a radioactive isotope is, Mr. Taylor,” Teena said -proudly. - -“You do?” Eddie’s father said in surprise. - -“It’s something—I think you call it an element—which they put in an -atomic reactor, and—and cook it until it becomes radioactive. Kind of -like a sponge soaking up water.” - -“Very good,” Mr. Taylor nodded, obviously impressed. - -“Eddie explained it to me,” Teena said, smiling, “but he didn’t say -anything about tracers.” She turned her attention back to Jim, the -student. - -“All right,” Jim said, seeming more at ease, “let’s look at it this way. -Any radioisotope keeps shooting out rays. Of course, you can’t see the -rays with your eyes. They’re almost too small to think about. But you -can follow them with a Geiger counter.” He indicated the black metal -instrument which he still held in his hand. - -“Well,” Jim went on, “say, for instance, that you wanted to know how -fast a stream of water flows. You might toss in a rubber ball and time -how long it takes to float a mile downstream. That would give you its -speed. Or say you wanted to know which way its currents twist and turn. -You might dump in a gallon of ink and watch it follow the currents. In a -way, the ball and the ink are tracers. Not radioactive tracers, of -course, but by watching how they act, you learn what you want to know.” - -“Let’s talk about radioactive tracers,” Eddie said eagerly. - -“You’re crowding me, bub,” Jim said, smiling. Everyone laughed. - -“How are we using tracers here, Jim?” Mr. Taylor prompted. - -“We’re testing the use of phosphate in plant growth,” the student -explained. “We want to know what the plant does with it. Does a -phosphate fertilizer merely feed the plant’s roots, or is it pulled up -into the stems and leaves? And we want to know how quickly the plant -absorbs it, if at all. Of course, we can’t see it, but if we make the -phosphate slightly radioactive, then we have what we call a tracer. By -using a Geiger counter, we can follow or trace its movement.” - -“Can you explain our method, Jim?” Mr. Taylor said. - -“Well, we spread a little of the radioactive phosphate around the -plant,” the student said. “Soon the roots start taking it in.” - -“How do you know that, Jim?” Mr. Taylor asked. - -“We hold the Geiger counter to the root. If it starts clicking faster -than usual, we know the root has absorbed some of the phosphate tracer. -We also hold the Geiger counter over the stems and leaves. As the tracer -works upward into the plant, the Geiger counter reacts to it. Here, let -me show you how it works on this cotton plant.” - -Eddie and Teena moved over closer to the two-foot-high plant. Jim -switched on the Geiger counter. Eddie saw the needle on the gauge -flutter slightly, indicating the normal cosmic-ray background count. - -“Teena,” Jim said, handing her the earphones which were attached by a -long wire to the Geiger counter, “you take these earphones. Now, I’ll -pass the probe down close to the base of the cotton bush.” - -“What does the stick do?” Teena asked. Although Eddie had explained it -to her, she seemed to feel that, as a pupil, she should ask some -questions to help Jim out. - -“Stick? Oh, you mean the probe. Actually, it’s called a diode, but -probe’s easier to remember. Anyway, the probe is a vacuum tube filled -with a special kind of gas. Whenever invisible radioactive particles -shoot through the probe and into the gas, the Geiger counter clicks, and -the needle on the dial moves forward. The more rays shooting through the -probe, the more clicks; the more clicks, the more radioactivity. That’s -why Geiger counters are so useful in hunting for uranium. Uranium is -very, very radioactive. If you happen onto some uranium ore, the Geiger -counter really goes wild.” - -“We have a Geiger counter at home,” Eddie said eagerly. “Teena and I -have gone uranium prospecting several times.” - -“Haven’t found any uranium,” Teena said, “but we’ve had fun trying. -Whoops. There’s some clicking!” She put her hands up to the earphones. - -Jim had moved the probe down close to the stem of the cotton plant. - -“Good,” he said. “We mixed a little radioactive phosphate into the -ground around the roots this morning. See, the Geiger counter shows that -the phosphate tracer has already started moving up into the plant. Helps -show how important phosphate is to plant growth, and how eagerly the -plants absorb it.” - -“The plant sure looks healthy enough, all right,” Eddie said. - -“Right,” Jim said. “Now let’s see how far up into the plant the tracer -has gone.” - -He moved the probe upward over the smaller twigs and leaves. On the -lower leaves the Geiger counter kept clicking rapidly. Eddie watched the -needle stay forward on the gauge. - -“See, the leaves have taken a lot of it in already,” Jim explained. - -Then, as he moved the probe farther up toward the top of the plant, the -clicking diminished until only the familiar slow background count -remained. - -“It quit,” Teena said. - -“Shows that the phosphate has only reached about half of the plant so -far,” Jim said. “You see, with the tracer and the Geiger counter we can -tell just how far it has gone and how long it has taken. We can even -tell how much has been absorbed by comparing the amount of radioactivity -in the leaves and stems of the plant to what we know was contained in -the original tracer.” - -“Boy, that’s something!” Eddie exclaimed. - -“By adding tracers to some fertilizers,” Jim went on, “we found that the -plant made no use of the fertilizer. The Geiger counter didn’t pick up -any radioactivity in the plant. Meant wasted money to any farmer or -gardener who used it. Now do you see what we mean by a tracer? See how -radioactive tracers can be helpful?” - -“Oh, yes,” Teena said. “I do.” - -“I’ll bet if I had some of that tracer I wouldn’t lose so many things,” -Eddie said. “I could paint a little on my marbles or sling-shot. Then I -could always find them with a Geiger counter.” - -“You could, at that,” his father said. “And I wouldn’t be stepping on -the marbles in my bare feet. But, of course, great care must be taken in -handling radioisotopes, which is what tracers are.” - -Jim had warmed up to the subject, and wasn’t quite ready to drop it. -“Tracers are used in many ways,” he went on. “They are used in medicine -to locate diseased tissue which attracts and absorbs certain isotopes. A -radiation-sensitive instrument, similar to a super Geiger counter, -sniffs out the isotope and locates the damaged tissue. Then the doctor -knows what to treat, or where to operate. Radioisotopes are used in -various food tests. By watching the tracer with electronic gadgets, they -can tell whether the food is a muscle builder, a bone builder, or what.” - -“You can make machine parts radioactive,” Mr. Taylor said. “Then by -seeing how many radioactive particles are in the oil after the machine -has been run, you can tell how much wear the machine has taken. Oh, -there are hundreds of ways to use radioactive tracers. You might call -them atomic signposts. Using a Geiger counter to read the signs, you are -directed along the paths that lead to the answers of nature’s -mysteries.” - -“Wow!” Eddie exclaimed. - -“Pretty flowery, at that, I guess,” his father said, smiling. “Well, -anyway, Jim, you did a nice job of explaining it. Now, I think we’d -better get back to our work. Thanks for bringing the notebook over, -Eddie—and Teena.” - -The two young people turned and started back toward Eddie’s house. - -“Let’s go across the mall,” Teena suggested. “I haven’t been over here -for a long time.” - -The mall, as it was always called, was a broad ribbon of lawn which -stretched for more than a block down the center of the college campus. -It was bordered on both sides by the many buildings which made up -Oceanview College. Sidewalks laced back and forth across the mall. -During class changes, the area swarmed with students. Now, as Eddie and -Teena walked along the mall, only a few students sauntered around or sat -loafing in front of the buildings waiting for their next class. - -Teena and Eddie walked past the library, the assembly hall, and the -nuclear-science building. They were starting past the chemistry -building, when Eddie tugged at Teena’s sleeve. - -“Look,” he said, pointing to the back of a man walking about fifty yards -ahead of them. “Who’s that?” - -“Who’s who?” Teena asked. “You mean that man? Am I supposed to know -him?” - -“I think I do,” Eddie said. “He sure looks familiar.” - -“How can you tell? All we can see is his back. Lots of backs look alike. -He’s tall. Maybe he’s a basketball player. He looks older than most -students, though. Why, his hair’s even a little gray, and—” - -“I’ve got it now,” Eddie interrupted. “The tall and kind of gray part. -You know who? Simms. That fellow we ran into down at the cove last -week.” - -“Well-ll, maybe,” Teena admitted thoughtfully. “We could tell for sure -if he’d turn around. Anyway, I don’t see what difference it makes. Maybe -he’s a student here. There are a lot of older students. Maybe he’s even -a teacher. Lots of teachers fish on week ends. No reason to get -excited.” - -“Who’s excited?” Eddie challenged. “Can’t a fellow ask—” - -“O.K., O.K.,” Teena said. “Anyway, there he goes into the chemistry -building, so we’ll never know just who it was. And that’s the end of -your mystery.” - -Eddie didn’t say anything. He walked along, busy with his own thoughts. -Probably Teena was right. Why make a mystery of it? Even if the man were -Simms, what difference would it make? - -Yet, why had Simms acted so strange and unfriendly that day. And for no -reason Eddie could think of. There was also the memory of the strange -metal tube which had been in the rowboat when the two men went fishing, -and wasn’t there when they returned. - -There was no point in even mentioning it to Teena, but Eddie had a -strangely uncomfortable feeling on seeing the man right there on the -campus from which the secret radioisotope had been stolen recently. - -No, it really couldn’t mean a thing, Eddie told himself. - -Then, again, maybe it could. - - - - - CHAPTER SIX - - -Eddie had hoped that the following day he and Teena could make the trip -to Cedar Point with the Geiger counter. It had been in the back of his -mind ever since his dream of locating radioactive ore on the rocky -point. But by the time he finished mowing his lawn and doing the few -other chores lined up for him, it was too late to attempt the long trip. - -Besides, the only sensible way to get to Cedar Point was by boat across -Moon Bay. It was a two-mile row each way. Yet, protected by sand bars, -the bay usually remained quite calm. By taking it easy, it was no great -job rowing out to the point. - -Still, you had to have a rowboat. To rent one cost money. With so many -things going on during summer vacation, Eddie simply hadn’t been able to -save out of his allowance. - -He knew of a way to get a boat, though. He had done it a couple of times -before. There were more than two dozen rowboats at Anderson’s Landing. -Seldom were they all rented at once. - -On this particular Saturday, a gray blanket of high fog hung in the sky. -Eddie had an idea that quite a few of the boats would still be tied up -at Anderson’s Landing. Right after lunch he hurried over to Teena’s -house. - -“How would you like to go down to Anderson’s Landing,” he suggested, -“and see if we can’t earn a day’s rental on one of the boats? Then maybe -next week we can take that trip out to Cedar Point with the Geiger -counter.” - -“You want to earn the use of a rowboat again?” Teena asked. - -“Yep. It’s not so hard,” Eddie said. “Want to come?” - -“I’ll ask mother.” - -Soon Eddie and Teena arrived at the beach. Mr. Anderson was midway out -on the wharf which jutted a hundred or so feet out into the smooth water -of the bay. They trotted out across the rough planking to see him. The -boatowner was a small, wiry man with deep wrinkles around his eyes from -years of squinting against the reflection of sun on water. - -“Hi, there,” he greeted. “Where are your fishing poles?” - -“We didn’t come to fish today, Mr. Anderson,” Eddie said. “Do you have -any odd jobs we can do?” - -“Need a boat?” the owner guessed. - -“Yes, sir,” Eddie said. “We’d like to row out to Cedar Point one of -these days.” - -“Quite a row.” - -“Oh, Eddie’s a good rower,” Teena said. “Sometimes I even help with one -of the oars.” - -“Well, now,” Mr. Anderson said, rubbing his bristly chin, “you’d need a -boat almost a full day to row out to Cedar Point and back. At fifty -cents an hour, that’s quite a bit of money.” - -“We don’t have any money, Mr. Anderson,” Eddie explained. “That’s why we -hoped we could work it out. Remember, I’ve done it before.” - -“I remember,” Mr. Anderson said. “And I remember that you’re a pretty -good worker, too.” He glanced along the wharf at the rowboats tied up to -a row of cleats. “Tell you what. You clean out what boats are in, and -you’ve earned yourselves a day’s rental on one.” - -Eddie counted the boats quickly. There were fourteen of them not in use. -Depending upon how messy various fishermen had been, he and Teena should -be able to clean them up in about three hours. - -“How about it, Teena?” he asked. - -“All right by me,” she said. - -“It’s a deal, Mr. Anderson,” Eddie said. “And thanks a lot.” - -“Just when do you figure you will want the boat?” the owner asked. - -“Maybe next Saturday.” - -“All right. You do the job, and I’ll save you one. Make it a good job, -mind you.” - -They started with the boat near the far end of the wharf, and worked -shoreward. They wiped off the seats with a damp rag and coiled the -anchor ropes neatly near the bow. The biggest job, though, was cleaning -up the junk which had gathered in the bottom of each boat during the -week. There were candy wrappers, smelly chunks of old bait, snarled bits -of leader, occasional fishhooks, even dried-out sandwich crusts and -other odds and ends which had collected in each boat. - -While they were working, two more boats returned. Eddie checked their -numbers when they came in. Then, after he and Teena had finished -cleaning up the fourteen, they went back and did the two new arrivals. - -“Well, I’d say you’ve earned a boat for next Saturday,” Mr. Anderson -said, glancing approvingly at their work. “And thanks for cleaning up -those extra two that came in. They weren’t actually in the bargain, you -know.” - -“We were glad to do them,” Eddie said, feeling a bit proud that they had -done more than the bargain called for. “I guess we’d better be going -now.” - -“There comes another boat,” Teena said, pointing to one of the -orange-and-white Anderson’s Landing rowboats about a hundred yards out -from the wharf. - -“Well, now,” Mr. Anderson said, smiling, “don’t you be staying around to -clean that one up. I’ll take care of it.” - -“Teena, look,” Eddie said. “It—it’s those same two men we met at the -cove last week. You know, the tall one called Simms and the chubby one -called Roy.” - -“Roy Benton,” Mr. Anderson said, consulting his rental slips. “He signed -for the boat this morning. Second Saturday they’ve rented one. Hope -they’re steady customers. I can always use the business. Don’t know how -long they’ll stick with it, though. They didn’t catch a thing last -week.” - -“Bet they didn’t catch any this week, either,” Eddie said. “Not if they -fished over the sand bar again.” - -“I tried to tell them about good fishin’ spots,” Mr. Anderson said, “but -they didn’t seem to be listening. Didn’t even ask me what kind of bait -was best around here. Well, there are all kinds of fishermen. One thing -I’ve learned in this business is not to go around giving advice when no -one asks for it. Fishermen can be mighty touchy about that. Best to let -them use up their own pet ideas, even if they don’t catch fish.” - -“I can’t figure why they would want to take trout rods out with them to -do ocean fishing,” Eddie said. - -“Trout rods?” Mr. Anderson asked. “They rented poles from me. I didn’t -see any trout rods.” - -“Well, remember that metal tube they had last week? About two feet long? -If that wasn’t a carrying case for a jointed trout rod, what else could -it be?” - -“I don’t recollect them having anything like that,” Mr. Anderson said -thoughtfully. “And I sure would have noticed it. I helped them get -loaded in the boat. All they had was a small box which I figured was -their lunch. Same thing this morning. No metal tubes with knock-down -trout rods or anything like that.” - -“Let’s go, Eddie,” Teena prompted. “I’d just as soon not have to meet -them again. They were pretty cranky.” - -But the tall man at the oars already was maneuvering the boat clumsily -up to the wharf. Mr. Anderson leaned down, took the painter from the fat -man’s hand, and snubbed it to the dock cleat. - -The tall man, Simms, shipped oars and turned around to hand them up to -Mr. Anderson. He spotted Eddie and Teena. - -“Well, so it’s you two again,” he said with no show of friendliness. -“You keep turning up, and we’ll think you’re spying on us.” - -“We’ve been helping Mr. Anderson,” Teena defended. - -“No fish again today?” Eddie said, looking into the empty boat. - -“Snagged a couple whoppers,” the portly man said, “but they got away.” - -“Did you hook them over the sand bar?” Eddie asked. - -“Why not?” Simms said sharply. - -Eddie glanced at Mr. Anderson. You just couldn’t hook big ones over the -sand bar. The boat owner shrugged at Eddie’s inquiring look, but he said -nothing. - -“We’ll get them next week, though,” the man, Roy Benton, said. “You save -us a boat for next Saturday, huh?” - -Mr. Anderson made a note of it. - -Before Eddie nodded to Teena that they should be leaving, he noticed -that there was no metal tube lying in the bottom of the boat. Had he -been seeing things last Saturday? After all, even Mr. Anderson claimed -the men hadn’t brought anything along except a lunch of some kind. - -Eddie was quite sure it hadn’t been imagination, but he didn’t know why -the vision of the round metal cylinder kept coming into his mind. And -anything he couldn’t explain bothered Eddie a lot. - -At the foot of the wharf Teena said, “It’s early yet, Eddie. Let’s take -a hike up the beach, shall we? Maybe we could even go as far as the -lighthouse and say hello to Cap.” - -“Suits me,” Eddie agreed. He never got tired of walking along the beach. -There was always something new to see and do. The fresh ocean breeze on -his face and the soft sand underfoot made him feel good. Nor did he ever -tire of picking pebbles off the beach and skipping them across the -smooth water of the bay. - -A little while later they were almost to the cove when a piece of green -material caught Eddie’s gaze. It was being gently buffeted up and down -on the sand by the small lapping waves. He trotted over and picked it -out of the water. - -“What’d you find, Eddie?” Teena called from nearby. - -“Just a piece of rubber,” Eddie said, holding up the four-inch length of -green material. “Looks like part of a strap off someone’s swim fins.” - -“Boy, you’re some beachcomber,” Teena teased. “An old strap off -someone’s swim fin is some treasure.” - -Eddie drew back his arm and was about to throw the scrap back into the -water, when some printing which was molded into the rubber caught his -eye. - -“Hey,” he said, looking at it closely. “It’s got some kind of foreign -words on it.” - -“So what?” Teena said. “I guess they make swim fins all over the world. -Probably some tourist from another country brought them. There are quite -a few tourists around here during the summer, you know.” - -“Yeah, that’s right,” Eddie admitted, but he stuffed the scrap of rubber -into his pocket and walked on. - -In a little while they arrived at the cove where they had come across -the two men a week earlier. Owing to the rocks and the rather poor -beach, the cove was seldom visited by bathers. There was really little -reason for fishermen to put into the cove, either. That was why it had -puzzled him to find the two men at the cove the previous Saturday. -However, they might simply have been exploring the cove. - -Eddie and Teena continued across the rough beach. There was no one in -sight at the cove. As they walked, they picked up bright shells which -sprinkled the sand before them. - -“Look at these tracks, Eddie,” Teena said, as she pointed down at deep -grooves in the sand. They were long and wide—the kind a boat dragged up -onto the beach would leave. - -“They look fresh,” Eddie said. “Couldn’t have been here more than three -or four hours, or the tide would have wiped out the marks. Wonder if it -was the same two fellows?” - -“Funny that they would rent a boat to go fishing,” Teena said, “and then -come in here to the cove first. There aren’t any sand crabs to dig for -bait.” - -Eddie was thinking the same thing. Then he saw footprints which led from -the place where the boat had been beached to the base of the bluff -rising above the cove. “Now why would they go to the foot of the bluff?” -Eddie said, puzzled. “There’s nothing to see over there.” - -Curiosity gripped him. He started following the twin sets of footprints. - -“Eddie,” Teena said, “we’d better go on if we’re going to visit Captain -Daniels.” - -“This won’t take long,” Eddie called back over his shoulder. Teena -followed as he went on toward the foot of the bluff. - -“Hey, look,” Eddie said. “There’s a kind of path that zigzags up the -bluff. I’ve never noticed that before.” - -“It’s not much of a path,” Teena said, looking up the steeply winding -trail. “And I don’t know why anyone would want to use it to get to this -cove. It’s much easier coming up the beach.” - -“But someone’s been using it,” Eddie said. “See how the ground’s stirred -up. I can’t figure why anyone would want to land a boat in this cove, -then climb up and down that bluff before going fishing. Can you?” - -“Guess not,” Teena admitted. - -“Might be worth finding out,” Eddie said. “Come on.” - -“Where?” - -“Up the path. I’ve never been up top. Might be something really worth -seeing.” - -“I doubt it,” Teena said. “There used to be some fishermen’s shacks up -top. But I don’t think anyone lives there any more.” - -“Just for kicks, let’s see,” Eddie insisted, starting up the winding -path. - -The dirt of the bluff was sandy and soft, making hard climbing as it -shifted and slid underfoot. It took them several minutes to climb the -slanting palisade which was only some seventy feet high. - -“Phew,” Teena said, after they had scrambled up the last few feet. “You -sure get some wild ideas, Eddie.” - -Eddie didn’t answer. He stood looking around. It was easy to see why so -few people were acquainted with that part of the coastline. Although -there were no trees of any size, the rolling land which extended back -from the bluff’s edge was covered with a dense tangle of brush. Only a -foolish person would try clawing his way through it to get to the cove. -The beach route was the easy way, as Teena had said. - -Yet there was a faint path winding inland from the top of the bluff. It -disappeared quickly into the brush. Fresh footprints indicated that it -had been used recently. - -“Now, why do you suppose anyone would go that way?” Eddie wondered -aloud. - -“I wouldn’t want to try it,” Teena said. “That brush would scratch my -arms and legs.” - -“Maybe it leads to that shack over there,” Eddie said, pointing. - -He could see only the upper half of the small building. Probably it had -once been a fisherman’s house. The other fishermen’s buildings must have -rotted away and fallen into the weeds. The dampness of the seashore -could rot timbers out if they weren’t kept up properly. Even the -structure that still stood about two hundred yards away was badly -weather-beaten and without paint. The shingles of the roof were crooked -and partly blown away, leaving gaping holes. - -[Illustration: “_Come on, Eddie, let’s go back._”] - -“Well, I don’t know why anyone would want to go to that place,” Teena -said. “Surely, no one lives there. It—it almost looks haunted. Come on, -Eddie, let’s go back. It’s getting too late to visit Captain Daniels, -anyway.” - -“I’d like to get a good look at that shack,” Eddie said. - -“But why?” Teena insisted. “I can see enough of it from here.” - -Eddie didn’t have a ready answer for wanting to look more closely at the -shack. He couldn’t even explain it in his own mind, let alone give a -good reason to Teena. Still, a lot of things seemed to be in need of -some explanation. Why did the two men named Simms and Benton come to the -cove? Why did their footprints lead up the bluff and disappear into the -brush? Did they lead to the old shack? If so, why? And what about that -disappearing metal cylinder which Eddie had seen in their boat last -Saturday? - -Maybe none of it meant a thing. Even if it did, he certainly had no idea -what it was. Eddie shrugged. Sometimes his curiosity got the best of -him. Anyway, why bother Teena with it? - -“All right,” he said, “let’s go back.” - - - - - CHAPTER SEVEN - - -The following few days were sultry and hot. Eddie stayed pretty close -around home. He saw little of his father. Between regular teaching -duties and the search still going on for the stolen radioisotope, Mr. -Taylor was very busy. Each day he looked even more tired. Eddie could -only imagine how much the loss of the secret radioactive substance -bothered him. - -Then, Friday, something happened which set all Oceanview astir. The -cause was a story on the front page of the _Globe_. There wasn’t -positive proof, but one of the Coast Guard planes on regular patrol the -previous Saturday night had picked up a strange blip on its radar -screen. By the time the plane had circled back to drop a flare and -investigate, the image on the radarscope had disappeared. Upon dropping -the flare, they had found nothing but the smooth water of the ocean just -outside the entrance to Moon Bay. - -The immediate belief was that the object had been a submarine. Further, -if it was a submarine, it certainly had been a foreign craft. The -locations of all American submarines were well charted and known by the -Coast Guard. - -Finally, after a week of secret investigation had revealed no proof of -the object’s actual identity, the story was released to the newspapers. - -“Dad,” Eddie said that morning after breakfast, as his father prepared -to leave for school, “what would a foreign submarine be doing around -here?” - -“That’s a tough question to answer, Eddie,” Mr. Taylor said. “And -remember, what showed up on the airplane’s radar wasn’t positively -identified as a submarine. It might have been a whale. Or several -whales, for that matter.” - -“The newspaper doesn’t think so,” Eddie said. “Besides, no one’s ever -seen whales that close in.” - -“There’s always a first time.” - -“But what if it was a submarine?” Eddie insisted. - -“It’s possible that it got off its course and surfaced to try and get a -bearing,” his father said. “If that’s the case, they probably were -considerably startled to find themselves so close to shore, and dived -immediately to avoid discovery. It could happen. Submarines have been -known to scout off this coast. But usually they are far out to sea in -international waters.” - -“Maybe they were picking up spies,” Eddie blurted. “Or—or landing some.” - -His father looked at him sharply. “What kind of harum-scarum talk is -that, Eddie?” he demanded. - -Eddie swallowed uncomfortably. He wished he hadn’t said it. But he had -been doing so much thinking about the stolen radioisotope and the -missing blueprints from the Acme Aviation Company that the words had -leaped from his mouth without his realizing it. - -Before Eddie could think of an answer, his father’s face relaxed. -“Forget it, son,” he said. “You always have had a pretty active -imagination. There’s nothing wrong with that. Just don’t let it get away -from you. Well, I’d better be leaving.” - -“Dad,” Eddie said, “do you have a teacher at school named Simms?” - -“Simms?” his father replied. “I don’t recall any Simms. What -department?” - -“I don’t know,” Eddie said. “Teena and I saw him out fishing a couple of -times with a fat man called Roy Benton. Then I thought I saw Mr. Simms -last week on the college campus.” - -“Well, we have nearly two thousand enrolled for summer courses, you -know,” his father explained. “Many of them are adults. Teachers taking -extra credit courses, or studying for their masters’ degrees. I imagine -a lot of them go fishing on their days off. Any reason I should know -this Simms?” - -“I guess not,” Eddie said. He was a little embarrassed at the questions -he had asked. He didn’t really know why he had asked them. Yet he felt -that the various puzzling things which had happened during the past -weeks might tie in together. He couldn’t explain the feeling, but it -gained strength all of the time. - -It was the reason, too, why he decided late that afternoon to go and -take a look at the shack he and Teena had seen located back from the top -edge of the bluff the previous week. - -He decided not to ask Teena to go. She had worried the other day about -the brush scratching her arms and legs. It would be simpler to go by -himself. He decided to take Sandy along for company. - -He stopped at Anderson’s Landing long enough to check with the owner -about a boat for him and Teena the next day. - -“That’s our agreement,” Mr. Anderson said, smiling. “After all, you -earned it. Don’t want you chasing any submarines with it, though.” The -boatowner laughed. Apparently people weren’t taking the rumored -submarine sighting very seriously. Eddie supposed that, as long as there -was no proof, perhaps it was just as well. Besides, even a foreign -submarine was not likely to cause any trouble. After all, there was no -war going on. - -Still, Eddie couldn’t shrug it off so lightly. The tangle of strange -happenings during the past days upset him, and he didn’t feel much like -joking; not when his father and Teena’s father were both in the thick of -serious trouble. - -Eddie took his time getting to the cove. Sandy chased back and forth -into the surf after bits of driftwood which he kept dropping at Eddie’s -feet, and which Eddie threw back into the water. - -By the time he reached the cove, Eddie wished he hadn’t dawdled along so -slowly. The sun had dropped fast, and was already squashing down against -the horizon. - -“Come on, Sandy,” he said, starting for the foot of the bluff. “We’ve -got to hurry.” - -He started up the narrow winding trail. Sandy scurried ahead and finally -stood, panting heavily, on top of the bluff, waiting for Eddie. - -The shack was still plainly visible in the waning light. Eddie started -along the path. In most places it could hardly be called a path, except -that there were dim tracks to follow. The heavy growth of brush and -weeds tore at his clothes. He kept his arms tucked in close to his body -to keep from getting scratched. Sandy had no difficulty whatsoever in -racing back and forth through the thick scrubby growth. All of his -running had tired the cocker spaniel enough that he wasn’t yipping and -barking as he so often did. - -Within a few minutes Eddie was to be very thankful for that. - -As he had suspected, the faint trail ended at the door of the old -abandoned fisherman’s shack. In the eerie light of dusk, Eddie -remembered Teena saying that it looked almost haunted. It certainly did. -Broken shutters dangled from boarded-up windows. Gaping holes in the -roof yawned at the darkening sky. The warped and twisted wooden siding -made the whole structure look as though it were about to cave in. - -Eddie approached the shack cautiously. He figured his curiosity would be -satisfied if he took just one look inside. - -His hand was poised over the latch on the door when a slight scratching -sound from inside froze it in mid-air. It sounded like someone -scratching a match. - -Even as he stood there with sudden fear prickling along his spine, a -small flare of light seeped through one of the cracks between the warped -boards of the door. It _was_ a match! Eddie sucked in his breath and -drew back. His first thought was to turn and run. - -On second thought, however, he paused. Perhaps hoboes now and then used -the abandoned shack for sleeping quarters. It couldn’t be very -comfortable, but it would be better than sleeping outside in the damp -ocean air. Although Eddie had no desire to meet any hobo, it was hardly -reason to run away in a panic. - -Without making any sound, and glad that Sandy was off exploring in the -brush, Eddie sought one of the larger cracks in the door. Leaning toward -it, he put one eye to the crack. - -It was then that Eddie’s fear took a firm grip on him. A small candle -burned on an empty fruit crate standing in the middle of the shack’s -single room. In one corner was an old double bunk, empty now of -mattresses or bedding. A couple of rickety chairs and a bench completed -what furniture was inside the shack. - -Eddie’s eye was attracted by the glint of candlelight upon metal. -Squinting through the crack, he was able to make out the form of the -reflecting object. It was one of those metal tubes—like the one he had -noticed in the bottom of the strangers’ rowboat that day at the cove. On -the floor was a square battery camp lantern such as hunters often use. - -There was one person in the room. He sat on the small bench. His back -was partly turned toward Eddie. He appeared to be studying some kind of -a paper, although Eddie could see only a small corner of it. - -There was no mistaking the man, although his face was turned away. It -was the chubby fellow named Roy Benton. - -There was nothing more to see. Eddie backed carefully away from the -door. A few yards away, he turned and scrambled back along the darkening -path toward the cove, as Sandy came crashing through the brush to meet -him. - - - - - CHAPTER EIGHT - - -A lot of trouble might have been saved if things had worked out as Eddie -had planned. And, yet, if they had, the mystery of the missing -blueprints and the stolen radioisotope might never have been cleared up. - -Hurrying home through the darkness, Eddie went over in his mind the -story he would tell his father. Perhaps it didn’t mean a thing. Perhaps -his imagination simply was running wild, as his father had hinted. He -had to admit to himself that he was prone to build rather normal -incidents into deep mysteries. He had always been that way. - -Even allowing for that, however, Eddie still believed there was a strong -possibility that the events of the past weeks might tie in with the -stolen radioisotope; perhaps even with the missing blueprints from Acme -Aviation. - -Right in the middle of those events the figures of the two men—Simms and -Roy Benton—kept looming up in his mind. Anyway, he thought he should -tell his father about it and let him decide whether there could be any -possible connection. - -It was not, however, to be that way. Upon arriving home well after dark, -Eddie found his mother both irked and worried over his late return. - -“You didn’t even ask me if you could go,” she scolded. “And you know -better than to be getting home at this late hour.” - -“I—I’m sorry, Mom,” Eddie said meekly. “I didn’t know I would be gone so -long.” - -Mrs. Taylor turned from the stove where she was warming his dinner. -“After you eat,” she said firmly, “I want you to go right to bed. No -television.” - -It was a mild enough punishment, Eddie thought, and didn’t argue. His -father would not have been so lenient. He looked around. “Where’s Dad?” -he asked. - -“Your father phoned a while ago,” his mother explained. “He’ll be home -late. Feed Sandy now; then wash up for dinner.” - -Eddie opened a can of dog food, went outside, and spooned half of it -into Sandy’s dish. Capping the can with a plastic cover, he put it in -the refrigerator, then went to wash. - -After dinner he kissed his mother good night and went straight to his -room. He lay in bed, going over in his mind the recent events. He -listened for his father’s arrival. He had hoped somehow to evade his -early-bedtime punishment long enough to tell his story to his father. -But he hadn’t counted on his tiredness. He fell fast asleep long before -his father came home. - -The sound of the car backing out of the driveway awakened Eddie the -following morning. He washed and dressed quickly. Perhaps his mother had -gone to do a bit of early shopping. It was Saturday. Probably his father -would be home for the day. Now might be Eddie’s best chance to tell him -what had been running through his mind. - -Hurrying into the kitchen, he found his mother at the dinette table -having a cup of coffee. - -“Hi, Mom. Where’s Dad?” Eddie asked. - -“He just drove out, Eddie,” his mother said. “He had to get over to -school early.” - -“But it’s Saturday.” - -“Saturdays haven’t been very restful for your father lately, have they?” -his mother said. “He has an appointment with some people from Washington -D.C. this morning.” - -“About the stolen radioisotope?” Eddie wondered aloud. - -“Might be,” his mother said. “He didn’t say, and I didn’t ask.” - -“Didn’t ask?” - -“Eddie,” his mother said firmly, “the theft of that isotope is pretty -serious business. Your father is handling it the best he can. He’ll tell -us what he wants us to know. It is not our part to be asking questions. -You try to remember that, dear.” - -Eddie didn’t say anything. He knew his mother was right. He was greatly -disappointed, though, that he hadn’t had the chance to talk to his -father. - -Eddie was finishing breakfast when Teena telephoned. - -“We’re going to Cedar Point today, aren’t we?” she asked. - -“I—I guess so,” Eddie said. - -“You guess so? But Mr. Anderson is holding a boat for us. This is -Saturday, you know.” - -“I know.” - -“Well, we should get started,” Teena insisted. “It’s some row out to -Cedar Point.” - -“Hold on a minute,” Eddie said. “I’ve got to ask Mom.” He turned and -explained their plans to his mother. - -“It’s all right, Eddie,” Mrs. Taylor said. “But no getting home late -like yesterday, understand?” - -“Don’t worry, Mom,” Eddie promised. “We’ll start early, and get back -early.” Then he spoke to Teena. - -“I’ll be right over,” Teena replied, “soon as I make us a little picnic -lunch.” - -Eddie got the Geiger counter out of the closet. He told his mother how -he had been wanting to try it out on Cedar Point. He told her about the -dream he had had. - -“Well, I guess you never can tell,” Mrs. Taylor said. “According to your -father, uranium ore often shows up in most unlikely places.” - -“Cedar Point isn’t so unlikely, Mom,” Eddie said. “There are lots of -rock formations out there. Uranium ore is usually located where there -are plenty of rocks.” - -When Teena arrived Eddie was all set to leave. He wore swimming trunks -under his blue jeans. Teena said she also had her bathing suit on in -case they had to swim home. - -“Well, you children be careful,” Eddie’s mother cautioned. “The bay’s -usually nice and smooth, but it can get pretty choppy. If it does, you -head straight for shore, understand?” - -“We will, Mrs. Taylor,” Teena promised. - -Eddie’s mother smiled. “Be back no later than four o’clock,” she said to -Eddie. - -“Right.” - -“But you don’t have a watch, Eddie,” Teena said. - -“I can tell by the sun,” he said proudly, then added, “pretty close, -anyway.” - -Eddie carried the Geiger counter and Teena the picnic lunch as they -started toward Anderson’s Landing. - -Although it was a nice sunny day for fishing, there were still several -rowboats tied up at the landing. Mr. Anderson was in his little office -at the foot of the dock. - -“I’ve been expecting you,” he said. “Saved you a nice light pair of -oars, too.” - -“Swell,” Eddie said. “Thanks, Mr. Anderson.” - -“Take boat Number Eighteen,” the owner said. “She rides high and is -leakproof. What’s that gadget you’ve got there?” - -“It’s a Geiger counter, Mr. Anderson,” Eddie said. “We hope we’ll find -some signs of uranium out on Cedar Point.” - -“That the stuff you make atom bombs of?” Mr. Anderson said, with a note -of disapproval in his voice. - -“You can make bombs of it,” Eddie admitted, “but nowadays scientists are -more interested in running machinery and curing diseases with it.” - -“That’s the kind of thing I like to hear,” Mr. Anderson said, smiling. -“In that case, good luck.” - -Soon, with Eddie at the oars, they started toward distant Cedar Point. -Eddie set the course in a line which cut at an angle across the bay. As -they were crossing the submerged sand bar, Teena pointed shoreward. - -“Eddie, look,” she said. - -Resting on the oars and following the direction of Teena’s finger, Eddie -saw that they were directly offshore from the cove. He also saw the -orange-and-white rowboat pulled up onto the beach. - -Of even more importance, he saw two men making their way carefully down -the narrow trail which zigzagged down the face of the bluff. Even from -the distance, Eddie saw that one man was tall and thin, the other short -and fat. - -“It’s those two men!” he exclaimed. - -“Of course. But don’t get so excited,” Teena said. “They’re probably -just coming out fishing.” - -“Coming from where?” Eddie asked. He knew there was only one place to -come from—the shack. Then he remembered that Teena didn’t know about his -visit to the shack yesterday. - -“Well, anyway,” Teena said, “let’s get away from here before they come -out to fish over this sand bar. They sure would think we were spying on -them if they found us out here. I hope they don’t see us now.” - -“To far away for them to tell who we are,” Eddie assured, sharing -Teena’s dislike of meeting the two men again. - -Eddie started to turn back to rowing, when the flash of sun on metal -caught his eye. He knew at once that one of the men was carrying that -metal cylinder which he had seen yesterday evening in the shack, and -which he had puzzled over so long. He would like to have stayed and -gotten another look at it; that is, if the two men were coming out to -fish over the sand bar again. Yet Teena’s warning about getting away -seemed the wiser move. Eddie bent to the oars. - -Less than an hour later he guided the boat onto the narrow beach at -Cedar Point. - -“Phew!” he said, mopping the sweat from his forehead. “That’s a lot of -rowing.” - -“It was a swell ride, Eddie,” Teena said. “I’ll row back if you want.” - -“You’re a girl,” Eddie said importantly, which seemed to close the -subject about Teena doing the rowing. But Teena did help him drag the -boat up onto the beach beyond the high-water mark. - -“Now to find some uranium,” Eddie said, picking up the Geiger counter. -Before starting inland to explore the point, however, he shaded his eyes -and looked back across the bay. In the far distance he could barely make -out Anderson’s Landing. Quite a few boats dotted the bay in between. -Directly in line between Cedar Point and Anderson’s Landing was the -light strip of water marking the submerged sand bar. There was only one -boat over the sand bar. - -“Those two fellows are fishing in that same place again today,” Eddie -said. “They don’t seem to learn, do they?” - -“Let’s not worry about them,” Teena said. “Let’s start prospecting. We -promised to be home by four. It’s a long trip back.” - -The wind-swept point offered difficult hiking. Fallen trees and tangles -of underbrush slowed their progress. They had to keep on the lookout for -poison ivy. - -“If leaves there are three, leave it be,” Eddie said, remembering the -familiar warning. They gave wide berth to the irritating vine whenever -they saw it. - -Eddie left the Geiger counter switched on much of the time. The way led -over the rocks. There was no way of telling, except by the Geiger -counter, if any of the rocks were radioactive. The results, however, -were quite discouraging. Except for the faint background count, the -Geiger counter gave no sign of there being any uranium-bearing ore on -Cedar Point. - -After a tiring hour and a half of hard climbing over and around the -outcroppings, Teena suggested they stop and eat their picnic lunch. - -“Might as well,” Eddie said. “Sure doesn’t look like we’re going to find -anything out here. Lot of trouble for nothing, huh?” - -“Oh, no, Eddie,” Teena disagreed. “We’re having fun aren’t we? After -all, you’re supposed to have fun during vacation.” - -“Be better, though, to have fun and find some uranium, too,” Eddie said. - -Teena laughed. “You sure do want everything,” she remarked. - -Eddie switched off the Geiger counter. They found some shade under a -wind-twisted oak and ate their lunch. Eddie glanced at the sun. “It must -be one o’clock,” he said. “Guess we’d better be starting back. The water -will be a little choppier than this morning. Won’t be so easy to row. I -don’t want to get home late, or my mom will scalp me.” - -“Let’s go,” Teena said. “Anyway, we’ve done enough prospecting out here -to know there’s no uranium around.” - -On the way back to the boat Eddie tried out the Geiger counter in a -couple of places they had missed. The results were the same—negative. He -put the Geiger counter into the bottom of the boat, pushed the boat into -the water, and jumped in after Teena. - -A slight breeze angling in over the bow made rowing difficult. Less than -halfway across the bay, Eddie’s arms and shoulders began to ache. - -“Eddie,” Teena said from her seat in the stern, “why don’t I sit there -beside you and row with one of the oars? We’ve done it before. Just give -me a little time to get the swing of it.” - -“O.K.,” Eddie said tiredly. - -Teena moved up beside him on the wide center seat and took the starboard -oar handle in both hands. After a couple minutes of splashing and going -in circles, they settled down to pulling together smoothly and evenly. - -“Hey, this is the best deal,” Eddie admitted. - -“You see,” Teena said, “even girls can be some help.” - -Eddie smiled. As they were approaching the near end of the under water -sand bar, he craned his neck around. - -“Good,” he said, “those two men have gone, so we won’t run across them -again.” - -They kept pulling together. The water turned light in color as the sun -reflected off the yellowish sand lying a scant ten feet beneath the -surface. - -Suddenly Teena stopped rowing. “Eddie,” she said, “what’s that?” - -“What’s what?” Eddie asked, resting on his oar. - -“That clicking.” - -“Clicking?” - -He heard it then, almost beneath the seat. He glanced down. - -“Yipes!” he exclaimed. “I—I forgot to switch off the Geiger counter -before I put it in the boat. Boy, if the battery is weak, Dad’ll—” - -He reached toward the switch. His hand stopped in mid-air. The needle of -the radioactivity gauge was quivering far over to the right, and the -clicking which had attracted Teena’s attention was much louder and -faster than the normal background count. - -“Teena! There—there’s radioactivity around here!” - -“In the water?” - -“No. Maybe underneath the water. Maybe on the sand bar. This is a -sensitive Geiger counter. It could pick it up all right.” - -“Hey, the clicking’s getting weak again,” Teena said. - -“We must be drifting away from whatever is causing it,” Eddie said. He -moved the Geiger counter up onto the seat between them. He put the -earphones on. “Now let’s kind of circle around here and try to pick it -up again.” - -With nothing but a broad expanse of water and no marker to guide them, -trying to locate the spot where the Geiger counter had sputtered to life -was anything but easy. - -“Eddie, I think we’re getting farther away all the time,” Teena said ten -minutes later. - -“But if we don’t find it now we might never find it again,” Eddie said. -“Just a little more. Pull easy on your oar. We’ll circle to the left -and—Hey, there it is!” - -The rapid clicking through the headset filled his ears. “Hold ’er -steady,” he said. He crawled quickly to the bow of the boat, lifted the -heavy concrete anchor over the gunwale, and eased it down onto the sand -bar with the Manila line attached. - -“There. We won’t lose it now,” he said. - -“Lose what, Eddie?” - -“Whatever’s making the Geiger counter act up,” Eddie said. - -“This would be an awful wet place to have to mine for uranium,” Teena -said. - -“It could be done,” Eddie insisted. “Boy, we must be right over it. -Listen to those clicks. And look at that needle jump around.” - -Teena looked over the side. “It looks to me like plain old yellow sand -down there,” she said. - -“Might be some uranium-bearing rock under it,” Eddie said. He leaned -over his side of the boat. Although the sand bar was not far below, the -water was somewhat murky, and the ripples on the surface made it -difficult to see anything on the bottom. “Might be a tough job getting -at it, all right, but—” - -The rest of the words died in Eddie’s throat, as a glint of metal -flashed in his eyes. - -“Teena, there—there’s something down on the sand bar!” - -“What do you mean, something?” - -“Something bright. Like metal.” Eddie put his face as close to the water -as he could without falling out of the boat. “I can see it now!” he -exclaimed. “It’s about two feet long. Two or three inches thick. It -looks round, and—” - -“Eddie!” Teena said. “The metal tube you saw that day in the rowboat. -You know, the day we came across those two men at the cove. Remember?” - -“I remember,” Eddie said, for the thought already had sprung into his -mind. - -Now two other thoughts crowded in behind it. Both were puzzling thoughts -which left his mind reeling. - -What was the metal tube doing there below on the sand bar? Why, above -all things, was it sending out radioactive rays? - - - - - CHAPTER NINE - - -“Eddie,” Teena said, “what are you going to do?” - -Already Eddie had pulled off his shoes and T shirt. He slipped off his -blue jeans, and stood in his bathing trunks ready to dive overboard. - -“I’m going down and get that thing,” he said. - -“Why?” - -“Something’s mighty crazy about all this,” Eddie said. - -“Maybe so,” Teena agreed. “But Eddie, isn’t it dangerous? If that -thing’s radioactive—” - -“No. It’s not that radioactive,” Eddie said. “Those two men handled it -all right. It’s some special kind of a tube. I’m going to take it to my -dad.” - -“Why?” - -“Why!” Eddie repeated impatiently. “Because it must have something to do -with that stolen radioisotope, that’s why.” - -“Well, you don’t need to get sore at me,” Teena scolded. - -“I’m not, Teena,” Eddie said, calming down. “But I’m not going to take -the chance of leaving the thing out here and maybe not being able to -find it again.” - -“You sure it won’t hurt you?” Teena asked again. - -“I’m real sure,” Eddie said. “I’ve seen that Geiger counter act up a lot -worse over a small sample of uranium ore. Don’t worry. If it was really -hot with radiation, those two men wouldn’t have been handling it either. -Dad said that whoever stole the isotope would be an expert on knowing -how to handle it safely. I’ll be right back.” - -[Illustration: _The cylinder was simple to locate._] - -Eddie slipped over the side and into the water. He took a breath, nosed -over, and kicked downward. It was a shallow dive compared to some he had -made while skin diving for lobster. He stroked easily down to the sand -bar. The bright metal cylinder was simple to locate even in the murky -water. He grabbed it with his left hand and swam back to the surface. - -Teena took it from him and laid it in the bottom of the boat. Then she -helped him climb in over the stern. - -“It doesn’t look like anything very special, does it?” she said. - -“That’s why I thought it was for holding a jointed trout rod,” Eddie -said, “but watch this.” He switched on the Geiger counter and held the -probe near the metal tube. The earphones began to sputter with -continuous clicks. The indicator on the dial jumped far forward. - -“It’s a cinch there’s some radioactive stuff inside,” Eddie assured. -“Let’s go. I’ve got to take this to my father.” - -As they drew within a quarter of a mile of Anderson’s Landing, Teena -said, “Eddie, what if those two men should be around the boat dock and -see us with this tube?” - -Eddie looked over his shoulder. He saw only one person on the landing. -That would probably be Mr. Anderson. - -“I’m sure they’ve already turned in their boat and gone on home,” Eddie -said, “but just to be safe, we’ll do this.” He picked up his blue jeans -which he had left wadded up in the bottom of the boat, as he hadn’t -wanted to put them back on over his wet trunks. He pushed the metal tube -into one of the empty legs. Then he wrapped the excess material around -it. “There,” he said, satisfied, “no one can see it now.” - -Mr. Anderson came out to meet them as they eased the rowboat gently up -to the dock. - -“Well, how did it go?” he asked. “Find any atoms?” - -Eddie smiled. “Everything is made of atoms, Mr. Anderson,” he explained. -“We were looking for uranium. That’s a special kind.” - -“I guess it’s a special, all right,” the boat-owner agreed, “the way it -can blow things to smithereens.” - -Eddie didn’t argue, but he wished people would stop thinking that all -radioactive materials were used to blow things up. He supposed, however, -that since the atomic bombs were what really started what came to be -called the Atomic Age, it would take some time to educate the public to -the fact that atomic power was a much greater builder than a destroyer. -Anyway, at the moment he didn’t want to get into a long discussion about -it. - -“We didn’t find any uranium, Mr. Anderson,” he said. - -“But we had a swell trip,” Teena put in. “Thanks for letting us use the -boat.” - -“You earned it,” Mr. Anderson reminded them. “By the way, those two -fellows who have been fishing over the sand bar came in a while ago. -Didn’t catch a thing. Sure a stubborn pair, aren’t they?” - -“Maybe they just don’t like to clean fish,” Eddie said. But he was glad -Mr. Anderson had mentioned the men. It added evidence to his belief that -they weren’t the least bit interested in fishing, anyway. - -After cleaning up the boat, he and Teena started along the dock. Eddie -carried the metal tube rolled up in his blue jeans. - -“Any time you want a boat,” Mr. Anderson said, as they stepped off the -dock and started across the beach toward home, “you’re always welcome to -earn it the same way.” - -“Thanks,” Eddie called back. “We may need one again before long.” - -It was a little past three o’clock when they reached Eddie’s house. - -“You certainly made it in good time,” his mother said. “Any luck?” - -“Not at Cedar Point,” Eddie said. “But, Mom, we found something else. -Where’s Dad?” - -“He’s not home from school yet,” his mother said. “What’s that you have -wrapped up in your jeans?” - -Eddie told her quickly, without going into all of the background. - -“You think it has something to do with the stolen radioisotope?” his -mother asked in disbelief, when he had finished. - -“I don’t know, Mom,” Eddie said. “But why would it be radioactive?” - -“You haven’t opened it, have you?” - -“No. It’s sealed tight,” Eddie said. “I—I thought Dad should do that.” - -“You’re right. You run it over to school and find your father.” - -Teena spoke up for the first time. “Eddie, if that tube really belongs -out there and we took it, we—we might get in trouble.” - -“Belongs out there?” Eddie asked. - -“Maybe the Coast Guard is using it for some kind of a test or -something,” Teena said. - -That was a possibility which hadn’t occurred to Eddie, yet he quickly -dismissed it from his mind. The two men who had planted it out on the -sand bar certainly had nothing to do with the Coast Guard or anything -like that. Nor would it have been in the shack yesterday evening. - -“Not a chance,” he said. “Anyway, I’m going to take it over for Dad to -see.” - -“I’ll call him and tell him you’re on your way,” his mother said. - -“You want to go along, Teena?” Eddie asked. - -“What a question,” Teena said. “Sure, I want to go.” - -“Eddie,” his mother reminded him, “you can’t go over to school in your -swim trunks. Go slip on some denims.” - -Eddie hurried to his room and put on some freshly laundered denims. -Then, leaving the metal tube still wrapped in the blue jeans, he and -Teena started down the street toward the college campus. - -Mr. Taylor was waiting for them in front of the nuclear-science -building. He seemed strangely excited. Eddie wondered what his mother -had said over the telephone. - -“Let me take it, son,” Mr. Taylor said, reaching out for the blue jeans -in which the metal cylinder was wrapped. He turned to go inside. - -“Can we come with you, Dad?” Eddie asked quickly. - -“Of course, of course,” his father said over his shoulder. “Come along. -If this is anything like your mother said, there’ll be a lot of -questions to ask.” - -Eddie’s father led them through his office and on into a dressing room -where they pulled on specially treated white coveralls, gloves, and -hoods which fitted over their heads. Each hood had a small glass window -for looking out. - -“Just an extra precaution,” Eddie’s father said. “Really not necessary, -but we simply don’t take any chances with possible stray radiation.” - -They went on into the large laboratory. Eddie had been there before. The -sight of the fantastically shaped apparatus used in various -atomic-research tests always excited him. - -There were several men in the room. Each was dressed in white -coverall-type protective suits similar to those he and Teena and Mr. -Taylor wore. - -In the center of the laboratory stood a square booth with thick walls -and a glass window in the front wall. Eddie knew the walls were -lead-lined, and the glass was a thick, specially treated type. All -experiments which were the least bit hazardous were conducted inside of -that six-by-six-foot booth. The radioactive materials were handled -remotely by a strange steel-fingered device operated by a man who stood -safely outside of the booth. Absolutely no chances were taken in the -handling of radioactive materials. - -Eddie’s father inspected the tube closely, as he went toward one of the -many complex devices that filled the laboratory. - -“It’s a careful job of machining on this tube,” he said. “Surely not the -work of amateurs. Seems to be a lead alloy of some kind. Probably worked -out in thickness and amount of lead in the alloy so as to allow just the -right amount of radioactive rays to leak through without being -dangerous.” - -He flicked several switches and turned various knobs on the instrument -under which he had placed the tube. Eddie watched dial needles quiver -and lights flash, wishing he knew what they meant. - -“All right,” his father said, turning off the machine, “you’re exactly -right. There’s radioactivity inside that tube. Plenty of it, I imagine. -Yet, only enough of it is allowed to leak out to furnish a tracer. It -was a regular beacon leading you right to it with your Geiger counter.” - -“Dad, you mean—” - -“Let’s hold the questions a while, Eddie,” Mr. Taylor interrupted. -“We’ve got a few tests to run on this first. There are some things we -need to find out for sure.” He called to one of the young men working at -the far side of the room. They talked for a few moments while the -laboratory worker inspected the cylinder closely. - -Then he took it inside the shielded booth and laid it on the table -beneath the strange contraption with the protruding metal arms and -pincers. Several other pieces of testing apparatus were placed on the -table. Then he came back outside, closing the door carefully behind him. - -“All right, Mr. Taylor,” the young technician said, “we’ll see what we -can do with it.” He slipped his hands into the grips which operated the -metal fingers on the far side of the thick, protective glass through -which they watched. - -Eddie and Teena looked on fascinated as, controlled from outside, the -mechanical clamps on the metal arms inside picked up the tube. Then -wrenchlike metal fingers wrapped around one sealed end. After much -twisting and prying, the tight fitted cap came off. - -“So far, so good,” the young scientist said. “Now let’s see what’s -inside.” He moved his own hands and the mechanical fingers inside tipped -the tube on its end. A small black capsule slid out onto the table. It -was about the size of a dime-store beanshooter. - -The metal fingers kept working until the cap sealing the small black -capsule was removed. When it was tipped on end a yellowish powder -trickled out into a small bowl which had been placed on the table -inside. - -The metal fingers continued working. They placed the small bowl with the -yellow contents under one instrument after another. Knobs were turned -and readings were jotted down. After the final test was made, Eddie’s -father studied the results carefully. He compared them with the formulas -on a piece of paper he had brought from his office. - -While waiting silently, Eddie’s gaze went back to the large uncapped -silver-gray cylinder still lying inside on the table. What appeared to -be a corner of a sheet of paper jutted slightly out of the open end. - -“Looks like there’s something else inside of that tube,” he said to the -young technician beside him. Talking beneath his hood muffled his words, -yet the scientist seemed to have no trouble understanding. - -“By George, you’re right,” he said. He reached once more for the proper -grip rings and levers to operate the robot fingers inside. “Let’s see -what it is.” - -He tipped the tube so the open end was down, then shook it. A large -piece of rolled-up paper dropped out. As it fell to the table, it -unrolled part way—enough, at least, for Eddie to see the blue color of -its inside surface. He also saw the white markings. - -“Blueprints!” he cried. - -At the word, his father looked up from his own busy figuring. “You’re -right,” he said. “They sure are blueprints. You kids certainly hit upon -something big. Mighty big.” - -“What do you mean, Dad?” Eddie wondered. - -“There’s no doubt about it,” his father said firmly. “The material that -came out of the small black capsule inside of that tube is a part of the -stolen radioisotope. It’s mixed in with some other material to weaken -its power. But I’m certain the radioactivity comes from small amounts of -our isotope.” - -“Then we’ve found the stolen isotope!” Eddie exclaimed. Although the -idea had occurred to him before, hearing the proof of it was no less -startling. - -“Only part of it,” his father reminded him. Then he turned toward Teena. -“Unless I miss my guess, those blueprints are some of the ones missing -from Acme Aircraft Company.” - -This seemed sheer fantasy, like something that might happen in a -restless dream after eating too much ice cream and lobster salad. - -“Come on, kids,” Mr. Taylor prompted, leading them back toward his -office. “There’s a lot to be done. And unless I miss my guess, it must -be done quickly—or we might be too late.” - - - - - CHAPTER TEN - - -Once back inside of his office, Mr. Taylor motioned for Eddie and Teena -to be seated. Then he picked up the phone and made two quick calls. They -also must have been local calls, Eddie thought, for within five minutes -two men hurried into the office. Both were dressed in normal summer -business clothes. - -Eddie’s father introduced the dark-haired one in the light-tan suit as -Mr. Paul Evans of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The other man was -tall, light-haired, and blue-eyed. His name was Walter Jamison. He was -from the Drake Ridge atomic reactor. Eddie’s father didn’t explain what -either man was doing there, but Eddie had no doubts that their main -interest was recovery of the stolen radioisotope. Probably they had been -around the Oceanview College campus ever since the theft had taken -place. - -“All right, Eddie,” Mr. Taylor said after the two men sat down. “Start -from the beginning and give us the whole story. Don’t leave anything -out. Teena, you see that he doesn’t.” - -Eddie didn’t know exactly what his father meant by the whole story. But -he started with the day when he and Teena had come upon the two men at -the cove. He told about their somewhat strange actions, and the puzzling -sight of the sealed metal tube lying in the bottom of the rowboat. He -mentioned how the men had not had it with them when they returned the -boat to Anderson’s Landing a while later. - -He told about seeing the men fishing out over the sand bar the Saturday -after that, and again today. - -Then, to Teena’s surprise, he brought in yesterday’s lone hike out to -the cove. He told of his curiosity over the tracks leading to the -abandoned fisherman’s shack set back from the top of the bluff, and how -he had been greatly surprised, at peeking through the crack in the door, -to see the chubby man named Roy Benton inside, as well as a bright metal -cylinder—like the one they had just taken apart in the -laboratory—standing in a corner of the shack. - -“Probably it was the same tube you just took apart,” Eddie said. “When -Teena and I were rowing out to Cedar Point this morning, we saw the two -men coming down the bluff carrying something shiny. Later, looking back -from Cedar Point, we saw them anchored over the sand bar. Probably over -the same place we found the cylinder.” - -“It figures,” Mr. Evans, the FBI man said. “For the sake of argument, -let’s say the two men are spies. Could be even more than two here at the -college or working at Acme Aircraft.” - -“Spies!” Teena gasped in disbelief. - -“Maybe they’re both hiding at the shack,” Eddie said excitedly. “You’d -better go arrest them!” - -“Not so fast,” Mr. Evans said. “Arresting them isn’t nearly so important -as finding out where the remainder of the radioisotope is hidden. -Getting hold of the rest of those missing blueprints also is much more -important than arresting two men.” - -“In fact,” Mr. Jamison added, “arresting them too early might tip off -the whole operation, and everyone would run for cover before we could -pin anything down.” - -Just then Teena’s father came hurrying into the office. “Sorry I -couldn’t get here sooner, Steve,” he said to Mr. Taylor, “but we were -trying to locate another very important set of blueprints. More secret -guidance-system parts. I absolutely can’t figure how those blueprints -can keep disappearing, and—” - -Eddie’s father held out the rolled-up blueprints which had been inside -the metal tube. “These wouldn’t happen to be the ones, would they, Tom?” -he said. - -One glance, and Mr. Ross’s face took on an expression of mixed pleasure -and amazement. “They certainly are!” he exclaimed. “But how—” - -The FBI man interrupted. He brought Teena’s father up to date on the -story thus far. Mr. Ross looked over toward Teena and Eddie. As pleased -as he seemed over the recovery of at least part of the missing -blueprints, he appeared even more concerned over something else. - -“If I had had any idea that you two were getting mixed up in anything -like this,” he said, “I’d have insisted that you stay home and play -scrabble or checkers or something safe.” - -“We—we weren’t mixed up in anything, Mr. Ross,” Eddie said quickly. “At -least, we sure didn’t know we were, and—” - -“I believe,” the FBI man cut in, “that we’d better get down to cases. We -may not have much time to solve this problem. Let’s see what we have to -go on thus far. Then we’ll try to plan our next move.” - -Eddie listened as Mr. Evans reviewed the situation point by point. Two -men—the one called Simms and the other known as Roy Benton—were involved -in stealing the blueprints and the radioisotope. Mr. Evans didn’t seem -at all worried about capturing them when the time was ripe. On each of -the last three Saturdays, including today, Eddie and Teena had seen them -fishing, or pretending to be fishing, over the sand bar in Moon Bay. - -“We might assume, then,” the FBI man said, “that on the past two -Saturdays the men’s real purpose for going out in the boat was to drop -other metal tubes overboard. Other tubes similar to this one.” - -“And remember,” Mr. Taylor said, “the first time Eddie and Teena saw -them was the very Saturday after the isotope was stolen from the -college.” - -“Right,” Mr. Jamison said. - -“So,” the FBI man picked up the line of thought, “the question is why -the men dropped the metal tubes out on the sand bar. It’s a fairly safe -bet that each tube contained a little of the radioactive material, plus -other blueprints. Let’s assume that the reason behind the whole thing is -to smuggle the blueprints out of the country.” - -“That would go for the isotope, too,” the man from Drake Ridge said. “It -was a new secret isotope, you know. Various foreign governments would -like to get their hands on it.” - -“But the men didn’t talk like foreigners,” Eddie said. - -“Of course, they wouldn’t,” Mr. Evans said. “Might not even be -foreigners. Unfortunately, there are a few greedy people who will do -almost anything for money.” - -“Even spy?” Teena said, aghast. - -“Even spy,” Mr. Evans said. “But what we need to find out is how anyone -is managing to smuggle the stuff out of here.” - -“Probably by boat,” Mr. Jamison said. - -“The Coast Guard keeps close tabs on all boating,” Mr. Evans said. “And -the bay’s too shallow to allow ocean-going ships inside.” - -A thought sprang into Eddie’s mind. “Mr. Evans,” he said, “I found a -rubber strap on the beach last week. It looked like a strap broken off a -swim fin or something like that. It—it has some foreign printing on it. -I have it at home.” - -His announcement had an immediate effect. “That should give us a real -clue,” the FBI man said quickly. “It makes sense, too, that the -cylinders would be recovered by skin divers. Perhaps foreign divers -similar to our own frogmen.” - -“It would have to be done after dark,” Mr. Ross said. “Otherwise they -would be seen. And how could anyone locate a small cylinder like that -under ten feet of water at night.” - -“I think I can answer that,” Eddie’s father said. “In fact, Eddie and -Teena found that answer. It could be located with a Geiger counter.” - -“That’s it,” the FBI man agreed. “For instance, they could use a rubber -boat to sneak in under cover of darkness. They would know the -approximate location of the cylinder.” - -“How?” Teena’s father asked. - -“By some established plan. Probably by triangulation. They could use the -lighthouse for one reference point. Perhaps some other signal light on -shore would give them a second point.” - -Quickly, Eddie told him about seeing the heavy-duty battery lantern in -the shack. “They might use it for a signal light,” he said. - -“Very possible,” Mr. Evans agreed. “Anyway, a little quick figuring -would locate the spot on the sand bar where the men had dropped the -cylinder. A Geiger counter could pinpoint it quickly. The diver would -recover the cylinder, climb into his rubber boat, and paddle back out—” -His words dwindled away to thoughtfulness. - -“Paddle back out to what?” The man from Drake Ridge voiced the thought -that was in all their minds. - -Eddie wondered if the same answer that immediately occurred to him was -shared by the others. Although soon after the article had appeared in -the Oceanview newspapers most readers had discarded it as nothing more -than an unfounded rumor, Eddie had never quite forgotten it. Nor had the -Coast Guard officially withdrawn its belief of what had been sighted by -its radar equipment that Saturday night two weeks ago. - -Now there seemed no argument. It was, in fact, the only logical method -by which the isotope and the plans could be smuggled away without -detection. - -“The submarine!” Eddie exclaimed. - - - - - CHAPTER ELEVEN - - -The parts of the mysterious jigsaw puzzle had begun to fit into a rough -pattern, with Eddie and Teena furnishing most of the key pieces. Mr. -Evans glanced at his wrist watch. - -“It’s now a quarter after five,” he said. “The supposed submarine -sighting took place on a Saturday night two weeks ago. That same day -Eddie and Teena saw the men out over the sand bar. They saw them again -last Saturday. Probably another pickup took place that night. It’s -logical, therefore, to assume that the third pickup is scheduled for -tonight. That doesn’t give us much time to set our trap.” - -“You’re the boss,” Mr. Taylor said. “You tell us what you want us to -do.” - -“That’s right,” Teena’s father said anxiously. “I can’t overemphasize -how important it is that those blueprints don’t get out of this -country.” - -“First I have several urgent phone calls to make,” the FBI man said -quickly. “Must get the wheels turning at once.” - -“There’s a phone in the empty office next door,” Mr. Taylor volunteered. -“Help yourself.” - -While the federal investigator was in the next room telephoning, Mr. -Taylor, Mr. Ross, and the man from Drake Ridge talked over what they -knew so far. - -“Apparently what we have to go on,” Eddie’s father said, “are some -assorted guesses, none of which may prove to be positive facts.” - -“Well, guesses will have to do for the moment,” Mr. Ross said. “We have -to have a starting point.” - -“All right,” Mr. Taylor agreed, “here’s what we have. Two men seem -responsible for both the stolen isotope and the missing blueprints. -Eddie and Teena both saw the tall one called Simms on the college campus -about a week ago. He must be familiar with our atomic-research -department in order to know of the delivery, and to plan a method for -stealing the isotope. In that case, he shouldn’t be difficult to trace.” - -“Dad,” Eddie said suddenly, “doesn’t everyone who works around the -atomic lab have an identification badge with his picture on it?” - -“You’re absolutely right,” his father said, getting up quickly. “And we -have duplicates of the pictures right here in our files.” He pulled a -thick album from a steel drawer. He thumbed through to the ‘S’ section -and opened it in front of Teena and Eddie. - -“That’s him!” Eddie said, pointing almost immediately to the picture of -the thin-faced man. His name was listed as Harvey Simms. Underneath the -photo the man’s job title was typed in a single word—Custodian. - -“Now I recognize him,” Mr. Taylor said. - -“I’ve seen him working around. A quiet person. The kind you hardly -notice.” - -“That’s the way he would want it to be,” Mr. Ross said. - -Teena and Eddie went through the entire book of pictures without -recognizing any as the man called Roy Benton. Mr. Ross picked up the -telephone and called the Acme Aircraft Company personnel department. He -gave Roy Benton’s name and the description Eddie and Teena had -furnished. - -“See if you can get a line on such a person,” Mr. Ross instructed over -the telephone. “Call me back as soon as you can.” He gave the number, -and hung up. - -“Now, then,” Eddie’s father picked up the conversation again, “after -managing to steal certain blueprints during the week, the men would -naturally pick Saturday—their day off—to schedule the pickups by the -submarine. We’re still assuming, of course, that a submarine actually is -being used. It seems the only logical means of getting in and out past -our alert Coast Guard. By timing the patrols, they would know when to -surface. They would know how long to allow for their divers to row into -the bay, get the tube, and return to the sub before the patrol doubled -back. It’s possible, even, that the submarine carries a small seaplane. -After returning to unpatrolled water, they could launch the seaplane to -deliver the cylinder to some surface vessel, or possibly to an island or -other land base. The submarine itself probably stays around for other -pickups.” - -“Those are possibilities,” Mr. Ross admitted. - -“I mention it,” Eddie’s father said, “only because, if it’s true, the -tubes which have been picked up off the sand bar are already delivered. -In that case, your blueprints and my radioisotope are no longer secrets. -If not, however, both still must be on the submarine. No sub could -shuttle back and forth to a foreign shore fast enough to make delivery -and get back within a week’s time. This is only a guess, but they may -lie a few miles offshore during the week as a safety measure and to -conserve fuel. They come in and surface just outside the bay each -Saturday, under cover of darkness. When they have everything they’re -after, they’ll head home. Since they already have sufficient samples of -the isotope, my guess is that they are now after the final blueprints. -The small samples of the isotope are now used only as tracers to help -locate the submerged cylinders.” - -Teena’s father seemed immensely impressed by Mr. Taylor’s reasoning. “It -so happens,” he said, “that the blueprints we discovered missing -today—added to the others—complete the entire layout of our new secret -missile-guidance system. In the hands of an unfriendly nation, there’s -no telling to what improper use the guidance system might be put.” - -“Then,” Mr. Jamison said, “this must be the end of their -assignment—tonight’s delivery of the final blueprints.” - -“That’s right,” Eddie’s father said. “That’s how it would appear.” - -Mr. Evans came back into the room. “I’ve been arranging a little -surprise party,” he said, with a rather tense smile. “I couldn’t help -but overhear you, Mr. Taylor, while I was waiting for one of my calls. I -think you’ve got that submarine angle pretty well figured out.” - -“I spent a hitch in the Navy,” Eddie’s father said, smiling. “Operating -seagoing vessels—surface or subsurface—falls into a general pattern.” - -“True,” Mr. Evans agreed, “and I doubt very much that any submarine -refueling tanker would be hanging around even several hundred miles out. -Like aircraft traffic, shipping is run pretty well according to -schedule. A wandering tanker would simply invite curiosity. But be that -as it may, the immediate task is to capture that submarine—if submarine -there is. We’re still going on guesses.” - -“What do you want us to do?” Mr. Taylor asked. - -“It won’t be necessary for any of you to do anything,” the FBI man said. -“I’ve lined up all the assistance needed. Everything is set.” - -“You’re going to arrest those two men, aren’t you?” Eddie blurted out. -“They—they’re traitors!” - -“They won’t go anyplace,” Mr. Evans assured him. “The important thing -right now is that we don’t tip off our plans. Possibly they have various -signals worked out with the submarine. Things have to go right on -schedule, or we might lose the whole battle. Benton and Simms are small -fish and can be landed any time we want. The big thing is the delivery -of those blueprints and the isotope. That’s what we’ve got to stop.” - -The telephone on Mr. Taylor’s desk rang. “It’s for you, Tom,” he said, -handing the instrument to Teena’s father. - -“File clerk?” Mr. Ross said, after listening a few seconds. “How about -that! Thanks. No, don’t say a word to anyone.” He hung up, and turned to -the FBI man. “Well, there’s your Roy Benton. A file clerk. New man. Been -at Acme just a little over a month. Can’t figure, though, how he managed -to get into the secret blueprint files. They’re kept locked up.” - -“Professional spies have ingenious ways of working,” Mr. Evans said. -“Anyway, it’s pretty plain now how both the radioisotope and the -blueprints happened to disappear. One thing’s equally certain. This is -all part of a carefully worked out plan. The job now is to stop that -plan—and stop it tonight.” - -“Oh, I’m frightened,” Teena said. “Spies, and submarines, and—and—” - -“Aw, Teena,” Eddie said, “there’s nothing to be afraid of.” Yet he had -to clasp his own hands tightly together to keep them from shaking. - -“All right, everybody,” Mr. Evans said, looking at his watch, “within an -hour everything will be set up. I’m not free to reveal our plan. -However, since you are all involved in this thing, I have no objection -to your witnessing the outcome. If an outcome there is. Remember, we’re -going primarily on guesses. So, if you want to drive quietly out to the -lighthouse, I’ve arranged—” - -“Lighthouse!” Eddie exclaimed. “We know Captain Daniels. He’s a good -friend of ours.” - -“I know,” Mr. Evans said. “I talked to him on the phone. He’s a Coast -Guard man, you know. And the Coast Guard is mighty important to -tonight’s activity. You might find what goes on out there, and in the -bay, extremely interesting to watch.” - -“Can Teena and I go?” Eddie asked anxiously. - -“Of course,” Mr. Evans said. “Without you two, we wouldn’t have a thing -to be working on, would we?” - -Eddie flushed with pride. - -“Of course,” the FBI man went on, “you will have to ask your parents.” - -Eddie looked pleadingly at his father. Neither Mr. Taylor nor Mr. Ross -voiced any objection. - -“All right,” Mr. Evans said, rising, “there’s no time to waste. I’ll see -you folks a little later.” - -He left the office. The others sat for a moment as though trying to -catch their breaths over the rapid developments of the past hours. Mr. -Jamison excused himself to report back to Drake Ridge. - -“Tom,” Eddie’s father said finally, “we’d better call our wives and tell -them we and the children will be home late.” - -“Unfinished business,” Teena’s father said thoughtfully. - -“That’s right. Unfinished business.” - - - - - CHAPTER TWELVE - - -Teena and Eddie, with their fathers, had hamburgers and milk at a -roadside stand. As soon as it was dark, they drove toward the -lighthouse. They parked the car off the paved four-lane highway which -ran several hundred yards back from the rocky point upon which the -lighthouse stood. The twisting, twin-rutted road leading to the -lighthouse was much more suitable to a jeep than to a modern low-slung -car. - -They had no more than climbed out of the car, when a uniformed man -stepped out of the darkness in front of them. Eddie gasped when he saw -the rifle cradled in the stranger’s arms, poised ready for instant -action. - -“Halt and identify yourselves!” a voice challenged. - -“I’m Steve Taylor from Oceanview College,” Eddie’s father spoke up -quickly. “With me is Mr. Tom Ross. Also our two children.” - -“All right, sir,” the voice said, more pleasantly now. “Been expecting -you. Go ahead, sir.” - -“Wowee,” Eddie whispered as they went down the dark road. “I wonder if -there are guards all around here.” - -“Probably,” Mr. Ross said. “They certainly set things up fast, didn’t -they?” - -Each time the lighthouse beacon swept around in its circle, it cast a -temporary glow upon the road, making walking easy. When they reached the -base of the lighthouse, they noticed several other shadowy forms moving -about. - -“That you, mates?” Old Captain Daniels stepped out to meet them. - -“Hello, Captain Daniels,” Eddie greeted. “It’s us, all right. Our -fathers are with us.” - -Captain Daniels shook hands with the two men. “Quite a party they’re -planning out here, isn’t it?” he said, seeming to relish the excitement. - -“Apparently,” Eddie’s father said. “Although we don’t know just what -they’re planning.” - -“You will, you will,” said Captain Daniels. “But right now I’ve got to -check my light. Darker’n a ship’s hold with a cargo of tar paper -tonight, it is. Won’t be much to see—until things start poppin’. Might -be a good idea to sit there in front of my cottage and watch down the -coast. Just don’t light any matches, or make undue noise. If you spot -any strange lights, things may start happening. I probably won’t see you -for a while. Can’t stop the light unless I’m up top.” He turned and -started up the spiraling stairs. - -“Stop the light?” Eddie said. “I wonder what Cap meant by that?” - -“I don’t know,” his father said. “I suppose you can stop those lights -from turning in a circle if you want to. Don’t know why anyone would -want to, though. After all, the beam is aimed rather high so it can be -seen by ships far off the coast.” - -They waited over an hour. Except for the gentle sound of waves lapping -the shore below, and a throbbing Coast Guard plane passing by on its -patrol, an eerie silence filled the night. Looking seaward, there was -nothing to see but solid blackness. Three times each minute the beacon -from the lighthouse swept a path of white through the sky. Since it was -aimed high, the beam didn’t touch the water in the bay. - -“If anything is happening out there,” Eddie said, “how are we going to -know about it?” - -“I’ve been wondering that myself,” his father replied. - -“You’d think they would spot some search-lights along the beach or -something,” Mr. Ross said. - -“They couldn’t very well do that, Tom,” Mr. Taylor said. “They would -risk tipping off the whole trap. That Evans fellow impressed me as -knowing what to do. His is a big responsibility, and there certainly -wasn’t much time to weigh and measure things, but—” - -“Look!” Teena said suddenly. “Isn’t that a light down there?” - -Eddie’s eyes followed the direction of her outstretched arm. - -“It sure is!” he said, dropping his voice to a tense whisper. “It’s -flashing on and off!” - -The light was only a pinpoint in the distance. It flicked off and on in -a pattern of dots and dashes which Eddie guessed was some kind of a -code. The beam was directed seaward. - -“Eddie,” Teena said, “isn’t that light about where the old fisherman’s -shack is?” - -“I think so,” Eddie said, trying to judge in the darkness about how far -down the coast the shack was from the lighthouse. - -“I figure you’re right,” a voice spoke behind them. All four turned. -They couldn’t make out the stranger’s face in the darkness, but they -could see that he was in Navy uniform. As the lighthouse beacon swung -around, Eddie saw lieutenant’s bars on his shoulders, and the -crossed-anchor insigne of the U.S. Coast Guard on his cap. “Now we’ll -wait exactly twenty minutes.” - -“Wait for what?” Eddie asked. - -“We’re not sure,” the officer said. “But in twenty minutes we spring the -trap. Might catch some big game, might catch nothing. Please stay right -where you are. Keep your voices low. No lights of any kind.” He turned -and went toward the lighthouse tower. - -The Coast Guard officer had just left when Teena grabbed Eddie’s arm. -“Look!” she whispered, pointing out across the dark bay. - -Eddie sucked in his breath as a small light far out on the water flashed -three times quickly, then stopped. - -“Something’s moving into the trap, all right,” his father whispered. - -It was unbelievable to Eddie that twenty minutes could be such a long -time. No one spoke. Nor were there any other flashes of light to -indicate any kind of activity going on. Occasionally, Teena’s father -consulted the luminous dial of his wrist watch. Eddie wondered if he, -too, found that twenty minutes was an awfully long time. - -Then, as the tension inside of Eddie mounted to the point of bursting, -the darkness was shattered by a sudden rush of activity. - -It began when the enormous beacon in the lighthouse tower stopped -rotating as the beam pointed out across the bay. Then, amazingly, the -great finger of light was lowered until it flooded the outer edge of the -bay in a brilliant blanket of white. - -The sight revealed in the dazzling light caused all four of them to jump -to their feet. In the deep water beyond the bay, and approximately half -a mile offshore, the deck and superstructure of a submarine stood out -plainly on the surface of the calm water. Even at that distance, Eddie -could make out the frantic scramble of men pinned in the blinding grip -of light. - -[Illustration: ... _he saw the small rubber boat moving in_.] - -Then he saw the small rubber boat moving in toward the sand bar of the -bay. Three figures were plainly visible in it. Two had been paddling. -But the paddles were now frozen in the light. The third figure was -dressed in what looked like a skin-diving outfit. The light reflected on -the glass face plate pushed up onto his forehead. Suddenly the two men -with the paddles swung about and started pulling frantically back toward -the submarine. - -“That sub will try to dive!” Eddie’s father said quickly. - -“But the men in the rubber boat?” Teena said. “They can’t—” - -“They’ll be left behind,” Mr. Ross said tensely. - -But whatever method of escape was intended, it was quickly blocked. Out -of the night came the throbbing roar of aircraft. Then two dark shapes -circled into the glow of light from the lighthouse beacon. - -“Coast Guard planes!” Mr. Taylor said. - -Adding to the brilliance, the Coast Guard aircraft dropped magnesium -flares directly over the surfaced submarine, then continued their -circling. - -A new pulsating sound was added to the night scene as two helicopters -swept past the lighthouse and slanted directly toward the submarine. -Each helicopter carried two large barrellike objects under it. - -“Depth charges,” Teena’s father said. “If that submarine tries to dive -it’s a goner.” - -Apparently the commander of the submarine realized the futility of -escape. A white flag caught the light, as someone on deck began waving -it wildly. - -More flares blossomed out as the aircraft circled around for the second -time. Suddenly two Coast Guard patrol boats nosed into the lighted area. -One of them fired a warning shot over the bow of the undersea craft. The -white flag began to wave more urgently than ever. - -The action had taken less than five minutes. Eddie’s mind whirled with -excitement. And then, almost as suddenly as it had started, it was over. -One of the Coast Guard boats swept into the bay and picked up the men in -the rubber raft. The larger boat swerved in and lay alongside the -submarine. Eddie could see the crew of the submarine being transferred -to the launch. A few remained, while several armed Coast Guardsmen -boarded the submarine. - -Within a few minutes the patrolling aircraft buzzed low over the scene -for the last time, then disappeared into the darkness, returning to -their base. The helicopters swung back inland. The unused depth charges -were still racked securely beneath them. - -“Boy, that was some timing,” Eddie’s father said, as the chop-chop-chop -of the helicopters faded into the distance. The submarine had started to -move up the coast in the direction of the U.S. Coast Guard depot. - -The flares sputtered out, and all was quiet once more on the water. -Suddenly the beam from the lighthouse slanted up to its normal position, -then began to revolve slowly in its familiar fashion. - -“Well, folks,” the Coast Guard lieutenant said, coming up behind them, -“show’s over for tonight.” - -“And a real show it was,” Teena’s father said admiringly. “That was some -display of teamwork.” - -“All part of our training,” the officer said, obviously pleased the way -things had turned out. “We keep the wheels greased. When they have to -turn, they turn smoothly.” - -“Tonight’s proof positive of that,” Mr. Taylor complimented. - -“My instructions,” the young officer said, “are to escort you to the -Coast Guard depot. Those taken into custody should be there by the time -we arrive. You may have a few questions to ask.” - -Teena and Eddie rode with the lieutenant in the gray sedan with “U.S. -Coast Guard” printed on its doors. Their fathers followed in Mr. -Taylor’s car. Gates opened as they entered the Coast Guard depot a while -later. They were escorted into a large briefing room. - -Within two hours the investigation was complete enough to draw some firm -conclusions. Mr. Evans, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and a -Captain Foster, of the U.S. Coast Guard, stood before the group. There -were many strange faces in the room. Some of the men were in uniform; -some were not. Eddie supposed most of them were government or police -officials of some kind. - -Under close guard over to one side of the room were two dozen or more -men. They were all strangers. Their uniforms, although of a seaman’s -variety, were completely unfamiliar to Eddie. - -There were also several men in civilian clothing being held under guard. -Among them Eddie saw the two unlucky fishermen he had come to know as -Harvey Simms and Roy Benton. They scowled darkly at him. Eddie scowled -back. - -Mr. Evans seemed to have caught the exchange of glances. “Remember,” he -said to Eddie, “I mentioned that we should have no trouble grabbing them -whenever we wanted to. Well, we got them. A few others, too. Simms and -Benton were sitting outside that old fisherman’s shack, still holding -the battery lantern they used to signal the submarine.” - -“Boy, oh, boy!” Eddie exclaimed. - -“Now, gentlemen,” Mr. Evans went on, turning to the main group, “please -regard all that is said here as confidential until it is officially -released through the proper channels. If you are wondering why these two -young people are sitting in on this hush-hush session, I take great -pride and pleasure in informing you that, without their alertness and -curiosity over certain suspicious actions, that submarine might now be -on its way seaward carrying two secrets very precious to this country’s -security.” - -Eddie blushed but felt mighty good. Teena looked at her hands, trying to -hide the pleased smile on her lips. - -“Mr. Taylor and Mr. Ross,” the FBI man said, “this should also please -you. We found two more of those sealed metal cylinders inside the -submarine.” - -“Then they hadn’t delivered them!” Eddie’s father said with obvious -relief. - -“That’s right. In fact, the submarine commander has admitted that they -have been lying about thirty miles off the coast during the week. -Tonight was their third trip to the bay. Incidentally, it was scheduled -to be their last. They had plenty of the secret radioisotope, and -today’s blueprint delivery completed the main set on the new -missile-guidance system they also were after. If we hadn’t set the trap -tonight, we would have been too late—another reason for appreciating the -alertness on the parts of your son, Eddie, and Mr. Ross’s daughter, -Teena. - -“Now,” Mr. Evans continued, “we haven’t had time to solve who was behind -all of this, or why. We have our ideas, of course, but it’s going to -take considerable investigation to draw a full and clear picture. At the -moment, I’m not free to reveal to what country that submarine belongs. I -did think, though, that you two gentlemen deserved to know that the -isotope and the blueprints are safe.” - -“It will be a long time, I imagine, before either Mr. Ross or I will -hear better news,” Eddie’s father said. - -“In order not to delay nuclear research, nor to hold up production at -Acme Aircraft,” the FBI man said, “we’re sending the tubes with you -under armed guard to your laboratory, and you can take over from there.” - -“With great pleasure,” Teena’s father said. - -“And I believe, gentlemen,” Mr. Evans went on, “that’s probably your -main interest at the moment. The rest of it you will doubtless read -about in your newspapers within a day or two. I imagine the lights and -commotion out around the bay a while ago attracted plenty of attention. -Even with the naked eye, it would be simple to identify a submarine -lying on the surface. Newsmen are crowding the gates outside right now. -They’ll get their story as soon as we’ve filled in a few gaps and get a -release from Washington. All I ask is that you do no talking about it -until it has been cleared for the press. All right?” - -“Of course,” Mr. Taylor said. - -“We won’t say a word,” Eddie promised fervently. - -“No, sir,” Teena backed him up. - -“Well, then,” Mr. Ross said, rising, “I guess you won’t need us any -more.” - -“We’ll call you if there’s anything else,” Mr. Evans said by way of -dismissing them. “Before you go, though, I do want to thank you all for -your fine co-operation. Particularly you two young people.” He smiled -again at Teena and Eddie. “This may sound awfully big—and it is—but -you’ve both done a great service for your country. As long as we have -alert young Americans like you two, this country’s future is in good -hands.” - -A burst of applause went up. It seemed a strange place for it, there in -the briefing room. Eddie found it almost impossible to conceal the pride -that puffed up inside of him. Teena was grinning, too, as they got up to -follow their fathers outside. - -Both of them took a last look around the room. They saw the group of -sullen men in strange uniforms. They saw the tall man and the fat man, -whose clumsy efforts at being fishermen had first aroused their -suspicions. They saw the pleased looks on the faces of the FBI agent, -the Coast Guardsmen, and the others in the “friendly” side of the room. -They saw their fathers walking toward the door, carefully carrying the -all-important metal tubes. - -Neither Teena nor Eddie could find anything to say. Then they were -outside. The stars blinked overhead. Every few seconds the circling -beacon from the distant lighthouse swept its white finger across the -sky. The cool breeze from the nearby ocean gave added zest to their high -spirits. - -“Isn’t it wonderful how everything worked out, Eddie?” Teena said -finally. “And to think that we were some help.” - -“Yep,” Eddie said. “It all worked out great, didn’t it? Really great.” - -Walking proudly, they followed their fathers toward the parking lot. - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes - - ---Copyright notice provided as in the original—this e-text is public - domain in the country of publication. - ---Silently corrected palpable typos; left non-standard spellings and - dialect unchanged. - ---In the text versions, delimited italics text in _underscores_ (the - HTML version reproduces the font form of the printed book.) - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Atom Mystery, by Charles Ira Coombs - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ATOM MYSTERY *** - -***** This file should be named 53269-0.txt or 53269-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/3/2/6/53269/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, MFR and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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