Part 4 (1/2)

”Oh, nothing except the fun of it,” replied Tom, trying to act and speak in a casual manner. ”You see we're just experimenting to find out what we can do with loop aerials-call ourselves radio detectives-and we picked on this fellow because his messages seemed sort of mysterious and are so easily recognized.”

”Yea, I understand,” said Jim. ”Say that's a lulu of an idea-radio detectives. Well, I'll bet we can detect this bughousey guy O. K.”

It was soon arranged that Jim was to see his cousin and that one of the boys' loops would be set up in his home the following evening and that, while Jim and Frank listened there, Henry and Tom would be at their sets and would call out as soon as they heard the messages from the mysterious speaker. All was arranged, but to the boys' intense chagrin not a sound came to any of them which remotely resembled the well-known voice and short wave lengths of the man they were striving to locate.

But they were not discouraged, for they knew from past experience that they could not expect to hear him every night.

The following day was Sat.u.r.day and the boys devoted their holiday to putting up a set in Lathrop's home. They now had four loop aerial sets ready to receive and located within a comparatively small area. They were sure that the station they were trying to find was within the few blocks between 20th and 27th Sts., but they were not at all sure whether it would be found to the east or west of Third Avenue. Moreover, as Jim pointed out, for all they knew he might be on 27th St. or 20th St. or even slightly north or south of one or the other, for he stated that his brother had told him that when close to a sending station the loop aerial could not be depended upon to give very accurate directions and that only by taking cross bearings could a certain point be definitely located. This was exactly what the boys had in view, to take cross bearings, and then, by means of a map of the city, to locate the man or the station.

It may seem as if the boys were devoting a great deal of time and trouble to something of little importance, but they were, or at least Tom, Frank and Henry were, thoroughly convinced that the messages emanated from some one connected with a rum-running gang and they were as keen on finding his location and as interested as if they had been real detectives detailed to discover a fugitive from justice.

So on that Sat.u.r.day night they sat at their various instruments, waiting expectantly and with high hopes. No one was stationed at Tom's home, for, in order to provide two sets for the test, Tom's and Frank's had been dismantled and reinstalled at the houses of Jim's cousin and of Paul Lathrop.

Henry was the first to pick up the sounds and instantly he hurried to the telephone and called Jim. But by the time he had Jim's number the latter had also picked up the signals and had called the others, for Tom had not disturbed his transmission set and ordinary phoning was the only means of communicating with one another at the boys' disposal. For some time Tom, at the 23d St. house, could not pick up the sounds, but at last, with his loop pointed to the northeast, they came clear.

”Congratulations,” was the first word he heard, instantly followed by the queer buzzing sound which Henry had described. ”Golly, 'tis just like some one talking through a comb,” was Tom's mental comment and deeply interested and tremendously puzzled he strained his ears and mind striving to formulate words or meanings from the strange sounds. Once or twice he was sure that the sounds were words-he thought he could make out ”last night” following a query of ”When was it?” from the other speaker but, as he told the others later, it was like trying to hear what a mosquito was saying.

So intent was he on this that he quite forgot to jot down the plain words of the other speaker and did not realize it until the sounds ceased and the conversation was over.

But he knew that the others would have it and he had the direction, which was the main thing, and, a few minutes later all the boys were together and eagerly discussing the results of their experiment.

”He's southeast of my set!” announced Frank, when Tom had told them what he had discovered. ”That puts him in between the river front and Third Avenue and between 23d and 26th Sts.”

”Well, we're getting him narrowed down to a few blocks now,” said Henry joyfully. ”Say, what did you fellows make of the talk? Here's my slip.”

The words that Henry had written down were as follows: ”Everything O. K.

Yes, haven't an idea. Sure, Fritz told me about it. Must be careful. No, but price will drop. No use killing the goose, you know. Golden eggs is right. Not a chance in the world of their getting wise. Nonsense, no one else has anything like it. Amateurs. Oh, forget it. Well, let 'em guess, guesses don't prove anything. Well, if they did they'd never find anything. Magnolia. Yes, same place thirty fifteen west. Oh, yes, the French stuff went like hot cakes. Sure, get all you can. Yes she cleared. Regards to Heinrich. Expect you the eighteenth. Don't forget Magnolia. Good-by.”

”It's just the same as I made it,” announced Frank.

”Same here,” said Jim. ”Sufferin' cats! Do you mean to say that nut isn't bughouse now?”

”It _does_ sound a bit crazy, I admit,” replied Tom. ”Say, did any of you fellows try tuning to different wave lengths to see if any one else came in?”

”I did,” declared Frank, ”but all I got was some one who said 'for the love of Mike get off the air.'”

”Me, too,” chimed in Jim. ”No one's talking to him, he's just nutty and chins to himself.”

”Well, then, we have all the more reason for finding him,” said Tom. ”If he's really crazy the authorities ought to know it. Now we know he's so close we ought to be able to locate him.”

So, day after day, the boys, their interest and enthusiasm at high pitch owing to the success of their experiments, s.h.i.+fted their instruments from house to house, gradually drawing their radio net about the mysterious sender until they were positive that he was located in a certain block, a district of small, old-fas.h.i.+oned buildings, warehouses and garages.

But beyond this they could not go. There were no boys so far as they knew within the area and, satisfied that they had done all they could and that they had proved the value of their loops in locating the unknown speaker, all but Tom, Frank and Henry lost interest and devoted their attention to other matters.

But Tom, Frank, and, to a lesser degree, Henry were still deeply interested in the mysterious messages and were convinced that they came either from a gang of rum-runners or from some other law-breakers, for while there was nothing really suspicious in the messages they could not rid themselves of the idea, once it had entered their minds.

”I vote we go and tell Mr. Henderson all we know,” said Tom. ”Dad won't be back for two weeks or more yet and if Mr. Henderson thinks there's anything in it he can have that block searched and find out who owns the set.”

”Well, perhaps 'twould be a good plan,” admitted Frank, and accordingly the two boys went to Mr. Henderson's office and related the story of their experiments and told of their suspicions.

”H-m-m,” remarked the keen-eyed man when they had ended, ”this is very interesting, boys. Let me see the notes you made.”