Part 10 (1/2)

Then there was an interval when no sounds came in and Frank was about to call to Tom when, to his ears, came a suppressed ”Wha-wha” followed by a hoa.r.s.e ”Sss.h.!.+”

Whether Rawlins had intended this for Tom or himself Frank did not know, but he decided that, for some unknown reason, the diver wished silence and so wisely refrained from speaking.

”I would like to know what Mr. Rawlins wanted to be quiet for,” said Frank, holding his hand over the mouthpiece of his microphone. ”But I suppose there's some good reason for it.”

Scarcely had he ceased speaking when he was startled by a sharp exclamation of surprise from Tom.

So unexpected was it that Frank responded involuntarily. ”What's that you said?” he asked, exactly as though Tom had been there in the room.

But there was no audible reply, merely some faint sounds like subdued whispers, followed by silence.

”Gee, there's something mighty funny going on!” exclaimed Frank, addressing Henry. ”Tom said 'Gosh' something and then, when I answer he doesn't say a thing-just some little sounds like whispers. Say, I _do_ wonder what they're up to!”

”Oh, I expect they're trying to see if they can talk together without your hearing them,” suggested Henry. ”Probably that's why Mr. Rawlins told you to be quiet.”

”Well, I'm going to find out,” declared Frank. ”They've no right to keep us wondering like this.”

”h.e.l.lo!” he cried into the microphone. ”What on earth's the matter? I haven't heard a word from you two for five minutes. Can you hear me?”

But instead of Tom's voice in reply Frank was amazed to hear thick, guttural words rapidly spoken, and among them he made out only one that he understood, the name ”Oleander.”

”Henry!” exclaimed Frank, speaking in hushed tones as if he feared being overheard, ”Henry, there's that fellow talking again-the one you and Mr.

Rawlins heard-talking in Dutch or something!”

Then the strange voices ceased and very faintly and indistinctly Frank heard Tom's voice asking,

”What does it mean?”

Frank was puzzled. ”What does what mean?” he inquired into the microphone. But the reply, if Tom made one, was drowned out and confused by Rawlins' voice. Frank could not distinguish all the words, but he knew from the sounds and intonations that Tom and the diver were discussing some matter between them and he refrained from interrupting.

Then the voices ceased and Frank called, begging Tom to explain matters, asking if anything was wrong. But for a moment there was no reply and he wondered if his voice could be heard.

Then to his ears came Tom's familiar ”Gos.h.!.+” a few unintelligible words and a shrill whistle, followed by Rawlins' voice. Part of it Frank could not catch but as he strained his ears he distinctly heard Rawlins exclaim:

”We're in a dangerous place! Come on. Let me go first!”

Frank's face paled. ”Jehoshaphat!” he exclaimed to Henry who, realizing that something mysterious was taking place beneath the river, was bending close. ”Jehoshaphat! They're in danger! Say, what _can_ it be?

Maybe they're caught in quicksand or a current or under a boat.”

Pleadingly, with fright and worry expressed in his tones, Frank begged Tom to reply, to tell him what was wrong, what the danger was. For a s.p.a.ce he waited anxiously for his chum's reply and then, at last, it came.

”It's all right,” called Tom. ”Don't worry. Stop talking and just listen!”

Frank turned to Henry and disconnected the microphone by throwing off a switch to make sure that no sound could be sent.

”I guess they're all right,” he said. ”But I'm worried just the same.

Why should he want me to be quiet and just listen. Oh, I _do_ wish they'd come back.”

”There's those foreign words again,” he announced presently, ”and, say-I didn't think of it before-there are two talking now.”

Then followed silence, not a sound, not even a hum or buzz of interference greeted his ears and anxiously he listened, half fearful that some awful casualty had happened to Tom and Rawlins out there somewhere under the turbid waters of the river.