The Radio Detectives Part 2

"More likely some amateur sending without a license and afraid the government inspector will get after him," suggested Tom. "But I _would_ like to find out who it is."

A few days later Frank, who was poring over the latest issue of a radio magazine, uttered an exclamation. "Gos.h.!.+ here's the scheme," he cried.

"Now we can find out who that mysterious chap is."

"What's the big idea?" queried Tom, who was busy making a new vario-coupler.

"Loop aerial," replied his chum. "Here's an article all about it. It says they're used aboard s.h.i.+ps to find the location of other vessels and are called compa.s.s aerials."

Tom dropped his work and hurried to Frank's side.

"Well," he remarked, after a few moments' study of the article and the diagrams, "I don't see how that would work in our case. It says one s.h.i.+p can find another or can work its way into port by using the loop aerial like a compa.s.s, but the trouble is the s.h.i.+p's moving and so the thing will work, but we can't go running around New York City or the state with a set in one hand and a big loop aerial in the other."

"No," admitted Frank rather regretfully, "but we can tell in which direction his station is."

"Yes, and it will be fun to make one and experiment with it," agreed Tom, "especially as the article says the thing cuts out static and interferences and it's getting on towards warm weather now when the air will be full of static."

"Well, let's make one then," suggested Frank.

As a result, the boys had constructed their loop aerial and a special set to go with it and the very first time they tested the odd affair they were overjoyed at the result. Again they had picked up the messages which had aroused their curiosity and, by turning the loop one way and then another, they were soon convinced that the sender had a station to the southeast of their own.

"Well, that's settled," announced Tom, "and the only things southeast of here are the East Side, the river and Brooklyn. That fellow is not far away-he's using a very short wave and his messages are strong. I'll bet he's right here in New York."

"I guess you're right," agreed Frank, "but that doesn't do much good.

There's an awful lot of the city southeast from here."

"Sure there is," said Tom, "but, after all, what do we care. I still think he's just some unlicensed chap-probably some kid over on the East Side who can't pa.s.s an examination or get a license and is just having a little fun on the quiet."

This conversation took place two days before Tom received his father's message telling of his safe arrival in Cuba and no more messages from the mysterious stranger were heard until the day after Mr. Pauling's message had been received.

Then, as Tom was listening at the loop aerial set and idly turned the aerial about, he again picked up the well-known short-wave messages.

Heretofore the messages had been meaningless sentences in code, dots and dashes which the boys out of curiosity had jotted down only to find them devoid of any interest-items regarding s.h.i.+pping which Tom had declared had been culled from the daily s.h.i.+pping lists and were being sent merely for practice-and so now, from mere habit, Tom wrote down the letters as they came to him over the instruments. Suddenly he uttered a surprised whistle.

"Gee Whittaker!" he exclaimed in low tones. "Come here, Frank."

The other hurried to him and as he glanced at the pad on the table beside Tom he too gave an e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n of surprise. The letters which Tom had jotted down were as follows: LEAR P IN HAVANA ARRIVED YESTERDAY GET BUSY.

"They _are_ rum runners!" cried Tom as the signals ceased.

"Gosh, I believe they are!" agreed Frank. "But of course," he added, "it may not mean your father by 'P' and we don't know the first part of the message. Maybe they were just talking about a s.h.i.+p-that 'lear' might have been something about a s.h.i.+p clearing for some place."

"You _are_ a funny one," declared Tom. "Here you've been insisting all along that there was some deep mystery or plot behind these messages and I've said it was just some amateur and nothing to it and now, just as soon as we get a message which really means something, you s.h.i.+ft around and say it's only about some boat."

"Well, if it's anything secret why do they talk plain English?" asked Frank. "That's what makes me change my views. When they were sending things that sounded like nonsense I thought they might be code messages, but now that they send things that are so plain it doesn't seem mysterious."

"Yes, there's sense in that argument, I admit," replied Tom. "But perhaps there was just as much sense in the others-if they _are_ bootleggers. Of course as you say, they may not mean anything about Dad, but it would be a mighty funny coincidence if any one or anything else beginning with 'P' arrived in Havana yesterday and it happened to come in with this message and with a 'get busy' after it. I'll bet you, Frank, they're smugglers and that's a message to some boat or something that the coast's clear and to unload their stuff. Let's go down and tell Mr. Henderson about it."

"No," Frank advised. "He'd probably laugh at us and it wouldn't be any use to him anyhow. We'll keep the message and all others we hear and if anything else is going on we'll get some more messages, you can bet. And I've a scheme, Tom. I know a fellow down at Gramercy Park and we can go down there and set up a loop aerial and see if this chap that's talking is still southeast of there."

"That's a bully scheme!" cried Tom with enthusiasm. "We can turn radio detectives-that'll be great! And if we find he's north or west or east of Gramercy Square we can try some other place. Probably your friend knows fellows who have sets all around that part of the city."

The next day they visited Frank's friend and after making him promise secrecy they divulged a part of their plan, omitting, at Tom's suggestion, any reference to their suspicions of the messages coming from a gang of bootleggers. Henry fell in readily with the idea of locating the messages, which he had also heard repeatedly, and was deeply interested in the loop aerial. He had an excellent set and numerous instruments and supplies and the three boys soon rigged up a compa.s.s set in Henry's home.

"Now, you listen with this and try to pick him up," instructed Frank.

"Keep turning the aerial about in this way and, as soon as you hear him, write down what he says. We'll listen too, whenever we have a chance, and will let you know. Then, if you haven't picked him up, you can turn the loop until you do. Too bad you haven't a sending set so you could tell us."

"But he'll hear you and quit," objected Henry, "and how can I hear you if I don't happen to have the loop pointed your way or am listening to this fellow?"

Frank looked puzzled. "Gee!" he e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed, "I hadn't thought of that.

"Oh, that's easy," declared Tom. "You'll hear us over the other set with the loud-speaker you have. That works with a regular aerial and is entirely separate from this set. And we'll arrange a code so he won't know what we're talking about. Let's see, I guess we'd better use the phone and not send dot and dash, we'll just say 'we've got the message'

and you'll know what it means."

"No, that's no good," declared Frank. "That's not a bit mysterious or exciting. We're radio detectives, you know. We must have something like a pa.s.sword or code or something. Say, let's begin with 'loop,' then Henry'll know we mean him. We'll say 'loop, be ready to receive.'"

"Yes, and have him know something's wrong when we don't begin to send anything," said Tom.

"I have it!" exclaimed Henry, "Say, 'loop, coming over,' and then any one'll think you are telling me you are coming over here. But say, how'll I get your message if I don't sit at my set and tune to you?"

"That's easy," said Frank. "Just as soon as we get home to Tom's we'll begin to send and you listen and tune until you get us good and loud and then mark your k.n.o.bs so you can set 'em whenever you want to hear us.

Then ring us by regular phone and tell us it's O. K."

Thus, all being arranged, Tom and Frank went up town and as soon as they reached Tom's room began to send calls for Henry as they had agreed.

Very soon the telephone bell rang and Tom ran to the instrument.

"It's all right, Frank," he announced as he returned to the room. "Henry says he got our calls finely and has marked his k.n.o.bs. He's going to turn them about and then set them back at the marks and we're to call him again. Then if he gets us right off he'll know he won't miss us next time."

When, a few minutes later, the phone rang again and Henry told Tom that the message had come in on the adjusted set the boys felt sure that their fellow conspirator would not miss any calls they might send him.

So, having nothing else to do, they worked at another step of amplification for their new set, and listened for any signals or messages that might come in from the person whom they were endeavoring to trail by means of radio.

Evidently, however, the mysterious stranger had no business to transact and no message from him was received. When at last they were obliged to leave for dinner they phoned to Henry who reported that he had been listening all the afternoon, but had heard nothing.

"We'll get at it again to-night," said Tom. "Most of the messages we've heard come in just when the broadcasting stations are giving their concerts. I'd bet he takes that time so n.o.body will hear him, or pay attention to him. If they're all tuned to 360 meters they'd never know he was talking, you see, and if they just chanced to hear him they'd be too busy with the music to bother with him."

As Tom had suspected, the mysterious messages did come in that night and so interesting and exciting did they prove to the boys' imaginative and suspicious minds that they were thankful they had foregone the pleasure of hearing the concert on the chance of the supposed smugglers talking.

CHAPTER III

THE RADIO DETECTIVES

The instant the boys recognized the long-awaited signals, Frank called Henry and notified him as agreed and, to their delight and satisfaction, the mysterious stranger continued to talk, evidently paying no heed to the seemingly innocent words of the boys, if indeed he had heard them.

As heretofore, much that was said meant nothing to the boys, but wisely they jotted every thing down nevertheless. However, both Tom and Frank were more puzzled than ever, for now that their minds were concentrated on the messages they suddenly realized that a true conversation, an interchange of messages, was going on, but, for some inexplicable reason, they could hear but one of the speakers. It was like listening to one individual talking to another over an ordinary telephone and the boys could merely guess at the words of the inaudible speaker.

"Yes, it's all right," came the words on the easily recognized short waves, "thirty-eight fifty seventy-seven; yes, that's it. Still there.