SAVED BY RADIO
Jessie Norwood was not tireless. It seemed to her as though her right
arm would drop off, she pressed the key of the wireless instrument so
frequently. They had written out a brief call of distress, and finally
she got it by heart so that Amy did not have to read her the dots and
dashes.
But it was a slow process and they had no way of learning if the
message was caught and understood by any operator, either ashore or
on board a vessel. Hour after hour went slowly by. The _Marigold_ was
sinking. The pumps could not keep up with the incoming water; the
fuel was almost exhausted and the engines scarcely turned over; the
buffeting seas threatened the craft every minute.
Dr. Stanley remained outwardly cheerful. Darry and the others took
heart from the clergyman's words.
"Tell you what," said Burd. "If we are wrecked on a desert island
I shall be glad to have the doctor along. He'd have cheered up old
Robinson Crusoe."
As the evening waned and the sea continued to pound the hull of the
laboring yacht the older people aboard, at least, grew more anxious.
The young folks in the radio room chattered briskly, although Jessie
called them to account once in a while because they made so much noise
she could not be sure that she was sending correctly.
Darry tried to relieve her at the key, but he confessed that he "made a
mess of it." The radio girls had spent more time and effort in learning
to handle the wireless than the collegians--both Darry and Burd
acknowledged it.
"These are some girls!" Darry said, admiringly.
"You spoil 'em," complained Burd Alling. "Want to be careful what you
say to them."
"Oh, if anybody can stand a little praise it is Jess and I," declared
Amy, sighing with weariness.
Nobody cared to turn in. The situation was too uncertain. The boys
could be with the girls only occasionally, for they had to take their
turn at the pumps. It had come to pass that nothing but steady pumping
kept the yacht from sinking. They were all thankful that the wind
decreased and the waves grew less boisterous.
Towards midnight it was quite calm, only the swells lifted the
water-logged yacht in a rhythmic motion that finally became unpleasant.
Nell was ill, below; but the others remained on deck and managed to
weather the nauseating effects of the heaving sea.
Meanwhile, as often as she could, Jessie Norwood sent out into the air
the cry for assistance. She sent it addressed to "Station Island,"
for she did not know that each wireless station had a code signal--a
combination of letters. But she knew there was but one Station Island
off the coast.
The clapperty-clap, clapperty-clap of the pumps rasped their nerves
at last until, as Amy declared, they needed to scream! When the sound
stopped for the minute while pump-crews were changed, it was a relief.
And finally the spark of the wireless began to skip and fall dead. Good
reason! The storage batteries, although very good ones, were beginning
to fail. Before daybreak it was impossible to use the sender any more.
Somehow this fact was more depressing than anything that had previously
happened. They could only hope, in any event, that their message had
been heard and understood; but now even this sad attempt was halted.
Jessie was really too tired to sleep. She and Amy did not go below for
long. They changed their clothes and came on deck again and were very
glad of the hot cup of coffee Dr. Stanley brought them from the galley.
The cook had been set to work on one of the pump crews.
The girls sat in the deck chairs and stared off across the rolling gray
waters. There was no sign of any other vessel just then, but a dim rose
color at the sea line showed where the sun would come up after a time.
"But a fog is blowing up from the south, too," said Amy. "See that
cloud, Jess? My dear! Did you ever expect that we would be sitting here
on Darry's yacht waiting for it to sink under us?"
"How can you!" exclaimed Jessie, aghast.
"Well, that is practically what we are doing," replied her chum. "Thank
goodness I have had this cup of coffee, anyway. It braces me----"
"Even for drowning?" asked Jessie. "Oh! What is that, Amy?"
"It's a boat! It's a boat! Ship ahoy!" shrieked Amy, jumping up and
dancing about, dropping the cup and saucer to smash upon the deck.
"It's a steamboat!" cried Darry Drew, from the deck above.
"Head for it if you can, Bob!" commanded Skipper Pandrick to the
helmsman.
But before they could see what kind of craft the other was, the fog
surrounded them. It wrapped the _Marigold_ around in a thick mantle.
They could not see ten yards from her rail.
"We don't even know if she is looking for us!" exclaimed Dr. Stanley.
"That is too bad--too bad."
"Whistle for it," urged Amy. "Can't we?"
"If we use the little steam left for the whistle, we will have to shut
down the engines," declared Darry.
"This is a fine yacht--I don't think!" scoffed Burd Alling. "And none
of you knows a thing about rescuing this boat and crew but me. Watch me
save the yacht."
He marched forward and began to work the foot-power foghorn vigorously.
Its mournful note (not unlike a cow's lowing, as Jessie had said)
reverberated through the fog. The sound must have carried miles upon
miles.
But it was nearly an hour before they heard any reply. Then the hoarse,
brief blast of a tug whistle came to their ears.
"_Marigold_, ahoy!" shouted a well-known voice across the heaving sea.
"Daddy!" screamed Jessie, springing up and dropping _her_ cup and
saucer, likewise to utter ruin. "It's Daddy Norwood!"
The big tug wallowed nearer. She carried wireless, too, and the
_Marigold's_ company believed, at once, that Jessie's message had been
received aboard the _Pocahontas_.
"But--then--how did Daddy Norwood come aboard of her?" Jessie demanded.
This was not explained until later when the six passengers were taken
aboard the tug and hawsers were passed from the sinking yacht to the
very efficient _Pocahontas_.
"And a pretty penny it will cost, so the skipper says, to get her towed
to port," Darry complained.
"Say!" ejaculated Burd, "suppose she didn't find us at all and we were
paddling around in that boat and on the life raft? _That_ would take
the permanent wave out of your hair, old grouch!"
The girls, however, and Dr. Stanley as well, begged Mr. Norwood to
explain how he had come in search of the _Marigold_ and had arrived so
opportunely.
"Nothing easier," said the lawyer. "When the operator at the lighthouse
station got your message----"
"Oh, bully, Jess! You did it!" cried Amy, breaking in.
"Did you send that message, Jessie?" asked her father. "Well, I am
proud of you. The operator came to the house and told me. Although his
partner was sending the news of your predicament broadcast over the
sea, he told me of the tug lying behind the island, and that it could
be chartered.
"So," explained Mr. Norwood, "I left Drew to fortify the women--and
little Henrietta--and went right over and was rowed out to the
_Pocahontas_ by an old fisherman who said he knew you girls. I believe
he pronounced you 'cleaners,' if you know what that means," laughed the
lawyer.
"Henrietta, by the way, was doing incantations of some sort over the
wind and weather when I left the bungalow. She said 'Spotted Snake'
could bring you all safe home."
"Bless her heart!" exclaimed Jessie.
That afternoon when the tug worked her way carefully into the dock near
the bungalow colony on Station Island, Henrietta was the first person
the returned wanderers saw on the shore to greet them. She was dancing
up and down and screaming something that Jessie and Amy did not catch
until they came off the gangplank. Then they made the incantation out
to be:
"That Ringold one can't have my island--so now! The court says so, and
Mr. Drew says so, too. He just got it off the telephone and he told me.
It's my island--so there!"
"Why, how glad I am for you, dear!" cried Jessie, running to hug the
excited little girl.
"Come ashore! Come ashore! All of you!" cried Henrietta, with a wide
gesture. "I invite all of you. This is my island, not that Ringold's.
You can come on it and do anything you like!"
"Why, Henrietta!" murmured Jessie, as the other listeners broke into
laughter. "You must not talk like that. I am glad the courts have
given you your father's property. But remember, there are other people
who have rights, too."
"Say! That Ringold one--and that Moon one--haven't any prop'ty on this
island, have they?" Henrietta demanded.
"No."
"Then that's all right," said the little girl with satisfaction. "I'll
be good, Miss Jessie; oh, I'll be good!" and she hugged her friend
again.
"And don't call them 'that Ringold one' and 'that Moon one,' Henrietta.
That is not pretty nor polite," admonished Jessie.
"All right, if you say so, Miss Jessie. What you say goes with me. See?"
It took some time, after they were at home, for everything to be
talked over and all the mystery of the radio message to be cleared
up. The interested operator from the lighthouse came over to
congratulate Jessie on what she had done. After all, aside from the
girl's addressing the station by name, the message had not been hard
to understand. And considering the faulty construction of the yacht's
wireless and the weakness of her batteries, Jessie had done very well
indeed.
The young people, of course, would have much to talk about regarding
the adventure for days to come. Especially Darry. When he learned what
he would have to pay for the towing in of the yacht and what it would
cost to put in proper engines and calk and paint the hull, he was
aghast and began to figure industriously.
"Learning something, aren't you, Son?" chuckled Mr. Drew. "Your Uncle
Will pretty near went broke keeping up the _Marigold_. But I will help
you, for I am getting rather fond of the old craft, too."
"We all ought to help," said Mr. Norwood. "I sha'n't want you to scrap
the boat, Darry, my boy. I like to think that it was my Jessie saved
her from sinking--and saved you all. To my mind radio is a great
thing--something more than a toy even for these boys and girls."
"Quite true," Mr. Drew agreed. "When your Jessie and my Amy first
strung those wires at Roselawn I thought they were well over it if
they didn't break their limbs before they got it finished. When we get
back home I think Darry and I would better put up aerials and have a
house-set, too. What say, Darry?"
"I'm with you, Father," agreed the young collegian. "But I won't agree
to rival Jess and Amy as radio experts. For those two girls take the
palm."
THE END
THE BARTON BOOKS FOR GIRLS
By MAY HOLLIS BARTON
_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. With colored jacket_
_Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid_
[Illustration: _Neil Grayson's Ranching Days_
_May Hollis Barton_]
_May Hollis Barton is a new writer for girls who is bound to win
instant popularity. Her style is somewhat of a mixture of that of
Louise M. Alcott and Mrs. L.T. Meade, but thoroughly up-to-date in plot
and action. Clean tales that all girls will enjoy reading._
1. THE GIRL FROM THE COUNTRY
_or Laura Mayford's City Experiences_
Laura was the oldest of five children and when daddy got sick she felt
she must do something. She had a chance to try her luck in New York,
and there the country girl fell in with many unusual experiences.
2. THREE GIRL CHUMS AT LAUREL HALL
_or The Mystery of the School by the Lake_
When the three chums arrived at the boarding school they found the
other students in the grip of a most perplexing mystery. How this
mystery was solved, and what good times the girls had, both in school
and on the lake, go to make a story no girl would care to miss.
3. NELL GRAYSON'S RANCHING DAYS
_or A City Girl in the Great West_
Showing how Nell, when she had a ranch girl visit her in Boston,
thought her chum very green, but when Nell visited the ranch in the
great West she found herself confronting many conditions of which she
was totally ignorant. A stirring outdoor story.
4. FOUR LITTLE WOMEN OF ROXBY
_or The Queer Old Lady Who Lost Her Way_
Four sisters are keeping house and having trouble to make both ends
meet. One day there wanders in from a stalled express train an old lady
who cannot remember her identity. The girls take the old lady in, and,
later, are much astonished to learn who she really is.
5. PLAIN JANE AND PRETTY BETTY
_or The Girl Who Won Out_
The tale of two girls, one plain but sensible, the other pretty but
vain. Unexpectedly both find they have to make their way in the world.
Both have many trials and tribulations. A story of a country town and
then a city.
_Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue_
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers New York
BILLIE BRADLEY SERIES
By JANET D. WHEELER
_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors_
_Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid_
[Illustration]
1. BILLIE BRADLEY AND HER INHERITANCE _or The Queer Homestead at Cherry
Corners_
Billie Bradley fell heir to an old homestead that was unoccupied
and located far away in a lonely section of the country. How Billie
went there, accompanied by some of her chums, and what queer things
happened, go to make up a story no girl will want to miss.
2. BILLIE BRADLEY AT THREE-TOWERS HALL _or Leading a Needed Rebellion_
Three-Towers Hall was a boarding school for girls. For a short time
after Billie arrived there all went well. But then the head of the
school had to go on a long journey and she left the girls in charge of
two teachers, sisters, who believed in severe discipline and in very,
very plain food and little of it--and then there was a row! The girls
wired for the head to come back--and all ended happily.
3. BILLIE BRADLEY ON LIGHTHOUSE ISLAND _or The Mystery of the Wreck_
One of Billie's friends owned a summer bungalow on Lighthouse Island,
near the coast. The school girls made up a party and visited the
Island. There was a storm and a wreck, and three little children were
washed ashore. They could tell nothing of themselves, and Billie and
her chums set to work to solve the mystery of their identity.
4. BILLIE BRADLEY AND HER CLASSMATES _or The Secret of the Locked
Tower_
Billie and her chums come to the rescue of several little children who
have broken through the ice. There is the mystery of a lost invention,
and also the dreaded mystery of the locked school tower.
5. BILLIE BRADLEY AT TWIN LAKES _or Jolly Schoolgirls Afloat and
Ashore_
A tale of outdoor adventure in which Billie and her chums have a
great variety of adventures. They visit an artists' colony and there
fall in with a strange girl living with an old boatman who abuses her
constantly. Billie befriended Hulda and the mystery surrounding the
girl was finally cleared up.
_Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue_
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers New York
THE RUTH FIELDING SERIES
By ALICE B. EMERSON
_12mo. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors_
_Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid_
Ruth Fielding was an orphan and came to live with her miserly uncle.
Her adventures and travels make stories that will hold the interest of
every reader.
[Illustration]
Ruth Fielding is a character that will live in juvenile fiction.
1. RUTH FIELDING OF THE RED MILL
2. RUTH FIELDING AT BRIARWOODHALL
3. RUTH FIELDING AT SNOW CAMP
4. RUTH FIELDING AT LIGHTHOUSE POINT
5. RUTH FIELDING AT SILVER RANCH
6. RUTH FIELDING ON CLIFF ISLAND
7. RUTH FIELDING AT SUNRISE FARM
8. RUTH FIELDING AND THE GYPSIES
9. RUTH FIELDING IN MOVING PICTURES
10. RUTH FIELDING DOWN IN DIXIE
11. RUTH FIELDING AT COLLEGE
12. RUTH FIELDING IN THE SADDLE
13. RUTH FIELDING IN THE RED CROSS
14. RUTH FIELDING AT THE WAR FRONT
15. RUTH FIELDING HOMEWARD BOUND
16. RUTH FIELDING DOWN EAST
17. RUTH FIELDING IN THE GREAT NORTHWEST
18. RUTH FIELDING ON THE ST. LAWRENCE
19. RUTH FIELDING TREASURE HUNTING
20. RUTH FIELDING IN THE FAR NORTH
21. RUTH FIELDING AT GOLDEN PASS
22. RUTH FIELDING IN ALASKA
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers New York
THE BETTY GORDON SERIES
By ALICE B. EMERSON
_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors_
_Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid_
_A series of stories by Alice B. Emerson which are bound to make this
writer more popular than ever with her host of girl readers._
[Illustration]
1. BETTY GORDON AT BRAMBLE FARM _or The Mystery of a Nobody_
At twelve Betty is left an orphan.
2. BETTY GORDON IN WASHINGTON _or Strange Adventures in a Great City_
Betty goes to the National Capitol to find her uncle and has several
unusual adventures.
3. BETTY GORDON IN THE LAND OF OIL _or The Farm That Was Worth a
Fortune_
From Washington the scene is shifted to the great oil fields of our
country. A splendid picture of the oil field operations of to-day.
4. BETTY GORDON AT BOARDING SCHOOL _or The Treasure of Indian Chasm_
Seeking treasures of Indian Chasm makes interesting reading.
5. BETTY GORDON AT MOUNTAIN CAMP _or The Mystery of Ida Bellethorne_
At Mountain Camp Betty found herself in the midst of a mystery
involving a girl whom she had previously met in Washington.
6. BETTY GORDON AT OCEAN PARK _or School Chums on the Boardwalk_
A glorious outing that Betty and her chums never forgot.
7. BETTY GORDON AND HER SCHOOL CHUMS _or Bringing the Rebels to Terms_
Rebellious students, disliked teachers and mysterious robberies make a
fascinating story.
8. BETTY GORDON AT RAINBOW RANCH _or Cowboy Joe's Secret_
Betty and her chums have a grand time in the saddle.
9. BETTY GORDON IN MEXICAN WILDS _or The Secret of the Mountains_
Betty receives a fake telegram and finds both Bob and herself held for
ransom in a mountain cave.
_Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue_
THE LINGER-NOT SERIES
By AGNES MILLER
_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors_
_Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid_
_This new series of girls' books is in a new style of story writing.
The interest is in knowing the girls and seeing them solve the problems
that develop their character. Incidentally, a great deal of historical
information is imparted._
[Illustration]
1. THE LINGER-NOTS AND THE MYSTERY HOUSE _or The Story of Nine
Adventurous Girls_
How the Linger-Not girls met and formed their club seems commonplace,
but this writer makes it fascinating, and how they made their club
serve a great purpose continues the interest to the end, and introduces
a new type of girlhood.
2. THE LINGER-NOTS AND THE VALLEY FEUD _or The Great West Point Chain_
The Linger-Not girls had no thought of becoming mixed up with feuds or
mysteries, but their habit of being useful soon entangled them in some
surprising adventures that turned out happily for all, and made the
valley better because of their visit.
3. THE LINGER-NOTS AND THEIR GOLDEN QUEST _or The Log of the Ocean
Monarch_
For a club of girls to become involved in a mystery leading back into
the times of the California gold-rush, seems unnatural until the reader
sees how it happened, and how the girls helped one of their friends to
come into her rightful name and inheritance, forms a fine story.
4. THE LINGER-NOTS AND THE WHISPERING CHARMS _or The Secret from Old
Alaska_
Whether engrossed in thrilling adventures in the Far North or occupied
with quiet home duties, the Linger-Not girls could work unitedly to
solve a colorful mystery in a way that interpreted American freedom to
a sad young stranger, and brought happiness to her and to themselves.
_Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue_
THE CURLYTOPS SERIES
By HOWARD R. GARIS
_Author of the famous "Bedtime Animal Stories"_
_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors_
_Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid_
[Illustration]
1. THE CURLYTOPS AT CHERRY FARM _or Vacation Days in the Country_
A tale of happy vacation days on a farm.
2. THE CURLYTOPS ON STAR ISLAND _or Camping out with Grandpa_
The Curlytops were delighted when grandpa took them to camp on Star
Island.
3. THE CURLYTOPS SNOWED IN _or Grand Fun with Skates and Sleds_
The Curlytops, with their skates and sleds, on lakes and hills.
4. THE CURLYTOPS AT UNCLE FRANK'S RANCH _or Little Folks on Ponyback_
Out West on their uncle's ranch they have a wonderful time.
5. THE CURLYTOPS AT SILVER LAKE _or On the Water with Uncle Ben_
The Curlytops camp out on the shores of a beautiful lake.
6. THE CURLYTOPS AND THEIR PETS _or Uncle Toby's Strange Collection_
An old uncle leaves them to care for his collection of pets.
7. THE CURLYTOPS AND THEIR PLAYMATES _or Jolly Times Through the
Holidays_
They have great times with their uncle's collection of animals.
8. THE CURLYTOPS IN THE WOODS _or Fun at the Lumber Camp_
Exciting times in the forest for Curlytops.
9. THE CURLYTOPS AT SUNSET BEACH _or What Was Found in the Sand_
The Curlytops have a fine time at the seashore, bathing, digging in the
sand and pony-back riding.
10. THE CURLYTOPS TOURING AROUND _or The Missing Photograph Albums_
The Curlytops fall in with a moving picture company and get in some of
the pictures.
_Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue_
THE GIRL SCOUT SERIES
By LILIAN GARIS
_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors_
_Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid_
_The highest ideals of girlhood as advocated by the foremost
organizations of America form the background for these stories and
while unobtrusive there is a message in every volume._
[Illustration]
1. THE GIRL SCOUT PIONEERS _or Winning the First B.C._
A story of the True Tred Troop in a Pennsylvania town. Two runaway
girls, who want to see the city, are reclaimed through troop influence.
The story is correct in scout detail.
2. THE GIRL SCOUTS AT BELLAIRE _or Maid Mary's Awakening_
The story of a timid little maid who is afraid to take part in other
girls' activities, while working nobly alone for high ideals. How she
was discovered by the Bellaire Troop and came into her own as "Maid
Mary" makes a fascinating story.
3. THE GIRL SCOUTS AT SEA CREST _or The Wig Wag Rescue_
Luna Land, a little island by the sea, is wrapt in a mysterious
seclusion, and Kitty Scuttle, a grotesque figure, succeeds in keeping
all others at bay until the Girl Scouts come.
4. THE GIRL SCOUTS AT CAMP COMALONG _or Peg of Tamarack Hills_
The girls of Bobolink Troop spend their summer on the shores of Lake
Hocomo. Their discovery of Peg, the mysterious rider, and the clearing
up of her remarkable adventures afford a vigorous plot.
5. THE GIRL SCOUTS AT ROCKY LEDGE _or Nora's Real Vacation_
Nora Blair is the pampered daughter of a frivolous mother. Her
dislike for the rugged life of Girl Scouts is eventually changed to
appreciation, when the rescue of little Lucia, a woodland waif, becomes
a problem for the girls to solve.
_Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue_
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers New York
THE RADIO GIRLS SERIES
By MARGARET PENROSE
_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full colors_
_Price per volume, 65 cents, postpaid_
_A new and up-to-date series, taking in the activities of several
bright girls who become interested in radio. The stories tell of
thrilling exploits, outdoor life and the great part the Radio plays in
the adventures of the girls and in solving their mysteries. Fascinating
books that girls of all ages will want to read._
[Illustration]
1. THE RADIO GIRLS OF ROSELAWN _or A Strange Message from the Air_
Showing how Jessie Norwood and her chums became interested in
radiophoning, how they gave a concert for a worthy local charity, and
how they received a sudden and unexpected call for help out of the air.
A girl wanted as witness in a celebrated law case disappears, and the
radio girls go to the rescue.
2. THE RADIO GIRLS ON THE PROGRAM _or Singing and Reciting at the
Sending Station_
When listening in on a thrilling recitation or a superb concert number
who of us has not longed to "look behind the scenes" to see how it was
done? The girls had made the acquaintance of a sending station manager
and in this volume are permitted to get on the program, much to their
delight. A tale full of action and fun.
3. THE RADIO GIRLS ON STATION ISLAND _or The Wireless from the Steam
Yacht_
In this volume the girls travel to the seashore and put in a vacation
on an island where is located a big radio sending station. The big
brother of one of the girls owns a steam yacht and while out with a
pleasure party those on the island receive word by radio that the yacht
is on fire. A tale thrilling to the last page.
4. THE RADIO GIRLS AT FOREST LODGE _or The Strange Hut in the Swamp_
The Radio Girls spend several weeks on the shores of a beautiful lake
and with their radio get news of a great forest fire. It also aids them
in rounding up some undesirable folks who occupy the strange hut in the
swamp.
_Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue_