"But valuable as the radio was in war," Brandon went on, "I believe it
is going to be still more valuable in the matter of maintaining peace. I
think, in fact, that it may do away with war altogether."
"I don't quite get you," said Bob, with a puzzled air.
"In this way," explained Brandon. "It's going to make all the people of
the world neighbors. And when people are neighbors they're usually more
or less friends. They have to a large extent the same interests and they
understand each other.
"Now, most wars have been due to exclusiveness and misunderstandings.
Each nation has dwelt in its own borders, behind its own mountains or
its own rivers, and they've shut out of their minds and interests all
people outside of themselves. They've grown to think that a stranger
must necessarily be an enemy. Some little thing happens that makes them
mad and they're ready to fight.
"But the radio is going to break down all these barriers of
exclusiveness and remove these misunderstandings. When people get to
talking together each finds that the other one isn't such a bad fellow
after all. When a man in Paris picks up his telephone and has a chat
with one man in England and then another man in Spain and still another
in Italy he finds that they are all human beings and very much like
himself. If he had the Englishman, the Spaniard, the Italian in his
office together, he'd probably invite them out to dinner and they'd all
have a good time. When the time comes that in every country in South
America men can tune in on the radio and listen to the inaugural address
of the President of the United States coming from his own lips, they'll
know that we have no unfriendly designs on their country and are only
anxious to see them happy and prosperous. We'll hear the same speeches,
we'll listen to the same concerts, and gradually we'll come to feel that
we're all neighbors. That's why I say that the radio may in the course
of time make all wars impossible, or at least very improbable."
"It sounds reasonable," commented Bob. "I only hope that you're right."
"I'm mighty glad that we happened to be in town when you dropped in to
see the doctor," said Joe. "A few days later and we'd all have been down
at Ocean Point for the summer."
"Ocean Point!" exclaimed Mr. Brandon. "Is that where you boys are
going?"
"Yes," replied Joe. "Our folks have a little colony down there, and we
go every summer. Why, do you know anything about the place?"
"I should say I did!" replied Mr. Brandon, "I usually spend a week or
two at Ocean Point myself, and I have a cousin there who has charge of
the Ocean Point radio station. His name is Brandon Harvey. His first
name you see is the same as my last name."
"Why, that's fine!" exclaimed Bob.
"Radio seems to run in your family," said Herb, with a smile.
"We'll look him up and introduce ourselves," said Joe. "We're all radio
fans, and that's a sort of freemasonry."
"You'll find him a good fellow," said Brandon. "And I'm sure he'll be
glad to meet you. If I happen to get down there about the same time that
you do, I'll take you around and introduce you myself. You'll find that
what he doesn't know about radio isn't worth knowing. He can run rings
all around me."
"He must be pretty good then," laughed Bob. "Though I don't believe it.
But it will be dandy if you are able to spend part of the summer with us
down there."
"What time are you going?" asked Mr. Brandon.
"Just as soon as school closes," answered Bob. "The closing exercises
are to be held next Wednesday, and we expect to get off the next day."
"Not losing any time, are you?" smiled Brandon. "Well, I'll see how I
can fix it, and I shouldn't be surprised if you'd find me waiting for
you when you get there."
They had reached the school gate by this time, and with cordial
farewells they separated.
The next few days passed with great rapidity. The boys were busy in
preparing for the closing examinations, and even their beloved radio had
to be laid aside for a time. Bob and Joe had kept well up in their
classes and did not anticipate much trouble in passing, but Jimmy and
Herb had been more remiss, and it took many anxious nights and much
"boning" to prepare for the ordeal.
However, they all got through, Bob and Joe with flying colors and Jimmy
and Herb with marks that were at least respectable. And it was a happy
group of boys who on the Wednesday afternoon that the school term came
to a close tossed their books up on the shelves, not to be disturbed
again until the fall.
But there is apt to be a fly in the ointment, and the fly on this
occasion was the news that Jimmy passed on to his companions the night
before they left for Ocean Point.
"Say, fellows, who do you think is going down to Ocean Point for the
summer besides our bunch?" he asked, almost out of breath with the haste
he had made to come over to the Laytons' house, where the friends were
seated on the porch enjoying the evening breeze after a hot day.
"President of the United States, for all I know," answered Joe
flippantly, as he fanned himself with his cap.
Jimmy glared at him.
"It can't be the old Kaiser," said Herb. "Don't tell me, Doughnuts, that
it's the Kaiser."
"Worse than that," answered Jimmy. "Buck Looker and his gang are going
to be there."
There was a general straightening up of his astonished hearers.
"What?" ejaculated Bob. "I'm knocked all in a heap!"
"Say that again," demanded Joe. "Or, rather, don't say it again. Let me
think it's all a horrible dream."
"Sure as shooting," affirmed Jimmy. "I was in Dave Slocum's store when
Mr. Looker came in to get some fishing tackle. He got to talking to
Dave, and told him that he was going to take his family down to Ocean
Point for the summer, and that Buck was going to take a couple of his
friends along with him. He didn't say who the friends were, but of
course we know it wouldn't be any one but Carl Lutz and Terry Mooney. In
fact, those are the only fellows he hangs out with. None of the decent
fellows in town will have anything to do with him. So what do you think
of that?"
"Punk!" declared Joe.
"It's a shame that we can't get rid of that gang even in vacation time,"
said Bob. "Half the fun of getting through with school was the thought
that we wouldn't have to look on Buck's ugly face for a couple of
months."
"It's lucky the air down at the Point is salt, or Buck would poison it,"
remarked Herb disconsolately. "That fellow's a regular hoodoo."
"Oh, well," Bob comforted himself, "we don't have to mix up with him,
anyway. He won't be living in our little separate colony, and our folks
and his never had anything to do with each other. It'll probably be only
once in a while when we have to come across him. And it's more than
likely that he'll steer clear of us, for he knows he's about as popular
with us as a rattlesnake at a picnic party."
"If he tries any of his low-down tricks there won't be any Mr. Preston
to save him again from a licking," put in Joe. "But let's forget him and
think of something pleasant."
The women of the party had gone that same day to the Point in order to
get everything ready for the coming of the boys and their sisters on the
morrow. The fathers were still in town, where business or profession
detained them. Their plan for the summer was to go down to the Point for
the week-ends only.
Dr. Atwood, Joe's father, had taken his wife and the other women down to
the resort in his spacious car early in the morning. It was only a
pleasant spin of about forty miles, and after seeing them comfortably
settled, he had returned in order to take the boys and girls down on the
following day.
He found on his return, however, that a friend of Herb Fennington's
sisters, Agnes and Amy, had arranged to take the girls down early that
evening. They had asked Rose Atwood to go down with them, so that left
only the radio boys to take the trip down the next day in the doctor's
car.
And as the boys had to pack their suitcases and get their fishing tackle
and other sporting material together they stayed chatting only for a
little while on Bob's porch that evening and separated early.
The next morning dawned gloriously and gave promise of a perfect day.
The doctor was on hand at about ten o'clock, and the boys bundled into
the car, full of the highest spirits and looking forward to a summer of
unalloyed fun and sport.
The doctor himself drove, and the car, under his skilful handling, made
rapid time along the beautiful roads. The boys joked and laughed and
sang and enjoyed themselves to the full. They were like so many frisky
colts let out to pasture.
As they passed through the little town of Lisburn they saw a young girl
watering the flowers in the garden of one of the houses. Bob's keen eye
detected and recognized her at once.
"It's Miss Berwick!" he cried. "Doctor, would you mind stopping here a
minute?"
"Certainly I'll stop," replied the doctor, with a smile, and slowed down
immediately. "Take all the time you want."
Bob and Joe jumped out and ran to the gate. The girl looked at them for
a moment and then with a glad cry came hurrying toward them.
"How glad I am to see you," she cried, extending both hands in welcome.
"Come into the house."
"Thank you," answered Bob. "We'd like to, but we're with a party and can
stay only a minute. But we had to stop to say how do you do and ask you
how everything was going with you."
"Couldn't be better," she answered, with a smile. "I've got my health
back completely. And I have my house, and my mind's at rest, thanks to
you two boys. I'll never forget what you did for me in rescuing me from
that wrecked auto and then later in getting that mortgage back from the
man who was trying to cheat me."
"Oh, what we did was nothing much, and anybody else would have done the
same thing," disclaimed Bob. "But tell us about that rascal, Dan Cassey.
Have you seen or heard anything about him?"
"Only once," replied Miss Berwick. "He came back to this vicinity to
wind up his affairs and get out. I met him one day on the road when no
one else was about. I was going to pass him without speaking, for I
dread the man almost as much as I despise him, but he planted himself in
my way and went on dreadfully about you boys. Said he was going to fix
you for butting into his affairs--those were the words he used. Some one
came in sight just then and he passed on. But what he said has worried
me. I do hope you boys will keep on your guard against him. I'd feel
dreadful if anything happened to you for being so good to me."
"Don't worry about us," Bob adjured her. "We're able to take care of
ourselves."
"Did he stutter as much as usual?" asked Joe, with a grin.
"Worse, if anything," Miss Berwick answered. "He had to whistle to go
on."
They all laughed, and after a moment more of conversation and repeated
warnings from the girl to be careful, the boys said good-bye and went to
the car. She waved to them until the car was out of sight.
The doctor put on a little extra speed to make up for the delay, and the
car purred along the road until finally Ocean Point came in sight. A cry
of delight broke from the boys as they saw the ocean stretched out
before them, that shimmering, sunlit ocean that seemed so friendly now,
but whose menace and danger they were soon to feel.