CONFUSION WORSE CONFOUNDED
As the possibility of this new difficulty rose before them, the members
of the wireless patrol were almost staggered. They knew how difficult
it had been to locate the hidden wireless in the mountains at the Elk
City storage reservoir, where there were no other wireless plants to
distract them and no houses to conceal the apparatus. The obstacles
now before them appeared almost insuperable.
The silence was broken by their leader. "I suppose we shall not learn
anything, but at least it will be better to look the ground over. So
in the morning we'll run over to Staten Island."
Morning found Henry on the wireless watch. Lew's trick was to follow.
The two others and Captain Hardy left the house immediately after their
breakfast and set off for Staten Island. In order to see something of
the city as they journeyed, they went on the Ninth Avenue elevated
road, and in half an hour found themselves at South Ferry, whence the
city-owned ferry-boats leave for Staten Island. It was their first
visit to this ferry and they were impressed by the fine waiting-rooms
and the magnificent ferry-boats.
The trip down the harbor thrilled them with pleasure. The narrow
channel between Manhattan Island and Governor's Island seemed to be
filled with snorting tugboats, strings of barges, great floats carrying
many loaded freight-cars, puffing steamships, and even sailing vessels.
Whistles were tooting on every side as pilots signaled to one another.
"I don't see how they ever manage to keep from smashing into one
another," said Willie as he stood with wide eyes, watching the rapidly
moving craft about him.
"They don't always," said Captain Hardy. "But accidents are
surprisingly few."
Hardly had they gotten up speed before they passed close to Governor's
Island, the military reservation which was the army headquarters for
the Department of the East. With great interest they looked at Castle
William, the great circular stone fort, now useless for protection, but
venerable with age and tradition, that stood at the western edge of the
island.
Soon they were past the island and out in the open bay. Far to the
left were the Brooklyn shores, with their great shipping terminals and
stores and clustered steamers. On the right, and still more distant,
ran the low Jersey coast, almost hidden in fog and smoke. Against this
dull background towered the Statue of Liberty. Reverently the boys
stood looking at this great image, known the world over as no other
statue is known, and symbolic of all a free earth holds dear--symbolic
of that liberty, fraternity, equality that the free men of the world
are giving their lives to preserve. A mist rose in their eyes as they
looked at this symbol of that which they, too, were giving their
devoted efforts to preserve--their homes, their families, their
freedom. And on every face came a set expression of determination
that, even though the countenances wearing it were youthful, boded no
good to the treacherous enemies of freedom whose trail they were that
very moment following. Then they flashed past Robbin's Reef light and
snuggled into their slip at Staten Island.
Before them towered the community of St. George, straggling, like some
old world village, up the sloping streets to the heights. Quickly they
climbed a winding road that led to the top of the hill. Like Jerusalem
the golden, the village about them was beautiful for situation. For
miles it commanded an unobstructed view in almost every direction. To
the north were the rolling reaches of the Upper Bay across which they
had come, with the tall sky-scrapers of Manhattan towering heavenward
in the background and looking so near at hand that it was hard to
believe that they were six miles distant. Shaped not unlike a pear,
the great Bay tapered to stem-like dimensions as it flowed to the east
of Staten Island and found its way to that greater sheet of water, the
Lower Bay. On the opposite side of this passage rose the bluff shores
of Brooklyn. But the Staten Island shore towered high above everything
else. On opposite sides of the narrowest parts of the channel to the
sea were forts. And it was to this very Narrows that the wireless
detector had pointed when Roy caught the message on the previous night.
"From somewhere in this neighborhood that message came," said Captain
Hardy. "And beyond a doubt it came from some house on the slope before
us. From this view-point an observer can see everything that takes
place in both Upper and Lower Bay and spy on every vessel passing
through the Narrows. With a powerful glass an observer on these slopes
could almost distinguish the buttons on the sailors' clothes or read
the compass on the bridge of a ship. Let us see what we can find."
For a mile or two they walked leisurely along the brow of the hill,
carefully examining every house that possessed a good outlook over the
Narrows. They found many such, but as was the case in Hoboken, the
houses were as like as so many peas. In location or construction there
was nothing that would direct the finger of suspicion to one house
rather than another. Any house with an unobstructed outlook might
harbor a spy.
When they had gone far enough along the brow of the hill Captain Hardy
said, "Let us go back along the slope. I suspect any observer would
get as near to the water as he could and yet have sufficient elevation
for a wide view. I believe the place we are looking for is somewhere
below us."
They climbed down to a lower level and began their return walk. On the
slope the buildings were not so close together. There were more open
spaces, more undeveloped stretches where trees yet remained and
thickets of underbrush still stood undisturbed.
"These houses would make better radio stations than those so closely
crowded together, I should think," commented Captain Hardy.
Slowly they sauntered along, stopping near every suspicious house,
ostensibly to view the landscape, and giving it a searching examination
as they took in the view. And so artfully was their work done that no
one watching the eager group, looking now here, now there, would have
dreamed that ships and shipping were the last things they were
interested in.
Slowly they worked their way along the slope, now climbing to higher
levels, now descending to lower, as it became necessary to view a
habitation from one side or the other. But search as they might,
nothing stood out in any place that was of a suspicious nature. There
were no questionable wire clothes-lines, for here every one seemed to
use cotton lines. No flagpoles rose aloft, up which antennas wires
could be hoisted in the guise of halyards. No kites flew from back
yards. No lightning-rods rose suspiciously above the housetops. There
were no tall chimneys inside which hidden wires might be stretched.
Nowhere was there anything at which they could definitely point the
finger of suspicion.
Almost had they given up hope of finding anything that would help them,
when they came to a place where the slope jutted out sharply for a
little space, like the nose on a human face. The ground sloped outward
for a distance at a gentle angle, then dropped precipitously many feet.
But on either side of the nose of land the even slope of the hill was
unbroken, just as human cheeks continue their uninterrupted slope from
the forehead. Perched on this nose of land was an inconspicuous little
house. As the surrounding land was too steep for habitation, this
house stood by itself, the slope for many yards on either side being
overgrown with bushes and undergrowths, while a considerable stand of
pines grew at one side. The fenced-in yard of this house was large,
and by an ingenious system of curves a roadway had been built from the
public thoroughfare up to the little house. Evidently the owner
possessed a motor-car, for a tiny garage was snuggled into the hill
beside the dwelling.
But the thing that at once attracted the little patrol was the view
afforded by the location. Indeed it was _the_ view-point
strategically; for the jutting nose of land gave an unobstructed
outlook toward both Bays which could be had from no other location on
the same level, while the Narrows lay immediately below the house and
so close that it seemed as though one could throw a stone from the
little house into the water.
For several minutes the three searchers stared at the structure before
them. "I believe," said Willie, in the language of blind man's buff,
"that we are getting hot."
"Let's look at the place from the other side," suggested Roy.
Slowly they sauntered along the highway, now examining the Narrows, now
watching some ship in the offing, but gradually working their way to
the other side of the little house. Everywhere except at the rear of
the building, where the hill rose steeply, ornamental rows of windows
had been built into the structure, giving an uninterrupted view, north,
east, and south.
"I'll bet there are no partition walls in that floor," said Roy, "and
if there aren't, anybody could sit in the front of the house and look
in three directions by merely turning his head. Why that place is just
made for spying on shipping."
"And it's exactly where our wireless pointed," said Willie.
"I wonder how we could get into the place and examine it."
"You mustn't think of such a thing," said Captain Hardy. "If there is
a wireless outfit there, you may be sure that it will be as effectually
secreted as the one in our rooms is, and you would never find it. But
you would certainly alarm the people in the house, and the Chief warned
me that under no circumstances should we alarm the people we are
watching. We must get a complete case against them before any move is
made."
"But if this is a wireless station, how are we going to know it unless
we search the house?" demanded Roy.
"We shall have to keep a watch on the house itself and try to trail
everybody who goes in or out. And we shall keep up our wireless watch.
If messages are coming from here we shall run them down just as we
intended to run down the Hoboken messages. This place is so much
better for spy work, being near the forts as well as the waterways,
that we'll drop Hoboken and centre our efforts here. But I don't know
just how we'll do it. I'll have to let the Chief outline the plan. We
may have to move down here. But in the meantime you boys can keep the
place under observation very easily from some of these thickets."
The three went on down the road and passed out of sight of the house,
laying their plans as they went. Arrived at the road to the ferry,
they separated, Captain Hardy continuing on down to the wharf, while
Willie and Roy turned about and retraced their steps. While Captain
Hardy was speeding back to Manhattan to consult the secret service men,
the two young scouts made their way to a turn of the road whence they
could barely see a gable of the house on the cliff. They had not met a
soul. They left the highway and scrambled up the slope to a dense
thicket of underbrush. Screened by this, they cautiously approached
the house and made their way unseen into the little stand of pines they
had previously noted.
The cover was good. The pines on the outer edges of the stand, where
the light was ample, branched close to the ground, making a dense
hedge. Behind these protecting branches the two boys could move freely
without fear of discovery. By mounting upward a little distance, they
had a perfect view of the house they were watching, and could see all
who entered or left it. They found some limbs where they could sit
comfortably and took up their vigil.
"Captain Hardy said we must trail anybody who came out of the house,"
said Willie. "If we follow them on the road we could be seen and we
might be suspected. How can we trail them without being seen?"
They looked around. Higher up the slope ran another road, so hidden by
shrubbery and bushy growths as to be almost invisible from below. A
person walking along this road could easily follow one on the highway
below without being seen. A brief study of the slope also showed them
a bushy way by which they could scramble unseen up to this road.
Now they gave their undivided attention to the house before them,
studying every feature of house and grounds that they might be able, if
it became necessary, to make their way safely about the premises. But
no one came to the house, no one left it, no one appeared at a window,
and there was no sign whatever that a living being was in the house.
The minutes began to drag. It was uninteresting to sit and scrutinize
a house when there was so much of real interest to see. So between
glances at the home on the cliff, the scouts began to study anew the
wonderful harbor that so fascinated them.
Again they studied those distant sky-scrapers, which looked, at the
distance, like dream buildings, deceptive structures of the clouds.
The waters intervening were palpitant with life. As an hour passed,
and then another, the young watchers gave more and more attention to
the landscape and less to the house near by. The air was vibrant with
the tooting of whistles. The wind was sweeping the water before it in
graceful waves. The passing steamers churned it into yeasty foam.
Great sailing ships came surging in from the deeps, deck-laden with
heavy cargoes, parting the water with their high bows, their sails
bellying in the breeze and shining white in the sun. Tugs passed
restlessly to and fro, dragging behind them long strings of coal
barges. And once a great ocean liner came in through the Narrows,
making the very hills vibrate with the thunder of her whistle.
Intently the boys watched her as she slowed at quarantine and the port
physicians boarded her. By mere chance Willie turned his glance toward
the house on the cliff, and there, close to the front windows, stood a
man with field-glasses to his eyes, studying the liner in the Narrows
below.
"Look!" gasped Willie. "There's a man in the window!"
But before Roy could turn his head the figure had disappeared.
"We almost missed him," said Willie. "We're poor scouts to forget what
we are about."
They centred their gaze on the near-by house. Forgotten was the
glorious picture spread before them, forgotten everything but the
glass-fronted dwelling and the invisible man with the field-glasses.
But look as they would, they could see nothing further of a suspicious
nature. Another hour passed. Dinner time had long gone by. The one
o'clock whistle had blown. And their own stomachs told them accurately
what time it was; but they would not leave their post. Now that they
had once scented their quarry, as it were, or believed that they had,
they were like hounds on the trail. Their training at Camp Brady now
showed its effect.
But the hours passed, the afternoon waned, and nothing further occurred
to draw their attention to the little house. Gradually their vigilance
relaxed. Their eyes wandered again to that fascinating harbor scene,
to the never-ending moving picture spread before them. Again they saw
tugs and ferry-boats plying busily back and forth, and the flashing
sails of great schooners. But presently they saw something like
nothing they had ever beheld. Far in the distance was a line of moving
objects, gliding through the waves in stately fashion, approaching one
behind the other at equal distances. Just what was approaching the two
scouts could not at first determine, so indistinct in outline were the
moving bulks. But presently, as the oncoming objects drew nearer, the
watchers saw that they were great ships. But they looked unlike any
ships they had ever seen or heard of. They seemed to be of no color
and of every color. They were streaked and splotched in the most
curious way. They looked as though some giant hand had flung eggs of
different colors against their sides.
The boys looked at one another in astonishment. "Well, what in the
mischief ails those boats?" demanded Roy.
They were silent a moment, becoming more amazed than ever.
"I know," cried Willie suddenly. "They're camouflaged. They must be
transports." He turned his head for a glance at the house. "Quick!"
he said. "There's the man at the window again."
For some minutes the figure before them stood motionless except for the
movement of his field-glasses, with which he swept the oncoming fleet
of transports. Then he drew back from the window again. The boys kept
their eyes fastened on the little house. For a long time nothing
occurred. Then a grocer's boy came in sight, struggling up the highway
with a basket of supplies on his arm. The watchers paid small
attention to him until he turned suddenly into the driveway leading up
to the house. A moment later he had disappeared within the building.
"He's only a grocery boy," said Roy.
"We'll have to watch him, anyway," said Willie. "I'll follow him when
he comes out and you watch the house."
They had not long to wait. In a few minutes the boy came out, his
basket empty, and went skipping down the hill. Quick as a flash Willie
scrambled to the roadway above, and, screened by the shrubbery,
followed on the higher level. A quarter mile toward the ferry the two
highways came together. Willie reached the intersection at almost the
same time as the grocer's boy. Each took a glance at the other and
kept on his way, Willie dropping a few yards behind the other lad.
A quarter of a mile further on the slope changed and the district was
thickly built up. The errand boy soon entered a store. Willie had
just time for a quick glance at the sign on the window. It read,
"Fritz Berger, Fancy Groceries." Then Willie opened the door and
followed the errand boy into the place.
A florid, burly man with upturned mustaches stood behind the counter.
The errand boy was talking to him. In his hand he held a silver dollar.
"Here is the money for Mr. Baum's sugar," he was saying.
"Good!" said the grocer, seizing the coin, which he dropped in his
pocket. Then he turned to Willie. "Well?" he said inquiringly.
"Sugar," said Willie. "I want five pounds of sugar."
"I have no more," said the grocer. "It is all sold."
"Pshaw!" said Willie. "Where can I get some?"
"I don't know," said the grocer.
"Got any candy?" asked Willie.
"Sure. In that case."
Willie walked to the show-case and slowly examined the stock. "Give me
ten cents' worth of those chocolates," he finally ordered.
The storekeeper weighed out the candy and dumped it in a bag. He took
the proffered dime, dropped it in his till, and turned away.
Willie left the store and stood for a moment undecided as to which way
to go. "Nothing doing there," he said to himself. Then he turned a
corner and started down the hill. The supper hour was approaching.
People were coming up the street from the ferry, homeward bound from
Manhattan. A motor-car came chugging up the road and drew close to the
curb. The driver turned his car about, clamped on the brake, and
stepped out, leaving his engine running. Willie went on down the
street and was soon in the midst of a throng coming up from the ferry.
He stopped to look at a jeweler's clock, turned about, and started on
his way to rejoin Roy. Suddenly he heard the softly whistled signal of
the wireless patrol. He turned sharply about and saw Captain Hardy
across the street. He dodged a motor-car that was rooming down the
hill and crossed to his captain. There had been no sign of life about
the little house since the grocer's boy came out.
"Come," said the leader. "I have seen the Chief and he is going to
arrange it so that we can watch this place in comfort. We will go back
home now."
They climbed cautiously to the road above. "By George!" exclaimed
Captain Hardy suddenly. "You boys haven't had a bite to eat since
breakfast. I forgot all about that."
"How about yourself?" asked Roy.
"Well, I haven't either, but that's different. I've had a chance to
get something if I had thought of it. We won't wait until we get home
to eat. There's a restaurant at the ferry-house. We'll have a good
dinner there."
More than an hour passed before the three rose from their table.
Another hour had gone by before they reached their headquarters. They
were tired and sleepy. But their drowsiness vanished when Henry rushed
into the living-room of their apartment and thrust a sheet of paper
into Captain Hardy's hands.
"It's another message," he said, "and we deciphered it ourselves."
Captain Hardy stepped to the light and read the message aloud. "Five
more transports sailed late this afternoon. All camouflaged."
"We know the man who sent that message," cried Willie. "We've been
watching him all the afternoon, down on the hillside at Staten Island."
"But this message didn't come from Staten Island," said Henry. "The
detector points straight east over Brooklyn, and the message was sent
from a long way off. It was very faint."