WHAT HENRY DISCOVERED
Henry, meantime, was waiting at his station with eagerness and
quickened determination. Despite his leader's generous words, Henry
felt in his heart that his last effort had been a failure. It was true
that he had made it possible to learn the identity of the driver of the
roadster, and that the secret service men had in the meanwhile been
looking up the man's record; but Henry felt that he should also have
discovered the location of the secret wireless. Now he made up his
mind that nothing should balk him in the present attempt. That neither
accident nor anything else should hinder him from accomplishing his
purpose. He would be more skilful than he had ever been before. He
would watch closer. He would follow his quarry, as silently as a
shadow and as closely. He would do all that his leader expected of
him--and more.
Thus resolving, steeling his mind to the greatest effort of his life,
Henry stood at the little window in the garage, all atremble with
eagerness. He thought he knew every inch of the spy's roadster, but
when that car finally rolled past, Henry studied it as he had never
studied anything before. Again he noted the tread of each tire and
looked for cuts or other distinguishing marks in them. As good luck
would have it, a turning wagon obstructed the roadster just as it
reached the little garage, and the roadster came almost to a dead stop.
Henry studied its running-gear, its radiator and bonnet, its dash-board
and wind-shield. And when his eyes got so far, they went no further.
The standards that held up the wind-shield were bulkier and thicker
than any other such parts Henry could remember. The difference was not
great, yet there was a difference; and like the accomplished scout he
was, Henry noted that difference and questioned it. But, like Willie
with the spider-web disc, he was completely puzzled. The enlarged
standards might mean anything or nothing. The car rolled on and again
Henry looked in vain at the number. Some part of it was always dust
covered. But Henry observed that the hidden figures were not the same
from day to day.
When the car returned from the grocer's, Henry jumped to his
motor-cycle and made his way to the ferry by a route different from the
roadster's. He knew he was taking a chance, but he also knew that an
accomplice might be trailing the roadster to see if the latter were
watched. Henry could follow the spy to the ferry once without arousing
much suspicion; but if he were twice seen to do so, his usefulness
might be ended. He knew when the ferry-boat would leave its slip and
he made his way aboard just before the gate closed.
At once he had a feeling that he had acted wisely. The roadster was
again in the forward part of the boat, but this time the driver did not
sit placidly looking out over the Bay. He seemed nervous, and every
little while turned sharp around and looked about him. Fortunately
Henry had concealed his wheel behind a truck and was himself where the
spy could not see him. When he noted the spy's restlessness, it
flashed into his mind that perhaps the secret service men who had been
investigating this spy had not been so careful as they should have
been, and that the spy had taken alarm. It was a discouraging thought,
for it made Henry's task vastly more difficult. Wisely, therefore, he
went into the cabin and sat down. The spy could not see him, and if
the latter should stroll about the boat, there was nothing to indicate
to whom the motor-cycle belonged.
As the gate opened and the roadster rolled from the ferry-boat, Henry
prudently remained well behind it. Up Broadway they went, as fast as
the traffic would allow, their pace gradually quickening as they drew
away from the congested lower end of the island. The spy drove
straight up Broadway. He circled Union Square and continued north. He
passed Madison Square and still held to Broadway. Past the shopping
district, past Longacre Square, past Columbus Circle, the roadster
continued, still on the city's main highway. And at a discreet
distance Henry followed.
Now they reached the apartment-house district and slid past block after
block of bulky living apartments. And so they continued past Columbia
University and down the grade beyond. And here Henry's troubles began.
The roadster turned to the left, and Henry knew the driver was making
for the Fort Lee ferry.
How should he gain the boat unnoticed? How should he follow,
undetected, along the Jersey roads? For after they had crossed the
Hudson there would be an end to that concealing traffic that had so far
hidden him. He must follow the roadster over lonely roads and yet
remain unseen. It was a problem to disturb any one. And it worried
Henry not a little. Fortunately dusk was at hand, though the
curtaining darkness would not fall for some time.
When the boat reached the Jersey shore, Henry permitted the roadster to
get a long start before he went ashore. The spy turned to the right
and began to climb the long grade parallel to the river, that would
lead him to the top of the Palisades. When the roadster was almost out
of sight, Henry mounted his motor-cycle and followed. Even if his
quarry should pass completely from view, Henry had no fear of losing
him; for the roadster's tracks were plain in the dusty road.
The dusk deepened. As it grew darker, Henry came closer to his quarry,
though he kept behind elevations and curves in the road so as still to
remain invisible to the driver of the car ahead. Thus they rode for
some miles. The country was as Henry had pictured it from his study of
the maps. It was sparsely built up, woodlands were on every hand, and
the surface of the land was rolling and rock-strewn. It was an
excellent place in which to hide--and also an excellent place in which
to dodge one's enemies. As Henry thought of this, he drew closer and
closer to the car, though still seeking to remain out of sight. As the
light failed, and it became difficult to distinguish the marks in the
dust before him, Henry drew up so that he could see the roadster, but
he discreetly rode close to the side of the highway, where the
overhanging trees shadowed him. Even had the roadster's driver been
looking straight in his direction, he might never have seen Henry. He
was, as he had determined to be, a veritable shadow.
So they rolled northward. At last it grew dark. The driver of the
roadster switched on his lights. Now Henry crept still closer. He was
in the dark, his lamp unlighted, his motor running silently, and he had
no further fear of discovery.
It was well that darkness had come. They had now reached a lonely
region where there were few houses. Here, Henry judged, was an
excellent place for a secret wireless. And he judged correctly, for
hardly had the thought come into his mind before the roadster turned
sharply to the left and disappeared. Henry darted up the road. He
came at once to what he judged was a large field. Trees no longer
bordered the highway on the left side. Dimly Henry saw objects here
and there which he thought were boulders and clumps of bushes. He saw
no light and stood for a second peering into the darkness, listening
with bated breath. Straight ahead of him he heard the faint purring of
a muffled motor. He knew that he was not many hundred feet behind it
and that this time the car could not escape him. He thrust his
motor-cycle into some near-by bushes, first whipping out his metal
cane. Then he ran speedily but carefully after the car.
Evidently it was moving cautiously. Henry rapidly drew near to it.
When he had come so close that he could see it distinctly, he dropped
to a walk and began to look about, trying to see what was around him.
Here in the field it was lighter than it had been on the highway under
the shadowing trees. The field was, as Henry had guessed, a piece of
wild land, grown up with thickets, with great boulders here and there.
Directly ahead of him was a clump of bushes. Henry hastened to put
them between himself and the car. It was well he did; for hardly had
he gotten behind them before the car stopped and the driver got out.
The car was not more than two hundred feet distant.
Henry dropped to the ground and lay still for a moment. Then he crept,
like an Indian, toward the sheltering thicket. Through it he advanced
until he was not more than fifty feet from the motor-car. He could see
with fair distinctness, but was himself completely concealed. He lay
like a log, watching intently.
The driver unfastened his top and slid it backward. As he did so, his
overcoat caught on the open door and he gave an exclamation of
impatience. When he had laid his top back, he lowered the upper half
of his wind-shield. Then, standing on the running-board, he tugged at
the top of his wind-shield standard. Up came a sliding inner tube. In
a flash the entire mystery stood revealed to Henry. The wind-shield
standard contained a collapsible mast, like the telescoping cane he
held in his hand. Doubtless an aerial was now fastened to the mast.
Somewhere within the car was a wireless outfit. Instead of having many
secret stations, the Germans had this one portable station.
[Illustration: Up came a sliding inner tube]
"How clever!" thought Henry. "And how well they deceived us."
The spy proceeded to run up his mast. It must have reached twenty feet
into the air. And the aerial was dangling from it, too. Evidently the
spy had fastened that on before raising the mast. Fifty feet distant
stood a tree. The spy took something from the baggage container and
walked over to the tree, where, Henry judged by the sound, he was
fastening a hook. Then the spy carried over the other end of his
aerial and fastened it to the hook. In the darkness Henry could see
nothing of the details of this outfit, but he realized that the spy now
had an aerial at least fifty feet long and well above the ground. For
short distance communication it would answer perfectly.
The spy returned to his car and got into the seat beside the driver's.
Henry wormed his way forward as far as he dared, hardly breathing,
fascinated by what he beheld. For now he could see plainly. The spy
had turned on a tiny light on his dashboard. Cautiously Henry rose to
his feet, keeping behind a thick bush, and peered over the side of the
car. The spy took a key from his pocket and unfastened a hidden lock.
The entire cowl board turned down, revealing a compact but powerful
wireless outfit. The aerial wire evidently was strung up within the
collapsing mast.
From within the cowl the spy drew forth a curious metal disc, not
unlike a spider-web, and like nothing Henry had ever seen. He did not
know what it was. He hardly breathed as he stood watching. Then the
spy took a dollar from his pocket, examined the milled edge until he
found a scratch, fitted the curious disc over the dollar, and turning
the coin in his hand, slowly began to make letters on a slip of paper
on the inverted dash. When he had finished writing, he fastened the
disc back in the cowl, dropped the dollar in his overcoat pocket, and
began to send the message he had deciphered from the dollar.
Henry leaned forward. He had no need of his own receiving instrument
to catch the letters. And he could not have used it if he had needed
it. But it was not important that he should catch the message. The
powerful sparks that were leaping across the spy's spark-gap told him
that a battery of considerable force was being used, and he knew that
Lew would catch that message away back on Staten Island. Lew had
caught the preceding message from Long Island, and it had been sent
from a distance fully as great as this. With distinctness the letters
came to Henry's ears and he realized that the man before him was an
expert operator. But the letters he heard made no sense. They would
have to be deciphered before the message could be understood.
However, it was not the message that Henry was thinking of. It was the
dollar in the man's overcoat. "How could he get it? How could he get
it?" he asked himself over and over. A hundred wild ideas flashed
through his head, but he could think of no way to secure the coin
without betraying himself.
Even as he was considering the matter, the spy finished sending his
message and snapped off his light. Tiny as the illumination had been,
the man was apparently completely blinded by the sudden darkness. As
he stepped from his seat, his overcoat again caught on the swinging
door. With an impatient oath he tore the coat from him and flung it on
the running-board. Then he felt for his tools and walked over to the
tree to lower the far end of his aerial.
Henry's chance had come. With a bound he was beside the car.
Crouching, he seized the huddled coat, ran his hands tremblingly over
it, located the pocket, found the dollar, dropped the coat where he had
gotten it, and slipped back to his cover.
He was not a second too soon. In his eagerness to get the coin he had
been clumsy, and had fumbled excitedly for several seconds before he
found it. Meantime, the spy, with practised skill, had taken down both
wires and fastening, and was well on his way back to the car. But
Henry gained his cover and was safe.
A sudden fear smote him lest he betray himself. His heart beat so
loudly he was sure the spy would hear it. His breath came so excitedly
he was certain he could be heard yards away. For some time he crouched
motionless, hugging the ground, trying to hold his breath. But as
second followed second and the spy made no outcry, Henry gained
confidence. Suddenly a feeling of exultation came to him, so strong
that he could hardly refrain from shouting. For the first time he
thought of the real significance of what he had accomplished. He had
unraveled the mystery of the wireless. He had the dollar. The secrets
the wireless patrol had worked so hard to uncover were within his
grasp. As the full meaning of it all came to him, he felt that he must
cry out, that he must give voice to his feelings. He no longer dared
trust himself to remain where he was, lest he betray himself.
Clutching the dollar as he had never clung to anything in his life, he
picked up his cane and slowly began to worm his way backward, on his
belly, from the thicket. With the utmost caution, an inch at a time,
he moved, lest he snap a stick or strike a stone with his foot. As
soon as he was clear of the brush, he faced about, and crawled into the
darkness.
The spy, meantime, was proceeding rapidly in reassembling his car.
Henry heard the windshield go up and the top being fastened. He heard
the baggage lid snap into place. Then he heard the spy swearing in a
low voice. Henry stopped, still as a hunted rabbit.
"_Donnerwetter!_" he heard the man say. "I've lost that dollar."
There was a pause. Then came the words, "I'm not going to hunt for it
anyway. Somebody would see my light sure. And if anybody does find
it, he'll never guess what it is."
Exultantly Henry rose to his feet, and crouching low, ran with soft,
swift tread to his motorcycle. He had the dollar. The owner believed
it was lost. Never was such luck. Trembling all over, he fastened his
cane to the frame of his wheel, trundled his car to the road and ran
with it in the direction he had come. He pushed it until his breath
was coming in gasps. Then he turned into the woods and hid. He would
take no chance of being seen by the spy or by any accomplice who might
have followed him. Presently Henry heard the motor-car pull out into
the road and go speeding back toward Manhattan. A quarter of an hour
later Henry returned to the highway, switched on his light, and was
soon bowling along on his way to his fellows and his chief, feeling
that he had in his keeping the future safety of a nation.