WISHING IT ON MR. SAMBO
"Oho!" breathed young Reade, as he crouched low behind the fringe of
bushes, peering toward the beach.
It was now somewhat past midnight. For three hours Tom had been scouting
stealthily along this shore section, well to the west of the breakwater.
For, in pondering over the explosions, Tom had come to the conclusion that
the blow-outs on the retaining wall, however accomplished, were controlled
from a point to the westward of the sea wall.
This conclusion had been rather a simple matter to a trained engineer.
Tom had witnessed the flash of one explosion, and that, as he remembered,
had sprung up at the west side of the wall. Moreover, the appearance and
condition of the wall, at the point of each explosion, had shown that the
attack in each case must have been made at the west side of the wall.
And now, after nearly three hours of work, Tom Reade had come upon a real
clue.
"Another blow-out is arranged for to-night, just as I had expected," Reade
muttered, with an angry thrill, as he glanced at a figure down on the
beach. "Moreover, my guess that the huge negro is the fellow who touches
off the blow-outs has proved to be the correct one."
Down on the beach a big, black man was moving about stealthily. Though the
spot was a lonely one, this scoundrel plainly intended to take no
unnecessary risks of detection.
Just at the present moment the negro was placing in the water a
curious-looking little raft that he had brought on one shoulder from its
place of concealment. It was something like a flat-bottomed scow, the
sides being just high enough to prevent whatever cargo it carried, from
rolling off into the water.
The raft placed and secured to the shore, the negro crouched in his hiding
place in a jungle of bushes. He soon reappeared, carrying four metal
tubes.
"The explosive is in the tubes," guessed Tom easily. "And at one end of
each tube is a sharp metal point that permits of being driven into the
crevices in the wall. Four, or more, of these tubes are thrust into the
wall, I suppose, and connected in series, so that they can be fired by the
same electric spark. These tubes and the wires are water-proofed. The
negro is only the dastardly workman in this case. It was never he who
invented the trick. But he must be an excellent workman, who ought to be
employed in much more honest effort. I wonder if the fellow is going to
use more than four tubes?"
All of these thoughts ran through the mind of Tom as he crouched, peering
eagerly at the negro.
By this time the negro was taking to the water, towing his miniature scow
and its explosive cargo as he swam.
"He must be a good swimmer, and also a good diver," concluded Tom. "With
my men patrolling the sea wall he must have to dive, some distance away,
swim under water, and remain there until he has secured one of the tubes
in place. Then he has to get back, out of range of the lanterns' rays, and
get his breath before he goes back to the next job. But maybe I can
interfere with his work to-night."
Though he rose and moved away, Reade, despite the darkness of the night,
was careful to keep himself concealed behind the bushes, so that he could
not be observed from beach or water. Shortly the young engineer was over
at the point in the jungle from which he had seen the negro emerge with
scow and explosives.
"The fellow must use a magneto, attached to wires running under the water,"
concluded Tom. "At that rate, the first real job is to find the magneto.
My, but Mr. Sambo Ebony may be wondering, to-night, why his blow-out
doesn't work as easily as usual!"
Simple as the search ought to have been, Tom Reade was soon on the point
of despair.
"If it isn't a magneto, or if I can't find it in time," Tom muttered
uneasily, "the mystery may remain nearly as great as ever, and the
explosion may be pulled off to-night, after all."
Twenty minutes passed before Reade, with all his senses alert, stumbled
on the concealed magneto. It had been so well hidden, under a mass of
rocks, that it would not have been astonishing had Tom missed it
altogether.
Attached to the magneto was the wire that must connect, in some way, with
the series of tubes that would soon be fastened in the retaining wall out
yonder. Yet this wire ran into the ground, and then vanished.
"Now, I've simply got to hustle!" sighed Tom Reade nervously. "If I don't
succeed in raising the wire, and in a mighty short space of time, I may be
to-night's fool yet. I'd really like to wish that on the black man, too!"
By using his eyes and his reasoning powers Reade, after twenty minutes more
of search, with some sly digging, unearthed a section of the wire some
dozen feet from the magneto.
"Now, it must be really the swiftest sort of work," murmured the young
engineer, after a glance seaward. He seated himself with his face turned
toward the Gulf, gathered the exposed section of wire up into his lap, then
drew a pair of wire nippers from his pocket.
Snip! Tom now had two ends of wire in his hands. That would have been
enough, had Reade chosen to bury the ends and conceal all evidence of his
work. However, he believed that a more workmanlike way could be found.
From the same pocket Tom drew out a three inch piece of pure rubber cable,
wrapped in water-proof tape. This he fastened to the severed ends of the
wire, binding the whole as neatly as a lineman could have done.
"Rubber is believed to be a pretty good insulator," chuckled Reade, as he
finished. "I don't believe the spark is made that can jump three inches
of rubber. Certainly magneto-power can't do it. Now, let me see what sort
of a trail-concealer I am."
Tom laid the wire back in the ground, covering it carefully with his hands.
"I wish I dared strike a match, so that I could judge better just how my
work looks," he sighed. "However, I don't believe Mr. Sambo Ebony will
think it discreet to strike any matches either, so he won't find the place
where I've been fooling with his work.
"Now, I'll get back out of sight, where I belong," muttered Tom, rising
cautiously. "I hope, though, I can find a place where I can see the look
on that darkey's face when he tries his magneto and waits for the bing!
from out yonder. Oh, Sambo, you simply can't have any idea of how I've
been wishing it on you tonight!"
As the bushes grew thickly hereabouts, and there were many hollows in the
surface of the earth, Reade had little trouble in finding what he believed
to be a satisfactory hiding place. It enabled him to hide his head within
fifteen feet of the handle of the magneto.
A soft, southerly wind blew in from the Gulf. As long as he could Reade
fought drowsiness. Again and again he opened his eyes with a start.
"I mustn't do this," Tom told himself angrily. "No gentleman will go to
sleep at the switch---when it's his train that is coming!"
Yet still he found himself nodding. Had he deemed it safe Tom would have
sprung up and walked about briskly. But this, he knew, was to invite
being discovered by the returning negro.
So, at last, despite himself, Tom fell asleep.
How much time had passed he never knew. At last, however, he awoke with a
start. Reproachfully he rubbed his eyes.
"Not a bit too soon!" he muttered, as his ears caught sound of an
approaching step, and his eyes showed him the hulking form of the massive
foe. "Here comes my black man!"