CLOSING IN
"Dad, we have got to see this thing through," declared Bob, turning
toward Mr. Temple and voicing the desires of himself and his chums.
"Surely, you won't put us aboard the Bear and return to San Francisco
now!"
Mr. Temple smiled.
"Boys, I sympathize with you," he said. "But you will have to look at
this matter reasonably. We have been drawn into this plot by force of
circumstances, and so far have been unable to keep out of it. But we
came to the coast for a week's business trip on my part, with you boys
accompanying me to see the sights. I have got to return to San
Francisco. Business demands my presence. And things have turned out
providentially to enable me to do so."
"But, Uncle George----"
It was Frank who spoke. Mr. Temple shook his head.
"No, Frank," he said. "I'm sorry for your sakes. I know how all this
adventuring must appeal to you young fellows. But do be reasonable. It
isn't our business to run these crooks to ground. And besides, you have
had plenty of adventure out of the situation already. I know I have had
enough to last me a lifetime. When you get to be my age----"
Bob grinned as he regarded his father's sturdy figure, and disreputable
appearance, unshaven, clad only in a shirt, trousers and stockings.
"Age?" he interrupted. "Why, Dad, you look fit to tackle any pirate. And
you needn't tell me you haven't enjoyed yourself pretty thoroughly."
Mr. Temple sighed.
"Oh, to be a boy again," he said. "You young rascals can't realize how I
have worried over you this summer, not only in this situation but down
on the Mexican border, too. Well, that will do. It's impossible for us
to continue, if for no other reason than that there is no room for us
aboard, and so, Frank, you radio Inspector Burton to get us some clothes
and cabins aboard the Bear."
Ensign Warwick who had stood a silent witness to the scene, but
sympathizing with the boys, interrupted to confirm Mr. Temple's
statement about lack of room aboard the Sub Chaser.
"It's true we have no room for passengers," he said. "You saw our tiny
cabin under the bridge. There are bunks for only captain and mate.
Forward we have bunks for a crew of ten and a smaller cabin with four
bunks for the engine-room crew. The latter also have two bunks in the
engine room that can be used in emergency. And that is our total of
housing space. You see, this boat, one hundred and ten feet long and
with a maximum speed of twenty-four knots an hour, is built for speed
and not for passenger traffic. I am not carrying a mate, and Inspector
Burton will bunk in the latter's place. So you see, there is no room for
you, at all."
"Have you a full crew?" asked Jack, unexpectedly. "I've seen only a half
dozen men?"
"What you see," answered Ensign Warwick, "is the deck watch. We carry a
crew of twenty-two, divided into three watches."
"Oh, where do they all sleep?"
"Some of them swing hammocks."
"Well, couldn't we swing hammocks, too?"
"Why, yes, I suppose you could," answered Ensign Warwick. "Of course, I
could not take you if I were on regular duty. But as I have been put at
the command of Inspector Burton of the Secret Service, I could manage to
accommodate you after a fashion if he agreed."
"Come, come," interrupted Mr. Temple. "This is nonsense. Frank, go and
call Inspector Burton."
Frank retired to the tiny radio room, accompanied by Jack while Bob
leaned moodily on the rail and his father fell into conversation with
Ensign Warwick. Doctor Marley stood unobtrusively aside.
Presently Frank and Jack approached Bob with eager faces. The naval
officer had disappeared with Mr. Temple.
"Where's your father?" asked Jack.
"I don't know. Gone to get some shoes, I believe."
"Listen."
Then all three put their heads together, while Frank and Jack whispered
to Bob tidings which quickly erased the gloom from his countenance.
"I'll go and call Dad," said Bob, finally.
At that moment Mr. Temple reappeared, shod in white canvas deck shoes.
"Uncle George, I've just been talking with Inspector Burton," said
Frank. "The Bear has a full passenger list. Summer travel is heavy, it
seems. Inspector Burton suggests that we stay aboard the Sub Chaser, as
he is going to return to Santa Barbara. He will put us ashore there, he
says, and we can catch the night train to San Francisco and be there
tomorrow morning, ahead of the Bear."
"Very good," approved Mr. Temple. "That will give us time to buy clothes
in Santa Barbara, too. Also, you boys can stay aboard this boat a bit
longer, and I know that appeals to you."
The boys looked meaningly at each other. Then Frank laughed:
"That isn't all," he said. "The Inspector was delighted when he heard
our story, and----"
"You told him everything?" queried Mr. Temple.
"Oh, no, I did not have time enough for that. But I did tell of our
escape from the trawler. And he said the presence of the trawler here
fitted into something he had in mind, which he would tell us about when
he came aboard."
"I think," said Jack, "that he meant he had a clue to the smugglers'
cove, and that it was somewhere along this coast."
Mr. Temple laughed.
"Oh, you boys," he said. "You can't give up hope of being in at the
death, of having a hand in the round-up of the smugglers, can you?"
Doctor Marley venturing a timid question as to how he was to return to
San Francisco, Mr. Temple entered into conversation with him. Ensign
Warwick went to attend to his duties. The boys drew aside, and, leaning
on the rail, stared into the thinning fog ahead and discussed their
chances of seeing further action.
All were agreed that the veiled hint dropped by Inspector Burton
indicated he had obtained a clue that the smugglers were somewhere along
the adjacent coast. They speculated upon whether Inventor Bender's sound
detector had provided the clue, or whether there had been sufficient
time for the detector to be brought into play.
"You see," Jack pointed out, "the inventor planned to use sound
detectors at several places pretty widely scattered, and it would take
him some time to set them up."
"That's true," said Frank, "but the device required no time at all to
hook up. The time needed would be for making the trip from San Francisco
to the other stations. Say----"
His face lighted up.
"What?" asked Bob.
"Why, didn't Inspector Burton, when we saw him last in San Francisco,
say one of the government radio stations which he planned to utilize in
employing the sound detector was in the mountains behind Santa Barbara?"
"I don't remember that," said Bob, and Jack also shook his head.
"Well, that's what he said," declared Frank. "I'm certain of it."
"In that case," said Jack, "perhaps through the use of sound detectors
at San Francisco and in this mountain station, they were able to locate
the smugglers' radio earlier than had been expected."
"Or, at any rate, they have obtained some clue which induced Inspector
Burton to put back to Santa Barbara," said Frank. "You see, he said he
had boarded the Bear for a port farther up the coast, not San Francisco
but some small place near here at which the steamer touches, because he
figured he could get there more quickly than by auto--which would be the
only other way, as it is not on the railroad. Then he got a code message
by radio, calling him back, and he radioed this Sub Chaser to pick him
up."
"Aren't we slowing down?" asked Bob.
The boys had been so interested in their discussions they had not
noticed a dark bulk looming across the waters in the thinning fog. Now
the Sub Chaser slowed to a complete stop and lay, rocking gently in a
mild swell, while a small boat put off from it for the Bear.
Presently, the boat returned and Inspector Burton stepped aboard. The
big steamer and the little Sub Chaser saluted each other with toots, and
parted company. Soon the Bear disappeared.
After greeting Ensign Warwick and his unexpected guests, Inspector
Burton asked that they head for Santa Barbara with all speed. Then he
turned to the boys.
"Your inventor friend's device," said he, "has done wonders. And with
what you have told me about your adventures in these very waters, I've
been able to put two and two together, and to arrive at the conclusion
that we are closing in on the smugglers' mysterious cove."