LOOKING FORWARD TO ACTION
Jack looked aghast at hearing Tom say this.
“Has he some good reason for fearing such a thing, Tom?” he hastened to
ask.
“He has,” came the other’s reply. “There was a German who tried hard
to get on friendly terms with my father. He finally hinted very
broadly that his Government, in order to secure the secret of the new
stabilizer, stood ready to double any amount of money our Government at
Washington had offered.”
“Whew! then he must have been a secret agent of Wilhelmstrasse!”
suggested Jack, with bated breath.
“There’s not the slightest doubt about it.” And Tom frowned and looked
very determined. “No one could have made such a promise unless he was
in close touch with the German Legation at Washington and the pay
agents of the Kaiser in New York City.”
“Of course your father refused to consider any offer from German
sources,” continued Jack, eagerly.
“He was very angry at being approached by an agent of a Government with
which the United States was likely to go to war at any time since the
_Lusitania_ was sunk. He told this Adolph Tuessig what he thought of
his nerve, and I guess must have shown him the door in a hurry, for I
know father’s temper.”
“And what happened next, Tom?”
“Well, father was so busy just then on another experiment that he
neglected to take proper precautions, a fact he is bitterly sorry for
now. The time to shut and lock the stable door is when the horse is
still safe inside. But then you know inventors are not like ordinary
people, Jack; they live up in the clouds much of the time; and my
father was always a great hand for putting off things.”
“Too bad, Tom, for I can begin to see this was one time that failing
got him into trouble. So the paper was stolen, was it?”
“No question about it, Jack, for father found his room had been
entered, and the safe in which he kept many of his private papers,
forced open and rummaged. But as luck would have it, he carried one
of the papers in his pocket at the time, so that although the thief
took the other away with him, it may be possible that even the clever
airplane builders over on the Rhine or on Lake Constance, will have a
hard time puzzling out the real meaning of his figures and incomplete
design.”
“They are a keen bunch, though,” said Jack, looking worried, “and if
they set their minds to it the chances are they’ll succeed in the end.
But perhaps the thief may realize he has not secured the precious paper
he was after, and on that account fail to deliver it to the German
Embassy at Washington?”
“Father hopes that may turn out to be so,” replied Tom. “But remember,
Jack, this is to be kept a dead secret. Father has good reasons for
not wishing it to become known to the Government yet; though you must
understand there’s nothing dishonorable about his motives.”
“I’ll never breathe a word of it, Tom, you can depend on that. But
doesn’t he mean to put the case in the hands of the Secret Service men?
They might manage to recover the paper before it falls into the hands
of the enemy.”
“But to do that, don’t you see, he would have to take the Government
into his confidence, which he is loth to do just yet. No, he has hired
a detective of national reputation, John Mullins, who is even now on
the trail, and he hopes to intercept the thief. But since Washington
is not many hours away from our home town by rail, it may be that the
precious paper was in the legation safe before my father even learned
of his loss.”
“But why should your father hesitate about letting the authorities at
Washington know of his loss, Tom? Perhaps they might help him find that
paper before the thief had found a chance to get it out of the country.”
Tom sighed heavily.
“I think father has a fear that some jealous rival of his might
circulate the report that the paper had not been stolen at all; and
that the supposed robbery was only a clever ruse on his part to deceive
the Government. In plain words, Jack, that my father, who would die
before betraying his country, had conspired to sell his invention at an
enormous price to the Germans.”
“That would be a terrible thing for any American to say of another!”
Jack asserted, indignantly.
“Still, there are men who would be guilty of throwing out such base
hints; and you know how these are magnified by the public. Father is
doubly troubled, you can see. I would give a great deal if only I could
in some way be able to recover that stolen paper, and put it safely
back in father’s hands.”
“You’ve made me feel bad, Tom. I sympathize with your father, because I
know from all you’ve told me that he expected this to be the crowning
feat of all his inventions. And then, besides, his loss may make
Germany the commanding nation of the whole world. Yes, it’s a great
misfortune. I wish we could do something to recover that stolen paper.”
“Oh, I’d give years of my life if I only could, Jack! But it’s no
use to dream of such a thing. Still, I suppose I will do that very
thing--dream of it--and often wake up in the belief that I’ve cornered
this Adolph Tuessig and forced him to hand over father’s latest and
biggest achievement.”
“I can easily understand just how you feel. It may be the thing will
work on my mind too, so that I’ll also dream I’m handing that paper
back to your dad, proudly telling him how we hunted the German spy
down and forced him to disgorge. But you said this misfortune at home
wouldn’t cause you to change your plans any, didn’t you?”
“I shall be more eager than ever to get a whack at the Kaiser, because
it was one of his miserable spies who robbed my father of his secret.
Our folks have already given their consent, and if only we can get
passage aboard a steamer there’s nothing to keep us from going across
to France, who is eager to accept all the aviators she can get on the
battlelines.”
Jack had apparently been a little anxious concerning this part of the
programme. Considerably relieved, he thrust out his hand and squeezed
the fingers of his comrade heartily as he went on to say:
“Ever since we concluded to offer our services to France, when we felt
satisfied we had learned the rudiments of flying, the idea has taken
a firm root in my mind; and, Tom, I’d be terribly disappointed if
anything happened to break up our pet plan.”
“No more than I would, Jack. You know my passion for being in the air.
And now that this cause for hating the Germans has come along, it’s
added fire to my zeal. I tell you it would have to be something pretty
serious that could cause me to back down at this late stage.”
“Then,” said Jack triumphantly, “we’re booked for France, if only the
steamship people will let us take passage. And from all accounts,
they’re not likely to put any obstacle in our way, knowing what our
motive is and that we are able to pay their price.”
“But surely by now I ought to have heard something to that effect from
the New York agent I wrote to,” argued Tom.
“Better try again,” suggested his companion. “Letters sometimes go
astray, you know, and he may never have received it.”
“Oh, I was wise enough to register the letter,” Tom told him; “so I
know it was safely delivered. Like as not he’s taking his own time to
answer, because sailings are not frequent in these days of submarine
horrors. They never advertise what day the boat is expected to leave,
always informing would-be passengers to be aboard at a certain time,
although the vessel may remain in the harbor for another day or two.
All that is done to prevent spies from sending by wireless information
connected with the sailing to the other side, and which in turn would
be communicated to the waiting U-boats.”
There was a ring of the bell.
“That was the postman, Tom. I wonder now if he had anything for you,”
remarked Jack, who chanced to be sitting near the window where he could
look out and observe all that was taking place in the street.
“I’ll go down and see,” his chum remarked, jumping up hurriedly; and
Jack noticed that Tom, usually so composed and cool, was showing the
effect of his late nervous strain in flying, now supplemented by this
fresh cause for anxiety.
Tom returned in a few minutes. He held an open letter in his hand. One
look Jack took at his beaming face, and then he too jumped hastily to
his feet.
“It must be good news, Tom, this time!” he ejaculated.
“Well, it is, for a fact!” shouted the other in excitement. “We’re
booked to sail on the twelfth! Here are our instructions to be on hand
the preceding evening, ready to start!”
Impulsive Jack threw his arms around his chum, and actually gave him a
bearish hug. It was plain to be seen that the greatest ambition of his
life was on the point of being gratified, and he was correspondingly
happy.
“Then perhaps within two weeks or so we may be standing on French soil,
and dropping in at that wonderful aviation school at Pau, about which,
since coming here, we’ve heard so much from Lieutenant Carson. Won’t
the other fellows be envious though, when they learn about our great
good luck? Hurrah!”