The End of the "Mystery"
Hal almost held his breath in his eagerness to maintain perfect silence
in order that he might "listen-in" to this radio transmission until the
sender had telegraphed all that he had in mind to send.
"My, if I only had an extension receiver," he thought. "How I would like
to hear what the fellow he's talking with has to say."
Even as this longing came to his mind, "Bill" ceased to send and listened
attentively to something that was coming to him "over the wireless."
Presently he swung the aerial switch over and began to send again.
"I tell you you are in danger," he dot-and-dashed. "That hiding place is
not safe any more. They will have a revenue cutter down on you, before
you know what has happened. The government officer suspects the truth, I
am dead sure."
A few more sentences of similar purport were sent in reply to other
messages received. Then "Bill" cut the radio conversation short with a
warning that he did not dare continue it longer and left the table. As he
got up from his seat, Hal stepped into the cabin and remarked:
"Congratulations, 'Bill'; I didn't know you were a radio fan. But really,
I'm glad to recognize you as an old acquaintance."
"Bill" turned as white as the proverbial sheet and trembled like the
aspen of similar associations. Then he blurted out:
"I don't know what you mean."
"Do you deny that you were just telegraphing a message to a friend of
yours?" Hal demanded.
"No, not at all," replied "Bill". "I guess that ought to convince you I'm
not the criminal you're trying to make me out to be."
"I'm not trying to make you out a criminal. I surely hope you're not. No,
I don't believe there are many criminals among radio fans and college
students."
"College students!"
"Say, 'Bill Howard', don't try to play the innocent to a fellow who's
been listening-in to your unconscious confessions ever since you began to
talk in your sleep," Hal scoffed with well simulated disgust. "I know
well enough who you are. You're one of the sophomores of Edward's College
who hazed Alvin Baker by marooning him on that island where his cousin
shot you with a slingshot."
"Bill's" lower jaw dropped, and there was some more aspen trembling in
his frame.
"You don't need to be so badly scared," Hal went on with a tone of
reassurance inspired by a purpose. "Of course that was a pretty raw
hazing, but you can get by with it yet if you don't carry your prank any
farther. Tell us where your victim is."
"Give me a few days and I'll produce him," the frightened boy pleaded.
"He isn't hurt, and nobody's goin' to hurt 'im."
"Well, I'm glad to get that much out of you," Hal declared with profound
gratification. "But I don't see why in the world you have to be so
mysterious about it. Why not tell me now where he is?"
"I--I--can't," faltered the other.
"Don't you know?"
"No, but I can find out."
Hal was sure the fellow was lying, and he looked at him with accusing
penetration.
"You'll have to let me do it my own way," the Canadian youth added
stubbornly.
Realizing that he could make no further progress with the prisoner at
present, and fearing that it might not be wise to disclose what more he
had learned by listening to the wireless messages the hazer had just
sent, Hal returned to the deck and recounted his experience in the cabin
to his companions. All were assembled at the pilot house when he gave
his recital.
"This is important," said Mr. Buckley when the account was finished. "I'm
glad you didn't disclose to him the fact that you suspect anything is
going on of interest to the Canadian government. He won't be on his guard
so much perhaps as he would be if you had put all your cards on the
table. By the way, everything seems to be happening in our favor right
now. There's a Canadian revenue boat over there. Let's run over that way
and hail it."
The boat in question was somewhat larger than the Catwhisker and looked
as if it might give the yacht a merry race if the two were matched for a
test of speed. She was 300 yards distant and in a few minutes the evicted
Friday Islanders had run up within short hailing distance of her. Then
Buckley gave a signal, which was recognized, and the two boats were
brought close together. A short conversation between Buckley and the
commander of the revenue boat was sufficient to acquaint the latter with
the situation, and he promised to remain in the vicinity in order that he
might come speedily to the aid of the Catwhisker when needed.
Then began the work of careful examination of the Friday Island group
with binoculars. The yacht was only a few hundred yards from these
islands when the Canadian revenue cutter was sighted. After arrangements
for co-operation had been made with the commander of this boat, the
Catwhisker began to move slowly around the group, while Mr. Perry and Mr.
Buckley examined every detail of their littoral features with strong
glasses. Cub was at the wheel, and Mr. Baker, Bud, Hal and Max stood near
the two men with the glasses, eagerly waiting for significant results.
"I wonder if this is to be the finishing stroke," said Bud, addressing
the two boys near him.
Mr. Perry overheard the "wonder" and replied:
"I am confident that we will solve the whole problem very shortly."
"With mathematics?" asked Hal.
"You see we are moving in a geometric circle, do you not?" Mr. Perry
returned with a smile.
"Oh, look there!" suddenly exclaimed Max. "A motor boat."
But there was no need of calling attention to so conspicuous an
appearance. All saw it at the same time. It darted out from a narrow
passage between two of the smaller islands surrounding the one that Alvin
Baker had denominated "Friday." It was a small cabin runabout, very
neatly designed and constructed; and apparently with a draft measured
only by inches. She made directly for the yacht.
"Catwhisker, ahoy!" called out a youthful voice, and a wide-awake
red-haired boy put his head out of one of the port windows of the cabin.
"I want to come aboard with important information."
Of course, everybody aboard the Catwhisker was astonished, but Mr. Perry
signaled Cub to reverse the engine. This was done, and the yacht soon
lost all headway. Then the runabout glided close up to the larger power
boat, and the boy who had hailed her sprang over the two adjacent rails.
Another boy could be seen in the pilot seat of the smaller craft.
"My name is Halstone," announced the visitor. "I am from--"
His announcement was drowned with exclamations of surprise from
his audience.
"Hal Stone!" repeated several in chorus, including the Catwhisker's Hal
Stone himself.
"Yes, Halstone," reiterated the challenged youth; Frederick Halstone.
"Anything funny about that? I'm the reporter from Watertown who was
dot-and-dashing with you folks last night. I got in touch with a friend
of mine right away who owns that motor boat, and he was crazy to make the
trip here after this big scoop. I'm here representing not only my paper,
but the Associated Press. We located Friday Island here without any
difficulty. But I brought my radio outfit and loop antenna along and
listened in just a short time ago to some messages between somebody who
said he was a prisoner on the Catwhisker and another fellow on a boat in
the cove I just came out of. You'd hardly think a boat of its size could
get in there. It's about the same size as the Catwhisker, and is built
and painted like it. I think you'll find the solution of your big mystery
is right there. They're loading a lot of stuff in boxes from a cave in
the steep bank of that small island next to the big one. The cove is
between these two small islands, which, you see, have high banks and are
covered with bushes and trees, so that their boat could rest there and be
invisible to anybody out on the river or on the shore of the larger
island that you call 'Friday'. They're making a big hustle to get away."
"Is there a boy in there?" asked Mr. Baker eagerly.
"Yes, several of them and four men. The men were pretty sore at me for
running in there, and they ordered me out. I don't think, however, that
there's much love lost between the men and the boys. I suspect the men
are smugglers, and the boys have got into a scrape they don't like.
There was an exchange of hot words going on just as I ran into their
hiding place."
No more time was wasted in the making of explanations. The little revenue
cutter was signaled and in less than fifteen minutes half a dozen men,
including Mr. Buckley and Mr. Baker, were on the cabin-runabout which
again saucily invaded the retreat of the Catwhisker's "double."