Rick listened, and he had to admit it wasn't a bad plan at all--so far.

"Of course they would let us rest. Then I'd wait for a chance to put the radio behind a cushion, or in the crack of an armchair, or somewhere like that. I didn't know exactly what I could do, but I knew if we could get aboard there would be some way of leaving the radio behind."

The pram had vanished around the turn of the cove. The speedboat would come into sight any moment now.

"All right," Rick admitted. "Let's say it was a good plan. What happened?"

Jan took up the tale. "We didn't want to try to swim all the way from Spindrift, so we took the rowboat and did exactly what Cap'n Mike did yesterday. We rowed along the sh.o.r.e with the aqualungs and got into the water right where we could see the houseboat. We had to.

Otherwise, we would have gotten lost underwater."

"But you had the wrist compa.s.ses, didn't you?" Scotty asked. The boys had stressed that compa.s.ses were essential because low visibility in the waters off Spindrift made it very easy to lose one's sense of direction.

"We had the compa.s.ses," Barby said. "How do you think we swam right to the houseboat?"

"Then why didn't you get into the water out of sight of the houseboat?" Rick asked, and suddenly he knew. That would have meant plotting a compa.s.s course around a turn. So many feet in one direction, then change to another compa.s.s heading. He had explained it to them, but they just hadn't learned. It was not easy, he had to admit, and it took practice even on land. "Never mind," he said. "I know the answer. Go ahead. Tell us the rest."

Barby studied his face. "I guess you do know," she a.s.sented. "Well, they told us later, on the houseboat. They saw us get into the water, then they watched our bubbles come right toward them. So when we got here, they weren't fooled."

"We went through with it, as we planned," Jan said, "and we thought we were getting away with it. They were very nice. Of course we could come up and rest. They were glad to have us stop by. But when we got aboard, one of the women had a gun, and she made us go into the cabin and sit down. Then they started asking us questions."

"What kind of questions?" Rick inquired.

"About why we had come. We stuck to the story, until they told us they'd seen us. Even then we didn't admit anything. Then Barby started to threaten them."

Scotty chuckled. "I'd like to have heard that."

Rick watched the tip of the cove. The speedboat from Spindrift should be coming shortly. "How about the plane?" he asked suddenly. "What did you do with it?"

Scotty motioned to the other side of the houseboat. "It's anch.o.r.ed. I landed next to the JANIG team and got into the rowboat with them." The Sky Wagon carried a small anchor and a few yards of anchor line in one of the pontoons.

"Okay. Carry on, Barby. How did you threaten them?"

"I was very logical," Barby stated. "Wasn't I, Jan?"

Jan nodded agreement. "You definitely were."

"I started by telling them that they couldn't possibly do a thing to us, and they might as well let us go right away."

"Bet that impressed them," Rick murmured.

"Are you telling this, or am I?"

"You are," Rick said contritely. "Go ahead."

"Well, I said my brother knew where we were, and they'd better be careful. It didn't work. Then I pointed out that they didn't even dare to kill us, because our bodies could be traced back to the houseboat.

Everyone knew we'd just gone for a swim, and everyone knew we could take care of ourselves."

Rick thought privately that any time Spindrift was in danger from then on, he'd make sure his self-reliant sister had a bodyguard at all times.

"I said other things, too, but finally they slapped me and told me to shut up."

"Who did?" Scotty demanded.

"One of the women. It doesn't matter, Scotty. It didn't hurt. Anyway, they said we could stop worrying about what was going to happen to them. Then one of the men asked if we knew what had happened to the three scientists. We said yes. And he said ... he said ..." Barby suddenly turned white.

Jan finished for her. "He said they were going to erase our minds, too. Then they were going to put us back in the water." The words were no sooner out than Jan had a delayed reaction, too.

Rick rushed the two of them into the cabin and made them sit down with heads bent low. Scotty found water and gave them each a drink.

"You've acted like a couple of champs," Rick told them. "But for the love of mike, don't faint now!"

Barby lifted her chin. "I have no intention of fainting," she said defiantly. "It's just ... well, it's ..."

"I know," Rick a.s.sured her. "Take it easy, Sis."

He looked up. The sound of a racing speedboat was echoing inside the cabin. Good. They'd be home in a few minutes and his mother could take over. He gave the girls a comradely grin. What a pair!

The machine on the table attracted his eye. He walked over and studied it. The recording drum had wavy lines on it, probably the beginning of Jan's brain pattern. It made no sense to him, but it would to Parnell Winston.

"They had you taped," he told the girl gently. "But you saved your own bacon by telling Barby to turn on the radio. If you hadn't ..."

A shudder ran through Jan's slim body. "I was taped for trouble. I'm glad you came through the door when you did!"

Rick's finger traced a line on the recording drum.

"I'm kind of glad myself," he admitted.

CHAPTER XX

JANIG Closes In

Steve Ames walked around the objects on the laboratory table. "Nothing deadly looking about these gadgets," he said. "Which goes to show how misleading appearances can be."

The objects included the barber's ma.s.sage machine, an ancient composition-board suitcase, the gadget from the houseboat, and a TV set with an indoor antenna of the kind known as "rabbit ears."

Parnell Winston admitted, "There is plenty we don't know about them, especially the inside of that TV set. But we'll learn."

Steve smiled at the a.s.sembly of faces. In addition to the project team and the boys, Mrs. Brant, Mrs. Morrison, and the two girls were in the group. So was Joe Blake.

Rick regretted that Jerry, Duke, and Cap'n Mike could not be invited.

But the matter was still not for discussion with people on the outside. If a story ever could be made public, the _Morning Record_ would be the first to have it, but in all probability the facts would remain buried for some time.

In a large room in the lab bas.e.m.e.nt the four houseboaters and the barber waited under heavy guard for the arrival of a Coast Guard cutter. The barber was there courtesy of Captain Douglas, who had picked him up and delivered him to Spindrift after a call from Joe Blake.

Steve rapped for attention. "We're about to tie up some loose ends, everyone. Let's get seated, because the cutter will be here any moment."