He paused for a moment, and a smile rippled over the congregation.

"I have said," he resumed, "that they can hear it. And if they can hear it, they ought to hear it--that is if they want to. This is no new or untried idea. It is being carried out today in Pittsburgh, Washington, and other cities. The pulpit becomes a religious broadcasting station, from which the service is carried over an area of hundreds of miles. Everybody within that area who has a receiving set can hear it if they wish. In some cases it is estimated that more than two hundred thousand people are enjoying at the same moment the same religious service. You can see at once what that means in immeasurably extending the usefulness and influence of the church.

"Now it has occurred to me that we might do here what is being done elsewhere on a larger scale. So, after a conference with the officials of the church, an adequate sending set has been installed in the loft of the building. What is said here is sent from this microphone to the loft, where it is flung out into the ether. Arrangements have been made with a number of churches in this county, too poor and small to have a regular pastor, by which they have installed loud speaker receiving sets in their buildings. At this moment there are a dozen scattered congregations where the people have gathered to worship, and where at this moment they are hearing everything that is said just as plainly as you do.

"And in addition to that," he went on, "in hundreds, perhaps thousands of homes, people who cannot go to church because of illness or some other reason are listening to this service. The sick, the crippled, the blind--think of what it means to have the church brought to them when they cannot go to the church. You in the pews are the visible congregation. But outside these walls there is today an invisible congregation many times greater, to whom this service is bringing its message of help and healing."

With this prelude, Doctor Dale announced his text and preached his sermon, which, if anything, was more eloquent than usual. It seemed as if he were inspired by preaching to the greatest audience that he had ever had in his whole career, and the audience in the pews also felt a thrill as they thought of the invisible listeners miles and miles away. It seemed as though the natural were being brought into close connection with the supernatural, and the impression produced was most powerful.

If the doctor had had any misgivings as to the att.i.tude of his people toward this new departure, these were quickly dissipated by the cordial congratulations and approval that were expressed after the service was over and he moved about among them. It was the universal opinion that a great advance had been made and that the innovation had come to stay.

The radio boys had been intensely interested in this new application of their favorite study, and after the sermon they went up into the loft and examined the apparatus that had been used in sending. It was a vacuum tube set with two tubes and power enough to send messages out over the whole county. It had been set up by Dr. Dale himself, and that was proof enough for the boys that it had worked perfectly in sending out the morning service.

"What will radio do next?" asked Bob, as the boys were walking homeward.

"What won't it do next is the way you ought to put it," suggested Joe.

"It seems as if there were no limit. There are no such things as s.p.a.ce and distance any more. Radio has wiped them out completely."

"That's true," chimed in Herb. "The earth used to be a monstrous big thing twenty-five thousand miles round. Now it's getting to be no bigger than an orange."

"What a fuss they made when it was proved that one could travel around the world in eighty days," said Jimmy. "But radio can go round the earth more than seven times in a single second. Just about the time it takes to strike a match."

"Gee, but I'm glad we weren't born a hundred years ago," remarked Bob.

"What a lot of things we would have missed. Automobiles, locomotives, telegraph, telephone, phonograph, electric light----"

"Yes," interrupted Joe, "and radio would have been the worst miss of all."

"They're doing in the colleges now, too, something very like what the doctor did in the pulpit this morning," said Bob. "In Union College and Tufts and a lot of others the professors are giving their lectures by radio. Talk about University Extension courses! Radio will beat them all hollow. Think of a professor lecturing to an audience of fifty thousand, instead of the hundred or so that are gathered in his cla.s.sroom. And think of the thousands of young fellows who are crazy to go to college and haven't the money to do it with. They can keep on working and get their college education at home. I tell you what, fellows, Mr. Brandon was right the other day when he said that the surface of radio had only been scratched so far."

The next day at school the boys found that the story of their experience with the bear had had wide circulation, chiefly through the activity of Buck Looker, who took care at the same time, however, to express his belief that nothing of the kind had happened. There was a good deal of good-natured joking, and the boys in self-defense had to explain the whole thing in all its details.

At recess their story received unexpected confirmation, for there, just outside the school yard, was Tony putting Bruno, the bear, through his tricks while a breathlessly interested crowd gathered about the pair. Tony grinned at the boys when he saw them and Jimmy a.s.serted that Bruno grinned too, but the rest of the radio boys thought that that was due to Jimmy's excess of imagination.

A noticeable feature of the school work that day was the scarcity of pupils. All the cla.s.ses were more or less spa.r.s.ely attended, and the teachers were called to a conference with Mr. Preston, the princ.i.p.al.

"What do you suppose the powwow of the teachers was all about?" asked Bob, as the boys were going home after the session of the school was ended.

"About so many fellows being away," replied Joe, who, as his father was the leading physician of the town, was better informed than were his friends as to the situation. "Dad says there's an awful lot of sickness in the town. He's kept busy day and night, and scarcely has time to breathe."

"I wonder what the reason is," remarked Herb.

"Dad thinks the water supply may have something to do with it,"

answered Joe. "He says there's a regular epidemic of typhoid fever, and that usually comes from impure water. He's called the attention of the town council and the engineers of the reservoir to the matter, and they're going to have an investigation. Dad says it may even be necessary to close the schools for a time."

"What's that?" exclaimed Jimmy, with sudden animation.

"Don't tell Jimmy anything like that," mocked Herb. "It would simply break his heart. If there's anything he's stuck on it's school."

"You fellows wouldn't be tickled to death either if you thought you were going to get a vacation, would you?" retorted Jimmy. "I know you birds."

"Say, wouldn't it give us lots of time for radio!" said Bob enthusiastically. "I want to get all the new wrinkles in that latest set of ours, and we don't have time to do it in the few evenings we can spare from our home work."

"You bet," agreed Herb. "I don't want there to be any more sickness, but I sure do hope they find it necessary to close the schools. That would be just what the doctor ordered--in more senses than one."

"I wouldn't shed any bitter tears myself," admitted Joe. "There's going to be a meeting of the Board of Health to consider the subject soon, and I'll give you fellows the tip the minute I hear anything definite about what they decide to do."

"In the meantime, suppose you fellows drop around this evening for a little while," suggested Bob. "I want to try out some long distance receiving and listen in on Chicago."

All agreed to be there at about eight o'clock.

The Laytons had barely finished dinner that night when the door bell rang. Bob answered the bell.

He was surprised to find that the callers were Mr. Looker and his son Buck. Both had dark and angry looks on their faces.

"I want to know," said Mr. Looker abruptly, "what you and your companions mean by burning down my cottage!"

CHAPTER VI

THE BURNED COTTAGE

"Nonsense!" exclaimed Bob. "What makes you think we'd do a trick like that?"

"Never mind about that!" exclaimed the elder Looker, furiously. "I supposed you'd deny it. I want to see your father, young man."

"Here he is," and Mr. Layton, who had been attracted to the door by Mr. Looker's loud and angry tones, emerged on to the porch. "What can I do for you, Mr. Looker?"

"You can pay me for my house that your boy and his companions burnt down," said Mr. Looker in angry tones.

"I rather think you must be mistaken," said Mr. Layton. "What grounds have you for making such a serious accusation?"

"My boy caught them red-handed after they'd broken into the house, and made them get off my property. It wasn't six hours later that the place was burned, and there's no doubt in my mind that your boy and his friends set it on fire just to get even. They've always had a grudge against Buckley, anyway, and are always doing all they can to make life miserable for the poor fellow."

"You know that isn't true, Dad," protested Bob, hotly, "neither about the fire, nor about Buck. He's always the one that starts trouble."

"You've got plenty of nerve, Looker, to come here and make an accusation like this to me," remarked Mr. Layton, his usually kindly face stern and set. "There are many ways that fire could have occurred besides being deliberately set, and you know it. Likely enough some tramps had decided to spend the night there, and set it on fire by accident. You had better get off my property before I am tempted to throw you off."

"It might not be so easy as you think," sneered the elder Looker, but nevertheless he began edging toward the sidewalk. "If you don't pay, I'll see my lawyer and have him bring action in court. See if I don't."

"Suit yourself," answered Mr. Layton, shrugging his shoulders. "Your lawyer will tell you, though, that you haven't the shadow of a case.

As for your boy, he looks big enough to take care of himself, and if he can't, I don't see what business that is of mine."

"I'll show you," threatened Mr. Looker, as he turned down the walk.

"Don't worry about that. Maybe somebody will be arrested."