"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 a.s.sociations. 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 soph.o.m.ores 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 rea.s.surance 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 n.o.body'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 a.s.sembled 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 gla.s.ses. Cub was at the wheel, and Mr. Baker, Bud, Hal and Max stood near the two men with the gla.s.ses, 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 pa.s.sage 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 a.s.sociated 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 sh.o.r.e 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 sc.r.a.pe 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."

CHAPTER x.x.x

The Result of a Radio Hazing

The raid was a speedy success. "Captain" Howard and his crew of lawbreakers offered no resistance when they saw the odds against them, for each of the men from the revenue cutter was armed and promised to shoot to kill if a hostile hand was raised against them.