The Radio Boys on Secret Service Duty

  CHAPTER XX

  IN AT THE DEATH

  "So there you are, Inspector. That's what the Bender sound detectordiscovered. Human ingenuity could do no more."

  Inspector Burton with difficulty repressed a smile at the inventor'schildlike vanity. Mr. Temple experienced similar difficulty. EnsignWarwick grew red in the face, and the boys made occasion to bow theirheads. In reality, however, nobody need have attempted to hide hisfeelings, for the inventor was so constituted that he paid his auditorsno attention. He was like many geniuses--a supreme egotist.

  Those mentioned were seated in Mr. Temple's suite. Doctor Marley aloneof the party was not present, having been left aboard the Sub Chaser.

  The inventor had spent a considerable space of time relating what hadbeen learned through the medium of the sound detector. From SanFrancisco he had gone directly to Ventura and, after placing a sounddetector in the government radio station at that point, had turned backto the station on top of the Santa Ynez mountain range behind SantaBarbara. For two days he had been listening vainly in the attempt tocatch code messages which might be interpreted as coming from the secretradio station of the smugglers.

  Success had come that morning, just after the storm. The heavy fog atsea had not reached to the mountains. It had been sunshiny and bright,and he had taken his listening post at an early hour.

  Then, as he tuned his sound detector to varying wave lengths, had come amessage in code--a code unlike any of the commercial codes registeredwith the government and of which he had obtained copies at San Franciscothrough the offices of Inspector Burton.

  He listened. A conversation was being carried on between a ship at seaand a fixed land station. The ship, he now realized must have been thetrawler; the station, the secret radio of the smugglers.

  It seemed to him the sound detector located the fixed land stationsouth-southeast of Santa Barbara, which would place it somewhere in thegroup of Channel Islands. This coincided with a bearing communicatedfrom the San Francisco station, which also had picked up the codemessages, and had radioed him at once the line along which they hadcome. Ventura had not, for some freakish reason, been able to pick upthe messages at all.

  It was then he had radioed Inspector Burton aboard the Bear, and causedthe latter to return.

  Later, however, and very recently, in fact, he had gotten informationmore definite. For, since Inspector Burton had telephoned him to descendfrom the mountains and confer at the hotel, he had picked up anothermessage in code in which, moreover, occurred the words "Santa Cruz"several times.

  "So there you are, Inspector," he said. "That's what the Bender sounddetector discovered. Human ingenuity could do no more."

  "You certainly have done wonders, Mr. Bender. It is your opinion, then,that the smugglers' radio plant is on Santa Cruz Island?"

  "It seems so to me," said the inventor, nodding with vigor.

  Inspector Burton was thoughtful. The others remained silent, waiting forhim to speak.

  "I believe you are correct," he said at length. "Ensign Warwick, what doyou say?"

  "It certainly looks as if Santa Cruz is the smugglers' hangout."

  "And you, Mr. Temple?"

  The latter smiled and shook his head.

  "I have no opinion one way or the other," he said.

  Then Inspector Burton turned to the boys.

  "Well, lads," he said. "I have a proposition to make to you. I reallybelieve we have located the smugglers' hangout; that it is on Santa CruzIsland. And, while it is a big island, yet the smugglers' headquartersundoubtedly must be on the seaward side, as I earlier explained, andthere are not many places on that rocky shore where a landing could bemade.

  "I was fortunate on arrival yesterday to get in touch with an oldMexicano, a native of this country, who at one time many years agotended cattle on Santa Cruz Island when an early-day rancher attemptedto maintain a cattle ranch there. He found the grazing too poor to makethe venture profitable and gave up his project. This old fellow, whom Ilocated down in the Mexican quarter of the town, gave me much valuableinformation.

  "For one thing, I questioned him closely as to the possibilities formaking a landing on the seaward side of Santa Cruz. He said there wasonly one place really practical, and that was the mouth of a creek nearthe western extremity of the island. At other places, he said, cliffsdescended abruptly to the sea, and the waves always were high. Boatscould not safely land.

  "Now, if the smugglers are on Santa Cruz Island that must be theirlocation--up that creek. The ships can stand off shore, while small boatsply back and forth between the ship and the creek, landing the smuggledChinese coolies. Probably, somewhere up the creek, the smugglers have anumber of rude barracks, providing temporary shelter for the Chineseuntil they can be dispersed to the mainland. Also their radio plant mustbe up there."

  He paused, and Frank eagerly asked the question trembling on the lips ofall three chums.

  "You said you had a proposition to make us, Inspector?"

  The Secret Service man smiled.

  "Yes, I have a proposition," he said. "Briefly, would you care toaccompany us tonight on an expedition to Santa Cruz?"

  "Would we?"

  All three expelled the exclamation simultaneously.

  Inspector Burton turned to Mr. Temple.

  "These boys have shown such ingenuity so far," he said, "and have beenof such aid, that I feel I owe it to them to take them along. Of course,they must have your consent. And I would be delighted to have you withme, too, if you would care to come."

  "Not I, thank you," said Mr. Temple, with emphasis. "And I don't knowabout consenting to your request in regard to the boys. It is very kindof you, and I can see you sympathize with their adventurousinclinations. But, won't it be dangerous? Won't the smugglers put up astiff fight?"

  "There is that possibility, of course," said Inspector Burton. "Ibelieve, however, that when they see the uniforms of Uncle Sam'sfighters, and discover an armed vessel of the navy off shore, they willsurrender without resistance. Most folks, you know, have a great horrorof running foul of the government and its armed forces. Police theymight resist, but Uncle Sam's sailors and soldiers overawe them."

  "Yes, I believe that is true," said Mr. Temple. "Still----"

  "However, Mr. Temple," said the Secret Service man, hastily, "I cansympathize with your anxiety, and if you object I withdraw my invitationto the boys."

  "Dad, you have got to let us go," pleaded big Bob. "Why, as InspectorBurton says, there will be little danger. Besides, we aren't babies. Wehave taken care of ourselves pretty capably under trying circumstancesthis summer, haven't we? Now, haven't we?"

  He stood above his father as he spoke, having leaped to his feet in hisanxiety.

  "Yes, you have, Bob," said his father. He put up his hands before him asif for protection, and bent away in mock terror from his big son. "Don'tstrike. I surrender."

  The three chums shouted with delight.

  "But, remember," Mr. Temple warned. "I want you to go on thisexpedition, bearing the same advice the mother gave her daughter. Youmay 'hang your clothes on a hickory limb, but don't go near the water.'In other words, if there is any fighting, stay out of it. Unless, ofcourse, you are personally attacked, or your side is hard pressed."

  "Righto, Dad. We'll remember," said Bob.

  "And now, boys," said Inspector Burton, "I have my arrangements to make.So, if you will meet me at the pier--or, better, aboard the Sub Chaser--atseven o'clock tonight, I'll excuse myself."

  He arose, asking Ensign Warwick to accompany him.

  "As for me," said Mr. Temple, when the two officers had left the room,followed by Inventor Bender, "I'm worn out, and am going to take a nap.You boys have two or three hours of spare time. It would do you allgood, in view of your trip tonight, to try to snatch a few hours' sleep.But I suppose it would be impossible for you to compose yourselves?"

  "Couldn't be done, Dad," agreed Bob. "We'll go out and look at the townfor an hour or so. We can be back
around five-thirty, get a bit ofdinner, with you, and then go to the boat."