s agreed and, to their delight and satisfaction, the mysterious stranger continued to talk, evi

their minds were concentrated on the messages they suddenly realized that a true conversation, an interchange of messages, was going on, but, for some inexplicable reason, they could

Can't get anything on her. How about Colon? French Islands? Sure, they're just about crazy. No, no fear of that. Good stuff. No, no rough stuff. Expect her at same place

"Gee!" he exclaimed. "That's the most we

bell tinkled. "Hello!"-came the greeting in Henry's voice as To

t did you make out? No, guess you'd better not te

lared Henry, when Tom an

ut on the river!" exclaimed Tom. "W

t down and which, with the exception of one or t

sort of noise-like some one talking through a comb with paper on it,-the w

rank. "Did you hear any on

sounds weak or faint

old you about. The words w

ow was and what he said and why the dickens we can't hear him when we hear this chap. Couldn't you ma

a sort of buzzy mu

to locate him," remarked Frank. "Do you know

ellevue has a dandy set and there's 'Pink' Bradley down on 19th St., an

d Frank. "Do you s'pose you can see him to-morrow and tell h

t what's back of all this? You fellows aren't so keen just becau

t in a moment his

he said at last. "But it's a secret and you'

and Frank told him all they

and the West Indies and numbers, but I can now. I'll bet those numbers were places out at sea-fifteen seconds west-and 'A

Fleming," said Frank. "Te

he returned to the room. "Are you fellows

an tell him we're just anxious to locate him. We can make a myste

k. "If that other chap can hear him, why can't

conically. "Maybe he talks

xt time they're talking one of us will listen while

ested Henry. "If he is of course we wouldn't hear

er to the west or the north and we were all listening to the southeast. Say, you've got sense,

-rimmed glasses. He had a most disconcerting manner of staring at one and constantly blinking and gulping-like a dying fish Frank declared later-and his hands and wrists seemed far too long for his sleeves.

stening, his long arms dangling at his sides, his big eyes blinking and his half-op

entary names and they had expected to hear him speak "like a professor," as Tom would have expressed it. I

an' cannin' his gab if youse ask his call. Say, that boid oughter be up to the flooey ward-he's bughouse I'll say, w

did," replied

t Side expressions, he continued: "Say, he's had me guessing, too. But I can tell you one thing. He's west of my place-I'm

o you know that?" qu

ned and

n a loop, I've been usin' one for six months. Ed-he's my brother-is 'Sparks' on a big liner and showed me abou

r else was in some other direction. We were just planning to pick him up by one of us tuning and turning the loop while the others listened to

declared Jim. "Hully Gee, I've tuned everywhere from

ound like talking through a com

tter-I put it down to induction or somethin'-but Gee, come to think of

enry. "Only if 'tis he's got an awful wheeze

n how we can locate this fello

here we ought to find some place where we can

6th. We can take sets to their places and put 'em up. They haven't anything but crystal sets, and most likely they'll know other guys

e're just experimenting to find out what we can do with loop a?rials-call ourselves radio detectives-an

lulu of an idea-radio detectives. Well, I'l

at their sets and would call out as soon as they heard the messages from the mysterious speaker. All was arranged, but to the boys' intense chagrin not a sound came to any of them which remotely resemble

Sts., but they were not at all sure whether it would be found to the east or west of Third Avenue. Moreover, as Jim pointed out, for all they knew he might be on 27th St. or 20th St. or even slightly north or south of one or the other, for he stated that his brother had told him that when close to a sending

t Tom, Frank and Henry were, thoroughly convinced that the messages emanated from some one connected with a rum-running gang and they

hopes. No one was stationed at Tom's home, for, in order to provide two sets for the test, Tom's

ime Tom, at the 23d St. house, could not pick up the sounds, but at last, with his loop pointed to the northeast, they came clear. "Congratulations," was the first word he heard, instantly followed by the queer buzzing sound which Henry had described. "Golly, 'tis just like some one talking through a comb," was Tom's mental comment and deeply interested and

the plain words of the other speaker and did not realize

which was the main thing, and, a few minutes later all the boys we

ld them what he had discovered. "That puts him in between th

blocks now," said Henry joyfully. "Say, what d

right. Not a chance in the world of their getting wise. Nonsense, no one else has anything like it. Amateurs. Oh, forget it. Well, let 'em guess, guesses don't prove anything. Well, if they did they'd never find anythi

me as I made it,"

rin' cats! Do you mean to say

. "Say, did any of you fellows try tuning to diff

I got was some one who said 'for t

one's talking to him, he's jus

d Tom. "If he's really crazy the authorities ought to know it.

fted their instruments from house to house, gradually drawing their radio net about the mysterious sender until they we

d that they had done all they could and that they had proved the value of their loops in locating the u

onvinced that they came either from a gang of rum-runners or from some other law-breakers, for while there was no

e back for two weeks or more yet and if Mr. Henderson thinks there's anyt

cordingly the two boys went to Mr. Henderson's office and rela

they had ended, "this is very interesti

the various messages the boys had scribbled down a

the conversations and yet you have been listening in within a block of this chap. Very odd, yes, most extraordinary. There are several explanations that occur to me, however. For example, if they wished the conversation to be secret and unintelligible they mi

ickens didn't we think of that? Why we are doing the sa

of messages passed our censors as perfectly innocent and harmless and yet they

s about some of

ty inductance a phone message may come in over a radio set. That might account for your occasionally hearing those sounds which you describe as resembling words coming through a p

the conditions that had existed on the few occa

e table-I'd just been called up by Jim and-yes, I am sure now, I remember distinctly-I had my hand touching the stand while I was listening to the messages. You see, I was

ad taken down the phone receiver and had kept your hand upon it

rank. "And come to think of it, the phone is on th

spect is guilty until we prove our theory wrong and so we'll assume that your mysterious speaker is a crook until we find we're mistaken. However, before I take any active steps I think it will be a good plan to try another test. Suppose you listen i

ng for the government!" cried Tom enthusiastica

be in the least surprised if they are, and if so and we round them up, Uncle Sam will have to thank you boys. Go to it, boys! Perhaps we may