The Radio Detectives Part 18

"Well, we'll soon know what 'tis," said Tom. "Gos.h.!.+ I can scarcely wait."

At last they heard the voices of the three men, laughing and chatting, as they left the dining room, and an instant later they entered the library.

"Now I suppose you four want the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth," laughed Mr. Pauling, as he motioned the others to seats and settled himself in his own favorite chair. "I don't think there's much that I cannot reveal now-except a few matters which have no direct bearing or interest on the part you boys and Mr. Rawlins have played.

Well, let's see. I guess I'd better begin at the garage-you know already that Henderson identified the prisoner and how we had a hunch that the affair centered in that block where the boys' radio compa.s.ses located the phantom speaker. I had an idea our men would have to surround the entire block and make a house-to-house search, but the rascals saved us that trouble. Evidently their friends had warned them that something was wrong and Reilly's men arrived just in time. They found a truck just leaving the garage, and, remembering my orders to hold every one and everything that looked suspicious, they stopped the truck-when the driver put on speed as soon as he glimpsed the police. That was suspicious and when they overhauled it they found it loaded with liquor.

Inside the garage, they found four more trucks and a crowd of men and Murphy here tells me they put up a mighty good fight. That, of course, drew a crowd and East Side crowds have no use for the blue coats. The result was a free for all until another wagon arrived with reserves and in the fracas several of the men in the garage broke away and disappeared in the crowd.

"However, they got six and found enough contraband liquor in the trucks and in a secret room under the floor to stock a dozen saloons. Most of it was in this hidden room or cell under the floor, and very cleverly hidden, too. Had a door formed by a false bottom to a repair pit and all they had to do was to run a truck over the pit as if being repaired and pa.s.s up the goods from below. There were other things in that room, too.

About twenty-five thousands dollars' worth of furs and jewelry-all stolen here or hereabouts; opium to the value of a hundred thousand or so, to say nothing of morphine, cocaine and other drugs. In addition, there were several thousand copies of red propaganda circulars and pamphlets, a neat little engraving and printing plant and a second trapdoor that opened into the old sewer. And the radio set was there also. A receiving set-made in Germany by the way-and the transmission outfit. That was the cleverest thing yet-according to Henderson who knows more about it than I do. He tells me the what-do-you-call-it-aerial-was a folding affair stretched across the inside of the roof and so arranged that it could be drawn back between the girders entirely out of sight. Now I don't know any of the technical part of this and I'll let Henderson explain it all to you boys later if you wish. But the main thing, as I understand it, was that they could send several thousand miles with the outfit on one kind of a wave or could talk to a person a few blocks away with another sort. At any rate, we never would have found that if we hadn't found the secret cell and the machine and a man at it. I'm not surprised Henderson's men never located it.

"That's all about the garage. It was the headquarters and clearing house of a dangerous gang of international cutthroats and rogues. They had been robbing right and left, carrying their loot in motor cars and trucks to the garage and hiding it in the secret room. Then from there it had been carried in watertight containers, like miniature submarines, through the old sewer to the submarine by the divers. Each time the submarine came in she brought a cargo of liquor, drugs, cigars, plumes, and other contraband and took away all the valuables and receipts from sales. The conversations you overheard were between those in the garage and other members of the gang, and the reason you boys did not hear the other speaker was because he used a radio telegraph instrument-that's right, isn't it, Henderson-and a very weak or short wave-let's see, a 'buzzer set' you called it, wasn't it? Well, you can get all that from Henderson, anyway."

"But how on earth did you find all that out?" asked Rawlins, as Mr.

Pauling ceased speaking to light a cigar.

"Well, it took a little urging," replied Mr. Pauling. "Murphy and his men hinted to their prisoners that they'd been given the tip by the men on the submarine and so, of course, they told all they knew in the hope of getting lighter sentences and Henderson had the Russian up at his office with Ivan and let _him_ think we knew all about him and the submarine through tips given by the other crowd. As a result, we got pretty complete information from both sides. But"-here Mr. Pauling lowered his voice and signaled for Murphy to stand guard at the door-"we couldn't get what we wanted from either the Russian or any of the gang at the garage. They'd tell us certain things-give us details and facts about matters of which we already knew-such as the means of communication, the submarine, etc., but beyond that they would not go.

"Short of torture I don't believe they'd let out a word. And we knew-we were positive-that back of it all was something deeper-a stupendous plot aimed at the very heart and life-the very existence of the United States and England. And we felt equally positive that back of this was an arch criminal or rather arch fiend-a man with a tremendous brain, almost unlimited power and marvelous resources. We could see many things which linked this petty smuggling, the hold-ups and burglaries, the rum-running and drug-importing with events of far greater importance.

But we had no proof, no evidence to go on.

"Some of our men thought they knew who this head-this nucleus of the whole affair was but they could not be sure-they would not even dare mention his name-and so we were handicapped, working in the dark. But now we do know. We know far more than I dare tell any one, than I dare think. The injured man has placed it all in our hands. It was the most astounding revelation I have ever known or ever expect to hear. I cannot tell you all-I did not even permit Murphy or the doctor to be by the man's bedside while he spoke and as soon as I knew he could speak and understand English I sent Ivan off, too. Only Henderson and I heard what he said. This man was-yes, I say 'was,' because he is dead-was one of those misguided men who plotted against England and became a tool of the Germans. He betrayed his cause and his leaders, and, despised, hunted for the traitor and coward that he was, not safe either in England, Ireland or Germany, he became a man without a country, an enemy of all organized governments, a fanatical 'red' and a trusted emissary of this arch criminal I referred to.

"When he became conscious he raved and cursed frightfully, swearing he had been betrayed and in his mad desire for vengeance-knowing he had but a few moments to live-told us as best he could with his scorched and blackened lips and tongue what we longed to know. It was unbelievable, incredible, more marvelous than Jules Verne's stories, but true, we know, from the way it dovetails in with other facts in our possession.

"Among other things, we learned that many mysteriously missing s.h.i.+ps-the many pa.s.senger and merchant vessels which never reached port-were deliberately sunk, torpedoed without warning and all survivors put to death in cold blood merely to secure the gold and other valuables on board. All this treasure, all the loot from robberies and crimes committed in the United States and abroad, all the receipts from smuggling and the sales of drugs and liquors were to swell the fund this master plotter was acc.u.mulating to accomplish his final purpose.

"This he told us towards the last-when each breath was a mighty effort, when each word was wrung from him with torture-and he even tried to tell us where it was hidden, where this vast treasure is concealed, cached, and where we might find the headquarters of this monster in human form.

He was telling us and was striving, straining to give us the location.

He had mentioned the locality in a general way, was giving us the lat.i.tude and longitude and had gasped out three figures when he died-the words unfinished, the secret sealed within his lips and-most important of all, with the name of that ruthless, relentless master-fiend unspoken."

The boys' eyes had grown round with wonder as Mr. Pauling was speaking.

Mrs. Pauling leaned forward, her face flushed, her lips parted. Rawlins had remained as silent, as immovable as if carved in stone, and even Mr.

Henderson and Murphy had been so engrossed, so interested, although they knew the story as well as Mr. Pauling, that they had allowed their cigars to go out.

"Jehoshaphat!" exclaimed Tom, when his father ceased speaking. "Gos.h.!.+ We _did_ b.u.t.t into something worth while!"

"Oh, Gee!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Frank in disappointed tones. "Then you don't know where that treasure is after all!"

"No," replied Mr. Pauling, "not within several hundred miles. But the treasure is not the important thing, it's the man himself we want."

Rawlins rose, his eyes shone with unwonted brilliancy, his face was flushed.

"I'll say that's some day's work!" he cried. "But I'll bet we _can_ get that loot-and that whole bunch of crooks, too. I've a scheme, Mr.

Pauling, but I want a little time to think it over and get my brain straightened out. There's been too much crowded into it during the last ten hours."

Mr. Pauling stared at Rawlins as if he thought he might have taken leave of his senses. Then, realizing that Rawlins was in earnest, he said quietly, "All right, Rawlins. I don't know what your scheme may be, but I'll be glad to hear it whenever you're ready. Call me up and we'll hear it when you have it worked out. We owe you more than I can express to you now."

A moment later Rawlins had gone and hardly had his footsteps died away when the telephone tinkled.

"Yes!" exclaimed Mr. Pauling as he listened. "Remarkable! Absolutely deserted! Well, I guess that chapter's closed. Thanks for letting me know."

"Sorry Rawlins has gone," declared Mr. Pauling as he hung up the receiver and wheeled about. "That was the Admiral calling. One of the destroyers has found the submarine!"

"Gos.h.!.+ then they've caught more of the gang!" cried Tom.

"That's the astounding part of it," replied his father. "She was found drifting, her upper works just awash, about one hundred miles out to sea and _not a living soul on board her_!"

CHAPTER XIII

RAWLINS' PROPOSAL

When Rawlins called on Mr. Pauling the following day the first thing that greeted him was the announcement that the submarine had been found.

So excited were the boys that for some time they could not convey an intelligible idea of the matter and before Rawlins could grasp the details of the discovery they were plying him with questions as to his opinion in regard to it.

"What do you think became of the men?" cried Tom.

"Do you suppose it was their boat?" demanded Frank.

"How do you think it got so far away, if it's theirs?" put in Tom.

"We puzzled over it for hours last night and no one can explain it,"

declared Frank.

"Easy, boys, easy!" laughed Rawlins. "One thing at a time. Shorten sails a bit and let me get my bearings. You say the destroyer found a submarine floating just awash and absolutely deserted one hundred miles off the coast? I don't believe it _was_ that sub!"

"Could you identify it by a description-anything about it?" asked Mr.

Pauling.

"Well, I don't know," admitted Rawlins. "I know it was a German sub and I'd recognize it if I saw it; but whether I can be sure of it by a description depends upon the description."

"They're towing her in," Mr. Pauling informed him. "She was disabled and unable to come in under her own power. Until she arrives all we know is that she is a German boat-one of the medium-sized craft-that she carries torpedoes and a gun and that she is painted sea-green."

"Fits her like an Easter bonnet," declared Rawlins. "Under water I could not be sure of her color, but it was not black or gray-everything takes on a greenish look under water. Did they find anything suspicious on her?"

"That I can't say," replied Mr. Pauling. "They didn't report whether they made any discoveries or not."

"But if it _is_ the submarine, where are the men?" reiterated Tom.

"Search me," replied Rawlins. "A lot of things may have happened to them. Something may have gone wrong so they were obliged to come up and knowing they would be captured they took the sub's boats. Or again, they may have decided to desert the sub and scatter-probably they knew the chaps we got, and suspected they'd confess. It would have been an easy matter to run in close to sh.o.r.e, take to the boats and land and then sink the boats in shallow water so as to leave no trace. Or some s.h.i.+p might have picked them up. By the way, I've been puzzling over something. How do you suppose that sub got in and out of the West Indies without being seen and reported. If she carried contraband in and loot out she must have gone to some port."

"Why, didn't I explain that?" asked Mr. Pauling. "Must have slipped my mind when relating the story yesterday. The prisoner told us how they managed. The submarine never entered any port-unless you consider the hiding place of the chief of the gang a port-but picked up her cargoes in mid-ocean."

"Oh, I see, transferred them from another s.h.i.+p, eh?" said Rawlins.

"Stupid of me not to think of it."