Page:St. Nicholas, vol. 40.1 (1912-1913).djvu/623

Rh of the fire for the ‘Press.’ Another boy over on the hill has been interrupting, and the ‘Press’ reporter, who was here, just went out to get him to cut off. When he stops, I think I ’ll soon have Jack, if he is in the house.

“There, Cass has stopped at last! Now I ‘ll call Jack again.”

As Scott threw the spark-coil switch to resume his calling, the door again darkened. This time it was one of the station-baggagemen.

He addressed the station-master. “Mr. Baker, the despatcher has ordered ‘46’ to go on—there is a Pullman party aboard that they have guaranteed to get through to Chicago to-night—and you are to go on with her as far as Timberton Junction, to look after the patching of the wires that are down near there.”

“All right! You stay here, and take back to the station any word the lad gets by wireless.”

At the door, the station-agent paused. He turned about.

“My boy, is there any one else in town who can work the wireless?” he questioned.

“My sister can read almost as well as I can. We learned by practising together.”

“Look here, then; could n't you come along with me, bringing the sending part of your set? You could send in word from anywhere along the line, no matter if the wires were broken.”

“Why, yes, I could go; but these instruments would be rather clumsy to carry. And they would n’t be any good without the ‘aérials,’ the overhead wires,” Scott responded. He thought a moment. “I tell you what I could do. There is a boy at Timberton Junction who has a wireless receiving outhit—with aërials, of course—but no sending instruments. I could borrow Cass Johnson’s portable set, take that along, and connect it with the Junction boy’s aërials—and so send word back from there.”

“Then suppose you do that,” said the agent.

Molly Deaton, called from the front veranda, some fancy-work in her hands, readily agreed to her part in the arrangement. “Shall I ‘sit in’ now?” she asked.

“Yes; in case Jack Snider should answer,” said Scott. As he adjusted the receiving ‘phone to his sister's head, he added: “When the reporter comes back, you explain to him. And tell him anything you hear about the fire.”

“Very well. But don’t you send too fast when you get to the Junction!” Molly admonished.

“I ‘ll not.”

Only taking time to find and inform his mother, Scott was off with the station-agent for the Johnson home. Twenty minutes later, they were at the station, with the borrowed portable wireless set and two powerful storage cells. The train