THE SOUND DETECTOR DETECTS
During the three-hour run east-southeast to Santa Barbara, which the Sub Chaser reached between two and three o'clock that afternoon, the fog lifted and the sun shone again, not only on the surrounding scene but on the spirits of the three chums as well.
For one thing, Mr. Temple was persuaded not to hurry their departure by train for San Francisco that night but to lay over in Santa Barbara a day. For another, the boys received from Inspector Burton's confidences the impression that in the next twenty-four hours developments of moment would occur in the situation into which they had been drawn. And, being on the ground, they believed they would be witnesses to such developments at least, if not active participants.
For the Secret Service man confided that Inventor Bender's sound detector had succeeded beyond his expectations and, incidentally, had entirely upset his previous calculations by what it revealed. He had believed, as earlier in San Francisco he had told them, that the smugglers' cove was somewhere near San Diego in all probability. But the sound detector very definitely had located it as in the group of wild islands off Santa Barbara.
"Those are the islands," he said, pointing to three mountainous formations rising from the sea to starboard. "Wild, craggy, isolated and large; sparsely inhabited, and not on any steamer track; not a town nor even a hamlet on any of them.
"They lie along this coast in a chain stretching seventy miles. There are three large ones, San Miguel, the most northern, Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz-the latter the largest and wildest. Then beyond Santa Cruz on the south lies the mysterious vanishing island, Anacapa. At high tide it is a group of little islands, almost submerged. At low tide, sandpits connecting the low hummocks are revealed. This gives it the name of 'Vanishing Island.'"
"And is it on 'Vanishing Island' you believe the smugglers are located?"
asked Frank.
Inspector Burton shook his head.
"No, that island is practically uninhabitable, and, besides, would be too open to observation. It is on one of the other three, although which has yet to be determined. Good as is Inventor Bender's sound detector, he said he was unable to locate the smugglers' secret radio station more accurately than to say it was somewhere in that group. He gave me his reasons, but I know so little about radio that I could not follow him well."
"I know a bit about the subject of sound detectors," said Jack.
"Although it was not generally known, radio compasses were employed by our forces and by the Allies, too, during the closing years of the war to locate sounds. However, such compasses were not very accurate, and from Inventor Bender's description of his own improved device I received the impression that he had made a great advance.
"Probably," he continued, "Inventor Bender could obtain almost the exact location of the smugglers' radio if he were able to surround the suspected area with sound detectors. The detectors, then, would hunt out the exact hub where the secret radio was in operation. But, if he has brought only one or two detectors into play--"
"Three," interrupted Inspector Burton, who had followed Jack's explanation with keen interest. "They are at San Francisco, at Ventura, down the coast, and in the Santa Ynez mountains behind Santa Barbara."
"Then," said Jack, "the probability is that, while able to state the secret radio is somewhere in those islands, he cannot say definitely which one. Which one do you consider the most likely?" he queried, turning to Inspector Burton.
"I have not formed an opinion," he said. "All three are admirably adapted for the purposes of this Chinese-smuggling outfit. They are thirty to fifty miles from shore, unvisited as I said. I believe there is a launch takes occasional sightseers to Santa Cruz, the nearest, from Santa Barbara. But they cannot stray far from the landing place and the island, which is some twenty-seven miles long and five to fifteen miles wide, with a range of mountains all along its length, can keep its secrets without fear of discovery by tourists."
"Isn't it strange we have not caught sight of the trawler, if it was heading for a refuge in those islands?" asked Bob.
Ensign Warwick answered.
"No, the obvious thing for it to do would be to take an opposite course in the fog, stand out to sea, and run in under cover of darkness tonight."
"Moreover," added Inspector Burton, "the smugglers' cove probably is on the seaward side, while we are running down the channel."
"Yes," interrupted Mr. Temple, who had been leaning over the port rail, watching the shore, and conversing with Doctor Marley whom he found a surprisingly good companion when drawn out, "and we'll soon be in. Boys, go forward and watch the shore and town. I'm delighted now that you have an opportunity to see Santa Barbara, especially from this viewpoint. It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world."
The Sub Chaser had rounded a point of land, and the curving beach of Santa Barbara now came into view. Nearest them was a two-story structure of light-colored stone which Inspector Burton pointed out as the Natatorium.
A little park surrounded the structure and south of it, along the waterfront, extended a boulevard flanked by palm trees of noble proportions. Farther down the boulevard, amid a variety of tropical foliage, rose a splendid hotel of huge proportions.
Back from the beach, rising steadily but gently toward the hills in the rear, lay the town, embowered in trees. The foothills were crowned with great houses that, in many cases, amounted to palaces. Behind all lay the mountains of the Santa Ynez range, seeming almost to encircle the town. Everywhere was a profusion of color, red-tiled roofs of houses built in mission style vying with the flame of poinsettias. And over all was a drowsy, somnolent warmth of sunshine under which the town seemed to be taking a siesta.
Only a few bathers were in sight on the sands before the Natatorium, and Inspector Burton explained that Santa Barbara was a winter resort, rather than a summer one. It was July. Until September, he said, the town would drowse under the summer sun with little activity apparent.
Then the wealthy Americans from all parts of the country who maintained homes at Santa Barbara, and at nearby Montecito, would begin to arrive, and the town would resume its winter gaiety.
The boat swung in to a long pier. The beat of the gasoline engines was stilled. The speed slackened until presently the rakish craft came to rest by the side of a floating platform, from which a flight of stairs led to the high pier above. Ropes were thrown which several workmen on the pier seized, and the boat was made fast. Then a little ladder was lowered to the float, and Inspector Burton and Jack made their way ashore. Jack had been commissioned to buy lightweight summer clothes, shirts and shoes and hats for Mr. Temple and his two chums. He promised to return as quickly as possible and, waving a hand in farewell, set off along the pier with the Secret Service man.
He was not long in executing his commissions and returned in a taxicab which rattled out to the pier and was kept waiting while Mr. Temple and the other boys donned the clothing Jack had purchased. All praised his selections. Then the taxi carried them back uptown to the Victoria Hotel, some distance up State Street, the wide main thoroughfare. Ensign Warwick accompanied them.
There, by pre-arrangement, they were met by Inspector Burton. After lunching, the entire group retired to the sitting-room of Mr. Temple's suite to await the arrival of Inventor Bender, who had been summoned by telephone.
"You boys have been of such tremendous assistance so far," said Inspector Burton, "that the least I can do in return is to let you know what the inventor has discovered. He ought to be here shortly."
Presently from their windows overlooking the park-like grounds of the hotel, they saw a huge, dust-covered automobile roll up to the _porte cochere_, and recognized Inventor Bender beside the chauffeur.
"He made good time down from the mountains," said Inspector Burton, glancing at his watch.
A few moments later the inventor was shown to the sitting room, and entered with an air of triumph and suppressed excitement.
"Well," he cried, without even waiting to exchange greetings, "we have got them."
CHAPTER XX
IN AT THE DEATH
"So there you are, Inspector. That's what the Bender sound detector discovered. Human ingenuity could do no more."
Inspector Burton with difficulty repressed a smile at the inventor's childlike vanity. Mr. Temple experienced similar difficulty. Ensign Warwick grew red in the face, and the boys made occasion to bow their heads. In reality, however, nobody need have attempted to hide his feelings, for the inventor was so constituted that he paid his auditors no attention. He was like many geniuses-a supreme egotist.
Those mentioned were seated in Mr. Temple's suite. Doctor Marley alone of the party was not present, having been left aboard the Sub Chaser.
The inventor had spent a considerable space of time relating what had been learned through the medium of the sound detector. From San Francisco he had gone directly to Ventura and, after placing a sound detector in the government radio station at that point, had turned back to the station on top of the Santa Ynez mountain range behind Santa Barbara. For two days he had been listening vainly in the attempt to catch code messages which might be interpreted as coming from the secret radio station of the smugglers.
Success had come that morning, just after the storm. The heavy fog at sea 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 a message in code-a code unlike any of the commercial codes registered with the government and of which he had obtained copies at San Francisco through the offices of Inspector Burton.
He listened. A conversation was being carried on between a ship at sea and a fixed land station. The ship, he now realized must have been the trawler; the station, the secret radio of the smugglers.
It seemed to him the sound detector located the fixed land station south-southeast of Santa Barbara, which would place it somewhere in the group of Channel Islands. This coincided with a bearing communicated from the San Francisco station, which also had picked up the code messages, and had radioed him at once the line along which they had come. Ventura had not, for some freakish reason, been able to pick up the messages at all.
It was then he had radioed Inspector Burton aboard the Bear, and caused the latter to return.
Later, however, and very recently, in fact, he had gotten information more definite. For, since Inspector Burton had telephoned him to descend from the mountains and confer at the hotel, he had picked up another message in code in which, moreover, occurred the words "Santa Cruz"
several times.
"So there you are, Inspector," he said. "That's what the Bender sound detector 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.