The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1942-03-05

japanese fishermen used, arrived
at Alakoa at sunset.
Dick Wayne, watching the little
vessel blunder and grope its way
through the reefs-she was sounding
frantically with no less than three
lead lines-knew at once that the
one-eyed Captain Ramey had man.
aged to sell John Colt charter at
last, ii only for an excursion. Now
that Garrett Waterson had dealt
himself hand, nobody could any
longer guess what was ahead. But
in spite of his own entirely uncer-
tain situation, Dick grinned, genu-
inely tickled. Whatever the out
come, for the moment he had John
Colt well up in the air, and his
| brothers too.
Ramey's boat dropped anchor five
hundred yards from the Holokai.
] Evidently Dicks brothers had sent
| orders to the dock that John Colt
| should be brought to the house inn
mediately upon arrival for Alakoa's
| shore launch put out Immediately,
Hokano steering, and took off John
Colt. Tonga Dick watched this ma
neuver impassively. There was no
longer any danger that his brothers
would be bluffed into something by
Colt. The decision would rest with
| Waterson himself, and no one else.
| And it was true, as he had told
them, that he did not know what the
| grim and incommunicative old Wa
terson would do.
He got his binoculars now and
focused them upon Ramey's boat.
| The swift twilight of the latitude
was closing sharply, but the glasses
were still able to bring out every
detail aboard the Diesel boat. The
little tramp vessel sat awkwardly
on the water, her snub nose tilted
upward namely. She had a disor-
derly, family disreputabIe look, but
Dick knew she concealed a surpris-
ing turn of speed. Her name was
The Seal for no reason, unless it was
that the Islands had no seals.
Karen Waterson was leaning over
the rail, talking to Captain Ramey.
Dick could see the stitching in her
narrow hat brim, and the shadow of
her lashes. The movement of her
lips, while he could hear no least
sound of her voice, had a strange
effect, making her seem immeas-
urably far away.
As darkness fell, Dick saw Captain
Ramey leave Karen's side, and in a
moment or two light showed in the
Seals galley. Tonga Dick smiled
little, without much humor, as he
deduced from this that Ramey had
been left in the lurch by his cook.
Now the shore boat put out from
the dock again, this time pointing
directly to the Holokai. Tonga Dick
| watched it approach with a mini
mum of interest. BY the time it
was coughing alongside, he had
made up his mind that if his BROTH
ers had sent for him he was not 60
ing to go ashore until he very well
felt like it, But it was Charles
Wong, who, with an unexpected,
lank agility, pulled himself over the
Holokai's rail.
What do they want up there
now?" Dick asked YEARLY.
Nothing, Mr.. Dick, that know"
Wong was nervous; there was fiut-
ter in his long-boned hands as he
produced a twisted slip of paper. Il
came to you of my own thought. UP
at our receiving station they keep
hearing some ship calling the Holo-
kai-they can't tell what ship. It's
call letters aren't listed-no one ever
heard them before. We think il
may be some outlaw station. AT
any rate, the call comes in very per-
sistently; and we didn't hear you
answer, SO | came to tell you"
what were the call letters?"
"I have them written here"
Tonga Dick took the paper Wong
offered him and unfolded it. Even
before he made out its typewriter
characters in the failing light, he
knew what ship it would be that was
trying to get him now.
"They were still calling when you
left the house?"
Eyes, sir"
"Come here, Wong"
Tonga Dick ran back along the
deck and dived into the little ken
mel, abaft the galley, which served
as a radio shack, and Charles Wong
came pattering after him. He
clamped on his earphones and care
fully with micrometer delicacy, be-
gan to turn the big dial of the shor,
wave receiver; but for minutes there
was no result.
| HE must have shut down." Dick
said at last. IF you catch it again
at the Alakoa station, you'd better
answer and take the"
Just then the hunted signal came
in, so powerfully that the effect was
blasting. Somewhere, Unexpectedly
close at hand, Garrett Waterson was
calling Dick Wayne from the sea.
Dick quieted the blocked and clat.
tering receiver. Good Lord He's
right on top of usl Yes, he's calling
us, all right"
i He pressed a switch, and the gen
orator, bolted to the deck, began tc
speak in a mounting whine. Behind
the grill of the transmitter the great
tubes, big as footballs, slowly begar
to heat, until the radio shack was
dirnly lighted by their glow. The
automatic starting switch clashed
and there was a weird blue flash ir
the gloom as the relays gave the
generator full power.
Dick watched the voltometer higf
on the panel of the transmitter
When the needle had crawled to 300(
L