CHAPTER XXXThe Wind-up—Conclusion
They found it easy enough to get up speed with the assistance of the current, and then take off, when a clear streak of water was reached. Rising to a fair ceiling Jack headed south, and the night flight was on.
He let Perk take over the controls before a great while, while once again he studied his charts, well marked from previous searchings. So went the long hours, with numerous turnings as the humor urged; for they were now only killing time, and waiting for the dawn to come.
No sooner was it light than Jack again settled down at the stick, with the ship headed toward his intended goal. He had good reason to believe his information to be correct, and that before many hours they would be able to cash in on the prospect, kill the efficiency of the outlaw radio station to do further injury, and bring the operations of the great smuggler league to a wind-up, which was all the Government asked of him.
Nine o’clock in the morning found them on the coast, and approaching a certain wild district where no man was supposed to have his habitation—even the shanties of the Spring fishermen were conspicuous by their absence—the place was so lonely, so isolated, so storm-swept, that the bravest of coast dwellers did not have the nerve to carry on their daily avocation along the line of fishing, or wild-fowl shooting, amidst such desolate surroundings.
All of which had made it an ideal spot for an unregistered radio base; and Jack believed his hunch was a true one when he decided he would find the end of his trail where he was now heading.
A little distance back of the beach, beyond the scrub and dead grass, there had for many years been known to exist a strange looking object, almost falling in ruins now; but which at one time had been a well built tower, more or less fashioned after the type of a coast lighthouse, since it had winding stairs within, and a room at the top, from which a wonderful view of the sea could be obtained.
Jack knew the brief history of that queer tower—how it had been built long years back by a retired sea captain, whose heart was still faithful to his beloved salt-water; and who, desirous of dying within the sound of the breakers had spent almost his last dollar in having this peculiar tower erected, strong enough with its rocky walls to defy the elements that usually played such rough pranks along this particular stretch of shore.
Some people of a romantic turn of mind even said the old captain had lost his wife and daughter in a wreck close by that very part of the coast, which fact had been mainly instrumental in his carrying out his queer conceit. After all, he had really died there, being found lifeless by a party of shipwrecked men who chanced to reach land at that place, and anticipated being fed and warmed by some genial light keeper, only to discover but a dead man there. A nephew had seen to his burial, stripped the “observatory” of everything of value, and forsook all else. Now the tower was a near-ruin, and in danger of toppling when some unusually severe gale swept the water over the sand ridge, and against the “castle” wall.
When Perk glimpsed the object of their solicitude far away Jack brought his ship down on the beach, and taxied back to where he had reason to believe it would be safe from the highest tide.
Then they set out to stalk their intended prey, keeping far enough back so as to avoid being detected by any trained eyes from the room in the top of the dead sea captain’s lone tower.
By noon they had gained enough distance to be able to keep watch on the tower through means of Perk’s glasses. They soon discovered signs of life about the place, which fact gratified them greatly; surely no rational human being would ever take up his abode in that ramshackle affair unless he had some unusually important reason for so doing, such was its inaccessibility, and lonesome condition, there being not even duck shooting available, while the fishing must be equallynon est.
By one o’clock they were able to figure that there were just two men in the tower, which reckoning allowed the formation of a concrete plan of action.
It appeared that just one of these fellows was on duty at a time, the other apparently being free to wander off, if the notion struck him. Possibly, too, most of their work came along after night had set in, since business picked up at that hour.
“The next time either one steps out to take a little saunter I’ll follow in a roundabout way, and nab him when he isn’t dreaming of danger. After I’ve stopped him from giving the alarm, and putting his mate on guard I’ll give a signal for you lads to swing around and approach the junk-shop by keeping hidden behind that sand hill. Once I get my foot on the steps leading up inside the tower it’ll be all over but the shouting. Soak that in, both of you boys?”
Which they said they would; and so Jack a little later on, crept off, exercising great care as he picked up his duty to keep hidden from those lookout windows at the summit of the said tower.
He managed to take up a position where it was most likely the walker would pass close by, and there he stood, sheltered from view. The chap was amazingly stunned to have something thrust him in the back, and to hear a stern voice say:
“Not a single word or you’re a dead man! We’ve got the tower surrounded, even if you don’t see my men; and the game is played out. You’re under arrest for sending out illegal radio calls that are in the interest of coast smugglers and other criminal parties. Silence now, or I’ll crack you over the head.”
It was almost what Perk would call a “picnic,” things fell into their hands so easily. Having bound and gagged his prisoner Jack made his way back to a point close to the leaning tower, when he gave the promised signal; and was speedily joined by his two mates.
After that they all three went cautiously up the winding stairs, and suddenly took the remaining radio man by surprise, by covering him with three guns, and cowing him in the bargain. Realizing that the game was queered he did not dare take desperate chances by putting up any resistance; simply grinning, and holding out his hands for Jack to slip the bracelets over his wrists.
“Now,” explained Jack, “the only thing we want to do is to take some of this stuff along to prove we’ve demolished the offending radio-sending station; after which it’s up to Uncle Sam to see that this scotched snake doesn’t show its head again along the same lines—we will have finished our job in first-class shape, and can take up something else, for to be sure there’s work aplenty for us Secret Service lads.”
Before this was carried out Jack secured a fine picture of the old leaning Coast Tower, as well as its interior, showing the radio sending outfit just as they found it. This being accomplished as positive evidence that could not be successfully disputed, they put aside such material as could be readily transported in the cabin of their amphibian, and then sent the racketty tower high up in the air, to fall in fragments on the beach.
After that all of them boarded the ship, and they set out for Charleston, to drop Jethro—who would sooner or later hear from the two chums, as well as receive a fat reward for the part he had taken in rounding up the smuggler gang, and putting that mischievous radio out of the running—also turning over the two prisoners to the care of Mr. Herriott, as representative of the legal branch of the Government. What became of them Jack and Perk neither knew nor cared, as other equally thrilling happenings soon came along to occupy their time and attention, to the exclusion of matters that were now “has-beens,” hull down in the past.
They first of all turned over that admirable amphibian, the remodeled Curtiss cabin twin-motored ship, to the authorities; and when they left Charleston it was aboard their own familiar plane, the big Fokker. In some succeeding volume it may be taken for granted we shall again meet those two interesting aerial Soldiers of Fortune, Jack Ralston and Perk, doing their perilous stunts in some other field of adventure, the narration of whose exploits may form the basis of the next book in thisSky Detective Series.
THE END.