Chapter XIII: What Henry Discovered

Henry, meantime, was waiting at his station with eagerness and quickened determination. Despite his leader's generous words, Henry felt in his heart that his last effort had been a failure. It was true that he had made it possible to learn the identity of the driver of the roadster, and that the secret service men had in the meanwhile been looking up the man's record; but Henry felt that he should also have discovered the location of the secret wireless. Now he made up his mind that nothing should balk him in the present attempt. That neither accident nor anything else should hinder him from accomplishing his purpose. He would be more skilful than he had ever been before. He would watch closer. He would follow his quarry, as silently as a shadow and as closely. He would do all that his leader expected of him--and more.

Thus resolving, steeling his mind to the greatest effort of his life, Henry stood at the little window in the garage, all atremble with eagerness. He thought he knew every inch of the spy's roadster, but when that car finally rolled past, Henry studied it as he had never studied anything before. Again he noted the tread of each tire and looked for cuts or other distinguishing marks in them. As good luck would have it, a turning wagon obstructed the roadster just as it reached the little garage, and the roadster came almost to a dead stop. Henry studied its running-gear, its radiator and bonnet, its dash-board and wind-shield. And when his eyes got so far, they went no further. The standards that held up the wind-shield were bulkier and thicker than any other such parts Henry could remember. The difference was not great, yet there was a difference; and like the accomplished scout he was, Henry noted that difference and questioned it. But, like Willie with the spider-web disc, he was completely puzzled. The enlarged standards might mean anything or nothing. The car rolled on and again Henry looked in vain at the number. Some part of it was always dust covered. But Henry observed that the hidden figures were not the same from day to day.

When the car returned from the grocer's, Henry jumped to his motor-cycle and made his way to the ferry by a route different from the roadster's. He knew he was taking a chance, but he also knew that an accomplice might be trailing the roadster to see if the latter were watched. Henry could follow the spy to the ferry once without arousing much suspicion; but if he were twice seen to do so, his usefulness might be ended. He knew when the ferry-boat would leave its slip and he made his way aboard just before the gate closed.

At once he had a feeling that he had acted wisely. The roadster was again in the forward part of the boat, but this time the driver did not sit placidly looking out over the Bay. He seemed nervous, and every little while turned sharp around and looked about him. Fortunately Henry had concealed his wheel behind a truck and was himself where the spy could not see him. When he noted the spy's restlessness, it flashed into his mind that perhaps the secret service men who had been investigating this spy had not been so careful as they should have been, and that the spy had taken alarm. It was a discouraging thought, for it made Henry's task vastly more difficult. Wisely, therefore, he went into the cabin and sat down. The spy could not see him, and if the latter should stroll about the boat, there was nothing to indicate to whom the motor-cycle belonged.

As the gate opened and the roadster rolled from the ferry-boat, Henry prudently remained well behind it. Up Broadway they went, as fast as the traffic would allow, their pace gradually quickening as they drew away from the congested lower end of the island. The spy drove straight up Broadway. He circled Union Square and continued north. He passed Madison Square and still held to Broadway. Past the shopping district, past Longacre Square, past Columbus Circle, the roadster continued, still on the city's main highway. And at a discreet distance Henry followed.

Now they reached the apartment-house district and slid past block after block of bulky living apartments. And so they continued past Columbia University and down the grade beyond. And here Henry's troubles began. The roadster turned to the left, and Henry knew the driver was making for the Fort Lee ferry.

How should he gain the boat unnoticed? How should he follow, undetected, along the Jersey roads? For after they had crossed the Hudson there would be an end to that concealing traffic that had so far hidden him. He must follow the roadster over lonely roads and yet remain unseen. It was a problem to disturb any one. And it worried Henry not a little. Fortunately dusk was at hand, though the curtaining darkness would not fall for some time.

When the boat reached the Jersey shore, Henry permitted the roadster to get a long start before he went ashore. The spy turned to the right and began to climb the long grade parallel to the river, that would lead him to the top of the Palisades. When the roadster was almost out of sight, Henry mounted his motor-cycle and followed. Even if his quarry should pass completely from view, Henry had no fear of losing him; for the roadster's tracks were plain in the dusty road.

The dusk deepened. As it grew darker, Henry came closer to his quarry, though he kept behind elevations and curves in the road so as still to remain invisible to the driver of the car ahead. Thus they rode for some miles. The country was as Henry had pictured it from his study of the maps. It was sparsely built up, woodlands were on every hand, and the surface of the land was rolling and rock-strewn. It was an excellent place in which to hide--and also an excellent place in which to dodge one's enemies. As Henry thought of this, he drew closer and closer to the car, though still seeking to remain out of sight. As the light failed, and it became difficult to distinguish the marks in the dust before him, Henry drew up so that he could see the roadster, but he discreetly rode close to the side of the highway, where the overhanging trees shadowed him. Even had the roadster's driver been looking straight in his direction, he might never have seen Henry. He was, as he had determined to be, a veritable shadow.

So they rolled northward. At last it grew dark. The driver of the roadster switched on his lights. Now Henry crept still closer. He was in the dark, his lamp unlighted, his motor running silently, and he had no further fear of discovery.

It was well that darkness had come. They had now reached a lonely region where there were few houses. Here, Henry judged, was an excellent place for a secret wireless. And he judged correctly, for hardly had the thought come into his mind before the roadster turned sharply to the left and disappeared. Henry darted up the road. He came at once to what he judged was a large field. Trees no longer bordered the highway on the left side. Dimly Henry saw objects here and there which he thought were boulders and clumps of bushes. He saw no light and stood for a second peering into the darkness, listening with bated breath. Straight ahead of him he heard the faint purring of a muffled motor. He knew that he was not many hundred feet behind it and that this time the car could not escape him. He thrust his motor-cycle into some near-by bushes, first whipping out his metal cane. Then he ran speedily but carefully after the car.

Evidently it was moving cautiously. Henry rapidly drew near to it. When he had come so close that he could see it distinctly, he dropped to a walk and began to look about, trying to see what was around him. Here in the field it was lighter than it had been on the highway under the shadowing trees. The field was, as Henry had guessed, a piece of wild land, grown up with thickets, with great boulders here and there. Directly ahead of him was a clump of bushes. Henry hastened to put them between himself and the car. It was well he did; for hardly had he gotten behind them before the car stopped and the driver got out. The car was not more than two hundred feet distant.

Henry dropped to the ground and lay still for a moment. Then he crept, like an Indian, toward the sheltering thicket. Through it he advanced until he was not more than fifty feet from the motor-car. He could see with fair distinctness, but was himself completely concealed. He lay like a log, watching intently.

The driver unfastened his top and slid it backward. As he did so, his overcoat caught on the open door and he gave an exclamation of impatience. When he had laid his top back, he lowered the upper half of his wind-shield. Then, standing on the running-board, he tugged at the top of his wind-shield standard. Up came a sliding inner tube. In a flash the entire mystery stood revealed to Henry. The wind-shield standard contained a collapsible mast, like the telescoping cane he held in his hand. Doubtless an aerial was now fastened to the mast. Somewhere within the car was a wireless outfit. Instead of having many secret stations, the Germans had this one portable station.

"How clever!" thought Henry. "And how well they deceived us."

The spy proceeded to run up his mast. It must have reached twenty feet into the air. And the aerial was dangling from it, too. Evidently the spy had fastened that on before raising the mast. Fifty feet distant stood a tree. The spy took something from the baggage container and walked over to the tree, where, Henry judged by the sound, he was fastening a hook. Then the spy carried over the other end of his aerial and fastened it to the hook. In the darkness Henry could see nothing of the details of this outfit, but he realized that the spy now had an aerial at least fifty feet long and well above the ground. For short distance communication it would answer perfectly.

The spy returned to his car and got into the seat beside the driver's. Henry wormed his way forward as far as he dared, hardly breathing, fascinated by what he beheld. For now he could see plainly. The spy had turned on a tiny light on his dashboard. Cautiously Henry rose to his feet, keeping behind a thick bush, and peered over the side of the car. The spy took a key from his pocket and unfastened a hidden lock. The entire cowl board turned down, revealing a compact but powerful wireless outfit. The aerial wire evidently was strung up within the collapsing mast.

From within the cowl the spy drew forth a curious metal disc, not unlike a spider-web, and like nothing Henry had ever seen. He did not know what it was. He hardly breathed as he stood watching. Then the spy took a dollar from his pocket, examined the milled edge until he found a scratch, fitted the curious disc over the dollar, and turning the coin in his hand, slowly began to make letters on a slip of paper on the inverted dash. When he had finished writing, he fastened the disc back in the cowl, dropped the dollar in his overcoat pocket, and began to send the message he had deciphered from the dollar.

Henry leaned forward. He had no need of his own receiving instrument to catch the letters. And he could not have used it if he had needed it. But it was not important that he should catch the message. The powerful sparks that were leaping across the spy's spark-gap told him that a battery of considerable force was being used, and he knew that Lew would catch that message away back on Staten Island. Lew had caught the preceding message from Long Island, and it had been sent from a distance fully as great as this. With distinctness the letters came to Henry's ears and he realized that the man before him was an expert operator. But the letters he heard made no sense. They would have to be deciphered before the message could be understood.

However, it was not the message that Henry was thinking of. It was the dollar in the man's overcoat. "How could he get it? How could he get it?" he asked himself over and over. A hundred wild ideas flashed through his head, but he could think of no way to secure the coin without betraying himself.

Even as he was considering the matter, the spy finished sending his message and snapped off his light. Tiny as the illumination had been, the man was apparently completely blinded by the sudden darkness. As he stepped from his seat, his overcoat again caught on the swinging door. With an impatient oath he tore the coat from him and flung it on the running-board. Then he felt for his tools and walked over to the tree to lower the far end of his aerial.

Henry's chance had come. With a bound he was beside the car. Crouching, he seized the huddled coat, ran his hands tremblingly over it, located the pocket, found the dollar, dropped the coat where he had gotten it, and slipped back to his cover.

He was not a second too soon. In his eagerness to get the coin he had been clumsy, and had fumbled excitedly for several seconds before he found it. Meantime, the spy, with practised skill, had taken down both wires and fastening, and was well on his way back to the car. But Henry gained his cover and was safe.

A sudden fear smote him lest he betray himself. His heart beat so loudly he was sure the spy would hear it. His breath came so excitedly he was certain he could be heard yards away. For some time he crouched motionless, hugging the ground, trying to hold his breath. But as second followed second and the spy made no outcry, Henry gained confidence. Suddenly a feeling of exultation came to him, so strong that he could hardly refrain from shouting. For the first time he thought of the real significance of what he had accomplished. He had unraveled the mystery of the wireless. He had the dollar. The secrets the wireless patrol had worked so hard to uncover were within his grasp. As the full meaning of it all came to him, he felt that he must cry out, that he must give voice to his feelings. He no longer dared trust himself to remain where he was, lest he betray himself. Clutching the dollar as he had never clung to anything in his life, he picked up his cane and slowly began to worm his way backward, on his belly, from the thicket. With the utmost caution, an inch at a time, he moved, lest he snap a stick or strike a stone with his foot. As soon as he was clear of the brush, he faced about, and crawled into the darkness.

The spy, meantime, was proceeding rapidly in reassembling his car. Henry heard the windshield go up and the top being fastened. He heard the baggage lid snap into place. Then he heard the spy swearing in a low voice. Henry stopped, still as a hunted rabbit.

"_Donnerwetter!_" he heard the man say. "I've lost that dollar." There was a pause. Then came the words, "I'm not going to hunt for it anyway. Somebody would see my light sure. And if anybody does find it, he'll never guess what it is."

Exultantly Henry rose to his feet, and crouching low, ran with soft, swift tread to his motorcycle. He had the dollar. The owner believed it was lost. Never was such luck. Trembling all over, he fastened his cane to the frame of his wheel, trundled his car to the road and ran with it in the direction he had come. He pushed it until his breath was coming in gasps. Then he turned into the woods and hid. He would take no chance of being seen by the spy or by any accomplice who might have followed him. Presently Henry heard the motor-car pull out into the road and go speeding back toward Manhattan. A quarter of an hour later Henry returned to the highway, switched on his light, and was soon bowling along on his way to his fellows and his chief, feeling that he had in his keeping the future safety of a nation.