The Radio Boys in the Thousand Islands | Page 7

the extension of a radio aerial. The hull was painted white with a
blue stripe midway between the bridge-deck level and the water line.
Cub and his father were real chums in matters of boating. Mr. Perry,
although ordinarily a man of very neat appearance, on the present
occasion had discarded his usual sartorial excellence and appeared on
the Catwhisker in clothes easily associated with cotton waste and oil
cans. Indeed, he could take care of the engine quite as well as his son,
who was an amateur expert, and seemed to enjoy discharging his full
share, of all the "overall and apron tasks" on board.
Mr. Perry took charge of the wheel and engine controls of the yacht at
the beginning of the cruise, so that his son and the other two boys were
left free to perfect the hook-up of the radio set supplied by Hal. First,
two wires, attached to spreaders at both ends, were extended between
the two masts for an aerial, and a lead-in was arranged through one of
the windows of the cabin. On a fixed table near this window they
anchored firmly the various portions of Hal's sending and receiving set,
in order that these might not be thrown down and damaged if the lake
should become rough. As the apparatus was supplied with two steps of
amplification, Hal had brought also a loud-tone horn to facilitate
occasional parlor entertainment should they have leisure to listen-in to
programs from various broadcasting stations within their receiving
range in the course of their cruise.
Hal's outfit was by no means as elaborate or as expensive as was Cub's,
but it was sufficient to receive radiophone programs, under favorable
conditions, from the strongest stations 300 or 400 miles distant, while
the strong spark of his code transmitter had earned for him a wide
acquaintance in amateur circles.
Before they started, Cub had another dot-and-dash tete-a-tete with "Mr.
Crusoe", acquainting the latter with the latest developments of their
plan and requesting him to call the Catwhisker regularly at half-hour
intervals if the more limited set they would take with them proved
insufficient to reach him from the start.

"When we reach the Thousand Islands, we will get busy with our loop
aerial and find you by radio compass," he promised.
The mysterious intermeddler who professed to have a sporting wager
with the "island prisoner," was on hand with a machine-gun stream
derisive waves, but Cub refused to pay any attention to him, not that he
regarded that fellow's version of the affair as utterly unworthy of
consideration, but, for the time being, at least, he did not wish to
believe it. He was eager for the adventure, which might be spoiled if his
father became convinced that "Mr. Crusoe's" SOS was a gambling
hoax.
The boys took regular turns at the radio table in the cabin that afternoon
and found the occupation of listening-in much more interesting than it
had been at their homes, not because of any particular difference in the
messages, but because of the more romantic character of their new
motives and surroundings. Even the multitude of static interferences
that swarmed the atmosphere on this, the first oppressively hot day of
the season, were combatted with tuning coil, condenser, and detector,
so confidently, although with poor success, that Mr. Perry pronounced
them all "princes of patience".
In other words, the boys were in the best of spirits, all handicaps
notwithstanding. Cub's father had not taken his first lesson in wireless
telegraphy, and so left the radio field entirely to the three young
amateur experts. In spite of the heat, they were able to get a more or
less broken message now and then from the "island prisoner", but could
get no acknowledgment of receipt of messages sent by them until about
supper time.
"If it weren't for this heat, we probably could 'ave got a message to him
as we were leaving Oswego," Cub remarked to Bud after they had been
on the lake about two hours.
"The atmosphere is the worst I've ever known it to be," returned Bud,
who had been laboring hard with key and spark for some time. "If it
don't clear up, we may not be able to begin our hunt for him before
morning."

"Well, we'll go along until half an hour before dark, I suppose, and then
find a place to tie up till morning," said Cub.
He consulted his father on the subject, and the latter indorsed the plan.
The lake was rather choppy, in spite of the calmness of the day;
consequently, the Catwhisker was unable to make a record run to the
head of the St. Lawrence River. Ontario is not a placid lake, although it
has not the heavy roughness that characterizes Lake Huron. A