CHAPTER XI
A MESSAGE FROM A COWARD
"Now Reade," began President Bascomb, in a shaking voice, "what can yousay---"
Tom didn't wait to inform him. The young chief engineer was darting out onthe wall as fast as he could go.
Already the "Morton" had turned, and was chugging back to the scene of thislatest outrage, the searchlight flashing back and forth, in the vain effortto detect any small craft stealing away from the vicinity.
"I---I can't race on a narrow runway like that," faltered Mr. Bascomb,halting at the beginning of the narrow wall. "I---I'll wait here, Mr.Renshaw, will you keep me company?"
"If you so direct, sir," replied the superintendent. "For that matter,what Reade and Hazelton can't find out, out yonder, will probably never bediscovered."
"Do you share Mr. Prenter's infatuation for those two young men?" askedthe president of the Melliston Company.
"I can't say about that, sir," Renshaw replied, with a puzzled air. "Butthis much I know---I never worked with two more capable men of any age.They always know what to do, and they never lose their heads."
Mr. Bascomb compressed his lips tightly.
In the meantime Tom, Harry and Treasurer Prenter covered nearly a quarterof a mile along the retaining wall when the motor boat, putting about,picked them up with the searchlight.
Toot! toot! sounded the boat's pneumatic whistle.
"Foreman Corbett is signaling to us to wait and he'll put in for us," saidTom, coming to a halt. Soon the motor craft chugged in alongside, comingclose to the wall. Tom, Harry and Mr. Prenter jumped, landing safelyaboard.
"How did the enemy come to catch you napping, Corbett?" Tom inquiredgood-humoredly.
"They didn't catch me napping, sir," protested Foreman Corbett. "It is thestrangest thing, sir---that explosion. Why, I had had my light turned onthat very part of the wall at least a dozen times in the last half-hourbefore the blow-out came. Our light didn't pick up a soul around there atany time. What do you suppose I did, Mr. Reade, as soon as the explosionsounded?"
"I saw you turn about and use your search light a lot," Reade answered.
"Did you notice, sir, that I turned the light right up at the sky,first-off?"
"I believe I did notice that," Tom assented.
"It seemed to me, sir, that nothing but an airship could plant a charge ofhigh explosive on the wall in that fashion."
"I don't believe the airship theory will explain it either," said Tom,shaking his head.
"Then what theory can explain it?" asked Mr. Prenter, anxiously.
"I'd pay a reward out of my own pocket for the right answer," Readereplied.
"Then you haven't a theory?" asked the treasurer.
"Not even an imitation of a theory," Tom laughed, shortly.
All this time the motor boat was gliding out toward the scene of the wreck.
"Now, you can see the damage that has been done," suggested Mr. Corbett,turning the light fully on the scene of the latest blow-out. "You see, along strip of the wall has been cleaned out. Not a trace of the damagedpart shows above water."
"It wasn't as big an explosion as the other two, though," Reade declared."Really, it looks as though the folks behind this found themselves runninglow on explosives."
"There must be a trace or a clue left," urged Mr. Prenter.
"High explosives don't leave many traces of anything with which they comein contact," muttered Harry. "If we _do_ find any traces, I guess it willhave to be in broad daylight."
"And I guess that's right," agreed Tom. "Mr. Corbett, did none of your menpatrolling on the wall report any signs of strangers?"
"No such report was made, sir."
"At all events, we can be thankful that the explosion didn't blow one ortwo of our men into the other world," Tom went on.
"Even that is bound to happen if there are many more of these explosions,"muttered Corbett, grimly.
"Which is another reason," remarked Tom Reade, "why we're going to solvethe mystery of said explosions at the earliest minute that we can."
"One thing is certain," observed Mr. Prenter, with the nearest approach togloom that he had yet shown. "If you don't soon penetrate this grimmystery, and find a way to stop these outrages, then the wall will bedestroyed more rapidly than you can build it."
"The outrages may cease after a while," suggested Harry.
"No," answered Reade. "As long as the unknown enemy feels that he canharass us without much risk of being caught red-handed, just so long willhe go on with his outrages---unless we give in."
"Give in?" asked Mr. Prenter, with a rising inflection in his voice.
"Unless we give in," supplied Tom promptly, "by allowing gambling andrum-selling to go on openly in our camp of workmen."
"Have you any notion of giving in to that extent?" asked Mr. Prenter.
"Not an idea!" retorted Tom Reade promptly. "It wouldn't be my way tosurrender to the Devil. I'll fight to the last ditch---unless yourcompany really prefers to have Hazelton and myself cancel our contract andget out of this work. Do you?"
"_I_ don't want you to quit," replied Mr. Prenter positively. "I admirefighting grit, and I want to see you keep hammering away at the work untilyou win and the job is finished. The board of directors will stand with meon that, if I can sway them. As for Mr. Bascomb, you mustn't take him tooseriously. He's a first rate fellow in a lot of ways, but there's no fightin him, and he's a bit close-fisted, too. As for me, Reade, and as far asI can speak for my fellow directors, go ahead, just the way you've started.If you can find any way to hammer camp vice harder than you've beenhammering it, then go ahead and do some harder work with your littlehammer."
"I'll do it," promised Tom. "Now, Mr. Prenter, I don't believe anythingmore will happen here to-night---perhaps not for two or three nights. SoI think the wisest thing for you to do will be to get back to the house andget some sleep. The same for you, Harry!"
"What are you going to do?" Hazelton wanted to know.
"I?" repeated Reade. "For to-night I'm going to remain up, and be out herearound this threatened wall."
"Then that ought to be good enough for me, also," Harry suggested.
"Not much, chum. I'm going to take the night trick for the present, andput on you the burden of all the day work. So you'll need your sleep."
"I can swing the day work easily enough," laughed Hazelton. "It will beall the more easy as the next few days will be taken up simply withrepairing the breaks that have been made."
"Swing the boat in toward land, Mr. Corbett," Tom directed the foreman.
At the little landing Hazelton and Mr. Prenter joined the waiting presidentand superintendent.
"Did you really find out anything?" called Mr. Bascomb eagerly.
"It's as big a mystery as ever."
"There's just one thing we'll have to do," sighed Mr. Bascomb, "and thatwill be to stop running the camp on a basis of old Puritan laws."
"You talk Reade into it, if you can," chuckled Treasurer Prenter. "Youwon't find him easy to convince, either."
Tom didn't wait to discuss the matter. Instead, he signaled to ForemanCorbett to run the craft out again.
"If you want to, Corbett," suggested Tom, with a laugh, as the boat movedover the salt waters again, "you might go ashore and go to bed. You caneasily claim that you engaged with us as a foreman, and that being captainof a motor boat amounts to breach of contract."
"I'm not fussing," smiled the foreman. "As long as I can sleep daytimesrunning this motor boat is easier than working."
"It probably will be," nodded Reade, "unless the enemy go in for a newline of tactics."
"Such as what, sir?" asked Corbett.
"If this boat hampers them too much they may decide to send it to thebottom with a torpedo."
"Let 'em try, then," grunted the foreman, giving the steering wheel a turn.
Though Reade remained up until broad daylight no further sign of theunknown enemies was seen.
Through the night, had it not been for thepatrols walking up and down the line of wall with lanterns, it would havebeen hard to realize that the big breakwater was haunted by any suchdesperately practical group of "ghosts."
"I guess we've heard the last of the rascals," suggested Harry Hazelton onenight at supper. Messrs. Bascomb and Prenter had returned to Mobile, sothat the young engineers and their superintendent were the only men attable.
"My guess is about the same," drawled Mr. Renshaw.
"Yes?" queried Reade. "Guess again!"
"Oh, I believe they've quit," argued Mr. Renshaw. "For one thing, thescoundrels probably have discovered that detectives from Mobile are downhere trying to run 'em to earth. That has scared the rascals away."
"What are the detectives doing, anyway?" asked Harry.
"Blessed if I know," Tom yawned. "I believe there are three of them hereor over in Blixton, but I wouldn't know one of them, if I fell over him.The detectives came, secured their orders from Mr. Prenter, and went towork---or pretended to go to work. I'm glad that I'm not responsible forthe detectives."
Nicolas entered, an envelope in his hand.
"Par-rdon, Senor Reade," begged the Mexican. "I would not interrupt, buton the porch I found thees letter. It is address to you."
Tom took the envelope and scanned it, saying:
"The address is printed---probably because the writer didn't want to runthe risk of having his writing identified. Probably the letter, also, isprinted. Pardon me, gentlemen, while I open this communication . . . Yes;the letter is printed, and unsigned---a further sign of cowardice on thepart of the writer. And now let me see what it says."
Tom spent a few moments in going through the communication. A white lineformed around his mouth as he read. Then he passed the letter to Harry,who read it aloud, as follows:
_"You have had a week of peace. Is peace better than war? You may haveall the peace you wish, and go on working and prospering if you will letothers do the same. Stop interfering with the right of your men to amusethemselves and all will be well. Try any of your former tricks in thecamp, and then you will have good cause to 'Beware!'"_
"Is that a declaration of war?" asked Harry, looking up.
"I think so," nodded Tom.
"Then how are you going to meet it?"
"There's only one way," Tom returned. "A declaration of war must be metwith a fight. Unless I'm very greatly in error the gamblers andbootleggers will try to start up matters again to-night in camp."
"And you'll throw them down harder than before?" queried Mr. Renshaw,gazing keenly at the young chief.
"If it be possible," Tom declared. "Nicolas, be kind enough to go overand ask the foremen to report here at 8:20 promptly. At 8:30 we willenter camp and see what is going on."
"I miss my guess, then," chuckled Mr. Renshaw, quietly, "if our arrivalisn't followed by war in earnest."
"War is never so bad," retorted Tom Reade, his jaws setting, "as adisgraceful peace!"
The Young Engineers on the Gulf Page 11
