The Whispering Box Mystery

by John Blaine

  The taxi whirled out of the country macadam road onto a concrete highway, and in a moment they sped past dark houses. The lights were closer now. Before they realized they were so close, Gizmo was braking to a stop in front of a red-brick firehouse. This must be Kensington Fire Station . . . yes, the sign over the door said it was.

  Rick jumped out, Scotty and the others behind him. A fireman came to meet them, his eyes curious at their evident haste.

  “Do you have a telephone?” Rick asked.

  “Sure.Right inside. What is it?”

  “We must notify the police,” Dr. Bertona said. “Something terrible has happened.”

  Rick looked at him, and for the first time he saw the scientist in clear light. A shiver ran through him as answers to some of their most puzzling questions clicked into place and showed a definite, incredible scheme. For Dr. Ralph Bertona had mismatched eyes!

  He ran for the phone, the fireman beside him.

  “Just dial,” the fireman said. “We’re on theWashington exchange. What’s happened?

  Anything to do with the fire? The engines are over there now.”

  “Tell you later,” Rick shot back. He lifted the receiver, dialed the number of the lab. On the second ring, Dr. Keppner’s voice replied.

  “Dr. Keppner’s office.”

  “This is Rick,” he said swiftly. “Has Dr. Bertona been there?”

  Keppner’s surprise was in his voice. “Why, yes, Rick How did you know? Where have you been?”

  “Is he still there?” Rick persisted.

  “No. He came in about forty minutes ago. Then, about ten minutes ago he left. I don’t

  know where he went.”

  Rick groaned. “Call Steve Ames and tell him! We’re coming right away, and we have Weiss, Zircon, and the real Dr. Bertona with us.”

  “What!”

  “It’s true,” Rick said. “We have the real Bertona. The one you thought was Bertona was the leader of the whispering box gang!”

  CHAPTER XVIII

  The Crisis

  Dr. Keppner’s laboratory was crowded with people. In addition to the Spindrift scientists, Rick, Scotty, Gizmo, and Steve Ames, there were Fanning, Terhune, and three of Steve’s men.

  Keppner had the floor. “Things happened so rapidly there was no time even to get our thoughts straightened out. First of all, this man who claimed he was Dr. Bertona arrived.

  I didn’t doubt that he was Bertona. You must remember that I hadn’t seen the real Dr.

  Bertona for many years, and the only characteristic I remembered distinctly was his eyes.”

  “A family inheritance,” Ralph Bertona said.

  “Yes. To our questions, he replied merely that his story could wait, that Steve Ames already had been notified, and that the men whokidnaped him would be picked up shortly. He said the important thing was the counterweapon, that it must be completed immediately, because he had overheard talk of a new attempt on a major secret by the gang. He did not know the nature of the secret. He demanded to know what had been accomplished.”

  “We told him,” Hartson Brant said ruefully. “We didn’t suspect he might be an

  impostor. His questions were those the real Dr. Bertona might have asked. He even suggested procedures that we might have followed, and his suggestions were very sound. Then, while we were checking one of his suggestions against our diagrams, he asked to be excused for a moment and walked out. He didn’t return.”

  Steve Ames said, “Well, we know now that your fake scientist won’t be back. He got

  the information he was after.”

  Rick said uneasily, “Thanks to me. If I’d only not insisted on taking the right fork, we would have got back in time to head off the impostor.”

  “How did he know you hadn’t told someone about the man with the sunglasses?” Scotty demanded.

  “He couldn’t know,” Steve answered. “He took a chance. He was probably prepared in case he was recognized. He could have pulled a gun, tied up everyone in the lab and walked back out again without being stopped.”

  Pete Davis, who had been assigned to guard the building, shifted uncomfortably, then spoke up in his own defense. “He fitted the description and he had a wallet full of identification cards and a pocketful of letters, including the one about reporting here.

  Why should we doubt he was Bertona?”

  “Never mind, Pete,” Steve said. “I’m not blaming you. The only thing you might have done was to call me.

  “He told me he had already talked to you,”Davis said sheepishly. “I believed him.”

  “He was very plausible,” Keppner agreed. “Rick, we haven’t heardall of your story.”

  “I’ll make it short,” Rick said. “As soon as I got a good look at Dr. Bertona, things made sense. You remember we couldn’t figure out why the boss had wanted to kidnap Scotty and me? It was because we had seen him with Nails the day they first made a try.

  That was the day they mistook me for Dad. After that, they had to get us because we had seen the boss. He was planning to impersonate Dr. Bertona and he couldn’t do it as long as we were around the lab.”

  “Exactly.”Dr. Bertona’s ankles and one of his hands had been bandaged. Now he

  plucked at one of the bandages, obviously ill at ease. “I can corroborate Rick’s deduction because the gang leader admitted as much to me.” He paused, reluctant to proceed. “I dislike having to tell you this, but there is no alternative. The leader is my cousin. His name is John Goss. He inherited the peculiarities of eye coloring just as I did.”

  The group in the laboratory stared at the scientist.

  “It was because of the relationship that he succeeded in getting me away from the plane atPittsburgh . I knew his reputation. I knew he had served a prison sentence for embezzlement. However, I had no reason to suspect that he was involved in the case for

  which I was flying toWashington . In fact, even I did not know the reason for my coming here. I knew only that Dr. Keppner had requested me to come on a confidential mission for the government.

  “My cousin talked a great deal,” Bertona continued. “He even outlined his plans, in a general way. He said he was working against time, because the government was bound to have a counterweapon shortly. When the time limit expired, he said, he would be ready. He has a foolproof route for getting out of the country. He didn’t tell me the route, of course. Once over the border or out at sea, whichever he contemplates, he will be met by representatives of foreign industrialists to whom he plans to sell his stolen secrets. On the proceeds from the sale, he and his men will live in comfort for the rest of their days, probably in some other country. Surely he wouldn’t dare return.”

  “Industrialists,” Hartson Brant repeated. “That answers one question. We are not dealing with agents of some other nation, but with a group working for their own interests.”

  Steve Ames spoke up. “It answers that question, but it brings up some new ones. Dr.

  Bertona, how did your cousin know what plane you were coming on? How did he know you were coming at all?”

  Bertona shrugged. “I cannot answer that, I’m afraid. He didn’t tell me.”

  “Someone in the organization is evidently working for Goss,” Keppner said slowly.

  Steve’s sharp eyes went from one face to another. “That’s the only possible answer.

  Let’s find out who that person is. Rick, when you called up, Dr. Keppner answered the phone.Right?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Dr. Keppner, who else has answered the phone this evening?”

  Keppner looked puzzled. “I’m sure I don’t remember. Anyone can answer it.” He

  pointed to where the telephone rested in open view on ‘a desk.

  “Did the fake Bertona answer it?”

  Hartson Brant replied, “I’m positive he didn’t. Neither Keppner nor I were more than a few feet from him all the time he was here.”

  Steve nodded. “My point is this. Goss had co
nvinced all of you that he was the real

  Bertona. He would have had no reason to leave the lab. Think of how many obstructions he could have put in your way had he hung around for a day or two! You respected his opinions. He could have sabotaged you neatly.”

  “That is true, except for one consideration,” Hartson Brant said. “The moment you came into the lab, the jig would have been up. We would have known that he never contacted you and our suspicions would have been aroused.”

  Steve smiled without mirth. “He thought of everything. Just a short while ago I got a hurry call from one of my men inNew York . A whispering box had been found up there.

  I’m certain that one of the gang planted it, knowing that I was in such a state over this business that I would have hurried right to the spot and investigated for myself. The only reason I’m not flying toNew York right now is that your call, Mr. Brant, after Rick phoned, caught me just as I was packing my bag.”

  Scotty whistled. “That’s being thorough!”

  “Right.But they couldn’t be that thorough all through this case without inside information.Which gets us back to where we were. My theory is that Goss suddenly beat it because he had been tipped off. From Rick’s story, Nails or Joe got to a near-by phone.

  They probably knew where there was one close to the house. You say Goss never

  answered the phone, here in the lab.All right. Who did?”

  Keppner started suddenly. “I know! I remember now! The phone rang while Hartson, Goss, Terhune, and I were at the drawing board. I heard Fanning say something about this being the wrong number. A few minutes later, Goss hurried away!”

  “Fanning!”Rick turned in time to see the assistant rush for the door. He jumped to his feet, as did the others, but Steve only grinned and waved his hand.

  “Come on back,” he called. “You won’t get far.”

  Fanning jerked the door open, then stopped short. He turned back, his face white. One of Steve’s guards, a pistol in his hand, stepped into the room behind him.

  “You can’t prove anything,” Fanning said. “You’ll never make the charges stick!”

  “We’ll see,” Steve told him. “There’s no time to bother with you now, Fanning. I’ll see you in your cell tomorrow sometime. Pete, take him in.”

  The others watched in silence as Fanning was taken away. Rick remembered how he had turned the sound machine on them and had made them dance. It had seemed like a

  joke at the time. Now he wasn’t so sure. Maybe Fanning had been really trying to get them out of the way. No wonder the gang had been so well informed!

  “I am astounded,” Dr. Keppner said.“Fanning! It never occurred to me that he . . .”

  “It didn’t occur to me, either,” Steve said grimly, “and I’m a lot more suspicious by nature than you are. But you see what we’re up against. Fanning’s record was

  thoroughly checked. There has never been a word against him, nor has he ever been connected with any questionable groups. We’ll find that it was strictly money that made him turn traitor.”

  His manner changed abruptly. He smiled, as Rick hadn’t seen him smile for days.

  “Anyway, we’re making real progress. Let’s review the situation. Added up, it comes to this: Goss knows where we stand on the counterweapon. He also knows that with

  Bertona, Weiss, and Zircon at work, the time limit is shortened. He intimated to Rick that he would make one more try before getting out of the country.”

  Steve’s smile widened. “And I know where he will make his try.”

  Rick’s jaw dropped. His respect for Steve, always high, had gone up like a rocket stratosphere plane at the young agent’s discovery of the traitor’s identity by his quick analysis of the situation. But if Steve had found out where the gang would strike next . . .

  “I had a hunch,” Steve told them. “I took the plan for a project now being worked on by one of our civilian agencies. I added a few frills with the help of Dr. Keppner, so that it added up to the most important industrial secret since the discovery of the atomic pile.”

  Keppner gasped. “But, Steve! When you consulted me, I told you such a project

  wouldn’t work. We won’t have the technical knowledge for it for the next ten years!”

  “Goss doesn’t know that,” Steve said, grinning. “I carried a brief summary of the project around in my pocket for a week. I let it get lost everywhere we hadpeople who knew anything about this case. But I always remembered to look for it before the finder had a chance to more than glance at it. I remember that Fanning had just finished refolding it when I came back into the lab hunting for it. You can bet that he relayed all the dope in the paper to Goss.”

  Scotty shook his head in admiration. “So the gang will try to get this secret!”

  “That’s what I hope. The idea is sound, but as Dr.

  Keppner says, we haven’t the technical know-how to carry it out at present. Goss can’t

  know that, however, because he can’t possibly know about all the projects being worked on. For all he knows, the technical knowledge may very well exist.”

  “Plenty smart,” Rick said admiringly. “But suppose he strikes and the counterweapon isn’t ready?”

  “It will be. It has to be!How about it?”

  Hartson Brant looked at his associates. “We have Weiss, Zircon, and Bertona with us now. You’ll have the counterweapon when you want it.”

  A little shiver of excitement made Rick tremble. He asked, “When do you want it?”

  Steve sobered. “If my guesses are any good, you had better finish it within forty-eight hours, or we might as well not finish it at all!”

  CHAPTER XIX

  The Frantic Hours

  Rick sipped at a steaming cup of chocolate and watched the group at the other side of the laboratory. Next to him, Scotty was stretched out on the lab couch, dead to the world.

  The group consisted of Hartson Brant, Keppner, Weiss, Zircon, Bertona, and Terhune. A lab table had been pressed into service as an extra desk and the scientists had grouped around it. That had been last night.

  Much of the preliminary work had been done by Mr. Brant and Dr. Keppner, leaving only the major difficulties to be tackled. The scientists had plunged right into the heart of the problem. Rick, sleeping intermittently in an armchair or on the couch with Scotty, had heard only portions of the all-night debate.

  There had been periods of heated argument, during which the scientists covered sheets of paper with equations and calculations. There had been other periods of silence when all of them were sketching wiring diagrams. Zircon, Weiss, and Bertona had been in confinement, but at least they had had opportunity to sleep. Keppner and Hartson Brant had spent sleepless nights on the problem and were almost worn out. Zircon’s leg bothered him and he was forced to remain seated. Bertona’s burns must have been troubling him, but he gave no sign.

  Rick enjoyed his chocolate, made on the lab hot plate, and thought that they looked unlike any group of scientists he had ever seen in pictures. All of them were in need of a shave. Their collars were open and their clothing was wrinkled.

  Scotty turned over on the couch, then his eyes opened and he was suddenly awake.

  Unlike Rick, who always took a little time to get fully awake, Scotty could snap from deep sleep to alert awakening instantly. Now, he swung his feet to the floor and sniffed at the cup Rick held.

  “Any more of that?”

  “In the pan.Help yourself.”

  Scotty did so. He sat down on the couch and tasted.“Mmmm. That’s good. How are things coming?”

  Rick shrugged. “I don’t know. I lost track sometime last night. I went over there a while ago and I couldn’t make any sense out of the diagrams.”

  “Why do you think Steve set forty-eight hours as the limit?”

  “I asked him,” Rick said. “I couldn’t hear very well because you were snoring, but he told me.”

  “Never mind remarks about my deep, regular breathing,”
Scotty retorted. “What did he say?”

  Rick summed up briefly what Steve had said. “Goss knows we’ll put everything we have into the weapon now, and he knows that with all the scientists working on it, it won’t take long. So he’ll strike right away. Whether he gets what he’s after or not, it will be his last try. He’s too smart to take any big chances. The house burned down and probably a lot of his stuff with it. By the time he gets organized, even rushing things, about two days will have passed. At the end of the two days, he’ll make a try for that phony secret Steve planted.”

  “That was smart,” Scotty said thoughtfully. “But suppose he didn’t fall for it?”

  “Then we’re sunk. Steve figures on planting the counterweapon at the place where the phony secret is located. If Goss strikes somewhere else, we’re licked.”

  “I’ll keep my fingers crossed,” Scotty promised. “Where did Gizmo go?”

  “Home to sleep.I told him we wouldn’t be leaving the lab for a long while.”

  “That’s a good guess.” Scotty tilted his cup and swallowed the hot chocolate, then he got up and wandered over to where the scientists were in deep conversation. Rick finished his chocolate in a more leisurely fashion, then joined him.

  “We agree on every point, then,” Hartson Brant said wearily.“Except on the method of energizing the automatic control. Let us put that aside for a moment. Give me your opinions on whether we are safe enough in our figures to proceed with actual

  construction.”

  “Yes,” Zircon boomed.

  “I believe we are,” Weiss said.

  Terhune, the draftsman, looked at the scattered papers on the table. “These drawings aren’t in very good shape,” he said doubtfully.

  “They are not pretty drawings,” Keppner agreed, “but they can be used. Hartson, what do you suggest?”

  Rick had picked up the thread of the conversation.

  Now he waited anxiously for his father’s reply. An affirmative would plunge them into a whirl of activity that would end only when the counterweapon was functioning.

  Scotty, too, had his eyes riveted on the Spindrift leader.