The Mercer Boys in the Ghost Patrol
Page 16
16 Listening In
The following day the camp was vibrant with excitement as the cadetsrelived the events of the night before. Everyone, of course, lamentedthe fact that Rowen had unwisely frightened the ghost away, but the boysrealized that there was nothing to do but wait for the ghost to walkagain.
During the afternoon some of the cadets noticed a stranger enter thecolonel’s tent. The caller stayed a short time and then left, taking theroad which led to Rideway. Later Jordan, Don and Jim were ordered to thecolonel’s tent. Having seen the visitor, they wondered if their summonswas in any way connected with him.
“Come in, come in,” invited the colonel as the boys approached hisquarters. “I have a job for you to do, that is, if you are willing.”
“Anything you say, Colonel,” Don replied, speaking for the group.
“Perhaps you noticed that I had a visitor this afternoon.” He looked atthe three cadets before him expectantly and they nodded to affirm this.“That was Mr. Farnsworth, the superintendent of the local telephoneexchange in Rideway. It seems that his night operator was suddenly takenill this morning and will be unable to go on duty tonight. He has noextra help at this time and thought perhaps one of the cadets knew howto operate a switchboard.”
“I have run our switchboard at school a few times,” said Jim,hesitantly. “However, I imagine this one in Rideway is far morecomplicated.”
“Splendid!” said the colonel. “I thought I remembered correctly that youhad, Jim. You will have no trouble at all with this local exchange. Mr.Farnsworth assured me that it was a simple board, else he would not haveapproached me. You see, this exchange is a small one and does notrequire a complicated system such as those one finds in large cities.”
“Well, I’ll do my best, sir,” promised Jim.
“I’m sure of that. Now, Don and Jordan, I want you to accompany Jim. Youare to be at the exchange from midnight until seven o’clock, so perhapsthree of you can keep one another awake for that period. Mr. Farnsworthwill meet you there and show you what to do. Now, I suggest that you tryto get some sleep before midnight. You will be awakened at the propertime and when you get to Rideway go to the building on the left of thetown hall.
“You never can tell,” the colonel continued with a wink, “but what thisjob may be far from dull. Remember that you are still members of theGhost Patrol. Be alert!”
The three lucky cadets went immediately to their tents to talk over thepiece of good news. They ate supper and after an hour turned in tosleep. Terry wailed at the fate that had left him out of it.
“Some guys have all the luck,” he whined in a voice imitating DickRowen’s. “I can’t stand these Mercer boys, anyway. Besides, I’ve got thebiggest ears and the colonel should have sent me.”
The Officer of the Guard awakened the boys at the proper hour and theyleft the camp, passing the sentries safely. It did not take them long tocross the Ridge and strike down into Rideway. They found the streetstotally deserted. Alongside the town hall they found the proper buildingand at their knock they were admitted by Mr. Farnsworth. He wore atelephone headset, consisting of one phone, a curved mouthpiece thatfastened to the soundbox which rested on his chest, and a long,detachable plug.
He showed them the switchboard bearing scores of small white buttonsthat lighted up when the calls came in, and rows of multiple holes intowhich the plugs were inserted when calls were connected. He explainedthings in brief detail to them.
“This is what they call a manual board, as against a dial board,” hesaid. “We have five girls working here in the daytime, but one operatoris sufficient at night. Now, unless you have some questions, I’ll beleaving.”
“I think I understand this sort of system,” answered Jim promptly. “Itshouldn’t cause us any trouble.”
Thus assured, Mr. Farnsworth left. Then the three boys got a fairinsight into the night telephone operator’s job. There was completesilence until two-thirty when a call was received. Jim handled itexpertly. There were few calls after that and the time went by much tooslowly for the three active boys.
“This certainly is a lonely job,” remarked Jordan, around a quarterafter three.
“Yes, but I imagine you get used to it after a while,” answered Don.
Just at that moment the switchboard buzzed twice. “Hmm, long distance,”murmured Jim. “Mr. Farnsworth mentioned that two short rings was thesignal for a long-distance call.”
He plugged in below the lighted signal. At his answer a dull voice said,“Let me have Main 7200.”
Jordan was about to speak when Jim sat bolt upright and signaled to theothers to be silent. His eyes grew as big as saucers as he listenedintently. Don and Jordan were mystified by his actions, but they saidnot a word. It seemed an interminable length of time before Jim closedthe key and plugged into another line.
“What is it? What’s the matter?” Don questioned his brother eagerly.
“I’ll tell you all about it in a minute. I’ve got to do somethingfirst!”
The others listened impatiently while Jim held a short conversation withsomeone who seemed to be another operator. At last Jim removed theheadset and turned to his companions.
“That was a call to the drugstore and it was about the ghost!” Jim saidbreathlessly.
“What!” exclaimed Don and Jordan together.
“I was just on the point of closing the key, after making sure that theconnection was correct, when I heard someone say, ‘Those cadets chasedthe ghost into the old Furmen house and very nearly caught him.’ That’swhen I motioned to you not to talk. Then the other voice said, ‘Thosemeddling cadets again, was it?’ and the person at the drugstore, whogave his name as Rose, answered, Yes, Mr. Maul.’”
“Maul!” shouted Don. “Why, that’s the name of the family the Hydes had afeud with!”
“Then there is one of them still alive,” Jordan said thoughtfully.
“That’s the same conclusion I reached,” Jim said. “I just checked theorigin of the call with the operator and she told me it was from a paystation in Crossland.”
“Golly! Wait until the colonel hears about this. I’ll bet he neverdreamed we would really come up with something tonight,” Jordan saidexcitedly.
“But I haven’t told you everything,” Jim interrupted. “The man namedMaul gave the clerk instructions to relay to the ghost. He is to go tohim this afternoon and tell him to start prowling on the far side of theRidge. In about a week he said he would send orders referring to anotherattempt to burn the Hydes out. His final word was, ‘First I will get ridof those schoolboy soldiers.’”
“That means another chance to catch the ghost!” exclaimed Jordan. “Say,we ought to trail that clerk when he goes out this afternoon.”
“And I’ll tell you just where he will go, too,” said Don calmly. He hadbeen unusually quiet during the conversation between his brother andJordan, because he had been thinking things out.
“Where?” the others demanded.
“To the cabin of Peter Vancouver,” returned Don.
“Why to him?” asked Jordan. “He’s lame and can’t get about.”
“My best uniform that he isn’t,” Don laughed. “Let me tell you whathappened the night we chased the ghost.” With that he related the storyof his visit to Vancouver’s cabin. “I’m positive that he had been outthat night, and I don’t think for a minute that he is an invalid atall.”
“Without arousing suspicion, let’s try to find out from Mr. Farnsworthhow long the man has been living in that cabin,” Jim suggested.
The others agreed to the idea and waited impatiently for seven o’clockto come. At last it did and Mr. Farnsworth was prompt.
He thanked them earnestly and inquired whether they had had anydifficulties. Jim assured him he had not. Mr. Farnsworth was a friendlyperson and was very interested in the cadets’ activities. He kept theboys there for a few minutes, asking them questions concerning theircamp life.
“Oh, no,” was the man’s reply. “He moved here only a few years ago. Noone knows much about him. He keeps to himself, though of course that’snatural since he’s confined to a wheelchair.”
After a few minutes of further conversation the cadets departed.
They struck the trail for camp at a rapid pace.
“Good golly, I am hungry,” sighed Jim, as they topped the rise.
“I guess we all are,” replied Jordan. “But we have made splendidprogress in the last few hours. What a rare piece of luck that youlistened in on that call, Jim!”
They arrived in camp while drill was going on and reported at once tothe colonel. He was interested and pleased beyond measure.
“That is splendid work, boys,” he approved, heartily. “Now, some of youmust do some active trailing. I suppose you three feel equal to theobservation task, don’t you?”
“We will after we have had some breakfast, sir,” Don smiled back.
“Of course. Report to the mess tent at once. Pack something up to takewith you and then get your field glasses and find a post from which youcan watch the cabin of this supposed cripple. I compliment you on yourfine powers of observation regarding this Peter Vancouver, Don.”
“Thank you, sir,” acknowledged Don. “It is a clever game all the waythrough, and only lucky accidents have put us in touch with the truth.”
“Yes, the kind of accidents that you boys always seem to have,” said thecolonel, dryly. “Well, run along to your breakfast.”
“We’re having all the fun,” grinned Jim, as they hiked once more to thetop of the Ridge a short time later. “Won’t old redhead pull his hairout in handfuls when he hears of this!”
A small clump of bushes on a high hill gave them a good view ofVancouver’s cabin when sighted through the glasses and there was nodanger that they would be seen in turn. The morning passed without anysign of anything moving and they ate their lunch under a hot sun.
“He surely ought to show up this afternoon,” Jordan thought.
“If he waits until nightfall we’re licked,” said Jim.
The afternoon dragged until four o’clock, and then Jordan uttered anexclamation. He had his glasses pointed at the cabin.
“Here he comes now,” he announced, and the others raised their glasses.Sure enough, a man was wending his way up the slope, straight forVancouver’s cabin, and Jim called their attention to a white packagethat he had in his hand.
The clerk stayed in the cabin for an hour and departed at the end ofthat time. When he had gone, Jordan closed his glass.
“That makes the case complete,” he announced. “Now we can go back andreport to the colonel. Who wants to bet that I don’t stay up until tapstonight?”
“Not I,” returned Jim, promptly, “I’m so dead on my feet right now thatI won’t know whether you do or not!”