Chapter XVII THE RADIO SECRET *
Merritt Hughes leaned back in the seat as the cab darted in and out ofthe heavy traffic on the avenue.
"All of the breaks have been against us so far," he mused, half tohimself and half to Bob, "but we're bound to find something coming ourway soon."
"I'm anxious to see the fellow who is being held at the police station,"said Bob. "Surely you'll be able to get some information out of him."
"Remember you're working on this case, too. Better say 'we' instead of'you' when you're talking about it. This is the firm of Hughes andHouston, working for Uncle Sam on a radio mystery."
Their cab pulled up in front of the War Department and they entered andhastened to an upper floor where the federal agent rapped sharply on adoor marked "Major Francis McCreary, Private."
"Come in," a heavy voice on the other side rumbled and Merritt Hughesopened the door.
Bob, looking in, saw a heavy man, a huge thatch of hair bristling overhis forehead, at a flat-topped desk. He rose as they entered.
"Hello, Hughes," greeted the major. "Right on time." He nodded toward adesk clock.
"Made it with nothing to spare," grinned Bob's uncle. Then he added,"Major, I want you to know my nephew, Bob Houston. He's working with meon this case. Bob's the man who captured our radio thief last night andI'm counting on him as a valuable inside man in the department overthere."
"Glad to meet you," boomed the major, offering a warm handclasp. "Are youin the Department of Justice?"
Bob started to reply but his uncle spoke first.
"He's in the filing division right now, but he's also a provisional agentand I'm expecting he'll join the service permanently."
The major shuffled several papers on his desk and picked up one.
"Here's a copy of the paper stolen last night," he said. "I know you wantthe gist of its importance and why so much interest attaches to it."
He waved them toward chairs and dropped back in his own swivel seat,which he filled to overflowing with his generous bulk.
"We've been making some real strides in our army radio development," hewent on, "and some other powers have been watching us closely. There's noneed to mention names right now until suspicion definitely points to anation. What we have actually perfected in recent weeks is a workableradio control for robot operated bombing planes."
He paused a moment to let the significance of his statement sink in.
Bob knew its importance. Of course there had long been talk that such adevice was possible, but it had never been perfected so far as he knew.Its value as a weapon of destruction was tremendous for airplanes loadedwith high explosives could be dispatched over great distances and thenmade to drop their deadly cargoes upon a radio signal.
Bob glanced at his uncle. Merritt Hughes was sitting on the edge of hischair, waiting for the army officer to continue.
Major McCreary cleared his throat and Bob sensed that he was laboringunder a definite strain.
"This project has been a pet of mine for years. I've encountered onediscouragement after another and it was only two months ago that I struckthe right track. Since then my developments have been almostsensational." He paused a moment as though fearing they might feel he wasbragging about his own accomplishments.
"Actual tests last week proved the practicability of my invention and Ithen set it down in detail for final filing. Of course we knew that otherpowers were aware of the line along which the experiments had beencarried out, but our real source of worry was that they might get theirhands on the actual details of operation. For that reason it was decidedto file the material in various sections and to make no special fussabout it."
"And the paper stolen last night was the first section of your file?"asked Merritt Hughes, restraining his eagerness no longer.
The army officer nodded.
"Right. It was the original. The one on my desk is a copy. The otheroriginals are in a safe in this building."
"Is there enough information on the first section which was stolen toreveal your plan in full?" asked Bob.
"That's something that would depend upon the cleverness of the men intowhose hands it is delivered. There is one European power whose radioexperts are well advanced along the line on which I have been working. Ifthis document is delivered into their hands, there is a good chance thatit contains information which would be of value to them."
"But so far we have no idea who is behind the theft last night," said thefederal agent. "Have you any hunches?"
Major McCreary shook his head.
"Nothing strong enough to give you any leads. But I'll let you know theminute anything develops. In the meantime, make every effort to recoverthis paper. Once it passes beyond the boundaries of this country it mayfall into the hands of men smart enough and unscrupulous enough to learnits meaning and put it to their own selfish use. It is a secret whichwould give them unlimited powers of destruction."
After they had left Major McCreary's office Bob looked at his uncle.
"What next?" he asked.
"To the police station to interview that prisoner without any furtherloss of time," was the decision.
The station was some distance away and they took a taxi. Before they hadgone three blocks the hooting of police sirens fairly filled the air andtheir driver was forced to pull far over to the right as radio cars wentracing past, each driver tense at his wheel and the other officer readywith a shotgun in his lap.
"Something big's broken," said the federal agent. "Be just my luck tohave it an angle on this case. Oh well, we might as well go on to thestation and see what we can dig out of your friend."
As they reached the police station another squad car rushed away, itssiren screaming a warning to traffic.
Merritt Hughes fairly tossed the cab fare at the driver and with Bob athis heels, ran into the building. The federal agent knew the desksergeant and directed his questions at him.
"What's up, Barney? Bank been robbed?"
"Just about as bad. Someone slugged one of your agents and made a break.Matter of fact, I guess it was a friend of yours."
"Quit kidding, Barney. What happened?"
"The fellow you caught last night was being questioned by Condon Adamswhen all of a sudden he ups and smashes Adams a nasty crack on the chin,grabs his gun, and legs it out the door. We've got every squad car intown out hunting for him."
Bob felt his own heart sink for he knew that unless the fugitive wasrecaptured, their hopes for a real break in the radio mystery were slim.
Agent Nine Solves His First Case: A Story of the Daring Exploits of the G Men Page 17