Adventure, December 1914 — page 41: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

The Stolen *“Marconi?” asked Craig. Sinclair nodded. “T should like to visit it,” Kennedy. Sinclair headed the runabout toward the station, and in almost no time we were there. We left the boat at a float and walked up the dock. Sinclair already was acquainted with those in charge of the station, and it needed only an introduction and a few minutes’ chat from Kennedy to place us on a most friendly footing. went on A WIRELESS-PLANT is always interesting. There is something fas- cinating about this power of man to reach out into the air and to snatch down messages from the invisible. The men at the station, too, had seen the accident to Sinclair’s gyrosocope air-ship and were eager to know just what happened. Kennedy and Sinclair managed to satisfy their curiosity without telling too much, however, and Craig gradually worked about to asking some questions of his own as soon as he could do so. “This is a pretty powerful plant,” re- marked Kennedy. ‘I don’t suppose you are troubled much by interference?” “Not usually,” replied the operator. ““But we have been during the past day or two.” He glanced over his “log book” to re- fresh his memory. “It’s been pretty bad sometimes,’’ he went on. “At first I thought it might be amateur operators, but it was too powerful for any mere amateur. Sometimes the impulses have been terrific.” Kennedy said nothing. He had taken from his pocket a pencil and was writing on a blank form a message, now and then gazing out on the water as he tried to com- press the words without sacrificing the clearness. “T haven’t any time to waste,” he re- marked, as he finished correcting the mes- _ sage. “Can you get this off right away to the city?” The operator read it over carefully. It was a message to one of Kennedy’s students at the University, directing him to get out some apparatus at the laboratory which Craig described and send it off by the late afternoon train for Westport. “Burke and I will meet the train, Mr. NSS War Secret 39 Sinclair, if you will let us take your car for an hour or so.” “You may take anything,” acquiesced Sinclair, “‘if it will help in clearing up this case,” “Tust a moment and I will be ready to go back to the house with you,” said Kennedy, as he left us for a further talk with some of the men at the wireless-station. He was gone much longer than a moment, and when he returned he had several pack- ages which he had succeeded in borrowing from the station on the strength of Sin- clair’s friendship. “Now I’m ready,” he announced, ‘‘and the sooner we can get back the better.”’ Sinclair let out his engine and we fairly flew over the water homeward. Kennedy wasted no time on our return, but set to work stringing wires, using a wind- mill on the Sinclair place for the purpose. “What are you doing?” asked Sinclair curiously. “T’m improvising my own wireless,”’ plied Kennedy. “Let me help you,” urged Sinclair. Kennedy accepted his services, more [I think to keep him busy and out of the way than anything else. Burke and I watched in silence, Burke especially impressed, for he had not seen as much of Kennedy as I had and seemed to think his every action savored of some black art of detection. At last, the wires being strung, Kennedy unwrapped a package which he had brought over from the wireless-station and began testing it and setting it up in the little kiosk. Some parts, I thought, looked very much like a very sensitive microphone, but there were other parts that reminded me of a phonograph, particularly one that looked hike the cylinder record. ‘‘Won’t there be any—interference?” I ventured, thinking of what I had heard so often in our talks with wireless-operators. Kennedy smiled. ‘No,’ he said, “for I am only going to listen. I am not going to send—at least not by this means,’ he added, adjusting 15 apparatus. “Wireless apparatus,’’ he continued, “‘con- sists, roughly speaking, of three parts. First as to the sending, there is the source of power, sometimes a battery, sometimes a dynamo. Then there is the making and sending of wireless-waves, the key, spark condenser and tuning-coil. Finally there is the receiving-apparatus—head-telephones, Te- MICLOOOLK C©