The Argosy for May — page 50: what you’re looking at

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

A ! SS cured rights from the county and State, made arrangements with property own- ers, and started to build an electric belt line around the city just outside the lim- its. “Their intention, I believe,-is to ra- diate from this circular belt line other electric lines running into different parts of the State. You see, every car, no mat- ter from what direction it approached, was to ‘loop the loop,’ and enable pas- sengers to reach almost any part of the city. 7 “The belt-line track has been roughly laid, but no poles or trolley wires have been erected yet, and the power plant, I understand, has only a part of the elec- trical machinery installed. I’m inclined to agree with the opinion of the scientists that the belt line has nothing to do with the mystery except that it has been chosen as a natural boundary for the invisible wall. ‘Tf there were wires and a general electrical installation along the line, I might think that the belt line was con- nected more closely with the mystery.” ‘Are we going to remain here in the face of the warnings we have re- ceived?” Fred asked. Yes,” replied Bob firmly. “ At least, we'll remain as long as we can. It'll take more than a bluff to drive us out.” “All right,” laughed Haverson. can stand it if you can.” Bob walked back and forth in the room for a time, and finally stood for several minutes looking out of the window over the city. . “Fred,” he said finally, “ we’re going to move.” “To move?’ Haverson cried. ‘Yes—move. That chap—whoever he is—knows where we are, and if he wanted to start any devilment he’d know where to find us. Here we are seven stories from ‘the ground—and he’d have a chance to cut us off and starve us out if he couldn’t get us out any other way.” ‘* But where’ll we go?” Haverson in- quired. : “We'll take an emergency outfit and go to some other building, where we'll make connections with the tower wire. Down at the branch office on Washington Avenue the wires leave the conduits and run over thesbuildings for several blocks. der} | MERCY. 237 We'll make a connection there, run the wire into some obscure building, and go to work as usual. And we must do it immediately—before daylight.” ‘But he’ll find us,” objected Fred. ‘Perhaps, but he’ll have to look for us first, and he’ll not know exactly where to look. We’ll gain time, at any rate.” They began their preparations imme- diately. While Haverson went to the storerooms and gathered the necessary paraphernalia, Bob sat down before the key and called the junction tower. ‘Do not call us, or expect us to an- swer, for an hour or so,” he wired. ‘‘ Wait until we call you.” “Why?” the tower demanded. “Can’t tell you, for obvious reasons. And when we call again, understand that we talk to tower only, and not to other stations outside city. We can’t trouble to talk to more than one station. Every thing must go through tower.” “QO. K.,” the tower flashed. Fred entered the operating-room as Bob finished, and they gathered up the things and went into the corridor and began the descent to the street. It was bright moonlight, and they tried to keep in the shadows as much as possi- ble, because they did not know what to expect or whom to expect. They had not walked three blocks be- fore every electric light in the city suddenly flashed and remained burning. “ He’s trying to spot us,” Bob cried. ‘Down this alley here! And keep out of the light as much as possible.” They hurried on, block after block, crossing street after street. Bob stopped at a cigar-store and took a box of cigars, Fred invaded a grocery to get cheese and crackers. And then they hurried on. They reached the building which con- tained the branch office, and Bob led the way up-stairs and'to the roof. There Bob tapped wire after wire, until they found the one which ran south, and got an an- swer from the tower. Then they followed this wire over several buildings, until they came to the one on the corner. “I guess this builiding will do as well as any,” Bob said. ‘“ Of course, we don’t want to locate in the branch office, for that’s as bad as being in headquarters. We'll run a wire into this building. It’s S (C@ MICLOOC)