What Mr. Edson had predicted had happened—a stray message that meant something, the accidental discovery of news perhaps of vast importance to the person for whom it was intended.
The young wireless operator was a quick thinker. The call was for O-17. Tom knew from hearsay where that station was located.
Mr. Morgan had a large stock farm a little outside of a small hamlet called Deepdale. That settlement had no telephone or telegraph service. It was located nearly twenty miles from a railroad station and any stranger sojourning there was temporarily outside of civilization so far as communication with the world was concerned.
Tom was aware of all this. He readily figured out as well why the message had been sent per wireless to Station O-17. This was operated on a high point of rocks directly on the coast outside of Deepdale. It was one of a regular chain in the coast service.
The sender in New York City had some reason for believing that Mr. Morgan was at his stock farm and not at his home at Fernwood, near Rockley Cove. It was imperative that he get in communication with him within an hour. He had risked all on the message finding Mr. Morgan at Deepdale.
“Why, I met Mr. Morgan this morning in his automobile coming from the direction of Deepdale,” soliloquized Tom. “He must have changed his plans. No delay now. This must be important.”
Tom trusted to his memory as to the subject matter of the wireless message. As he hastily descended from the tower, however, he repeated it over mentally to make sure he would not forget any salient point.
“The message mentioned ‘U. Cal.’,” breathed Tom. “I can guess what that means.”
To his way of thinking it meant “United Calcium.” Only two days previous in the Rockley Cove Weekly Clarion Tom had read a bit of current gossip about the present subject of his thoughts.
The item had referred to some late investments of the retired capitalist. It specifically cited the fact that “our esteemed townsman,” Mr. Walter Morgan, it was rumored, was negotiating for the control of the stock of the United Calcium Company. The investment, it was stated, would involve nearly a quarter of a million dollars of capital.