“Here,” he said, taking up a suitcase, and swinging it around, “is a radio receiving device that can be carried easily in this small suitcase. And here”—putting down the suitcase before the boys could examine it and taking up a finger ring from a workbench—“is the smallest receiving set I have yet devised. It is, as you see, in the shape of a ring and can be worn without the presence of the device being suspected.”
“Mr. Bender,” said Frank, “will you excuse my friends and me for a few moments while we step aside and have a little confab. I believe we will have a proposal to make that will interest you.”
“I know what you mean,” said Frank, as Mr. Bender withdrew, leaving them alone. “That sound detector, hey? If the Secret Service man had that he would be able to locate the smuggler’s cove.”
“That’s it, exactly,” said Jack. “Inspector Burton said he would not be leaving for Los Angeles until tonight. I believe we ought to get hold of him at once and tell him about this possibility.”
“I’m with you,” said Bob. “But we don’t know how to reach him. Suppose I call Father at the office of his business representative, and ask him to get Inspector Burton.”
“Good idea,” said Jack. “I didn’t know just how to work it. But if your father gets Inspector Burton to come up here, we will not be revealing anything to Mr. Bender, and the inspector can tell as much or little as he wants.”
“Then I’ll telephone father,” said Bob. “I saw a telephone in the store when we came in. I suppose Mr. Bender will let me use it.”
“And I’ll explain as much as necessary to Mr. Bender,” said Jack.
Accordingly, he called the inventor back to the workroom while Bob telephoned Mr. Temple, and explained they were inviting a man to come up and talk to him about the sound detector.
“I can’t tell you any more than that now, Mr. Bender,” said Jack. “But I promise you, of course, that your invention is not in any danger of being stolen. On the contrary, the man we have asked to come here may put you in the way of making your fortune.”