“Oh, I guess it’s somewhere along shore in Starfish Cove,” said Jack. “We’ll soon see.”
But arrival at the beach failed to disclose the tiny speedster of the sky. Only the great metal objects lay outstretched above the tide, like so many seal basking in the sun. The disappearance of the plane was temporarily forgotten, while they investigated. As they had surmised, these objects proved to be liquor containers, from several of which the cases of bottled liquor in the holds had not yet been removed. They were replicas of each other. At the rounded end was a propeller driven by an electric motor. A rudder governed by an electric compass imparted direction. A wire trailing overside and a spiral aerial coiled upright about a mast completed the mechanism.
“Mighty ingenious,” declared Jack, inspecting one of the contrivances. “And it must have cost a pretty 170 sum to build it, too. These liquor smugglers certainly must have money behind them. Until we became involved in this business, I had no idea except in a general way that all this was going on, certainly no idea that it was organized as it is.”
While Jack and Bob bent above the radio boats, absorbed in examination of them, Frank pursued further search for the missing radio-controlled airplane. Presently he rejoined his comrades with the information that it was to be found nowhere along the shore and that apparently it had not drifted away, as at first he had suspected might have been the case, because the sun had risen now and except for the Nark and her two boats drawn upon shore, there was nothing in sight.
Suddenly, as he concluded his report, another idea came to Frank and he laughed aloud.
“What’s the joke?” demanded Bob. “Have you done––”
“No, sir,” Frank interrupted, “I’ve not gone crazy, at least not any more than the rest of you. It just occurred to me that the reason why we couldn’t find Higginbotham links up with the reason why his airplane is missing. Higginbotham flew away in it, while that plugugly who damaged our airplane and whom Bob couldn’t locate worked the radio for him.” 171
“You mean he had the nerve to come back here while we were up at the house? And that his man calmly walked into the radio plant and operated it for him? Oh, say.” Bob was contemptuous.
“Why not?” said Frank coolly. “What was to stop him? The airplane makes no noise, and it would be the easiest matter in the world for Higginbotham thus to make his escape.”