All lent a hand, and then as he started to swing shut the doors Bob examined the lock and gave an exclamation.
“Not even broken open,” he said, disgustedly. “I must have forgotten to lock up when we left. Good night.”
This time, he fastened the lock, and then fell in with his comrades and the party started for their homes.
“Whoever did that wasn’t far away,” Captain Folsom said, thoughtfully. “If we had made a search we might have gotten some trace of him. But it is too late now. I imagine, of course, as I said to Mr. Hampton here earlier, that our bootlegger friends set the fire. When they discovered your airplane in their neighborhood, they feared it would interfere with their plans and decided to get rid of it.”
“Well, they got rid of it, all right,” said Bob, “for to-night, anyhow, as well as for some time come.”
They proceeded in gloomy silence for the most part, although the voice of Old Davey, an incorrigible conversationalist, floated back to them from where he led the way with Tom Barnum. Where 84 their courses diverged, the pair waited for them to call “Good nights.”
“I say,” said Jack suddenly, to his companions as Tom and Old Davey departed; “I have an idea. Let’s go over to the radio station, just for luck, and listen in on the ether to see whether we can pick up the interference on the 1,375-meter wave length. Maybe, we can get some of those dots and dashes, too, of which Captain Folsom spoke. It’s only a step or two out of our way.”
Bob yawned sleepily but stumbled ahead for the station, without a word, and Frank fell in with him. Jack called to Tom Barnum and ran ahead, leaving Captain Folsom to proceed with his chums.
When the others arrived, the door of the station’s transmitting room stood open, the lights were turned on, and Jack already was seated at the instrument table, a headpiece clamping the receivers to his ears while he manipulated the tuner.
Bob slumped down on the outside step, and Frank took a seat beside him, with an arm flung over his shoulders. The damage to their airplane was felt keenly by both. Captain Folsom, with a pitying glance at them, entered the station.