“That’s the idea. If we can’t reach them with that we can’t get them at all.�
Higgins took the necessary steps to bring into play an added circuit which would render the tuning of the transmitting instruments twice as sharp as with the ordinary loose-coupled transformer. The spark cracked and snapped like a whip lash.
All at once Jack gave a shout.
“Got ’em, by hookey! I got ’em!�
There was a brief silence while his fingers dashed off the message that came from space in answer to his insistent demands.
“We are marooned on Skull Island.�
“Yes, yes, go on.�
“There was a bad shipwreck. The schooner Polly Ann was smashed by ice.�
“The Polly Ann?� queried Jack, with a flash of recollection. “Terror Carson’s ship?�
“That’s the one, but Terror Carson and all his crew got safe away in the boats. They left three of us here. We have plenty of food and there is water, but the island is uninhabited.�