“Trouble?” said Reynolds, sympathetically. “What’s gone wrong?”
“Some valuable papers disappeared, and they think I took them.”
The wireless man opened his eyes wide. “The dickens!” he said. “Tell me about it. Why do they think you took the papers?”
“It’s this way. You know I rigged up my wireless in the office to send orders for the Chief. But I am not supposed to use the outfit for myself except in my own time; that is, during the noon hour or after office hours. It was while I was in the wireless room during the noon hour that the papers disappeared.”
“That’s plain enough,” said Mr. Reynolds. “Why don’t you explain it to them?”
“I have, but the trouble is that I am the only person known to have been in the office during that time, and I have no way to prove I spent it in the wireless room. There isn’t a soul who saw me come in or go out.”
“The dickens! That is a fix. Isn’t there any way that you could prove you were there?”
“There’s just one way, and that seems hopeless. If I could find just one person who heard my wireless signals during that period, I could clear myself. But I can’t find anybody who did.”
“I don’t understand. What about the party you were talking to? Can’t he prove that you were at your instrument?”
“There’s the rub. I wasn’t talking to anybody. I was merely calling and I couldn’t get any answer. I was trying to get CBWC—the wireless club at home I told you about.”