Tom had returned to the cabin while Jack’s pencil was scurrying across the paper. He leaned over, the other lad’s shoulder and watched intently. When Jack stopped and affixed the signature X. Y. Z., he looked up at his cousin wonderingly.
“It’s X. Y. Z. again. He was sending like blue blazes, too. What do you make of it?”
“Blessed if I know. Using his cipher again, too, isn’t he? Say, Jack! See here,—X. Y. Z.,—whoever he is,—is within our radius right now—at this instant. Call him, and see if you can find out who or what he is and where his station is. If the Sea King is badly off he may be of great assistance to us.”
Jack switched his current over for sending out a call. With a puzzled frown on his face he adopted Tom’s suggestion.
“X-Y-Z! X-Y-Z! X-Y-Z!” he flashed out, and then added the signature “L-I.”
“Now to see if we get any result,” he said, adjusting the receivers to his ears and throwing the switch for the detection of a reply. He had not long to wait.
“L-I! L-I! L-I!—X-Y-Z!” came billowing through the ether, “what do you want?”
“We are proceeding to rescue of disabled yacht Sea King,” flashed back Jack. “Where are you? Can we rely on you for help?”
A long silence followed. Then the Continental code began to throb and beat in the receivers, once more.
But it was another question that came.