“But now he shall know. He shall be richly rewarded. Of course the government will want to take over his invention, but even so—”
“He does not ask for reward, only recognition.”
“He shall have both, and in good measure,” the Captain declared. “And now, let’s talk for a little while about the radio that is in your stateroom right now.”
“Ah,” Sally thought, with a sharp intake of breath, “now it is coming!”
“Of course, you realize, Miss Scott,” he said, speaking low but distinctly, “that for the present and probably for a long time to come, your radio has value to the Navy only as a listening ear.”
“No,” she replied quite frankly. “I’m not sure of that. It works quite well as a sending set.”
“In bringing such a radio on board you must have realized that you were laying yourself open to serious charges.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Then, why did you do it?” His words were spoken in a tone that betrayed only a kindly interest.
“Because I believed the radio to be a great invention, one that could be made to serve my country, and because I wanted to bring honor to a real friend.”