“We’ll cast our brush on the snow,” Vivian laughed, “but it’s really all the same.”
When they were back at the cabin and well thawed out, Jeanne found herself thinking once more of the mysterious airplane, D.X.123, that had vanished, and the strange coincidence of her seeing those signs at the bottom of Lost Lake. Soon she found herself brooding over the possible discoveries she might make in the very near future.
“This won’t do!” she told herself stoutly. “Surely dread has spoiled many a fine life, and more often than not there is really nothing to be feared.”
To clear her mind of this dark shadow, she began searching about for some bright dream when, with a mental “I have it!” she sprang to her feet. She had thought of the ancient churn. “Another mystery,” she told herself, “and this will be a joyous one, I feel sure.”
She went in search of Vivian and, to her vast astonishment, found her cooped up in a tiny room heated by an oil stove. Over the girl’s head a pair of ear-phones were tightly clamped. By the expression on her face, Jeanne knew her to be so absorbed as to be completely lost to the world.
For a full five minutes Jeanne stood patiently waiting. Then, with a start, Vivian looked her way. “Oh!” she exclaimed, “I didn’t know you were there.”
“But what are you doing?” Jeanne asked. “There is a radio in the living room. Surely you don’t have to—”
“Coop myself up in here to listen?” Vivian put in. “No. But this is not just a receiving radio. It is a radio station; short wave. We are licensed to send messages free of charge. And we do send them.” Her eyes shone with pride. “We are the only station on the island. We saved a boy’s life by calling a doctor from the mainland. We called for the coast guard when a hydroplane crashed on Rock Harbor. Oh, yes, and we’ve done much more. But now, I was about to get off a message telling of the moose trap. You see, we’re the radio news reporter for this corner of the world.”
“I’m sorry I disturbed you,” Jeanne apologized. “It must be fascinating.”
“But Vivian,” she changed the subject, “do you mind if I look at the things in your museum?”