“You bet you, and more than any amateur radio station in the country can do.  Now, we’ve wasted too much time already.  Come on; we’ve got to get started without any more delay.”

“But let me stay and see what I can do while you’re gone,” Cub pleaded.  “I bet I can have a police boat headed this way before you reach the mainland.”

“No, nothing doing,” his father ruled unwaveringly.  “You’d disappear just the way the other boys did.  We can’t afford to run any more such risks.”

“I’d be safe enough if you let me have that automatic o’ yours, dad,” Cub argued,

“No, sir-ree; I’m not going to leave you here alone to fight any gun battle with a band of bandits.”

But the boy was still undismayed by his father’s resoluteness.  He had one more proposal to offer, and he presented it thus: 

“You don’t need to leave me here alone, dad.  Mr. Baker may stay; you can run the Catwhisker alone.”

Both men had started toward the landing place, expecting the boy to follow, but they stopped suddenly and faced about on hearing this new proposition.  Mr. Baker looked almost eagerly at Mr. Perry, it seemed, and, observing that the latter’s unyielding attitude had softened somewhat, he said: 

“That’s agreeable to me if it is to you.”

“Well,” returned Mr. Perry with slow deliberation, “that sounds pretty good.  If it suits you both, it suits me.  I don’t think you’ll have to use the guns, even if any bad actors do happen around.  If you show them, that’ll probably be enough.  Do you know how to handle an automatic, Bob?”

“Sure I do,” the latter replied.  “All you have to do is keep the nose pointed away from you and toward the target you want to hit.  To shoot, you just keep pulling the trigger, and when it’s empty you’re safe from accident until you fill the chamber again.”

“That’s a simple statement of facts,” Mr. Perry smiled; “but you left out the most important of all, and until you tell me what that is, I’m not going to let you have it.”

“Oh, I know what it is; you’ve told it to me lots of times,” Cub replied with eager alertness.  “You know, dad, I always remembered what you told me, and I didn’t forget that advice of yours about fire-arms.  It is, ‘always handle an unloaded gun as if you know it’s loaded.’  I promise you, dad, I’ll not forget it this time.”

“I guess it’s safe to let you have it,” said Mr. Perry, handing over the weapon.  “All right, now that everything’s settled, I’ll be gone and you two see what you can do through the air.”

That ended the discussion, and a few minutes later the owner of the Catwhisker was putting all the speed he could put into the power boat toward the Canadian shore, while Cub devoted all his energy and skill to the task of summoning as much aid as possible by wireless, Mr. Baker standing by and waiting eagerly for results.

And results were not long coming.  The yacht was scarcely out of sight beyond the outer rim of islands, when Cub recognized the call of Max Handy, the Canadian amateur at Rockport.  He acknowledged the call, and then telegraphed the following: