Show The Radio Detective i By William J J. J Sturdivant Cedar City Utah Continued from Last Week Just lay there quiet a while baby Your turn will come after Im I'm through entertaining the little one upstairs and crushing crusting her bound body to him I fiercely he roughly kissed her cheeks and throat then moved slowly across the room and out of It closing the door behind him There was aa a creaking noise as though someone were coming down rickety stairs then muffled voices Just outside the door Esther strained her ears eais The kids kid's coming out Of bf her faint she heard beard the second man say MY flood Ono replied the th guff gruff voice e. e Here Here Her r g take this and ind be back here about four Ill give em each a shot and andaU andall andall all aU you have to do is dump em out any place Its It's sate safe Ill I'll have an easy time with the little little tle one but the other one Is a wildcat and Esther heard the clinking of money Then the front door clo closed ed the motor of the car hummed smoothly outside the machine backed out Into the roadway and purred away down the lane There next came the sound of footsteps footsteps footsteps foot foot- steps mounting the old squeaky stirs The woman hunter was crouching ready to spring upon his next helpless innocent victim i This served as the signal for all of of I Esthers Esther's up pent-up rage fiery temper Indignation and fight to and and with a low moan of tearful desperation she began began to tu tug f fiercely er ely at t her e bound wrists and ana to wiggle her ner feet reel Fiercely she Jerked her tied hands up and down her back as far as she ale could bruising the white tender flesh until the blood came But It was useless the bonds were well secured Accepting this defeat she suddenly became very cold and calm and concentrated concentrated concentrated con con- her entire energy and de determination determination de te termination in fa an effort to slip one or both feet from her pumps After what seemed agonizing hours but which was actually only a few minutes she managed managed managed man man- aged to hook the heel of one slipper upon the metal frame of the cot and with a great sigh of gladness slipped sUpped her shapely slender foot from out of the shoe It was then a simple matter to slip her slim sUm ankle from the bonds that held her feet Then she slipped sUpped the other foot through the now loosened loosen loosen- ed rope removed the other shoe and began to feel around the pitch dark room seeking the door and the stairway beyond it her only to reach Blanches Blanche's side and to throw herself fiercely without thought of consequences upon the fiend who was wasat wasat wasat at that moment bending over the young oung girls girl's recumbent half-conscious half formin form formIn formIn In the room upstairs and to fight himas him himas himas as best she could with her hands bound behind her to sink her sharp white little teeth in his throat his hands his face or to draw his fiendish attentions away from her pretty young chum and upon herself if there was no other way she could aid the girl Noiselessly carefully she moved across the room until she finally lo located located lo- lo the door Turning her back to it she groped for the knob with her ringers fingers A sigh of Joy escaped her through the tight gag as her stiff fingers came in contact with the cold knob Swiftly she turned first this way ay and then that But Dut big tears came to her eyes ees and she realized with a sinkIng sink sink- sinking ing feeling of stricken despair that thedoor the thedoor thedoor door was Sobbing half strangling from her herg I g gag b breathing hard ard t through rough ne her nos nos- true trUS her ner breasts rising and falling failing with anguish and rage she turned away from the door with the wild hope of locating a window in the the inky darkness darkness darkness dark dark- ness of the room room and and collided squarely square square- ly with a piece of furniture which had hadnot hadnot hadnot not been in her path before Suddenly and with a flash of hope she pressed her slim body hard against this object raised one knee and scraped it over and about the tiring thing in an effort at exploration exploration tion in lieu of her useless hands At first the knee encountered nothing except except except ex ex- smooth hardwood and then It suddenly sank into an opening in the surface surface covered ered by something soft and yielding With a thrill she realized the object she had stumbled over was as aradio a aradio aradio radio cabinet and that her exploring knee had pressed into the screen of the in built speaker I she turned turn ter back to the cabinet lowered 1 fc t body until her fingers came In co act with the con con- She would start the radio if U it was equipped with battery or electric current turn the tuning dial until she brought in the loudest station and then give g it full fuU volume Surely she hoped the resultant noise would frighten theman the theman theman man upstairs enough to cause him to leave lea Blanche and rush downstairs to turn off the radio and to deal with her and then perhaps sh she could surprise him at the door trip him up with her foot and if the fates were kind enough perhaps break his neck i Swiftly she sought ought the power switch found it with a thrill and turned it on the little light springing from the dial seemingly the most welcome thing she had ever seen Smoothly and sweetly the current which from the sound must come from a storage battery hummed through the circuits but there came no other sound she had In on a blank or signed-off signed wave length Quickly her fingers sought the volume control found it and turned It Iton iton iton on full fuU force but with no result She was as about to again seize the tuning knob and to fish for broadcastIng broadcast- broadcast Ing when suddenly a flash of remembrance remembrance remembrance brance came to her which made her pause and wrinkle her smooth brow in thought hought What was it Jerry had told her he d ft ft a t h the sho p of n th the i aas recen y db VIA i Wi v v- v Kern County Radio Users Protective Association What had he been experimenting experimenting upon which had kept him atthe at atthe atthe the shop so late for the last few nights What In fact had kept him there tonight tonight tonight to to- to- to night where the members of the association association association as as- had gathered for a demonstration demonstration demon demon- of his experiment whatever it was as Then like a flash she remembered what Jerry had said and with a terrific terrific terrific ter ter- surge of hope her heart beating wildly her breath whistling through her nostrils hed bed breasts rising and falling failing falling almost almost painfully she grasped the knob and slowly began to turn it back and forth It was after midnight in the modest little combination meeting room and business of the Kern County Radio Users Protective Association and Jerry Smith the associations association's associations association's associations association's as as- young and up and trouble shooter chief engineer and radio technician who had been given the title of Radio Radl Detective by dude Weir one of the society's oldest t members members members mem mem- bers was sitting all alone a cigarette in his lips Ups gazing with almost parental fondness at a new shiny radio tube lying on the table before him The tube which bore a rubber stamped Inscription inscription inscription in in- In- In Smiths detector tube tube for for regenerative sets sets and and for all sets with which regenerative radios interfere with patent with patent applied for The tube which was Jerrys Jerry's own Invention invention in invention In- In w was was s supposed to eliminate all whining noises but more especially those caused by regenerative radio sets which when an operator Is tuning in catch up the local power from the set and throw it back out onto the air on something of the same order erder as a transmitter or microphone thus causing causing causIng caus caus- ing whining noises in other sets near and far And the meeting of the members that night had been called by the young technician to witness a practical demonstration of his tube with the hope that by each of the members contributing 2500 the in invention invention In- In could be financed and a plant established for the manufacture of it at once Jerry had staged the demonstration by arranging to have two stock radio sets of the same make set up in the room then fitted one of them with his tube and the other with an ordinary detector tube Then members of the association and others of his friends who had been previously lined up and instructed practically all of whom owned regenerative sets had started tuning in for a all l they were worth keeping this up for half an hour or more The results had been more than gratifying to the young inventor the Inventor the radio with the ordinary tube whining walling wailing whistling and moaning like afire a afire afire fire siren while the set with Jerrys Jerry's new Dew tube In hi it performed without the slightest interference The two radio sets were still hooked up Just as they had been during the demonstration and Jerry had them tuned in on Louie Loule Armstrong and his Cotton Club Orchestra and was listening listenIng listen listen- Ing to Louie sing Old Man River for fora a Gent way up in Cedar City Utah Yes Suh Sub as the happy snapped mapped out the music in a feet ing two step Jerry leaned back in his chair and aid blew smoke rings with a great sense of satisfaction as aa the set with his new tube In it brought Louies Louie's rau raucous ous comical voice In plainly and distinctly while the other set faded away and then came b back from time timeto to time tune Now In a few months Smiths Winless Tube Company Inc would be turning out these radio accessories by the thousands and he and Esther could get married have havea a car a home with a real powered high-powered radio set installed Installed and and a few UtU I things in life running around to tinker tink tink- er with lith it A little Ittle trip to France Spain Italy and but and but Just then the phone rang and Jerry Jumped from his hla chair almost startled Ua Have ve you OU seen Esther She hasn't come home Jerryl Jerry Do you ou know where she is Blanche Is with her herd herl Oh Jerry I I Im I'm afraid Theres There's something wrong It was Blanches Blanche's mother There there now ins ma soothed Jerry Dont you ou worry Probably a aI I party somewhere or maybe a late dance Ill I'll go right away and bring them home Just dont don't worry They're O. O K But U the reassurance a carried ri over r me ne wire wire by oy his nis voice voice was not nu noi in in Jerrys Jerry's Jer- Jer er rys ry's heart as he turned away from the phone with a worried wonted frown This was unlike Esther and certainly unlike Blanche They never stayed out late unless with him Well I he had been neglecting Esther lately on account of his almost complete absorption in his invention Perhaps she she maybe maybe some other gink but gink-but but Jerry dismissed this thought quickly from his mind and turning to the radio with his tube in Ithe it ithe ithe he snapped the switch and cut Louie off right where he was about to surrender deah deal in a very loud comical comical com com- ical leal way Then crossing the room to the other set he was about to snap the switch on it Just after Louie surrendered surrendered surrendered dered but suddenly as the orchestra crashed out the final crescendo on the song and the happy dancers dancers finished applauding there came a series erles of wild loud wailings and arid from the set Instinctively just like an anold anold anold old fire horse at the sound of an alarm Jerry grasped the tuning knob and turned the dial down to the low wave wavelengths lengths lengths lengths-a a habit which had enabled him to locate many local radio sets Inthe Inthe in inthe the city which were regenerative and Interfered with proper reception which he as trouble shooter was supposed to remedy medy The lower the wave length upon which he spun the dial the louder the noises came in Doggone it exclaimed Jerry aloud to himself I thought I Just about had regenerative outfits cleaned up in this town But Just listen listeD to that scoundrel Well Ill I'll go over this burg with a tooth fine-tooth comb tomorrow Ill I'll take a look at every radio in Kern County if I have to Ill I'll It But he broke off suddenly and in intently intently intently in- in his ha eyes flashing with Interest Something Something-he he could not tell ten what what what- something besides mere whines and whistles was unfolding itself from inside inside in In- side of the speaker In that radio set something was striking upon his eardrums eardrums ear ear- drums with a strange familiarity Some Some- thing thing- thing thing-I Gosh cried Jerry leaning closer to the speaker opening straining his ears his lils hand ne ner lL Lly Jy fingering the dial knob trying to bring this strange thing in clearer Then it came to him with startling clarity Well Ill I'll be damned he hissed and listened closer Its code Yes sir Continental coder code I Slowly haltingly gly awkwardly at once blurred and then clear the series of whistles whining and moaning resolved ed itself into a string of crude dots and dashes R J T S B N H L W-O-M-A-N W U T U I-U T R L D H 0 U S U-S-E U 1 N L-A-N-E T S T S STOCKDALE S K K C-K- D D A A L-E L R N-E-A-R V R-I-V-E-R U R Y U R Y U Y- Y To be Continued |