XXIV. Checkmated
XXV. The Crisis
XXVI. More Thumb-Prints
XXVII. Trapped
XXVIII. Victory




The Young Wireless Operator--As a Fire Patrol




Chapter I

Vacation Plans



Charley Russell sat before a table in the workshop in his father's back
yard. In front of him were the shining instruments of his wireless
outfit--his coupler, his condenser, his helix, his spark-gap, and the
other parts, practically all of which he had made with his own hands.
Ordinarily he would have looked at them fondly, but now he gave them
hardly a thought. He was waiting for his chum, Lew Heinsling, and his mind
was busy with the problem of his own future. Charley was a senior in high
school and was pondering over the question of what the world had in store
for him. While he sat meditating, Lew arrived. In his hand was a copy of
the New York Sun and Herald. He held it out to Charley and pointed to