For a long minute he hammered out his call. And then through the air,
over miles of hostile country, came a welcome whisper in his ear--the
whisper of the answering call from Suwalki! He was in touch with Russia!




CHAPTER VIII

WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES


For many reasons Fred did not want to hold a long talk with the Suwalki
operator. German wireless stations were undoubtedly at work in the
surrounding country, and, though there was no great danger that his
messages might be intercepted and read, it was not advisable, of course,
to let the Germans, who were sure to be watchful, know that there was a
private Russian station somewhere within German limits. The instruments
here were tuned to a certain wave length, and he guessed that this was
standard for all Russian military stations, and different from that of
the Germans. But when he held his circuit to listen he got whisperings
that sounded almost like static electricity. It was evident that a good
many stations were sending, and that the air all about was full of the
waves.

So he contented himself with a brief and direct report of what had
happened, explaining why Boris was not himself present to make this
report. He asked for information as to the movements of the Russian
army, but got no satisfaction.