nt Larson. Dick now heard him speak
for the first time, and did not like his voice. There are some persons
who make a bad impression on you at the first meeting. Often this may
he unjustified, but Dick's first impressions were seldom wrong.

The wires, forming the wireless aerial, were carried up on two light
spreaders, hanging down from a network that went over the balloon bag.
From the aerials depended the wires that were attached to the receiving
and sending apparatus. These wires were on a reel, and would he
uncoiled as the balloon arose. The earth-end would be attached to the
telephone receivers and to the apparatus, consisting of a spark-gap
wheel and other instruments designed to send into space the electrical
impulses that could be broken up into dots, dashes and spaces, spelling
out words according to the Morse or Continental code--whichever was
used.

Captain Grantly looked over everything. His assistants signified that
every connection was made.

"Send her up," ordered the commander, and as the catch, holding the
balloon, was released the spherical bag of gas shot into the air,
carrying with it the aerials, and unreeling the connecting wires.

Quickly it rose to nearly five hundred feet, and, when it had been
anchored, all was soon in readiness.

Meanwhile a code dispatch had been written out, and as it was handed to
Captain Wakefield, who was to operate the wireless, he began depressing
the key that made and broke the electrical current. The current itself
came from a small, but powerful, storage battery, and it had been
switched on. The current also set in motion a toothed wheel of brass.
This wheel revolved on its axis with the points, or teeth, passing
rapidly in front of a platinum contact point.

As each tooth thus came in opposition to the point, a blue spark of
electricity would shoot out with a vicious snap; that is if the
connection key were pressed down. If the key were not depressed no
current flowed.

I presume most of you understand how the wireless works, so I will not
give you a complete description save to say that it is just like a
telegraph system, in fundamentals. The only difference is that no
connecting metallic wires are needed between stations.

A group of wires in parallels, called "aerials," are hung in the air at
one point, or station, and a similar set is suspended at the other
station. The electrical current jumps through the air from one group
of wires to the o