The unconscious man was powerfully built, with face tanned brown above
a yellow beard, from exposure to sun and wind. As Jack had said, he
did not look like a tramp. Suddenly the boy noticed lying near him an
object which had evidently fallen from the man's pocket when he was
struck and flung through the air by the auto.

It was a small cylinder, apparently made of lead, and about three
inches long. Jack picked it up, and for the time being did not attempt
to examine it but thrust it into his pocket for safe keeping. Little
did either of the boys think how much that little cylinder was to mean
to them, and how it was to influence some of the most important
adventures of their lives.

Making the man as comfortable as they could, by rolling up their coats
and placing them under his head, the boys hurried back to the
Wondership. When they arrived there they saw that a feature of the
radio 'phone, which has not yet been mentioned, was working in urgent
appeal. This was a tiny red electric light attached to the top of the
case containing the sensitive parts of the apparatus.

By an ingenious device, worked as a call signal from the transmitting
station, the electric waves converted a lighting circuit for this
purpose.

It was winking and twinkling, and Jack knew that his father was
trying to call them.

He sent out some flashes by starting the dynamo going and pressing a
key devised for the purpose. This, he knew, would cause a similar
light attached to his father's apparatus to flash a reply. This done
he waited a second and then adjusted the receivers to his ears.

"What's the matter?" came his father's voice.

Jack gave him a rapid account of the accident, not stopping just then
to say anything about the incident of the farmer and his barn.

"What are you going to do about it?" asked his father.

"He appears to be seriously hurt," said Jack. "I was thinking of
rushing him to the hospital at Nestorville."

"That seems to be the best plan," said his father. "By the way, did
those autoists get clear away?"

"I'm afraid so. They never even waited a second to see if the man was
badly injured. They----"

Jack suddenly stopped short. An inspiration had come to him. The
accident had happened on a road that, as he knew, led straight through
Nestorville. He had thought of a plan to bring the autoists to book
for their callousness and negligence.

"Dad--oh, dad!" he called.

"Yes, what is it?" came back Mr. Cha