order.

"My idea," said Roy, now all excitement, "is to flash it from that hill,
then from the middle of the river. Of course, it's a good deal a
question of luck, but it seems as if _somebody_ ought to catch it, in
all these places along the river. Be great if we could find him
to-night, hey?"

"They'd just have to hold him till we could get there in the boat--they
couldn't get him back here."

"No sooner said than stung," said Roy; "hurry up, bring that can, and
some matches and--yes, you might as well bring the Manual anyway,
thought I know that code backwards."

"You're right you do," said Tom.

He was glad to see Roy himself again and taking the lead, as usual.

"If there was only one of these telegraph operators--guys, as I used to
call them--star-gazing, we'd pass the word to him, all right."

"A word to the guys, hey? Come on, hustle!"

A strenuous climb brought them to the brow of a hill from which the
lights of several villages, and the more numerous lights of Poughkeepsie
could be seen.

"Now, Tomasso, see-a if you know-a de lesson--queeck! Connect that up
and--look out you don't step on the tube! I wish we had a pedestal or
something. When you're roaming, you have to do as the Romans do, hey?
Open your Manual to page 232. No!" he said hurriedly looking over Tom's
shoulder. "_Care of the fingernails!_ That's _259_ you've got. What do
you think we're going to do, start a manicure parlor? _There_ you
are--now keep the place to make assurance doubly sure. Here goes! Hello,
folks!" he called, as he swung the long shaft fan-wise across the
heavens. "Now, three dots for S?"

"Right," said Tom.

Roy sent three short flashes into the night, then paused and sent a
longer flash of about three seconds. Another pause, then three of the
longer flashes, then a short one, two long ones and a short one.

"S-T-O-P--stop," he said.

"Right-o," concurred Tom.

"Now F--two shorts, a long and a short--is it?"

"You know blamed well it is," said Tom.

Thus the message was sent.

_"Stop freight going north; boy locked in car. Hold. Friends coming up
river in boat flying yellow flag."_

They had on board a large yellow flag with TEMPLE CAMP on it, and Roy
thought of this as being the best means of identifying the boat for
anyone who might be watching for it along the shore.

Three times they flashed the message, then hurried back to the boat and
chugged out, anchoring in midstream. The course of the river i