send more than twenty miles with those batteries!" he said
to himself.

But when Vladimir returned that was explained. For he removed a picture
that hung on the wall and disclosed a number of wires.

"I do not understand," he said. "But my master and Ivan have told me
that those wires that you see run down to a place far below the cellar,
where there is a great engine that moves when petrol is put into it--"

"Oh, I see, a dynamo run by a Diesel engine, probably!" said Fred,
suddenly enlightened. "That's a fine idea! They can develop power
without steam! Costs a lot--but it's worth it, of course! I'll just try
that out!"

Quickly he connected up the wires, tried out his key, after replacing
the parts that had been taken away, and in a moment got a powerful
spark.

"That's great!" he said, to himself, ignoring old Vladimir, who watched
him in fascinated wonder. "I can send a long distance with that spark!"

Then he pounced on something he had overlooked before,--a little book
bound in black leather. As he opened it, he gave an exclamation of joy.
It was a code book, as he saw at once, and on the inside of the cover
was a list of wireless stations, with their calls. There was one at
Virballen, he saw, and a dozen other places just over the border, and
running quite a distance into Russian territory, including one at
Augustowo, were named.

"Ivan told me to guard that book as if it were my life," said Vladimir.
"He said to put it in a safe place, and to destroy it if the Germans
found it, even if they killed me for doing it."

"He was right," said Fred, soberly. "If the Germans got that book, it
would be as valuable to them as a whole army, Vladimir."

"It is very strange," said the old man. "I do not understand, but I am
old and stupid, and it is not for me to question my betters."

Fred sat down and studied the code for a few moments. More than ever he
was glad now that his mother had always insisted that he must be able to
read and speak her Russian tongue. He would have to send in Morse,
instead of in the somewhat simpler Continental code, but that, he
thought, would make little difference. Some operator would be certain to
understand his sending.

And now he sat down and began calling Suwalki. He would have liked to
call Virballen, which was nearer, but he was not sure that the Russians
were still in possession of their station there, since he remembered
that the Germans had had the superior force there