"Well, we"ll know more about it after Sat.u.r.day afternoon," said Larry.
"Until then, hope hard."
This seemed to sum up the situation fairly well, and after a little further conversation the radio boys said good-by to their friend and took their leave, delighted over his improved condition.
Improved not only in body but in mind. The pain of his physical hurts had been hard enough for Larry to bear, but this was little compared to the mental worry he had been undergoing ever since the accident had interfered with his money-earning power and threatened to make him a cripple for life.
During his brief engagement with the Cha.s.son show he had loyally sent home to his mother every dollar he could save from his salary over and above his necessary expenses, which by rigid economy he kept as low as possible.
But much of this his mother had been compelled to use to pay debts incurred during his previous period of idleness, and he knew that she had very little on hand. Her enfeebled condition had added to his anxiety, and he had had many hours of mental anguish as he looked toward the dark and lowering future.
Now, however, he saw light, and his heart went out in the warmest grat.i.tude toward the good friends who had come to his help in his extremity and made it possible to see a rainbow in the skies that had been so full of clouds.
"Now, if I could only prove that Tim and I weren"t guilty of that robbery at the hotel dance, I would be all right," Larry told himself. He felt sure that the evil-minded Buck Looker was still holding that happening against him.
The days intervening until Sat.u.r.day sped quickly. Dr. Dale was true to the promise he had made Bob, and was ready with his car when the radio boys a.s.sembled at his house. Since Bob had told him about Larry"s unfortunate condition, the doctor had interested himself in the case and had been to visit Larry once or twice at the hospital. He had conceived a liking for the injured boy, which had made him accede all the more readily to Bob"s request for the automobile.
CHAPTER XV
GETTING A TRIAL
Doctor Dale met the boys at the door as they came up.
"I"ll be ready in a few minutes," he told them, as he admitted them to the parlor. "Make yourselves comfortable while I get my hat and coat on, and we"ll get started."
He left the room, only to reappear a few moments later in full motoring regalia.
"All ready," he announced. "Come on out to the garage and we"ll get started. Mr. Brandon called me up this morning, and he"ll be waiting for us at his hotel."
The boys piled into the big seven pa.s.senger touring car and were whisked down to Mr. Brandon"s hotel. He was ready and waiting and jumped into the car almost before it had stopped. From there they sped quickly to the hospital, and Bob and Joe helped Larry into the car.
"This is certainly a wonderful day for me," said Larry. "I don"t know how I"ll ever be able to thank you folks for all that you have done for me."
"Don"t even try to," said Bob. "Don"t worry about it, and we"ll agree not to."
"Well, we"ll let it go at that," said Larry. "But if I don"t say any more, you"ll know I"m grateful, anyway."
"You"ve got nothing to be grateful about yet," Joe reminded him. "They may throw you out, and that"s nothing to be thankful for."
"Ouch!" exclaimed Larry. "Please don"t mention it."
"Don"t cross that bridge till we come to it," advised Jimmy. "I"ve got some chocolate almond bars that I"ll guarantee will make you forget all your troubles while you"re eating them."
"That"s Jimmy"s remedy for all troubles," said Herb. "Eat and forget them is his motto."
"Well, it isn"t such a bad one," remarked Frank Brandon. "I"ve often known my troubles to look a lot less serious after a square meal."
"You bet," agreed Jimmy. "I know I _always_ feel better myself after a square meal."
"I guess we all do," said Dr. Dale. "And that reminds me that I want you all to come to my house for supper to-night after we get back."
"I guess we"ll be glad to go all right," said the radio expert. "But when you see what we do to the food, you"ll probably be sorry you asked us."
"I"ll take a chance on that," laughed Dr. Dale. "I generally have a pretty good appet.i.te myself after a motoring trip, and you young fellows will have to step some to beat me."
"Well, we"ll back Jimmy against any entry," grinned Bob. "We plan to enter him in a pie-eating contest some day, and when we do we"ll bet a lot of money on him to win."
"I"ll do my best to justify your confidence," retorted Jimmy. "I wouldn"t mind backing myself with a small piece of change. Pies just seem to be my natural prey."
"Wait till I get well again," said Larry. "And you"ll have some compet.i.tion from me. It has always been my highest ambition to be around some day when a pie wagon gets. .h.i.t by an automobile."
"Jerusalem!" said Jimmy. "That would be heaven on earth, wouldn"t it?"
"That"s probably your idea of it," said Joe. "I suppose you"d rather have streets paved with pie than with gold."
"Oh, well, what"s the use of talking about it?" sighed Jimmy. "It"s all too good to be true anyway."
"It"s a wonder you fellows wouldn"t cut out that talk and look at the landscape a little," said Bob. "You"re missing some pretty fine scenery."
"It is beautiful," remarked Frank Brandon. "It"s too bad we haven"t got further to go, as long as Doctor Dale is buying the gasoline."
"Oh, it"s cheap at any price," laughed Dr. Dale. "I don"t know what I would ever do without this car."
The miles rolled rapidly behind them, and before they realized it they were on the outskirts of New York. The boys thoroughly enjoyed the ride through the city; probably more than did Dr. Dale, to whom the heavy traffic was anything but a pleasure. They finally reached the downtown ferries, however, and after a slight wait in line, got on a boat. The boys were absorbed by the busy scene presented by the river which was covered with craft of all descriptions. The big ferryboat edged its way across the river without mishap and b.u.mped into its slip. The traffic on the New Jersey side was hardly less dense than that which they had encountered in New York, but Dr. Dale skillfully threaded his way through it and after a drive through narrow streets lined by foundries and factories, and across the broad meadows, and past more places of business, they at last drew up before the big broadcasting station.
"Well, here we are," said Dr. Dale, relaxing after the strain of traffic driving. "How do you feel, Larry? Strong for anything?"
"I"m a little shaky, but I guess I"ll get through with it all right,"
replied Larry. "Just lead me to it."
The boys a.s.sisted him into the radio station, where Mr. Brandon introduced them all to the manager, Mr. Allard.
"You"re just in time," said the latter. "We need somebody to subst.i.tute in our program to-night, as one of the regular performers is ill. Come up to the sending room and we"ll give your young friend a trial."
"Go to it, old boy," encouraged Bob, in a whisper. "Show him what"s what.
Remember that we"re all rooting for you."
Larry pressed his hand, but had no time to answer before they were ushered up to the sending room. One wall of this apartment was covered with complicated-looking electrical apparatus, a good deal of which the boys recognized but which appeared very mysterious to poor Larry.
"For testing purposes, our apparatus is so rigged up that we can hear, in this room, exactly what goes out over the wires," the manager explained.
"If you gentlemen will sit at that table over there, and all put on headphones, you can hear your friend"s performance exactly as it will sound to everybody else who is listening to this station."
"Did you get that?" whispered the irrepressible Herb. "He called us gentlemen."
"Shut up," whispered Bob. "He didn"t mean you, anyway."
Following the manager"s instructions, Larry took up his position at a short distance from an instrument called a microphone, and at a signal from Mr. Allard commenced his bird imitations.