"Just that," went on poor Jimmy. "I had it in my father"s shop back of the house. I was working on it last night, and when I went out this evening, it was gone."
"Was anything else stolen?" asked Bob.
"No. That"s the funny thing about it," replied Jimmy. "Nothing was touched but my set."
"Then it looks to me as though Buck Looker or one of his crowd had taken it," said Bob, after thinking a few minutes. "You know they have it in for us, and they"d do anything to harm us."
"Yes, but if that"s so, why should they steal my set instead of yours or Joe"s?" argued Jimmy.
"Probably because it was easier to steal yours," said Bob. "We keep our sets in the house, while yours, being in a shed at the back, would be a lot easier to get away with."
"Jimminy crickets! I"ll bet you"re right," exclaimed Jimmy. "It would be just the kind of dirty trick they"d be likely to play, too."
"If it"s Buck Looker and his crowd that"s responsible for this, we"ll have your set back or know the reason why," said Bob, throwing down his tools. "Let"s go around and get the others, and we"ll have a council of war."
A peculiar whistle outside their friends" houses brought them out at once, and when they were all together Jimmy told them about his misfortune. They were as indignant as Bob, and had little doubt that Buck Looker was the author of the outrage.
"It"s dollars to doughnuts that gang"s got it," said Bob. "Now, when a thing needs to be done, it"s usually best to do it right away.
We"ve got to get Jimmy"s set back, and I"ve got an idea where we can find it."
"Where?" they all asked in chorus.
"Well, you know that crowd often hang out in that shack back of Terry Mooney"s house--the place that his father built to keep an automobile in, and then could never get enough money to buy the automobile. They spend a lot of their time there. And if they"ve taken Jimmy"s outfit, that"s the place they"d naturally keep it. They wouldn"t want to take it into any of their homes, because then their folks wound likely find out about it and make them give it up."
"Gee, I believe you"re right!" exclaimed Joe. "Let"s go there right away and accuse them of it."
"Better yet, let"s go there and take it away from them," proposed Bob, with a grim set to his mouth. "Are you with me?"
For answer they all started off in the direction of Terry Mooney"s house, and as they went, Bob outlined a plan of attack.
"We"ll scout around first, and see if they"re in the place," he said.
"If they are, we may be able to get a look inside and see if there is any sign of Jimmy"s outfit. If they"ve got it, we can decide the best way to take it away from them after we get there."
CHAPTER XXIII
BATTERING IN THE DOOR
Ten minutes of brisk walking brought the radio boys to their goal.
The Mooney family inhabited a large but dilapidated house, in the rear of which was the small building that the head of the Mooney family had erected in a moment when his enthusiasm had far outrun his bank account. He had never been able to buy a car to put in the building, and his son and his cronies had found it an ideal place to meet, smoke cheap cigarettes, and plot mischief.
As they neared this shack, the radio boys kept in the shadows and approached noiselessly, it being Bob"s plan to take the gang by surprise, if possible. Besides, he wanted to be absolutely sure that Jimmy"s stolen set was in the building before making any further move.
Noiselessly as shadows, the boys crept up to the shack until they were close enough to hear voices inside. They could easily recognize Buck Looker"s arrogant voice, and at times the whining replies of Terry and Carl.
There was only one small window in the building, and that was covered by a square of cloth. At the end of the shack opposite the window were two large doors, both closed. An electric light cord had been strung from the house, supplying current to one or more lamps inside the shack. The four radio boys prowled about the building, trying to find some place from which they could get a view of the interior. At last Joe found a place where a crack in a plank allowed them to see in.
All three of the gang were inside, seated on rickety chairs about a rough pine table. And on this table, sure enough, was the missing radio outfit!
Jimmy clenched his fists when he saw this, and was for an immediate attack. But Bob had a more crafty scheme in his head.
"Here"s a better stunt," he said, drawing his friends off to a little distance so that they could talk without running the chance of being overheard.
"If we break in on them, they might make trouble for us later," said Bob. "But if we put their light out first, we"ll be able to get hold of Jimmy"s outfit without their really knowing who"s doing it."
"Cut the electric light cord, you mean?" said Joe, getting the idea like a flash.
"That"s the idea," said Bob. "Suppose you cut the cord, Jimmy, and the second you do, we"ll all rush those front doors. They"ve probably got "em locked but if we land heavily enough I don"t think that will stop us. I"ll make for the table and grab Jim"s outfit, and when you hear me whistle twice you"ll know I"ve got it, and we"ll get out. They"ll probably be fighting each other in the dark for a while before they even know we"re gone."
"Bob, I take off my hat to you," said Joe admiringly. "We"ll work it just as you say."
Doughnuts had a pair of wire cutters with him, which he had used when working on his set. Silent as ghosts, the four friends crept back to the shack, and Jimmy carefully separated the two wires of the cable and caught one of them between the jaws of his cutter.
"When the light goes out, we rush," whispered Bob. "Give us a few seconds to get set, Jimmy, and then cut!"
Bob, Joe, and Herb withdrew about ten feet from the big front doors and waited tensely for the light to go out.
A scarcely audible click, and the shack was plunged in darkness.
Like projectiles shot from a gun, the boys hurled themselves against the doors, landing with a crashing impact that shattered the lock into fragments and tore one of the doors bodily from its rusty hinges.
Shouts of terror rose from the panic-stricken bullies inside, taken completely by surprise with no idea of what had come upon them. The radio boys scattered them head over heels as they made for the table, and the shack was a pandemonium of shouts, cries, and the crash of overturned chairs. It was the work of only a few seconds for Bob to reach Jimmy"s radio set, and having secured this, he whistled twice to signify success, and made for the door.
Meanwhile, as he had foreseen, the bullies, tangled in a heap on the floor, were grappling with each other, pounding away at whatever came handiest to their fists. The radio boys, having got what they came after, left the gang struggling in the dark, and made their way back to Jimmy"s house, doubled up with laughter at times, as they thought of the ludicrous discomfiture of their foes.
CHAPTER XXIV
ON THE TRAIL
"Gosh!" exclaimed Herb, wiping tears of merriment from his eyes. "I"ll never forget this night if I live to be a hundred. Oh, my, but that was rich!"
"Those fellows will learn after a while that it doesn"t pay to get gay with this bunch," said Joe. "I think we let them off easy for stealing Doughnuts" outfit, as it is. We might have landed them a few swift ones while we were there."
"They saved us even that trouble," Bob pointed out. "They were punching each other hard enough to suit any one."
"That"s right," said Joe, laughing. "I guess by this time they"re sorry they stole that set."
"I"m mighty grateful to you fellows for helping me get this back,"
said Jimmy, looking lovingly at his set, which had escaped with hardly a scratch. "When I found it was gone, I pretty nearly gave it up for lost."
""One for all and all for one,"" quoted Bob. "We"ll teach Buck Looker and his set to let us alone, if it"s possible to teach them anything.
But I suppose we might as well run along now, because it"s getting pretty late."