Читать книгу The Young Wireless Operator—With the U. S. Secret Service. Winning his way in the Secret Service онлайн

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So now, startled through his subconsciousness, he sat bolt upright and began to concentrate on the problem before him. Something had suddenly disappeared from the picture. What was it? He drove his memory over the back track, and presently he saw the old tramp wandering about. And he was able to remember even the very spot where he had last seen the tramp. Willie gave a sigh of relief when he made this discovery, for he was troubled lest the old fellow might have tumbled overboard. He was certain he had last seen the man just beside a big pile of boxes near the centre of the pier.

For a moment Willie dismissed the matter from his mind. Then into his head popped the question: “Why did that tramp disappear so suddenly?”

Again Willie was afire with a problem. He turned the matter over in a hundred ways, and at length decided that the tramp had crawled into the pile of boxes, even as he, Willie, had snuggled down among the lumber, for rest. Likely the old fellow had found a snug berth to catch a little sleep. More than likely there were tarpaulins there, and the fellow had crawled into a bunch of them. They would both keep him warm and make a fairly soft place to rest. Yes, that was undoubtedly the reason. Willie was satisfied that he had solved the problem. He had no doubt that if he nosed about the pile of boxes, he would find the old fellow snug inside. But that was the last thing Willie thought of doing. Even a tramp had a right to sleep.