As Pete looked at the odd contraption Pam saw some printing on one side of the white box In black letters was a notice which read PLEASE RETURN TO THE U S WEATHER BUREAU It must be an instrument packet was Pete’s guess as he looked at the white box Glowering Joey grabbed at the tube and jerked it loose Pam gasped Inside were tiny batteries colored wires and a glass tube See it belongs to the government Pam said It’s a radio Pete said But Joey broke it said Ricky Who cares The government’s got plenty of money Joey retorted He added roughly I want this I’m going to make my own radio out of it You’ll do nothing of the sort Pete declared and wrested the tube away from Joey We’ll mail this back just as the U S Weather Bureau wants us to do Pete’s firmness discouraged the bully who looked from one child to another You’re a bunch of sissies he said with his mouth turned down and scuffed away I still say that parachute’s mine and I’ll get it too He jumped on his bicycle and disappeared down the street As he did another boy of the same age ran into the yard Hi Dave Pete greeted the good-looking lad Look what we’ve found 10
Dave Mead who lived down the street was goggle eyed to see the package of instruments I’ll bet it came from a weather balloon he said Golly that’s great Do you suppose you get to keep the parachute Maybe Pete replied We’ll ask Dad when he comes home for lunch The youngsters had studied their find for only a few minutes when Mr Hollister turned into the driveway in his station wagon The children’s father was a tall athletic-looking man with wavy brown hair and smiling eyes As he stepped out of the car they ran up with their treasure I’ve heard about these instrument parachutes Mr Hollister said as he turned the box over in his hands But I confess I don’t know much about them He suggested that Pete take the treasure to Mr Kent who wrote a weather column for the Shoreham Eagle And I’m certain you can keep the parachute just so long as you return the instrument Mr Hollister added Pete pulled out his pocketknife and cut the box from the chute Yikes Ricky cried out We can have some fun with this He grabbed the lines of the parachute and raced around the lawn with the orange paper flying behind him Just then Mrs Hollister appeared in the doorway She was a slender attractive woman with light hair and a cheery smile After greeting her husband she invited Dave to have lunch with them The Hollisters home was a friendly place where neighborhood children were welcome There was 11
always fun of some kind or a mystery to be solved Besides the family’s pets interested the Hollisters playmates There was Zip the beautiful collie dog and White Nose the cat with her five kittens The largest pet of all lived in the garage He was Domingo a burro on whose back the youngsters often rode When luncheon was over Pete said If you’ll excuse us Dave and I will go to see Mr Kent Before you do Pete his father said I wonder whether you and Pam would work for me at The Trading Post tonight The Trading Post was a combination hardware store sporting goods and toy shop run by Mr Hollister in downtown Shoreham Like the other shops it was open late on Thursdays We’ll be glad to Daddy Pam said Me too her brother replied Dave thanked Mrs Hollister for her hospitality and the two boys hastened off with Pete carrying the white box in his arms Arriving at the newspaper office Pete and Dave knocked on a door bearing Mr Kent’s name Come in called the editor The companions entered an office decorated with stuffed birds and small animals because Mr Kent was also the newspaper’s wildlife editor Behind a typewriter desk sat a sun-tanned man who swiveled around to greet his visitors Hello boys he said Say What have you got there 12
These record air pressure It dropped out of the sky Pete said as he put the box in the editor’s hands Well I’ll be a ring-tailed raccoon Mr Kent said This is from a weather balloon I haven’t seen one of these since I was in the military service Crickets Pete exclaimed Then you know all about it A thing or two Mr Kent said with a wide grin Here let me show you He tugged at one side of the box and it snapped open Inside were the wires and springs of delicate instruments and altitude temperature Mr Kent said The information is relayed to the ground by this radio He tapped the tube on the bottom of the box When the balloon rises many thousands of feet the pressure inside it becomes greater than the pressure outside and it bursts Is that when the parachute is released Pete asked Exactly and the Weather Bureau tries to salvage That’s keen Dave said The man paused and looked squarely at the two boys I think I’ll let you in on a secret he said What is it Mr Kent Pete asked eagerly The editor pulled up chairs for the two boys and when they had been seated he went on Something mysterious has been going on around Pine Lake at night A UFO has been seen in the sky You know what that is Yes said Pete That’s short for Unidentified Flying Object His eyes sparkled with excitement as many instrument packets as possible 13
