The Uranium Mystery. Mary Adrian

floor behind the counter.

      “Oh, my goodness!” cried the ladies, “Are you hurt?”

      “Shucks, no,” said David, getting up, red in the face. “Is there something I can do for you? Mom isn’t here.”

      The women wanted a double room, and as David led them to their quarters, Laurie and Johnny stared after him with envy.

      When he returned a few minutes later, they were full of questions, especially Laurie. She was Johnny’s sister, two years younger than he. She had quite a time keeping up with the boys. At first they had not wanted her to play with them. But now she could climb the highest tree in back of the motel and shoot marbles almost as well as the boys so they accepted her as one of them.

      She sat down in front of the counter, wound her legs around a stool and then said with a serious expression, “Golly, David, aren’t your mother and dad coming back at all tonight?”

      “No,” answered David. “I’m the boss, and Dad says I’ll do a good job, too.” With a snap of his fingers he added, “But it’s easy running the motel, just as easy as working a Geiger counter when you prospect for uranium.”

      “You mean you can work a Geiger counter?” asked Johnny. “I heard that’s a hard thing to do.”

      “It’s simple, once you know how,” answered David. He reached into a drawer under the counter and pulled out a device that looked like a portable radio.

      Johnny and Laurie stared at the instrument with eyes as big as saucers.

      “Dad says this is one of the best field counters on the market,” continued David. “It operates by battery and costs over a hundred dollars. It’s got a light that flashes, and earphones, and a dial that gives the number of counts per minute. You see, when you get a lot of counts, then you know there is uranium around.”

      Laurie nodded, pretending that she understood when she really did not. Then in an important voice she said, “Wherever I go I hear people talking about uranium.” She spoke the last word with a proud air, glad to show that she was able to pronounce it correctly.

      “I’ll bet you don’t know what uranium is,” said David.

      “I do, too,” answered Laurie.

      “Well, what is it?” asked David, smiling at her.

      Laurie wiggled her bare feet under the counter and frowned. “It’s . . . er . . . it’s stuff that comes out of a rock and makes heat, like oil in the oil burner. And it’s used in making a submarine zoom through the water. Only the submarine doesn’t have to stop like an automobile and get gas. It keeps on going because it has atomic fuel. That’s what uranium is. It makes atomic power.”

      David raised an eyebrow. “Hmm. Not bad. I didn’t think you were that smart.”

      Johnny gave his sister a pat on the back. He was happy that she remembered what he had told her about uranium.

      Even Mr. Russell pricked up his ears at Laurie’s answer. “You’re a smart little girl. Some grown people don’t know what uranium is. I was surprised myself when I read that there are more than one hundred uranium-bearing minerals. Of course, many of them have very little uranium. You see, the earth’s crust is made up of rocks, and they are made up of two or more minerals. Now a mineral is a combination of some metal and some non-metallic substance. I guess that’s a little hard for you to understand.”

      “No, it isn’t,” said David. “Dad told me that uranium belongs to the metal group. And one of the most important minerals is called pitchblende. It’s heavier than iron and as hard as steel. And it’s grayish black and sometimes looks a little bit green.”

      “You’re teaching me a few things,” said Mr. Russell. “I didn’t know that about pitchblende.”

      David smiled with pride. “I know a good deal about radioactivity, too. The rocks or minerals that have uranium in them send out certain rays. They’re called radiations. But we can’t feel, see or hear these rays. Only an instrument like the Geiger counter can because it picks up radioactivity. So that’s why when you’re prospecting, you count the number of times per minute the light blinks on the counter, or you listen through the earphones for radioactivity.”

      “You sound like a walking encyclopedia,” chuckled Mr. Russell. “You should make a good prospector.”

      “Dad is going to take me prospecting tomorrow,” answered David. “We went yesterday, but we didn’t have any luck.”

      “Where did you go?” asked Mr. Russell.

      “In the woods, just beyond the meadow. Dad thinks we might find some pitchblende there.”

      “If you find that, you’re made,” said Mr. Russell. “The government gives a bonus of ten thousand dollars for the discovery of a new deposit of high grade ore. You might strike some that will bring in a million dollars. A man in Colorado hit the jackpot when he discovered uranium.”

      “Golly,” said Laurie. “You’ll be very rich, won’t you, David?”

      “Yes.” He grinned from ear to ear. Then in a solemn voice he added, “But Dad says money isn’t the important thing in finding uranium. It will help other countries, so that they can have atomic power, too. You see, uranium isn’t used only in making bombs to defend the United States. It can also be used in the countries where they do not have any water power because they have no rivers. And in some places it is useful where they do not have any coal or oil.”

      “That must be awful,” said Laurie. “Every time our oil burner goes on the blink, we almost freeze to death. So in winter it must be very cold for those people who don’t have any heat. I sure hope you will find some uranium, David.”

      “Dad is going to order a Geiger counter like yours,” said Johnny. “But it will take a while to get it. Gee, I’d love to go with you and your father. You don’t suppose. . . .”

      “I’ll ask Dad when he gets back,” answered David. “He’s strict about not taking anyone along, but you and Laurie are my friends, so he might make an exception.”

      Then David was all attention. People were coming into the office, ten of them in all. Some wanted coffee and doughnuts, others soft drinks, and some wanted rooms.

      For a few minutes David was so busy that he moved behind the counter like a jack-in-the-box. But Laurie and Johnny helped to serve the food, and Mr. Russell took care of the cash register so that David could show the people their rooms.

      “Wow!” said David when the rush was over and he came back into the office. “I certainly appreciate your helping me out. I was really in a jam. But I’ve got every room rented except one. Boy! Won’t Mom and Dad be glad.”

      Just then the screen door opened again, and a tall man walked in. His tan shirt and brown pants were soiled and torn. His thick crop of black hair was badly in need of combing, just as his dirty hands were in need of washing. As for his face, David could not make out what the man really looked like since he was wearing dark glasses. But he certainly hoped he would not ask for a room because he was not the type of person who stayed at the motel.

      David’s fears were soon relieved, however, for the stranger slouched down on one of the stools at the snack bar. “A cup of coffee and some doughnuts,” he said in a husky voice.

      “Yes, sir.” David hurried to fill the order.

      While the man ate, all eyes were turned on him. Mr. Russell, Laurie and Johnny stared at the back of the hunched-over figure, while David shifted uneasily from one foot to the other, waiting for him to finish eating. But he took his time, and then ordered another cup of coffee and more doughnuts.

      “You sure love doughnuts, mister, don’t you!” said David, to break the silence, which was getting him on edge. “I don’t blame you, either. I like them too, but that’s because they’re homemade.