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diff --git a/old/64694-0.txt b/old/64694-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 1e2bd76..0000000 --- a/old/64694-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6095 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Mystery of the Caribbean Pearls, by Andy -Adams - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Mystery of the Caribbean Pearls - Biff Brewster Adventures, #8 - -Author: Andy Adams - -Release Date: March 04, 2021 [eBook #64694] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Stephen Hutcheson and the Online Distributed Proofreading - Team at https://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MYSTERY OF THE CARIBBEAN -PEARLS *** - - - - - [Illustration: _It seemed as if every resident of the town swarmed in - the narrow street_] - - A BIFF BREWSTER - MYSTERY ADVENTURE - - [Illustration: Compass] - - - - - MYSTERY - OF THE - CARIBBEAN - PEARLS - - - By ANDY ADAMS - - GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERS - NEW YORK - - © GROSSET & DUNLAP, INC., 1962 - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - - - - - Contents - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I Discovery! 1 - II Seeing Double 5 - III Backfire 12 - IV Who’s Fooling Whom? 19 - V Appear and Disappear 28 - VI Crunch 37 - VII Gay Curaçao 43 - VIII Uncle Charlie Spins a Yarn 48 - IX Outmatched 55 - X Plan of Action 61 - XI Biff Meets Crunch 70 - XII Double Chance 75 - XIII Turnabout 82 - XIV A Talk with Crunch 88 - XV Almost Away 95 - XVI A “Magic” Alarm 102 - XVII Reunited 112 - XVIII All Set To Dive 118 - XIX Pearl Diving 125 - XX Enemy Invasion 133 - XXI A Gay Deception 140 - XXII Dashed Hopes 147 - XXIII Dietz Again 154 - XXIV Attack from the Deep 159 - XXV A Double Find 167 - - - - - MYSTERY OF THE CARIBBEAN PEARLS - - - - - CHAPTER I - Discovery! - - -Lightning streaked the skies over the Windward Islands. The Caribbean -Sea was a tumbled mass of foaming, angry waters. - -The _chabasco_ had struck with the quickness and lashing fury that is -the nature of this most feared of tropical storms. A _chabasco_ strikes -without warning, with tornado-like violence, whirling and smiting and -soaking. The storm ends as abruptly as it begins. The air regains its -calm. Only the churned-up waters continue to smash upon the shore. - -A final, brilliant flash of lightning revealed the gaunt figure of a man -stumbling through the raging surf, fighting to reach the safety of the -beach. He staggered out of the roiling waters and fell face down on the -sand. His only motion was the agonized heaving of his shoulders as he -gasped for breath. - -His boat, his diving gear were gone, smashed to bits by the wildness of -the storm which had washed him ashore on this tiny speck of an island. -The island, he knew, was in the Baie du Trésor, Treasure Bay, off the -east coast of the big island of Martinique. - -As strength flowed back into the man’s body, he sat up. Frantically he -shot his hand into a pocket of his wet, worn, sun-bleached dungarees. An -expression of relief crossed his face. In the faint light of a rising -moon, he inspected the two objects in the upturned palm of his hand. - -He held two perfectly matched black pearls. - -This was the end of his search, the end of weeks under the blazing sun -of the Caribbean; the result of hundreds of dives to the bottom of the -sea. He knew, and he had the evidence in his hand, that he had made a -discovery which would startle the entire area of the Caribbean Sea from -the Florida keys to the coast of South America. - -He had discovered a pearl fishery so fabulous, so unbelievably rich, -that his find would make headline news throughout the world. - -He knew also that unless he could keep his find secret until his claim -on the pearl fishery was established, treasure seekers and money-mad -cutthroats would descend on him like hungry sharks. - -He felt sure that his actions and explorations had been secretly -watched. He knew who the watchers were—unscrupulous men waiting hungrily -to move in and jump the claim he had struggled so hard to find. - -His first problem was to get off this tiny speck in the bay and back to -Martinique. He was no more than five miles off the shore of the main -body of the big island. If he had reckoned his position correctly, there -was a long spit of land jutting out from Martinique that he could reach -by a two-mile swim. He would need to rest. Calm now, he settled into the -sand to sleep. - -When the man awakened, the light of a brilliant tropical morning proved -that he had been correct in determining his position. The sandspit -jutted out, welcoming him. Farther beyond he could see the lush, -green-covered pitons rising in the center of Martinique. Some of these -peaks reached a height of nearly four thousand feet. - -The man began his long, slow swim. He had no fear of the sea—though he -knew sharks abounded in these waters, and he was unarmed. - -But by midmorning he had reached the mainland of Martinique safely. He -was pleasantly tired from his long swim, and stretched out on the warm -sands to rest and allow his clothing to dry. - -In the early afternoon he reached the town of La Trinité, sprawling at -the approach of Presqu’île de la Caravelle, the peninsula that formed -the Baie du Trésor. - -He found a room in a small _pension_, a rooming house, and spent most of -the night writing two letters. One of them was addressed to his son in -The Netherlands. The other was to Charles Keene on the island of Curaçao -in the Netherlands Antilles. - -Along with the letters, he carefully prepared two small boxes. - -In the morning, he was standing at the post office door the moment it -opened. It was with great relief that he saw his letters and packages go -into the mailbag that would be trucked over the pitons to Fort-de-France -at noon, then flown on to Curaçao on the night flight. - -In his relief and great elation over his discovery, the man shed the -characteristic watchfulness that usually marked his movements. He -momentarily had dropped his guard, and did not notice that his every -action had been closely followed from the moment he had arrived in La -Trinité. - - - - - CHAPTER II - Seeing Double - - -The cablegram was short and to the point. - -MAY I BORROW MY FAVORITE NEPHEW FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS STOP URGENT. - -It was signed, “Charles Keene,” and had been sent from Willemstad, -Curaçao, in the Netherlands Antilles. - -Biff Brewster, the favorite nephew referred to in the cablegram, looked -at his parents hopefully. - -“Well, Martha, what do you think?” Thomas Brewster asked Biff’s mother, -as the three of them stood in Mr. Brewster’s study. - -“Oh dear! I really don’t know what to say.” A frown spread over Mrs. -Brewster’s pleasant, friendly face, drawing her arched eyebrows closer -together. “It seems to me that Biff is away from home so much of the -time.” - -“I know, dear. But you must admit that we have encouraged these trips. I -still feel that travel is as important to a boy’s education as his -formal schooling,” Tom Brewster replied to his wife’s mild protest. - -“And Uncle Charlie says it will only be for a couple of weeks,” Biff put -in. “My spring vacation starts next week. I wouldn’t be missing much -school—only a day or two at the most.” - -Biff looked from his mother’s face to his father’s. He wanted so much to -go. In his mind’s eye, he was already seeing the sparkling waters of the -Caribbean Sea, dotted with palm-studded islands, long white beaches, and -coral reefs. - -The Windward Islands, the Leeward Islands, Martinique, Aruba, Barbados, -Guadeloupe, St. Kitts—all these colorful, romantic, exciting names raced -through the boy’s head. - -“How’s your Spanish these days, son?” Tom Brewster asked. - -“It’s okay, Dad. I’m scoring well in it at school, and of course I -picked up a lot more Spanish when we were in Mexico.” - -Biff was beginning to feel easier. His father’s question was an -indication that one-half of his parents was considering favorably Uncle -Charlie’s cabled request. - -“How ’bout it, Mom?” Biff pressed the opening his father had given him. -“You know Uncle Charlie and I always get along swell. We’re a good -team.” - -Charles Keene was Mrs. Brewster’s brother. - -“Charlie’s so reckless, though,” Mrs. Brewster continued in a voice -registering protest. “If I remember correctly, you and he barely made it -out of China before getting into serious trouble.” - -Biff had no answer to this statement. It was all too true. He and Uncle -Charlie had been flown out of China—they had slipped across the border -illegally—to Rangoon in Burma and then on to the British Crown Colony of -Hong Kong, with Chinese Red agents breathing down their necks. - -“Any idea what your brother is doing in the Caribbean?” Mr. Brewster -asked his wife. - -Biff’s mother shook her head. “Not any more than you have, Tom. Have you -heard from your uncle, Biff?” - -“Only one letter since we got chased out of China,” the boy replied. -“That came about a month after I got back home. All he said was that -things were too hot for him to operate in the Orient for a while.” - -“He is still with the firm of Explorations Unlimited, isn’t he?” Mr. -Brewster asked. - -“Oh, yes. Uncle Charlie said the company was negotiating a contract that -would have him operating in this hemisphere. He didn’t say what kind of -operation it was, though.” - -“It must be tied in with his wanting you to come to Curaçao, son.” - -“Looks that way, Dad. What about it, Mom?” Biff looked hopefully at his -mother. She didn’t reply for a few moments. Then she said, “Well, I -suppose—” - -Mrs. Brewster never finished her sentence. The youngest members of the -Brewster family burst into the study. - -“Mom! Dad! It’s a cablegram!” eleven-year-old Ted Brewster shouted, -waving an envelope over his head. - -“Yes! Another one,” Monica, Ted’s twin sister, chimed in. - -The twins were five years younger than Biff. Their ambition was -sometime, someday to travel “a-_lone_,” as they emphatically put it. -They listened goggle-eyed to tales of the adventures Biff and his father -or Biff and Uncle Charlie had shared. On several occasions the twins had -gone with their parents and brother to the romantic places where these -adventures had taken place. Mrs. Brewster, always present when the twins -were voyaging, had taken great care to see that her two youngest were -not exposed to the dangers that had accompanied Biff’s far-away -adventures. Ted and Monica could hardly wait until they were old enough -to take part in them themselves. - -“It’s for you this time, Biff,” Ted said. Excitement shone on his young -face. His eyes sparkled. - -“I’ll wager I can tell you who it’s from,” Mr. Brewster said, smiling. - -“Uncle Charlie! Uncle Charlie!” Monica pealed, like a gay bell. - -Biff ripped open the envelope. The room became silent. - -“It’s from Uncle Charlie all right,” Biff said. Then he read: “YOUR -PASSAGE BOOKED SOUTHERN AIRLINES FLIGHT ONE TWO NINE TO MIAMI SUNDAY -MARCH TWELVE. RE-PLANE MIAMI FOR CURAÇAO CARIB AIRWAYS FLIGHT TWO NINE -SIX. BE SEEING YOU. LOVE TO ALL.” - -Biff handed the cablegram to his father and looked at his mother. - -“I must say my brother takes things pretty much for granted,” Mrs. -Brewster said, laughing. - -“That’s Charlie for you,” Tom Brewster said. “When he goes into action, -he moves fast.” - -“He surely does, Dad, whether it’s against Chinese bandits or sending -cablegrams,” Biff agreed. - -“One cable this morning. A second this afternoon. Well, I guess we’d -better be making up our minds, Martha. What do you say?” - -“Can we all go?” Ted wanted to know. - -“Oh, yes, I’d love to go to the West Indies,” Monica pleaded. - -“I’m afraid it will be just Biff this time,” their father said. -“Providing, of course,” he added hurriedly, “your mother approves. Well, -Martha?” - -Martha Brewster shrugged her shoulders and smiled. She was still torn. -But she had great confidence in her son’s ability to take care of -himself. He had proved this time and time again. And Charles was her -favorite brother, reckless though he was. - -“All right, Biff darling. I might as well give in now as later. I know -you and your father won’t give me a moment’s peace until I do.” - -Mrs. Brewster’s statement was met with cheers led by Ted and Monica. -Biff crossed the room and put an arm around his mother’s shoulders. She -pressed her head against her strong son’s chest. - -The conference in the Brewster home in Indianapolis, Indiana, came to an -end. - -Sunday morning at ten o’clock found the Brewster family at the -Indianapolis airport. Flight 129, southbound for Miami, had already been -called. The last hasty farewells were said, and ten minutes later the -plane speeding Biff southward became a mere speck in the sky to his -mother and father and the twins. - -The plane zooming Biff to another adventure landed at the Miami airport -in the late afternoon. Coming in over the city of fabulous hotels, -America’s playground, Biff could see the lingering rays of the setting -sun slanting out over the bouncing waters of the Atlantic Ocean. - -From Carib Airways, Biff learned that the flight which was to take him -on to Curaçao was not scheduled to depart until midnight. After a dinner -of delicious stone crabs, Biff wandered up and down Lincoln Road, the -famed shopping center in Miami Beach, gazing into the windows of the -shops which lined the streets. - -He left Lincoln Road and swung on to Collins Avenue. One hotel after -another, each in turn seeming more luxurious than its predecessor, lined -the east side of the avenue, between the street and the white, sandy -beach. - -The night air was warm and gentle in contrast to the cold, blustery -March winds Biff had left behind him in Indianapolis. - -Biff returned to the airport shortly after eleven, reclaimed his -baggage, which he had checked, and waited for his flight to Curaçao to -be called. - -The call came just ten minutes before midnight: - -“_Carib Airways announces the departure of Flight two nine six, for -Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Willemstad, Curaçao, and Fort-de-France, -Martinique. Now loading at Gate Nine. All aboard, please._” - -Biff joined the line which was moving slowly through Gate 9. He looked -carefully about him, as he always did, spotting faces that he might run -into again. He had learned in the past that it was wise to remember as -much about one’s fellow passengers as possible. No telling when such -knowledge might come in handy. Besides, he found the faces of traveling -people interesting. On many long rides, he had amused himself by trying -to guess where they had come from, where they were going, and why. - -The line shuffled slowly forward. Flight 296 was filled. There would be -no seats for the hopeful standbys. - -Biff had checked his heavier bag through earlier, when he had presented -his ticket. Now he carried only a small, light dispatch case. -Accidentally, as the person directly in front of him stopped suddenly, -Biff’s dispatch case swung forward, striking the person on the calf of -one leg. - -“Pardon me,” Biff said. - -The person turned around. Startled, Biff stopped quickly. He even backed -up a step in his amazement. - -“Am I seeing things?” Biff asked himself, giving his head a shake and -blinking. “Am I asleep? It can’t be. It just can’t be.” - -The person Biff stared at returned his stare. The same astonishment -spread over the face of the boy he had bumped. - -Biff’s own mirror at home couldn’t have reflected his image better. He -might have been looking at himself! - - - - - CHAPTER III - Backfire - - -Neither boy spoke, so startled were they by their striking resemblance -to one another. - -“This can’t be,” Biff said, half aloud. “That boy is—is—ME!” - -The other lad must have been thinking the same. - -“Step forward, please,” the gate attendant called out sharply. “Keep the -line moving.” - -In their astonishment, Biff and his double had stopped in their tracks. - -Dazedly, Biff and the other boy reached the gate. They presented their -tickets. The attendant looked from one to the other. - -“Twins?” he asked, a smile on his face. - -Still apparently unable to speak, the boys shook their heads. - -They walked across the apron leading to the waiting aircraft. As they -walked along, side by side, each cast quick, questioning glances at one -another. - -It was unbelievable! - -The boys were the same height. Both were broad of shoulder. Both carried -their well-muscled bodies with the grace and posture of the trained -athlete. - -The only immediately noticeable difference distinguishing the boys was -their clothing. Biff was hatless, as always. The other boy wore a hat. -Biff wore light gray slacks, a soft sleeveless sweater, and a loose -sports coat. His double wore a tight-fitting, dark-blue suit and a -white, high-collared shirt. His clothes were as formal as Biff’s were -informal. - -They mounted the loading ramp and entered the plane. The stewardess gave -them the same interested, friendly look the gate attendant had given -them. - -“I’m sure you two will want to sit together,” she said. “You’re twins, -aren’t you?” - -“No, ma’am,” Biff gulped. - -The stewardess seated the boys, disbelief showing in her eyes as they -shifted from the face of one boy to the other. She started moving toward -the door, but kept turning her head to cast a look at the boys. - -Biff was seated next to the window. His seat companion arose, removed -his hat, and placed it on the rack above. His hair was cropped short, as -Biff’s was. It was a shade darker, perhaps, but just a shade. Biff’s -habit of going hatless could have made the difference. - -On close examination of the boys’ faces, there was one noticeable -difference. Biff’s eyes were bluish-gray. The other boy’s were a deep -blue. - -Biff turned in his seat to confront his companion. - -“Since we look so much alike,” Biff said, “maybe we’d better find out -who we are. I’m Biff Brewster. So you can’t be. I mean, if I am Biff -Brewster—and I know I was until I saw you just now—then you must be -someone else.” - -Biff was having a hard time trying to say what he meant. He wasn’t -exactly sure just _what_ he meant. - -The other boy smiled. - -“I am glad to make your acquaintance, Biff Brewster,” he said quite -formally. “My name is Derek Zook. I am from The Netherlands.” - -Derek’s English was good with hardly any trace of accent. His phrasing, -somewhat stiff and formal, marked it as Continental, not American, -English. It was obvious that he had acquired his knowledge of the -language at school. His sentences didn’t have the free and easy swing of -a native language. - -“Where are you going?” Biff asked. - -“I go to Willemstad in Curaçao. That’s in the Netherlands Antilles.” - -“Yes, I know,” Biff replied. His astonishment continued to grow as the -coincidences grew. “I’m going there too. Here we are. We look alike, and -we’re going to the same place. Now how about that!” Biff laughed. Derek -joined in the laughter. - -For the next few minutes the boys were quiet as the aircraft taxied to -its take-off runway. The four engines revved up. The plane started -rolling slowly down the strip. It rolled and rolled, gaining momentum. -Then it was airborne, heading out over the Atlantic toward -Port-au-Prince, Haiti, nearly eight hundred miles away. - -During the flight, Biff and Derek became more and more friendly. They -had much in common, but Biff noticed during the conversation that while -Derek was most willing to talk about his home in The Netherlands, his -schooling, and other, incidental topics, he said nothing about why he -was going to Curaçao. - -Biff was cagey, too. If Derek wouldn’t talk about the reason for his -flying across the Atlantic to visit a speck of an island in the -Caribbean, then Biff felt it wise to say as little about his own visit -as possible. - -There wasn’t much Biff could tell, anyway. He wouldn’t know why his -Uncle Charlie wanted him until he saw him. Biff did tell Derek that he -was going to be met by his uncle, but he didn’t tell his new friend the -kind of work Uncle Charlie did. - -The plane flew high over the easternmost tip of Cuba. Near three o’clock -in the morning, Haiti was spotted, a dark, shadowy mass in the grayness -of the dawn. High up over the Haitian mountains, the sky could be seen -lightening on the eastern horizon. Neither boy saw it. They had talked -themselves out and were sleeping. - -The plane went into a sharp descent for its landing at Port-au-Prince. -There was an hour’s delay before the plane took off on its next leg, the -two-and-a-half hour flight to Curaçao. - -Derek was the first to stir. Biff opened one eye, closed it again, and -settled down into the seat. - -“Do you know our time of arrival, Biff?” Derek asked, his voice clear -and wide awake. - -“’Bout seven,” Biff mumbled sleepily. “Let’s get some more shut-eye.” - -“Shut-eye? I do not understand,” Derek said, puzzled. - -“Sleep,” answered Biff. “Good old sleep. But I can see this is the end -of it for now.” - -Wide awake, the two boys chatted in low voices until the island of -Curaçao, fifty miles off the coast of Venezuela, came into view. - -The island is less than forty miles long and not more than seven miles -wide at its broadest point. From the air, it looked like a long -splinter. To the south, the boys could see the mountainous coastline of -oil-rich Venezuela. - -The plane began a long, gradual descent for its landing at Willemstad. -It came in low, seemingly only a few feet above the spanking waves of -the Caribbean Sea. It shot over land and, minutes later, the crunch of -the aircraft’s rubber-tired landing wheels was felt throughout the -plane. - -As the plane rolled to a stop, an idea hit Biff. “Hey, Derek. I’ve got a -plan,” he exclaimed. “A good one. I’d like to play a joke on my uncle.” - -“Good, I like jokes, Biff. What is it?” - -Biff didn’t answer right away. Some of the excitement and eagerness -faded from his face. “I just thought—somebody must be waiting to meet -you, so I guess my idea wouldn’t work.” - -“I’m not sure anyone is going to meet me, Biff. In fact, I’m almost -certain no one will.” - -Biff was so busy thinking about his idea that the significance of -Derek’s reply didn’t register. Only later did he remember the remark, -and realize how strange it was that Derek, who had come thousands of -miles, had no one to meet him. - -“In that case then,” Biff went on, “here’s what I have in mind. We look -so much alike, I’d like to try and see if we can fool my uncle. So, if -you’re game, here’s my plan. You get off the plane first. Go right into -the terminal. If you look as much like me as I think you do, and as -others do too, then Uncle Charlie will think you’re me.” - -A grin came over the Dutch boy’s face. - -“That does sound like fun. I’d be Biff Brewster to your uncle, wouldn’t -I?” - -“That’s right. I’ll stay in the plane until you’re in the terminal. I’ll -follow you in about five minutes.” - -The passengers were piling out of their seats now, reaching up to the -racks above for their hats and coats. Derek retrieved his hat, turned to -wink at Biff, and started toward the front of the plane. - -“Hey, Derek!” Biff called. “Wait a minute.” - -Biff got up and overtook his new friend. - -“’Fraid Uncle Charlie would spot you in a second if you wore that hat. -He knows I never wear one.” - -Derek took off his hat and handed it to Biff. - -“Another thing,” Biff continued. “Your coat. Looks too European for me -to be wearing it. Let’s change.” - -Derek doffed his suit coat and put on Biff’s sports jacket. Then he left -the plane. - -Biff, grinning in anticipation, waited until almost everyone was off the -plane. Then, wearing Derek’s coat and hat, he deplaned and walked toward -the terminal. - -As he stood at the entrance to the terminal, it took several moments for -Biff’s eyes to adjust from the bright glare of the outside sun to the -soft light of the terminal’s interior. He looked about, trying to spot -his uncle. He finally saw him, to the right, standing in front of a -cigar counter, smiling as he talked to Derek. - -Biff was starting toward his uncle and Derek when two men entered the -terminal from the street side. They looked around quickly, saw Biff, and -came hurriedly over to him. - -“Derek Zook?” one of the men asked. - -Before Biff could protest or explain, the other man grasped him firmly -by the arm. - -“We must hurry. Your father is waiting.” - -Biff found himself being hustled toward the terminal exit. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - Who’s Fooling Whom? - - -Biff was wedged tightly between the two men. They pressured him toward -the exit. He could have resisted, probably could have escaped in the -crowded terminal, but since they were moving in a direction that would -take them right past Uncle Charlie and Derek, Biff decided against a -struggle. - -He saw that his uncle was watching the action closely. Derek, -fortunately, had his back turned. Biff’s “friendly” captors would not be -able to see Derek’s face and remark the striking resemblance. - -Within a few feet of Uncle Charlie and Derek, Biff decided to make his -move. He opened his mouth to shout. Uncle Charlie fixed his eyes firmly -on Biff and shook his head. A big wink from Uncle Charlie warned Biff -further to take no immediate action. Uncle Charlie tossed his head, -gesturing toward the exit door. - -Biff read these signals as quickly as if his uncle had given them to him -verbally. Uncle Charlie wanted him to go with these men. Why, Biff -didn’t know, of course, but he realized that his uncle must have a real -purpose behind his strange action. - -Outside the terminal, Biff was hustled into a black limousine. It was a -long, sleek-looking foreign car, all windows tightly closed. Was this to -prevent any outcry from being heard, Biff wondered? Or was it simply -because the car was air-conditioned against the tropical heat? - -As the car pulled away, Biff quickly glanced out of the rear window. He -hoped to see his uncle pulling out in another car to follow. The -streets, filled with tourists, honking cars, and cyclists blocked his -vision. “Well, he must be following me,” Biff said to himself. “I hope,” -he added. - -Biff was in the rear seat with one of the men. The other was driving. - -“You had the good trip from The Netherlands?” the man asked. - -“From where?” For a moment Biff had forgotten the role he was playing; -forgot he was impersonating Derek. “Oh, yes. Yes, very good,” he -replied. “It was quite exciting, flying over the ocean.” Biff was -careful not to mention which ocean. - -“And your father, so anxious to see you, he is,” Biff’s seat companion -said. - -“Why wasn’t he at the airport?” Biff asked. He had decided to play along -with these men. So far they had shown no outright enmity, had displayed -no threatening signs. Even so, Biff felt certain that should he try to -leap from the car, he would be forcibly detained. - -“He is not well. His explorations at the bottom of the sea have -exhausted him.” - -One more bit of information, Biff thought. Now he knew that Derek’s -father was searching for something on the ocean bed. What? Sunken -treasure? These waters had been plied by pirates in the olden days. - -“He will welcome what you have brought him,” the man said. - -Now just what could that be, Biff asked himself. This man obviously was -trying to pump him—trying to get him to reveal some information. - -“It is important to his search, no?” the man continued. - -“Come on, now,” Biff thought. “You don’t think I’ll fall for that -leading question.” From the cautious manner of the man’s questioning, it -occurred to Biff that the man himself probably didn’t know exactly what -Derek Zook was bringing from The Netherlands. - -“Oh, yes, I am sure that I will be of much help to my father,” Biff said -aloud. - -“Ah, good,” the man replied. - -“You know, sir,” Biff said, “we have been together for ten minutes, and -although you know my name, I don’t know yours.” - -“A million pardons, my young friend. I am Herman Dietz. And my friend -driving is Sidney Cade. He is more often called Specks, however. Perhaps -you can see why?” - -Biff already had noticed that the driver’s face was covered with red -blotches. Some of them were small freckles. Others were unpleasant red -spots the size of a nickel. - -For several moments they rode in silence. Biff was fascinated by the -sights around him. They were riding parallel to a broad waterway. On -either side, large oceangoing ships were moored to gaily colored quays. -Cruise ships, Biff thought to himself. Shops lined the sides of the -quaint street along which they were traveling. Tourists crowded these -shops, which displayed souvenirs, perfumes, colorful sea shells, shoes, -neckties, and women’s handbags. - -Dietz noticed Biff’s interest. - -“Curaçao, you know, is a free port,” he told him. “There are no duties -charged on the thousands of items for sale. That means that perfumes, -for example, which would cost fifty, a hundred dollars an ounce -elsewhere, cost only a small fraction of that amount in Curaçao.” - -Biff knew this fact. He meant to buy presents for his family while in -Curaçao. He didn’t comment, though. Dietz wanted to be friends. Biff -felt it advisable to go along with him until he showed his hand more -plainly. - -Another block and the limousine turned into a curving driveway and -stopped in front of a white, four-story building. - -“Here we are,” Dietz said, opening the door. - -As Biff got out, he noticed a small, gold-lettered sign reading: “Hotel -Del Mar.” Just before mounting the steps to the hotel lobby, Biff cast a -swift glance back in the direction from which they had come. He saw a -small sports car pull over to the curb. He wasn’t certain, but the two -figures he saw in the car could be his uncle and Derek. - -“My father is here?” Biff asked, as the trio crossed the lobby to the -elevators. - -“He is to meet us in a room upstairs,” Dietz replied as they entered an -elevator. - -Dietz’s quick reply caused more doubts to grow in Biff’s mind. It seemed -to him that any father, unless so ill or injured as to be confined to -bed, would certainly want to meet a son who had made the long flight all -the way from Holland. - -Stopping off on the fourth floor, Dietz led the way down a long corridor -to a room at the end. He took out a key and inserted it in the lock. He -didn’t knock, Biff noticed. “Pretty rude,” he commented mentally, as -Dietz pushed the door open. - -“Enter, Derek,” Dietz said. - -Biff preceded the two men into the room. One quick glance showed him it -was empty. He heard the door close behind him and the key turn. - -Turning around swiftly, Biff challenged Dietz, saying, “My father—he’s -not here. And he has never been here. You know that. Why was I brought -here?” - -Dietz’s reply was surprising. - -“You are very clever, for one so young,” Dietz said smoothly. “No, your -father is not here.” - -“Then where is he? I demand that you take me to him at once.” - -“You must be patient. Allow me to explain.” - -“It’s about time you did!” - -Specks was standing with his back to the door, as if expecting Biff to -try to force his way out of the room. - -“It would have been highly dangerous for us to have taken you directly -to your father,” Dietz continued his explanation. - -“Go on,” Biff demanded. - -“Has your father written you about a man who was once in his employ?” -Dietz asked. - -“He may have, and he may not. That is my business and my father’s,” Biff -answered in an angry voice. - -“Ah ... and would that man’s name be Charles Keene?” Dietz went on -smoothly. - -Now here was a twist, Biff thought. This is an angle to explore more -thoroughly. - -“I may have heard that name,” Biff said. “To be truthful, I have.” - -“Then you must know that this Charles Keene represents a great danger to -your father and what he has worked for so long.” - -This situation was growing more and more weird. Dietz was talking about -Biff’s favorite uncle, but not knowing it, of course. Dietz was -completely convinced that Biff was Derek and thought he was telling -Derek Zook about a complete stranger. Biff already was beginning to get -an idea of what Dietz was leading up to. The double-cross was becoming -clearer. What Dietz didn’t know was that he was double-crossing himself. - -“Keene was discharged by your father. For good reason. But this made -Keene furious. He swore revenge on your father.” Dietz paused. - -Biff could just see his Uncle Charlie’s expression when he passed -Dietz’s story on to him. - -“We knew that Keene would be at the airport to meet you—” - -“How could you have known?” Biff asked. The only way Dietz _could_ have -gotten this information was directly from Uncle Charlie. Derek’s arrival -evidently had not been foreseen, or Derek would have expected to be met. -But his, Biff’s, arrival, had been planned by his uncle. Why would Uncle -Charlie have passed this word on to Dietz? That question was a real -puzzler. Biff felt he might get more of the answer by letting Dietz go -on with his lying explanation. - -“We have kept a close watch on Keene’s actions.” - -That’s for sure, Biff thought. - -“We knew he planned to meet you at the airport. It was his intention to -prevent a meeting between you and your father until he could extract -certain valuable information from your father. Only then would he permit -you to join him.” - -“And just where do you come in on this?” Biff asked. - -“Ah—we are your father’s friends. We have worked closely with him. That -is why he asked us to meet you.” - -Dietz was digging a bigger hole for himself to fall into. Since he -thought Biff was Derek, Dietz had no idea, of course, of how he was -giving himself away. - -“We had arranged to stop at this hotel just in case Keene tried to -follow us. I was sure that he would try. He wants to know where your -father is. But I am equally certain that we have eluded him.” - -“I wouldn’t be too sure of that, Mr. Dietz,” Biff said to himself. -Aloud, he said, “And how can you be sure?” - -“I go now to make certain. I will look around most carefully. If I do -not see Keene, then it will be safe for us to take you to your father. -Specks, here, will stay with you to protect you.” - -Biff wasn’t fooled. He knew that Specks was being left behind to keep -him from escaping. From the wily smile on Dietz’s face, Biff knew that -whatever the plan was, Dietz thought it was moving ahead smoothly. Biff -smothered a crazy desire to laugh. Dietz’s plan would be working out -successfully if the real Derek were here. - -One thing was very clear to Biff as Specks locked the door behind Dietz. -These men did not know where Derek’s father was. They were stalling. The -whole elaborate story Dietz had woven showed that. His plan must have -been to get Uncle Charlie to lead him to Derek’s father. Dietz had -figured he could do this if he could get to Derek first. When Charles -Keene failed to meet Derek, he would have to go to Zook and explain. -Dietz probably had planted a man at the airport to spot and follow -Keene. - -“And this all started,” Biff said to himself, stretching out in a -comfortable chair, “when I wanted to play a practical joke on my uncle -by having him think Derek was I.” - -Then it dawned on Biff. He couldn’t have played it the way Uncle Charlie -had wanted any better if Uncle Charlie himself had planned the switch in -identities. It looked to Biff now as if Uncle Charlie didn’t know where -Derek’s father was, either. - -Parts of the whole puzzling experience had fallen into place. But there -were more pieces still to be fitted together. - -Uncle Charlie would know the answers. But where was he? Nearly half an -hour had passed since Dietz had left the room. Specks, sprawled in a -chair, still watched Biff closely. - -Idly, Biff rose and strolled across the room and sauntered out on the -balcony. He could feel Specks’ eyes following him, but the man made no -move. - -On the balcony, Biff understood Specks’ inactivity. There was little -chance of getting out of the room this way. The drop to the water below -was at least seventy-five feet—straight down. - - - - - CHAPTER V - Appear and Disappear - - -“Thinking of taking a swim?” Specks called out. “Some dive you’d have to -make first, eh?” - -Biff turned around. He could see the fat, satisfied grin on Specks’ -face. Biff recrossed the room and stood over the comfortably sprawling -Specks. He wasn’t too big a man. “Bet I could take him,” Biff thought. - -Biff’s determined expression seemed to alarm Specks. He sat upright in -his chair, but at the same time cringed against the back of it. Some of -Specks’ boldness had left the room with boss Dietz. - -Only one thing held Biff back and kept him from mixing with Specks. What -would he accomplish by overpowering his guard? Where would he go? He had -to wait until Uncle Charlie appeared. And supposing he was successful in -taking Specks? Dietz might come back before Uncle Charlie showed up. - -As these thoughts raced through Biff’s mind, a knock came on the door. -It was barely audible. Biff looked at Specks and started for the door. -Specks leaped out of his chair and jumped for Biff. He tried to push -Biff aside, and they tangled. - - [Illustration: _“Think you can handle him?” a voice behind them said_] - -Their struggle was brief, halted by a voice from behind them. - -“Think you can handle him?” - -Biff and Specks swung around. On the balcony, a nonchalant smile on his -handsome face, stood Uncle Charlie. - -Specks, his head pivoting from Biff to Charlie, a frightened look in his -eyes, reached for the doorknob. He wanted out, and fast. - -“Grab him!” Uncle Charlie ordered and came charging across the room. - -Not once so far had Uncle Charlie called Biff by name. Biff took his -lead from this. Uncle Charlie still didn’t want Specks to know that Biff -wasn’t Derek. - -Biff wrapped his arms around Specks, restraining him. Uncle Charlie, at -their side, grabbed Specks by the shoulders and wrenched him away from -Biff’s grasp. - -“Now, how do you want to play this?” Charles Keene asked. His voice was -firm, grim, even though his eyes held a sparkle of amusement. - -Specks didn’t reply. He tried to pull away from Uncle Charlie’s grasp. -He didn’t have a chance. - -“There are several ways of handling you,” Biff’s uncle went on. “You see -this?” He removed one hand and doubled it into a ham-sized fist. “It’s -pretty large for a sleeping tablet. But well placed, like right here”—he -flicked Specks’ jaw with the fist—“and I’m sure you will take a long, -long nap.” - -Specks cowered. - -“Or, we could tie you up. But if you’ll be a good little Specks, and not -try anything, we’ll leave you alone. Now get over to that chair and sit -down.” Charlie’s voice was angry now, and he shoved Specks violently -toward the chair. - -Specks toppled over the chair’s arm, shrank back in it, and tried to -make himself even smaller than he was. - -Biff and his uncle moved over to a corner of the room most distant from -Specks and talked to one another in low tones. - -“Good to see you, Biff. Sorry I had to welcome you this way. But things -are beginning to move. I didn’t expect to plunge you into this up to -your neck so fast, but I think things are working out better than I had -hoped.” - -In a low voice, Biff replied, “Uncle Charlie, just before you came in -from the balcony, there was a knock on the door. There was another man -here, too, not so long ago. A man named Dietz. That knock could have -been him.” - -“I don’t think so, Biff. I’m sure it wasn’t.” - -“Then who could it have been?” Biff asked. - -“Why don’t you go to the room next door and find out,” Uncle Charlie -suggested, grinning broadly. “Go ahead. Specks won’t give me any -trouble.” - -Biff shrugged his shoulders, opened the door, and stepped out into the -hallway. He shook his head. That was Uncle Charlie for you. Daring, -reckless, always making a mysterious game out of any situation. Keeping -up the suspense as long as possible. - -Although he didn’t always approve of his uncle’s methods, Biff had to -admit that with Uncle Charlie, there was never a dull moment. - -Moments later, Biff returned. - -“Well?” The big grin was still on Uncle Charlie’s face. It disappeared -instantly on Biff’s report. - -“There is no one in the room next door,” Biff said in a quiet, steady -voice. - -“Stay here!” Charles Keene leaped for the door. Biff, standing in the -doorway, saw him dash into the adjoining room. He was back out in a -flash. No longer did he wear a grin. His expression was as serious as -Biff had ever seen it. - -Charles Keene walked back to Biff, his brows knitted in worry and anger. - -“I guess I outsmarted myself,” he said. - -“Who was I supposed to find in the next room?” Biff whispered. “Derek?” - -“Yes. It was he who knocked just before I came in. It was this way. We -couldn’t be sure how many people might have been in this room. We knew -you were. We followed you to the hotel—” - -“But how did you know what room I’d be in?” - -“Oh, that was easy. I’m well known here at the Del Mar. The clerk told -me Dietz’s room number. I took the room next to it.” - -“You know Dietz, then?” Biff cut in, glancing sidewise to make sure -Specks could not overhear them. - -“Do I? He’s a bad one. Getting more and more desperate, too. There’s a -pot of gold that he’s afraid we’re going to get to first.” - -“Pot of gold?” - -“Well, not literally; not actually gold. But it’s worth many pots of -gold—big ones.” - -“Go on, Uncle Charlie,” Biff whispered. “How did you get over to this -balcony?” - -“There’s a ledge, not a very wide one, that joins the balconies....” - -Biff remembered the ledge now. It wasn’t more than ten inches wide. His -uncle had taken a dangerous chance in crossing on that narrow ledge from -his room to this one. - -“The boy, by knocking on the door, was to cause enough distraction to -give me time to cross the ledge to this room. I was counting on the -element of surprise if I found you being held by more than two men. -Remember, surprise can add the strength of another man to any attack.” - -“I sure will remember.” - -“Well, when I got to your balcony and saw just you and Specks, I knew -things were going to be easy.” - -“But it didn’t work out quite that way,” Biff said. - -“No. I never thought Derek would be in danger.” - -“And now he’s disappeared.” - -Uncle Charlie nodded his head. He strode back into the room and stood, -hands on hips, glowering down at the cowering Specks. - -“Where is he?” Charlie demanded. “Where’s Dietz?” - -Specks didn’t answer. - -“Speak up, or I’ll make you talk.” - -“I don’t know,” Specks replied. His high voice cracked as he answered. -There was no doubt but that Specks was almost numb with fear. - -Charles Keene reached down and grabbed the man by the shoulder. He shook -him like an angry lion shaking its kill. - -“Please, Mr. Keene,” Specks begged. “I don’t know. That’s the truth.” - -Biff tugged at Uncle Charlie’s arm, and he released his hold on the man. - -“What is it?” Charlie asked, looking into Biff’s face. Biff indicated -with a nod of his head for his uncle to follow him. He then went to the -doorway and stood in the hallway. His uncle came along. - -“Uncle Charlie, that man’s too frightened of you to talk, even if he -does know where Dietz has gone.” - -Charles Keene nodded his head. “Guess you’re right, Biff. Got any -ideas?” - -“Yes. And I’ve got some questions, too.” - -“Fire away.” - -“What do _you_ think has happened to Derek?” - -Uncle Charlie puzzled this question a few moments before replying. - -“Two things could have happened. Dietz could have returned just as Derek -knocked on the door, or when he was returning to our room.” - -“You mean he forced Derek to go with him?” - -“Yes. That could have happened.” - -“But wouldn’t Derek have called out? Yelled for help?” Biff protested. - -“Not necessarily. You see, Biff, Derek doesn’t know me any better than -he knows Dietz. You two switching identities at the airport was a good -joke. But then the joke turned into a serious matter.” - -“Right!” - -“I didn’t have enough time to fill Derek in on what was actually going -on,” Uncle Charlie continued. “He can’t really be sure whether I’m -working for him or against him. The same thing holds for Dietz. Dietz is -a fast and smooth talker.” - -“I learned that, myself,” Biff said. - -“And Derek may have thought that you, by suggesting the switch in -identities, might have been in on a plot for me to get my hands on him.” - -“I see. It could look that way. Look, Uncle Charlie, if you would tell -me what this whole thing is all about, I might be more help.” - -Uncle Charlie apparently didn’t hear Biff’s last remark. He was deep in -his own thinking. - -“Or, this could have happened,” he continued. From his tone of voice, -Biff could tell that his uncle was more voicing his thoughts than -speaking directly to him. - -“Derek might have felt that I was holding him. And after knocking on -this door, he could well have gone right on down to the lobby intending -to leave the hotel. Dietz might have seen him there.” - -“And told him you were a crook and that he would take Derek to his -father.” - -Uncle Charlie nodded his head in agreement. - -“Look, Uncle Charlie, just where is Derek’s father?” - -“Brom Zook? I don’t know, Biff.” - -“Dietz doesn’t know either, does he?” - -“I’m not sure.” - -It was just as Biff had reasoned. Neither his uncle nor Dietz knew where -Derek’s father, Brom Zook, was, and each thought the other might know. - -“You were both hoping that the other would lead you to Brom Zook?” - -“That’s about how it shapes up, Biff.” - -“How long has Derek’s father been missing?” - -“I haven’t seen him for over three months. The only communication I’ve -had from him was a letter and a package. They came two weeks after I -last saw him.” - -There were still many questions Biff wanted to ask his uncle. But right -now, Biff figured they could wait. The important thing was to find -Derek—and Derek’s father. - -“Uncle Charlie, if you think Dietz knows where Brom Zook is, then Specks -would know, too, wouldn’t he?” - -“Yes, I should think so.” - -“Then wouldn’t it be best to release Specks? Tell him he’s free? Then we -can follow Specks. If Dietz has talked Derek into going with him, or -forced him to do so, then Specks will lead us to Dietz, Derek, and maybe -even to his father.” - -Charles Keene thought about this for a moment. - -“You’ve got something there, Biff. You’re using your head better than I -am. We’ll do it. You go on down to the lobby. Find a spot where you -can’t be seen by anyone leaving the elevator. I’ll turn Specks loose and -come down the stairs the moment he gets in the elevator. All right?” - -Biff nodded his head. - -“Good luck, Biff,” his uncle called out as Biff headed for the elevator. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - Crunch - - -Uncle Charlie had been right about Derek. The Dutch boy had followed -Keene’s instructions to the letter—up to a certain point. - -Derek had watched Charles Keene climb over the balcony railing and onto -the ledge leading to the next room. He had held his breath as he watched -the older man press close to the building wall and inch his way along -the narrow ledge toward the next balcony. - -“Are you all right?” Derek had called softly. - -Charles Keene, perspiration breaking out on his face, nodded his head in -reply. - -Derek had gone back into the room. Moments passed. Then he had slipped -quietly out into the hallway and moved to the next door. Then he had -knocked. He had waited a few minutes, trying to understand the muffled -words coming from the other side of the door. - -According to the plan, he was supposed to return to his room and wait -for Biff. - -“Should I?” Derek asked himself. He was even more confused than Biff had -been by the strange turn of events. Charles Keene had seemed a pleasant -enough chap. But in the ride from the airport to the hotel, he had been -vague in some of the answers he had given. It was hard to distrust -Keene, but his explanations had been so sketchy that Derek’s suspicions -had been aroused. - -He had even wondered about the switch he had agreed to make with Biff. -Why had Biff suggested the switch? Was it only a practical joke, or was -there some deeper reason for Biff’s suggestion? - -What had really started Derek’s doubts had taken place at the airport. -When Biff and the two men had passed in the airport, Charles Keene had -restrained Derek from calling out to Biff. - -Derek made up his mind. He would not return to the room Keene had taken -him to. If Keene wasn’t to be trusted, then Derek knew he would have a -much greater chance of getting away from him in the hotel lobby than in -a small room. Derek went to the elevator. Biff had missed him by only -minutes when he went to find him. - -In the lobby of the Del Mar, Derek took a seat with a clear view of the -elevator bank and the door to the street. His eyes swung from one to the -other. Derek was alert, waiting for any development. - -Once he dug his hand into the inside pocket of his jacket. Alarm spread -over his face when the object he was feeling for wasn’t there. He almost -panicked. Momentary relief came to him when he remembered that he was -still wearing Biff’s sports jacket. This relief was short-lived. - -The package he had reached for was of vital importance to Derek. But -Biff had swapped coats with him. Biff now had the package containing the -small object of such value. - -Had that been the real reason Biff had wanted to switch identifications? -So that Biff could get possession of the package? It was hard for Derek -to accept this theory. He had developed an instant liking for Biff. He -felt that Biff had felt the same way about him. And how could Biff have -known that he, Derek, was going to be in the airport in Miami? Could -Biff possibly have known and arranged to be on the same plane? - -It was too much of a puzzle for the Dutch boy. - -Derek watched the floor indicator dial over one elevator move, showing -an elevator descending. Would this be Biff? Or Charles Keene? The door -slid open. An elderly couple emerged. - -He turned his glance toward the street door. A man entered alone. He -looked somewhat familiar to Derek. Where had he seen him? - -The man glanced swiftly about the lobby. His eyes rested for a fraction -of a second on Derek, then turned away. The man started for the -elevator. Almost there, he stopped abruptly and swung around to look -closely at Derek. Disbelief showed in his eyes. - -Derek recognized the man now. He had been one of the two who had walked -out of the airport terminal building with Biff. - -The man crossed quickly to the chair where Derek was sitting. - -“Derek! You—you escaped! I mean—tell me, what happened?” - -The man seemed confused. He was obviously unable to believe what he saw. - -Dietz was confused. More so even than he displayed to Derek. How had -Derek managed to get away from Specks? What had happened in the short -space of time he had been away? He would have to play this very cagey -now. Earlier, when he had been in the same room with this boy he could -tell that the youth had grown suspicious of him. - -Dietz took a stab in the dark. - -“Did Keene come?” he asked. “And you got away?” - -That was true enough. Derek had gotten away from Keene. But how did this -man know that he had been with Keene? He couldn’t know—not yet—that it -had actually been Biff Brewster, not Derek Zook, who had left the -airport with him. Derek’s mind spun dizzily for a moment. “Catch hold of -yourself,” he said sternly to his whirling brain. - -Derek began thinking. Both he and Dietz held their silence for a few -moments, stalling for time, each trying to think how to learn what the -other actually knew. - -“Yes, I left Mr. Keene,” Derek finally replied. - -“Was there trouble? Specks—did Keene attack him? Was that when you made -your escape?” - -The picture was becoming clearer. The “Specks” Dietz referred to must -have been the other man who had been with Biff and this man at the -airport. - -Derek had a pretty good idea now of what Dietz must be figuring had -happened. Believing Specks was guarding the real Derek, Dietz must think -that Keene had broken in on them and overpowered Specks, and that during -the melee, he, Derek, had fled. It would be wise, Derek thought, to find -out as much as he could. - -This man must be the one Keene had referred to as Dietz. Derek decided -to find this out. - -“Yes, Mr. Dietz. That’s what happened.” - -“Thank goodness you made your escape,” Dietz replied. “Keene is a -dangerous man. Dangerous to you and your father.” - -This was just about the same thing Keene had said to Derek about Dietz, -Derek remembered. “Caution,” his brain flashed. “Which of them is -lying?” - -“My father?” he said aloud. “It is safe for you to take me to him now?” - -“Oh, yes. Yes, we must leave at once. Before Keene comes down here.” - -Dietz’s answer was quick. A bit too quick, Derek thought. But just what -or whom was he to believe? - -“We can go to him now. At once.” - -“Where is he?” Derek asked this question in Dutch. This was to be the -big test as to whether he would trust this man. Derek had asked one -question of Keene in Dutch. Keene hadn’t replied. At the time, Derek had -thought that perhaps Keene hadn’t been listening to him, he had been so -busy telling Derek why he had permitted Biff to leave the airport with -the two men. - -“Your father is in a small hacienda to the north of Willemstad. A half -hour’s drive.” - -Dietz had replied in Dutch. Derek decided to take a chance. - -“All right. Let’s go.” - -Derek didn’t see the look of satisfaction and relief that flashed over -Dietz’s dark features. He got up and followed Dietz out of the hotel. -Moments later, Biff stepped out of the elevator. He just missed seeing -Dietz and Derek leave the hotel. - -Derek got into the same sleek, black limousine that had brought Biff to -the hotel only an hour before. Dietz got behind the wheel. He wove -through the crowded streets of Willemstad. The town and its houses and -buildings looked very much like a small waterfront town back in Holland. -The houses were the same type. Willemstad, Derek recalled, had been -named for a small village back in Holland. - -Leaving Willemstad behind them, Dietz sped along a narrow, winding road -that climbed the foothills toward the highest point in Curaçao. Suddenly -he swerved off the paved road onto an unimproved, heavily rutted dirt -road. Ten minutes more and Dietz nosed the car through an arched opening -in a pink stone wall. Ahead, Derek could see one large, rambling house, -again stone, but painted a bright yellow, and several smaller stone -buildings. - -Dietz stopped in front of the entrance. Immediately there came out the -largest man Derek had ever seen. His complexion was a light -coffee-brown. He wore knee-length breeches. His legs and feet were bare. -His heavy muscles bulged beneath a thin white shirt, its ends tied -around his waist. - -Without another glance at Derek, Dietz spoke to the giant. - -“Take over, Crunch.” - -Crunch was well named. Derek learned this when the man clamped a hand on -his arm, grinning down at him evilly. - -Derek knew now that he had placed his trust in the wrong man. But it was -too late. He was powerless to resist. Crunch had the strength to match -his giant size. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - Gay Curaçao - - -Biff scanned the lobby of the hotel carefully as he emerged from the -elevator. No sign of Derek, no sign of Dietz. They had left only minutes -before Biff reached the lobby. - -The stairway Uncle Charlie would be coming down, Biff noticed, led into -the lobby just to the right, and slightly behind the elevator bank. Biff -decided that behind the stairway would be the best place for him to -watch for Specks. There was a large potted plant at the foot of the -stairway. Biff got behind it. From here, he couldn’t be seen, yet he had -a good view of the elevators and the stairs. Specks in his frightened -haste might take the stairway. He might not want to wait for an -elevator, scared as he must be after Uncle Charlie had given him a -verbal working-over. - -The elevator must have been waiting on the fourth floor, for Specks came -out of it into the lobby just after Biff had taken up his position. He -saw the little man glance nervously around the lobby. Probably, Biff -guessed, he was looking for boss Dietz. He needed his support, needed it -badly. - -Specks then headed for the exit. He moved at a pace so rapid that he -bumped into several people who were entering. - -“Where’s Uncle Charlie?” Biff asked himself. “If he doesn’t get here -right now, we’ll lose Specks.” Biff stepped out from behind the huge -plant and glanced up the curving stairs. No Uncle Charlie. Biff did -think that he heard someone coming down, coming fast, taking two or more -steps at a time. “That must be he,” Biff thought. He decided to go after -Specks, hoping his uncle would be right behind. - -In the curved driveway outside the hotel, Biff looked right and left. -Specks must have pulled out of there at a rapid clip. He wasn’t in -sight. Uncle Charlie came out of the hotel, taking the three steps at a -leap. - -“Where is he? Which way did he go?” - -“I don’t know,” Biff replied. “He was gone by the time I got out here.” - -“Come on, then.” Uncle Charlie, on the run, headed for the street. Biff -was at his heels. - -On the sidewalk, they tried to spot Specks. - -It seemed to Biff he had never seen so many people crowding the streets, -all of them in a gay, holiday mood. - -“It’s no use, Biff,” Charles Keene said. “We’d never catch Specks in -this crowd, even if we knew which way he went.” - -“Guess you’re right,” Biff replied. “But I hate to give up. I want to -find Derek. Don’t like the idea of his thinking you and I are against -him.” - -“I know how you feel, Biff. Tell you what. Let’s just wander around, -circulate among the crowds. Who knows, we might bump into him. If we -don’t, locating him is going to take time and organization.” - -Biff felt there would be little chance of that happening. He knew that -his uncle was just trying to cheer him up. So, thought Biff, why not? -See some of the town at the same time. - -“Okay, Uncle Charlie, lead on.” - -The man and boy joined in the thronging crowd of tourists, sight-seers, -and bargain hunters. - -“Four big cruise ships in, Biff,” Uncle Charlie said. “That’s why -Curaçao is really hopping today.” - -They stopped at several shops. Both kept an eye out for Derek, and -Biff’s uncle made several inquiries of shopkeepers. No luck. “Let’s -acquaint you with this fabulous city first, Biff,” he said. “Then back -to the hotel for a powwow on our next move.” - -Biff looked over some German cameras in El Globo on Heerenstraat. He was -delighted with the store run by Juluis Penha on Breedestraat. This store -sold dolls from all over. He bought a Dutch doll for Monica. It was -dressed in traditional Dutch clothes—wooden shoes, a gaily colored -frock, and a stiff winged hat. He found a Swiss watch at Spritzer and -Fuhrmann, and was surprised at how inexpensive it was. He bought it for -his brother Ted and smiled as he thought of Ted’s face when he saw it. - -As they walked along, Uncle Charlie kept up a running fire of -conversation, giving Biff a good picture of life in Curaçao. - -“All the houses are different colors, Uncle Charlie. Why is that?” Biff -asked. - -Each house was distinct from the other, even if its color varied by only -a shade. Some were light pink, others darker pink. There were bright -green-painted houses, and light green ones. Others were different shades -of blue and yellow. - -Uncle Charlie chuckled before replying. - -“Don’t know how true this story is, Biff, but here’s the natives’ -explanation of why the houses here are so gaily colored. Many years ago, -all the houses here were whitewashed. It seems the unrelieved glare of -all the white houses hurt the governor’s eyes. So, being a powerful man -who knew what he wanted, he ordered the houses to be painted the colors -of their owners’ choices. Simple as that.” - -“If you’re a governor,” Biff replied, laughing. - -“And you see that large building over there?” Uncle Charlie pointed to a -magnificent structure standing on top of a hill. - -“Big enough to be a palace,” Biff commented. - -“It’s Franklin D. Roosevelt House, the United States consulate. The -Dutch built it up there on Ararat Hill to express their thanks for our -protection of these Dutch islands during World War II.” - -“That was really nice of them.” - -“Good neighbors, the Dutch.” - -Biff stopped in front of a store displaying beautiful English china and -Swedish crystal. He pretended to be inspecting these beautiful wares. -Actually he was listening intently to a rapid-fire conversation between -two native clerks. - -“I don’t get it,” Biff said, shaking his head. - -“What don’t you get?” - -“The language they’re speaking. I thought at first it was Spanish. I -know I caught some Spanish words. And some English words. And I could -pick out some Portuguese, too. But it’s all so mixed up.” - -Uncle Charlie laughed. “No wonder you’re puzzled. They’re speaking a -language made up of more different languages than any other in the -world. It’s called Papiamento. The jargon is a combination of Dutch, -English, Spanish, Portuguese, African, and Indian words. Carib Indians. -A few French words thrown in, too.” - -“Just like Curaçao itself.” - -“That’s right, Biff. This island is filled with many races although the -Dutch are predominant.” - -Uncle Charlie looked at his watch, then glanced up at the sun. “Aren’t -you getting hungry? It’s after noon,” he said. - -“Now that you remind me,” Biff replied with a grin, “I’m starving.” - -“Like to go back to the hotel, or how about some real Dutch-Javanese -food? Dutch cooking is good. Heavy, though.” - -“Lead me to it.” - -Uncle Charlie took his nephew to Koreman’s Old Dutch Tavern on -Columbusstraat. They started out with a delicious Dutch pea soup, for -which the restaurant is famous, and followed it with a Javanese dish of -pork and vegetables with a thick curry sauce. - -“Like it, Biff?” - -“Delicious. But, as you said—heavy. I’m so full now, I don’t think I’ll -ever want to eat again.” - -“This stuff really sticks to your ribs. But if I know you, you’ll be -starving again in a few hours. Come on, we’ll go back to the hotel. You -must have some questions buzzing in your brain.” - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - Uncle Charlie Spins a Yarn - - -“Make yourself comfortable, Biff,” Uncle Charlie invited, when they were -back in his room at the Del Mar. “You must be tired. Night flight, -exciting morning. Get much sleep on the plane?” - -“Few hours. I think that food made me sleepier than anything, though. -Boy, am I glad to get this coat off! Too tight for my taste.” - -Biff took off Derek’s coat, which he had been wearing, and tossed it -toward a chair. As the coat landed, a small white box fell out of the -pocket. Uncle Charlie pounced on it like a hungry cat on a mouse. - -“What is it, Uncle Charlie?” Biff asked. - -Charlie had taken the lid off the box and was inspecting the object in -it with a triumphant smile on his face. - -“What luck! I think this will clinch our case against Dietz and Company. -And at the same time, I can see now why Derek might be very suspicious -of both of us.” - -Uncle Charlie put the lid back on the box and replaced it in Derek’s -coat. - -“You still haven’t told me what it is,” Biff said. - -“Give me time. And when I do, a lot of things will become clear.” - -“So, Uncle Charlie is going to be mysterious again,” Biff said to -himself. Biff sprawled out on the bed and waited for Uncle Charlie to -start talking. - -“It all goes back to our days in Burma and China, Biff. You know -Explorations Unlimited still has its headquarters in Burma. Sumatra’s -not too far from Burma. Lots of Dutch people in Sumatra. It was once a -Dutch colony. And Explorations had done quite a bit of work for some of -the Dutch businessmen there. - -“Just after we had to get out of Burma—you remember, of -course—Explorations received an inquiry as to whether its operations -extended to the Netherlands Antilles. Jack Hudson—you recall him, don’t -you, Biff?—cabled me.” - -Biff nodded his head. Jack Hudson also worked for Explorations -Unlimited. It had been Jack who had flown into China and rescued Biff -and his uncle when Biff had taken part in the _Mystery of the Chinese -Ring_. - -“So Jack cabled me,” Uncle Charlie went on. “An inquiry had come from a -friend of Derek’s father, Brom Zook. Brom wanted someone to work for and -with him. I got the job. I’d picked up a seaplane with my earnings in -China and had been kicking around the Caribbean, charter flights and so -on.” - -“What did he want you to do?” Biff asked. - -“Pilot him back and forth from here to Martinique. Run a speedboat he -has in Martinique.” - -“I know from what Dietz told me that Derek’s father is looking for -something on the bottom of the ocean? What is it? Sunken treasure?” Biff -asked. - -“In a way, yes. And he’s found it, too. It’s a pearl fishery—” - -“Pearl fishery!” Biff’s voice showed his excitement. - -“Yes. A fabulous one. If the samples Brom has found so far are an -indication, there are millions of dollars of pearls waiting to be taken, -from a spot of ocean floor just off the coast of Martinique.” - -Biff was sitting up now, leaning forward. This was fascinating to him. -Pearls, taken from the bottom of the ocean! - -“It was the very end of November, I guess, when I last saw Brom,” -Charles Keene said. “I’d taken some new skin-diving equipment over to -him. He indicated to me then that he thought he was nearing his goal. He -said I’d hear from him within a week. I was to come back to Curaçao and -await word.” - -“Why Curaçao, Uncle Charlie, when he was working in a French -possession?” - -“Because he’s a Dutch citizen. Everything he does over there has to -clear through the Dutch authorities and the French consulate here.” - -“I see,” Biff nodded his head. - -“Well, nearly two weeks went by. I was worried. I flew back to -Martinique. I couldn’t locate Brom. He had gone to sea in his speedboat, -loaded with supplies. I hung around La Trinité—that’s the town we -headquartered in—for a couple of days, then came back here. Nothing else -for me to do.” - -Uncle Charlie got out of his chair and walked over to the balcony. - -“Then I got a letter and a package from Brom,” Uncle Charlie continued. -“And that’s the last I’ve heard from him. Oh, I’ve been back to -Martinique several times, but he’s vanished.” - -“Do you think Dietz had anything to do with it?” - -“I’m sure of it, Biff. He either kidnapped Brom Zook, and Brom got away, -or he drove Brom into hiding. It’s just got to be one or the other.” - -“Dietz knew about this pearl fishery, too?” Biff wanted to know. - -“Lots of people know about it, Biff. Stories of a fabulous pearl fishery -have been circulating in these parts for years and years. The stories -come from the Carib Indians. And every once in a while, a Carib comes to -the market with a priceless pearl.” - -“But no one has ever located the fishery, is that it?” - -“That’s right, Biff. Many have tried, Dietz among them.” - -“Where does Derek fit into the picture?” Biff asked. - -“I’m coming to that. Derek is motherless. He has spent most of his life -divided between living here in Curaçao with his father and living with -his grandparents in Holland. When Brom Zook started on his hunt for the -pearl fishery, he sent Derek to The Netherlands for his schooling. He -knew that he wouldn’t be in Curaçao much of the time, and he didn’t like -to leave Derek alone.” - -“Why did Derek come back? Particularly since his father is missing?” The -picture was still somewhat cloudy to Biff. - -“I sent for him,” Uncle Charlie said. - -“And you sent for me, too. Why both of us?” - -“Because you look so much alike. You could easily pass for twins.” - -“I know,” Biff said. “In Miami and on the plane, we were taken for -twins.” - -“I needed you here in the event Derek didn’t show up in time.” - -“In time for what, Uncle Charlie?” - -“To establish his right to the pearl fishery his father has found.” - -Biff frowned. “I’m afraid I still don’t get it.” - -“It’s like this, Biff. The letter I received from Brom Zook, over two -weeks after I last saw him, contained a claim to a certain water area, -to be filed with the French consulate here in Willemstad, establishing -Brom Zook as the discoverer of the fishery. I was to file it for him. -Along with the letter and the claim, I received a small package. In it -was one of the most perfect black pearls I have ever seen.” - -Biff’s eyes turned in the direction of Derek’s coat. He was beginning to -get an idea of what Uncle Charlie had found in the box that had tumbled -from the jacket. - -“This pearl was to be given the French consul along with the claim. In -the event Brom Zook didn’t appear within the time limit, the person -appearing for him could establish his right by presenting a black pearl -that was the perfect match for the one I left with the consulate.” - -“And that person would be Derek?” Biff asked. - -“Right you are, Biff.” - -“How did Derek get hold of the pearl?” - -“Apparently Brom Zook knew he was in danger, from Dietz, I’m sure. Dietz -would try to stop him from appearing to establish his claim—the same way -claim jumpers used to operate in the early mining days of the old West -in the United States,” Uncle Charlie explained. - -“So he sent Derek the other pearl?” - -“That’s right. He told me he had done so in his letter. His instructions -were that if he didn’t get in touch with me in plenty of time before the -ninety-day time limit was to expire, then I was to cable Derek to come -at once to Curaçao.” - -“Ninety-day time limit? I don’t understand,” Biff said, his voice -showing he was still puzzled. - -“When a claim is filed, such as the one I filed for Brom Zook, there’s a -waiting period of ninety days before the claim is granted. The law was -designed to prevent claim jumping. In those ninety days, if anyone else -can dispute the claim, then a hearing is held to decide who discovered -the find first.” - -“So that if Brom Zook had jumped someone else’s claim, the real -discoverer could protest and prove he made the discovery first,” Biff -said. - -“You’re right, Biff. But in this case, Brom made the discovery. Dietz -knows it. Dietz knows that he wouldn’t stand a chance of claiming to -have made the discovery first.” - -“Why not?” - -“Because he doesn’t know exactly where it is.” - -“Do you, Uncle Charlie?” - -“I have a pretty good idea, because I know more precisely where Brom -Zook was working than Dietz does. You see, Biff, a claim to a water area -covers a _lot_ of ocean. It isn’t like a land claim for mining. A mining -claim covers a specific spot. A water claim can cover an area of -hundreds of acres. I know the island group that Brom was searching in, -but only Brom knows the exact spot where the pearl oysters are located.” - -“Then the pearl fishery itself,” Biff said, “could be a very small area -compared to the total area covered by the claim?” - -“Right you are, Biff.” - -“Then Dietz hasn’t got a chance, has he?” - -“Oh, yes. He thinks he has a good one.” - -“I don’t see how.” - -Charlie Keene grinned. “If neither Brom Zook nor Derek appears at the -French consulate to demand the claim within the ninety days, anyone can -file for the rights. Dietz is just waiting to file in the same general -area where the Zook claim is located.” - -Biff knew now what had happened. - -“And Brom Zook is missing.” - -“That’s it, Biff. If neither Brom Zook nor Derek appears, then Dietz -moves in, files his claim, and then it would be most difficult for Brom -Zook to reestablish his rights.” - -Biff nodded his head thoughtfully. - -“Uncle Charlie, when does that ninety-day time limit expire?” - -“Tomorrow afternoon, Biff. At four o’clock.” - -“What!” Biff exclaimed. “Then we’ve got to act fast. We’ve got to find -Derek!” - -“Don’t worry, Biff, we’re still ahead of the game.” - -“But Brom Zook will be robbed!” - -“I don’t think so,” Uncle Charlie said, smiling as he shook his head. - -“What’s to prevent it?” Biff demanded. - -“You, Biff. Couldn’t you play the role of Derek Zook once more?” - - - - - CHAPTER IX - Outmatched - - -Biff was taken aback by his uncle’s last statement. - -“You mean if we don’t find Derek, you want me to substitute for him?” - -“That sums it up, Biff.” - -Biff shook his head. He knew he looked like Derek. But Uncle Charlie was -really asking a lot. - -“Gosh, Uncle Charlie. It’s one thing for me to substitute for Derek when -it’s only a joke. Like at the airport. But to do this—this is for big -stakes.” - -“I know, Biff. But, considering the fact that you will actually be doing -this so the just rights of a man will be established, I don’t think you -would be doing anything morally wrong.” - -“No, I guess not. We would be stopping Dietz from stealing what belongs -to someone else.” - -“That’s right, Biff.” - -“Still—suppose I have to sign something? That would be forgery. I -couldn’t do that, Uncle Charlie.” - -“I know you couldn’t, Biff. And I wouldn’t ask you to. But I’ve looked -into this affair as closely as I can. I don’t think you’ll be required -to sign anything. The signing for the actual working permit to the claim -will take place in Martinique.” - -“I sure hope you’re right.” - -“I’m rather certain that I am, Biff. Otherwise there wouldn’t have been -much point in my having you come down here in such a hurry.” - -“And my being here gives you more time to find Brom Zook.” - -“Or Derek, now that he is here.” - -“I wonder why he didn’t get here sooner,” Biff pondered. - -“You can bet that really had me worried. I waited until just over three -weeks ago before I cabled for Derek to come here. That would be plenty -of time, now that the Atlantic can be crossed in hours instead of days.” - -“Didn’t you get a reply to your cable?” - -“No. That didn’t worry me too much. I just figured that Derek would know -how serious things had become. His father must have given him a clear -picture of the situation when he wrote him.” - -“Why didn’t Derek come as soon as you cabled?” - -“I got a cable about ten days after I sent for Derek. It was from his -grandfather. The cable informed me that Derek was in the Swiss Alps for -winter skiing. The grandfather had tried and tried to locate him. It -seems Derek was off on a long cross-country ski race. You know, where -the winner is the one who covers the most miles in a given number of -days.” - -“Be hard to locate someone on one of those jaunts, all right,” Biff -agreed. - -“So, being desperate, and not knowing if Derek would get here before the -time limit expired, I cabled for you. And was I ever glad to see you -come through the door of the terminal!” - -“But you actually had the real Derek.” - -Uncle Charlie laughed. “That’s right. But from the way things have gone, -it’s a good thing I do have two Dereks.” - - * * * * * * * * - -The hands on the clock in the hearing room of the French consulate -showed fifteen minutes of four. Seated in the first of the row of -benches which lined the room were Herman Dietz and Specks Cade. Dietz -wore a satisfied smile on his face. Things were going fine. Just fine. -Fifteen more minutes, and Brom Zook’s claim would be worthless, voided -by the expiration of the ninety-day time limit. - -Specks’s feelings were just the opposite of Dietz’s. He was nervous. He -kept shifting back and forth on the bench, looking at the entrance, -watching the clock. - -Ten minutes of four. - -The claims referee finished some business with the only other person -left in the room. He looked down from his bench at Dietz. - -“You have business with the Claims Division?” - -“Yes, sir. I have a claim to file.” - -“Then let’s have it. It grows late,” the referee said impatiently. - -“I will when it becomes four o’clock,” Dietz said. “It would not be -proper for me to file my claim when there is still time for my friend -Brom Zook to appear to ask for his.” - -The referee looked down at the paper in front of him. He picked it up. - -“Oh, yes. Brom Zook. I have it here.” He glanced at the clock. - -Five minutes to four. - -A dead silence came over the hearing room. Three men kept their eyes on -the clock. Even Dietz fidgeted somewhat as the minute hand came nearer -and nearer to the hour hand. Only three minutes and he would win. - -The sound of feet striding briskly and firmly came from the rear of the -room. Dietz swung around. His face went white. His heart pounded. It -couldn’t be. It was impossible! Derek Zook was a prisoner guarded by -Crunch. Crunch was a simple-minded soul, but a powerful man. Derek Zook -couldn’t have escaped! - -Biff Brewster came striding down the aisle. - -The referee looked up. “And what is the matter concerning you that -brings you before this Claims Division?” he asked. - -“The matter of the claim to a pearl fishery, made by Brom Zook of -Curaçao, sir,” Biff said. - -The referee picked up some papers. - -“You can establish your right to the claim?” - -Biff nodded his head. - -Charles Keene came down the aisle and stood by his nephew. - -“I see by a letter which accompanies this claim that you must meet a -certain requirement in order to establish your right beyond any doubt.” - -Biff cast a quick glance at his uncle. Charles Keene said nothing. The -clerk went on: - -“Brom Zook has accompanied his filing of a claim asking to be granted -the rights to fish for pearls in certain waters off the Island of -Martinique, with an object which must be matched by any claimant other -than himself. Since I know you are not Brom Zook, you must present this -object to establish yourself as the rightful claimant to the grant. You -have it, young man?” - -Momentarily Biff panicked. Where had he put the pearl? Then he felt his -uncle nudge him. “Your inside coat pocket, Biff,” Charles Keene -whispered. - -Biff’s hand shot into his coat pocket. - -“The object referred to,” the referee went on, “is a pearl. A black -pearl that must match perfectly the one I hold here.” - -At these words, Dietz raised an eyebrow and smirked. He was positive no -such pearl existed. If it did, Derek didn’t have it. He had searched -Derek carefully. No pearl had been found. - -Biff’s hand touched the small box. He pulled it out and stepped forward -to the referee’s bench. - -“Here, sir.” Biff said, holding the beautiful pearl in the palm of his -hand. - -The referee took it. Biff couldn’t resist turning around to see Dietz’s -reaction. Dietz was grasping Specks’s arm. He seemed about to faint. He -swallowed several times, shaking his head as if trying to remove from -his vision something he couldn’t believe he was seeing. - -The referee was examining the two pearls closely. - -“Everything seems to be in order. There can be no doubt that these are -matching pearls. Beautiful ones, too. My congratulations to you, young -man, and to your father. He has truly made a discovery of great beauty -and value.” - -The referee placed the papers in a thick manila envelope and handed them -over to Biff. “And now, seeing that no one else is here to present a -claim, I declare the Claims Division closed for the day,” he said. - -Biff joined his uncle, and the two strode happily toward the exit. At -the door, they turned and looked back. Dietz was slumped back against -the bench. Specks hovered over him like a nervous mother hen. - - - - - CHAPTER X - Plan of Action - - -Two happier people couldn’t be found among the gay crowds of tourists -swarming the streets of Willemstad than Biff Brewster and Charlie Keene. -They were standing at the bottom of the steps leading from the French -consulate. - -“We pulled it off, Biff. We really outfoxed Dietz,” Charlie said -exultantly. - -“We sure did. But I was kind of shaky in there for a few moments. I mean -when the referee asked about the matching pearl.” - -Uncle Charlie laughed. “You felt like the best man at the wedding who -forgot where he had put the ring, eh?” - -Biff and his uncle had spent all their time before appearing at the -Claims Division in looking for Derek. They had gone to the Zook home, -long closed since Brom Zook had been in Martinique and Derek in Holland. -They thought the boy might have gone there to hide. - -They had also inquired at a small boarding house where Brom Zook had -stayed on his infrequent trips to Curaçao. No sign or word of Derek -anywhere. They had come to the conclusion that Dietz must be holding the -Dutch boy. - -“Yep, Biff, we’ve established Brom Zook’s rights to the claim, and -we’ve got the matching pearls. Pretty good day’s work, I’d say. -Couldn’t have done it without you, though. My compliments to you, -Biff-Derek-Zook-Brewster.” - -Biff laughed. “I’d like to get back to being just Biff Brewster again. -Impersonating Derek Zook gets pretty rough at times.” - -Uncle Charlie wasn’t listening. Biff had given him the papers -establishing the claim and the two pearls. Uncle Charlie was examining -the pearls. - -“Real beauties, aren’t they? And valuable, too.” - -“What do you think they’re worth, Uncle Charlie?” - -“Hmmm ... several thousand dollars at least. They’d make a perfect pair -of earrings for some exotic movie star or Italian countess or a member -of the British nobility. Not worth a big fortune, but a considerable -one. A pearl collector would probably want them at any price named.” - -“And there’s plenty more where they came from,” Biff suggested. - -“You’re right, there are.” - -Biff was quiet. His thoughts were now back on Derek. True, he and his -uncle had preserved Derek and his father’s pearl fishery claim, but -unless they could find Derek and Brom Zook, what they had done so far -was valueless. - -“Uncle Charlie, we’ve just got to find Derek now.” - -Charles Keene frowned. “I know it, Biff.” - -“We can’t let Dietz find out that it wasn’t Derek who appeared before -the claims referee. If he does, he could upset our applecart but good.” - -“Yes. And it still has to be the real Derek who signs for the working -permit in Martinique. Your impersonation can’t go to the extreme of -signing Derek’s name.” - -Biff glanced down the street. His eyes came to rest on the sleek, black -limousine which had brought Dietz to the Claims Division. It was the -same car in which Biff had ridden from the airport to the hotel. Looking -at it gave Biff an idea. - -“Look, Uncle Charlie. If Dietz did get Derek, he must still be holding -him. Right?” - -His uncle nodded his head in agreement. - -“Although he doesn’t know it, of course, since he saw me in the Claims -office, and thought I was Derek—” - -“Go on, Biff, I think I’m reading you louder and your upcoming idea is -getting clearer.” - -“Thinking, as he must be, that Derek somehow escaped, wouldn’t he let -his guard down now? He must figure the game is almost up.” - -“Yes, that’s how I’d figure it myself,” Charlie replied. “And how wrong -I’d be!” - -“Exactly. So, believing Derek must have escaped, wouldn’t Dietz feel it -no longer necessary to take any precautions in returning to his -hide-out?” - -“I get you, Biff. Following him ought to be a cinch now.” - -“What are we waiting for then? Let’s get in your car and wait for Dietz -and Specks to come out.” - -The two walked over to Charlie Keene’s small, low-slung, two-seater -sports car. They climbed in and waited. Keene’s car was parked four cars -removed from the black limousine. The cars intervening gave Biff and his -uncle a good spot from which to observe, without too much chance of -being seen themselves. - -Five minutes passed before a dejected Dietz and his pal Specks came out -of the building. They got into the limousine, Specks at the wheel, and -pulled away. Uncle Charlie started up his car and slipped into the thick -traffic behind. There was little chance of their pursuing car being -noticed by Dietz in the crowded downtown streets. - -As Dietz’s limousine reached the northern outskirts of the city, traffic -thinned. Charlie dropped back half a block, still keeping the black car -within easy vision. - -Once the city was left behind, Specks speeded up. The limousine roared -along the road. Charlie let it pull away although he didn’t have to. His -sports car was much the faster of the two. - -“Aren’t you afraid we’ll lose him, Uncle Charlie?” Biff asked, worried. - -“Not a chance, Biff. This road goes only one place. The end of the -island. No major turnoffs. If we stick too close on his tail, he might -spot us. I just want to keep the car in sight.” - -They remained a good half mile behind the black car. Each time it -rounded a curve and disappeared from sight, Biff’s worries increased. -But each time, as his uncle rounded the same curve, Biff was relieved to -see the black car ahead. Charlie kept the same distance between the -cars. - -“Look, Uncle Charlie,” Biff cried out suddenly. “He’s turning off.” - -Charlie Keene nodded his head and tramped down heavily on the -accelerator. The sports car leaped ahead. It roared down the road, -rapidly closing the gap to the spot the black car had turned off. As -they neared it, Charlie slowed. They came to a jagged road, angling off -to the right. - -“That’s where they turned,” Biff said. - -Charlie nodded his head, but kept on going. - -“Aren’t you going to turn in?” Biff asked anxiously. - -“Not right away. We’re too close behind them.” - -Charlie continued on down the paved road for a quarter of a mile, then -U-turned and came back. He cut to the left into the rough road they had -just passed, pulled up, and cut his motor. - -Biff and Charlie got out. Charlie went ahead, inspecting the road. It -was composed of sand and crushed shells. - -“This is it, Biff. I’m positive. See those deep tracks? Hasn’t been time -for the sand to have shifted and run back to fill them in. These roads -with sand show tracks much as a snow-covered road does.” - -Biff was convinced. Not only by his uncle’s skill at picking out fresh -tracks, but because he hadn’t seen any other road in that vicinity. It -had to be the road the black car had just turned down. - -“Let’s figure our next move, Biff,” Charlie said. The two got back into -the sports car. - -“I think I know where we are. There used to be a big estate somewhere -around here. It’s been closed up for some years. There’s one large -house, a hacienda, and several smaller outbuildings. An ideal place to -hide out, particularly if you wanted to hold someone prisoner. Let’s put -our plotting machine to work for a few minutes.” - -At first, Biff was all for barging right ahead, crashing right in and -demanding of Dietz the whereabouts of Derek. - -“Don’t think we’d better do that, Biff,” Uncle Charlie said. “We don’t -know how many cohorts Dietz might have. He’s bound to have a servant or -two. Particularly since he had to have someone to keep a sharp eye on -Derek.” - -“I see what you mean, Uncle Charlie. What’s your plan of action?” Biff -asked. - -“I’ll go up to the hacienda by myself. I can keep Dietz plenty busy with -questions and accusations for a while. That will give you time to scout -around the outbuildings and search for Derek.” - -“But won’t Dietz want to find out how Derek got away?” - -“Perhaps. But since Dietz thinks he is gone, what good will it do him to -worry about locking the gate now that his prize has fled?” - -Biff nodded his head. Then another thought came to him. - -“But won’t the guard who let Derek get away be so worried and scared -he’ll report to Dietz at once?” Biff asked. - -“Whoa, there, my boy. You’re beginning to think like Dietz. Why should -the guard be upset? He still has Derek, hasn’t he?” - -“I forgot, Uncle Charlie,” Biff said sheepishly. - -“Okay, let’s move on.” - -They drove for about two miles along the winding sand-shell road until -they came to the arched opening in the pink-stone wall. - -“This is where we part for a while,” Uncle Charlie said. “I’ll drive on -up to the hacienda. You wait until you see me enter. Then make like a -beagle and sniff out the other buildings fast.” Charlie looked at his -watch. “I’ve got six-fifteen. How ’bout you?” - -“The same.” - -“Okay, Biff. We’ll rendezvous outside this gate at exactly six -forty-five. It will still be light by then. But darkness comes fast. -Night falls as fast as a theater curtain in the tropics. One minute it’s -daylight. The next it’s dark. Dusk lasts about one minute. All set?” - -“Right. And I hope you see double when we rendezvous.” - -“See double?” Uncle Charlie was momentarily puzzled. - -“Derek _and_ me,” Biff said, grinning. - -“Oh. I get you. Guess I’d stopped thinking clearly for a moment this -time. Good luck, Biff.” - -Charles Keene started the car and drove toward the hacienda. - -Biff waited until he saw him enter the building. When the door closed -behind his uncle, Biff, keeping close to the wall, started out on his -bird-dogging expedition. - -Fortunately for Biff, the grounds had been landscaped. Palm trees, low -palmetto bushes, and flower gardens, now filled with rank, weedy growth, -gave him plenty of cover to scout around. - -The first two buildings he inspected were empty. A third, smaller -building, well removed from the main house, looked like the next likely -place. As Biff approached it, he noticed that the windows of the -building were barred. - - [Illustration: _Biff noticed that the windows of the building were - barred_] - -Biff crept silently up to the building. He pressed close to the wall of -the stone house and worked his way around to its rear. Cautiously he -raised his head until his eyes were at the level of the window. He -looked into the room. - -Once more he was looking at himself in a mirror. This time Derek’s -expression was even more startled than when the two boys had first met -at the Miami airport. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - Biff Meets Crunch - - -Biff quickly pressed a forefinger against his lips. If Derek, startled -as he was, made an outcry, any chance of freeing him would be gone. - -Derek was seated on the edge of a small cot. The only other furniture in -the room was a straight chair. Biff could see through a narrow opening -into the second of the two rooms which made up the small stone house. -The entrance to this house-prison must be in the other room, Biff -figured. - -Derek arose and came quietly to the window. - -“Biff! You found me!” Derek sounded as if he couldn’t believe his eyes. - -“And I’ve got to get you out of here. Fast,” Biff whispered. - -“But tell me, Biff, what has happened? I’m all confused. I have to -know—” - -“No time now,” Biff replied. “If I can’t get you out of here right away, -you’ll be in real trouble. Are you alone here, or are you being -guarded?” - -“There’s a guard right in the other room,” Derek whispered back. - -Biff’s face fell. He had expected Derek to be under guard, but he’d -hoped the guard wouldn’t be so close by. - -“No way of slipping past him, I suppose?” Biff said. - -“I would have little or no chance. The guard is a giant.” - -“Have you been treated all right?” Biff asked. - -“Oh, yes. The guard, while big enough to crush me with his bare hands, -is really quite a simple soul. He’s friendly too, as long as I don’t try -anything,” Derek went on. - -“And he stays here all the time? Never leaves you alone?” Biff pressed -his questions hurriedly. There wasn’t much time before he was to rejoin -his uncle. - -“No, Biff. He goes to the main house for my meals and his.” Derek looked -at his watch. “He’ll be going any minute now. At six-thirty.” - -“How can you be sure he’ll go at six-thirty?” - -Derek grinned. “It would be funny if I weren’t a prisoner. My guard—his -name is Crunch—can’t read. Can’t even tell time. He has me set an alarm -clock for when it’s time for him to go get our food. When the alarm goes -off, we eat.” - -“And you set it for six-thirty.” Biff said this half aloud. His thoughts -were racing as a plan was shaping up in his mind. - -“Listen closely, Derek.” - -The Dutch boy grasped the iron bars of the window in his hands and -pulled himself nearer to Biff. Their heads were only inches apart. - -“Do you remember an arched gateway leading into this place?” - -“Yes. I remember it.” - -“I’m to meet my Uncle Charlie there at six forty-five. He’s up at the -hacienda, stalling Dietz. Here’s my plan. It ought to work, too, if -Crunch is as simple-minded as you say he is.” Biff’s voice was a low, -rapid whisper. - -“Think it will work, Derek?” he finished. - -“It should. I just hope you don’t get hurt.” - -“Don’t you worry about me. You just make for that gate as fast as you -can if you get out. Wait for my uncle. If I’m not there by the time you -two meet, both of you go on ahead. Forget about me.” - -Derek’s frown showed that he didn’t like the possibility that Biff might -get caught. His “But Biff—” was cut short by the sharp ringing of an -alarm clock bell. - -Biff pulled quickly away from the window. He moved quietly but speedily -until he stood concealed just behind the front wall of the small -building. He poked his head around the corner, saw the doorway only six -feet away, then drew back. - -Moments passed. Biff heard the sound of a key grating in a lock. Again -he poked his head cautiously around the corner of the building. He saw -the door swing outward. Next he saw the guard come out. Biff gasped. -Never had he seen a man of such tremendous size. Derek was right. This -man was a giant! Big powerful shoulders topped a strong, barrel-shaped -torso. His large head, thatched with shaggy hair, was out-size even on -so massive a body. Biff shuddered to think what his fate might be if -Crunch ever got his hands on him. And that was just what might happen. -Biff was going to deliberately try to get Crunch to attack him. - -Crunch swung the door closed. He started to put the key back in the -lock. Biff acted. - -“No use locking the door, Crunch,” he said, hoping the big man would not -notice he was not dressed like Derek. “I’m out here.” - -Crunch, startled, turned in Biff’s direction. He stared with his mouth -agape like a child seeing something for the first time; seeing something -that just couldn’t be. - -“Yes, Crunch, I got out the back window,” Biff said. - -Crunch turned bewilderedly to look through the door, as if expecting to -see Biff in the act of escaping. He turned his head back to Biff. Biff -took a step back. He cringed, pretending to be frightened. Actually, he -didn’t have to pretend too much. The size of the man alone was enough to -frighten anyone. - -Crunch was still confused. He took a step toward Biff, then looked back -at the unlocked door. He made a motion as if he were going to lock it. - -Biff withdrew another few feet. He wanted the big man to chase him. It -took Crunch a little time to figure out the situation. Then, as he saw -Biff move farther away from him, he made up his mind. He lunged toward -Biff. Biff turned and ran. - -The plan was working out fine. Derek would have plenty of time and -opportunity to get out of his jail and head for the gateway. - -Everything was fine with one exception. Suppose Crunch overtook Biff? -The boy could almost feel the massive arms of the giant closing around -him. Crunch’s grasp would be as powerful as that of a boa constrictor. - -Running in the mixture of sand and shell was difficult. Biff felt he was -making no progress. It was like racing on a treadmill. Running was even -harder for the giant. His long strides, his great weight forced his feet -deep into the soft under-footing, slowing him more than it did Biff. - -Biff had headed directly away from the big house and Derek’s recent -prison. He wanted to draw Crunch as far away as possible. - -Biff could still hear the big man pounding after him. The distance -between them was widening. Biff halted, took refuge behind a thick -palmetto bush and waited. He could hear Crunch coming on. As he came -nearer, the big man’s breathing was loud. He was gasping for breath. The -sand was his real enemy. It held him back, sapped him of his great -strength. - -Crunch passed within a few feet of where Biff was hiding. He continued -at a staggering run. When Biff felt he was a hundred or more feet away, -he crept out from beneath his sheltering bush and struck out for the -gateway. - -Biff glanced at his watch. It was already six forty-five. Had Derek made -it? Had Uncle Charlie been able to get away without Dietz’s watching -him? If he had, then he and Derek already would have met. - -Suddenly it began to grow darker. Biff welcomed the quick nightfall. It -gave him more cover. When he reached the gate, he welcomed the darkness -even more. - -Derek and Uncle Charlie were gone. - - - - - CHAPTER XII - Double Chance - - -The sudden nightfall, the quick spread of darkness, was most fortunate -for Biff. He selected a secluded spot not far from the arched gateway -and holed in to catch his breath and figure out his next move. - -Biff was very well pleased with the way he had tricked the giant Crunch. -Derek had escaped. He must have met Uncle Charlie. The problem now -was—how was Biff going to rejoin them? - -As he sat on the warm sand, wondering if he should start the long walk -back to Willemstad, he heard shouts and angry voices coming from the -main house. - -A knife of light cut into the darkness as the door opened. Out at a run -came Dietz, Specks, and Crunch. - -“Get the car, Specks,” Dietz’s order rang out. “Crunch and I will search -the grounds. Meet us at the gate.” - -Biff’s first idea at hearing the words was to move out fast, put as much -distance as possible between him and the main house and the searchers. - -Then a second idea came to him. It was a daring idea. It was a dangerous -one. He decided to wait and see if he could put his plan into effect. - -Two sweeping streaks of light told Biff that Specks was on his way to -the gate in the car. It pulled up and stopped just outside the gate, not -more than ten feet from Biff’s place of concealment. - -Biff could hear Dietz and Crunch thrashing about in the underbrush. - -“All right, Crunch,” Biff heard Dietz shout. “They’re not here. Come on -to the gate.” - -Moments later Biff saw Dietz join Specks by the front of the car. They -stood in the glare of its headlights. - -“That stupid fool!” Dietz said angrily. “I don’t know whether to believe -him or not. Do you think he was seeing things?” - -“Look, boss, Crunch is stupid. He’s _too_ stupid to dream up a story -like that.” - -“Maybe you’re right. But why would that Zook kid come back here after he -had escaped?” - -“You got me, boss. Unless he hid something there and came back for it.” - -“What? What would he have left when he got away? It just doesn’t make -any sense.” - -Biff smiled at Dietz’s confusion. “It sure doesn’t make sense—to you, -Mr. Dietz,” he said to himself. - -“And I don’t get Keene’s coming out here,” Dietz went on. “He certainly -doesn’t think I’d tell him where Brom Zook is. He’s not that dumb.” - -“Yeah—you wouldn’t tell him even if you knew,” Specks replied. - -That was a piece of information valuable to Biff. Now he knew for -certain that Dietz didn’t know where Derek’s father was. Nobody seemed -to know. - -“Mighty tough on Derek,” Biff said to himself. - -The giant Crunch came up. - -“Get in, you big lug,” Dietz commanded. “In the front, stupid, with -Specks.” There was anger in Dietz’s voice. But no fear. Biff wondered -why the giant Carib Indian stood such verbal abuse. He could tear Dietz -apart. - -Dietz climbed in, and Specks put the car in gear. It started off slowly. -Biff went into action. Doubled up, running low, he overtook the car, -hopped onto the rear bumper, and grasped the trunk handle. This was a -dangerous thing to do. Biff realized it. But what better chance did he -have of getting away, and getting away fast? - -Biff appreciated the humor of the situation, too. Here was Dietz out -looking for him, and all the time only the length of the limousine’s -trunk lid separated the two. - -“My enemy is giving me a lift to town,” Biff chuckled. “Darned nice of -him.” - -Biff had to hold on tight as the car gained speed. It lurched and -careened around the sharp turns of the curving road. By the time Specks -reached the paved highway, Biff had had enough. He knew he couldn’t be -hurt too much if he were thrown off the car on the sand road. But if he -fell off on a paved highway with the car going at high speed, he could -be seriously injured. - -He also realized that a following car would spot him easily, hanging -onto the trunk. - -As Specks slowed to turn onto the main highway, Biff dropped off the car -and skipped over to the side of the road. The limousine headed for -Willemstad. - -“Now what?” Biff asked himself. “Do they pick up hitchhikers in -Curaçao?” He walked out to the main road. He was just in time to see the -taillights of the limousine disappear as the car rounded a curve. - -Biff was startled by the sound of another car starting, just a short -distance up the road in the opposite direction from Willemstad. The -car’s lights came on. It headed toward Biff. Biff stepped back into the -darkness. The car came at the dirt road gaining speed. Its tires -screeched as the driver cut sharply off the paved road onto the dirt -one. - -Biff recognized the car. - -“Hey! Uncle Charlie!” Biff shouted at the top of his voice as the sports -car shot passed him. At first, Biff didn’t think his shout had been -heard over the sound of the car’s engine. Then the car braked sharply. -Biff ran up to it. - -Charlie Keene hopped out. - -“You’re okay, Biff? Crunch didn’t get you?” - -“See for yourself, Uncle Charlie. I got away all right.” - -Derek joined them. - -“A million thanks to you, Biff. And a million more pardons for my ever -having suspected you or your uncle.” - -“Forget it, Derek. I don’t blame you for being suspicious. How could you -help it when I even had your pearl?” - -“Well, Biff, to be truthful, I did think for a while that maybe the real -reason you wanted me to impersonate you at the airport was so you could -get my coat.” - -“That’s one joke I won’t be trying again for a long, long time.” - -“It turned out for the good, though, didn’t it?” Derek replied. “Dietz -still doesn’t know there are two of us. Either two Dereks or two Biffs.” - -The boys laughed. - -“How’d you know I’d be here?” Biff asked his uncle. - -“I didn’t, Biff. I was afraid Crunch might have caught you. So was -Derek. I was pretty sure that Dietz would head back for Willemstad as -soon as I left.” - -“What made you so sure?” - -“I told Dietz that I’d left Derek there. If Dietz can prevent Derek from -getting to Martinique, he still has a chance to jump the Zook claim.” - -“Because I have to sign the permit for the working permit, Biff,” Derek -said. - -Biff was thinking fast. Another plan was developing in his mind. - -“Look, Uncle Charlie,” he said, “If you and Derek could get to -Martinique without Dietz, it would be a good break, wouldn’t it?” - -“The best ever, Biff. What’ve you got in mind?” - -“Suppose I take Derek’s place again.” - -“You can’t, Biff. You can’t sign those papers. That would be forgery,” -Charles Keene reminded him. - -“Oh, I don’t mean that I’d go to Martinique,” Biff said. - -“What are you getting at?” Uncle Charlie demanded. - -“Suppose I go back to the hacienda? When Dietz and Company return, Dietz -will think he still has Derek under his thumb, and that would give you -and Derek plenty of time to get set up in Martinique.” - -Uncle Charlie didn’t reply at once. He was considering Biff’s daring -plan. - -“Don’t like it, Biff. It would work out well for us, sure. But you might -get hurt. I’m thinking of Crunch.” - -“Oh, come on now, Uncle Charlie. I’ve been in tighter spots than the one -I’ve described.” Biff spoke boldly, confidently. His inner feelings -didn’t match his spoken optimism. “Derek tells me Crunch is really a -gentle person.” - -“Except when he’s aroused,” Derek cut in. “He didn’t harm me. Not once. -But one time when I tried to follow him when he went for our meals, he -picked me up and threw me on the cot as if I were a small puppy.” - -“Believe me, Uncle Charlie, I have no intention of antagonizing Crunch,” -Biff assured him. “And I’ll think up some reason for being there.” - -Uncle Charlie rubbed his jaw. “Well, Biff, I still don’t like the idea -at all. But it surely would give us the time we need. We’ve got to get -the working permit. And I’ve got to fuel my seaplane.” - -“You’re weakening, aren’t you, Uncle Charlie?” - -“I guess I am, Biff. I’ll come back for you in a couple of days. Dietz -will free you once I convince him you aren’t the real Derek Zook.” - -“Good. We’ll do it then. But before I go back to the hacienda and -surrender myself, I could use some FOOD! How about you, Derek? Hungry? -You missed your nightly feed.” - -“I’m with you, Biff.” - -“I know an eating place not too far from here,” Uncle Charlie said. -“Let’s go. Dietz won’t be back for a couple of hours anyway.” - -An hour and a half later, Uncle Charlie and Derek dropped Biff off at -the sand-shell road leading to the hacienda. - -“Lots of luck, Biff,” Uncle Charlie said, placing an affectionate hand -on his nephew’s shoulder. - -“My best wishes go with you, too, Biff,” Derek said, holding out his -hand. “And my thanks for all you have done and are going to do.” - -Biff watched the sports car head toward Curaçao. Then he turned and -walked down the starlit road. He didn’t feel quite so brave with his -uncle and Derek gone. He couldn’t know how Dietz would react when he -discovered “Derek” had again walked right back into the trap. Biff did -think that he had a good story as his explanation for returning. It was -a story he felt sure would prevent Dietz from harming him. - -Once again, Biff’s plan was going to backfire. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - Turnabout - - -Biff walked along the lonely, winding road, alert, ears tuned for any -sound, and admitting frankly to himself that his nerves were on edge. It -was nearly eleven o’clock by the time he reached the gate. The only -light at the house was the single, bare bulb illuminating the front -porch. - -Was Dietz back? Had they all gone to bed? Biff didn’t think so. He -slipped through the gate. Keeping in the shadows as much as possible, he -went up to the house. He couldn’t hear a sound from within. He moved -around to the rear, peeking through every window he passed. Nothing -stirred. The silence was creepy. Biff felt he would welcome even Dietz. -Now that he had decided on this course, he wanted to get started. He -wanted to see Dietz’s reaction when “Derek” delivered himself into the -hands of his enemy. - -The sound of a car came to Biff’s ears from a distance. He ran swiftly -back to the gateway, and scurried into the hiding place in which he had -concealed himself before. - -Just in time, too. The black limousine came up the road, passed through -the gate, and drew up in front of the porch. Dietz got out. Crunch got -out. Biff could see Dietz speak to Crunch. The big Indian bowed his head -and walked off in the direction of the small house where Biff had first -seen him. - -“Good,” Biff said half aloud. “At least, I won’t have to worry about -Crunch being present when I go up there.” - -He waited a few minutes more. Specks returned from parking the car, -joined Dietz, who had waited on the porch, and the two men entered the -house. The porch light went off. Lights inside the house came on. - -“Well, it’s now or never. This is it, Biff Brewster. Get hold of -yourself and start moving.” - -Biff crossed the yard again and mounted the steps leading to the porch. -His heart was pounding. He swallowed, but the lump in his throat stayed -where it was. Biff’s knuckles rapped on the door. He stepped back. He -heard footsteps approaching. The door opened. It was Specks. - -Specks’ mouth dropped open in amazement. His face went pale. The red -blotches on his cheeks became even redder against the whiteness of his -skin. - -“Who is it, Specks?” Biff heard Dietz call. - -Specks didn’t answer. He was speechless. - -“Who’s there?” Dietz called again. “What is it? Specks!” he snapped. -“What’s happened to you?” - -Biff stepped forward. - -“May I come in?” - -As he stepped inside the house, Specks took a step backward. He must -have thought he was seeing a ghost. Just then Dietz came into the -hallway. He took one look at Biff, and the glass he was holding in one -hand dropped to the floor. - -“Zook! Derek Zook!” - -Dietz was as astonished as Specks. But being quicker-witted than his -partner, Dietz got over his amazement faster. - -“It’s Zook. Grab him, Specks!” - -“That won’t be necessary, Mr. Dietz,” Biff said boldly. “I have come -here on my own.” - -Still not believing what he saw or heard, Dietz came up to Biff. He -placed a hand on Biff’s arm, as though trying to assure himself that the -boy was real. - -Biff brushed past the two men and walked down the hallway to a door -which led into a living room. He walked in, picked out a comfortable -chair, and sat down in it as calmly as if he were in his own home in -Indianapolis. - -Still somewhat dazed, Dietz entered the room and stared at Biff. Specks -stood in the doorway, shaking his head. - -Dietz recovered his poise. - -“What are you doing here? Why have you come back?” he demanded. - -“This is going to be fun,” Biff thought. “Didn’t know I was going to -knock them for this much of a loop.” Aloud, he said: - -“I haven’t been away.” - -“You mean—you mean all the time we were in Willemstad looking for you, -you were right here!” - -“Most of the time,” Biff answered truthfully. - -“Go get Crunch,” Dietz ordered Specks. A gleam had come into his eyes. -He was getting ready to take over. - -“Now you tell me why you have come back here,” Dietz said to Biff, and -walked over to the chair where Biff was sitting. - -“I want information,” Biff said. “I want to know where my father is.” - -“Oh, you do. And you think I’ll tell you just for the asking.” Dietz’s -laugh was more of a sneer. - -“We may be able to make a bargain,” Biff said. - -Dietz leaned forward. A hungry look spread over his face. - -“You mean if I tell you where your father is—” he began. - -“I might persuade him to cut you in on the pearl fishery. That’s what -you want, isn’t it?” - -Dietz didn’t reply. He walked across the room and stood by a long, low -table. His hand went to his head. He rubbed his scalp. His long silence -worried Biff. It was obvious that some scheme was forming in Dietz’s -mind. He came back to Biff. - -“I’ll tell you where your father is if you’ll tell me the exact location -of the pearl fishery.” Dietz poked his crafty face close to Biff’s. - -Biff could hardly suppress a smile. He knew that neither one of them -could give the other the information asked for. Biff didn’t know where -the pearl fishery was. He also knew that Dietz didn’t know where Brom -Zook was. This was going to be a cat-and-mouse game. Biff just hoped it -could be played long enough for his uncle and Derek to get things firmed -up in Martinique. - -“Can you take me to my father?” - -“Not until you give me the information I want,” Dietz replied. - -“Is he here in Curaçao, or in Martinique?” Biff asked this question to -stall for more time. He knew Dietz couldn’t give him an honest answer. - -Before Dietz could reply, Specks returned. The giant Crunch was behind -him. - -“Now, young man, you’ll find out just what a fool you were not to stay -away from here once you had made your escape,” Dietz declared. - -The tide was running against Biff. There was a look of triumph on -Dietz’s evil face. - -“I came here with a fair proposition for you,” Biff said. - -“Fair? Never heard the word,” Dietz replied, his voice scornful. “You’ve -walked and talked yourself right into being my prisoner again. And this -time, Crunch will make sure you don’t escape.” - -Biff looked at the powerful Crunch. There was a big, silly smile on his -face. He clenched and unclenched his hands, as if he could hardly wait -to get Biff in his grip. - -“You young fool,” Dietz said. “Don’t you know you and Keene can’t get -the working permit to that fishery unless you sign for it?” - -“But neither can you.” - -“Ha! That’s what you think. It so happens, you stupid boy, that I have a -friend in the Fisheries Commission on Martinique. You and Keene may have -stopped me once. But you won’t again. Crunch, take him away. And this -time, if you let him escape—” Dietz drew the edge of his hand across his -throat “—that’s what you’ll get.” - -Crunch crossed to Biff’s chair. He seized Biff by one arm and lifted him -out of the chair as if he weighed no more than a rag doll. - -Biff knew it would be foolish to resist. His plan had backfired. - -Why, he thought, with a sinking feeling, hadn’t he or Uncle Charlie -realized that Dietz, thinking Biff to be Derek, would hold him, and make -for Martinique as fast as he could? Biff realized now that, far from -delaying Dietz’s trip to Martinique, he had afforded him the chance to -go there sooner. - -He knew this all too well as Crunch forced him down the hallway toward -the door. He heard Dietz say to Specks: - -“We leave for Martinique in the morning.” - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - A Talk with Crunch - - -Although Biff’s strategy had backfired, it did give his uncle a slight -jump on Dietz. - -Just after daybreak, Charlie Keene and Derek were at the waterport where -Keene kept his seaplane. He warmed up the plane’s twin engines. He -pointed the plane’s nose into the wind, and the aircraft streaked across -mirror-flat water. The seal between plane’s hull and the sea was broken, -and the plane was airborne. - -Charlie Keene put the plane on a course direct for Martinique, a little -over five hundred miles away. If all went well, they would land at -Fort-de-France in under three hours. That would get them there in time -for the opening of the office of the Fisheries Commission. - -Dietz wouldn’t be able to leave until the commercial flight at 9 A.M. He -wouldn’t get to Martinique until noon. - -“I hope Biff’s all right,” Derek said to Biff’s uncle. The plane was -high over the sparkling waters of the Caribbean Sea. The island of -Curaçao was only a small dot in the sea behind them. Directly below, -they saw a slender, cigar-shaped cruise ship heading for the port -Charlie Keene and Derek had just left. - -“Biff’s been in plenty of tough spots, Derek. I’ve been in some of them -with him. I’d never have let him take that chance if I didn’t think he -could handle it. Still—I won’t have any peace of mind until we’re all -together again.” - -“That will be good, Mr. Keene. It seems I only see Biff for a few -minutes, then we’re separated again. I like Biff. I want to know him -better.” - -Uncle Charlie smiled. It pleased him that his nephew and Derek had -become friends. - -“You will, Derek. And you’re right. Biff’s as fine a fellow as you’ll -ever know. You two ought to have a great time, skin diving for pearls. -You ever do any skin diving?” - -“Some. In the Mediterranean. I went there with my grandparents last -summer. Biff’s done a lot of skin diving, I’ll wager.” - -“He sure has, Derek. In Hawaii and off the coast of Southern California. -His family has a cottage on a lake out there. The whole family goes in -for the sport.” - -A little after eight-thirty, the island of Martinique came into view. - -“Another ten minutes and we’ll be there,” Charlie said. He put the plane -into a long, gentle descent. They came in low over Fort-de-France, -circled the city, then came back to set down in the harbor. - -At about the same time Charles Keene was setting the seaplane down, -Crunch was setting Biff’s breakfast before him. While Crunch had been at -the big house to pick up the food, Biff had inspected his prison -carefully. It didn’t take him long to determine that escape was out of -the question. The iron bars on the windows were three-quarters of an -inch thick and deeply imbedded in the concrete. Biff tested each bar, -just in case there might be a loose one. - -“Not a chance,” Biff thought. “I’m here until someone comes for me. -Unless—unless I can outfox Crunch again.” - -Now, Biff and Crunch ate their breakfasts in silence. When they had -finished, Biff tried to draw the giant out. His first questions were met -with grunted replies. - -“You know, Crunch,” Biff tried again, “I’ve been all over the world, and -I don’t think I’ve ever seen a man as big and strong as you are.” - -A pleased smile came over the Indian’s face. He still didn’t say -anything. - -“In China, I knew a man called Muscles. I thought he was strong. But you -could handle him easily.” - -The pleased smile on Crunch’s simple face grew broader. - -“I suppose your boss Dietz has already gone?” Biff shot the question in -while Crunch was still enjoying the flattery. - -Crunch froze. The pleased expression left his face. - -“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. I know he’s gone. I -heard the car leave early this morning.” - -“You hear car leave, you know boss gone. Why you ask?” Crunch demanded. - -“Just something to talk about, Crunch,” Biff said casually. “We’re going -to get mighty tired of one another just sitting here in silence.” - -The Indian didn’t reply. - -“You know, Crunch, I think I could get to like you. You don’t look like -a bad man to me.” - -“Crunch good man,” the Indian said. - -“Then why do you work for Dietz?” Biff asked. - -No reply. - -“Oh, you don’t have to tell me. But I know we could be friends. I’m not -going to try to get away from you.” - -“You do one time. Make fool out of Crunch. Boss Dietz very mad at -Crunch.” - -“You’re not going to believe this, Crunch, but I never did escape from -you. Honestly.” - -“Now you make joke with Crunch. You get away. Last night. Before sky get -dark.” - -“How could I, Crunch?” Biff asked. “Have you looked around the windows? -The bars are still all in them, aren’t they?” - -“Crunch look good. Bars all there. You get out by magic.” - -Biff laughed. “Well, I must admit, I did use a trick.” - -“See. Crunch know. You get out by magic.” - -“If I got out by magic once, why couldn’t I do it again? Like right -now.” - -Biff stood up. Crunch leaped to his feet and grabbed Biff by the arm. - -“You go, Crunch go with you,” he declared. - -“That’s too much of a trick for me,” Biff said, laughing. “Even if you -do think I’m magic.” - -Crunch released his grasp. Biff sat down, rubbing his arm where the -giant had grabbed it. - -“Do you like Dietz, Crunch? Do you like working for him?” - -Crunch frowned. He looked like a big, bad boy forced to do something he -didn’t want to do. - -“I’d say you don’t,” Biff went on. “I can’t believe a man like you would -work for a bad man like Dietz if you didn’t have to.” - -“Have to,” Crunch said. His hand flew to his mouth, as if he were trying -to force back the words he had just spoken. - -“I thought so, Crunch,” Biff said. He was winning this man over. Biff -felt a definite sympathy for Crunch. “Why do you work for him?” - -Crunch was silent for a minute. When he finally spoke, there was a -surprising bitterness in his voice. - -“Crunch have brother. Little brother. He do bad thing one time. Have to -leave Curaçao. He go to Martinique. Lots of Carib Indians still in -Martinique.” - -Crunch stopped speaking. This was the longest statement he had made. It -seemed to pain him to talk so much. - -“Go on, Crunch,” Biff said gently. - -“In Martinique, brother work for boss Dietz. He tell boss Dietz what he -do. He hope to come back to Curaçao. Boss Dietz say he help.” Crunch -paused again. - -“And he didn’t?” - -“No. He come to Crunch. Say if Crunch don’t work for him, do everything -he say, he tell police. If police catch little brother, him go way to -jailhouse for long time.” - -“So that’s why you work for Dietz?” - -Crunch nodded his head. - -“Crunch go back to house now. You stay here. No use magic to get out of -jail.” - -“I promise, Crunch,” Biff said. “I promise not to use magic.” - -Biff felt so sorry for the giant at that moment, he wouldn’t have walked -out on him had Crunch left the door wide open. - -Crunch didn’t, however. He made sure the door was locked. - -In Martinique, Charlie Keene and Derek were coming out of the Fisheries -Commissioner’s office. They had the papers. The working permit had been -signed, and it was now tucked in Derek’s inside coat pocket. - -“I never heard so many questions, Mr. Keene,” Derek said. “That man -asked the same ones over and over again.” - -“He was stalling, Derek. He didn’t want to give us that permit,” Biff’s -uncle said. - -“Why?” - -“I don’t trust that clerk. I have a feeling he may be dealing with -Dietz. Just how, I haven’t figured out yet. But I’ll bet Dietz promised -to cut him in if he could hold up giving us the papers.” - -“Well, he did give them to us,” Derek remarked. - -“After a struggle. Come on, Derek, let’s get back to the plane and hop -over to La Trinité.” - -“That’s where my father had his headquarters, isn’t it?” - -“Yes. That’s where I last saw him, and that was the postmark on the -letters and the packaged pearls he sent us.” - -Charlie and Derek took a battered taxi driven by a barefoot native back -to the airport. The water basin where Charlie’s plane was tied up to a -long ramp adjoined the airport. - -They got there just about noon. They saw a commercial plane come in for -a landing. - -“That’s the plane from Curaçao, Derek.” - -They watched the plane taxi in. They had to pass right by it on the way -to the seaplane. The door of the plane opened as they went by. -Passengers began deplaning. Derek looked back at them. He grabbed Biff’s -uncle by the arm. Charles Keene swung around in time to see Dietz and -Specks come down the unloading stairs. - -“Come on, don’t let them see us.” Keene took Derek by the arm and -hustled him away. - -“This calls for a change in plans,” Biff’s uncle said. “Something must -have gone wrong. I’m really worried about Biff now. I’ll fly you over to -La Trinité, then get back to Curaçao. You’d better lie low. Dietz will -be heading for La Trinité as soon as he learns we’ve beat him to the -punch again.” - -“When will you come back?” Derek asked. - -“As soon as I can. As soon as I can free Biff. Don’t let Dietz get his -hands on you while I’m gone.” - -“I won’t,” Derek declared. “I’m going to spend the time, until you and -Biff return, looking for my father.” - - - - - CHAPTER XV - Almost Away - - -Charles Keene was winging his way back to Curaçao. Derek Zook was in La -Trinité across the Island of Martinique from Fort-de-France. Biff -Brewster was still a prisoner in the cellhouse outside Willemstad. -Herman Dietz and Specks Cade were at the Fisheries Commission Office in -Fort-de-France, giving a cowering clerk a very hard time. - -A tall, gaunt man, his body wasted away by a long siege of fever, lay on -a narrow cot in a monastery high in the Pitons du Carbet. - -The time was approaching when all these people would be drawn closer and -closer together, the magnet attracting them being a small but rich pearl -fishery in the Baie du Trésor. - -When Charlie dropped Derek off at La Trinité, he had had one suggestion -as to where the Dutch lad could best start his search for his father. - -“The post office, Derek,” Charles Keene had said. “That would be your -best bet. Your letter and mine both bore the La Trinité postmark. See -what you can find out there.” - -Derek was now following Charles Keene’s advice. - -“A tall man, you say. Very fair with light-brown hair?” the postal clerk -asked. - -“Yes. My father,” Derek said. “I know he was here about three months -ago, perhaps a little longer than that.” - -The postal clerk thought for a moment. “There was such a man as you -describe. I recall him. His appearance was in such contrast to the rest -of us here in Trinité. But I have not seen him for months.” - -“I know. I haven’t heard from him either. I am desperately anxious for -any hint as to where he might have gone.” - -“Zook. That was his name, wasn’t it?” - -“Yes, yes,” Derek replied eagerly. - -“Again, the name I remember because it is so different from the names of -the people who live here. Yes, many of us knew about this man. He was -searching the waters of our treasure bay.” - -“That was my father, all right.” - -“It was rumored that he searched for pearls,” the clerk went on. “The -people of this village had great interest in his activities.” - -“Would there be any one person who might have known him well?” - -“When he was not out searching the ocean floor, he stayed at a small -_pension_ not far from here. You could inquire there.” - -“Where is the place?” - -“It is called by the name of Pension Sans Souci. You will have no -trouble in finding it. It is on this very street. When you go out, turn -to your right. A walk of two blocks will bring you there.” - -“_Merci._ Thank you very much,” Derek said. - -His hopes were high as he walked down the street under a blazing -tropical sun. But these high hopes were short lived. At the Sans Souci, -the boardinghouse whose English name would be “Without Care,” Derek -learned little more. - -“I am so sorry, young man, that I cannot give you news of your father,” -the manager of the small boardinghouse told Derek. “We were very fond of -him.” - -“He left no word as to where he was going?” - -“No. We didn’t even know he had left us. One morning, quite early, he -came to our modest establishment. I thought he seemed quite distraught. -He was not his usual cheerful self. He had hardly a word with me. And it -was his custom to chat with others here. He went to his room. To rest, I -supposed. I went to awaken him for the noon meal. His room was empty.” - -“And that is all you can tell me?” - -“As much as I regret it, that is all I know. There have been rumors—” - -“What? What are they?” Derek wanted any information that might be a clue -to his father’s whereabouts. - -“It was reported, shortly after your father left us, that such a man of -his appearance had been seen in the foothills of the Carbet Mountains. -But these tales were discounted. It would be highly unlikely that your -father would explore the mountains. His interest was in the ocean and -what might be on the bottom of the sea. I am sorry, young man.” - -Derek left the Sans Souci very disheartened. If the rumors were true, -why would his father have gone into the interior of the island? And if -he had gone there, why had he stayed so long? - -“I’m going to find out,” Derek said to himself determinedly. “Every -chance I get, I’ll go into those foothills and peaks. I’ll find him.” - - * * * * * * * * - -In Fort-de-France, Herman Dietz could hardly contain his anger. Specks -had never seen the boss so furious. - -“But it could not have been,” Dietz said angrily. He and Specks were in -the Fisheries Commission Office. The clerk they were talking to cringed -at Dietz’s words. - -“You’re a fool!” Dietz raged. “I tell you Derek Zook _couldn’t_ have -signed for those papers. Derek Zook is in Curaçao. Right this minute.” - -The clerk could only shake his head. - -“You remember what I promised you?” Dietz continued. “I told you you -would share in the proceeds of the pearl fishery. There was little you -had to do. Only hold up those rights until I could act.” - -“I tried, Mr. Dietz. I delayed as long as I could. Keene and the boy -were here over two hours. I expected you here to lodge a protest. But -when you failed to appear, I had to issue the permit.” - -“Well, I’m going to lodge a protest now. With the Commissioner himself. -I’ll tell him how badly you botched your job! How you permitted an -impostor to fool you.” - -Dietz stormed out of the office, followed by Specks, and made for the -office of the Commissioner. - - * * * * * * * * - -“Another day is coming to an end, Crunch,” Biff said to the giant Carib. -“And I’m getting hungry. How about my moving that alarm clock up half an -hour?” - -“Crunch hungry, too. Here.” Crunch handed Biff the alarm clock. Biff -moved the alarm, setting it back from six-thirty to six. - -“There, we’ll have dinner half an hour earlier.” - -During the long day, Biff had made great progress in gaining Crunch’s -confidence and friendship. He had drawn the simple-minded giant out -about his brother. The crime the brother had committed was a petty -crime, a small theft. Biff felt almost certain that the police had long -since wiped the charge from the books. Even if they hadn’t, the theft -had taken place so long ago that Biff thought the statute of limitations -would have erased the charge. - -Dietz, of course, had blown up the seriousness of the theft into a major -crime. He had put a real fear into Crunch and his brother. - -The brother had paid a high price for his deed. Forced to hide out on -Martinique, he had been separated from his wife and children for years. - -“Little brother very much want to come back to Curaçao. Want to see -family.” - -“Too bad, Crunch,” Biff sympathized. “I can imagine how he feels. Does -he write? How do you hear from him.” - -“No write letters. Can’t write. Friends tell about him. Friends who come -to Curaçao from island.” - -“From Martinique?” - -“That’s right. From Martinique Island many, many boat days away.” - -“You know, Crunch, I wouldn’t be surprised if I could help your brother -come back to Curaçao. He might have to go to jail. But only for a short -time. I don’t know about that. If he did commit that crime, he’d have to -pay for it. But wouldn’t it be better if he faced the charge? His -sentence would be light. At the end, he would be free.” - -Crunch leaned forward to Biff. Big and powerful as the man was, he had -the feelings of a small child. Biff could see tears in his eyes. - -“You do that, Crunch your friend!” - -“I can’t promise, Crunch. But I do know that Dietz has been using you. -Misusing is a better word.” - -Biff wasn’t sure Crunch understood. He couldn’t be sure. But he felt -that he was getting to the giant Indian. At first, it had been Biff’s -plan to gain Crunch’s confidence, outwit him, and escape. He still -wanted to escape, but by now, he felt a great sympathy for the simple, -friendly man. He really wanted to help him. - -The alarm bell went off. Crunch stood up. - -“No magic. You still be here when Crunch come back?” - -“I’ll be here, Crunch,” Biff replied. - -Crunch went out, still careful to lock the door behind him. There could -be no doubt that his liking for Biff was growing, but fear of Dietz -still guided the Indian’s actions. - -Crunch had been gone about five minutes. Biff stretched out on the cot -and turned on his left side. “Ouch,” he said as the pen clipped to his -shirt pocket dug into him. He changed the pen to his hip pocket and -settled, face down, relaxed. Suddenly he sat up again, took out the pen, -and stared at it thoughtfully.... - -Minutes later, Biff was startled by a call, a call from a voice that was -good news to Biff. - -“Biff! Biff! Where are you? Sing out so I can come to you.” - -“Here, Uncle Charlie! I’m here! In this house. It’s the one farthest -from the big house.” - -“I’m on my way, Biff!” - -Biff leaped to the door. He stood there, hands grasping the bars, -straining his eyes to spot his uncle. - -He saw him coming at a run. - -“Hi, Uncle Charlie!” Biff called. “I knew you’d be back for me!” He -could see the big grin on Charlie’s face as he drew nearer. - -Biff’s smile of happiness changed to one of dismay. His uncle was only a -few feet away. From behind a clump of bushes, Crunch appeared. He leaped -out as Charlie passed. His huge arms wrapped around Keene. - -“Look out!” Biff cried. It was too late. - -Charles Keene, a powerful man himself, was helpless in the giant -Indian’s grasp. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - A “Magic” Alarm - - -Biff watched his uncle struggle to break free of the Indian’s crushing -grasp. He saw the tendons in his uncle’s neck grow taut and stand out as -Charlie Keene heaved his shoulders with every bit of his strength. - -It was as if his uncle were trying to break loose from iron bands. - -“Crunch! Crunch,” Biff shouted. “Let him go! Let him go!” - -The Indian only shook his head. - -Biff strained at the iron bars, furious that he was unable to go to his -uncle’s aid. - -“I’m your friend, Crunch! So is that man. He’s my uncle. Let him go!” - -Crunch ignored Biff. Charlie’s face was turning red. The powerful Crunch -was actually trying to crush his smaller opponent. Biff knew he had to -do something and do it fast. But what? - -Biff realized that if he were to keep his uncle from having some ribs -cracked, it would have to be brains against brawn. Maybe Biff could play -on the Indian’s superstition. - -“Crunch!” he shouted again. “If you don’t let him go, I’ll make more -magic—bad magic.” - -At first the words had no effect on Crunch. But after a few moments, -Biff’s threat seemed to sink in. Crunch released some of his pressure, -but still held Charlie Keene firmly. - -“If you don’t let him go, I’ll make the magic that takes me out of this -house,” Biff threatened. - -Crunch was listening now. - -“I’ll disappear, Crunch. Watch.” - -Biff moved away from the doorway. He went to the window to the right of -the door. He stayed below the opening so Crunch couldn’t see him. - -“Where am I, Crunch?” Biff called out. “You think I’m at this window, -don’t you? You hear my voice at this window. But I’m not here. Only my -voice is. My body is at the other window.” - -Biff leaped across the small room at his last word and sprang into view -at the window to the left of the door. As he looked out, Crunch was -still watching the other window. - -Biff banged the bars of the window, being careful not to speak. Crunch -swung his head around. The sight of Biff startled him. Biff ducked down. -He cupped his hands and held them to his mouth. Turning his head in the -direction of the other window, he called in a low voice: - -“But my voice is still where you first heard it!” - -Biff raised his head slowly. The simple trick was working. Crunch had -turned to the other window. - -“Now my voice and body are back together again, Crunch!” - -The startled expression on Crunch’s face showed the giant Indian’s -confusion. He was becoming frightened. - -“If I only had a clincher,” Biff thought. “Something that would really -impress Crunch.” Biff’s eyes lit on the alarm clock. An idea popped into -his head. - - [Illustration: Uncaptioned] - -“I’m going to disappear, Crunch,” he called. “But I’ll return. And if I -return, you will have to release that man.” - -Biff ducked down. He grabbed the alarm clock and raced into the back -room, careful to keep out of sight. Biff was counting on the Indian’s -actually believing he had disappeared to get enough time to put his new -idea into effect. - -Quickly Biff reset the alarm. He set it to go off in three minutes. He -put the alarm lever at “ON.” Then he went to a side window and tossed -the alarm clock out. He saw it land in the soft sand, and prayed the -fall hadn’t damaged the clock. - -Biff hurried back to the front room. He got down on his hands and knees -and crawled to the door. It was a huge door. The bottom half was of -heavy, thick timbers. The upper half was open with five-inch-thick iron -bars. Slowly Biff raised his head until it was just above the solid half -of the door. From the outside his head looked as if it were detached -from his body. - -“Crunch,” Biff said the name softly. Crunch, fright showing in his eyes, -looked from one window to the other. - -“Crunch,” Biff called softly again. “I’m down here now. My head is.” - -Crunch looked at the door. His eyes widened, showing white. Crunch was -becoming terrified. - -“I give you a minute, Crunch. Just one minute. Then, if you don’t -release my uncle, evil spirits will surround you and this house. They -will ring bells....” - -“I hope, I hope,” Biff said to himself. Crunch still held on to Charles -Keene. But his grip was nowhere near as strong as it had been. - -Biff waited. In his anxiety, his palms were sweating. - -“Crunch,” Biff said again. “I’ve warned you. Let him go.” - -At these words, the alarm clock went off. - -“EEEEiiiipe!” Crunch yelled. He let go of Charlie, turned, and fled. - -Charlie Keene shook himself. He pressed his ribs with his hands. - -“No bones broken. But wow! Is that guy ever strong! He could have -crushed me, Biff. That was sure quick thinking on your part.” - -Charlie walked over to the door. “If I’d known how powerful that man -is,” he added, “I never would have let you get yourself captured.” - -Biff smiled. “Crunch isn’t as bad as he seems, Uncle Charlie. He’s -really a very gentle man.” - -“Gentle! You’ve never been given a Crunch bear hug!” - -“I mean he’s a simple soul. He’s superstitious. He really thinks I can -magic myself out of this place. He thinks that’s how Derek got out the -first time. He doesn’t know, of course, that it was I, not Derek, he saw -outside.” - -“And speaking of getting outside, just how are we going to get you out -of this place?” Uncle Charlie demanded. - -“Crunch has the key,” Biff said. - -“And you’ve scared him so badly he’ll never come back. Let me take a -look at this lock.” - -Charlie examined the lock carefully. - -“It’s no good, Biff. It’s too strong to force. I can’t open this lock. -You’re just going to have to magic your way out.” - -“Or get Crunch to come back and let me out.” - -“Think you can, Biff? I doubt it.” - -“I can try,” Biff replied. “Crunch and I were getting to be good -friends. He’s not a bad guy. Dietz has a hold on him and forces him to -do this dirty work. I’m going to call him.... Crunch!” Biff sang out. - -No answer. - -“Crunch! Can you hear me? If you can, listen carefully. I’ve sent the -evil spirits away. They won’t harm you. They have stopped their noises.” -The alarm clock had run down. - -“I’m still locked in, Crunch. I promised you I wouldn’t use my magic to -get out. I’ve kept my promise. Come back and see.” - -“If this works, Biff,” Uncle Charlie said in a low voice, “then you’ve -really got that giant under your thumb.” - -Biff and his uncle waited. No sign of Crunch. No sound. - -“It’ll be night soon, Biff. He’ll never come back in the dark.” - -“I know that. I’m going to try again. Crunch! Night is coming on. My -magic works better in the dark. If you don’t come back before it’s dark, -then I’ll have to break my promise and magic my way out.” - -“That ought to do it if anything will, Biff,” Charlie said. - -They waited. Both looked toward the east. Already the horizon was -beginning to darken. Minutes passed. It would be totally dark in another -minute. - -“Crunch come back.” The deep voice came from the shadows. - -Charlie Keene swung around. Ten feet away, at the edge of the sand apron -extending from the undergrowth to the house, stood Crunch. - -“Let me do the talking, Uncle Charlie,” Biff said in a low voice. - -“You bet I will, Biff. You know how to handle that giant.” - -“Come here, Crunch,” Biff said gently. - -The Indian approached cautiously. His head pivoted from one direction to -the other. Crunch was looking for the evil spirits. - -“I have kept my promise, Crunch. I have not made the magic that would -take me out of here.” - -Crunch didn’t speak. - -“I want you to let this man in here with me. I want to show you that we -are your friends.” - -Crunch was at the door. His hand pulled out the large key to the lock. - -“Uncle Charlie, Crunch is going to let you come in with me. Then he will -go back to the house for food for all of us—” - -“But, Biff,” Charlie protested, “if I get locked in there with you—” - -“It will be all right, Uncle Charlie. Crunch is our friend. We are his -friends. Please, let me handle this my way.” - -Charlie Keene shrugged his shoulders. “Okay, Biff.” - -Crunch turned the key in the lock. He swung the door open. Charlie Keene -entered, and Crunch closed and locked the door. Without another word, he -disappeared in the darkness on the way to the big house. - -“Biff, if I didn’t know you so well, I’d say you’d gone a little soft in -the head.” Charlie Keene shook his own head. “Now we’re both locked in.” - -Biff was lighting a candle. In the glow of its light, Uncle Charlie -could see a big smile spread over his nephew’s face. - -“You think so, Uncle Charlie? Watch this!” - -Biff went to the door. He knelt down, holding the candle’s flame at the -keyhole. He placed his thumb and forefinger carefully at the keyhole -opening and grasped a small wire. - -“This ought to work. I inserted this piece of wire in the lock’s catch. -If it wasn’t dislodged when Crunch just now opened the door, then I -should be able to spring the catch with this wire. Hold your breath, -Uncle Charlie. Here goes.” - -Biff tugged smoothly but firmly on the wire. There was a sharp “click.” -The catch was sprung. Biff pushed the door open. - -“But where did you dig up a piece of wire?” Uncle Charlie asked. “Maybe -Crunch is right and you do have a touch of that old black magic.” - -Biff chuckled. “Not black, Unc, blue magic.” Biff held out the separate -parts of a blue plastic ballpoint pen. “I remembered I had this in my -pocket. I removed the steel spring from it, straightened it the best I -could, and used it.” - -“Well, I’ll be—” Charlie Keene said. - -“Don’t you remember, Uncle Charlie? You taught me that trick.” - -Charlie Keene chuckled. “I take it all back, Biff. There’s nothing soft -about that head of yours. Now, let’s get out of here! But fast!” - -“Why, Uncle Charlie? We can get out any time we want to. Why don’t we -both spend the night here? I’d like to gain Crunch’s confidence -completely. He could be a big help to us on Martinique. It’s good to -have a friend in the enemy’s camp.” - -“Yes, Biff. I think you’ve really got something going. We couldn’t get -back to Martinique tonight, anyway.” - -Biff opened the door and went out. - -“Where are you going?” his uncle called softly. - -“Back in a minute.” Biff was back in less. - -“Had to get this,” he said with a grin. He held up the alarm clock. -“Heap big magic, Uncle Charlie.” - -Biff left the door open. He and his uncle sat down on the cot. - -“When Crunch comes back and sees the door open,” Biff laughed, “he’ll -really think I can out-magic a voodoo medicine man.” - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - Reunited - - -Biff and his uncle heard Crunch approaching. - -“I want to see this,” Charlie said. He walked over to the window. Biff -was right beside him. Crunch stood in the sand, staring at the open -door. It took several moments for the Indian to get over his amazement. -He put down the food he was carrying and moved about in a shuffle, -trying to make up his mind what he should do next. - -The giant turned suddenly and started off at a lope, intending to search -the grounds for Biff and his uncle. - -“We’re still here, Crunch,” Biff called out. “We haven’t escaped.” - -Crunch stopped. He came back to the cellhouse slowly. Standing in the -doorway, his jaw sagged open. Disbelief showed in his eyes. - -“No go away? No escape?” He was completely bewildered. - -“No, Crunch. I told you we wouldn’t.” - -“How you get door open?” - -Biff only smiled in reply, looking very wise and mysterious. - -“Magic! You make more magic!” - -When Biff still didn’t say anything, Crunch went back outside and got -the food. When he came in, he placed the food on the table, then -carefully locked the door. After he had done so, he looked at the key, -and a foolish expression came over his face, as if he were asking -himself, “Why do I lock the door?” - -Crunch still wore a puzzled look on his face as he sat quietly and -watched Biff and Uncle Charlie eat the meal he had prepared for them. It -was a fish dish with a delicious but very hot sauce. The sauce burned -the eaters’ mouths, making the cool, smooth avocado salad that went with -it highly welcome. - -“That was mighty good, Crunch,” Biff said. - -“Sure was,” Uncle Charlie chimed in. He took a sip of lime drink and -spoke to Biff. “We’d better turn in early. We’ll want to get an early -start for Martinique. Going to take Crunch with us?” - -“How about it, Crunch?” Biff asked. “Would you like to go to Martinique? -You could see your brother. Maybe my uncle and I could help him.” - -“Crunch have to stay here. Wait for boss Dietz.” - -“Mr. Dietz is in Martinique, Crunch. He might need you over there,” Biff -said. - -It was going to take some time for Crunch to figure this one out. He was -still afraid of Dietz. - -“Think it over, Crunch, and tell us in the morning,” Biff said. - -When dawn broke, and Uncle Charlie shook his sleep-drugged nephew into -wakefulness, both knew that they had won Crunch completely over. He had -already gone to the main house for food. And he had left the door wide -open! - -“Made up your mind yet, Crunch?” Biff asked the Carib Indian after they -had finished breakfast. “You coming with us?” - -Crunch was silent, still torn between his fear of Dietz and his -admiration for Biff. - -“We’re going now,” Biff told him. - -Biff and his uncle went to the door. The Indian made no move to prevent -their leaving. - -“Good-by, Crunch,” Biff called. - -Crunch stood in the doorway and watched them leave. At the arched -gateway, Biff and his uncle climbed into the car. Charlie started it up. -They were just beginning to roll when they heard a shout. Looking back, -Biff saw Crunch coming on the run. - -“Wait! Wait! Crunch come with you.” - -A completely new life was opening up for Crunch. He had never been off -the island of Curaçao. He had never been in an aircraft. For the first -half of the flight to Martinique, he sat rigidly in his seat, hands -grasping the seat arms as if he were holding the plane in the air. - -“We’ll stop at Fort-de-France first, Biff,” Uncle Charlie said. “Got to -pick up some diving equipment and other supplies. Then we’ll hop on over -to La Trinité.” - -Flying low over the waters of the Caribbean, as his uncle came in for a -landing in the harbor, Biff spotted a large net bobbing in a sweeping -arc between two native boats. The fishermen doffed their broad straw -hats and waved at the plane. Directly over the seine, Biff could see -thousands of fish leaping, swirling, their silver sides glittering in -the sunlight. - -Walking through the teeming streets of the city was an experience in -itself. Fort-de-France with its 66,000 residents is crowded between two -rivers gallantly named Rivière Madame and Rivière Monsieur. To Biff, it -seemed as if every resident of the town swarmed in the narrow street -down which the three walked that morning. - -“Look at that!” Biff said in amazement. - -A small native woman walked briskly among the crowd. A sixty-pound -basket of fruit and vegetables was balanced on her head. - -“Biff, these people are small, but they’re powerful. And they have a -magnificent sense of balance,” Uncle Charlie said. - -In the basket which the woman wore like a headpiece were bright red -tomatoes, a green pebble-skinned breadfruit, and some fat pineapples. -Under one arm she carried a full stalk of bananas. - -The capital of Martinique was a blaze of color, from the women’s -costumes to the buildings and the flowers growing riotously in every -garden and patio. Beautiful bougainvillea, brilliantly colored from -rich, deep purple and red to pale lavender and violet, spilled over -balconies like cascading waterfalls. - -Uncle Charlie led Biff and Crunch to a small hardware store. There was -hardly an inch of open space in the store. A heavy bathtub hung over the -entrance. Garden hose, bicycles, pots, pans, fishing and skin-diving -equipment crowded shelves and hung from rafters. - -“How can anyone find anything in here?” Biff asked. - -“A mystery to me, too, Biff,” Uncle Charlie laughed. “But the clerks can -put their hands on any item you ask for in a second. They’re really out -to serve you.” - -Biff was given an example of this as his uncle made his purchases. In no -time at all, Biff and Crunch were laden with marking buoys, two -Scubas—self-contained, underwater-breathing apparatus—and Uncle Charlie -brought up the rear with a gay red-and-white nylon tent. - -“This is all we need here,” he said. “We’ll get the rest of the stuff we -need—pots and pans and so on—in Trinité.” - -Making their way back to the aircraft, Biff envied the natives their -ability to carry tremendous loads with no apparent effort. - -The hop across the island to La Trinité was a short one. The plane was -secured to a mooring and gear unloaded. - -“Well, Crunch, what are you going to do?” Uncle Charlie asked. - -“Find my little brother first,” Crunch replied. - -“And what about Dietz?” Biff asked. - -“Maybe find him, too. Where Crunch find you?” - -“We’re going to make our headquarters here just down the street. At the -Sans Souci. We’ll show you,” Charlie Keene said, “and if you want to -find us, or get in touch, ask there.” - -“What about Derek?” Biff asked. “We’ve got to locate him.” - -“Don’t worry, Biff. In a town this size everybody knows everything -that’s going on. I’ll bet you right now the grapevine has spread word of -our arrival. If Derek is around, he’ll be looking us up within an hour.” - -Charles Keene was right. He and Biff checked into the Sans Souci. Crunch -went off. - -“A little more shopping, Biff, and we’re ready to take off as soon as -Derek locates us, or vice versa,” Biff’s uncle said. - -Derek caught up with Biff and Uncle Charlie in midafternoon. The Dutch -boy was delighted to rejoin his friends. - -“This is really fine!” he exclaimed. “So good, Biff, to be back with you -and your uncle.” - -“That goes double for me, Derek. Any news of your father?” - -Derek’s face fell. “No. I’ve heard some rumors about him, but so far, -I’ve learned nothing definite as to where he might be. The island -grapevine of news seems to break down just as I think I have a real -clue.” - -“Too bad, Derek,” Charlie said. “But don’t give up hope. We’re all -together now. Biff and I want to help you search for your father. It’s -important to me to find him, too. After all, I’m working for him.” - -“Are you working for me now, too?” Derek asked with a mischievous smile. - -“Sure thing, Derek,” Uncle Charlie agreed. “When your father’s not here, -you’re the boss.” - -“We’ll work well together. How about it, Biff?” - -Biff grinned. “Couldn’t find a better combination.” - -“And I don’t think we have to worry too much about Dietz now,” Charles -Keene added. - -That’s where Uncle Charlie was wrong. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - All Set To Dive - - -It was nearly five o’clock when Biff, Derek, and Charlie Keene reached -the dock in the harbor of the Baie du Trésor. They rode a truck five -miles out of La Trinité. The truck was piled high with gear necessary to -their search. - -A thirty-foot cabin cruiser was waiting for them. Keene had chartered it -as his first step after arriving in La Trinité. Slung on davits on the -cruiser’s stern was a fourteen-foot dory with an outboard motor. This -was the boat from which they would do the pearl diving. - -With all gear stowed, Uncle Charlie started the cruiser’s engine and -backed away. On the dock, natives waved, calling, “_Bonne chance! Bonne -chance!_ Good luck! Good luck!” - -“Take the wheel, Biff,” his uncle ordered. “Head straight out while I -confer with the owner.” - -“The owner?” Biff and Derek glanced around the cruiser, then looked -curiously at Uncle Charlie. - -“That’s you, Derek.” Biff’s uncle grinned. “Since you’re the boss, -you’re the owner. I’m the skipper, and Biff is the crew. And I’m sure -you want a tightly run ship, so look sharp there, Brewster.” - -“Aye, aye, skipper,” Biff said with a smile. - -“Now, Derek, where do we head?” Uncle Charlie asked. “Did your father -give you any idea where this pearl fishery is?” - -“Only a vague one, Captain.” Derek had entered the spirit of the game. -“I know that after leaving Treasure Bay Harbor, we head due south—” - -“Bring her around, mate,” Keene called to Biff. “Set your compass -reading for a southerly run.” - -They had left the harbor, and Biff spun the wheel. The cruiser’s bow -came around, and Biff held the boat on a due south course. - -“He wrote me the spot was about five miles off the main coast of -Martinique,” Derek said, “almost directly west of the town of Le -François.” - -“I know the town.” Keene nodded. “It’s a small fishing village. Ten -miles down the coast. Put her at full speed, mate. We’ve got to make a -landing before nightfall.” - -“There’s a group of small islands off Le François,” Derek continued. -“We’ve got to locate the right island. The fishery is a mile off one of -them.” - -Charlie Keene wiped the sweat off his forehead. “Whew! Not much to go -on. There must be a dozen or more islands in that group. Some of them -aren’t more than a few acres in area. We’ll make camp on one of the -larger ones. Did your father give you any indication of water depth at -the fishery?” - -“About forty feet.” - -“That will help. We won’t do any diving in water over, say, fifty feet. -But, Derek, there’s lots and lots of water around here.” - -And there was. The coast line and pitons of Martinique were plainly -visible, a lush green of wild growth, with fern trees rising as high as -maples. West were the endless waters of the Atlantic Ocean. - -“We’ll need all the ‘_bonne chance_’ we can get,” Biff’s uncle -commented. - -It took about an hour to make the run from Treasure Bay to the islands -off Le François. Biff was still at the wheel. His uncle took out a pair -of binoculars and swept his gaze over the island group. - -“Over there, Biff. That larger one, right between those two smaller -ones. Cut your speed. We don’t know how these waters shoal. Derek, go -forward. Watch for bottom.” - -The cruiser approached the shore slowly. - -“Plenty of water,” Derek sang out. Then, “Sand. I see sand bottom,” he -called a little later. - -“Ease her in, Biff. That small cove. See if you can take her in there. -Give us some protection if a _chabasco_ hits.” - -The cruiser inched forward. The sound of the boat’s keel grating on the -sand bottom came to their ears. Biff cut the engine. The cruiser ground -to a stop five feet from shore. - -“Perfect, Biff. We’ll get a little damp making the next five feet, but I -kind of feel like a swim. How about it?” Uncle Charlie suggested. - -Biff and Derek stripped off their shirts. Shoes and socks followed. The -boys dived over the side. Charlie Keene was right behind them. All three -frolicked in the warm waters of the Caribbean for a while. - -“All out,” Uncle Charlie ordered presently. “We’ve got work to do. -Night’s coming on.” - -The cruiser was secured. The dory was lowered and pulled up on the -beach. Biff’s uncle remained in the cruiser. Derek took a position waist -deep in the water halfway between the boat’s bow and the shore. Charlie -passed gear to Derek. Derek handed it on to Biff on shore. The unloading -went smoothly and quickly. - -Next came the tent. It was set up. Cots were unfolded. A small table and -three captain’s chairs were put into place. - -“Scoop out a wide, shallow hole and line it with shells.” That was Uncle -Charlie’s next order. He kept the boys hopping. - -“We’ll put our stove in the shell-lined hole.” Charlie ripped open a -carton containing a small two-burner propane stove and set it up. - -“String up the lanterns, Biff. It’ll be dark soon.” - -The job of setting up camp was completed just as the swift-falling night -blanketed the tiny island with darkness. - -“Everything look shipshape to you, skipper?” Biff asked his uncle. - -Charlie Keene looked around. - -“Can’t log anything against either of you so far. Good job. Now let’s -eat.” - -Biff and Derek peeled some potatoes; Uncle Charlie took a small axe and -broke open a canned ham, disdaining to use the key attached to the can. - -“Ham and fried potatoes. How does that sound?” Uncle Charlie asked. - -“I could eat anything,” Biff replied. - -“Might as well open up a can of stewed tomatoes, too.” - -The food, although roughly prepared, seemed delicious to all three. -Uncle Charlie was a good cook. The potatoes were crisp and brown. The -tomatoes, well, they were just stewed tomatoes. The Danish ham had a -delicate flavor unlike any Biff had eaten before. - -“It’s rather like the hams we have in Holland,” Derek said. - -“Only two problems in connection with running this camp,” Uncle Charlie -commented. “Air and water.” - -“Air? I’ve never breathed such pure air,” Biff said. - -“And how much more water do you want than the Caribbean Sea?” Derek -chimed in. - -“Ever tried drinking it?” Biff’s uncle chuckled. “Don’t. Fresh water, my -lad, is what we need. And there are no springs or wells on these -islands.” - -“Well, we couldn’t find any fresher air,” Biff said. “You’ve got to -admit that, Uncle Charlie.” - -“Sure, Biff, sure. But what we want is compressed air. For the Scubas. -Those air tanks only carry enough for an hour’s diving. I have one extra -tank. We have enough compressed air for about two hours’ diving daily. I -mean two hours for each of you. I don’t think there’s any compressed air -in Le François. I know there is in Trinité.” - -“Well, that’s not too far,” Biff said. “We’ll have to go in to Trinité -every day. Air and water.” - -“And fresh food, Biff,” Uncle Charlie added. - -Derek had been silent during this discussion. Now he spoke: - -“Mr. Keene, I have a plan I want to suggest.” - -“Fire away, Derek.” - -“Since we have to go in to Trinité every day, I think we ought to do our -diving in the morning.” - -“Okay by me, Derek. Go on.” - -“Then, around noon, we could go into Trinité. You and Biff could see -about supplies. I’d like to spend my afternoons searching for my father. -I’m more anxious to find him than to locate the pearl fishery.” - -“We all are, Derek. And I think your plan’s a good one. We could even -spend the night at the Sans Souci if we got any leads that would take -more than one afternoon to follow.” - -“That’s what I thought. Martinique’s not too big an island, but there -are many wild, unsettled places on it. I have a feeling that if my -father is still alive, he’s up in the hills somewhere.” - -“Now, Derek, there’s no reason to believe your father’s not alive,” Biff -said softly. - -Derek didn’t answer at once. When he did, his voice trembled slightly. - -“There’s one thing I learned that I didn’t tell you.” He paused. “There -was a storm, a _chabasco_, about the time my father disappeared. I -learned that, three days after the _chabasco_, parts of his boat were -washed ashore south of here. Near Le Vauclin.” - -Neither Biff nor his uncle replied. They knew what Derek’s fear was. His -father might have lost his life in the storm. - -“No one knows, though,” Derek went on hopefully, “or seems to remember, -whether the _chabasco_ struck before or after my father was last seen in -Trinité.” - -“You mean when he mailed us our letters?” Uncle Charlie asked. - -“Yes,” was Derek’s one-word reply. - -“We can check that, Derek. The postmark will show the date. And the day -of the _chabasco_ will have been recorded somewhere in Trinité.” - -“I never thought of that,” Derek said. He sounded much more cheerful. -Charles Keene had restored his hope. - -“Big day ahead of us, boys,” Biff’s uncle said now. “I’d say it was -about time to hit the sack. You with me?” - -Biff and Derek were. It seemed impossible to Biff that only that -morning, he had been in Curaçao. It also seemed to Biff that he had just -heard his uncle say, “Hit the sack,” when his uncle’s voice came to him -again. This time it was, “Hit the deck!” - -Morning had come. In an hour, Biff would be at the bottom of the ocean, -searching for pearls. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - Pearl Diving - - -“Before we go out, we’re going to have a dry run with the Scubas,” -Biff’s uncle announced. - -Biff, Derek, and Uncle Charlie were on the beach where the cruiser was -anchored. - -“Don’t know how much skin diving you’ve done, Derek—you said some—but -Biff can tell you that all diving equipment must be carefully and -thoroughly checked out before you go down.” - -Derek paid sharp attention. - -“Don your Scubas,” Charlie ordered. - -The boys quickly slipped on face masks, helmets, water lungs, snorkels. -Charlie helped them strap their compressed-air tanks on their backs. - -Next the boys put on their weight belts. Into a rubber scabbard on each -belt went a wickedly sharp knife. There were sharks in these waters. A -depth gauge and watch were strapped on each boy’s left wrist. - -Charlie inspected each item of diving equipment carefully. He tugged at -straps, examined each piece of gear separately. - -“Jettison belts!” he called out suddenly. - -With a flip of his hand, Biff hit the catch on his weight belt. It -dropped to the sand. Derek was a few seconds longer. - -“Seconds can count, Derek, if you get into trouble. Try it again.” - -Derek slipped his weight belt back on. Charlie shouted the order. Derek -hit the catch, and his belt dropped. - -“That’s better, Derek. Remember, that belt is what holds you down. If -you have to come up fast, you’ve got to get rid of that belt fast.” - -“But don’t try to come up too fast, Derek,” Biff said. “Especially if -you’re down deep.” - -“Biff’s right. A good rule to follow is not to rise to the surface any -faster than the escaping air bubbles. Your body has to adjust to the -variations in water pressure. All right, let’s go out and try it in the -water now.” - -They climbed in the dory. Uncle Charlie started the outboard, and they -moved offshore about fifty feet. - -“Sound for depth, Biff.” - -Biff dropped a sounding line overboard. He pulled it up, examined the -leads marking off every three feet. - -“Thirty feet, Uncle Charlie.” - -“Okay. Now you know how to clear your masks.” - -Both boys nodded their heads. - -“I want to hear you tell me.” - -Biff began promptly: “If water seeps into your mask, clouding the glass -and obscuring your vision, you roll over on your back—” - -“Take it from there, Derek,” Charlie cut in. - -“Then—then you blow air out through your nose. The air pressure building -up in the mask will force the water out around the edges of the mask.” - -“Good. You both know the most important safety feature of skin diving. -Okay, over you go.” - -The boys slipped their swim fins, or flippers, on their feet and lowered -themselves overboard. They sank slowly to the bottom. - -At this point, the bottom was smooth, clean white sand. Biff and Derek -moved around, using their legs and feet only for propulsion. Biff came -up to Derek, circled his thumb and forefinger together, indicating that -everything was going smoothly. Derek replied with the “V for Victory” -sign. Then they rose to the surface. - -When they broke water, Charlie Keene was waiting with another order. - -“Down again, and as soon as you touch bottom, jettison your belts.” - -Down they went again. Charles Keene was taking no chances on the boys’ -safety and ability to skin dive. - -Up popped the boys, their wet heads appearing above the water first and -looking like strange creatures from the deep. Biff flipped back his face -mask. - -“Good work, Biff. But you’ve got to go back down and retrieve the weight -belts. Here’s a spare. You’d find it tough to get down thirty feet -without it.” - -Derek climbed aboard the dory while Biff submerged to pick up the belts. -He had to make two trips. The weight of three belts would have held him -down. - -“We might as well start our search off this island first. Good as any.” - -[Illustration: _At this point, the bottom was smooth, clean white sand_] - -The dory sped out to a point Uncle Charlie estimated to be about a mile -away. The anchor was tossed overboard. The sounding line showed the -water depth at just over forty-five feet. - -“I want you to take this spear along with you, Biff.” Uncle Charlie -handed his nephew a wicked, lethal-looking weapon. Its tip was needle -sharp. - -“I doubt you’ll run into any bad fish here. But you might. And don’t, -_do not_ use it except in case of extreme danger. If you spear an -attacking fish—shark, barracuda or octopus—remember any blood will -attract other sharks, and then you’ll be in real trouble.” - -Biff took the spear and examined it. - -“Each of you take one of these wire baskets. They’re to load the oysters -in—if you find any. I’m the puller-up. I’ve a line on each basket. Now -get these signals. I want both of you to give me one sharp tug every ten -minutes. That will tell me you’re okay. Give two sharp tugs when your -basket is filled. I’ll pull the basket up, unload it, and lower it -again. Now, in case of emergency, a series of sharp tugs will alert me, -and I’ll be right down. Got it? Okay. Over you go.” - -The bottom was different this time. Instead of clean, white sand, the -bottom was covered with a layer of mud mixed with sand. Biff felt around -carefully. Both boys were wearing thick rubber gloves to protect their -hands against the sharp, jagged oyster shells. - -As Biff was feeling around in the mud, Derek swam over to him. He held a -large oyster in front of Biff’s mask. Then he plopped it in his basket. - -Biff’s hand touched a large shell. He dug it out and discarded it. It -was a clam. He ran into a nest of oysters. He quickly filled his basket -and gave the signal to haul up. Minutes later, the basket came down, -swaying in the water at the bottom of the line. - -The boys worked slowly, carefully, feeling their way. Every so often, a -large fish would swim up to them, coming right to the face masks as if -to ask, “What are _you_ doing down here?” - -Biff kept a sharp check on his watch. He knew his air tank had -sufficient air to remain submerged for one hour. It also had a -five-minute emergency supply in addition. Biff had no intention of -waiting until he had to use the extra air. After being down fifty-five -minutes, he signaled Derek. With his forefinger, he pointed upward. -Derek got the idea. The boys began their slow ascent. - -Rising, looking up toward the surface, they could see the dory outlined -above, a fat, cigar-shaped blob. - -Breaking water as they surfaced, each boy grabbed the dory’s gunwale. -They were both tired. Neither had realized how the water pressure at -forty-five feet had sapped their strength. They had been down nearly an -hour. - -“You don’t know what a tough job diving is until you’ve been down for a -good spell,” Charlie said. He leaned over the side and helped the boys -into the boat. - -They took off their diving equipment. - -“Had enough for today, boys?” Biff’s uncle inquired. - -“Oh, no. We’ll go down again. After we rest,” Biff replied. “All right -with you, Derek?” - -Derek nodded his head. - -“Actually, I don’t see much point in going back down,” Uncle Charlie -said. “We’ve got ten baskets of oysters. We might as well shuck them and -see if we find any pearls. If we don’t, then we’ll say good-by to this -spot and try another tomorrow.” - -“Now I like that idea,” Biff said and stretched out on the narrow seat -that ran around the side of the dory. - -His uncle upped anchor, and they headed back to their island camp. - -They didn’t go into Trinité that day, since they still had the reserve -tank of compressed air and enough food for supper. The afternoon was -spent at the tedious job of opening oysters. It was slow going. None of -the three had the skill of a professional oyster opener. - -The job was totally unrewarding. - -“Not one pearl.” Biff sighed. - -“Not even a single tiny one,” Derek said sadly. - -“Now, don’t be downhearted, boys,” Uncle Charlie said, trying to cheer -them up. “Can’t expect to hit it the first day.” - -“At any rate, we’ve got enough oysters to make a stew. If we had some -milk,” Biff said. - -“Afraid not, Biff.” - -“Yeah. Where are we going to get milk? A seacow, maybe? Wish we’d kept -some of them. We could have had an oyster roast.” - -“Wrong again, Biff,” Charlie said. “Pearl oysters aren’t edible. These -would make you so sick, you wouldn’t be any good for ten days.” - -“What a waste!” Biff said, and stretched out on the sand. Every muscle, -every bone in his body ached. - -All three went to bed that night right after supper. - -Biff, having slept heavily, awoke just as dawn broke. He thought he had -been awakened by the sound of a boat’s motor. He listened intently. No -sound. Biff turned over on his narrow cot, determined to get back to -sleep. He was just drifting off when he heard a sound outside the tent, -just beyond where his cot touched the inside of the tent wall. - -He waited tensely. The sound was only a faint rustle. He saw the side of -the tent stretch as if something was crawling underneath it. Biff raised -himself on one elbow, ready to sound the alarm. - -As he watched, in the faint dawn light, a thick, snake-shaped object -slithered up between his cot and the tent’s side. - - - - - CHAPTER XX - Enemy Invasion - - -Biff moved quickly, noiselessly out of his cot. In the increasing -daylight, he could see that the strange object slithering over his bed -was a huge arm. He went over to his uncle, shook him gently, and when -Charlie Keene roused, Biff cautioned silence, pressing a finger to his -lips. Biff pointed to his cot. - -Charlie Keene saw the arm and was up in a flash. From under his pillow -he took a gun. This action startled Biff even more than the mysterious -arm. He had no idea that his uncle thought they were in such danger that -there was reason for keeping a gun close at hand. - -“Stay here,” Uncle Charlie whispered. “I’ll slip outside.” - -Biff kept his eyes on the arm. He saw the arm slide over the cot, saw -the hand feel it. The hand withdrew quickly, the arm slipped back -outside the tent. - -“Hold it!” Biff heard his uncle command. This stern order was followed -by an amazed “Why, what the—what are you doing here! Biff! Come -running!” - -Biff leaped out of the tent. In the morning light, he saw his uncle -holding a gun on the giant Carib Indian, Crunch. - -“Crunch!” Biff’s astonishment turned to delight at seeing his simple, -friendly enemy again. “What in the world? Why did you sneak up on us -like this!” he exclaimed. - -Crunch stepped over to Biff. - -“Not know who might be in tent. Want to find my friend, you. Have story -of big trouble for you and your friends.” - -“What is it, Crunch? Tell me.” - -“It is boss Dietz. See Crunch in Trinité. Make Crunch come back and work -for him. Last night, Dietz and Specks make camp on next island.” Crunch -pointed in the direction of an island about half a mile away. - -“They leave Crunch to guard camp. But Crunch hear them talk. Tonight, -when you all asleep, they come to this island. They going to break up -your boats. Crunch wait until they far away, then come over here to give -warning. Dietz bad man, very—” - -Crunch left his sentence hanging in air. He stared in disbelief at the -front of the tent. - -He was looking at Derek. His eyes swung from Derek to Biff, then back to -Derek and back again from one boy to the other. - -“Is more magic!” Crunch howled, terror in his voice. He turned to run. - -“Wait, Crunch. Stop.” Biff ran over to the Indian and took him by the -arm. “It’s no more magic. There are really two of us. Me—I’m Biff. -That’s my name. He’s my friend Derek. Come here, Derek.” - -Derek joined them. - -“Touch him, Crunch.” - -Crunch’s hand went out carefully. He touched Derek, then drew his hand -back quickly. - -“You see, Crunch, he’s not a ghost, not a spirit. He’s a real person. -Just like I am. The only thing, we look very much alike.” - -Crunch could only shake his head. If his faith in Biff had not been so -great, he would have turned and fled. - -“All right, Crunch. You believe me? You know you’re not just seeing -things?” - -Crunch nodded his head slowly. - -“Okay, Crunch. We want to thank you for giving us this warning.” - -“No want you to get hurt. Now Crunch go before boss comes back.” - -Biff and Derek walked to the edge of the water with Crunch. - -“I’ll fix some chow,” Uncle Charlie called. - -The boys watched Crunch climb into a small dory and row off. He was -facing them as he pulled away, and he was still staring from one boy to -the other. - -“What do we do now?” Biff asked when he and Derek rejoined Charlie -Keene. - -“We carry on as if we knew nothing. We’ll explore another place this -morning. We’ll go to Trinité this afternoon and replenish our air and -food supplies. Tonight, we’ll be ready to give Dietz an unexpected -reception.” - -The pearl diving that morning was no more productive than it had been -the previous day. Noon found the three in the cabin cruiser, heading for -Trinité. In town, Derek left Biff and his uncle. He was off on his quest -for his father. - -The three met again at the prearranged hour of six o’clock and embarked -for the return trip to their island camp. - -Tension mounted as the evening hours on the island dragged slowly by. At -11 P.M. Charlie Keene arose from his cot. He had ordered Biff and Derek -to try and rest. - -“Let’s go.” - -The boys followed Uncle Charlie down to the cabin cruiser and the dory. - -“You both know what you’re to do?” he asked. - -“Yes, Mr. Keene,” Derek replied. - -“All set, Uncle Charlie,” Biff said. - -“Crunch may or may not be with them. I imagine he will be. But I’m sure -we don’t have to worry about him now. Okay, Derek, into the cruiser. -Biff, you and I will hide behind the dory. Derek, you know when to start -and what to do.” - -“I do.” - -“All right. Take your positions.” - -Derek waded out and climbed aboard the cruiser. Biff and his uncle dug -into the sand on the beach side of the dory. - -Their wait began. It seemed endless. Biff kept glancing at the -illuminated dial of his watch. Twelve o’clock. Twelve-thirty. - -“Think maybe they found out that Crunch warned us?” Biff asked in a low -voice. - -“I don’t think so, Biff. How would they?” - -Just after one o’clock, Biff and his uncle came alert. From a distance -over the water, they heard the sound of a boat engine. It grew louder as -the boat drew nearer. Then the sound stopped suddenly. - -Biff was puzzled. - -“Engine trouble, or have they given up the idea?” he whispered. - -“Wait,” his uncle whispered back. - -After a few minutes, a new sound came to their ears: the sound of oars -rasping against oarlocks, the soft splash of oar blades dipping in and -out of the water. - -Biff knew now why the engine had been cut—so Dietz could approach -without awakening his prey. - -The sound of a boat grating gently on sand was heard next. Dietz and -Company had made their landing. Biff and his uncle could hear two men -conversing in low voices. The voices came nearer. The enemy was standing -directly across from where Biff and his uncle lay hidden behind the -dory. - -“Walk up toward the tent, Crunch.” It was Dietz’s voice. “Keep them from -coming down here if they wake up. Okay, Specks, start drilling.” - -That was the plot! Drill holes in the dory. Make it unfloatable. What -devilment had they planned for the cruiser? These thoughts flashed -through Biff’s mind. - -Just as Specks lifted one leg over the gunwale, Charlie Keene, still -hidden, let go with his automatic. Eight shots in rapid succession -shattered the night silence. - -From the cabin cruiser came blast after blast from the boat’s foghorn. -_Hurrammppp!_ ... _Hurrammppp!_ ... _Hurrammppp!_ - -Specks leaped out of the dory. - -“They’re laying for us,” Dietz shouted. “Run for the boat!” - -Uncle Charlie had slipped in another cartridge clip, and this time his -eight rapid-fire shots were aimed just over the heads of the fleeing -Dietz and Specks. Derek kept working the foghorn. The noise tore at the -night. - -Dietz slipped and fell into the water as he jumped for his boat. Specks -was frantically shoving it off the beach. Dietz scrambled in. Bullets -from the automatic’s third clip were stinging the water around Dietz’s -boat like angry wasps. - -The frightened pair finally got their engine started, backed off at full -throttle, swung around and headed out to sea. - -The foghorn continued its angry growling. - -“Okay, Derek,” Uncle Charlie called. “Lay off. They’re long gone.” - -Derek joined Biff and his uncle, and they watched the light of the -fast-disappearing boat. Then, the tension relieved, the three sank down -on the sand and howled with laughter. - -When Biff was finally able to control his laughing spell, he got up with -a start. - -“Crunch!” he exclaimed. “What happened to him? I didn’t see him get in -the boat.” - -“He’s probably halfway across the Atlantic by now,” Charlie answered. -“Swimming his lungs out to get away from the evil spirits.” - -A search of the small island was started. Crunch was found on the far -side, cowering behind a small sand dune. - -Once the giant Indian had been calmed down—and Biff had to work hard on -him to convince him the evil spirits had fled—Crunch fell to his knees -and with outstretched arms, said to Biff: - -“Please. Crunch stay with you now, work for you? Do anything you say. -Crunch afraid to go back to boss Dietz.” - -“Good for you, Crunch. Glad to have you join us.” - -The four walked back to the tent. - -“I don’t know where you’re going to sleep, Crunch,” Biff said -doubtfully. - -“Crunch not sleep—stand guard outside tent,” the Indian replied. - -Biff turned to his uncle. “What’s Dietz trying to accomplish now?” he -asked. - -“Harassment, Biff. Stalling. Working out a plan. First of all, he wants -to be around when we locate the exact spot of the pearl fishery. -Then—well—” - -“Then what, Mr. Keene?” Derek asked. - -“Nothing to worry about, Derek.” - -“You’re holding something back, Mr. Keene. I want to know the truth. I -want to know what I’m in for.” - -Charlie Keene spoke in a quiet voice. But his words were chilling. - -“As far as he knows, your father is gone, Derek—if Dietz can get rid of -_you_, then the claim becomes open again.” - - - - - CHAPTER XXI - A Gay Deception - - -Although the attack by Dietz and Company had had a comic ending, Biff, -his uncle, and Derek realized that the next such attack might have more -serious consequences. - -The three had settled down on the soft white sand. No one spoke, their -minds whirling with thoughts of Dietz. The giant Indian, Crunch, was a -few feet removed, squatting on his huge haunches and chewing on a piece -of salt grass. - -Charlie Keene looked at his nephew. - -“Doing some heavy thinking, Biff?” he inquired. - -“Trying to, Uncle Charlie. Look ...” he paused, then went on. “I have a -feeling that since Dietz failed on this try, he’ll grow even more -desperate. I mean, the next time he tries, he probably won’t be so easy -to scare off.” - -“You’re absolutely right, Biff.” - -The boy was silent again. He wanted to be clear in his own mind before -he advanced the proposal he had outlined to himself. - -“Derek, I don’t want you to be offended by what I’m about to say. It’s -just that I want to get my thinking clear. Okay?” - -“Nothing you could say, Biff, could make me feel angry with you.” - -“Thanks, Derek.” The two boys looked at one another in the starlit -night. The bond of friendship between them had grown stronger with each -passing day. - -“It’s this, Derek. Finding the pearl fishery is of secondary importance -to you. Finding your father comes first.” - -“You know that, Biff.” - -Charles Keene waited. He knew his nephew was cooking up a plan. He also -knew that most of Biff’s plans had merit. - -“Well, then,” Biff continued. “As I see it, we’re faced with two big -problems. First, if we abandon our search for the pearl fishery, to -devote all our time to looking for your father, then we give Dietz a -wide-open field to try to find the fishery. That’s not good.” - -“No, it isn’t, Biff. But I must find my father,” Derek replied -earnestly. - -“Very true, Biff,” Uncle Charlie said. “It’s quite a problem.” Charles -Keene offered no suggestions. He was anxious to see how his nephew would -attack the problem, what solution he might come up with. - -“Uncle Charlie, a few moments ago you used the word ‘harassment.’ You -said that would be the chief tactic used by Dietz to delay our locating -the pearl fishery,” Biff said. - -“He’ll double his efforts if I’m any judge. What’s on your mind?” - -“If we can pull it off—” Biff was thinking out loud. - -“Pull what off, Biff?” Derek asked. - -“I’ve got a plan. I want to know what you and Uncle Charlie think of -it.” - -“Fire away, Biff,” his uncle invited. - -“It’s this. Suppose tomorrow, we pretend to find the fishery. We’ll fire -off guns. Blast off on the boat horn. Dance around the beach like mad. -In full sight of Dietz, of course. Make him think we’ve located the -site. Only, of course, we’ll do all this where we know there are no -pearls. We’ll put on our act at one of the first places we tackled, -before Dietz became so vigilant. What do you think?” - -“You’ve got something there, Biff. I’m proud of you,” Biff’s uncle -replied. - -“It would be fun, too, to fool Dietz,” Derek chimed in excitedly. - -“To make it even more convincing,” Biff went on, “we could break camp -tomorrow afternoon. Pull out fast. Dietz wouldn’t follow us immediately. -Not until he’d done some diving and oyster shucking himself. He’d surely -want to make certain we had located the fishery.” - -“You’re darn right he would,” Charles Keene said. - -“That would give us a chance to get back to Trinité, slip out of town, -and really concentrate on looking for your father.” - -Biff paused. He looked first at Derek. He felt sure Derek would be -enthusiastic about his plan. Then he looked at his uncle. He knew his -uncle was considering the plan in every detail. - -Uncle Charlie finally spoke. “Well, Biff, I like your plan. You didn’t -know this, of course, but I was getting more and more worried about -having you and Derek on the bottom of the ocean, with Dietz in his -high-powered boat ready to strike at any moment. Calling off the pearl -search for the time being makes a lot of sense.” - -“And maybe we’ll find my father,” Derek said. - -“If he’s on the island, we’ll find him,” Charles Keene said. He spoke -with more conviction than he felt, to cheer the Dutch boy up. Privately, -he had many doubts as to the possibility of finding Derek’s father. - -“Crunch go along. Help find lost white man.” - -It was the first time the giant Indian had spoken. - -Biff shot a fast glance at his uncle. Charles Keene shook his head. The -motion was barely noticeable. But Biff got it. He knew his uncle had -some other plan for the Carib. - -“I don’t know, Crunch,” Biff said. He knew the Indian wanted to remain -in the party. “I think maybe my uncle has an idea where you could be a -lot more help. Right, Uncle Charlie?” - -Charles Keene turned to the Indian. - -“If you want to be a big help to us, Crunch, it would be better for you -to go back to Dietz.” - -“No like Dietz. Bad man.” - -“We know that, Crunch. But, while we’re gone—it will only be a few -days—you can keep an eye on Dietz. You’d still be on our side, but Dietz -wouldn’t know that. He’d think you were still working for him. You’d be -our spy.” - -“Crunch a spy?” - -From the tone of the Indian’s voice, Biff could tell that Crunch was -pleased. He liked the idea of being a spy. - -“That’s right, Crunch,” Uncle Charlie continued. “You’d pretend to be -still working for him, but you’d watch everything he did. He might even -find the pearl fishery, and we’d surely want to know about that. Then, -when we got back, you could tell us everything that had been going on. -How about it?” - -“Crunch do it. He go now.” - -The Indian rose to his feet and faded into the night for his half-mile -swim back to the island camp of the enemy. Biff wondered what kind of a -reception he would receive from Dietz but felt sure Crunch could take -care of himself. - -The next morning the boys and Charles Keene were up at the first crack -of dawn. Over a hasty breakfast, they went over their plan for the last -time. As the sun boiled up out of the Atlantic, the three headed out to -sea. - -It wasn’t long before they saw Dietz’s boat come into sight, rocking -above the horizon off their starboard side. - -“Here we go,” Charles Keene said. “Drop anchor.” - -Derek heaved the hook over. Biff was already donning his diving -apparatus. Derek was only a few moments behind as Biff slipped into the -warm waters of the Caribbean and made his descent. - -The boys stayed down for about half an hour. When they surfaced and -climbed aboard, Biff cracked open an oyster. Immediately, he let out a -shout and danced up and down. - -Derek joined in the deception. Charlie Keene put his head together with -the two boys, and for several moments they carefully inspected an -imaginary pearl in Biff’s empty hand. - -They all knew Dietz was observing their actions through powerful -binoculars. - -With happy shouts that bounced across the waves and reached Dietz’s -boat, Biff and Derek plunged back into the water. They sent up several -more baskets of oysters. When they surfaced and climbed back into the -boat, they shucked a few more oysters. Then Charles Keene shook each -boy’s hand and clapped them on the back. - -“Up anchor!” Charlie shouted. He started the motor. The boat raced back -to the camp site. - -“Look back over your shoulder, Uncle Charlie,” Biff said. - -Dietz had brought his boat into the area just abandoned by the boys and -Uncle Charlie. - -“Isn’t he dropping a marking buoy right about where we were?” Biff -asked. - -“He sure is.” - -“Then we did fool him!” Derek sang out happily. - -“For the time being, at least. But we’ve got to move fast. He’ll be -sampling oysters from that same bed as fast as he can.” - -The three struck camp quickly. They loaded their gear into the cabin -cruiser. With a triumphant blast on the boat horn and a burst of shots -from Charles Keene’s gun, they pointed the bow of the cruiser toward La -Trinité. - -They passed within a quarter of a mile of Dietz’s boat. They could see -Dietz hauling in lines holding the baskets of oysters which Specks had -filled on the bottom. They didn’t see Crunch. He must have been pressed -into oyster diving also. - -Ten minutes later, they could barely see Dietz’s white boat bobbing on -the blue water over the imaginary pearl bed. - -“We pulled it off, Uncle Charlie,” Biff said. - -“That we did, Biffo me lad.” - -“And now we can hunt for my father,” Derek added. - -“And we’ll find him, too!” Biff said confidently. - -Charles Keene frowned. He erased the frown quickly, but not so fast that -Biff missed it. - -Biff knew his uncle believed that Brom Zook must have been lost at sea. -The thought sent Biff’s high spirits plunging downward. - - - - - CHAPTER XXII - Dashed Hopes - - -In La Trinité, Biff, his uncle, and Derek moved about with haste. -Following a speedy lunch, they shopped for enough supplies to last them -for their expedition into the interior of Martinique. - -“Step lively, boys,” Uncle Charlie urged. “It won’t take Dietz long to -find out he’s been fooled. And we don’t want him hounding us on this -search.” - -“Uncle Charlie,” Biff said, “if Dietz comes into Trinité and finds our -boat still moored in Treasure Bay, won’t he know we’re still somewhere -nearby?” - -“That’s a chance we’ll have to take, Biff.” - -“But if we took the boat up the coast—got it away from here—that would -cause him further delay, wouldn’t it?” - -“You’re right again, Biff.” - -“But why would Dietz want to follow us when we’re searching for my -father?” Derek asked. - -“He wants to know about your father as much as we do. But for different -reasons,” Charles Keene replied, a frown darkening his face. - -Derek thought this over. “If we learn some bad news about my father—if -we should learn he really is gone—” Derek gulped. He couldn’t bring -himself to say out loud that they might find out that Brom Zook was -dead. “If that is how our search should end, then you mean there could -be some doubt as to whether the claim he originally filed is still -valid?” - -“Afraid so, Derek. I believe your claim would be supported in time. But -there would be delay after delay as Dietz went to the courts to try to -have it invalidated.” - -“I see.” - -Biff wanted to get his friend Derek’s mind away from such depressing -thoughts. - -“About the boat again, Uncle Charlie. Why don’t we go around the point, -head north along the coast, and find a sheltered harbor where we could -hide the boat? Then we could head inland from there.” - -“That’s what we’ll do, Biff. And let’s do it right away,” his uncle -agreed. - -They made a run of about ten miles along the east coast of Martinique -and found a small cove between Ste. Marie and Marigot. They beached the -boat and covered it with the lacy leaves of the giant fern trees which -grow to a height of twenty feet on Martinique. Over the ferns they -spread palm fronds. The boat was completely hidden. - -From the beach, they could see the peak of Mt. Pelée, rising nearly five -thousand feet in the air. - -“Boys, what do you say we make Pelée our first goal?” Charles Keene -suggested. “Your searches haven’t brought you that far north and east, -have they, Derek?” - -“No, sir.” - -“Okay. Let’s move out then.” - -Each of the three slung a pack over his shoulders, and they plunged into -the thick tropical growth. - -Biff was enjoying himself. If the object of their search hadn’t been -such a serious one, if his feeling that the search might have an unhappy -ending hadn’t been so strong, then the exploration would have been even -more fun. - -Martinique, Biff soon discovered, was truly a beautiful island, one of -the most beautiful places in which he had ever been. From the top of -steep ridges, the lush, fertile valleys of the island spread out below. -Rugged peaks rose like steeples above the ridges. - -In the rich valleys, they crossed through sugar-cane fields. - -Biff took his knife and slashed a stock down. Its sweet juices oozed out -of the slash. Biff pressed the stock to his lips and sucked deeply. - -“Try one, Derek. Tastes good,” he said. - -Banana trees grew wild almost everywhere they went. Derek shinned up the -rough, fat trunk of one tree and yanked down a bunch. He squirreled back -down the tree and plopped on the ground to inspect his haul. Derek’s -hands were exploring the bunch, trying to select the ripest, fattest -banana when Charlie Keene leaped to his side and struck the Dutch boy’s -arm a sharp blow. - -Derek looked around in amazed alarm. - -Charles Keene was stamping on a hairy black spider. He had spotted the -ugly insect on Derek’s shoulder and with one swift blow had knocked the -spider to the ground. - -“What’s the matter, Mr. Keene?” Derek looked frightened. - -“Close call, Derek. That spider I just knocked off your arm is called -_matoutou falaise_. That’s the local French name for the most poisonous -spider on the island. They make their nests in bananas.” - -Derek’s face went white. - -“It’s all right now. I got him. But after this, be mighty careful when -you pick a banana,” Uncle Charlie warned. - -Now and again the party would pass a small thatched hut. At each one, -they asked questions of the inhabitants. - -“A tall man, very thin, with almost white hair,” was the description -they gave of Brom Zook. “He’s been missing over three months.” - -The natives would only shake their heads. No, they had seen no such man, -nor had they heard of such a stranger in these parts. - -For three days the party trudged up and down the ridges and peaks of the -island. They questioned a hundred or more people. They went to Deux -Choux, to Morne Vert, Le Lorrain, Grande Rivière, and towns even -smaller. Nowhere did they get any leads to a missing Hollander named -Brom Zook. - -By the fourth day of the search, it was plain to Biff and his uncle that -Derek was becoming more and more discouraged, more and more -disheartened. They tried their best to cheer up the Dutch lad. - -At the end of the day, they reached the top of Mt. Pelée. Looking down -at the sea, they could pick out the ruins of Saint-Pierre. Once, Uncle -Charlie told the boys, Saint-Pierre had been the largest city on the -island. Then, in the early morning hours, tragedy had struck. - -“You know the story about Saint-Pierre and Mt. Pelée, Biff?” Uncle -Charlie asked. “You must have heard it, Derek, when you were growing up -in Curaçao.” - -Derek shook his head. “No, I don’t remember it, Mr. Keene.” - -“It was just after the turn of the century, around 1902, I believe. -Saint-Pierre then had a population of thirty thousand people. Early one -morning, as the city slept, Mt. Pelée erupted. It shot forth a sheet of -flame and molten lava. In a matter of only a few seconds, thirty -thousand people were dead. Most of them died in their beds.” - -“The whole city wiped out? In seconds?” Biff asked incredulously. - -“That’s right, Biff,” Charlie Keene said. “There was only one survivor.” - -“How could one person survive when thirty thousand others perished?” -Biff demanded. - -“It’s a most unusual story. This person was a prisoner in Saint-Pierre. -He was in solitary confinement. The cell he was in had stone walls -several feet thick. That’s what saved him. The walls were so thick they -resisted the heat. The prisoner didn’t even know about the catastrophe -until several days later when rescue crews explored the prison.” - -Biff could only shake his head. - -That night they camped on top of the volcano and went into Saint-Pierre -the next morning. “As you can see,” Uncle Charlie pointed out, “the town -has been partly rebuilt. But today, only six thousand persons live here -where, fifty years ago, Saint-Pierre had thirty thousand residents.” - -Inquiries were made at the police station. The three searchers could -hardly believe their ears. They received their first lead. - -“No, I do not know the man’s name,” the police officer said, “but a man -of such a description as you give has been staying in a small pension -just outside the city for the last few months.” - -“Where? Where is it?” Derek cried out. - -“I will be only too happy to take you there,” the courteous officer -replied. - -They rode through the volcanic ruins of Saint-Pierre toward the gentle -slope that led toward Mt. Pelée. Although some sections had been built -up, there were still plenty of signs of the savage destruction caused by -Mt. Pelée’s eruption over half a century before. - -Derek was in the front seat with the police officer. Biff and Charles -Keene were in the rear seat. Biff had his fingers crossed. Both the boy -and his uncle were praying that the man the police officer referred to -might be Derek’s father. - -The car drew up before a small vine-covered house. Derek leaped out. The -police officer led the way. Biff and Charles Keene were right behind. - -A broad veranda swept round three sides of the house. The officer made -an inquiry, then motioned Derek to follow him. - -Biff was a step behind Derek. At the far end of the veranda, they could -see a man sitting in a high-backed wicker chair, his back to them. - -As they approached the chair, Biff kept his eyes on Derek. The Dutch boy -rushed forward and turned to confront the man in the chair. Biff watched -the expression on Derek’s face. - -Biff read his answer from the disappointment which spread over his -friend’s features. - -The man was not Brom Zook. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII - Dietz Again - - -In the morning, the three breakfasted in silence. Biff wanted to say -something to cheer up Derek. But what was there to say? Derek’s face was -white and drawn. It was plain to see that the Dutch boy had had little -if any sleep the night before. - -It was Derek who broke the silence. - -“I want to thank you both,” he said. “But I don’t feel that I can ask -you to continue this search any longer.” - -“We’ll go along with you just as long as you want us to,” Biff spoke up -loyally. “Right, Uncle Charlie?” - -“Certainly, Biff.” - -“No. It’s no use,” Derek continued. “Not in this section of Martinique. -I’m sure that if my father were anywhere around here, we’d have heard -something about it—some rumor, some tale of a tall white man.” - -“I agree with you there, Derek,” Charles Keene said. “But there is much -of Martinique still to be searched. The southern part, down around -English Bay. That’s south of the spot where we believe your father -located the pearl fishery. He might have gone into hiding down that -way.” - -“You mean, don’t you, Mr. Keene,” Derek said bravely, “that if he was -lost at sea, and washed ashore, then it would be in that section of -Martinique?” - -Charles Keene didn’t reply. Derek had read his thoughts. - -Right after breakfast, the three headed back across Martinique toward -the cove where they had hidden their boat. It was about a twenty-mile -trip, and they reached the spot just at dark. - -“I think we’d better spend the night here,” Uncle Charlie said. “I don’t -know this coast too well. Might run into a reef if we try to make it to -Trinité tonight.” - -Exhausted from their long and fruitless search, the three slept that -night under a clear sky, the sleep of the overtired. The sun was already -up and blazing when they woke. A quick swim refreshed them after their -hard sleep, and half an hour later they were on their way back down the -coast. - -They reached Trinité by midmorning. - -After mooring the boat, they held a conference. - -“What are your plans now, Derek?” Biff asked. - -“Well, we could continue searching for the pearl fishery. Or—” - -“Or we could go south and look for your father,” Biff completed Derek’s -thought. - -“What about this?” Uncle Charlie cut in. “Suppose Biff and I keep on -looking for the pearls and you go off for a few days on your own?” - -Biff frowned at these words. He knew his uncle’s intentions were good, -but he also felt that if Derek left them, he’d be cut off from the only -friends he had on Martinique. He’d be lonely and engaged in a search -with his heart heavy at the prospect of what he might discover. - -Biff didn’t quite know how to tell his uncle this. He didn’t want to -contradict him. He didn’t have to. As he was puzzling a way out of the -suggestion made by his uncle, he heard a shout. He looked in the -direction the hail had come from. Lumbering down the dock, a broad grin -on his strong face, came Crunch. - -The giant Indian was delighted to rejoin Biff, his uncle, and Derek. -Brilliant white teeth glinted in the sunlight as Crunch wore a perpetual -grin on his face. - -“What about Dietz?” Uncle Charlie asked. - -“Did he locate the pearl fishery while we were gone?” Biff’s question -tumbled out after his uncle’s. - -“No find fishery,” Crunch said, still grinning. “Dietz look hard, -though. Very mad when he find how you fool him.” - -“Good,” Biff said. All of them smiled at his news. - -“But Dietz do something else,” Crunch went on. “Him get some kind of -paper from government.” - -“What do you mean, Crunch? What sort of paper?” Charles Keene asked. - -“Crunch not understand. Ask questions though. Paper say maybe you don’t -find fishery very sudden, then claim no good any more.” - -“How can that be, Uncle Charlie?” Biff asked. - -“I don’t know, Biff. I’d have to see a copy of it.” - -“Copy of paper nailed up in post office,” Crunch said. - -“What are we waiting for, then? Let’s go!” - -They leaped into a native taxi, urging the driver to speed and more -speed. The taxi creaked and groaned, but it got them there. - -In the post office the three read the copy of the document carefully. - -“It’s not so good, is it, Uncle Charlie?” Biff asked. - -“No, it isn’t.” - -“I don’t quite understand it, Mr. Keene,” Derek said. - -“Well, Derek, cutting through the legal phraseology, it comes down to -this: Dietz went to Fort-de-France while we were searching for your -father. He has challenged your right to the claim, on the grounds that -you’re a minor. How old are you, Derek?” - -“I’ll be eighteen my next birthday.” - -“Well, what Dietz has obtained—in legal terms—is a temporary injunction. -It goes into effect five days from now. At that time, the claim and the -working permit will be suspended until the courts decide whether Derek -is the rightful heir to the claim. I’m sorry, Derek,” Charlie Keene said -soberly, “but Dietz has obtained this injunction on the grounds that -your father is deceased.” - -After a few moments silence, Biff spoke up. “We still have five days, -then, to find the fishery. If we did, how would that affect the -injunction?” - -“Well, going back to the unwritten law of ‘finders keepers,’ Derek would -have an excellent chance of retaining the rights, despite any court -battle Dietz might put up.” - -“What do you say, Derek?” Biff asked. “Shall we go pearl diving again? I -know you want to continue the search for your father, but—” - -“I’m with you, Biff. It’s only five days.” - -“And then, whether we find the fishery or not, we’ll all continue -looking for your father until the case comes up in court.” - -“One moment there, young fellow,” Uncle Charlie cut in. “I’ll continue -with Derek. _You_ won’t be here.” - -“Won’t be here!” Biff was amazed. “Where am I going to be?” - -“On your way back to Indianapolis.” - -“Oh. School. I forgot.” Biff’s face fell. - -“But we’ve got five days still. Let’s make the most of them,” said his -uncle. - -It took them two hours to restock their supplies, get air for the diving -tanks, and return to the dock. At the end of the dock, lounging against -a mooring post, was Dietz. He had an evil expression of triumph on his -face. - -“Don’t you ever give up?” he said. - -Specks hovered behind him. - -None of the three answered their enemy. They got into the boat and -prepared to cast off. - -“Hey? Come back here! Where do you think you’re going?” - -Dietz’s startled question was directed at Crunch. Crunch had jumped into -the boat with the others. - -“Crunch go with friends. No work for bad man any more.” - -“You’ll still be working for me!” Dietz shouted back in anger. “If you -find the fishery, you’ll be finding it for me, because I’ll win it in -court!” - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV - Attack from the Deep - - -For the next three days, activity went on at a feverish pace. Camp was -hastily set up again on the same island, and even when it was late in -the day, Biff, Derek, and Uncle Charlie would try another spot hoping to -locate the fishery. - -They dived from sunup to sundown. The only rest period for Biff and -Derek came when Uncle Charlie dashed into Trinité to replenish the air -tanks. - -The piles of shucked oyster shells grew higher and higher. No pearls -were found. The boys worked desperately against time, but as the first -day passed, then the second, then the third, they worked with heavy -hearts. The time limit was drawing near. - -Dietz made no further attacks. He was content now to fight his battle in -the courts. But the pearl fishers knew he was still in the area. They -saw his boat from time to time. He was keeping his distance, but he was -still watching. - -However, even by using binoculars, Dietz would be unable to determine -whether the boys located the pearl fishery. He could only learn this by -finding out the results of the daily diving. He would have to know what -the opened oysters yielded. For this reason, a nightly guard was kept. -Although Dietz was going to use the courts, the search party didn’t want -him to know if and when they did locate the fishery. Crunch insisted on -taking the night guard duty. He also worked during the day. Biff often -wondered when the big Indian slept. - -Although the danger from Dietz had lessened, Charlie Keene kept -reminding the boys of the danger that always awaited them when they were -diving. - -It struck suddenly and viciously on the fourth morning of their diving. - -Biff and Derek were down in forty-eight feet of water. They had been -digging out oysters for half an hour. Basket after basket had been -hauled up. - -Waiting for his basket to be lowered to him, Biff was suddenly spun -around by a swirl of water. It felt as if he had been caught in a -whirlpool. Biff cleared his mask. He looked around. Coming at him out of -the murky dark waters was a giant shark. The killer swept by within a -foot, then turned and slashed back. - -Biff looked frantically for Derek. He saw his glimmering white shape ten -feet away. Approaching Derek was a second shark. - -The sharks hadn’t struck yet. It seemed they were inspecting their prey, -waiting before their razor-sharp teeth tore at the boys’ bodies. Biff -swam quickly over to Derek. He grabbed his arm and pointed. The two huge -sharks were motionless, their wicked eyes on the boys. - - [Illustration: _Coming at him out of the murky dark waters was a giant - shark_] - -Biff took a deep breath, raised his mask just enough to clear his mouth, -and shouted as loud as he could. His shout, of course, made no sound. -But Biff knew that the force of the breath expelled by his shout would -send a shock wave in the direction of the sharks. He had read that this -was one of the best ways of delaying an attack by an undersea monster. - -The shout worked. The sharks swam around the boys in circles. But Biff -knew that any second they would strike. - -There was no time now to go by the book in getting to the surface. Biff -jammed his face mask on, quickly cleared it of water, grabbed Derek by -the arm, and shoved him upward. He himself followed, propelling himself -as fast as he could. Both boys had jettisoned their belts instantly. - -Breaking the surface, Biff gasped to his uncle, “Sharks!” - -Charlie Keene lost no time. He grabbed Derek, who was closer, and hauled -him into the boat. Crunch lifted Biff in. - -They were no sooner in the boat than two shark fins cut the water, -circling nearer and nearer to the craft. - -Biff and Derek lay gasping on the bottom of the boat. Their rapid ascent -had drained their bodies of oxygen and strength. - -Biff’s uncle quickly started the motor and got away from the spot at -full speed. He had seen the size of the sharks. They were big enough to -overturn the dory if they struck. - -By the time they reached the island camp, the boys had somewhat -recovered. But Biff was still shaking as if he had a chill, and Derek’s -face was drawn and white. - -The narrow escape the boys had undergone was not without its reward, -however. - -All four of the pearl fishers—Crunch was now one of them—were shucking -oysters after a rest and the noonday meal. - -Biff, growing more and more bored with the tough job of opening and -examining oysters, was about to discard a shell when he noticed a raised -protuberance in the exact center on the shell. He took off his glove and -dug at the raised part with a fingernail. His excitement grew. Seconds -later he dug out an almost perfectly shaped white pearl. - -“I’ve got one! I’ve got one!” he shouted. - -The others crowded around him. Biff handed the pearl to his uncle. - -Charlie Keene inspected it carefully. - -“I’m no expert, Biff. But the color, and particularly the shape, of this -pearl—I’d say you’ve found a really valuable one.” - -“How much? How much is it worth?” - -“I couldn’t tell. Only an expert could. But it’s a white pearl—they’re -the most valuable. And it’s almost perfectly round. It could be worth -several thousands of dollars.” - -“Whoopee!” Biff shouted. “Let me at more of those oysters!” - -Interest quickened. The four worked in silence, but they worked fast. -Oyster after oyster was opened, carefully inspected, then tossed aside. - -Derek found the next one. It, too, was perfectly shaped, but slightly -smaller than the one Biff had found. - -It was Crunch who came through with the topper. A big grin on his face, -Crunch came over to Biff and held our his huge hand. In the center of -his palm was a pearl twice the size of those already found. - -“This is it! This is it! Look at Crunch’s pearl!” - -Again they all crowded around. This was a real beauty. It didn’t take an -expert to know that Crunch had found a pearl of great value. - -“Think we’ve found it, Uncle Charlie?” Biff asked. “I mean the fishery -Derek’s father discovered?” - -“It could be, Biff. It darn well could be.” - -Biff looked at Derek. There was a smile on the Dutch boy’s face. Then -the smile disappeared. - -“What’s the matter, Derek?” Biff asked. - -“My father found black pearls,” Derek replied. - -“They’re all colors, Derek,” Uncle Charlie told him. “Actually, the -black ones aren’t as valuable as the white. They’re valuable, all right, -especially if they’re perfectly matched, as those two your father sent -us were.” - -“I’d feel a lot more certain that we’d found the right place if we found -some black ones.” - -“Let’s go back down when we finish these oysters,” Biff said. - -“With all those sharks?” - -“Funny thing about sharks,” Uncle Charlie said. “Although they are the -pearl diver’s greatest enemy, they can also help produce the pearl.” - -“How?” Biff wanted to know. - -“The best pearl is the perfectly round pearl. The foreign body which -gets into the oyster must be perfectly round to produce the perfect -pearl. These round objects are the eggs of parasitic worms. The adult -worms are the parasites of sharks.” - -“So where you find sharks, you can find pearls?” Biff asked. - -“Not exactly, Biff. What I mean is this: where there are pearl -fisheries, the perfect pearls come from the eggs the shark’s parasites -lay.” - -No more pearls were found in the batch dug that morning. It was growing -late in the afternoon. They decided to go back to the morning’s site, -and if no sharks were in evidence, they’d try half an hour’s diving. - -They returned to the same site. Biff and Derek went overside. Before -they started scooping up oysters, they made sure no sharks were around. -Biff loaded one basket and sent it up. He saw Derek send one up. Biff -filled another. He looked at his watch. They’d been down twenty minutes. - -“One more basket,” Biff said to himself, “and we’ll call it a day.” He -turned in Derek’s direction to signal to him that this was the last -basket. Roiling water ahead pushed an alarm button in Biff’s mind. He -increased his speed. - -Derek was being attacked savagely by giant band shells. They swarmed -around him, slashing at him with their claw-shaped, horny shells. - -Biff whipped out his knife and shot into action. - -The giant band shells, many times the size of the ordinary conch shell, -are the only known shell fish to attack human beings. They have a tough, -scimitar-shaped muscle which they use as a door to close the opening at -the large end of the shell. While other conches use this muscle only as -a door, the giant band shell uses it as a weapon. The end of the muscle -is hooked and razor sharp. The giant band shell springs at a man, using -a second muscle to propel itself, then slashes and cuts with its “door.” -In moments, it can cut a man’s body to shreds. - -These giants were surrounding Derek. Up close, Biff could see Derek had -already received several cuts. Biff knew what this meant. Sharks would -come racing through the water, crazed with hunger by the smell of blood. - -Biff slashed away at the band shells with his knife. It did no good. The -giant shells continued their attack, some of them turning on Biff. There -was only one thing to do. Derek was nearly helpless. Biff grabbed him. -He shoved him upward with all his strength. Derek disappeared above him. -Now the band shells turned their full attack on Biff. He fought them -off, trying at the same time to rise. Several of them tried to fasten -onto Biff’s legs. He kicked out desperately. He thrust down with his -open hands and shot upward. The slower moving band shells were left -behind. Biff reached the surface. He lost no time in scrambling into the -boat. Uncle Charlie already had pulled Derek, bleeding, into the boat. - -Biff just made it. No sooner was he in the boat than the waters around -it boiled with maddened sharks, searching for the source of the blood. - - - - - CHAPTER XXV - A Double Find - - -Derek’s cuts from the giant band shells were many but not deep ones. -Biff and his uncle cleaned the cuts, treated them with a disinfectant, -and put Derek to bed. - -The Dutch boy was not seriously wounded, but he was suffering from -shock. The thing to do, Biff knew, was to keep him warm and quiet. -Charlie Keene gave Derek half a sleeping tablet, and the boy finally -dozed off. - -“What a day! Two narrow escapes. We should never have gone back,” -Charles Keene said. “You didn’t tell me there were clam and conch shells -in that bed.” - -“Didn’t know they were dangerous,” Biff replied. - -“And just to see if we could find some black pearls,” his uncle -commented. - -“Let’s open the oysters we dug,” Biff suggested. “Derek seems to be all -right.” - -An hour later, Biff came back to the tent. Derek stirred restlessly in -his sleep. Biff lighted a lamp Derek suddenly sat upright. Biff went to -his side. - -“You all right, Derek?” Biff asked. - -“I—I guess so. I was dreaming. But—” Derek touched a bandaged cut -gingerly. “Sure, I’m all right.” - -“This may make you feel even better.” - -Biff held out his hand. He thrust it under Derek’s eyes. The hand held a -black pearl. - -The next morning, convinced they had located Brom Zook’s fabulous pearl -fishery, camp was broken. Gear was stored in the cabin cruiser. The tent -was struck. By noon the four pearl searchers were back in La Trinité. - -The party’s happiness was mingled with sadness. One adventure was over. -Derek’s father’s claim was safe. The quest had been successful. But Brom -Zook, Derek’s father, was still missing. - -“I can’t ask you to stay with me any longer,” Derek said. “You’ve done -more than enough for me.” - -“I’ll stick with you as long as you want me to, Derek,” Charlie Keene -said. - -“That goes for me, too, Derek,” Biff added, hoping his uncle would not -mention school. “What are you going to do?” - -“I’m going to stay on in Martinique for a while. I’m going to every town -and village on the island until I make as certain as possible my father -isn’t here. Then—then—” Derek stopped. - -Biff knew what his friend was thinking. He knew that Derek would then -have to come to the conclusion that his father had been lost at sea. - -“What about you, Crunch? Where are you going?” - -“Crunch go back up mountains. Stay with little brother for while.” - -“You found him? You didn’t tell us that!” Biff exclaimed. - -“You too busy finding pearls. Crunch no want to bother you.” - -“Well, we said we’d try to clear your brother. We still mean to do so, -don’t we, Uncle Charlie?” - -“We certainly do, Crunch.” - -“You come with Crunch to talk to little brother?” - -“You bet, Crunch,” Biff replied. - -“Maybe Crunch can help Derek too,” the Indian said. - -“How? What do you mean?” Biff demanded. - -“Crunch maybe help Derek find father.” - -Derek touched the Indian on the arm. “Anything you do will help, Crunch. -But have you any clue?” - -“Crunch not sure. Hear about white man up in mountain called Carbet.” - -Derek grabbed the Indian by both shoulders and shook him. “Tell me! Tell -me about the white man,” he urged. - -“Little brother tell story. Little brother live in mountains, in small -shack. Tell about sick white man. White man come to mountains two -months, maybe three months, maybe more. Long time ago. Get very sick. -Priests take white man in. Maybe your father.” - -“Can we go there right now?” Derek asked excitedly. - -“Take long time. Hard trip up mountains.” - -They started out late that afternoon. Night overtook the party before -their journey was half completed. Exhausted by the hard day and the -excitement of Crunch’s clue, the first real one Derek had, all four -slept in the open. - -By midmorning the next day, they reached the shack where Crunch’s -brother Moti lived. Moti told the same story Crunch had told the day -before. - -“Is this place far from here?” Derek asked eagerly. - -“One hour away,” Moti replied. - -From Moti’s description of the place, Uncle Charlie came to the -conclusion it was a small monastery. - -Moti led them to it. A bearded monk took them inside. Derek babbled out -the story of his search. The monk bowed his head. - -“Please wait,” he said. - -The monk went down a long, narrow passage. He turned a corner and was -out of sight. - -Derek’s heart was throbbing. Biff and his uncle were tense with hope. - -Minutes passed. The shuffling of feet was heard. The monk was halfway -back to the waiting group when another figure came into the passage. He -was tall, gaunt, wasted by illness. - -But there was a smile of happiness on his face. - -Derek Zook raced down the passageway to meet his father. - - * * * * * * * * - -Biff, his uncle, Derek, and his father were sitting in the patio of the -Sans Souci. Hummingbirds darted in and out of the bougainvillea which -poured over the terrace. It was the afternoon of the day after Brom Zook -had been found. - -Brom Zook’s story was short. On the day he had mailed the letters and -pearls to his son and to Charles Keene, he discovered he was being -followed. He had thought it best to disappear into the hills until his -claim could be filed and acted upon. - -In the hills, he had become ill of a tropical fever. He had been found -by a monk and carried to the monastery. There he had lain close to death -for weeks, not knowing what was going on about him. - -Only in the last two weeks had he come back to his senses. The monks had -insisted that he stay with them until he was strong enough to travel. - -“Well, I guess that about winds up my stay here in the Caribbean,” Biff -said. “I’ve got to get back to good old Indianapolis and school.” - -“We’ll hate to see you go, Biff,” Derek said. “Won’t you come back and -visit us?” - -“Or maybe you could come to Indianapolis,” Biff invited. - -“I’d like to,” Derek said eagerly. - -“One more piece of business,” Uncle Charlie cut in. - -“What’s that, Keene?” Brom Zook asked. - -“I’d like to make sure that we found the same pearl fishery you -discovered.” - -“Good idea.” Brom Zook glanced at his watch. “I’m anxious to get back to -Curaçao. Why don’t you get everything ready, and the boys and I will -take a run down the coast in the boat? They can show me their spot.” - -“Good. You ought to be back in a couple of hours. I’ll find Crunch, and -he can help me,” Charlie said. - -“What about Crunch, Uncle Charlie? Is he going back with us?” - -“No, Biff. He’s going to stay here until I send back word about his -brother. I talked to Moti. I feel sure we can straighten things out in -Curaçao.” - -“Tell Crunch and Moti they can count on that,” Brom Zook said. - -The run down the coast was a pleasant one. Biff steered the cruiser over -the spot where they had located the pearls. - -“Does this look like the place, sir?” Biff asked. - -Brom Zook took a sight on an island to the cruiser’s portside. - -“This is it, all right. And there should be thousands of dollars’ worth -of pearls beneath us.” - -As Biff, Derek, and his father were approaching the harbor in Baie du -Trésor, they saw Dietz and Specks in their boat, heading in the -direction of the pearl fishery. - -“Won’t do them any good now,” Brom Zook said. “The injunction he -obtained has been cancelled.” - -They watched the boat until it was nearly out of sight. - -“Look!” Derek shouted excitedly. - -Brom Zook and Biff looked in the direction Derek was pointing. They saw -the ugly, menacing clouds, forerunners of a _chabasco_. - -“It’ll strike in a few moments,” Brom Zook said. - -“And right at the spot we last saw Dietz,” Biff shouted. The winds were -already getting heavier in the harbor. - -“We can do nothing to help them. We’re too far away.” Derek’s father -said soberly. - -The _chabasco_ struck. Dietz’s boat was right in the center of its fury. -There was little chance that he and Specks would escape the storm’s -vengeance. - - - _A Biff Brewster Mystery Adventure_ - MYSTERY OF - THE CARIBBEAN PEARLS - - By ANDY ADAMS - -A mirror-image “twin” with a Continental accent, a pair of matched -_black_ pearls coveted by a sinister would-be claim-jumper, and a -mammoth Carib Indian who refrains from crushing a man at the command of -“voodoo” spirits confront Biff Brewster when he leaves his Indianapolis -home to answer an urgent SOS from his uncle, Charles Keene. - -Keene, on a trouble-shooting assignment in the Netherlands, Antilles, -sends the SOS in a desperate, last-ditch attempt to save a valuable -pearl fishery, belonging to his friend, Brom Zook, from being “staked” -by thieves. Zook, who must prove his right to the pearl fishery claim -within the set time limit, has mysteriously disappeared. - -Biff and Derek, Brom Zook’s seventeen-year-old son, accidentally board -the same plane in Miami and innocently exchange “identities” to play a -joke. However, the joke backfires when Biff is kidnapped at the -Willemstad Airport by the unscrupulous adventurers who want the pearl -fishery. - -But Biff, no stranger to mystery or challenging situations, uses his -head and his courage at the crucial moments. His adventures in -captivity, his use of “voodoo” to engineer escapes, his repeated changes -of identity with his “twin,” Derek, their search for the lost pearl -fishery and its rightful owner, and their final triumph over their -adversaries are component parts of the tale told in _Mystery of the -Caribbean Pearls_. - - - The - Bret King - MYSTERY STORIES - - By DAN SCOTT - - - THE MYSTERY OF GHOST CANYON - -Truck rustlers butcher cattle on Rimrock Ranch, confronting Bret with -Western outlaws who combine thievery with science to outwit the law. - - - THE SECRET OF HERMIT’S PEAK - -When a wild mountain lion and a gang of thieves invade Desolation Peak -at the same time, Bret unlocks the fascinating secret of the mountain. - - - THE RANGE RODEO MYSTERY - -From the moment the cow town of Tovar plans a revival of its colorful -local rodeo, trouble stampedes Rimrock Ranch, until Bret outsmarts a -band of big-time gangsters. - - - THE MYSTERY OF RAWHIDE GAP - -Bret and his plane become involved in an international mix-up, -uncovering a bizarre underground plot aimed at the federal government of -the United States. - - - THE MYSTERY AT BLIZZARD MESA - -The Navajo reservation is snowbound, and Bret King and his friends join -the emergency airlift, only to run headfirst into treachery and -skulduggery. - - - THE SECRET OF FORT PIONEER - -Bret King and his friends become interested in a “jinxed” movie company -which has been hampered by bad weather, bad tempers, and a series of -sinister mishaps. - - - GROSSET & DUNLAP, _Publishers_ - New York 10, N. Y. - - [Illustration: Endpapers] - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes - - ---Silently corrected a few typos. - ---Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook - is public-domain in the country of publication. - ---In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by - _underscores_. - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MYSTERY OF THE CARIBBEAN PEARLS *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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