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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/75310-0.txt b/75310-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..393aa98 --- /dev/null +++ b/75310-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6038 @@ + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75310 *** + + + + + + THE HARDY BOYS + + THE SECRET OF THE CAVES + + + By FRANKLIN W. DIXON + + AUTHOR OF + THE HARDY BOYS: THE TOWER TREASURE + THE HARDY BOYS: THE SECRET OF THE OLD MILL + THE HARDY BOYS: THE SHORE ROAD MYSTERY + + _ILLUSTRATED BY_ + WALTER S. ROGERS + + NEW YORK + GROSSET & DUNLAP + PUBLISHERS + + Made in the United States of America + + MYSTERY STORIES FOR BOYS + + By FRANKLIN W. DIXON + + THE HARDY BOYS: THE TOWER TREASURE + THE HARDY BOYS: THE HOUSE ON THE CLIFF + THE HARDY BOYS: THE SECRET OF THE OLD MILL + THE HARDY BOYS: THE MISSING CHUMS + THE HARDY BOYS: HUNTING FOR HIDDEN GOLD + THE HARDY BOYS: THE SHORE ROAD MYSTERY + THE HARDY BOYS: THE SECRET OF THE CAVES + + GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK + + Copyright, 1929, by + GROSSET & DUNLAP, INC. + + The Hardy Boys: The Secret of the Caves + + + + + CONTENTS + + + I OVERBOARD + + II THE RESCUE + + III MISS TODD + + IV CONCERNING TODHAM TODD + + V PLANS FOR A TRIP + + VI THE MISSING MOTORCYCLE + + VII CARL SCHAUM + + VIII STRANGE DOINGS + + IX THE STORM + + X THE CAVE + + XI FOOTSTEPS IN THE NIGHT + + XII A DISAPPEARANCE + + XIII STOLEN SUPPLIES + + XIV CAPTAIN ROYAL + + XV THE OLD SAILOR + + XVI "GO AWAY!" + + XVII THE MAN ON THE SHORE + + XVIII THE PRISONER + + XIX CLIPPINGS + + XX THE SHOTGUN + + XXI OVER THE CLIFF + + XXII IN SWIRLING WATERS + + XXIII BACK TO BAYPORT + + XXIV AT THE HOSPITAL + + XXV THE LAST OF CAPTAIN ROYAL + + + + + THE HARDY BOYS: + + THE SECRET OF THE CAVES + + + + + CHAPTER I + + OVERBOARD + + +"Well, the stealing of autos in this neighborhood has come to an end, +Frank. Wonder if anybody will ever take to stealing motorboats." + +"Perhaps, Joe. But there isn't the chance to steal a boat that there +was to steal cars." + +"Gee, now that the excitement is over I wonder what will come up next." + +"Don't know; but something is bound to happen sooner or later--it +always does." + +"Hope it comes soon--I don't want to get rusty." + +It was a Saturday afternoon in June, one of those warm, drowsy days +when even the leaves of the trees seem too indolent to stir. There was +scarcely a ripple on the surface of the water, no movement but the +flow of the incoming tide. + +Three motorboats circled lazily about in Barmet Bay within sight of the +city of Bayport. The lazy spirit of the afternoon seemed to have spread +to the occupants of the boats, for they lounged about in comfortable +attitudes. + +Biff Hooper, in his craft, the _Envoy_, had devised a way of steering +with his foot while sprawled on the side cushions. + +In a motorboat close by, the _Napoli_, sat Tony Prito, whose dark hair, +olive skin, and sparkling eyes indicated his Italian parentage even +more emphatically than his name. In the third craft were two lads who +need no introduction to readers of previous volumes in this series. + +The boy at the wheel, a tall, dark, handsome lad of about sixteen, was +Frank Hardy, and the other, a fair, curly-headed fellow about a year +his junior, was his brother Joe. These boys were the sons of Fenton +Hardy, an internationally famous private detective who lived in Bayport. + +"I didn't expect to see you fellows out on the bay this afternoon," +shouted Biff Hooper, raising his head over the side of his boat. + +"Where did you think we'd be?" called back Frank. "Up in the attic, +studying?" + +"Thought you'd be out in your car," and Biff grinned widely. + +There was a laugh from Tony Prito, and the Hardy boys also laughed with +great good-humor. Their car was a standing joke among their chums, and, +as Chet Morton put it, "standing" joke described it exactly, for it +seldom moved. + +"Never mind," returned Joe. "That old car served its purpose, anyway. +We used it only as bait." + +"It was mighty good bait," said Tony. "You caught some big fish with +that old crate." + +"It has earned its keep," Frank called back. "We're going to put it +on a pension and let it stay in our garage for the rest of its life, +without charge." + +The boys were referring to a roadster that the Hardy lads had purchased +out of their savings some time previous. It was a car that proved the +old axiom that beauty is only skin deep, for although it glittered with +nickel and paint and although its lines were trim and smooth, its inner +workings were utterly beyond the comprehension of Bayport mechanics. +For a few weeks after its purchase the car ran, eccentrically enough, +but still it ran. Then, one day, for no apparent reason, it gave up the +ghost and no amount of tinkering would prompt it even to move out of +the garage. + +However, as Joe had said, the car had served its purpose. The boys +had picked it up cheaply, with a definite object in view. As told in +the preceding volume of this series, "The Hardy Boys: The Shore Road +Mystery," there had been a series of mysterious automobile thefts on +the Shore Road leading out of Bayport, numerous pleasure cars and +trucks having been stolen, and no amount of investigation on the part +of the police had succeeded in revealing their whereabouts or the +identity of the thieves. + +Frank and Joe Hardy, who had earned considerable local fame by their +activities as amateur detectives, in emulation of their famous father, +had decided to lay a trap for the automobile thieves and, buying the +gorgeous rattle-trap, parked it on the Shore Road for several nights, +concealing themselves in the rear. After many adventures, the Hardy +boys captured the thieves and recovered the stolen cars. They collected +several handsome rewards for their work, so their investment in the +roadster proved exceedingly profitable after all. + +"The car owners around Bayport have sure been breathing easier since +that affair was cleared up," said Biff. + +"I don't think there'll be any more car thieving for a long time," Tony +declared. "The two sleuths here put a stop to that." + +"We had a good time doing it," Frank admitted. "I'm rather sorry it's +all over." + +"Never satisfied!" commented Biff. + +He prodded the wheel with his foot and the _Envoy_ swung about with its +nose pointing down the bay. Barmet Bay, three miles long, opened on the +Atlantic, and in the distance the boys could see a motor yacht that ran +daily between Bayport and one of the towns on the coast, a trim little +passenger craft that was proceeding toward them at a fast clip. + +"Where are you going?" shouted Tony. + +"Out to meet the passenger boat." + +"Race you!" + +"So will we!" called Frank. + +Biff abandoned his indolent posture and settled down to take advantage +of his head start. His boat leaped ahead with a roar. Tony Prito had to +make a half turn before he could get under way. + +The Hardy boys were similarly unprepared, but they had no doubt of the +ability of the _Sleuth_ to overhaul Biff's boat quickly. Their craft +was one of the speediest in the bay, with smooth lines and a powerful +engine. + +They had trouble on the turn, for the swells of the other boats caught +the _Sleuth_ and put it off its course, and by the time the craft was +nosing in pursuit, Biff Hooper had a good lead and Tony Prito was also +ahead of them. + +"Step on it!" said Joe. + +Frank "stepped on it," and the _Sleuth_ began eating up the +intervening distance. Rocking and swaying, prow well out of the water, +the boat overhauled the _Napoli_ and Frank grinned at Tony as they +crept by. The Italian lad was getting every ounce of speed of which his +engine was capable and although he jockeyed to try to put the Hardy +boys off the course, they sped on and soon left him behind. + +Biff had been tinkering with the engine of his craft and had evidently +made a few improvements, for the _Envoy_ was going along at a clip it +had never before achieved. + +"Looks as if he intends to put one over on us," muttered Frank, as he +opened up the engine to the last notch. "He'll beat us to the boat at +this rate." + +The motor yacht was about a mile away. + +On through the water plunged the _Sleuth_, gaining slowly but surely on +the craft ahead. + +Once in a while Biff cast a hasty glance backward to wave mockingly at +them. He misjudged an approaching wave on one of these occasions and +the _Envoy_ swerved; he lost valuable seconds righting the craft into +its course again and the _Sleuth_ gained. + +The yacht was about a quarter of a mile distant when the _Sleuth_ at +last pulled up beside the other boat. Inch by inch it forged ahead +until the bow of each boat was on a line with the other. Then the +_Sleuth's_ greater speed became manifest as it pulled away, leaving +Biff shaking his head in exasperation. + +Suddenly Joe, who had been looking at the passenger yacht in the +distance, gave a shout of alarm. + +"Look!" he cried. + +Frank glanced up just in time to see an immense puff of black smoke +bursting from above the deck of the yacht. Then, across the waves, was +borne to their ears the roar of an explosion. + +They could see figures running about on the deck of the boat. One of +them, a woman, ran directly to the rail and began to clamber up on it. + +"What on earth--" gasped Joe. + +"She's going overboard!" + +Another figure ran out, making a frantic grab at the woman who was +balanced perilously on top of the rail. Then, her arms outspread, the +woman jumped. The boys saw her plunge down the side of the yacht, and +there was a splash as she hurtled into the water. + +A moment later she emerged and they could see her swimming about and +waving her arms. The _Sleuth_ had drawn closer to the yacht in the +meantime and now the boys could hear a faint cry for help. + +Tensely, Frank leaned over the wheel. Great clouds of smoke were +pouring from the yacht. + +"We'll have to rescue her!" he said. "It's her only chance." + +The yacht had passed the woman by now, and although a life-buoy had +been flung out it was some distance away from her. Hampered by her wet +clothes, the woman was making no progress toward it. Slowly, the yacht +began to circle, but the lads saw that it would never reach her in time. + +The _Sleuth_ ploughed on through the waves. + +The boys saw the woman throw up her hands with a despairing gesture and +disappear beneath the surface. + + + + + CHAPTER II + + THE RESCUE + + +As the Hardy boys sped toward the woman, who appeared above the surface +again in a moment and began to struggle wildly, they saw that confusion +prevailed on board the yacht. + +Great clouds of smoke were pouring from amidship. People were running +frantically about the deck. Efforts were being made to lower a +lifeboat, but apparently something went wrong, for it sagged perilously +and then stuck, with two sailors working hastily to release it. + +But the boys' immediate concern was the woman. She disappeared beneath +the water again and they were fearful that she had gone under for the +last time. Then, as the _Sleuth_ surged forward, they saw her emerge +once more. They were close enough now to see her frightened face, and, +as the _Sleuth_ sped within a few yards of her, Joe poised himself and +dived. + +He plunged into the water just as the woman was going down for the +third time. He kept cool and, remembering the first aid instruction +he had received, took care not to come within reach of the wildly +clutching hands. He grasped the woman by the hair and then, keeping +behind her, managed to get a grip that did not endanger himself. Had +she been able to throw her arms about him, he would have been dragged +beneath the surface with her. + +Joe struggled toward the _Sleuth_. It had sped past when he dived, but +Frank had quickly brought the craft around and Joe had to swim but a +few strokes. Frank throttled down the engine and he was able to give a +hand in assisting the woman on board. She was dragged into the boat, +dripping and almost unconscious, and Joe clung to the gunwale until +Frank grasped his shoulders and hauled him over the side. + +In the meantime, the Hardy boys' chums were speeding toward the yacht. +The race was forgotten. + +Frank and Joe did their best to revive the half-conscious woman. Her +immersion in the water and the shock of being face to face with death +had left her weakened, and she was moaning and murmuring as she lay on +the cushions. Joe gave what first aid he could, moving her arms back +and forth to restore circulation, while Frank set the course of the +_Sleuth_ in the direction of the yacht. + +Biff Hooper had already reached the passenger boat. He drew up +alongside, with Tony Prito, in the _Envoy_, not far behind. Passengers +were crowding to the rail, some shouting and screaming with fright, +some pleading to be taken off. + +Biff and Tony were ready to offer their boats for this purpose, but +they noticed that the cloud of smoke had diminished in volume. A +uniformed man was bellowing through a megaphone. + +"No danger!" he roared. "The fire is under control!" + +But it was plain that many in the crowd were afraid there would be +another explosion. + +"Take us off!" screeched a wild-eyed woman. "Take us off before the +boat blows up!" + +She scrambled up on the rail, but the uniformed man seized her and +prevented her from trying to leap overboard. + +"Need any help?" shouted Biff. + +"Stand by for a while," returned the officer. "We're getting this fire +under control but we don't know how bad it is." + +Biff and Tony, in their motorboats, cruised in the neighborhood of the +yacht, as the ship's officer asked. The passengers were milling about +on deck, badly frightened, but gradually they became calmer as a +steward assured them that there was no danger. The heavy cloud of smoke +decreased in volume. The boat's crew was small and the fire-fighting +equipment was limited, but in a little while it became evident that +the blaze was not as bad as it had seemed and that it had indeed been +checked in time. + +Soon the smoke cloud ceased rolling up from below. + +The uniformed man came on deck again with a megaphone. He raised it to +his lips and bellowed: + +"Thanks, boys, but we won't need you." + +"That's fine!" shouted Tony, in reply. "Fire all out?" + +"Tin of gasoline exploded. It didn't spread much. We'll be able to make +Bayport under our own power." + +"Righto!" called Biff. "We're going in now, anyway. If you need us, +give us a hail." + +"We'll do that." + +The motorboats circled away. In the distance, Biff and Tony could see +the Hardy boys in the _Sleuth_, with the woman they had rescued. + +"Your passenger is all right!" shouted Biff, to the captain. "Our chums +will bring her back with them." + +He turned the nose of his craft toward the _Sleuth_. + +The Hardy boys were doing their best to revive the woman they had +rescued from the waves. + +She was not unconscious but she seemed very weak and scarcely appeared +to realize where she was. + +She was an elderly woman, dressed in black, and although her immersion +in the water had undoubtedly been a tremendous shock, the boys could +see that she was of an exceedingly nervous temperament and evidently +not in the best of health, for she was worn and pale. + +"Where am I?" she moaned. "Where am I now?" + +"You're quite safe," Frank assured her. "You're in a motorboat." + +"You saved me?" + +"We got you out of the water just in time." + +"I want to go to Bayport," said the woman weakly. + +"We'll take you there," promised Joe. "It isn't very far away. We will +take you there at once." + +"I want to go to Bayport," she repeated. "It's important. I have to see +some one there." + +"Head the boat around, Frank," said Joe quietly. He had seen their +chums returning from the neighborhood of the yacht, so he realized that +there was no further danger from the fire. + +"I must be in Bayport to-night," gasped the woman. "I must go there to +see Fenton Hardy--the detective." + +Then she collapsed weakly, her eyes closed, and she was a dead weight +in Joe's arms. She had fainted. + +The Hardy boys looked at one another in astonishment. + +"She wants to see Dad!" exclaimed Frank incredulously. + +It was a strange coincidence that they, of all people, should have +rescued her when she was on her way to see their father. + +Fenton Hardy had many clients, some of whom came long distances to +consult him. He was one of the greatest private detectives in the +country and his fame was widespread. He had been for many years on the +New York force and had finally achieved his ambition of setting up an +agency of his own. He had moved to Bayport, on the Atlantic coast, with +his family and his success had been immediate. He had successfully +handled many difficult cases and his services were much in demand. + +Frank and Joe Hardy, his sons, were anxious to follow in their father's +footsteps, in spite of his objections and in spite of their mother's +desire that they prepare themselves for medicine and law respectively. +But the boys had a natural deductive bent and they had taken several +local cases on their own initiative, succeeding so well that Fenton +Hardy had finally withdrawn his objections and agreed that if, when +they were of age, they still desired to become private investigators, +he would not stand in their way. + +The Hardy boys were introduced in the first volume of this series +entitled, "The Hardy Boys: The Tower Treasure," wherein they handled +their first case of any consequence. A large quantity of bonds and +jewels had been stolen from an old mansion on the outskirts of Bayport +and after numerous adventures the lads traced the loot and ran the +criminal to earth. Other volumes of the series have recounted their +adventures in handling other cases that came their way, all of which +they successfully solved. + +In the volume immediately preceding the present book, entitled, "The +Hardy Boys: The Shore Road Mystery," the lads, as already mentioned, +rounded up a gang of automobile thieves who had stolen a number of cars +and trucks from points along the Shore Road above Barmet Bay. After +that, things had been quiet around Bayport and the boys were beginning +to think that mysteries were at a discount. + +"We'd better get her back to Bayport right away," said Joe, as he +looked down at the unconscious woman. "She may be dying." + +"Splash some water on her face. She's just fainted, I think." + +Joe rendered impromptu aid, but the woman was in a dead faint and he +could not revive her at all. + +In the meantime, the motorboat was heading back in the direction of the +city. Frank had "let her out" to the utmost and the speedy craft was +eating up the distance. He crouched tensely at the wheel, and sheets of +spray splashed over the bow. + +"I wonder what on earth she wants to see Dad about," he said to +himself. Then he chuckled. "Dad will have to thank us for saving one of +his clients." + + + + + CHAPTER III + + MISS TODD + + +Frank Hardy lost no time on the run back to Bayport. Instead of +proceeding directly to the boathouse, he docked the _Sleuth_ at one +of the city wharves. There the lads were fortunate enough to find a +taxi. The woman was still unconscious when they arrived, so with the +assistance of the taxi driver they lifted her out of the boat and into +the car. + +Frank instructed the man to drive to the office of a doctor they knew +well, and there the woman received attention. + +"She has evidently been under a great strain," the doctor told them. +"The shock of the explosion and her struggle in the water were just the +finishing touches." + +Under his expert administrations the woman was soon revived +sufficiently to sit up. She looked about her. + +"What happened?" she asked weakly. + +"You are in good hands, madam," the doctor assured her. "Just be quiet +for a while and you will be all right." + +In a few minutes, the woman had recovered. First of all, she insisted +on thanking the boys for rescuing her. + +"If it hadn't been for these brave lads I would have been drowned. It +was foolish of me to jump off that yacht, but I've been very nervous +lately, and when I heard the explosion and saw all that smoke I lost my +head completely." + +"Well," said the doctor genially, "there's been no harm done. You were +on your way to Bayport, weren't you, and here you are." + +"Am I in Bayport now?" + +"Yes." + +"You must take me to Fenton Hardy at once, please," said the woman, +sitting up. "I must see him." + +"There'll be no trouble about that. These boys are Fenton Hardy's sons." + +The woman gazed at the Hardy boys in surprise. + +"His sons!" she exclaimed. + +"Fenton Hardy is our father," stated Frank. + +The woman was evidently astonished. + +"Isn't that strange! To think that your father should be the very man I +was coming to see." + +"He's at home now," said Joe. "As soon as you're feeling well enough +we'll take you there." + +"That will be good of you. I came to Bayport for the sole purpose of +seeing your father." + +"Are you coming to visit us?" asked Joe. + +The woman shook her head. + +"No. I want to see your father on business. Important business. It is +private, so I'm afraid I can't tell you any more about it." + +The boys forbore to question her. + +"I suppose I should tell you my name. I am Miss Evangeline Todd." + +They bowed in acknowledgement. + +"Will you take me to your father now? I feel much better. I'm very +anxious to see him at once. There is no time to lose." + +Miss Todd seemed quite agitated, and although the lads felt that a few +minutes more or less would make no particular difference, they decided +that it would be best to humor her. Miss Todd got to her feet, and +although she was still physically weak, she evidently had a mind of her +own for she was determined to remain no longer in the doctor's office +when she was so near her goal. + +Accordingly, the Hardy boys helped her out of the office to the waiting +taxi. + +During the brief drive she repeatedly expressed her astonishment at +having been rescued by the Hardy boys "of all people." + +"I've often heard of you boys," she said. "You often help your father, +don't you?" + +"Whenever we can," laughed Frank. + +"Well, I hope you can help him now. I want to learn the truth about +poor Todham." + +The lads waited expectantly, but the elderly lady said no more about +the object of her call. She seemed somewhat eccentric, and muttered to +herself a great deal. + +"Poor Todham," she repeated, over and over again. "I do hope Mr. Hardy +can help me. It's all very strange." + +The car drew up at the door of the Hardy home and the boys helped Miss +Todd alight. They brought her into the house and their father met them +at the door, evidently surprised. + +"A client for you, Dad," explained Frank. "We picked her up just a +little while ago." + +He did not tell his father just how they had "picked up" the elderly +woman. + +"And is this Fenton Hardy?" said Miss Todd. She grasped the noted +detective by the hand. "I've come a long distance to see you. These +fine boys of yours saved my life." + +"You've been in the water!" exclaimed Mr. Hardy. He called to his wife. +"Laura, will you look after this lady and make her comfortable?" + +Miss Todd's clothing was not entirely dry, owing to her immersion in +the waters of Barmet Bay, and when Mrs. Hardy appeared she insisted on +taking the guest upstairs and providing her with a complete change of +garments. Miss Todd insisted that her business could not wait, even for +such an important detail as dry clothes, but the better counsel of Mrs. +Hardy prevailed. + +When Miss Todd came downstairs some time later she was still very weak +and nervous but in a more settled frame of mind. + +"If you'll come into my office," suggested Fenton Hardy, courteously, +"I'll be glad to hear your story." + +Miss Todd looked around. + +"I had intended to keep it private," she said; "but you've all been so +kind to me that I'm sure it will do no harm if you all know. That is, +if you would care to listen," she added, turning to Mrs. Hardy and the +boys. + +Both Frank and Joe were very curious to know the nature of the +mysterious affair that had brought Miss Todd to Bayport and it did not +require any persuasion for them to remain. + +Miss Todd sat down in an armchair, and after she was duly settled began +a long, rambling narrative. + +"It's about my brother," she said. "My twin brother, Todham. He's a +very clever man--a professor. Perhaps you've heard of him. Professor +Todham Todd, Ph.D. It all started when Todham and I went on that +railway journey to visit Cousin Albert. At the time I said that I had +a strange feeling that something was going to happen, and perhaps we +had better not go, but Todham said I was foolish, so we went. And I was +right. It turned out that I was right after all." + +"Yes?" said Mr. Hardy encouragingly, wondering to what all this was +leading. + +"I was quite right," declared Miss Todd emphatically. "Because +something _did_ happen. There was a wreck. The train jumped off the +track. It was a terrible wreck. There were five people killed and it +was a blessing Todham and I weren't killed too. But we were hurt. We +were badly hurt. I've never felt the same since. My nerves have never +been right. As for Todham, he always had been a nervous sort of man, +and after that wreck he went all to pieces. The doctor said he would be +all right after a while, that all he needed was rest and quiet, and I +believed he was right. But we sued the railway for damages." + +"Did you win the suit?" asked Mr. Hardy. + +"It has not come to trial. The lawyers delayed everything. In the +meantime, poor Todham was acting strangely. You wouldn't think he was +the same man. He was very queer. I used to wonder if the railway wreck +had affected his mind. Instead of getting better, he became worse. Then +one night, just before the trial was to come off, he disappeared." + +"Disappeared!" + +"He walked out of the house one night and from that minute to this we +haven't seen hide nor hair of him," declared Evangeline Todd. "We have +heard of him, but he's like a will-o'-the-wisp. We have heard of him in +different places, but when we come to look for him, he's gone. He has +never written to us. There hasn't been any real trace of him. The shock +was too much for me, and I collapsed and I haven't been well since. Not +a bit well. My nerves have been completely shattered." + +"When did your brother disappear?" asked the detective. + +"Months ago. This happened four months back." + +Fenton Hardy frowned. + +"Four months ago! That makes it more difficult. If you had come to me +earlier I would have had a better chance of helping you." + +"Don't say you won't help me, Mr. Hardy," entreated the woman. "Please +don't say you won't take the case." + +"I didn't mean it that way," said the detective kindly. "I meant that +the chances of tracing your brother are not as good now as they would +have been four months ago. I'll do what I can, of course, but I'm +afraid it will be a hard task." + +"We searched for him everywhere, Mr. Hardy. I'm sure he is still alive, +for we've had reports of him from different places. But I have no idea +what can have happened to him." + +"It's just possible that he has had a mental breakdown," said the +detective. "You say he was acting strangely after the wreck. He may be +in a hospital somewhere, and unable to communicate with you." + +"I'm quite sure he didn't deliberately run away. Todham has always been +so quiet and studious and so anxious to give no trouble to any one. +Something dreadful must have happened to him. If it weren't for hearing +that he has been seen in these different places, I would believe that +he is dead. As it is, I'm sure he is still alive." + +"Perhaps we can find some trace of him," said Mr. Hardy. "I'll take the +case, Miss Todd, and, although I can't promise to find your brother, +you may be sure that I'll do the best I can." + +"Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Hardy. I knew you wouldn't refuse. I wish +now I had come to you in the first place, instead of wasting so much +precious time." + +"Perhaps we can recover the lost ground. With a bit of luck, we may be +able to pick up his trail." + +Miss Todd sank back in her chair. + +"Oh, I hope so. I hope so. I have been so worried." She clasped her +hands nervously. "Find him for me, Mr. Hardy, and I'll pay you well. I +must know what has become of Todham." + +Her face suddenly became pale. The strain of the narrative had been too +much for her. She relaxed limply. + +Mrs. Hardy hurried forward. + +"Get me a glass of water, Frank," she said quickly. "She has fainted." + + + + + CHAPTER IV + + CONCERNING TODHAM TODD + + +It was quite evident that Miss Todd was in no condition to go to any of +the city hotels. She needed rest and quiet more than anything else, and +when she had been revived a few minutes later, Mrs. Hardy insisted that +she remain in the Hardy home for a few days as a guest. Her sympathy +had gone out to the distracted woman, and although at first Evangeline +Todd would not consider the proposal, being afraid of imposing on their +hospitality, Mr. Hardy insisted that she remain. + +"Your story interests me very much," he said. "I'll be very glad to +take the case, on one condition." + +"What condition is that?" + +"On condition that you accept our invitation to stay here for a while +until you are feeling better." + +So Evangeline Todd was prevailed upon to stay and Fenton Hardy at once +prepared to take up the trail of the missing professor. He had no +important cases in hand at the time, so he was able to spare a few days +for preliminary investigation work and he decided that his best plan +was to go directly to the college town where the Todds had their home. + +"Sometimes a professional, and a stranger, can pick up clues that +wouldn't fall in the way of a police detective who is known in the +town," he said. "I'll run up there and see what I can discover." + +Mr. Hardy was accustomed to being called out of town suddenly and the +family were used to his abrupt departures. The detective was a man who +acted quickly, once he had made a decision, and Miss Todd was surprised +to see him leaving immediately. + +"No use wasting any time," he explained cheerfully, having paused only +long enough to pack a bag with a few essentials. "I'll get busy at +once." + +Although Frank and Joe Hardy were curious to learn further details of +the latest mystery on which their father was working, and in which they +had taken a small part, Miss Todd had evidently suffered more from her +adventure in Barmet Bay than they had at first thought. She was obliged +to keep to her room over Sunday and the lads had no chance to talk to +her, as Mrs. Hardy decided that their guest should not be disturbed. +Wisely, Mrs. Hardy wanted to keep the woman's mind off the matter of +her brother's disappearance and she knew that if the boys besieged her +with questions her state of anxiety would be only rendered worse. + +On Monday, when the boys returned to school, they were met at the gate +by Chet Morton, heading a group of grinning chums. Chet, a plump, +jovial youth, equally fond of food and fun, held up a restraining hand. + +"We would fain talk with thee, noble youths," he said. "Humble varlets +though we are, we would crave your indulgence for a time." + +"You sound like Shakespeare or somebody," said Joe. + +"Probably somebody," Chet agreed. "Young masters, we have gathered here +to-day to do honor to two brave and bright young men whom we are proud +to call our chums. Perhaps," he went on, in the manner of an orator, +"in the years to come, when we are poor and unnoticed people, we may +be able to say to our grandchildren that once upon a time we went to +school with the Hardy boys, that we went swimming with them, and that +they often gave us rides in their motorboat. However, that is not +getting to the point--" + +"What's it all about?" asked Frank. "What's all this speech for?" + +"Patience. Patience. Our little committee has waited patiently for +your arrival and now we wish to show you our esteem and regard. It has +come to our notice that on Saturday, the fourteenth instant, you did +bravely, heroically, and nobly perform the humane act of hauling an +old lady out of the water when she had swallowed several gallons of +Barmet Bay and was in grave danger of drowning. As a slight token of +our appreciation we wish you to accept these little tokens--" here Chet +gestured to Biff Hooper, who grinned and stepped forward with two shiny +objects on an old cushion--"not so much for their intrinsic value, +which is considerable, but for the spirit in which they are meant." + +Chet took a deep breath. + +"I don't know whether that's all quite correct," he said, "but I +learned some of it from a book." + +Then, very gravely, he picked up the shiny objects, which proved to be +impromptu medals carved from the tops of tin biscuit boxes, dangling +from red ribbons, and pinned one on the chest of each of the Hardy boys. + +There were loud cheers and shrieks of laughter from the boys at this +mock ceremony, and the Hardy boys joined in the laugh as well. However, +behind all the nonsense, the lads realized that their chums were proud +of them. The tin medals were embarrassing, and the boys watched for +their first opportunity to take them off. + +"Seriously," said Chet, some time later when he was alone with the +brothers, "the fellows think you did some mighty smart work fishing +that lady out of the water. The captain of the boat told people about +it when the yacht docked." + +"We couldn't very well stand by and watch her drown," said Frank. "If +Biff and Tony could have got there first they'd have done the same." + +"Sure! But the point is, you chaps got there first and saved her life. +If you hadn't been there, Biff and Tony couldn't have done very much, +for their boats aren't fast enough. Where is the lady now? Did she give +you her name?" + +Frank and Joe then told Chet about Miss Evangeline Todd and about the +coincidence that her visit to Bayport had been with the object of +seeing Fenton Hardy. Chet was greatly interested when they told him +about her search for the missing professor. + +"A professor missing, eh? That's something new. If one of the +professor's students had disappeared there wouldn't be much mystery +about it. I know one student of this high school who would like to drop +out of sight for a while--until after these exams are over, at any +rate." + +"You're hopeless," laughed Frank, and just then the opening bell rang, +cutting off further conversation. + +When the boys returned home at noon they found that Miss Todd had +recovered sufficiently to come downstairs. She seemed in much better +spirits and the rest had evidently done her a great deal of good, +because she was not in the highly nervous state of the previous +Saturday. + +"It's such a relief to know that the case is in good hands," she said. +"If Fenton Hardy can't find poor Todham, I'm sure no one can. Though he +may turn up of his own accord," she added. + +"We'll hope for the best," said Mrs. Hardy quietly. + +"Dad didn't like to question you too much on Saturday," Frank remarked. +"He didn't want to bother you more than he could help." + +"I'm afraid I wasn't in any condition to tell him many details." + +"Perhaps if you would tell us anything you overlooked, we might be able +to help out a little, too." + +Miss Todd was thoughtful for a moment. + +"There were a few things about Todham that would identify him almost +anywhere," she said. "For instance, he was very careless about his +shoes." + +"His shoes?" echoed the boys. + +"He _would_ not keep them laced. It was simply impossible to keep an +eye on that man, and if I didn't watch him he was just as likely as not +to go out to classes in the morning with his shoelaces dragging on the +ground, and he wouldn't notice them unless he tripped over them. He was +very absent-minded." + +"That's a pretty good clue to go on. What did your brother look like, +Miss Todd?" + +"He was tall and rather thin. His hair was white and he was +clean-shaven. His eyes and his teeth were very good. Even in spite of +his age and all the reading and studying, he never had to wear glasses. +Oh, yes--there's something else. He had an expression he often used, +about as near swearing as he ever went. 'By jing!' it was. Whenever +he was excited about anything or wanted to emphasize something he had +said, he would always exclaim 'by jing!' I remember that he forgot +himself in a lecture one day and said that. The dean spoke to him about +it." + +"'By jing!'" remarked Frank thoughtfully. "It isn't an expression one +hears every day." + +"It was the only expression I can remember that was quite +characteristic of Todham." + +Miss Todd had little of further value to tell them, and when the Hardy +boys were by themselves later on they discussed the peculiarities of +the missing professor. + +"He forgets to tie his shoelaces and he says 'by jing!'" observed Joe. +"It should be easy enough to pick him out with a description like that. +It's strange he hasn't turned up long ago." + +"Unless he met somebody who knew he was missing and who had heard of +those little habits, he wouldn't be noticed. And it's just about a +thousand chances to one that we would ever run across him." + +"Well, we can at least make a note of it and tell Dad when he comes +back. Chances are, he will never hear about those things, and Miss Todd +may forget to tell him. It might help him a lot." + +"I guess this is one mystery where we won't have much chance to help," +said Frank ruefully. "Still, we'll do what we can." + +But the Hardy boys were destined to take an even more active part in +the mystery of Todham Todd than Fenton Hardy himself. + + + + + CHAPTER V + + PLANS FOR A TRIP + + +Vacation time came, as it always does, although the days dragged, and +when the last examination was written and the Hardy boys and their +chums faced the long summer holidays, the boys had more exciting +concerns than the affair of Todham Todd. + +Miss Todd had left the Hardy home, after profuse thanks for the +hospitality the family had shown her, and had returned to the college +town. Mr. Hardy, after spending a day or so there, had gone on to parts +unknown and it was assumed that he was following clues that he hoped +would lead to the discovery of the missing professor. + +"What are you going to do now?" asked Chet, on the first day of the +holidays, when a number of the boys were sitting in the barn back of +the Hardy home. + +"Joe and I were figuring on a motorboat trip," said Frank. + +"Good idea," Tony Prito remarked. "Where are you going?" + +Frank shrugged. + +"No place in particular. We hadn't come to that." + +"As long as you go _somewhere_, it's all right with you, eh?" suggested +Chet. + +"That's about the size of it." + +"I'd like to go on a motorboat trip myself," said Biff Hooper slowly. +"As a matter of fact, I know of a place to go, but I don't know whether +we can reach it in a boat." + +"Where's that?" + +"I was talking to an old sailor the other day in one of the villages +down the shore and he was telling me a story about some caves that +are said to be down on the main shore. We were talking about buried +treasure, and that's how he brought the matter up. He said that there +were old rumors of treasure in these caves." + +"Treasure!" exclaimed Chet, brightening up. "That's our meat!" + +"Of course, I'm not saying there is treasure in these caves. But the +old chap said he had heard the story and he thought there might be +something in it." + +"In the caves, you mean," said the irrepressible Chet. + +"Sure! These caves are out on the coast, south from the mouth of Barmet +Bay." + +"It wouldn't take us very long to go down and look the place over," +Frank remarked. + +"They're not easy to reach. I'm not sure that we can get to them by +motorboat. But I believe there's a road that runs down the coast in +that neighborhood and we might be able to get there by land." + +"We have the motorbikes," said Joe promptly. + +"I'll find out more about it from the old chap and let you know," Biff +promised. + +"Find out more about the treasure," advised Chet. "Find out if it is in +gold or silver and if we have to dig for it, and if there's enough to +divide up among the crowd of us." + +"So far as treasure is concerned, I don't hold much stock in these +stories usually," said Biff. "But this old chap said that a gang of +wreckers at one time lived in these caves. They had a pleasant little +habit of changing the lights on the buoys along the reefs and wrecking +ships. Then they would rob the vessels and store the loot in the caves." + +"Good night!" exclaimed Tony. "Regular pirates." + +"I'll say they were. Of course, all this was years ago. The gang was +wiped out eventually and some of the leaders were hanged, but this old +chap I was talking to said that very little of the loot was recovered. +Of course, it may have been sold or shipped away, but he believes a lot +of it is still hidden in the caves!" + +"Hasn't any one ever hunted for it?" + +"Oh, yes. But they've never found anything." + +"Why should we?" asked Chet. + +"Why shouldn't we? And what does it matter if we don't? We might have +some fun making the trip." + +"I think it's a good idea!" approved Frank Hardy. "We can take the +motorcycles, run down there and poke around, and then come back. Of +course I don't think we'll find any treasure, but it'll give us some +sort of an objective, anyway." + +"Suits me," declared Chet. "My motorbike is hereby enlisted. I can take +Biff along in the side car." + +"And we have our machines," Joe said. "Tony can ride with one of us." + +"We ought to have a mighty good trip," said Frank. "How long do you +think we should be away, Biff?" + +"It will take about a day and a half to reach that part of the coast, +for the roads aren't very good, and then it will take another day or so +finding these caves. If we want to do any exploring I guess we could +stick around for the rest of the summer and still have lots left to +do." + +"Well, we won't stay for the rest of the summer. But about a week or +ten days should give us a good outing." + +"That suits me," said Chet. "I have other things to do in the holidays +besides crawling around in caves." + +It was decided that the lads should inform their parents of the +projected trip and make ready immediately. They planned to leave +Bayport in two days, as they wanted a day in which to overhaul their +motorcycles and get everything in readiness. Tony Prito was dubious +about getting permission, as his father had been talking of putting him +to work in the wholesale fruit depot for a few weeks during the summer +season. + +When the Hardy boys went into the house to tell their mother about the +trip to the caves, they found that their father had just returned. He +was unpacking his bag as they entered the hall. + +"Hello, Dad!" they greeted him. "What luck?" + +Fenton Hardy shook hands with his sons and returned to the bag. + +"What kind of luck do you mean?" he asked. + +"In the Todd case? Did you find the professor?" + +"No," said the detective, "I didn't find the professor." + +"Didn't you get any trace of him at all?" + +"I found traces of him, all right. He's still alive, which is the main +thing I learned." + +"And yet you couldn't find him?" asked Joe. + +"I followed him through half a dozen towns and cities, but I must say +he is mighty elusive. He was always about three jumps ahead of me." + +"He knew you were looking for him?" + +"I don't think so. He wasn't running away from me. But he keeps on the +move and he jumps around from one place to another without any rhyme or +reason, so he was hard to follow. I finally lost track of him." + +"That's tough," said Frank. "Where did you lose the trail?" + +"At a little place called Claymore, about fifty miles south of here. He +had been seen there last week, but he went away and no one knew where I +could find him. So I gave up the search and came home." + +"Have you dropped the case?" + +Fenton Hardy laughed. + +"Did you ever hear of me dropping a case before it was cleared up in +one way or another?" + +"No," admitted Frank. "But I thought you may have considered it a waste +of time." + +"It was a waste of time to keep following him about and never catching +up with him. I decided to try another angle. Oh, we'll pick up Todham +Todd yet." + +"Joe and I have some information for you. But perhaps you know it +already. Miss Todd gave us a few facts about her brother's appearance--" + +"I have all that. I have a pretty good description of him, and I +managed to get hold of a photograph at the college." + +"Did you hear about his shoelaces?" asked Joe, excitedly. + +"His shoelaces?" + +"Miss Todd said her brother was mighty absent-minded and that quite +often he forgot to tie up his shoelaces." + +Mr. Hardy was interested. + +"I didn't hear that one," he said. "It might be valuable. I'll make a +note of it. A clue like that might mean a great deal in a case like +this." + +"And about 'by jing?'" asked Frank. + +"By jing?" + +"It's an expression he used. He never swears, but once in a while he +says 'by jing!' if he is excited." + +"That's something new, too. In all the information I picked up about +Todham Todd I didn't hear anything about that expression or about the +shoelaces, and they are two of the most important clues I could ask." + +The boys were gratified that they had gained this much information for +their father's benefit. They knew that although Fenton Hardy had given +up the direct search for the missing professor, he would never abandon +the case until there was a definite solution one way or the other. + +"Have you found why he disappeared from home?" asked Joe. + +"I imagine he simply lost his memory," said Mr. Hardy. "At the present +time, from what information I could pick up, he has no idea that his +real name is Todham Todd. His memory is completely gone and he isn't +able to remember anything of his past life. Probably if he met his +sister again or some old acquaintance, it might all come back to him. +He is wandering around, trying to find out who he is and where he comes +from." + +"Poor old chap!" said the boys sympathetically. + +"He evidently had some money on his person when he disappeared, because +he hasn't been in want, and the reason it was so hard to follow him +was because he didn't stay in any one town more than a day or so. Just +long enough to know that it wasn't his own town and that he could learn +nothing about himself there. Then he would go on to the next place. +But he'll turn up, I'm sure. I have a number of places being watched, +where he's likely to put in an appearance some time, and I'll be +notified at once." + +"In the meantime," promised Frank, "we'll keep our eyes peeled for him. +But we'll not be able to help much for a couple of weeks yet." + +"Why?" + +"We're going on a motorbike jaunt down the coast to look over some +caves." + +"Hidden treasure?" asked their father, his eyes twinkling. + +"Perhaps." + +"I hope you make a million," laughed Mr. Hardy. "I'll try to find +Todham Todd before you come back." + + + + + CHAPTER VI + + THE MISSING MOTORCYCLE + + +"I wish I were a boy," sighed Callie Shaw. + +Iola Morton looked up from her ice-cream soda. + +"Me, too." + +"It's tough luck that you're not," said Joe Hardy. "We'd like to have +you along on the trip with us." + +"Boys have all the luck. Girls have to stay at home." + +The Hardy boys, Chet Morton, and Biff Hooper were celebrating their +departure by treating Callie Shaw and Iola Morton--and incidentally, +themselves--to ice-cream at the Bon Ton Confectionery Shop. Iola, a +plump, dark girl, was Chet's sister, and fully as fun-loving as her +brother. Of all the girls at Bayport High she was the special favorite +of Joe, as Callie Shaw, brown-haired and brown-eyed, was above all +other girls in Frank's opinion. + +"This one is my treat," Joe announced. "Another soda won't hurt any +one." + +It was a warm afternoon and the others promptly accepted. Six tall, +frosted glasses of soda, pink and white and orange in color, were +placed before them and imbibed with many gurgles of satisfaction. + +"Well, sis," remarked Chet, "I don't know but that I'd trade places +with you." + +"Yes, you would!" said Iola ironically. "You wouldn't give up that trip +for a million dollars." + +"I've just been thinking that you're lucky to be staying in town. +You'll be able to have ice-cream sodas and we shan't." + +"That's true, too," said Joe reflectively. He was very fond of sodas, +and he had not considered the matter in this light before. + +"Yes, but think of all the fun you'll have. And if you find any +treasure in those caves you'll be able to eat ice-cream sodas for the +rest of your lives." + +"Our lives wouldn't last very long if we did nothing but eat sodas +after we came back," laughed Frank. "How about another?" + +The girls shook their heads. Chet groaned. + +"This is my fifth to-day," he said. "I _could_ take another but I +wouldn't have any room left for supper. Guess we'd better quit." + +"We'd better," agreed Biff. "If you're sick to-morrow morning we'll +start without you." + +The thought of this possibility drove all desire for another ice-cream +soda from Chet Morton's mind and the boys and girls left the Bon Ton. +As they would not be seeing one another again before the start of the +trip, Callie and Iola said good-bye to Biff and the Hardy boys. + +"We'll miss you," Callie assured them. "The town won't seem the same +without you." + +"It won't be, either," grinned Chet. "It'll be a lot quieter when we +clear out." + +"Our house will be quieter, at any rate," Iola agreed. "It'll be a +relief when you're gone, Chet." + +"That's a sister for you! Frank, you and Joe are lucky. You have no +sisters." + +"I don't know about that," replied Frank. "If we had sisters like +Callie and Iola we wouldn't have any kick." + +Chet and his sister, in spite of all their good-natured banter, got +along very well together. So, with much laughter and good wishes, the +friends parted, and the Hardy boys went home to finish their packing. + +Next morning found the four boys bowling along a country road leading +out of Bayport, on the first stage of their journey to the caves on +the coast. Greatly to their disappointment, Tony Prito had been unable +to come with them, as his father needed him. Biff Hooper and Chet rode +together. Frank and Joe, of course, had each his own motorcycle. + +It was an ideal summer morning, cool and bright. The boys carried their +blankets and cooking utensils, but they had agreed it would be best not +to carry too many provisions, as food could be purchased along the way +as it was needed. + +"This won't be our first experience searching through caves," called +out Frank, who was in the lead of the little procession. + +"It will be old stuff to you chaps," answered Biff. "I sure wish I had +been with you when you were going through the caves below the Shore +Road." + +He referred to the experience of the Hardy boys when they were in +search of the automobiles that thieves had hidden in secret caves +beneath the cliffs along the Shore Road above Barmet Bay. + +"By the way," said Chet, "did you know that one of that gang of rascals +escaped from jail the other day?" + +This was news to the others. When the Hardy boys discovered the stolen +cars they also aided in the round-up of the gang of automobile thieves, +some of whom had been sentenced to long terms of imprisonment. Others, +who had been merely tools of the ring-leaders of the outfit, were given +lighter sentences in the local jail. + +"Who was that?" asked Joe. + +"Carl Schaum. He made a getaway the day before yesterday. The police +were keeping quiet about it because they thought they might catch him +again before the news leaked out. But he's clear away." + +"Carl Schaum!" exclaimed Frank. "He was one of the chaps who got off +lightly." + +"And to my mind he was one of the worst rascals of the lot," added Joe. + +"Well, he's at large now. They haven't been able to trace him. He's a +tough bird, all right." + +"Carl Schaum used to live around here, didn't he?" asked Biff. + +"Sure. He used to live just outside the city. He's been in and out of +plenty of scrapes. A real bad egg." + +"Oh, probably the police will pick him up again," Biff said. "He won't +get very far. It's a cinch he won't hang around Bayport." + +"Not if he knows what's good for him," remarked Frank. + +The road the boys had taken went south and then east toward the coast, +through a beautiful countryside. The boys had been on their way a +little over two hours, but already they were hot and dusty. Just at +that moment, Joe spied a flash of blue among the trees beyond an +inviting shady lane. + +"Looks like a lake down there," he said. "What say we investigate?" + +"I'm game," said Chet. "Maybe we can have a swim." + +As time was not pressing and the boys were traveling leisurely, in no +hurry to reach the caves, they at once fell in with the suggestion. +Frank headed down the lane and in a few minutes the lads were riding +beneath shady trees down toward the banks of a small lake that lay calm +and clear among the woods. There was a wide, sandy beach, and with +whoops of delight the boys at once brought their motorcycles to a stop, +parked them beneath the trees by the road, and raced gayly down through +the grass. + +It was one of the finest natural swimming places they had ever seen and +the boys lost no time flinging off their clothes and splashing out into +the cool water. For about half an hour they enjoyed themselves as only +boys can, swimming and diving, until at last, refreshed, they came up +onto the beach and donned their garments again. + +Their motorcycles had been parked just out of sight of the beach, +because the road ran past the lake, about a hundred yards distant. +However, the boys had given little thought to the safety of the +machines because the lake was in a secluded spot and there was no sign +of human habitation near by. + +"I'll race you back!" shouted Frank, as they began to dress. + +There was a mad scramble for clothes. Chet adroitly hurled one of +Biff's shoes into a thicket, thinking thereby to get a head start on +his chum, but Joe sat on Chet's trousers as he drew on his own socks, +and Chet hunted in vain for the essential garments, losing more time +than Biff did. All this byplay took time, and Frank, in the meanwhile, +was dressing hastily but calmly, and was ready before any of the +others. With a yell of triumph, he darted up the grassy slope. + +Joe was next. Shoelaces dragging, he set out in pursuit. Chet did not +even bother to put on his shoes but hastened after, his shirt open, and +hanging onto his trousers with one hand while he fastened his belt. +Biff, plunging about in the bush in search of the missing shoe, was +last. + +"First up!" shouted Frank. Then the others heard him give a sudden +exclamation of surprise. + +"What's the matter?" called Joe. + +He ran up in time to see Frank standing in the roadway, an expression +of consternation on his face. + +"The bikes!" he exclaimed. "There are only two here!" + +"What?" yelled Joe. + +"One of our bikes is missing! What do you know about that!" + +As Chet and Joe hastened up they saw that he was right. Where three +motorcycles had been parked beside the road, there were only two left. + +Frank's motorcycle was gone! + + + + + CHAPTER VII + + CARL SCHAUM + + +Frank Hardy wasted no time. + +The motorcycle had been stolen. There was no doubt of that. That it +had been stolen within that past five minutes, he knew. When the boys +were coming out of the water he thought he had heard the clatter of +a machine, but at the time he had paid no attention to the sound, +thinking it came from the main road. + +"Come on!" he shouted. "We'll chase him." + +"Which way has he gone?" gasped Chet. + +Frank looked at the road. It was not a traveled thoroughfare and weeds +and grass were in the ruts. It was impossible to see any sign of the +tire tread. + +"Joe and I will go ahead," he decided. "Chet, you and Biff go on back +to the main road on your bike. If you don't get any trace of him, wait +for us." + +He sprang onto Joe's motorcycle and his brother leaped up behind. Biff +Hooper was just emerging from the bushes and Chet quickly told him +what had happened. + +In a moment the two machines were roaring off along the road in +opposite directions, Chet and Biff returning to the highway and the +Hardy boys going on down the country lane. + +Once past the lake, Joe and Frank found the going was rough. +Presumably, it was just a lane connecting with the highway, and there +was little traffic over it. The motorcycle bumped along, Frank letting +the machine out as much as he dared. + +They came to a dusty spot in the lane and Frank gave a cry of +exultation. + +"This is the way he went! There's the tire marks!" + +Clearly defined in the dust was the imprint of the tread. The boys +knew they were on the right track, but they knew that the thief was +undoubtedly proceeding as quickly as they were, if not faster. + +Could they overtake him? + +Coming to a more level stretch of road, Frank risked a greater speed +and the motorcycle leaped forward in a cloud of dust. There were many +curves and the high trees obscured a view of the road ahead so they had +no idea how close they were to the fugitive. + +Owing to the roar of their own machine they could not have heard the +clatter of the other motorcycle even if it had been only a short +distance ahead. They could only trust to their own speed and to the +chance that the thief had not obtained too much of a start. + +Suddenly, as they swerved around a bend in the road, Joe gave a cry of +delight. + +In the distance, on an open stretch, half hidden by a heavy cloud of +dust, a motorcycle was hurtling toward an expanse of paved highway that +lay like a white ribbon far beyond the trees. + +"That's him!" Joe shouted. + +But Frank had already seen the dark object ahead. + +He let the machine out to its fullest speed. He knew that if the +fugitive once gained the highway it would be impossible to overtake +him. It was now or never. + +But the country road was deceptive. + +Just a few yards away, he spied a culvert. It had been poorly +constructed and a bad bump was inevitable. It was suicidal to take it +at their present speed. + +He desperately tried to slacken pace, but the machine reached the rise +in the road in a moment, lurched over it, seemed to leap through the +air, and then hit the road again with a crash. There was a tremendous +jolt. + +Frank's grip was almost torn from the handlebars, but he held on +tightly. Joe had grasped him tightly around the waist and still +retained his seat. + +The motorcycle swerved, skidded wildly, and headed toward the ditch. + +But Frank had set himself for the shock of going over the culvert and +he acted almost instinctively. + +Had he been unprepared he would certainly have lost control of the +motorcycle and both he and Joe might have been killed. He swung the +hurtling machine back into mid-road again just when it seemed that it +was about to crash into the deep ditch. He did not slacken speed, for +that would have meant a dangerous skid. + +By skillful handling, he settled the machine on the smoothest part of +the road again and it roared on down the stretch. + +The fugitive, too, seemed to be having trouble. The motorcycle ahead +was lurching and bouncing in an alarming manner and its speed had +slackened. Frank's experienced eye saw that the thief had encountered +a rough and treacherous piece of road that ran for about half a mile +before it met the main highway. + +Suddenly they saw the machine swerve wildly and go completely over on +its side. The driver was thrown into the middle of the road. + +"He's done for!" Frank shouted. + +But his joy was short-lived. The thief had not given up yet. He +scrambled to his feet and returned to the motorcycle, righted it, and +leaped into the saddle. The machine, evidently undamaged, bounded +forward again. + +However, the accident had given the Hardy boys a chance to make up +ground and they had gained considerably. In a few moments they reached +the beginning of the rough section of the road and the fugitive was no +more than two hundred yards ahead. + +The two motorcycles lurched and bounded over the bumpy surface. Frank +saw that the thief was not a first-class driver. He seemed to be having +a great deal of trouble keeping the stolen machine on the road and did +not dare travel at high speed. + +As for himself, he saw that he would have to take chances. He shouted +to Joe, "Hang on!" and let the motorcycle out as much as he dared. + +It was a rough ride. More than once it seemed as though they would +crash, but they steadily gained on the fugitive. + +The man looked behind. He saw that he had no hope of reaching the +highway. + +The stolen motorcycle came to a stop. The rider leaped out into the +road and ran toward the ditch. Beyond it there was a fence and a high +bank of trees. Through the ditch and over the fence scrambled the +fugitive. He looked back again just as the Hardy boys drew up beside +the abandoned machine and then disappeared among the trees. + +The boys were at first inclined to follow, and Joe dashed toward the +ditch in pursuit. But Frank's better counsel prevailed. + +"Let him go," he said. "We'd never find him in that underbrush, and +he might just double back to the road again and clear out on the +motorcycle. We've got the machine back. That's the main thing." + +Reluctantly, Joe came back. + +"Yes, we've got the machine. But I'd like to lay my hands on that +crook." + +"Didn't you recognize him?" + +Joe shook his head. + +"I only caught a glimpse of his face but it seems to me I've seen him +before." + +"We've both seen him before." + +"Where?" + +"The Shore Road gang." + +"The auto thieves?" + +Frank nodded his head in assent. + +"Then," exclaimed Joe, "that must be Carl Schaum! All the others are in +jail." + +"That's who it is, all right. I recognized him the moment he looked +back." + +"I wish I had chased him!" declared Joe. + +"He's likely putting a lot of distance between himself and us just now. +I guess the reason he stole the motorcycle was to help him in his +getaway, for the police are looking for him since he escaped from jail." + +"If we had caught him we would have had to take him back to Bayport +anyway," Joe remarked philosophically. "It would have interrupted our +trip. Perhaps it's just as well." + +"He'll be picked up somewhere else. I'm glad he didn't get my +motorcycle. That would have upset the trip even worse." + +Frank examined the machine. It had been slightly damaged by the upset +on the rough road and there were a few dents and scrapes, but there +was nothing seriously wrong with it. He mounted the motorcycle and its +staccato roar soon filled the air. + +"Running as good as ever," he said, with satisfaction. + +"Good! Shall we go back now?" + +"We may as well. There's no use chasing Carl Schaum, and the others +will be wondering what has happened." + +The brothers rode back toward the swimming pool and then out to the +highway, where they found Chet and Biff waiting for them. Not having +found any trace of the machine on the highway the chums had waited +according to instructions. When they saw the brothers coming in view, +each on his own machine, they raised a cheer. + +"Good work!" shouted Chet. "Did you have to battle for it?" + +"No battle at all," returned Frank, bringing the motorcycle to a stop. +"An old friend of ours had just borrowed it for a little ride." + +Chet looked at him incredulously. Frank laughed at the expression on +his chum's face. + +"An old friend!" exclaimed Biff. "I didn't know you had any friends +around this part of the country." + +"He wasn't exactly a friend. An acquaintance, I should say. Carl Schaum +swiped the machine." + +Chet and Biff whistled simultaneously. + +"Schaum was the thief!" Biff exclaimed. "Are you sure?" + +"Where is he?" demanded Chet. "Did you tie him up?" + +"We didn't catch him," confessed Joe. "He left the bike in the road +when he saw we were gaining on him. Then he cleared out over the fence +and into the woods." + +"That was too bad!" exclaimed Chet. + +"Are you sure it was Carl Schaum?" asked Biff Hooper, for the second +time. + +"I got a good look at him," Frank said. "It was Carl Schaum, all right. +When we get to the next town we'll tell the police. If they know he's +around here at all they'll probably land him without much trouble." + +Chet went over to his motorcycle. + +"Well, the sooner we get to the next town, the better. We've lost quite +a bit of time already. What say we start on again?" + +The chums agreed that the discovery of the swimming hole had cost them +considerably more time than they had expected, so accordingly they +mounted their machines again and set out on the highway once more. + + + + + CHAPTER VIII + + STRANGE DOINGS + + +The Hardy boys and their chums spent the night at a hotel in a small +village. They were up bright and early next morning, eager to reach +the end of their journey. Had it not been for the delay consequent on +the attempted theft of Frank's motorcycle, they might have reached the +neighborhood of the caves that evening, but, as it was, they had a two +hours' trip before them when they set out shortly after six o'clock. + +Their immediate destination was a fishing village by the name of +Glencove. It was a sleepy little place, quite picturesque but redolent +of fishy odors, a typical hamlet of the kind. The boys were aware that +Glencove was some distance north of the caves, but as they did not know +the precise location of the "Honeycomb Cliffs," as they were called, +they preferred to stop off at the village and get what information they +could. + +The general store, a ramshackle building where one could buy anything +from safety pins to grindstones, where one could mail a letter, put +through a telephone call, or obtain garage service, appeared to be the +most likely spot. Parking their machines by the wooden sidewalk, the +lads went into the store, where they found a venerable man with white +whiskers patiently scrutinizing his newspaper. + +"I guess we'd better stock up on a few supplies, eh, fellows?" Frank +suggested. + +This had been their plan. Instead of burdening their machines with +provisions all the way from Bayport, they had decided to get supplies +at the village nearest to the caves. + +"Perhaps we won't have to stock up very heavily," said Joe. "If the +caves aren't far away we may be able to drive up here when we run short +of grub." + +"That," said the hungry Chet, "would be terrible." + +Frank turned to the old gentleman, who had put aside his paper and +was regarding them through his thick-lensed spectacles with grave +curiosity, as though they were some new specimen of humanity entirely. + +"How far is it to the place they call Honeycomb Cliffs?" he asked. + +The old gentleman's eyes widened. + +"Honeycomb Cliffs!" he said, in a high, cracked voice. "Be ye goin' to +pass by there?" + +"We want to camp around there for a few days and we were figuring on +buying some supplies. If it's far away we'll buy all we need right now +and carry the stuff with us." + +The old man leaned farther over the counter. + +"Ye're agoin' to _camp_ at Honeycomb Cliffs!" he exclaimed +incredulously. + +"Why, yes." + +"For three or four days!" + +"Perhaps longer." + +The old gentleman shook his head solemnly. + +"Ye're strange to these parts, ain't ye?" + +"This is the first time we've ever been down this way." + +"I thought so," returned the old man with a great air of satisfaction, +as though his judgment had been verified. + +"Well," said Frank, becoming a trifle impatient, "we'd still like to +know how much farther we have to go." + +"It's a matter of about ten mile by the road. Then ye'll have to walk a +ways." + +"Ten miles. Why, that isn't very far. We'll just buy enough food to +last us a day or so and then if we need more one of us can come back +here. There's no use packing along too much." + +"And ye say ye're goin' to camp there?" persisted the old man, as +though he could not quite grasp the fact. + +"Yes. What's wrong about that? Aren't there any places we can pitch a +tent?" + +"Oh, yes, there's places ye can pitch a tent and I've no doubt but +there's fishermen's cottages that you could find a room at. But if I +was you I wouldn't do no campin' near Honeycomb Cliffs. That is," said +the old man, "unless ye stay away from the caves." + +"Why, that's what we came for," put in Biff. "We intend to explore the +caves!" + +The old man gave a perceptible gasp at this. + +"Explore 'em! Lads, ye're crazy." + +The old gentleman's attitude puzzled the boys extremely. + +"Is it against the law?" Chet inquired. + +"No, it ain't agin the law, but it's agin common sense." + +"Why?" + +"It just is--that's all," retorted the storekeeper, as though that +explained everything. + +"You don't mean to say it's dangerous!" + +"Maybe. Maybe," returned their informant mysteriously. "It may not be +dangerous, but it would be foolish. If ye'll take my advice ye'll stay +away from them caves." + +"Why?" + +"There's some queer things been goin' on down there lately. Folks tell +me the fishermen down that way are scared nigh to death." + +"What are they afraid of?" asked Biff. + +The old man shrugged eloquently. + +"That's just it. Nobody knows. But there's been queer lights seen down +around them caves. And shootin'." + +"Shooting!" + +"Guns goin' off," explained the storekeeper, as if they had failed to +understand the word. "Mighty queer doin's, they say. Two men a'ready +that tried to find out what was goin' on--they got shot at." + +Chet whistled softly. + +"This sounds good," he observed. "We may stay longer than we had +intended." + +"Ye may stay forever," growled the old man gloomily. + +Frank smiled at this thrust. + +"Has anybody any idea what's wrong?" he asked. + +The storekeeper leaned across the counter and lowered his voice, in the +manner of one imparting a deep secret. + +"They do say," he declared, "that there's smugglin' of liquor in them +parts." + +"I suppose that's only natural. There's a lot of it along the coast, +and the caves would make that an ideal spot." + +"Well, whether there is or there ain't, the caves ain't healthy for +strangers. If I was you lads, I'd stay away from there." + +"Well, we've planned this trip and I think we'll go through with it," +Frank said. "If you'll fix us up with some supplies, we'll be on our +way. We're not afraid of bootleggers." + +"Do as ye like," the old man returned, as though washing his hands of +any further responsibility. "But I'm warnin' ye. It ain't no place if +ye're lookin' for a quiet outing." + +"The one thing we're afraid of, is a _quiet_ outing," Joe assured him. +"Excitement," he added slangily, "is our meat." + +"Ye'll get lots of it if ye go pokin' around them caves," the old +gentleman predicted. "Mebbe a lot more than ye bargain for." + +However, he was prevailed upon to sell the lads a quantity of +provisions for their trip, although he accompanied the transaction by +a running fire of dismal comments on the unlikelihood that they would +ever be seen alive again. When he saw that they were determined to go +to the caves, in spite of his admonitions, he wagged his head sadly and +mumbled a few caustic remarks on the stubborness of boys in general who +would never listen to their elders. + +The Hardy boys and their chums, far from being frightened at the +prospect of danger at Honeycomb Cliffs, were elated. They were disposed +to disregard much of what the old man had said--the perils were most +probably exaggerated in the re-telling--but there was no mistaking the +old man's sincerity and they knew that undoubtedly there was a mystery +of some kind concerning the neighborhood of the caves. + +"What that mystery is, we're going to find out," said Joe, as they +mounted their motorcycles again, duly laden with supplies. He expressed +the determination of all. + +"It looks a lot brighter," Chet agreed. "There's a chance of a bit of +excitement now." + +"Oh, probably there's nothing to it," scoffed Biff. "Somebody has seen +a tramp's campfire on the cliffs and heard some one shooting at a +rabbit, and started a big yarn out of it." + +"Well, we are going to have our own fun exploring those caves, and if +there's a mystery on foot, so much the better," said Joe. + +The boys followed the directions given them by the old storekeeper and +in due time left the coast road and turned down a rutty, tortuous lane +that ended on the open seashore, near a fisherman's cottage. The little +house was built at the base of a hill and the beach ended at this point +in towering cliffs. The lads could see a faint, winding path leading up +the side of the hill back of the cottage. + +"I know what they call this place," said Chet gravely. + +"I don't think it has a name," said Biff. + +"Oh, yes, they call this place Fish-hook." + +"Fish-hook? Why?" asked Biff, neatly falling into the trap. + +"Because it's at the end of the line." + +With that, Chet brought his motorcycle to a stop. The Hardy boys also +stopped, joining Chet in his laughter at the foolish look on Biff's +face when he saw how he had been duped. + +The storekeeper had told them that the fisherman's cottage was the +last human habitation on the way to the caves and that they could very +likely get permission to leave their machines there for safe-keeping. +To reach the caves they had to climb the path up the hillside until +they reached the top of the cliffs, then proceed for a considerable +distance until they came to a deep ravine, where they could descend +to the shore. They would then find themselves on a beach whereby they +could reach the caves to right and to left. The cliffs themselves cut +off access to the caves by any other route than the ravines, several of +which were to be encountered in the three miles of steep coast, as at +the northern and southern extremities the cliffs were sheer to the deep +water and could not be skirted even at low tide. + +The boys had scarcely dismounted from their motorcycles when the door +of the cottage opened and a stocky, leathern-faced man of middle age +emerged. He was plainly a fisherman and he came over to them, a look of +surprise on his broad, good-natured countenance. + +"What can I do for you, my lads?" he inquired. "It ain't often I see +strangers here." + +"We want to know if we could leave our motorcycles here for +safe-keeping?" asked Frank. + +"Certainly. Most certainly, you can. There's a shed back of the house, +where you can put 'em. Is it just for an hour or so? Goin' up on the +cliffs?" + +"Perhaps for a few days. We were planning to go exploring among the +caves." + +The fisherman's expression changed instantly. + +"Explorin' the caves!" he exclaimed. "You'd best go back home. There's +strange doin's in the caves these days. It's no place for boys." + + + + + CHAPTER IX + + THE STORM + + +Chet Morton laughed. + +"We heard there were some queer things happening around here, but that +doesn't frighten us." + +"There's nothing to laugh at, young man," returned the fisherman +tartly. "I've lived here for twenty years and I'm no fool. The caves +ain't healthy just now." + +"Rum-runners, I suppose," said Frank. + +But the fisherman scorned this suggestion. + +"If it's rum-runners, they'd be bringin' their cargoes out to the road, +wouldn't they? Not much sense in 'em hidin' the liquor in the caves and +leavin' it there, is there?" + +"I wouldn't think so. But perhaps they bring it out to the road +quietly." + +"Nothin' of the sort. It's been investigated. There's been no queer +doin's on the road at all. All the queer doin's are right in the caves. +If it was rum-runners, they'd be bringin' the stuff in by boat, and +there ain't been any boats seen around here that can't be accounted +for." + +"Just what are the queer doings?" + +"Lights, mostly. And shootin'." + +"But has no person been seen?" + +"Not a livin' soul." + +"That's strange." + +"Strange ain't the word for it!" declared the fisherman. "It's +downright spooky. Like ghosts or somethin'." + +"Do you believe in ghosts?" asked Joe. + +"I don't. If I did believe in ghosts, though, I'd say there was ghosts +down in them caves lately and that's all I'd think about it. But not +believin' in ghosts, I don't know what to think." + +"Have you gone down to the caves yourself?" + +"I went down there a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't see anything +until just when I was comin' back that night. Then I saw a light away +down in one of the caves I'd been in just a couple of hours before. +Next I heard two or three shots, and then a yell." + +"A yell!" + +"The most awful screech I ever heard." + +"Well, that proves that there's _somebody_ down there," remarked Biff. + +"Maybe it does and maybe it don't. I wouldn't say it was a human voice +I heard. More like an animal." + +"But an animal couldn't make a light." + +"And there ain't many human bein's could make that yell. So there you +are." + +"Yells or no yells, we're going to explore the caves," declared Frank, +with finality. "What say, fellows?" + +"I'll tell the world we are!" exclaimed Chet. "You couldn't drive me +away now with a squad of marines." + +The fisherman shrugged. + +"It's your funeral," he said. "I'm thinkin' you'll come away from there +a lot faster than you go in." + +"Perhaps," agreed Joe, with a grin. "And perhaps we'll find out just +who or what is causing all the disturbance. We'll go prepared for +anything that may happen to turn up, at any rate." + +"You'll need to," said the fisherman gloomily. "Don't say that I didn't +warn you. You're welcome to put your machines in the shed, and if you'd +like a bite to eat, I guess my wife can fix up a bit of a snack for +you." + +This hospitality was appreciated by the boys and they saw that the +fisherman's bark was worse than his bite, as the saying is, but they +politely declined, as they had eaten just a short time before. Chet, +who could--and would--eat at any time, was not very emphatic in his +refusal; he would willingly have accepted the invitation. But the +other lads were anxious to be going on. + +"It's very good of you," said Frank, "and I hope you don't think we're +rude in going ahead to the caves after your warning. But there are four +of us, you see, and we think we can look after ourselves pretty well. +So, if you'll just let us leave the motorcycles in the shed while we're +around here we won't bother you any further." + +"You're welcome to do that. And I suppose if you're bound to go on to +the caves, nothin' I can say will stop you." + +The fisherman led the way to the shed, where the motorcycles were +safely stored. The machines would be under cover in the event of rain, +and there was a stout padlock on the door that ensured their safety +against being stolen. The lads unloaded their supplies and each filled +his pack with provisions. + +"Have we got everything?" asked Frank finally. "Matches, flashlights, +revolver, bullets, bread, salt, coffee--" + +"Everything needed for an expedition to the South Pole," said Chet, +shifting his pack to a more comfortable position on his shoulders. + +A complete check-up showed that they had everything they needed; so, +after bidding good-bye to the fisherman, who drew them a rough map +showing the route they should follow in order to reach the caves, they +set out up the path just back of the cottage. + +"Nobody seems very encouraging about this trip," said Biff, as they +ascended the hillside. + +"What do you think _can_ be the trouble down in the caves?" asked Joe. + +"Rum-runners, I'll bet! In spite of what the fisherman says, I can't +think of any other explanation," Frank replied. "They probably have +some way of getting the stuff out to the road without being seen. +Underground passages, or something of the sort." + +"It seems likely. The shots and the yells were just to frighten people +away." + +"Well, we should soon find out." + +Although the hillside path had not seemed very formidable from the +shore, the boys found that it was steeper than it looked, and it was +more than an hour before they finally reached the top of the cliffs. +Here a magnificent view awaited them. Far below, the fisherman's +cottage seemed to lie at their very feet, like a toy house. The ocean +lay like a flat blue floor, far to the east, north, and south, and back +of them was a great, barren expanse of tumbled rock, without sign of +path or road. Venturing close to the edge of the cliff, the lads saw +a sheer wall of rock, many feet in height, at the bottom of which the +waves were lapping. + +"No wonder we couldn't reach the caves by skirting the shore!" said +Frank. "The only way along the base of that cliff is by boat." + +"We'll have to go ahead and search for the ravine the fisherman told us +about," suggested Joe. + +Chet looked up at the sky. + +"Yes, and we can't afford to lose any time about it either. We're in +for a storm." + +Although the lads had noticed that the sun had gone behind a cloud, +they had not seen the heavy black cloud banks massing above them, so +intent had they been on their climb up the steep, winding path. Now, +when they looked up, they saw that a storm was indeed imminent. The +breeze bore to their ears a rumble of distant thunder. + +"It looks like a bad one," said Biff. "We'd better hurry." + +Without further ado, the boys hastened off along the faint trail that +led among the rocks. They could see no sign of the ravine, but judged +that it would be almost invisible until they came almost on it. Their +progress was slow, as it was difficult to make haste over the rocks and +boulders. + +The storm came up swiftly. Within ten minutes the clouds were banked +blackly in the sky above. A streak of livid lightning rent the gloom +and there was a peal of thunder. + +"We're out of luck if we can't find shelter before this storm breaks," +panted Chet. The air was insufferably close. A few scattered raindrops +warned the lads that they had no time to lose. + +They plodded on, mentally wishing that they had remained at the +fisherman's cottage but realizing that it was too late to turn back now. + +Another flash of lightning, a terrific thunder-clap, and the storm +broke. + +Rain began falling heavily. It streamed down from the black skies as +though the clouds had opened. The wind rose. Far below them the surf +boomed and the waves crashed against the base of the cliff. Rain poured +in a veritable deluge. The lads had neglected to provide themselves +with slickers, as they were already burdened by the weight of their +supplies, and they were soon drenched to the skin. + +They stumbled on, scarcely able to follow the faint path in the gloom. +Lightning flickered, thunder crashed constantly, the wind rose to a +howl. There was not the slightest vestige of shelter, not even a tree, +out on this rocky waste. Frank looked in vain for a boulder large +enough to offer some protection. + +They plunged forward into a streaming wall of rain. + +Frank was in the lead. Chet and Biff were next, and Joe brought up the +rear. They could scarcely see one another in the gathering gloom. On +and on they went, heads bent to the storm, and, to Chet especially, +time seemed to stand still in a gray world. + +Suddenly Frank looked behind, then came to a stop. + +"Where is Joe?" he shouted, above the clamor of the gale. + +The others looked back. + +Joe had vanished. + + + + + CHAPTER X + + THE CAVE + + +The boys gazed at one another in surprise. + +"Where on earth did Joe disappear to?" exclaimed Biff Hooper. + +They peered into the gray oblivion of the storm, but the rain was +teeming down in such heavy torrents and the gloom was so intense that +it was impossible to see more than twenty yards away. + +"We'll have to go back," decided Frank quickly. "He probably sat down +to rest and got lost when he tried to catch up with us again." + +They retraced their steps over the rocks, keeping close together. They +shouted again and again, but in the roar of wind, rain, and thunder +they knew there was little chance that Joe would hear them. + +"I never thought to look back," said Chet. "I thought he was right +behind us." + +"Same here," declared Biff. "He might have dropped back five or ten +minutes ago and we didn't know it." + +The search seemed hopeless. It was late in the afternoon and already +getting dark. Once in a while they stopped and listened, hoping to hear +some faint cry from Joe, but there was nothing. + +"Perhaps he fell down and hurt himself," suggested Frank, "He may be +lying behind some of these big rocks and we can't see him." + +The boys searched patiently. + +Joe Hardy was nowhere to be found. + +They did not dare scatter, for fear of losing one another, but they +hunted among the rocks, realizing the hopeless nature of their quest. +At last they halted, standing in a little group, with rain pouring down +on them. + +Frank expressed the fear they had all held for the past few minutes. + +"I wonder if he could have fallen over the cliff!" + +They had been going along within a few yards of the uneven edge of the +cliff and they realized that, in the rain and the dim light, it would +have been easy for Joe to have stumbled into the abyss. They turned +sick at the thought of the frightful plunge, ending in certain death, +had he tumbled over the verge. + +Suddenly, above the roar of the storm, they heard a faint cry. + +"Listen!" cried Frank. + +Breathlessly, they waited. + +Again came the cry. + +"Help! Help!" + +It was from almost at their feet. + +Frank ran quickly forward. At the very edge of the cliff, he stopped +and peered down. + +Over to one side, a few feet below the top of the sheer wall of rock, +he spied a dark figure. + +It was Joe! + +He seemed to be clinging directly to the side of the cliff. + +Hastily shouting to the others, Frank ran across the rocks until he +came to a place immediately above where he had seen his brother. He +flung himself flat and peered over into the dizzy depths. + +Just beneath, he could see Joe's white face. His brother was clinging +to a small bush growing out of the side of the cliff. Had the bush been +his only support, he would not have been able to maintain his hold, but +fortunately there was a ledge of rock, a few inches wide, in which he +had managed to implant his feet. Thus he had clung to the face of the +cliff. + +"Quick!" shouted Frank, to the others. He realized the need for haste. +"He's here!" + +"I can't hold on much longer!" called Joe, in a strained voice. + +"We'll get you out of this," Frank assured him. But his heart sank when +he saw that Joe was beyond his reach. + +Biff and Chet came running up, and Frank tersely explained the +situation to them. + +"There's only one thing to do," he said. "Both of you hang on to me +while I lower myself over." + +Biff peeped over the edge of the cliff. + +"You'll never make it," he said. "You'll both be killed." + +"We're not going to stand idle until he gets exhausted and lets go his +hold," declared Frank. "It's the only chance, and I'm going to take it." + +He flung himself down and began to edge forward until he was leaning +far over the verge. Biff and Chet seized his ankles and set themselves +by digging their heels against the rocks. Bit by bit, Frank lowered +himself, headfirst, over the side. His outstretched hands were but a +few inches away from Joe's wrists. Joe still clung to the bush that had +saved his life. + +Frank dared not look down, for he was hanging at a dizzy height. He +closed his eyes. + +"A little more," he called out. + +He swung lower and gripped Joe's wrists. He secured a tight hold. There +was no time to lose, as he knew it would take every ounce of strength +he possessed to drag his brother back to safety, and he was growing +weaker all the time. + +"Ready, Joe?" + +"All right," gasped Joe. + +"Haul away!" + +Chet and Biff began dragging Frank back. There was a double weight now, +for Joe relaxed his grip on the root to which he had been clinging and +was now dangling in space, supported only by Frank's firm grip on his +wrists. Frank had no idea that his brother weighed so much; the strain +was terrific. + +Gradually, however, he was drawn back to safety. For one horrible +moment he thought he was losing his hold on Joe's wrists, as their +locked hands reached the edge of the precipice. But Chet, leaning +forward, seized the back of Joe's shirt, clung to him while Biff +scrambled over, and together they hauled him up onto the rocks. + +For a moment, neither of the Hardy boys could say a word, they were so +exhausted by the ordeal. Above them the storm still raged, the rain +still poured from the black skies, the lightning still flickered, and +the thunder still boomed and rumbled. + +"Boy, that was a narrow squeak!" said Chet solemnly, at last. + +"Don't talk about it," said Joe, closing his eyes, as though to shut +out the memory of the sight. "I can still see the waves away down +beneath me. I was never so near death in my life." + +"We'll stick closer together after this. How did it happen?" Frank +asked. + +"I stopped to tie my shoelace. When I looked up again I couldn't see +you chaps at all, so I began to run to catch up. I didn't realize I +was so near the edge of the cliff. Then some of the rock must have +broken off under my feet, because everything gave way and I felt myself +falling." + +"You're mighty lucky you're here to tell us about it," said Biff. + +"I'll say I am! I just managed to grab that root growing out of the +side of the cliff and I hung there until I thought my arms would be +pulled out of their sockets. I thought I'd never be able to hold on +until you found me." + +"It was quite a while before we missed you." + +"At any rate, I _couldn't_ have held on, but I managed to find that +ledge and got my feet on it. That rested me. I was certainly glad when +I heard you fellows shouting for me." + +Recovering somewhat from their grueling experience, Frank and Joe Hardy +got to their feet. + +"Let's run for it," suggested Chet. "We're drenched to the skin, as it +is, but I don't want to stay out in this storm any longer than I have +to." + +With one accord, the boys resumed their journey over the rocks. This +time no one lagged behind. For safety's sake they stayed close +together and well away from the verge of the cliff. + +In a short time Frank gave a cry of delight. + +"The ravine!" he yelled. + +Through the pouring rain, just a few yards ahead, they discerned a deep +cut in the rocks. + +They scrambled toward it. The ravine was deep and the slope was steep, +but they had been fortunate in reaching it just at a point where a path +led down among the rocks. + +Far below, they could see the beach and the breaking rollers. + +Slipping and stumbling, the boys made their way down the steep, winding +path in the down-pour. The storm was unabated. Its violence, on the +contrary, seemed to have increased. The rain came down in sheets. + +Halfway down the path, Joe gave a cry of excitement. + +"A cave!" + +He pointed down toward the base of the cliff, just visible from the +path. + +There, but a short distance from the breaking waves, was a dark hole in +the steep wall of rock. + + + + + CHAPTER XI + + FOOTSTEPS IN THE NIGHT + + +With the goal in sight, the Hardy boys and their chums hastened down +the treacherous path, along the steep side of the ravine. The path +was slippery and little rivulets of water ran at their feet. Chet +Morton slipped and went sprawling in the mud, getting to his feet with +exclamations of disgust. + +"Oh, well," he said philosophically, "I can't be any wetter than I am +already." + +Frank consoled him. + +"When we get to that cave we'll light a fire and dry ourselves out a +bit." + +They at length reached the floor of the ravine where little streams +of water were coursing from the upper levels to the sea and splashing +across to the beach. It was only a few yards from there to the black +entrance of the cave, which was well above the reach of high tide. + +Frank led the way. + +He took a flashlight from his pack as the boys hastened into the dark +mouth of the cavern. They were in shelter, at any rate, and they could +look out at the streaming rain and feel thankful that they had a roof +over their heads, although that roof was a rocky one. + +Frank directed the beam of the flashlight into the gloomy interior and +in its gleam he saw that their shelter was no mere niche in the face of +the cliff, but a cave that led to dark and unknown depths. + +"Looks as if we can start our exploring right here and now," he said. + +"Explore my neck!" grumbled Chet. "Let's have a fire." + +"How about firewood?" inquired the practical Biff. + +This had not occurred to the others. They glanced at one another in +dismay. + +"That's right too," said Joe. "There's not much wood around these rocks +and it's all wet by now, anyway." + +"Nothing but driftwood," Frank observed disconsolately. "The rain has +drenched it." He glanced out, and along the shore he spied a few bits +of wood tossed up by the waves, but they were sodden and useless. + +"This is going to be fine," said Chet. "We'll have to shiver here all +night without a fire. A great beginning to our visit!" + +To tell the truth, the boys were feeling none too cheerful over the +prospect, for they were all cold, wet, and hungry and they had been +looking forward to dry clothes and a hot meal by a roaring fire. Now +it seemed that they were doomed to spend the night in the cheerless +shelter of a damp, cold cave, without the vestige of a blaze. + +"Thank goodness our blankets are dry, at any rate," Joe said +philosophically. + +Frank moved farther back into the cave, with the flashlight +illuminating the way. Suddenly he gave an exclamation of mingled +astonishment and delight. + +"Well! can you beat this, fellows?" + +"What have you found?" + +"Firewood." + +"Where?" + +The others came hastening over to Frank Hardy. + +"Look!" Frank cast the beam of the flashlight against the black wall +near by. + +Full in the center of the circle of radiance, they saw a neat pile of +wood. It had not been placed there by accident; that much was certain. +It had been stacked carefully by human hands. + +Frank stepped over and picked up one of the sticks. + +"Good dry driftwood. We don't have to worry about a fire now." + +"I wonder who on earth piled it in here?" remarked Biff. + +Chet shrugged. + +"Why worry about that? The main thing is that some thoughtful soul has +been kind enough to put it here, and we're the boys who are going to +use it. Where shall we light the fire, Frank?" + +"Right here, I guess. This is far enough back from the entrance so that +we won't have to worry about the rain beating in. It's certainly queer +how that wood comes to be here, though." + +"Probably the mysterious chaps who are doing all the yelling and +shooting," said Biff. "We'll be out of luck if this is _their_ cave +we've stumbled on." + +"It's ours now. I don't see any 'No Trespassing' signs." Frank began +carrying wood over to the center of the cave. Then he set down the +flashlight, took out his pocketknife, and whittled at a particularly +dry stick until he had a small heap of shavings. Carefully stacking +a few of the smaller sticks over the shavings and the larger sticks +above, crosswise so that there were plenty of air spaces, he took +a match from his waterproof case and ignited it, putting it to the +shavings. They flared up brightly. + +Anxiously, the boys watched the little blaze. The flames caught the +small sticks, which snapped and crackled. Then, as the fire rose +higher, the heavier wood was ignited, and in a short time the boys had +a roaring fire. Never had a campfire been so welcome. Frank had been +afraid that lack of a draught in the cave might cause so much smoke +that they would be almost smothered, but evidently there was some +opening in the roof, some overhead passage that acted in the nature of +a chimney, for the smoke was carried off above. + +As the warmth of the fire penetrated the cave, the boys took off their +drenched clothes and spread them about the blaze, in the meantime +wrapping themselves in the heavy blankets they had brought with them. +Chet produced the frying pan, and the fragrant odor of sizzling bacon +soon permeated their refuge. He improvised a tripod from which was +suspended a tin pail, duly filled with rain water that coursed in a +gushing stream just beside the mouth of the cave, and in a short time +the coffee was boiling. + +The boys never enjoyed a meal more than they enjoyed their supper in +the cave. The driftwood blazed and crackled, casting a cheerful glow, +illuminating the rocky ceiling and walls of the underground chamber. +With crisp bacon, bread toasted brown before the fire, hot coffee and +jam, they ate ravenously, and at last sat back with deep sighs of +sheer content. + +"This old cave isn't so bad after all," said Chet, wrapping his blanket +around him like a cocoon and wriggling his toes toward the flames. + +The others glanced toward the entrance of the cavern. + +It was pitch dark outside, and still raining. They could hear the +constant beat of the down-pour, the incessant roar of the surf, the +splash of the waves, the moaning of the cold wind out in the blackness +of the night, and the cave seemed the most comfortable place in the +world. + +"We owe a vote of thanks to the chap who stacked this driftwood in +here," said Biff. + +"I'll tell the world!" declared Joe. "We'd have been shivering and +hungry yet if it hadn't been for him." + +"I wonder who he could have been," mused Frank. + +"Perhaps somebody who was down here searching for the smugglers or +bootleggers or whoever has been raising all the fuss around here," his +brother suggested. + +"He hasn't shown up yet," Chet remarked cheerfully. He looked out into +the storm and shivered. "Somehow, I have an idea he won't be along +to-night, either," he added, edging nearer the fire. + +"I guess we'd better have a good night's sleep and then start our +exploring to-morrow," Frank said. "We can start right on this cave, for +that matter. It seems to lead back for quite a distance." + +"Sleep sounds good to me." Biff yawned. + +Although part of the floor of the cave was rocky, much of it was sand, +which provided a fairly comfortable resting place. The boys were tired +after their long journey, so they wrapped themselves up in their +blankets and were soon drowsily chatting, while the fire died lower and +lower. + +At last only the embers glowed crimson in the darkness. Chet Morton was +already snoring. Soon, all were asleep. + +The fire was a scarlet eye in the blackness of the cave. Beyond the +entrance, rain still poured in a seemingly endless torrent and the surf +roared dully. + +An hour passed. Two hours. + +Joe, who had been sleeping soundly, was awakened. At first he did not +realize where he was, could not imagine why he was sleeping on the +ground, wrapped in a heavy blanket, and then it gradually came back to +him and he remembered about the cave. + +He was just about to turn over and go to sleep again, wondering vaguely +what had aroused him, when he heard a footstep. + +It came from close by. + +He listened, and then he heard it again. Some one was moving cautiously +about in the darkness. + +Joe raised himself on one elbow and peered into the gloom. But he could +see nothing. However, he reasoned that it was probably only one of his +chums. + +When he heard a rustle, he spoke. + +"Is that you, Frank?" + +The words rang out clearly in the silence of the cave. + +But the consequence was surprising. Instead of the reassuring voice of +his brother, Joe heard a muffled exclamation, quick footsteps as some +one ran across the floor of the cave, and then the crash of a fallen +rock. + + + + + CHAPTER XII + + A DISAPPEARANCE + + +"Who is that?" demanded Joe Hardy, scrambling to his feet. + +There was no answer. He heard the sound of running footsteps gradually +growing fainter. + +"Hey, there!" he shouted, now thoroughly aroused. "Fellows! Wake up!" + +He stumbled about in the darkness, trying to find his flashlight and +his chums. Then he heard Chet's sleepy voice: + +"What's the matter? It isn't morning yet. Lemme sleep." + +"Wake up! There's some one prowling around here." + +"What's that?" called out Frank, from the darkness. + +"There was some one else in the cave just now. He woke me up." + +"Perhaps it was only Biff. Hey, Biff!" + +A deep sigh. Then Biff mumbled: + +"Whaddaya want?" + +"Wake up." Frank switched on his flashlight and he turned it on each +member of the startled group. "Everybody here?" + +"Sure!" replied Biff, sitting up in his blanket. "What's wrong?" + +"Joe says somebody was prowling around the cave." + +"It wasn't me. I've been sleeping like a log." + +"It wasn't me either," spoke up Chet. + +"I guess I was right, then," declared Joe. "There really _was_ +somebody. I thought for a minute it might be one of you playing a trick +on the rest of us." + +"We're all accounted for," said Frank. He got up and tossed a stick of +wood on the embers of the fire. In a few minutes it began flaming up +brightly, casting a circle of illumination through the cave. "Tell us +about it, Joe." + +Joe thereupon told of hearing the mysterious footsteps in the cave, of +calling out and of hearing the exclamation, the crash of the rock, and +the running footsteps as the intruder fled. + +"Did he go out the front way?" + +Joe shook his head. + +"No. He seemed to go farther into the cave, toward the back." + +"Well, then," said Frank decisively, "we'll just go and look for him. +If he went that way, he's in the cave yet." + +"Aw, let's look for him in the morning," protested Chet, as he rubbed +his eyes. "I think Joe was dreaming." + +"It was no dream. I _heard_ him walking around. It wasn't any of us, so +it must have been a burglar--or somebody." + +"What would a burglar come around here for?" + +"Perhaps it's the chap who piled up all that wood," said Frank. "Maybe +this is his cave and when he came in and heard Joe call out he got +frightened and ran." + +"That sounds more reasonable. Anyway, we'll take a look around for him. +He can't be far away." + +The boys hurriedly dressed. They were soon wide awake, excitement +having banished all desire for further sleep. + +"We were going to explore in here, anyway," said Frank, as he took his +flashlight and led the way toward the back of the cave. + +The boys confronted an arch in the rock, an opening that seemed to lead +into a tunnel. They approached it cautiously, and Frank often turned +the light on the floor to make sure that no pitfalls lay before them. + +Frank went into the tunnel first. In single file, the others followed. + +It was about fifteen feet in length and about six feet high. As the +floor was of solid rock, they were unable to find any foot-prints that +would serve to prove that the intruder had passed that way. + +The tunnel led to another cave. + +"Why, there's a regular chain of caves in here!" exclaimed Joe, as the +boys stepped out into a massive underground chamber. + +"Our cave was only the beginning," said Chet. + +In the glow of their flashlights they saw that the cave in which they +now stood had a number of dark openings in the walls. These were, +presumably, tunnels leading into further caves beyond. + +"There are a dozen different passages out of here. Our friend might +have taken any of them," said Frank. + +"We'll tackle the biggest," suggested Biff. + +"Good idea. If we don't get anywhere, we'll try the others." + +The largest tunnel was immediately ahead. Frank, accordingly, stepped +into the gloomy passage. The others followed. + +"When I was going to sleep to-night, I never thought I'd wake up and +take part in an exploring trip underground before morning," observed +Chet. + +Frank gave an exclamation. + +"Here's what we were looking for!" he cried. + +"What?" + +"A footprint." + +The others crowded around him. + +Clearly discernible in the radiance of Frank's flashlight, the lads +could see the imprint of a boot in a patch of wet sand on the floor of +the tunnel. + +"Looks like a fresh track, too," said Joe. + +"We're on the right trail. Let's keep moving." + +With increasing excitement, the chums pressed forward and in a few +moments Frank stepped out of the passage into another cave. This was +the largest cave of all, an enormous underground vault, and even the +flashlight beams failed to reveal the rocky walls and ceiling. + +The floor was rough and broken fragments of rock were strewn about. + +"Watch your step," warned Frank, as he made his way across the cave. + +The others had flashlights and the floor was well illuminated as the +boys slowly picked their way among the rocks. The far wall of the huge +cavern was still invisible. + +"This is a whopper!" said Joe, in an awed whisper. + +Frank stopped, with a murmur of annoyance. + +"What's the matter?" asked Chet. + +"My flashlight. It's on the blink." + +Vainly, Frank tried to coax a gleam from the refractory instrument. It +was no use. He put the light in his pocket. + +"I'll have to fix it to-morrow," he said. "It won't work any more +to-night by the looks of things." + +"Here's mine," offered Biff. + +But Frank declined. + +"No thanks. One of you chaps take the lead for a while. I can follow +easily enough." + +Joe took the lead, as Frank suggested, and the little party moved on +again. + +It was rough going. The floor of the cave became piled high with rocks, +evidently from cave-ins that had occurred in times past; in other parts +it was pitted with little gullies and holes. In trying to avoid these, +the chums gradually became separated. + +Frank stumbled along behind. He felt the loss of his flashlight, but +said nothing, relying on finding his way by the radiance provided by +the lights carried by the others. + +Soon, however, the three lights became scattered. Joe had gone to one +side to avoid a huge boulder; Chet had gone to the other side and +encountered a pit that prevented him from returning to Joe's trail; +Biff had tried to follow Chet and had blundered into a labyrinth of +rocks. + +Frank stood uncertainly for a moment, then called out. + +"We're getting separated. Wait for me." + +The walls of the great cave flung back the echoes time and again. + +He heard Joe shout: + +"Where are you?" + +Had it not been for the glow of Joe's light he would never have known +where the voice came from because the echoes confused him, and the +tones seemed to come from all parts of the cave. + +Frank realized that his own shouts would cause the same confusion to +the others. + +"Don't move around!" he called, "I'll head toward one of the lights." + +But evidently his order was misunderstood, for one of the lights began +to move erratically through the darkness. + +Frank went forward. He blundered against a rock and fell, bruising his +knees. He got to his feet and went on, still in the direction of the +nearest glow. + +He was confused by the moving lights. Had his own flashlight not failed +him this would not have happened. + +Suddenly, he stumbled. + +He lurched forward. His foot groped wildly for the firm rock, but there +was nothing to stop his plunge. He had fallen into a pit. + +Straight down through the blackness he hurtled, with a wild cry of +terror. + +The others heard that cry. They heard a far-off crash, and then the +clatter of falling rock. + +Joe was the first to shout. + +"Frank!" he called. + +There was no answer. The echoes rang back. + +Although the other boys shouted time and again there was no answer from +Frank Hardy. They searched frantically, casting the beams of their +lights here and there, but they found no trace of him. + + + + + CHAPTER XIII + + STOLEN SUPPLIES + + +The other boys searched for nearly an hour, but Frank Hardy seemed to +have disappeared literally into the bowels of the earth. + +With only their flashlights to illuminate the huge cave, they found it +difficult to conduct the search with any degree of satisfaction. They +blundered here and there, not at all certain that they were anywhere +near the place where their companion had disappeared. + +They found several deep pits in the floor of the cave, natural crevices +and holes in the rock, but although they shouted at the top of their +lungs they heard no answering cry from below. + +"He must have fallen down one of these holes, that's certain," Joe +declared. "I'm sure we haven't missed any." + +"Why doesn't he call back then?" said Biff. + +In the glow of the flashlights the boys glanced at one another +anxiously. Joe expressed the thought that the others were afraid to put +into words. + +"Perhaps he can't." + +"Do you think he may be dead?" asked Chet quietly. + +"We'll hope not," sighed Joe. "But when he doesn't answer, things don't +look any too bright. Any of these crevices may be hundreds of feet +deep, for all we know." + +"It will be a terrible end to our trip if anything like that has +happened." + +"Not much use waiting for morning," declared Biff. "This cave is just +as dark in the daytime as it is right now. I sure wish we had a few +more flashlights." + +"Or more powerful ones. We can't see very far down the crevices in the +rocks, with these lights." + +The boys talked in low tones. They were awed by the thought of what +might have happened to Frank Hardy. In their ears still rang that last +dreadful cry and they could still hear the crashing of rocks as their +companion hurtled into the depths. Even now his mangled body might be +lying in some subterranean pit from which it would be impossible to +recover it. Joe shuddered. + +They listened in vain for some faint cry. But there was nothing but the +echoes of their own voices. + +"We won't give up for a while yet," said Joe, with as much steadiness +of voice as he could muster. "We'll search around every pit and hole +we can find. I _can't_ believe he was killed!" + +Keeping close together, the lads slowly crossed the floor of the cave. +When they reached an opening in the rocks they directed the beams of +their three flashlights into the shadowy depths, thus gaining more +radiance than had they been searching singly. Then they yelled and +shouted. + +There was no reply. The flashlights revealed only jagged walls of rock. +There was no sign of Frank. + +On to the next crevice. This, fortunately, was not deep, but although +the lights revealed the bottom and although they played the triple +beams along every inch of the floor of the subterranean ravine, there +was no sight of a crumpled figure. + +Patiently, they searched the cave, but at last they were forced to +admit that they were at a standstill. + +"Not much use going any farther just now," sighed Joe. "We need more +light." He sat down moodily on a rock and buried his face in his hands. + +"I wish we had never followed that fellow who was in the cave," said +Chet. "Chances are, it has cost Frank his life." + +"I'm not giving up hope yet," Joe declared. "There's a chance that he +might have been knocked unconscious by his fall, and if we can only +reach him in time we may be able to save him. But these flashlights +aren't much help. We're just groping around in the dark." + +"I have an idea," offered Biff. + +"What is it?" + +"Let's build a fire. It might light up the cave enough to show us what +we are doing." + +"How can we light a fire?" asked Chet. Then he looked up sharply. +"You're right, Biff. I forgot that we have lots of wood in the outside +cave." + +"That's not a bad stunt!" declared Joe hopefully. "With a roaring +bonfire in here we'll be able to light up the whole place and see what +we're about." + +"Let's get at it." + +Biff's plan seemed valuable, but before leaving the cave in search of +wood, the boys made a last attempt to locate their missing comrade, by +shouting loudly. However, as before, there was not the faintest reply. + +They made their way out into the next cave, and from there into the +outer cavern where they had originally taken refuge from the storm. +They were harassed by the thought that death might have overtaken their +missing companion, and they said scarcely a word as they went about +the business of gathering driftwood for the proposed bonfire. + +Each of them took an armful of the wood and they were just about to +return through the caves again when Joe noticed something that caused +him to drop his wood on the floor with a clatter. + +"What's wrong now?" asked Chet, in surprise. + +"That's funny," Joe returned. "I was sure we left our supplies right +near this woodpile." + +"So we did," Biff assured him. + +"They're not here now." + +"They must be. I piled them there myself, all except a few that I put +over by the other wall." + +"Come and see for yourself." + +Joe turned the beam of his flashlight on the place where Biff had +stacked the greater part of their supplies. A loaf of bread and a tin +of sardines lay on the rock, but that was all. + +Biff's astonishment was so great that he could scarcely speak for a +moment. + +Then he gasped: + +"They've been stolen!" + +"All of 'em?" demanded Chet, in alarm. The loss of their provisions +would be a serious matter to him. + +"Where did you put the rest of the stuff, Biff?" asked Joe. + +Biff turned his flashlight on the opposite wall. There the light +revealed a few bundles and tins, the rest of the supplies. + +"Well, they're safe, at any rate." + +"But where are the others? They _can't_ be stolen. They were here when +we went to sleep." + +"Must have been stolen while we were in the other caves," declared Chet. + +"But who could have taken them?" exclaimed Joe. + +"The chap who woke us up. I'll bet he didn't go into the other caves at +all, or if he did he just hid himself until we passed. Then he came out +and stole our food." + +"Perhaps that's what he came for in the first place," suggested Biff. + +Solemnly, the lads looked from the loaf of bread and the tin of +sardines on the floor of the cave to the few things on the other side. + +"He sure didn't leave much. This means we'll have to go back to the +village," said Chet, a bit impatiently. + +"We can't take time to worry about that now," Joe reminded him. "We +have to keep up our search for Frank." + +"That's right," agreed Biff. "It's tough to lose our food; but we have +enough to last us another day, anyway, and it's more important to get +Frank back than our supplies." + +"Of course it is," agreed Chet soberly. + +The boys picked up their firewood again and, with Joe in the lead, went +into the second cave, then on into the cavern where their chum had +vanished. As they trudged on through the darkness, following the gleam +of the flashlights, Chet and Biff wondered vainly about the thief who +had disturbed them and robbed them. Joe's agonized thoughts circled +about his vanished brother. + + + + + CHAPTER XIV + + CAPTAIN ROYAL + + +When the three boys reached the cave where they had last seen Frank +Hardy they piled the driftwood in a heap close by one of the pits in +the floor. + +They were surprised at the number of holes and crevices they had +discovered. + +"It's a wonder we weren't all killed," said Chet. "We were all prowling +around this cave without any idea of the danger." + +"It's a good place to stay out of," Joe remarked. "But first of all +we'll try to get Frank out of it too." + +He was trying to be hopeful, but it was difficult. The ominous silence +since his brother's disappearance had been none too encouraging. + +They lit the fire. In a short time, the flames flared high and a +flickering radiance illuminated the cave, revealing the damp ceiling +high above, the clammy walls in the distance, and the rough floor, +seamed and pitted with cracks and holes in the rock. + +Methodically, they resumed their search, investigating each of these +gigantic crevices. But in spite of all their shouts, in spite of the +fact that they were enabled to make a more thorough search now that the +cave was not as dark as it had been, in spite of the fact that Joe even +descended one of the shallower pits on the chance that Frank might be +lying unconscious at the bottom, their search was in vain. + +"I'm afraid it's no use," said Biff finally. + +"I hate to give up!" declared Joe. "And yet--we've done all we can." + +"Better have some sleep and try again to-morrow," Chet suggested. +"Frank is either unconscious or--or dead. Some of these pits seem +terribly deep." + +Joe realized that the advice was reasonable. They were all very tired +and in no condition to continue the search. As Chet said, if Frank were +alive or conscious, he would have shouted to them. + +"All right," agreed Joe. "We'll go back to the other cave. But I'm +afraid I'll never be able to sleep." + +"We'll have a rest, anyway. Then we'll come back. If we still can't +find him we'll go back to the village and get some men to help us with +ropes and big searchlights. We'll never go back to Bayport until we +find out what has happened to him." + +Disconsolately, the boys turned away. + +They were almost at the entrance of the second cave when they heard a +faint sound. + +Joe wheeled about. + +"What was that?" + +They listened. The sound was repeated. It was like a distant cry. + +"Somebody calling!" declared Biff excitedly. + +"It must be Frank!" + +The boys stood quite still and listened for a repetition of the call. +It came again, muffled and far away, but unmistakably a human voice. + +With one accord, they turned and ran back into the cave. + +"It's Frank!" + +They hurried across the treacherous floor in the direction of the +sound. It was clearer now. + +"Joe! Joe!" + +They recognized Frank's voice. + +The call came from a part of the cave that they had not searched +carefully. Joe shouted back excitedly: + +"We hear you, Frank! Call again, so we'll know where to find you!" + +Again came the faint shout. It guided them toward a pit that was almost +hidden from view by a huge boulder. It was one of the few pits that +they had overlooked. + +Evidently Frank had seen the reflection of their searchlights, for he +shouted weakly: + +"Right over here." + +At the edge of the pit, they looked down. + +There, just a blur in the gloom, they distinguished a figure. Frank was +standing up, leaning against the side of the rocky shaft, just a few +yards below. + +Chet had brought with him a length of stout rope and he quickly flung +one end of this down into the pit. + +"We'll have you out of there in no time. Boy, but it's good to hear +your voice again!" There was heartfelt relief in his tones. + +Frank explained that the sides of the pit were too steep to enable him +to make his way to the surface without assistance. However, with the +aid of the rope, and with Joe and his chums pulling lustily, he was +soon hauled to the top. + +[Illustration: HE WAS SOON HAULED TO THE TOP.] + +As he scrambled up out of the pit, the others noticed, in the glow of +the fire, that he had a nasty gash across his temple. + +"You're hurt!" said Joe, when the first exclamations of enthusiasm and +delight had died down. + +"I'm all right now," Frank assured them. "I'm a little dizzy yet, and +weak, but it isn't serious." + +"What happened?" + +"I fell down the pit, and I struck my head against the rocks. It must +have knocked me out for a few minutes but when I came to, I began to +shout." + +"A few minutes!" exclaimed Chet. "We've been hunting for you over an +hour." + +Frank looked incredulous. + +"An hour! Why, I thought I had been unconscious only a little while." + +The others then told him of the search they had made and of their +anxiety on his account. However, they were so relieved at seeing him +safe and sound again that they soon forgot the serious side of the +affair and Chet remarked that Frank had been lucky in having an hour's +sleep while the rest had been shouting their lungs out. They trooped +out of the cavern back toward their own cave, and Joe told his brother +about the missing supplies. + +"That's queer," said Frank. "Were they stolen while we were in the big +cave?" + +"It looks like that." + +"But the man who woke us up went into the big cave ahead of us." + +"He may have hidden and we might have passed him." + +"That's possible. Perhaps it wasn't a man at all. The thief might have +been an animal." + +The others had not considered this explanation. + +"No use crying over spilled milk now," declared Frank. "We'd just +better go back to sleep and hunt for our supplies in the morning." + +When morning came, a diligent search of the cave failed to reveal any +clues that would help the boys trace the thief, whether man or animal. + +"We're out of luck, that's all," concluded Frank finally. "Our friend +must have fooled us nicely. Perhaps he came into the cave to steal +supplies in the first place, then slipped past us in the darkness when +we went to look for him." + +"And helped himself," said Chet gloomily. + +"He left something, at any rate. We won't starve to-day, and if our +grub runs out we can go back to the village for more. We'll make the +best of it. Let's start exploring the shore-line. That's what we came +for." + +The matter of the stolen supplies was thus dismissed, although Chet +was very gloomy for some time as he thought of the food that had been +taken, notably a tin of strawberry jam, of which he was inordinately +fond. + +The storm was over, and from the cave they could see the sun shining +on the blue waters of the sea. They lost no time in eating breakfast +and then hastening down to the beach. Although they were dubious as to +the advisability of leaving their remaining supplies in the cave, they +reasoned that as it was impossible to take the provisions everywhere +with them, they would have to run the risk of further theft. + +Out on the beach, beneath the lowering black cliffs, they forgot the +unfortunate beginning of their quest in the delight of the keen, salty +air and the cool breeze from the sea. The sandy shore wound about the +face of a great bluff of black rock and when the lads had skirted this +precipice they were confronted by a dark opening at the base of the +cliff just a few yards away. + +"Another cave!" exclaimed Frank. + +Chet gave a cheer. + +"Let's investigate." + +They advanced on the cave, but when they were just in front of the +entrance they halted with exclamations of surprise. + +Tacked on a board stuck in the sand beside the cave-mouth was a +tattered fragment of paper. On it, in black letters scrawled with a +heavy pencil, they read: + + NO TRESPASSING. + +The boys looked at this sign in astonishment. + +"By order of the chief of police," murmured Chet, with a grin. + +"Looks as if somebody has been here before," Biff observed. + +"Perhaps somebody just put up the sign for a joke. Let's take a peep +inside." + +Frank advanced toward the cave. + +But at the entrance he paused. He peered into the gloomy beyond and +then turned back to his companions. + +"The sign isn't a joke," he said quietly. "Somebody lives here!" + +"_Lives_ there!" ejaculated Chet incredulously. + +"Come and see for yourself." + +Curiously, the lads crowded into the entrance of the cave. They saw at +a glance that Frank was right. In the gloomy interior of the cave they +could see a crude table, a mattress with blankets, and on a ledge of +rock was an improvised cupboard consisting of an old soap box. That the +cave had only been recently tenanted they saw by the fact that the box +held some canned goods and some other provisions that had certainly not +been there long. + +"Well, I'll be switched!" declared Joe. "We have a neighbor." + +"We certainly have. And if I'm not mistaken, here he comes now." + +Frank was looking down the beach. The others turned. + +"What a queer duck he is!" exclaimed Biff. + +"I'll say he is!" ejaculated Chet Morton. "Where do they get 'em like +that?" + +Coming around a jutting promontory of rock was a queer old man, clad in +fisherman's garb, with a huge straw hat on his head. He had not seen +them as yet. He was singing, in a high-pitched voice, and even at that +distance they could make out the words: + + "I'm Captain Royal, of the King's Navee, + And I want two lumps of sugar in my tea." + + + + + CHAPTER XV + + THE OLD SAILOR + + +Having concluded this verse, the strange old man elevated one arm above +his head and danced a couple of steps of a sailor's hornpipe. In the +middle of this he caught sight of the boys, and came to an abrupt stop. + +"Ahoy!" he shouted. + +"Ahoy!" cried Chet promptly. + +The man in the straw hat advanced. + +"When did you come ashore?" + +"Just this morning." + +The old man drew closer. He was an odd figure, in the flopping straw +hat, with oilskins much too big for him, and as he came up to the mouth +of the cave he looked closely at the lads, then smiled and extended his +hand. + +"I'm Captain Royal," he announced. "You should have saluted, but I +guess you didn't know." + +To make up for this breach of etiquette, the boys saluted, and this +appeared to gratify the old gentleman immensely. + +"You're landlubbers, eh?" + +"I suppose so," admitted Frank, with a smile. + +"Well, we can't all be sailors. It isn't often people come to see me." + +"Do you live here?" asked Joe, indicating the cave. + +"This is where I live when I'm ashore. I'm resting up between cruises +just now." + +The old man sat down on the sand and fanned himself with the straw hat, +for it was a warm morning and the sun was strong. The boys looked at +him curiously. In spite of his garb, he did not look like a sea-faring +man; his skin was tanned, it is true, but it was not the deep, mahogany +tan of one who has lived for years in many climes. His voice was +high-pitched and his expression was mild. But the boys were old enough +to know that one cannot always judge by appearances. + +"What are your names?" asked the old man. + +The lads introduced themselves. + +"Glad to meet you," returned Captain Royal. "It ain't often I have +visitors. I get used to being alone." + +"It's lonely enough here," agreed Frank. + +"It isn't bad. Not half as lonely as the time I got marooned in the +South Seas." + +The boys looked at him with new interest. + +"You were marooned?" + +"Aye. It was when I was in charge of a destroyer cruising the South +Seas a good many years ago. We landed for water on a little island that +you won't find on any of the maps. It was a hot day--very hot. Must +have been over a hundred degrees in the shade. So while my men were +loading the water on my boat I sat down in the shade of a cactus tree. +Before I knew it, I was asleep." + +"And they went away and left you?" + +"They did." + +"But you were the captain!" + +"I guess they thought I was in my cabin, and of course none of 'em +dared disturb me. When I woke up, the ship was gone." + +"Gosh!" exclaimed Biff. + +"Well, sir, I didn't know what to do. I was like this here fellow +Robinson Crusoe, that you read about. But I had to make the best of it, +so I fixed myself up a little house and I lived there for nearly six +months, all by myself." + +"Didn't the boat come back for you?" + +"They couldn't find the island again. It wasn't marked on the maps. +The engineer couldn't set a course back to the island. Anyway, the +quartermaster who took charge of the schooner after they found I was +gone, didn't want to find me, I guess. He wanted my job." + +"How did you find anything to eat when you were on the island?" + +"Oh, there was lots to eat. Cocoanuts and prunes and bananas and +grapefruit and figs and all sorts of fruit. There was plenty of +mud-turtles on the island, so I had mock turtle soup whenever I wanted +it. I tell you, I lived high. Once in a while I had my little troubles, +of course, and two or three times I had some mighty narrow escapes. +There was a rhinoceros came after me once." + +"A rhinoceros!" + +"Aye! He swam up to the island one day. I was just in for my morning +swim when I saw his big ears flapping and heard him give a roar. I tell +you, I was scared. He came surging through the waves and up on the +beach and he chased me clean up a pineapple tree. I had to stay there +for three days until he went away, and I had nothing but pineapples to +eat. I was never so sick of pineapples in my life. I've never been able +to eat one since." + +Frank glanced at his brother. He was beginning to suspect that Captain +Royal was having some fun at their expense. The old man rattled on. + +"The rhinoceros finally swam out to sea again and I was able to come +down. I lived on that island for half a year, hoping that my warship +would come back, but it never did. So I made myself a raft and loaded +it up with water and fruit and finally sailed away. It took me more +than a month of steady sailing before I finally reached land off the +coast of South America. By jing, I was glad when I saw the Andes +Mountains again. I landed at a port where there was a ship, and I'm +swizzled if it wasn't my own boat." + +"Your own boat!" + +"Yes sir. I could hardly believe my eyes. So I come on board, and they +were going to throw me off." + +"Why?" asked Chet, in surprise. + +"They didn't know me. You see, I hadn't been able to shave when I +was on the island, and I'd grown a beard. So nobody knew me and they +wouldn't believe me when I said I was their captain. But I told them to +lend me a pair of scissors and a razor and I took off that beard and +stepped out on deck, and by jing they all saluted me then, I can tell +you. I made the quartermaster walk the plank and we all sailed back to +San Francisco." + +"That was quite an adventure," said Frank politely. + +"Oh, I've had many things happen to me. I've been in a lot of battles, +too. Of course, I've retired from the navy now, for there isn't the +excitement nowadays." + +"Were you in the Spanish-American war?" asked Chet. + +"I was all through it from start to finish. I had a narrow escape +during that war. I took my ship out one night off the Philippines +to see if I could catch a Spanish warship that I'd heard was in the +neighborhood, and we sighted her just about midnight, not half a mile +away. So we pumped a couple of shots over her keel and she turned and +went steaming away to the north. Well, I gave chase, but the Spaniard +was fast and it was three hours before we came alongside. We were just +going to board the ship when the steward came up to me and said some +other boats were coming up. There was. Five of 'em. All Spanish." + +"What did you do?" + +"What could I do? I couldn't run away. I told my men to get on board +the Spaniard and I took all the sailors from that boat and made 'em +surrender and put 'em on my ship. So the other boats didn't dare fire +at my ship for fear of killing their own men and they didn't dare fire +at the boat I was on for fear of sinking their own ship. So we opened +fire on them and they didn't dare fire a shot back." + +"That was mighty clever." + +"Wasn't it? I sunk two of the Spaniards and the others surrendered and +I brought 'em back to Manila Bay. I was given a medal for that." + +Captain Royal looked very pleased with himself, and he dug into a +capacious pocket and produced a plug of tobacco, taking a huge bite. + +"Oh, I've had experiences," he said, wagging his head. "Are you going +to be around here long?" + +"Just a few days." + +"I'd invite you to come and live in my cave, only there ain't much +room." + +"We have a cave of our own, farther down the shore." + +"That's fine. I'll call and see you some time." + +"We'll be glad to have you do that," said Joe cordially. + +The old man got up and walked toward the entrance of his own cave. + +"Come on inside," he urged. "You'd better stay and have some dinner +with me. I was out fishing this morning and I caught quite a few fish. +As soon as they're ready, we'll sit down and eat." + +The boys accepted the invitation eagerly, and trooped into the cave of +Captain Royal. Chet looked around hungrily for the fish, but there was +none in sight. The old man invited them to sit down, and they squatted +in the sand, there being no chairs or boxes. + +"Are you the only person living around here, Captain Royal?" asked +Frank. + +"The only one. I thought I was the only person who knew about these +caves until I saw you lads here." + +"There was some one visited us last night--" began Frank. Then he +hesitated in surprise, for Captain Royal leaped to his feet, a look of +fear on his face. + +"What's that?" he exclaimed. "Some one visited you! Don't tell me +there's some one else around here!" + + + + + CHAPTER XVI + + "GO AWAY!" + + +"Some one came into our cave last night and stole most of our +supplies," said Frank. + +"A man?" + +"We didn't see him, but it could scarcely have been an animal of any +kind, for he carried off a whole box of food." + +"You don't say!" exclaimed Captain Royal. + +"And we found a footprint too," added Joe. + +Captain Royal shook his head in amazement. + +"This is very strange. I had no idea there was any one else around this +part of the coast. You can see for yourself that it is hard to get +here, and if there were any one else around I would be sure to see him." + +"And you've seen no one?" + +"Not a living soul, besides yourselves. And he stole your supplies?" + +"Nearly all of them. He left us some canned beans, a loaf of bread, +some butter and some coffee; but that's about all." + +"Canned beans! It's a long time since I've had any canned beans. +Perhaps we could trade." + +"That's not a bad idea," said Chet. "There are other things we need." + +"I have some dried fish here," said the captain. "I have fish and a +case of eggs and some other things. Go get those beans and we'll trade." + +Chet hastened back to the other cave and returned in due time with the +cans of beans, which the captain accepted with considerable delight. In +exchange, the boys received some fish and two dozen eggs. + +"I got the eggs off a boat yesterday," explained Captain Royal, "and +I've been thinking ever since that it was foolish of me to buy a whole +case, because they mightn't keep. I'd rather have canned beans any day." + +When the exchange was effected, their host suddenly became silent +and sat for a long time looking gloomily at the sand. The boys were +wondering when the promised fish dinner was to put in its appearance. +Apparently, Captain Royal had forgotten all about his invitation. +Suddenly he looked up. + +"Well," he demanded curtly, "what are you hanging around for, boys?" + +They gazed at the man in surprise. + +"Why--you asked us to stay," stammered Frank. + +"Yes," returned the old man tartly, "but I didn't ask you to stay all +day." + +The boys were so astonished at this sudden change of front that for a +moment they thought the captain was joking. But they soon learned that +he was in earnest, for he got to his feet with a mutter. + +"Must I order you out?" + +"Why, what's the matter?" inquired Joe, "Have we offended you in any +way?" + +"Be off with you! Go away! Get out of here." + +The boys got to their feet, vastly surprised. + +"Go away!" repeated Captain Royal, advancing on them with a threatening +gesture. "Clear out. I prefer to be alone." + +"Why, certainly," said Frank. "We had no idea we were disturbing you, +Captain." + +"Don't argue. Get out. By jing, I've had enough people bothering me +lately and I'm not going to stand for it any longer. I thought when I +found this cave that people would leave me alone, and now I am annoyed +by a pack of meddlesome boys. Go away!" + +Without further ado, the lads retreated from the cave. Captain Royal +stood in the entrance, shaking his fist at them angrily. + +"Clear out of here!" he stormed. "Don't let me catch you around this +cave again or it will be the worse for you." + +Then he wheeled about abruptly and disappeared into the darkness of the +cave. + +The boys looked at one another in amazement. + +"Can you beat that!" exclaimed Chet. + +"What's wrong with the old coot, anyway?" demanded Biff. "Has he gone +crazy?" + +"I can't understand it," said Frank. "One minute he invites us to stay +for dinner, and in the next breath he orders us away." + +Joe tapped his head significantly. + +"I think he's a little bit off his head." + +"Perhaps it's the heat," volunteered Chet. + +"He is certainly a queer old codger," Biff declared. "I don't know what +to make of him." + +The boys went back down the beach toward their own cave. Fortunately, +before he started, Chet had had enough presence of mind to pick up the +provisions they had obtained from the old man, so the boys were so much +to the good, at any rate. + +"He's crazy," insisted Joe. "Those stories he told us were the wildest +yarns I ever heard in my life. I wonder if he thought we were simple +enough to believe them." + +"As if anybody didn't know that a rhinoceros couldn't swim the ocean!" +scoffed Chet. + +"And pineapples that grow on a tree!" + +"I don't think he's ever been a sailor at all," Frank declared. "His +naval terms were certainly mixed. He called his ship a destroyer and a +warship and a schooner and didn't seem to notice the difference. And he +said the quartermaster was in charge after he left the ship." + +"And everybody knows they don't make people walk the plank nowadays." + +"His stories were as full of holes as a sieve. But I don't know whether +he told them just for the fun of stuffing us or just because he is +clean crazy and doesn't know any better." + +The boys discussed Captain Royal and his eccentric behavior all the +way back to their cave, and agreed that if the old gentleman was not a +lunatic he was at least slightly unbalanced. + +"The very fact that he lives away off here all by himself proves it," +insisted Joe. "No man in his right mind would live in a cave down in +this lonely spot. I wonder if he was the man who came and stole our +supplies last night." + +Frank shook his head. + +"I thought of that and I took a look around his cave, but there was no +sign of any of our stuff. Besides, he seemed much surprised when we +told him there was some one else hanging around." + +"He might have been smart enough to act as though he were surprised. +Perhaps he had our provisions hidden away." + +"But why would he want to trade with us?" + +"Because he's crazy." + +The lads went back to their own cave and then went for a swim in the +surf, forgetting Captain Royal in their enjoyment of the stimulating +salt water. In spite of the generally rocky nature of the coast the +beach in front of their cave was sandy and sloped gently into the +water, providing an ideal bathing place. + +When the swim was over they prepared lunch from what limited food they +had on hand, and in the afternoon they went back down the shore again +to resume their tour of exploration. + +They did not see the captain again, although they passed his cave, +keeping at a respectful distance so as not to incur his wrath. Farther +down the shore they found a series of large caves, and some of these +they explored. However, they found nothing of interest, although they +spent the entire afternoon prowling about the caverns. At sundown they +returned, footsore and weary, to their own headquarters. + +After supper they sat about their campfire chatting, but Chet and Biff +were so tired that their heads soon began to nod and they decided to +retire for the night. Joe would have done likewise, but Frank asked him +to sit up a while longer. + +Biff and Chet were soon snoring, and not until then did Frank broach +the subject on his mind. + +"Did you notice an expression Captain Royal used several times when he +was talking to us?" he asked his brother. + +Joe reflected. + +"I can't say that I noticed anything in particular," he confessed. + +"Don't you remember that he said 'by jing' now and then?" + +Joe looked up, startled. + +"Now I remember! Yes, he did say that. And 'by jing' is the very +expression--" + +"The very expression Evangeline Todd said her missing brother used so +often!" + +"That's a fact!" exclaimed Joe. "And now that I come to think of it, I +remember his shoelaces." + +"They were untied." + +"And Todham Todd had a habit of going about with his shoelaces untied +too!" + + + + + CHAPTER XVII + + THE MAN ON THE SHORE + + +The Hardy boys looked at one another solemnly in the glow of the +campfire. + +"Do you think Captain Royal and Todham Todd are one and the same man?" +asked Joe. + +"What do you think of it yourself?" + +"It certainly looks strange. But how _could_ this queer old chap be +Todham Todd? How would the college professor get away down among these +caves, and what would be his idea in passing himself off as a sea +captain?" + +Frank was thoughtful. + +"Stranger things have happened. You remember that Evangeline Todd +suggested that her brother might have lost his memory. He was always +more or less eccentric, no doubt, and if he was suffering from amnesia +there is no telling where he might go or what he might do." + +"It's mighty strange if we have run across him in this place. Perhaps +it's just a coincidence that Captain Royal says 'by jing' once in +a while. As for having his shoelaces untied, he seems pretty sloppy +anyway, and that would be only natural." + +"Oh, yes, there's every chance in the world that Captain Royal is +simply an eccentric old tar. I agree with you there. Just the same, we +can't afford to overlook the chance that he _might_ be Todham Todd." + +"How are we going to find out?" + +"If we asked him, he would deny it, certainly. But perhaps if we could +talk to him and ask a few questions he might give himself away." + +"If he has lost his memory he would not remember anything to give away." + +"I hadn't thought of that," admitted Frank. "Still, my plan is worth +trying, don't you think?" + +"It certainly is. But do you think he'll talk to us at all, after what +happened to-day?" + +"Perhaps he's forgotten all about it by now. He might be as nice as pie +if we went back." + +"Yes, he seems a rather changeable old boy," laughed Joe. "And perhaps +if he isn't around we might find some clue in that cave of his." + +"Good idea. We'll make a try at it to-morrow." + +"Do you think we should tell Chet and Biff?" asked Joe. + +"I don't think so. Not just yet. After all, they don't know about the +Todd affair, and if we find out that our suspicions are all wrong +there'll be no harm done and they'll be none the wiser." + +"But how can we question him if they're with us?" + +"We'll make some excuse to get away by ourselves. Of course, we may be +disappointed. The more I think of it the more impossible it seems that +Todham Todd should actually be living here. But it is strange that he +hasn't been found before this if he is living in any town or city where +people would meet him and talk about him." + +"Dad said he was traced as far as Claymore and there the trail +vanished. Claymore isn't very far from this coast." + +"That's right. He may have wandered down to these caves." + +"How about the shooting and the mysterious lights we were warned about?" + +Frank laughed. + +"Oh, as to that," he said, "I think Captain Royal has just been having +a little fun at the expense of the people around here. Perhaps he is +trying to keep people from finding out too much about him." + +"Well, we'll find out all we can, anyway. He can't scare us." + +Having decided to investigate the eccentric old gentleman further, +the Hardy boys rolled themselves up in their blankets and went to +sleep. Frank hardly dared hope that his surmise was correct and that +in Captain Royal they had discovered the missing college professor, +but he was convinced that the old man was not a sailor, in spite of +his claims, and the circumstances of the exclamation "by jing" and the +untied shoelaces, slender as the clues were, led him to believe that +they were at least on a trail worth following. + +When the boys awakened next morning they found the sea hidden by a +dense fog. It was damp and cold and the weather put all idea of further +exploration of the coast out of their heads. + +"I'm not going to wander among the rocks in this fog," declared Chet +emphatically. "If it got worse we'd have a fine time finding our way +back here." + +"Looks to me like a good morning for fishing," said Biff. + +Chet greeted this suggestion with enthusiasm. + +"That's the brightest idea you've had in years. We brought lots of +tackle with us, thank goodness, and there's a high rock over there that +hangs over deep water. Perhaps we could catch a whale or so for lunch." + +Frank and Joe saw their opportunity. They encouraged their two chums to +go fishing. As for themselves, they said they would go down to Captain +Royal's cave and see if the old gentleman was in a better humor than he +had been the previous day. + +"You're welcome," said Chet. "I've had enough of that old lad's society +to last me the rest of my life. He'll probably set his dog on you, if +he has one." + +"I didn't see any dog there yesterday," grinned Joe. + +"Well, he'll likely have a dogfish then. You want to be careful. Better +come fishing with us." + +But the Hardy boys persisted in their determination to beard the lion +in his den again, as Frank put it, so Biff and Chet unpacked the +fishing tackle and made their plans for a morning's sport. + +After breakfast they set out for the high rock, Chet ironically asking +the Hardy boys to give his love to Captain Royal, and Frank and Joe +started off down the beach, delighted that they had escaped so easily. + +They proceeded along the beach. The fog hung low over the sea and it +was so dense that they could scarcely distinguish the outline of the +dark cliffs above. + +"Not much chance of catching Captain Royal away from home to-day, I'm +thinking," said Frank. + +"No, he's likely sitting in his cosy little cave beside a good fire. +Well, he may feel more like talking." + +There was no breeze blowing, and the sea lay calm and slatey beneath +the fog. It was a damp, clammy morning and the chill penetrated to +the bone. The boys felt rather guilty at having left Chet and Biff, +to set out on this expedition of their own, but as Frank had pointed +out it was, after all, private business. They well knew that if +their suspicions were incorrect, Chet would joke about the affair +unmercifully. It was better to keep it to themselves until they were +certain of their ground. + +They were just approaching the cliff that hid Captain Royal's cave from +view when Frank halted and peered through the fog at the base of the +rocks some distance ahead. + +"Do you see somebody lying there, Joe?" + +Joe looked in the direction he indicated. + +"Looks like an old log--no, it moved!" + +"Seems like a man sprawled on the sand." + +"Perhaps it's Captain Royal. Maybe he fell and hurt himself." + +The boys hastened across the rocks in the direction of the figure on +the shore. + +As they drew nearer they saw that it was indeed a man who lay sprawled +at the base of the rocks, apparently asleep. However, they soon saw +that it was not Captain Royal. + +"Perhaps somebody fell off the cliffs from above," ventured Joe, as +they hastened up to the recumbent figure. + +Frank looked up. The cliff loomed high above. + +"If he did, we can't help him now. He would be dead." + +They came up to the man sprawled on the sand. He was not dead. An empty +bottle lying by his side told the reason for his slumber. + +"He's drunk!" + +The man's face was turned away from them and the boys could not +distinguish his features. He was roughly dressed and his clothes were +wet with fog. + +Just then the fellow stirred restlessly in his drunken sleep. He slowly +turned his head. + +When the boys saw his face they gasped with surprise. + +"It's Carl Schaum!" exclaimed Frank. + +It was indeed the escaped automobile thief, the man who had stolen +Frank's motorcycle the day the boys left Bayport. + + + + + CHAPTER XVIII + + THE PRISONER + + +Carl Schaum did not awaken. His slumber was too deep. He was quite +senseless from the effects of the liquor he had drunk. + +"This is luck!" exclaimed Frank. "I wonder how he got here!" + +"I suppose he's hiding down in these caves away from the police." + +Something beside the bottle near the slumbering man caught Frank's eye. +He bent forward and examined it. + +It was a small package containing several tins of meat, of the same +variety the Hardy boys and their chums had brought with them on their +expedition to the caves. + +"There's our thief!" Frank declared, with conviction. "It was Carl +Schaum who stole the provisions from our cave." + +There seemed little doubt that this was the case. The evidence of the +package of food was conclusive. + +"What shall we do with him?" asked Joe. + +Frank groped in his pocket and produced a length of stout cord. + +"We'll tie him up first. He's an escaped criminal and it's our duty to +turn him over to the police." + +"What if he puts up a fight?" + +"He's too drunk. Anyway, we should be more than a match for him." + +They looked at the man sprawled on the ground. He was snoring loudly, +quite oblivious of his danger. Quietly, the Hardy boys took up their +positions, one on each side of the fellow, and then with a quick +movement they turned him over on his back and pinned his arms behind +him. + +To their surprise, Carl Schaum did not struggle. He merely groaned in +his sleep. + +"He's dead drunk," said Frank. "We won't have any trouble with him." + +Quickly he flipped the cord about Carl Schaum's wrists, and they bound +the unconscious man. Still he did not awaken. When the boys were +satisfied that their captive was firmly trussed up they stood back to +await further developments. + +Carl Schaum snored on. + +"I guess we'd better wake him up," said Frank, with a mischievous grin. + +"It would take a cannon to waken him, by the looks of things." + +"Good cold water should do the trick." + +Frank went down to the shore, took off his hat and dipped it in the +sea. He hastened back, the hat half full of water, and dashed it in +Carl Schaum's face. + +There was a splutter. Then Joe, anxious to be in on the fun, filled his +hat and flung a copious supply of cold water at their captive. + +Carl Schaum blinked, groaned, spluttered again, and tried to sit up. + +"This will make us even for stealing my motorcycle," said Frank, as he +dashed more water into the fellow's face. + +"And this," said Joe, hastening up with another hatful. + +Carl Schaum was literally drenched. He opened his eyes, then gave +vent to a strangled yell. Frank managed to fling another hatful of +water into his face before the boys decided that their captive was +sufficiently awake. + +"Hey! What's this?" roared Schaum indignantly. He had just discovered +that his wrists were bound. + +"Just a little joke," said Frank. + +Water was streaming down the man's face. He was thoroughly aroused by +now. + +He was still too dazed to recognize the Hardy boys. As he sat on the +beach, with his wet hair down over his eyes, his clothes completely +soaked, he was a ridiculous object, and his expression of mingled +wrath and surprise made it difficult for the lads to restrain their +laughter. + +"Lemme go!" demanded Schaum, struggling to release his wrists, without +success. + +Frank shook his head. + +"Nothing doing. You're wanted back in Bayport, Schaum, and that is +where you're going." + +Schaum gasped. + +"Bayport!" he said, after a moment. "Where's that? I never heard of the +place." + +"Oh, yes you have. You escaped from the Bayport jail, Schaum, and +they'll be glad to see you back again." + +"You're crazy!" the rascal stormed. "I was never in any jail!" + +"How about the stolen automobiles on the Shore Road?" + +"And Gus Montrose and the others in the gang?" + +Carl Schaum saw that his bluff had failed. Then he looked more closely +at the brothers. He turned pale. + +"The Hardy boys!" he exclaimed. + +"At your service," returned Joe, with a bow. + +"You see, we know what we're talking about. Get up, Schaum." + +"What are you going to do with me?" + +"Get up!" repeated Frank. "We're going to take you out to the road and +see that you're turned over to the authorities." + +"Don't do that," whined Schaum. "Honest, I never had anything to do +with stealing them cars. Let me go." + +"You were in the gang, and if they've been punished, it isn't fair that +you should get off," insisted Frank. "You escaped from the jail and if +you are innocent you had nothing to fear. You'd better get up and come +with us." + +He prodded the prisoner firmly with the toe of his heavy tramping +shoe, and Schaum struggled to his feet. He made many whining pleas for +mercy, but the Hardy boys were determined that he should be sent back +to Bayport to answer for his participation in the Shore Road automobile +thefts. + +"I've reformed," sniveled Schaum. "I've gone straight ever since I got +out of jail." + +"Yes, you have!" laughed Frank. "How about stealing my motorcycle while +we were in swimming?" + +Schaum looked confused. + +"I didn't know it was your motorcycle." + +"It doesn't matter whose motorcycle it was. You meant to steal it. That +doesn't look as if you've reformed very much. No, you must come along +with us." + +Unwillingly, Carl Schaum stumbled along the beach with his two captors. + +Frank and Joe did not have a very clear idea of what they were to do +with Schaum, now that they had captured him. At first they thought of +keeping him in the cave, but Joe pointed out that he might get away +again and that it would mean too much trouble keeping guard over him. + +"And he'd eat too much," added Frank. "That's another little score we +have to settle with you, Schaum. You were in the cave the other night +and stole most of our provisions." + +"I was hungry," whined the prisoner. "I only meant to borrow a little +bit of food." + +"Borrowers don't come sneaking around when every one is asleep. Where +are our provisions now?" + +"They're in my own cave," said Schaum sullenly. + +"Where is that?" + +"Try to find it." + +"All right," returned Frank. "When you go back to Bayport you will +find yourself facing an extra charge of robbery. We'll lay a complaint +against you for stealing our provisions. You've already admitted that +you took them, so it will go hard with you." + +Schaum wilted at this threat. + +"Aw, don't tell on me," he begged. "Your grub is all right. It's in +the cave that you'll find not ten feet from where I was lying on the +beach. I got to drinking last night and I wandered out of the cave and +fell down." + +"I'm glad you've decided to be sensible," observed Frank. "We'll go to +the cave and get our food when we come back. We didn't know you had a +cave." + +"I came here just a little while before you boys came." + +"Did you bring your trunk?" asked Frank, with a grin. "Anything in your +cave you'd like to take back to jail with you?" + +Schaum shook his head. + +"No," he answered shortly. "Just a pair of blankets. You can have 'em." + +"They'll give you blankets in jail." + +The boys soon reached their own cave. There was no sign of Chet and +Biff, and they realized that the fishermen might be far off down the +shore by now, so they decided to take Carl Schaum out to the road +themselves. + +They clambered up the trail through the ravine until they reached the +top of the cliff, and then they made their way over the rocks and down +the hillside back to the fisherman's cottage. The fisherman was at +home, and when he saw the little procession coming down the path he +rushed out, anxious to learn what had happened. He was greatly excited +when he saw that the villainous-looking Carl Schaum was bound. + +"Have you cotched the man who was firin' off all the guns?" he asked. + +Frank shook his head. + +"I don't think this is he," he said, remembering that Schaum had +reached the caves only a short time in advance of their own arrival. +"But he's almost as bad." + +"What's he been doin'?" + +The Hardy boys explained why they had captured Carl Schaum, and when +the fisherman learned that they were going to take their captive out to +the main road he promptly volunteered the use of his car, an ancient +and decrepit flivver. The boys had been wondering how they would get +Schaum out to the road by motorcycle, and the fisherman's offer solved +this difficulty. + +Accordingly, they all wedged themselves into the ramshackle car and set +out for the main road, which they reached in due time. Frank and Joe +did not want to waste too much time with Schaum, and they decided to +wait in hope that some passing motorist would take the fellow in to the +nearest police station. + +In a short time a car came into sight and when it came near, Frank +stepped out into the road and signaled the driver to stop. The +automobile slowed down. + +The man at the wheel looked at them curiously. + +Then Frank gave an exclamation of delight. + +"Why, he's from Bayport!" he shouted to Joe. "It's Mr. Simms." + +At the same moment, the driver recognized Frank. + +"Hello there, Hardy!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing so far away +from home?" + +Frank and Joe knew Mr. Simms, having met him at the time of the solving +of the Shore Road mystery, because he was one of the automobile owners +who had suffered at the hands of the car thieves. The very car Mr. +Simms was driving just then had been recovered by the Hardy boys when +they had found the automobiles stolen by Gus Montrose, Carl Schaum and +the other members of the gang. + +"This is luck!" exclaimed Frank. "How would you like to take a +passenger back to Bayport with you?" + +"Do you want a ride?" asked Mr. Simms. "Hop in." + +"I'm not asking for myself. But our friend here is wanted back in +Bayport. Perhaps you could take him in." + +Mr. Simms looked doubtfully at Carl Schaum. + +"Well," he said slowly, "if he's a friend of yours, I suppose it's all +right--" + +He had noticed that Schaum's wrists were tied. + +Frank laughed. + +"I was just joking. This is one of the fellows who stole your car last +month. Carl Schaum--" + +"Oh! The thief that escaped, eh?" + +"Yes. We ran across him down along the shore, and we were anxious to +turn him over to the police again." + +"Put him in the car," said Simms grimly. "I'll put the rascal where he +belongs." + +Rejoiced at having the prisoner taken off their hands so readily, the +Hardy boys bundled Schaum into the rear seat of the automobile. They +apologized to Mr. Simms for troubling him, but the man assured them +that it was no trouble at all. + +"It's a pleasure," he said. "I'll see that he doesn't get away." He +glared at Carl Schaum. "So you're one of the scoundrels who stole my +car, are you? And you thought you were going to escape a term in jail! +You'll have to be mighty smart to do it then, for I'm going to break a +few speed records getting you back to Bayport. I'm going to enjoy this +trip." + +He waved good-bye to the Hardy boys. + +"I don't know how you caught him," he said; "but I'll tell the Bayport +police to give you the credit. I'm certainly glad I came along in time +to drive this guy back to jail, where he belongs." + +With that, he drove off and in a few minutes he was carrying out his +promise to break speed records on the way back to Bayport, while the +helpless prisoner in the back seat was jounced and bounced until his +teeth rattled. + +Frank and Joe grinned. + +"I guess Carl Schaum won't forget that ride for a while." + +"Serves the rogue right!" declared the fisherman. + +"Well, let's be getting back," said Frank. "The morning is almost gone +and we haven't called on Captain Royal yet." + + + + + CHAPTER XIX + + CLIPPINGS + + +Their friend, the fisherman, was greatly interested in the Hardy boys' +adventure with Carl Schaum and wanted to know all the details of the +affair. Frank and Joe told him why they had captured Schaum, and also +told him of the Shore Road automobile thefts, although they modestly +omitted any mention of their own part in bringing the car thieves to +justice. + +When they arrived back at the cottage the fisherman was anxious that +they go in and continue the chat, but the Hardy boys wanted to return +to the caves. + +"Some other time," they promised. + +"Well," said the fisherman reluctantly, "if you won't come in, I +suppose you won't; but you must come back and see me before you leave +these parts. You're smart lads, cotchin' that jailbird, and I'm sure +he's the fellow that's been performin' all the monkeyshines down around +Honeycomb Caves." + +Frank and Joe said nothing. It occurred to them that possibly the +fisher folk did not know of Captain Royal's presence in the vicinity +and they preferred to keep the secret to themselves. + +"Yes," said the man, wagging his head, "I guess he was the chap, all +right, even if you don't seem to think so." + +"He was a thief, at any rate," said Joe. + +"He stole your grub, you was sayin'. If you need more, you're welcome +to anything I've got here. It ain't much, but you're more'n welcome," +said their hospitable friend. + +The boys thanked him, but assured him that Carl Schaum had been forced +to divulge the hiding place of the provisions. With great glee they +told how they had frightened him into telling. + +"We're all set for a few days' stay now," said Frank. "I guess we won't +be bothered any more." + +The boys parted from the fisherman and ascended the path up the +hillside again. Up over the rocks, along the cliff edge until they came +to the ravine, down the steep slope, and after an arduous hour they +were again at their cave. + +Chet and Biff were nowhere to be seen, so the Hardy boys assumed that +they were still fishing. + +"When we tell them all the adventures we've had, they'll be as mad as +hops," laughed Frank. + +"We've sure covered a lot of territory since they last saw us." + +"And the day isn't over yet. We still have Captain Royal to attend to." + +It was still damp and foggy as they went on down the beach, and +although it was midday the mist hung so heavily over the sea that they +could see only a short distance ahead. It was almost as dark as at dusk. + +"I believe the fog is growing worse," remarked Frank. + +"It certainly seems worse since we've got down on the shore again." + +"I hope Chet and Biff don't get lost." + +"Not much danger of getting lost around here. It's pretty hard to get +far from the ocean, and once you're on the beach you just have to keep +walking until you find the caves." + +The boys came to the place where they had spied Carl Schaum in his +drunken slumber. + +"Let's see if he was telling us the truth about that cave of his," Joe +suggested. "We might as well make sure that our provisions are safe." + +"There's a cave here, all right. Look, I can see it over by those big +boulders." + +"So there is. Queer that we didn't notice it before. The rocks hide it +from view unless you stand right in front of it." + +"Trust Carl to pick a good hiding place. If he hadn't made the mistake +of getting drunk and wandering beyond his own front door, he might be +a free man yet." + +"It isn't the first time that liquor has landed a man in jail." + +The boys approached the entrance of the cave. It was, as Joe had +pointed out, almost invisible from the beach, unless one happened to +look up when standing directly in front of the opening, because a +number of huge boulders obscured it. + +Inside, they found unmistakable evidence of human habitation. + +"There are our provisions!" exclaimed Frank. + +He pointed to a box that stood beside a few blankets in a corner of the +little cave. It was filled with the food that Schaum had stolen from +them. Very little of it had been touched; the robber had been given no +time to dispose of his loot. + +"Well, I never expected to see _that_ again," said Joe. + +"I guess it's safe enough where it is. We can pick it up on our way +back from Captain Royal's." + +"How about these blankets? Schaum said we could have them." + +Frank picked up one of the blankets. It was heavy and of excellent +quality. + +"I'll say he was mighty generous, letting us have good blankets like +these," he declared. "They seem brand new, too." + +"If they are, there must be a catch in it somewhere." + +"There is. Look!" + +Frank held out the blanket. Stamped into the fabric was the name, +"Hotel Bayport." The reason for Schaum's sudden burst of generosity was +now clear. + +"No wonder he didn't want to take them with him. He knew that if the +police laid eyes on those blankets he'd have another charge laid +against him. He must have stolen them from the hotel after he escaped +from jail." + +"I think he would take anything that wasn't nailed down," said Joe. +"Well, we can take the blankets back with us and return them to the +hotel, at any rate." + +"Sure. We'll leave 'em here with the grub until we're ready to go back +to our own cave." + +The boys found nothing else worthy of attention in Carl Schaum's crude +abode except a revolver hidden beneath a rock near the blankets. They +appropriated this, to turn over to the police when they should return +to Bayport. + +They departed, well satisfied with their visit. + +"Chet will give three cheers when he sees the grub again. I don't think +he was very cheerful about the thought of going on short rations until +we got new supplies," said Frank. + +"I wasn't very cheerful about it myself," Joe admitted. "It makes me +sore when I think of Schaum stealing all that stuff. Why, one man +couldn't eat it all in a month." + +"Perhaps he intended to stay a month, or even longer, if he could get +away with it." + +"Well, he might have left us more than he did. I'm glad I was able to +douse some water in his face." + +The Hardy boys were soon in sight of Captain Royal's cave. The gloomy +opening was barely visible through the lowering mist. + +"I wonder if the old gentleman could be at home, Joe." + +"No sign of life around, anyway." + +"Perhaps he's asleep." + +They made their way to the cave-mouth, cautiously. Still there was no +sign of the captain. + +"Better call him," suggested Frank. + +They halted. + +"Captain Royal!" shouted Joe. + +There was no answer. + +"I guess he's not at home." + +They called out Captain Royal's name again, but still there was no +reply, so they ventured close to the cave-mouth and peeped inside. The +place was deserted. + +"Shall we go in?" said Joe. + +"Sure. We'll take a look around." + +They stepped inside the cave. Captain Royal had evidently spent the +night there, for his bed was even untidier than it had been the +previous day. + +"Perhaps he's gone fishing," said Frank. + +He was looking about the cave and suddenly his gaze fell on a small +cupboard, consisting of a box on a ledge of rock, in which he could see +a number of books. He gave a low whistle of surprise. + +"The worthy captain has a library," remarked Joe. + +"Let's see what his taste in reading matter is like." + +Frank went over to the improvised cupboard and picked up one of the +books. It fell open and a number of strips of paper fluttered to the +floor of the cave. + +Frank bent to pick up the papers. He looked at them curiously. + +"Newspaper clippings!" + +"We might get a clue about him from them," Joe suggested. + +In the dim light, Frank scrutinized one of the clippings. It was a +despatch from Boston, dated several months previous, and consisted of +an address on Egyptian civilization given by a world-famous traveler +who had spoken in that city. + +"This is uncommonly dull, if you ask me," said Frank at last, putting +the clipping aside and picking up another. + +"No mention of Todham Todd?" + +"Not that I can find." + +Joe took one of the other clippings and the boys perused them +diligently, seeking some mention of the missing college professor. + +All the clippings were devoted to various lectures that had been given +by various speakers in different parts of the country within recent +months. + +"Looks as if he was a lecturer, or had some interest in lectures, at +any rate," Joe commented. + +Patiently, they examined clipping after clipping, but in none of them +did they find any mention of Todham Todd. A further search of the +cupboard, however, revealed a veritable mass of papers, and the boys +settled down to a thorough study of them. + +"He's a queer kind of sailor, that's sure," declared Frank. "I never +heard of a sailor who collected clippings about lectures." + +The other papers were similar clippings, as well as typewritten +documents. When the boys examined these documents in the hope of +finding some clue to the former activities of Captain Royal, they found +that they were manuscripts of lectures on philosophy and other topics. +But still they found no mention of the name of Todham Todd. + +"Well, whether he's mentioned in these papers or not, I'm sure that +Captain Royal and Todham Todd are the same man," observed Joe. "No +sailor would ever carry all this stuff around with him." + +"It certainly looks peculiar," his brother agreed. "But there are some +more papers yet. We'll look through them all. If he is Todham Todd it's +hardly likely that he would carry clippings about other men's lectures +and none of his own." + +Sheet after sheet, they perused. There were lectures by visiting +authors, lectures by big-game hunters, lectures by Arctic explorers, +lectures by college professors, photographs of lecturers. + +"He is certainly interested in lecturing. Perhaps it's just a +coincidence. Crazy men will do crazy things. Perhaps Captain Royal +just has a sort of lunatic streak that way," said Joe finally, when it +seemed evident that none of the clippings or documents bore any mention +of Todham Todd. + +"Perhaps you're right. I hate to admit it, though. I was sure we had +stumbled on a red-hot clue." + +Frank scrutinized the last of the clippings. + +"Nothing about him in this one either. I can't figure it out. Beyond +the fact that all these stories deal with lectures, there is no +connection between them. They're all by different men and all on +different subjects." + +At that moment Joe espied a small box close by. He opened it, and out +tumbled a second mass of clippings. + +"Gee, look at this!" he exclaimed. + +"More lectures?" questioned his brother, with a sigh. + +"Lectures? No!" shouted the younger Hardy boy. "It's a murder case! +Look, Frank!" + +"You're fooling!" + +But even as he spoke Frank Hardy scanned the sheet of newspaper his +brother held towards him. There, in glaring headlines, were the words + + BARTON BIXBY SHOT DOWN + Former Naval Officer Kills Old Friend + With a Shotgun + Police Follow Clues in Vain + +There followed a long account of a killing that had taken place in +Richmond three weeks before. A certain Lieutenant Patwick had murdered +a former friend who had spoken ill of him at a club. Patwick had then +fled to parts unknown. The lieutenant was said to be of a nervous, +high-strung temperament. + +"Gosh! he may not be Todham Todd after all," remarked Frank. "He may be +this Lieutenant Patwick simply trying to conceal his true identity." + +"Or else gone crazy because of his crime," added Joe. + +There were several other clippings concerning the crime. Evidently the +perpetrator had outwitted both police and detectives. + +"We'll have to look into this," said Frank soberly. + +"You bet. For all we know--" + +Joe stopped speaking and thrust all the clippings behind him. A shadow +had darkened the mouth of the cave. + +"Who is in there?" an angry voice bellowed. + + + + + CHAPTER XX + + THE SHOTGUN + + +So quietly had the man approached the cave-mouth that the Hardy boys +were taken completely by surprise. They wheeled about. + +There, in the entrance, stood Captain Royal. + +Evidently, it took him some time to become accustomed to the dim light +of the cave, for he was peering intently at the boys, but with no sign +of recognition on his face. + +"Who's that?" he shouted impatiently. "Answer me!" + +Frank gulped. Then, trying to achieve a confident tone of voice, he +said: + +"Why, hello, Captain. We just dropped in for a visit." + +But Captain Royal was not appeased. + +With a roar of wrath, he advanced into the cave. + +"I know you now!" he bellowed. "I know you. It's those boys who were +here yesterday. Don't deny it!" + +"Sure!" said Joe. "It's only us." + +The captain came closer. + +"What are you doing in my place?" he demanded. "Stealing, eh?" + +"We're not stealing," returned Frank indignantly. + +"Yes, you are!" Captain Royal was plainly angry. "You came here to +steal all my money and my jewels. I know it! You waited until I went +out and then you sneaked in here to rob me." + +"Now, Captain, be reasonable," pleaded Frank. "We just came here to +have a little talk with you. If we wanted to steal we would have +cleared out long ago." + +"You came to steal!" insisted the old man. "Don't tell me anything +different. Why can't you leave an old man alone? I've never done you +any harm." + +"Certainly not. We had no intention of disturbing you--" + +Just then Captain Royal caught sight of the mass of clippings and +papers. His face was suddenly distorted with fury. + +"My papers!" he shrieked. "You've been at my papers!" + +He made a sudden lunge toward the boys. So quickly did he rush at +them that neither Frank nor Joe had a chance to escape. Captain Royal +grasped each lad by the collar. + +"You've been at my papers! My precious papers! I knew you came here to +steal something!" + +He shook them roughly. + +"I'll teach you to come prowling around my cave!" he roared. "I will +teach you to look at my papers." + +The Hardy boys struggled to free themselves, but Captain Royal was +stronger than he looked, and he kept a tight grip on their collars. +Frank almost wriggled free, but the captain tightened his grasp. As for +Joe, he told his chums later that "the old lad shook me until my back +teeth rattled." + +The captain was raging and roaring almost incoherently in a terrible +outburst of wrath. There was now little doubt in the minds of the Hardy +boys that the man was a lunatic. What would happen to them at the hands +of this madman? + +At first they had not taken Captain Royal's outburst seriously, but now +Frank realized that they might be in genuine danger. + +He lashed out with his fists and dealt the captain a blow in the ribs +that brought a startled grunt. At the same time, Joe wriggled to one +side and tried to trip the old gentleman. But Captain Royal was alert +and wary. He would not let go, and although he lost his balance and +tumbled to the floor of the cave, he dragged the boys with him. + +"Break loose, Joe!" shouted Frank. "He means business." + +But this was more easily said than done. + +The trio sprawled on the floor of the cave, Frank and Joe fighting +desperately to get out of the clutches of their captor, but the old man +clung to their collars like grim death. + +"I'll teach you!" he panted. "I'll shoot both of you." + +His words sent a thrill of fear through the boys. They knew now that +they were dealing with a maniac and they realized that in his present +frame of mind, he was quite capable of carrying out the threat. + +Joe had fallen in such a way that his collar had become twisted, and +with Captain Royal still grasping it, he was almost choked. He could +not turn without increasing the throttling pressure, so he was quite +helpless. As for Frank, in spite of his struggles, he was unable to +break the captain's hold. + +"I have the better of you!" chuckled the old man fiendishly. "You can't +get away from me. Try to kill me, would you! I'm going to shoot you +both." + +He began to struggle to his feet. + +Captain Royal was eying something on the wall at the back of the cave. +Following the direction of his gaze, Frank saw something that terrified +him. + +It was a double-barreled shotgun! + +"I've got it loaded to the muzzle!" roared Captain Royal, as he +floundered about in his efforts to get to his feet without losing his +grip on the boys. "I've always kept it loaded just for prying thieves +that come to steal my papers." + +He stood up and lurched across the cave, dragging the boys with him. +His intention was clear. He meant to get the shotgun. + +The lads redoubled their efforts to escape. By a concerted effort, they +turned on him, striking at him with their fists. Frank heard a ripping, +tearing sound and then he was suddenly free. He staggered back, and the +captain was left holding a small fragment of his shirt in his hand. + +Frank thought quickly. He must reach the gun first. He leaped across +the cave. + +But Captain Royal was too quick for him. Flinging Joe to one side so +that he went stumbling and then sprawled in the sand, the captain +reached the shotgun at a bound. + +He was just reaching for it when Frank came at him from behind. Captain +Royal tried to fend the boy off, but Frank grappled with him and +dragged him away from the wall. + +"Get the gun, Joe!" he panted. + +Joe was just getting to his feet. Captain Royal whirled about. His +fist struck Frank against the side of the head, and it caught Frank +off balance. He was knocked off his feet. Captain Royal gave a yell of +triumph, and seized the shotgun. + +It had been resting on a rocky ledge. Frank was sprawled on the sand, +entirely at the man's mercy. Joe was equally helpless. In another +moment they expected to hear the explosive roar of the weapon. + +"Now, I'll teach you!" roared the captain, dancing about in fury. "I'm +going to shoot the pair of you." + +Frank had a sudden idea. + +"I'll keep him occupied, Joe," he said in a low voice. "Keep edging +back until you get to the cave-mouth." + +A daring plan had formed in his mind. It meant, as he thought, risking +his own life, but he was prepared to do this for the sake of his +younger brother. + +If he could but distract Captain Royal's attention by taunts and jeers, +even if it meant arousing the man to a pitch of murderous madness, Joe +might make good his escape. + +"You wouldn't have the nerve to shoot," he shouted. + +Captain Royal brandished the shotgun and glared at Frank. + +"I wouldn't have the nerve, hey? You think I haven't?" + +Joe was moving back, step by step, toward the opening. + +"No, you wouldn't shoot me," scoffed Frank. "I don't believe your old +gun is loaded anyway." + +Captain Royal had forgotten all about Joe by now. + +"Not loaded?" he screeched. "It's loaded to the muzzle, I tell you. +It's always loaded. You'll find out if it's loaded or not." + +Frank was preparing to spring to his feet. + +"Listen, Captain Royal," he said placatingly. "Let me go this time and +I promise I won't bother you again." + +But the captain shook his head. + +"You're a spy!" he screeched. "You're a spy! You were sent here to look +through all my papers. I'm an old sailor, I am, and in the navy we have +only one cure for spies." + +"And what's that?" + +"We shoot 'em." Captain Royal brandished the shotgun viciously. "We +shoot 'em when we can't make 'em walk the plank." + +"You haven't the nerve to shoot me. You wouldn't dare. You know you'd +be hanged." + +Frank glanced toward the mouth of the cave. Joe was almost safe by now. + +"I'm not afraid!" bragged Captain Royal. "They'd never catch me to hang +me. Death for the spies. I'll shoot both of you--" + +Only then did he become aware that Joe had disappeared. With a growl +of alarm, he swung about, just in time to see Joe vanishing beyond the +cave-mouth. + +"He's gone!" roared the captain. "Come back here, you young scoundrel! +Come back!" + +He ran across the cave. Frank seized the opportunity to leap to his +feet again. Captain Royal heard him and turned, raising the shotgun to +his shoulder. + +"You won't escape me!" he yelled. + +The shotgun was leveled directly at the boy. Frank thought that the +next moment would be his last. He could see Captain Royal's finger +tightening about the trigger. + +But there came an interruption from the mouth of the cave. Joe had +heard the uproar and had realized his brother's danger. He had not +fled. He had returned to the entrance, and there he gave vent to a +shrill, blood-curdling shriek. + +Captain Royal gave a shout of surprise. + +"Who's that?" he exclaimed. + +He whirled hastily about, but Joe had disappeared. + +"Who's there?" he roared. + +Joe, hidden beyond the rocks, shrieked again. + +"Just wait!" yelled the captain. "I'll come out there and fix you. I'll +fix you!" + +Frank, in the meantime, had been circling about the side of the cave, +trying to gain the entrance unobserved. His heart sank as Captain Royal +turned around just when he was about to make a dash for liberty. + +"So!" yelled Captain Royal. "You thought you could get away from me, +eh?" + +The shotgun was aimed directly at Frank. + +Captain Royal fired. There was a loud explosion. + + + + + CHAPTER XXI + + OVER THE CLIFF + + +To Frank Hardy's unbounded astonishment, the explosion was followed +by a white cloud that rose from the barrel of the shotgun. It was not +smoke, and although Captain Royal had aimed the gun directly at him, he +found that he was uninjured. + +The white cloud was flour! + +"A hit!" roared Captain Royal. "A hit! I've wounded him!" + +Frank wasted no further time. + +He raced toward the mouth of the cave and scrambled out onto the beach. +Behind him he could hear Captain Royal screeching wildly. + +Frank almost collided with Joe. + +His brother's face was white. He had heard the shot and was sure Frank +had been a victim of the maniac's wrath. + +"Are you all right, Frank?" + +"Sure. Come on--let's beat it out of here." + +They stumbled across the rocks toward a great heap of boulders that +offered shelter. Frank glanced back in time to see Captain Royal +emerge from the cave, still carrying the shotgun. + +"Did he miss you?" panted Joe. + +Frank chuckled. + +"If that gun had been loaded, my goose would have been cooked by now." + +"But I heard the shot." + +"It was loaded to the muzzle with flour. That's all. Just plain, +ordinary flour." + +They dropped down behind the boulders. + +When they peeped out again they could see Captain Royal at the mouth of +the cave, dancing with rage. Evidently he saw them, for he yelled: + +"You can't hide from me. I can see you." + +He raised the shotgun to his shoulder again and pressed the trigger. +Once more there was a shower of flour distributed in every direction. + +"Whether he's Todham Todd or Captain Royal, he's a lunatic," declared +Joe. + +"There's no question of that." + +The boys crouched behind the boulder and watched the antics of the +captain. He was yelling and shrieking like a wild Indian, waving the +shotgun on high. Both barrels had been discharged. + +"My ammunition is gone!" he roared. "My ammunition is gone!" + +He hurled the gun away from him. It fell with a clatter among the rocks. + +Hatless and coatless, he was a weird figure in the fog. He made no move +toward the Hardy boys, however, but contented himself with dancing +about at the mouth of the cave. + +"The battle is lost!" shrieked Captain Royal finally. "On to the +execution!" + +"What on earth does he mean?" said Joe. + +"Oh, he's crazy, that's all. He doesn't mean anything." + +"All is lost! My enemies are upon me! On to the execution! On to the +execution!" + +Captain Royal whirled about and ran down the beach through the lowering +mist. + +"Where is he going?" + +"Let's wait and watch him," advised Frank. + +They saw the queer old man running and stumbling among the rocks along +the shore. Then he turned to his right and began to clamber up among +the boulders until he came to a scarcely visible path that led up +toward the top of the cliff. + +From the boulders among which the Hardy boys were standing they could +scarcely see the man now, so they emerged and went down toward the +cave. Captain Royal, yelling at the top of his lungs, was climbing on +up the path. + +"What's his idea, anyway?" + +Frank shook his head. + +"He's certainly running amuck! I hope he doesn't fall and hurt himself." + +The path the captain had taken wound about in precarious fashion and at +one point crossed a ledge of rock that overhung the beach, immediately +over the rocks that sloped down into the deep water. + +Captain Royal stumbled and fell, but he got to his feet again and went +on. + +"If he ever slips when he comes to that ledge, he'll go over the +cliff!" Joe declared. + +"I wonder if we should follow him." + +At that moment, the Hardy boys saw two figures come into view from +beyond the rocks. At that distance and through the mist it was +impossible to distinguish their features, but as they drew closer the +Hardy boys saw that they were none other than Chet and Biff. + +"What's going on here?" shouted Chet, as they hastened up. + +"Lots of excitement," Frank replied. "Captain Royal has just had a +brainstorm." + +"What happened?" + +When their chums came near, the Hardy boys told them of their +adventures of the morning, how they had captured Carl Schaum, and how +Captain Royal had come upon them while they were in the cave. + +"And he shot at you?" cried Biff. + +"With his gun loaded with flour." + +"Flour?" + +"Yes." + +"He must be crazy." + +"Absolutely." + +"Where is he going now?" + +Joe pointed to the captain, scrambling on up the path toward the cliff. + +"There he is. And if he doesn't watch out he's going to tumble off into +the sea." + +"I'll say he is," declared Chet. "We ought to go after him." + +In the distance, they could hear the wild shrieks of Captain Royal as +he went stumbling among the rocks. He was drawing nearer to the ledge, +and as the path at this point was extremely narrow, the boys could see +that he was indeed in danger. + +"Stop!" shouted Joe. "Stop, Captain!" + +But Captain Royal, if he heard at all, paid no attention to the +warning. He continued his ascent of the rocky path. + +"We'd better follow him up," said Frank. "He can't hurt us--we know +that--and he's sure to hurt himself if we don't get him down off those +rocks." + +With one accord, the boys hurried across the beach until they came to +the trail leading up the steep incline toward the top of the cliff. +Then, with Frank Hardy in the lead, they began the climb. + +Captain Royal turned and saw them. He stopped and shook his fist at +them. + +"Go back!" he shouted wildly. "Go back, I tell you!" + +"Come down!" called Frank. "Come down, Captain Royal, or you'll be +killed." + +"The battle is lost!" howled the madman. "My enemies are upon me! But +they'll never capture me alive!" + +He bent down and lifted a heavy stone, which he hurled down the path. +It came rolling and bouncing down the slope, gathering momentum every +second. It was headed directly for the Hardy boys and their chums. + +"Scatter!" shouted Joe. + +The boys had little protection. The path was so narrow that they could +go neither to right nor left for more than a few inches. + +On came the heavy stone. + +The boys crouched, listening to the crash and clatter of the great +missile as it bounded toward them. There was no use attempting to +escape. If they ran back down the path they could never hope to reach +the shore in time. The rock was plunging down the path at terrific +speed. It seemed that the deadly object would crash among them in +another moment. + +Frank closed his eyes. Just then the rock bounded high in the air, shot +forward in a wide arc, lit in the path just a few yards above the boys, +and struck a projecting stone. It flew off at a tangent, the impact +diverting it from its course so that it plunged wide of the boys who +were crouched in the path. A moment later there was a tremendous crash +as the heavy rock struck the beach. + +Captain Royal, on the cliff above, was yelling with glee. + +"You won't chase me now!" he shrieked. "That will teach you a lesson! +That will teach you something!" + +Frank scrambled to his feet. He was white with anger. The maniac's +action had endangered their lives. + +"We'll teach _you_!" he shouted. "Don't do a trick like that again. +Come down off those rocks before you fall and break your neck." + +"I won't come down." + +Captain Royal shook his fist at them again, wheeled about and then +continued his perilous climb. The boys hastened in pursuit. They knew +that the old man might turn and cast another rock down the path, but +they were determined to save him from the consequences of his own folly +if they could. + +The fog had left the rocks and the path slippery and treacherous. At +almost every step the boys stumbled. It was almost impossible to +maintain one's footing as the path grew steeper. As for Captain Royal, +he was no better off, and more than once he went sprawling on all +fours, only to pick himself up again and resume his hazardous progress. + +At last he reached the top of the cliff. + +The boys were still many yards from the summit. Captain Royal made no +attempt at caution as he ran along the narrow path. The rocks were +slippery under foot. + +"He'll go over, as sure as fate!" exclaimed Frank. + +Scarcely were the words out of his mouth when the boys saw Captain +Royal stumble. He lurched sideways, his arms thrashed the air as he +vainly grabbed for support, he gave a desperate yell. The boys gave a +simultaneous cry of terror as they saw the man plunge through the air, +over the side of the cliff, down toward the water far below! + + + + + CHAPTER XXII + + IN SWIRLING WATERS + + +The boys looked at one another in awe. + +Their ears still rang with Captain Royal's last dreadful cry as he went +hurtling over the cliff toward the watery depths. + +"He's gone!" gasped Chet. "I knew something like that would happen. He +slipped on the rocks." + +Frank, however, was already slipping and stumbling back down the path +toward the beach. + +"There's still a chance," he shouted to the others. "He may be alive +yet. If we hurry we may be able to get him out of the water before he +drowns. The tide's coming in, so he may be washed ashore." + +It was a slim chance, he knew. Captain Royal had fallen from a great +height and perhaps the impact of his collision with the water had +rendered him unconscious. From the path, the boys could not see where +the old man had struck the water, so they could not know if he had +come to the surface as yet. + +The boys scrambled down the path, almost risking their necks in the +pellmell descent. Rocks and pebbles went skittering before them as they +plunged toward the beach. + +All their resentment against Captain Royal because he had hurled the +rock at them and because he had threatened them, had vanished in their +concern for his safety. They realized that he was not responsible for +his actions and that his eccentricities were the fruits of a disordered +mind. They had done their best to save him from going over the cliff. +This was some consolation. But the very thought of such a horrible +death made them shudder. + +"He'll be battered to pieces on the rocks!" panted Joe. + +"If we get there in time we may be able to save him," returned Frank. +"Of course, it's ten chances to one that he was killed by the fall." + +They reached the rocks of the shore at last, Frank and Joe in front, +Chet and Biff stumbling breathlessly along behind. The boys raced down +the beach toward the base of the cliff from which Captain Royal had +fallen. It was invisible to them from where they were, but as they +skirted a ledge of rock they saw the steep wall of the precipice. + +It descended to a raging foam of angry waters, where the surf beat +among the black pinnacles of rock projecting from the sea at the base +of the cliff. + +"He hasn't a chance in the world," declared Chet, when he viewed the +gloomy scene. + +Fog hung over the shore, and through it loomed the black cliff and the +cruel rocks. They could see no sign of Captain Royal in the waves. + +However, the boys hastened on toward the base of the cliff, approaching +as near as they dared. Frank scanned the water in vain for a glimpse of +a bobbing figure being cast in toward the shore. + +"He wouldn't live ten seconds in that sea!" declared Biff, with +conviction. + +"I'm afraid you're right, Biff," replied Frank sadly. "I guess we'll +never see the poor old chap again." + +"Pretty tough," said Chet. "After all, he didn't know what he was +doing. He was just crazy. He should have been somewhere in a place +where his friends could look after him." + +"And now," put in Joe, "we'll probably never know if he was Todham Todd +or not." + +Chet looked up, interested. + +"What's that?" he asked. + +But before Joe could explain further, Frank gave a shout of excitement. + +"I see him! Look!" + +He pointed toward the black rocks at the base of the cliff. There, in +the midst of the tossing waves, they had a momentary glimpse of a limp +figure, an upturned face among the dark waters. There was no doubt that +this was Captain Royal, but whether he was alive or dead they could not +tell. + +A gigantic wave picked up the body and hurled it toward the dark rocks +again. Somehow, the limp form was thrown clear, otherwise it would +have been battered to pieces, and it tumbled into a quiet pool beyond +the jagged pinnacles. There the body lay, face upward, arms flung +helplessly out. + +"We've got to get him out of that," declared Frank, taking off his coat. + +"How can we?" + +"You'll be smashed to pieces against the rocks!" exclaimed Biff. + +"I'm going to risk it anyway." + +"You'd better wait for low tide." + +"Too late then." + +"Frank, don't be foolish!" cried Joe, in alarm. "You'll never be able +to make it." + +But Frank was obdurate. + +"I can reach him if I'm careful," he said. "Perhaps he isn't dead. He +may be only stunned and unconscious. If we leave him there he will be +killed." + +"But if he's dead already there's no sense in your risking your life." + +"But he may not be dead. I'm going to try it, anyway." + +Without another word, Frank handed his coat to Chet and then made his +way along the rocks at the base of the cliff. For a few yards his +progress was uneventful, but as he reached the deep water and the great +waves pounded against him he was obliged to exert all his strength to +breast the angry surf. + +Once he was knocked off his feet and the watchers had a glimpse of his +head and outflung arms in a smother of foam, then he disappeared from +sight. A moment later, however, they saw him emerge, dripping, beside a +rock that jutted out of the water and pull himself up to safety. + +He still had a perilous journey before he could reach the limp form at +the base of the rocky wall. He rested for a moment, with waves breaking +over him as he clung to the rock. Then the watching boys saw him slip +down into the water again and flounder on. + +"He'll be battered to pieces!" exclaimed Biff. + +"I wouldn't give a nickel for his chances, myself," said Chet. + +Joe shook his head. + +"He may get there all right, but if he tries to bring Captain Royal's +body back with him, he hasn't a Chinaman's chance." + +Frank was now but a few yards away from the shallow pool where the old +man lay. He vanished for a moment, emerged from the waves, staggered a +few paces, then a huge roller swept over him and sent him against the +side of the cliff. But he was evidently unhurt, for the others saw him +wave toward them. Then he plunged along the base of the wall, flattened +himself against the cliff as another wave rolled down upon him, and +then splashed into the little pool. + +"He made it!" + +"Yes. But can he get back?" + +Frank was bending over the body of Captain Royal. The other boys saw +him straighten up suddenly and wave to them. He shouted something but +the roar of the waves drowned his voice. + +"Perhaps he's trying to tell us the captain is alive," suggested Joe. + +They saw Frank tugging at the limp form, trying to get a convenient +grip on Captain Royal's body. + +"He's too heavy for Frank. It's hard enough for one person to get back +through those waves alone, without dragging some one else along." + +But evidently Frank was going to try it. + +Going to the pool, his danger had been that a wave would pick him up +and dash him to pieces against the rocks. Returning, his danger was +that he would be unable to pit his strength against the force of the +waves at all, that he would become exhausted before he reached the open +shore again. + +He had hoisted Captain Royal's body up until the old man's arms were +over his shoulders, and he gripped the wrists over his chest. The body +was thus across his back. + +Head down, Frank plunged forward out of the sheltered pool, directly +into the waves. + +The first breaker smashed against him with terrific force. He lost his +balance, staggered and fell. The watchers groaned. They saw the two +figures in the foam, saw that Frank had lost his grip on Captain Royal. + +But Frank managed to get to his feet. Then he reached out and seized +the captain by the back of the shirt. He was not beaten yet. + +He dragged the unconscious form into the very heart of the raging +waves, where they surged against the sharp rocks. Each time a mighty +roller came toward them, its crest tipped with foam, he lowered his +head and set himself for the shock. So, inch by inch, he forged his way +forward until he was among the rocks. + +Here his danger was at its worst. + +The water was not deep but a misstep would have grave consequences for +if he once fell the waves would batter him against the rocks and his +chances of regaining a foothold would be slim. + +He rested a while in the shelter of the largest rock, waited until a +huge wave went by with a crashing roar, then, as the water receded, +plunged on again. Once he seemed to stagger, but he kept his balance, +somehow, and clung to another rock. + +Another wave came rolling in. Frank lowered his head and waited for it. + +Crash! + +It broke over him in a cloud of flying spray. He was completely hidden +for a moment, and the watchers on the beach were breathless with +suspense. + +Then, through the mist, they saw that he was still clinging to the rock. + +Frank was almost exhausted now. His burden, a dead weight, was very +heavy. The beach seemed very far away. There were more rocks to pass. +He rested for a short while, then plunged on. + +By a miracle, he kept his footing among the treacherous rocks, and by +good judgment he managed to get set in time to resist the shock of the +breaking waves. At last he felt the sand beneath his feet. + +He had only a short distance to go now, but his knees gave way beneath +him. He stumbled and fell. He lost his grip on the body of Captain +Royal. A great wave broke over them. + +But Joe and Chet and Biff were already wading toward them. In a moment, +Frank felt strong hands seizing him. Half-conscious, he was dragged out +of the water onto the sands. + +"Captain Royal!" he stammered. "Get him! He's all right!" + +"Chet is bringing him in," said Joe assuringly. + +"He's unconscious," gasped Frank, "but he's alive." + +Then he collapsed, gasping and exhausted, on the sand. Chet came up, +carrying the limp body of Captain Royal. + +"He's breathing!" declared Chet excitedly. "Frank saved him." + + + + + CHAPTER XXIII + + BACK TO BAYPORT + + +Captain Royal was unconscious, but he was still breathing. There was a +bad cut on his head and it had bled profusely. + +"We'd better get him to a doctor right away!" said Joe. + +"I don't think he's been badly hurt." Chet began feeling the +unconscious man's ribs. "There are no bones broken, at any rate. He hit +his head against a rock, I guess." + +"The blow on the head knocked him cold," Biff remarked. + +"Perhaps he's got concussion of the brain." + +"In that case, he needs a doctor," Joe said. + +"How about Frank?" + +But Frank was already sitting up. + +"I'm all right," he told them. "I'm just about all in, but I'll be as +right as rain in a few minutes. Whew, those waves sure battered me +about, I'll tell the world!" + +"We never expected to see you come back alive," Chet told him. + +"It was pretty bad coming back," Frank admitted. "The captain is +heavier than he looks!" + +"He's still alive, at any rate." + +"Isn't he conscious yet?" + +"Not a bit of it. He's breathing, but he's still dead to the world, and +there's no sign that he's coming to." + +"Well, we've got to get him to a doctor, that's all," declared Frank +decisively. + +He got to his feet, exhausted though he was. + +"Do you mean that we'll carry him back to the road?" asked Joe. + +"We'll take him right back to Bayport. That's where the nearest +hospital is that we know anything about." Frank looked down at the +unconscious man. "He's in bad shape. If he were just stunned, he'd be +awake by now. Chances are, his skull is fractured. That's a bad cut." + +The boys looked down at the unconscious Captain Royal, sprawled limply +on the sand. + +"It's a long haul," demurred Biff. + +"We can't leave him here. We can't do anything for him ourselves, you +know that." + +"You're right." Biff bent over and grasped the unconscious man's feet. +"Give me a hand with him, some one." + +Chet and Joe helped him. They raised Captain Royal from the ground and +began carrying him up the beach. Frank went on ahead, still weak from +the effects of his grueling ordeal in rescuing the eccentric old man +from the sea. + +Captain Royal showed no signs of returning consciousness. He was a dead +weight as the boys carried him on past his own cave, past the place +where Carl Schaum had been hiding, past the boys' cave. There the lads +rested, before undertaking the hard climb up the path to the top of the +cliff. + +They tried all the first aid measures they had ever heard of, but +Captain Royal still remained unconscious. The cut on his head was not +bleeding any more; his breathing was heavy, and the lads saw that it +was no ordinary case of being rendered senseless by a blow on the head. + +"A doctor is the only thing," declared Frank. "His lungs are clear of +water, so he's all right in that respect. He must have struck his head +when he was washed in among those rocks." + +"Well, let's get busy then," said Biff, who was no laggard. "We had +better get him to the hospital as quickly as we can." + +They took turns carrying Captain Royal up the path that led to the top +of the cliff. It was an arduous climb, and it was late in the afternoon +before they finally reached the rocks above. Then they rested once more +before starting the journey to the fisherman's cottage. + +"Thank goodness, he has a car," said Joe. "He'll help us take him in to +the city. We would never be able to carry him on the motorcycles." + +"A queer end to our exploration trip," grunted Chet. + +Puffing and panting, they carried the unconscious man on over the rocks +until they came to the path leading down to the fisherman's cottage. +There they rested again. + +Finally, after a halting descent, they came to the cottage. Their +friend, the fisherman, was fortunately at home. Accompanied by his +wife, he came running out when the boys appeared in sight with their +burden. + +"First it's a prisoner and now it's a sick man!" he exclaimed, as he +drew near. "I declare, you chaps seem to scare up more excitement than +anybody that ever came to Honeycomb Caves." + +"This is an old man who was living in one of the caves," explained +Frank. "He fell off a cliff and hurt himself. Do you think you could +help us get him to a doctor?" + +The fisherman glanced inquiringly at his wife. + +"Go ahead, John," she said. "You wouldn't let the poor man die, would +you?" + +"I wondered if you'd mind bein' left alone." + +"Go on. I'm not a baby. Drive the poor fellow out to a doctor. It's +easy to be seen he needs attention." + +The fisherman quickly brought out his car and they carefully put +Captain Royal in the back seat. The boys brought out their motorcycles +and, with Biff riding in company of the fisherman, the little party set +out for the main road. + +"I don't know whether we can find a doctor at the village or not," said +the fisherman. "If we can't, there's nothing for it but to drive on +into Bayport." + +"We'll fix the expenses," Frank assured him. + +"That's all right. I don't want any money for my trouble. The poor +old chap seems to have got a terrible wallop on the head. How did it +happen?" + +"He fell off a cliff." + +"Did it have anything to do with the fellow you brought out this +morning?" asked the fisherman shrewdly. + +"No. Nothing to do with him." + +They reached the main road and drove on toward the village. There they +found that the one and only doctor had been called out on a case and +would not be back until the following morning. + +"Bayport it is, then," said Joe. + +It was plain that the fisherman did not relish the idea of the long +trip to Bayport. It was equally plain that he felt it his duty to +bring the unconscious man to a doctor. On the other hand, the chums +did not like the idea of using his battered car, not only because of +the trouble it would give the fisherman but because the car would not +go more than thirty or thirty-five miles an hour. The motorcycles were +invariably far ahead. + +The difficulty was soon solved, however. A heavy touring car pulled up +in front of the village general store and when the driver stepped out +the Hardy boys gave a cry of delight. + +"Mr. Jacobson!" exclaimed Frank. + +"Why, hello there, Frank Hardy!" said the man. "What brings you away +out here? Hello, Joe. And who have you with you? Chet and Biff, or I'm +a Dutchman. What's up now?" + +The man was a Bayport merchant, a close friend of Fenton Hardy. + +Swiftly, the boys explained the situation to him. Jacobson soon +realized the importance of the matter, and readily consented to take +Captain Royal to Bayport with him. + +"Absolutely!" he said. "It's no trouble to me. I was going to Bayport, +anyway, and it won't hurt if I put on a little extra speed. How about +you chaps?" + +"Joe and Chet and I have our motorcycles," said Frank. "Biff will go +with you, and look after the captain." + +"Righto! We'll make it in good time, I fancy." + +The Hardy boys and their chums thereupon thanked the fisherman for his +trouble. He seemed relieved that he was not called on to make the long +journey into Bayport. + +"Write and let me know how the old gentleman gets along," he requested +before he left the boys. "I hope he recovers all right." + +The boys promised that they would do so. Then the Hardy boys and Chet +mounted their motorcycles, Biff got into the automobile with Mr. +Jacobson to look after Captain Royal in the back seat, and they started +off. + +Frank and Joe often talked of that wild ride back to the city. +Jacobson's car was big and powerful and he wasted no time on the road. +They realized that the matter was urgent and that it was necessary for +Captain Royal to receive medical attention as soon as possible, so they +paid little attention to the speed laws. The big car roared along the +Shore Road, and the motorcycles clattered on behind. + +"We should be there by midnight, at this rate," grunted Joe, as they +sped around a curve. + +"We're going back a lot quicker than we left," replied his brother. + +At length they came within sight of the twinkling lights of Bayport. +The roar of the big automobile did not diminish. At breakneck speed +they clattered into the city limits. + +In the back seat of the car, Biff turned frequently to look at the +unconscious form beside him. To his relief, Captain Royal was still +breathing. + +"I think the old chap will pull through all right," he said to himself. + +Up a dark, quiet street sped the car, then came to a stop before +a massive stone house with a neat gilt plate beside the door. The +motorcycles roared up and the boys dismounted. + +"We'll take him in and let the doctor have a look at him," said Mr. +Jacobson. "If he is in bad shape, the doc will put him in his own +private hospital. He'll get the best of care here." + +Carefully, they carried Captain Royal up the steps. Their ring was +answered by a servant, and they took the old man into a waiting room. +The doctor, who had been in bed, soon came downstairs in pyjamas and +dressing gown. + +"An accident case, Doctor," explained Frank. "This old man fell off a +cliff into the sea and he's been unconscious for eight or nine hours." + +The doctor made a swift examination. His frown deepened as he inspected +the cut on Captain Royal's temple. + +"Queer!" he said. "It isn't a very bad cut, and there seems to be no +sign of a fracture. It looks like concussion of the brain, to me, but +he doesn't appear to have had a very hard blow." + +"The waves washed him up against the rocks," said Joe. + +The doctor shook his head. + +"He seems in a bad way. Eight hours, you said?" + +"Yes." + +"I'll have to give him a more detailed examination. I'll admit him as a +patient to my own hospital if you people will be responsible for him." + +"That's all right, Doctor. Do what you can for him and send the bill to +us," said Frank promptly. + +The doctor rang a bell. An attendant appeared, wheeling a long, white +table. Captain Royal was placed upon it and wheeled away. + +"I'll let you know in the morning," promised the doctor. "Frankly, +I don't mind telling you he's in bad shape. He may never regain +consciousness again." + +The boys were sobered by the thought that Captain Royal, for all his +eccentricities, might be dying as a result of his wild dash over the +rocks. Slowly they filed out into the street, bade good-bye to Mr. +Jacobson and thanked him for his assistance, then went home. As Chet +Morton lived out in the country, the Hardy boys invited him to spend +the rest of the night with them. He accepted the invitation gladly, for +the prospect of a long trip out of the city had not appealed to him. +Biff Hooper, who lived near by, went to his own home. + +The house was in darkness when they arrived, so the Hardy boys and Chet +quietly parked their motorcycles, slipped up the back stairs and were +soon in bed. They were so tired after their adventures of the day that +in spite of the temptation to discuss matters, sleep soon overcame +them. + + + + + CHAPTER XXIV + + AT THE HOSPITAL + + +Next morning, refreshed by their sleep, Frank, Joe and Chet were +downstairs early, but not earlier than Fenton Hardy, who was already +busy in his office clearing up some work before breakfast. He welcomed +them cheerily. + +"Back so soon!" he exclaimed. "I thought this trip would keep you away +at least a week. What's the matter? Did you get frightened by the sea +serpent?" + +"We didn't get frightened, Dad. We had to come back with a man who got +hurt." + +"Oh." Fenton Hardy's expression changed to one of concern. "Who is he?" + +"We think he's Todham Todd." + +"Todham Todd!" exclaimed the detective. "Are you sure?" + +"We're not sure. But we have an idea that's who he is. And he may be a +murderer too." + +Mr. Hardy motioned the three boys to chairs. "Sit down and tell me all +about it. A murderer! That sounds bad." + +With Frank as spokesman, and Chet and Joe prompting him once in a +while, they told Mr. Hardy about their meeting with Captain Royal, +about the eccentric behavior of the old man and of his actions +on finding the brothers looking over the clippings in the cave, +culminating in his fall from the cliff. + +"And he's at the private hospital now," concluded Frank. + +"Well," said Mr. Hardy, "we'll have breakfast now and then we can soon +settle the matter once and for all. Evangeline Todd is staying at the +summer hotel and we can ask her to come over to the hospital and have a +look at this Captain Royal." + +"Do you think he can be this Lieutenant Patwick, Dad?" asked Joe. + +"Possibly. If so, the crime may have turned his mind. Such things have +happened." + +"Well, if he's Patwick then we'll have cleared up something anyway," +remarked Frank. + +Breakfast was announced a few minutes later, and after the Hardy boys +had been warmly greeted by their mother they sat down to fruit, bacon +and eggs, toast and coffee and jam, to which they did full justice. +They were anxious, however, to call on Miss Todd. + +Mr. Hardy called up the private hospital and inquired about Captain +Royal. He came back, his face serious. + +"The old chap is still unconscious. The doctor seems to think he has +only a slim chance." + +"It will be tough if he turns out to be Todham Todd after all," said +Joe. "Too bad if we've found him, only to have him die." + +"Everything may turn out all right," said Mr. Hardy. "Of course he may +not be Todham Todd. You have only your suspicions to go on, although I +must say it's very strange that the old man should have had all those +lecture clippings in the cave. I've been thinking that Todham Todd may +have lost his memory and forgotten his identity. He may have had a dim +recollection of once having been a lecturer of some kind so he took to +collecting all the newspaper stories he could, in an effort to awaken +his memory again." + +"I'll bet you're right!" exclaimed Chet. "That sounds mighty reasonable +to me." + +"It's just a theory. Still, it may be true. We'll call on Miss Todd." + +They left the house and went on down to the hotel at which Miss +Evangeline Todd was staying. She had just concluded her breakfast when +they arrived. + +"Have you any news?" she asked quickly, when she recognized her +visitors. + +"We have news, of a sort," admitted Fenton Hardy. + +"Tell me. What is it? Has Todham been found? Is he well?" Miss Todd +sank back in a chair and fanned herself with a magazine. "Don't keep me +in suspense." + +"We have found a man who may or may not be your brother." + +"Where is he?" demanded Miss Todd, getting up quickly. "Take me to him +at once?" + +Mr. Hardy laid a restraining hand upon her arm. + +"Don't count on this too much, Miss Todd," he advised. "This man may +not be your brother at all. As a matter of fact, we have nothing +definite to go on, but we'd like to have you come with us and identify +him if you can." + +"Identify him? Is he dead?" + +"No. But he's in a local hospital." + +"Todham in a hospital? Where? I must go to him at once." + +"Now, as I've already said, we're not at all certain that this man is +your brother. If you will come with us we will show you this man and +you will be able to see for yourself if he is your brother or not." + +"Just a minute, until I put on my hat. I'll go with you right away. My +goodness, if it's really Todham--" + +Talking to herself in her excitement, Miss Todd bustled away upstairs +and returned in a few minutes, her hat awry. + +"Hurry!" she said. "Where is the hospital? We'll take a taxi and get +there more quickly." + +Fenton Hardy smiled sympathetically. Miss Todd was tremendously +agitated at the prospect of again seeing her long-lost brother. The +hospital was less than three blocks away, so they did not hail a taxi +after all, but walked the short distance, and in a little while they +found themselves in the doctor's waiting room. + +A uniformed nurse entered. + +"You want to see the patient called Captain Royal?" + +"If you please." + +"The doctor is with him now, but he says you may go up. I will show you +to his room." + +"Captain Royal!" exclaimed Evangeline Todd. "That isn't his name! I +thought you said he might be my brother." + +"That is the name he has been using," explained Frank. "How is he this +morning, nurse?" + +"There isn't much change in his condition. The doctor says it is a +strange case. But, I'm afraid--" + +"Isn't he going to live?" asked Miss Todd sharply. + +Fenton Hardy soothed her anxiety. + +"Now, Miss Todd, try to calm yourself. We must be very quiet, you know. +This man is very, very sick." + +The lady heeded his advice. During the rest of their journey down the +long corridor she talked only in whispers. At length they reached the +door of a private room. The nurse knocked. The boys heard the doctor's +voice, saying, "Come!" + +The nurse held open the door and they entered a spacious private room, +spotlessly clean and well-lighted. Lying on the bed was Captain Royal, +with a white bandage around his head. + +Evangeline Todd looked at the man wildly, then rushed to the bedside. + +"My brother!" she cried. "It's my brother, Todham!" + +She leaned over the unconscious figure. + +"Speak to me, Todham! Speak to me! Don't you recognize me? It's you're +sister. I've hunted everywhere for you, and now I've found you at last." + +Then, overcome with emotion, she sank beside the bed and burst into +tears. + +"It's the missing professor, after all!" exclaimed Chet, in awe. + +The Hardy boys, while they had expected that Evangeline Todd would +identify Captain Royal as her brother, were electrified with delight. + +"We were right!" said Frank, "He was Todham Todd all along." + +Mr. Hardy and the doctor tried to calm the weeping woman, who was +almost hysterical with relief, now that her long search was ended. + +"It's Todham!" she said, over and over again. "It's my brother. I would +know him anywhere." + +But the man in the bed knew nothing of what was going on. His eyes were +closed. His face was white and calm. Had it not been for an occasional +slight twitching of the nostrils one might have thought that he was +dead. + +The doctor, who knew nothing of the reason for Miss Todd's outburst, +was astonished, but in a few words Fenton Hardy explained the situation +to him. He shook his head sadly. + +"And this is where she has found her brother, at last?" + +"Yes. He has been missing for months." + +"I'm afraid," said the doctor, "that she has found him only to lose +him." + +"Is it that serious?" + +"It's concussion of the brain, and there seem to have been +complications. He has only a slim chance to live." + + + + + CHAPTER XXV + + THE LAST OF CAPTAIN ROYAL + + +Todham Todd hovered between life and death for almost two weeks. For +days he lay unconscious, knowing nothing of the efforts that were being +made to save him. He had the best of care, and the doctor gave him +every attention, but admitted that the case was one in which he could +do little. + +"We simply have to wait," he told the Hardy boys and Miss Todd. "He may +be restored to consciousness at any moment. On the other hand, he may +die just as quickly. He has a good constitution, so we may at least +hope for the best." + +They were anxious days. Every morning, the Hardy boys called at the +hospital to inquire about the strange patient, and every morning the +answer was the same. + +"Mr. Todd's condition is unchanged." + +One morning Fenton Hardy came to his sons with a newspaper in his hand. +He was smiling broadly. + +"I think the mystery is explained," he said. "Read this." + +In the newspaper was an account of the capture of Lieutenant Patwick. +The man had been shot down on the seacoast by detectives. Thinking he +was going to die, he had admitted the murder of Barton Bixby. He also +spoke of hiding in a cave with a strange old man, a lunatic. + +"Todham Todd," murmured Frank. + +"That makes everything as clear as day," added Joe. + +"He must have left his clippings with Captain Royal," said Mr. Hardy. +"Murderers usually like to read all that is printed about their crimes." + +The boys told Evangeline Todd the entire story of their meeting with +Captain Royal, although in deference to the good lady's feelings they +refrained from mentioning the fight in the cave or the incident of the +shotgun. How Todham Todd had found his way down to the coast and what +had prompted him to call himself Captain Royal and take up his hermit +existence in the cave, were mysteries. + +"If he recovers, he may remember nothing about that phase," the doctor +had said. "You may use your own judgment whether to tell him of it or +not." + +"We shan't tell him," declared Evangeline Todd decisively. "Let him +take up the threads of his old life anew." + +Then her face clouded. + +"That is--if he recovers," she added, with a catch in her voice. + +There came a morning when the nurse in charge saw the eyelids of the +sick man flutter, and then he spoke. + +"Where am I?" he asked, in a puzzled tone. + +"You are quite safe," the nurse told him. "You have met with an +accident. You are in the hospital." + +"Ah, yes," he said. "I remember now. There was a railroad accident. +Something must have struck me on the head. I can remember a sudden +blow, and that is all." + +"You have been unconscious for a long time, Captain. You must be quiet." + +"Captain?" he said. "I'm not a captain. My name is Todd. My name is +Todham Todd. I'm a professor at the university." + +The doctor was called. He questioned the patient carefully and it +was soon evident that Todham Todd had recovered his memory with the +exception of the time following the first accident that had resulted +in amnesia. From that time, everything was a blank. He knew nothing of +his wanderings, knew nothing of what had happened in the caves, knew +nothing of the accident that had restored his memory again. + +"He will live," the doctor told Evangeline Todd a short time later. +"His memory is completely restored. Unless complications set in, he +should be able to leave the hospital within a few days." + +The doctor's prediction was correct. + +Todham Todd, completely restored in memory, was able to leave the +hospital before the week was out. The reunion between the man and his +sister was an affectionate one. The professor had not the slightest +inkling of all the strange events that had transpired from the time of +the first accident until he woke up in the hospital at Bayport. He was +deeply puzzled when he learned where he was, but the doctor covered up +his bewilderment by explaining that his case had been so unusual that +he had been brought there for special treatment when the doctors of his +home city had failed to bring him back to consciousness. + +He was introduced to the Hardy boys by Miss Todd, who was pathetically +grateful to the lads for restoring her brother to her, safe and sound +again. But there was no sign of recognition. Seeing the boys struck no +responsive chord in Professor Todd's memory. He knew nothing of the +days when he had played at being Captain Royal. To all intents and +purposes, he was seeing the Hardy boys for the first time. + +They were content to let it remain at that and were careful to say +nothing that might indicate they had known him previously. And when +Todham Todd finally left the hospital and went to the hotel where his +sister was staying, to rest there a few days before going back home, +the Hardy boys were his firm friends. + +"We must never let him know," said Evangeline Todd to the boys that +evening. + +"You may rely on us, Miss Todd," they assured her. + +"I can't tell you how grateful I am," she said. "If you boys had not +been shrewd enough to think that Captain Royal might be Todham Todd +after all, things might not have turned out as they have. You might +not have concerned yourselves with him any more, and he might still be +living that wretched life in the caves. I want to reward your father +and yourselves for finding him." + +But Fenton Hardy had already expressed himself on the subject of the +reward. + +"I want nothing," he said. "You have already paid any expenses I +incurred in trying to trace Mr. Todd. As for finding him, the credit +belongs to the boys." + +But the Hardy boys were insistent in their refusal. + +"We're only too glad that we helped find him," they told Miss Todd. "We +couldn't accept a reward for what we did. In a way, it was chance that +threw him in our path." + +Although Miss Todd pleaded with them to alter their decision, they were +firm. + +"Our greatest reward is in seeing your brother with you again, with his +memory restored," declared Frank. "We want nothing more than that." + +But Miss Todd expressed her appreciation in tangible form before she +left Bayport. She invited the Hardy boys and some of their chums, +Chet Morton, Biff Hooper, Phil Cohen, Tony Prito, Jack Dodd and Jerry +Gilroy, to a banquet at the hotel, and there the lads sat down to +a "spread" the like of which they had not seen before. There was +everything dear to the heart of a boy, from fried chicken, fluffy +mashed potatoes and sweet pickles, to ice-cream and five different +kinds of pie. + +Professor Todham Todd, white-haired, kindly-faced, looking quite +different from the wild-eyed Captain Royal of Honeycomb Caves, presided +at the banquet and made a little speech in which he thanked them all +for their interest in his welfare and their kindness to him. Although +he had no idea of the real part the Hardy boys and their chums had +played in his recovery, he had taken a genuine liking to them and it is +probable that he enjoyed the banquet as much as any one. + +When the lads had eaten of chicken and ice-cream until they could eat +no more, Miss Todd stood up and said she had an announcement to make. + +"You all know something of the circumstances under which we have +gathered here to-night. You all know the debt of gratitude I owe to the +Hardy boys, in particular, and to Chet Morton and Biff Hooper. So if +they will stand up, I have something for them." + +Blushing, the four lads got to their feet. + +"All I can say," continued Miss Todd, "is that my brother and I thank +you very, very much." + +Todham Todd looked a bit bewildered, but he smiled quite as though +he knew what it was all about. It was probable that the good man was +mildly puzzled until the end of his life as to the reason for the +presentations. + +For Miss Todd thereupon handed Frank and Joe an order for a handsome +motion picture camera, something they had long wished to own. To Chet +and Biff she gave each a gold watch and chain. + +"Speech! Speech!" shouted the other boys, as the recipients of the +gifts stammered their thanks. + +After considerable pressure, Frank was at last prevailed upon to say a +few words. + +"I'm not a very good orator," he said. + +"You're a better detective," shouted one of the lads at the table. + +"I'm not a very good orator," he repeated, "but I certainly want to +thank Miss Todd very much indeed, although we don't deserve such a +beautiful present. I'm sure we're going to have a lot of fun with it. +But we're mighty glad Professor Todd is better and--I guess that's all." + +There were loud cheers for this effort, and Frank sat down blushing. + +"Speech from Chet Morton!" + +"Say, listen--" protested the bashful Chet. + +But he was shoved to his feet. + +"Speech! Chet Morton's going to make a speech!" + +"Gosh, I can't say anything except that I thank Miss Todd very much and +I'm glad Professor Todd is well again and--and I wonder if there's to +be a second helping of ice-cream." + +There was. + + + THE END + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75310 *** diff --git a/75310-h/75310-h.htm b/75310-h/75310-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e2b43fb --- /dev/null +++ b/75310-h/75310-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,6200 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html> +<html lang="en"> +<head> + <meta charset="UTF-8"> + <title> + The secret of the caves | Project Gutenberg + </title> + <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover"> + <style> + +body { + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + + h1,h2 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; +} + +p { + margin-top: .51em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .49em; +} + +hr { + width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: 33.5%; + margin-right: 33.5%; + clear: both; +} + +hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} +hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} +@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} } +hr.full {width: 95%; margin-left: 2.5%; margin-right: 2.5%;} +div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} +h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} + +x-ebookmaker-drop {display: none;} + +.center {text-align: center;} + +.right {text-align: right;} + +.smcap { font-variant:small-caps; } + + + +/* Images */ +.figcenter { + margin: auto; + text-align: center; + page-break-inside: avoid; + max-width: 100%; +} + +.caption p +{ + text-align: center; + text-indent: 0; + margin: 0.25em 0; + font-weight: bold; +} + +div.titlepage { + text-align: center; + page-break-before: always; + page-break-after: always; +} + +div.titlepage p { + text-align: center; + text-indent: 0em; + font-weight: bold; + line-height: 1.5; + margin-top: 3em; +} + +/* Poetry */ +.poetry-container {display: flex; justify-content: center;} +.poetry-container {text-align: center;} +.poetry {text-align: left; margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%;} +.poetry .stanza {margin: 1em auto;} +.poetry .verse {text-indent: -3em; padding-left: 3em;} +.poetry .indent0 {text-indent: -3em;} + +table { + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; +} + +table.autotable { border-collapse: collapse; } +table.autotable td, +table.autotable th { padding: 4px; } + +.tdl {text-align: left;} +.tdr {text-align: right;} + +.ph1 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; } +.ph1 { font-size: x-large; margin: .83em auto; } + +.ph2 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; } +.ph2 { font-size: large; margin: .83em auto; } + +.ph3 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; } +.ph3 { font-size: medium; margin: .83em auto; } + + </style> +</head> +<body> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75310 ***</div> + +<div class="figcenter x-ebookmaker-drop"> + <img src="images/illusc.jpg" alt=""> +</div> + +<hr class="chap"> + +<div class="titlepage"> + +<p>THE HARDY BOYS</p> + +<h1>THE SECRET OF THE CAVES</h1> + +<p class="ph1">By FRANKLIN W. DIXON</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Author of</span><br> +<span class="smcap">The Hardy Boys: The Tower Treasure</span><br> +<span class="smcap">The Hardy Boys: The Secret of The Old Mill</span><br> +<span class="smcap">The Hardy Boys: The Shore Road Mystery</span></p> + +<p><i>ILLUSTRATED BY</i><br> +<span class="smcap">Walter S. Rogers</span></p> + +<p>NEW YORK<br> +GROSSET & DUNLAP<br> +PUBLISHERS</p> + +<p>Made in the United States of America</p> + +<p>MYSTERY STORIES FOR BOYS</p> + +<p>By FRANKLIN W. DIXON</p> + +<p>THE HARDY BOYS: THE TOWER TREASURE<br> +THE HARDY BOYS: THE HOUSE ON THE CLIFF<br> +THE HARDY BOYS: THE SECRET OF THE OLD MILL<br> +THE HARDY BOYS: THE MISSING CHUMS<br> +THE HARDY BOYS: HUNTING FOR HIDDEN GOLD<br> +THE HARDY BOYS: THE SHORE ROAD MYSTERY<br> +THE HARDY BOYS: THE SECRET OF THE CAVES</p> + +<p>GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK</p> + +<p>Copyright, 1929, by<br> +GROSSET & DUNLAP, <span class="smcap">Inc.</span></p> + +<p>The Hardy Boys: The Secret of the Caves</p> + +</div> + +<hr class="chap"> + + +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<table> +<tr><td class="tdr">I.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_I"><span class="smcap">Overboard</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">II.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_II"><span class="smcap">The Rescue</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">III.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_III"><span class="smcap">Miss Todd</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">IV.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV"><span class="smcap">Concerning Todham Todd</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">V.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_V"><span class="smcap">Plans for a Trip</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">VI.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI"><span class="smcap">The Missing Motorcycle</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">VII.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII"><span class="smcap">Carl Schaum</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">VIII.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII"><span class="smcap">Strange Doings</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">IX.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX"><span class="smcap">The Storm</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">X.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_X"><span class="smcap">The Cave</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XI.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI"><span class="smcap">Footsteps in the Night</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XII.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII"><span class="smcap">A Disappearance</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XIII.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII"><span class="smcap">Stolen Supplies</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XIV.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV"><span class="smcap">Captain Royal</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XV.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV"><span class="smcap">The Old Sailor</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XVI.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">"<span class="smcap">Go Away!</span>"</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XVII.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII"><span class="smcap">The Man on the Shore</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XVIII.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII"><span class="smcap">The Prisoner</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XIX.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX"><span class="smcap">Clippings</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XX.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX"><span class="smcap">The Shotgun</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XXI.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI"><span class="smcap">Over the Cliff</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XXII.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII"><span class="smcap">In Swirling Waters</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XXIII.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII"><span class="smcap">Back to Bayport</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XXIV.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV"><span class="smcap">At the Hospital</span></a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="tdr">XXV.</td> <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV"><span class="smcap">The Last of Captain Royal</span></a></td></tr> +</table> + +<hr class="chap"> + +<h2>THE HARDY BOYS:</h2> + +<h2>THE SECRET OF THE CAVES</h2> + + +<hr class="chap"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2"><span class="smcap">Overboard</span></p> + + +<p>"Well, the stealing of autos in this neighborhood has come to an end, +Frank. Wonder if anybody will ever take to stealing motorboats."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps, Joe. But there isn't the chance to steal a boat that there +was to steal cars."</p> + +<p>"Gee, now that the excitement is over I wonder what will come up next."</p> + +<p>"Don't know; but something is bound to happen sooner or later—it +always does."</p> + +<p>"Hope it comes soon—I don't want to get rusty."</p> + +<p>It was a Saturday afternoon in June, one of those warm, drowsy days +when even the leaves of the trees seem too indolent to stir. There was +scarcely a ripple on the surface of the water, no movement but the +flow of the incoming tide.</p> + +<p>Three motorboats circled lazily about in Barmet Bay within sight of the +city of Bayport. The lazy spirit of the afternoon seemed to have spread +to the occupants of the boats, for they lounged about in comfortable +attitudes.</p> + +<p>Biff Hooper, in his craft, the <i>Envoy</i>, had devised a way of steering +with his foot while sprawled on the side cushions.</p> + +<p>In a motorboat close by, the <i>Napoli</i>, sat Tony Prito, whose dark hair, +olive skin, and sparkling eyes indicated his Italian parentage even +more emphatically than his name. In the third craft were two lads who +need no introduction to readers of previous volumes in this series.</p> + +<p>The boy at the wheel, a tall, dark, handsome lad of about sixteen, was +Frank Hardy, and the other, a fair, curly-headed fellow about a year +his junior, was his brother Joe. These boys were the sons of Fenton +Hardy, an internationally famous private detective who lived in Bayport.</p> + +<p>"I didn't expect to see you fellows out on the bay this afternoon," +shouted Biff Hooper, raising his head over the side of his boat.</p> + +<p>"Where did you think we'd be?" called back Frank. "Up in the attic, +studying?"</p> + +<p>"Thought you'd be out in your car," and Biff grinned widely.</p> + +<p>There was a laugh from Tony Prito, and the Hardy boys also laughed with +great good-humor. Their car was a standing joke among their chums, and, +as Chet Morton put it, "standing" joke described it exactly, for it +seldom moved.</p> + +<p>"Never mind," returned Joe. "That old car served its purpose, anyway. +We used it only as bait."</p> + +<p>"It was mighty good bait," said Tony. "You caught some big fish with +that old crate."</p> + +<p>"It has earned its keep," Frank called back. "We're going to put it +on a pension and let it stay in our garage for the rest of its life, +without charge."</p> + +<p>The boys were referring to a roadster that the Hardy lads had purchased +out of their savings some time previous. It was a car that proved the +old axiom that beauty is only skin deep, for although it glittered with +nickel and paint and although its lines were trim and smooth, its inner +workings were utterly beyond the comprehension of Bayport mechanics. +For a few weeks after its purchase the car ran, eccentrically enough, +but still it ran. Then, one day, for no apparent reason, it gave up the +ghost and no amount of tinkering would prompt it even to move out of +the garage.</p> + +<p>However, as Joe had said, the car had served its purpose. The boys +had picked it up cheaply, with a definite object in view. As told in +the preceding volume of this series, "The Hardy Boys: The Shore Road +Mystery," there had been a series of mysterious automobile thefts on +the Shore Road leading out of Bayport, numerous pleasure cars and +trucks having been stolen, and no amount of investigation on the part +of the police had succeeded in revealing their whereabouts or the +identity of the thieves.</p> + +<p>Frank and Joe Hardy, who had earned considerable local fame by their +activities as amateur detectives, in emulation of their famous father, +had decided to lay a trap for the automobile thieves and, buying the +gorgeous rattle-trap, parked it on the Shore Road for several nights, +concealing themselves in the rear. After many adventures, the Hardy +boys captured the thieves and recovered the stolen cars. They collected +several handsome rewards for their work, so their investment in the +roadster proved exceedingly profitable after all.</p> + +<p>"The car owners around Bayport have sure been breathing easier since +that affair was cleared up," said Biff.</p> + +<p>"I don't think there'll be any more car thieving for a long time," Tony +declared. "The two sleuths here put a stop to that."</p> + +<p>"We had a good time doing it," Frank admitted. "I'm rather sorry it's +all over."</p> + +<p>"Never satisfied!" commented Biff.</p> + +<p>He prodded the wheel with his foot and the <i>Envoy</i> swung about with its +nose pointing down the bay. Barmet Bay, three miles long, opened on the +Atlantic, and in the distance the boys could see a motor yacht that ran +daily between Bayport and one of the towns on the coast, a trim little +passenger craft that was proceeding toward them at a fast clip.</p> + +<p>"Where are you going?" shouted Tony.</p> + +<p>"Out to meet the passenger boat."</p> + +<p>"Race you!"</p> + +<p>"So will we!" called Frank.</p> + +<p>Biff abandoned his indolent posture and settled down to take advantage +of his head start. His boat leaped ahead with a roar. Tony Prito had to +make a half turn before he could get under way.</p> + +<p>The Hardy boys were similarly unprepared, but they had no doubt of the +ability of the <i>Sleuth</i> to overhaul Biff's boat quickly. Their craft +was one of the speediest in the bay, with smooth lines and a powerful +engine.</p> + +<p>They had trouble on the turn, for the swells of the other boats caught +the <i>Sleuth</i> and put it off its course, and by the time the craft was +nosing in pursuit, Biff Hooper had a good lead and Tony Prito was also +ahead of them.</p> + +<p>"Step on it!" said Joe.</p> + +<p>Frank "stepped on it," and the <i>Sleuth</i> began eating up the +intervening distance. Rocking and swaying, prow well out of the water, +the boat overhauled the <i>Napoli</i> and Frank grinned at Tony as they +crept by. The Italian lad was getting every ounce of speed of which his +engine was capable and although he jockeyed to try to put the Hardy +boys off the course, they sped on and soon left him behind.</p> + +<p>Biff had been tinkering with the engine of his craft and had evidently +made a few improvements, for the <i>Envoy</i> was going along at a clip it +had never before achieved.</p> + +<p>"Looks as if he intends to put one over on us," muttered Frank, as he +opened up the engine to the last notch. "He'll beat us to the boat at +this rate."</p> + +<p>The motor yacht was about a mile away.</p> + +<p>On through the water plunged the <i>Sleuth</i>, gaining slowly but surely on +the craft ahead.</p> + +<p>Once in a while Biff cast a hasty glance backward to wave mockingly at +them. He misjudged an approaching wave on one of these occasions and +the <i>Envoy</i> swerved; he lost valuable seconds righting the craft into +its course again and the <i>Sleuth</i> gained.</p> + +<p>The yacht was about a quarter of a mile distant when the <i>Sleuth</i> at +last pulled up beside the other boat. Inch by inch it forged ahead +until the bow of each boat was on a line with the other. Then the +<i>Sleuth's</i> greater speed became manifest as it pulled away, leaving +Biff shaking his head in exasperation.</p> + +<p>Suddenly Joe, who had been looking at the passenger yacht in the +distance, gave a shout of alarm.</p> + +<p>"Look!" he cried.</p> + +<p>Frank glanced up just in time to see an immense puff of black smoke +bursting from above the deck of the yacht. Then, across the waves, was +borne to their ears the roar of an explosion.</p> + +<p>They could see figures running about on the deck of the boat. One of +them, a woman, ran directly to the rail and began to clamber up on it.</p> + +<p>"What on earth—" gasped Joe.</p> + +<p>"She's going overboard!"</p> + +<p>Another figure ran out, making a frantic grab at the woman who was +balanced perilously on top of the rail. Then, her arms outspread, the +woman jumped. The boys saw her plunge down the side of the yacht, and +there was a splash as she hurtled into the water.</p> + +<p>A moment later she emerged and they could see her swimming about and +waving her arms. The <i>Sleuth</i> had drawn closer to the yacht in the +meantime and now the boys could hear a faint cry for help.</p> + +<p>Tensely, Frank leaned over the wheel. Great clouds of smoke were +pouring from the yacht.</p> + +<p>"We'll have to rescue her!" he said. "It's her only chance."</p> + +<p>The yacht had passed the woman by now, and although a life-buoy had +been flung out it was some distance away from her. Hampered by her wet +clothes, the woman was making no progress toward it. Slowly, the yacht +began to circle, but the lads saw that it would never reach her in time.</p> + +<p>The <i>Sleuth</i> ploughed on through the waves.</p> + +<p>The boys saw the woman throw up her hands with a despairing gesture and +disappear beneath the surface.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2"><span class="smcap">The Rescue</span></p> + + +<p>As the Hardy boys sped toward the woman, who appeared above the surface +again in a moment and began to struggle wildly, they saw that confusion +prevailed on board the yacht.</p> + +<p>Great clouds of smoke were pouring from amidship. People were running +frantically about the deck. Efforts were being made to lower a +lifeboat, but apparently something went wrong, for it sagged perilously +and then stuck, with two sailors working hastily to release it.</p> + +<p>But the boys' immediate concern was the woman. She disappeared beneath +the water again and they were fearful that she had gone under for the +last time. Then, as the <i>Sleuth</i> surged forward, they saw her emerge +once more. They were close enough now to see her frightened face, and, +as the <i>Sleuth</i> sped within a few yards of her, Joe poised himself and +dived.</p> + +<p>He plunged into the water just as the woman was going down for the +third time. He kept cool and, remembering the first aid instruction +he had received, took care not to come within reach of the wildly +clutching hands. He grasped the woman by the hair and then, keeping +behind her, managed to get a grip that did not endanger himself. Had +she been able to throw her arms about him, he would have been dragged +beneath the surface with her.</p> + +<p>Joe struggled toward the <i>Sleuth</i>. It had sped past when he dived, but +Frank had quickly brought the craft around and Joe had to swim but a +few strokes. Frank throttled down the engine and he was able to give a +hand in assisting the woman on board. She was dragged into the boat, +dripping and almost unconscious, and Joe clung to the gunwale until +Frank grasped his shoulders and hauled him over the side.</p> + +<p>In the meantime, the Hardy boys' chums were speeding toward the yacht. +The race was forgotten.</p> + +<p>Frank and Joe did their best to revive the half-conscious woman. Her +immersion in the water and the shock of being face to face with death +had left her weakened, and she was moaning and murmuring as she lay on +the cushions. Joe gave what first aid he could, moving her arms back +and forth to restore circulation, while Frank set the course of the +<i>Sleuth</i> in the direction of the yacht.</p> + +<p>Biff Hooper had already reached the passenger boat. He drew up +alongside, with Tony Prito, in the <i>Envoy</i>, not far behind. Passengers +were crowding to the rail, some shouting and screaming with fright, +some pleading to be taken off.</p> + +<p>Biff and Tony were ready to offer their boats for this purpose, but +they noticed that the cloud of smoke had diminished in volume. A +uniformed man was bellowing through a megaphone.</p> + +<p>"No danger!" he roared. "The fire is under control!"</p> + +<p>But it was plain that many in the crowd were afraid there would be +another explosion.</p> + +<p>"Take us off!" screeched a wild-eyed woman. "Take us off before the +boat blows up!"</p> + +<p>She scrambled up on the rail, but the uniformed man seized her and +prevented her from trying to leap overboard.</p> + +<p>"Need any help?" shouted Biff.</p> + +<p>"Stand by for a while," returned the officer. "We're getting this fire +under control but we don't know how bad it is."</p> + +<p>Biff and Tony, in their motorboats, cruised in the neighborhood of the +yacht, as the ship's officer asked. The passengers were milling about +on deck, badly frightened, but gradually they became calmer as a +steward assured them that there was no danger. The heavy cloud of smoke +decreased in volume. The boat's crew was small and the fire-fighting +equipment was limited, but in a little while it became evident that +the blaze was not as bad as it had seemed and that it had indeed been +checked in time.</p> + +<p>Soon the smoke cloud ceased rolling up from below.</p> + +<p>The uniformed man came on deck again with a megaphone. He raised it to +his lips and bellowed:</p> + +<p>"Thanks, boys, but we won't need you."</p> + +<p>"That's fine!" shouted Tony, in reply. "Fire all out?"</p> + +<p>"Tin of gasoline exploded. It didn't spread much. We'll be able to make +Bayport under our own power."</p> + +<p>"Righto!" called Biff. "We're going in now, anyway. If you need us, +give us a hail."</p> + +<p>"We'll do that."</p> + +<p>The motorboats circled away. In the distance, Biff and Tony could see +the Hardy boys in the <i>Sleuth</i>, with the woman they had rescued.</p> + +<p>"Your passenger is all right!" shouted Biff, to the captain. "Our chums +will bring her back with them."</p> + +<p>He turned the nose of his craft toward the <i>Sleuth</i>.</p> + +<p>The Hardy boys were doing their best to revive the woman they had +rescued from the waves.</p> + +<p>She was not unconscious but she seemed very weak and scarcely appeared +to realize where she was.</p> + +<p>She was an elderly woman, dressed in black, and although her immersion +in the water had undoubtedly been a tremendous shock, the boys could +see that she was of an exceedingly nervous temperament and evidently +not in the best of health, for she was worn and pale.</p> + +<p>"Where am I?" she moaned. "Where am I now?"</p> + +<p>"You're quite safe," Frank assured her. "You're in a motorboat."</p> + +<p>"You saved me?"</p> + +<p>"We got you out of the water just in time."</p> + +<p>"I want to go to Bayport," said the woman weakly.</p> + +<p>"We'll take you there," promised Joe. "It isn't very far away. We will +take you there at once."</p> + +<p>"I want to go to Bayport," she repeated. "It's important. I have to see +some one there."</p> + +<p>"Head the boat around, Frank," said Joe quietly. He had seen their +chums returning from the neighborhood of the yacht, so he realized that +there was no further danger from the fire.</p> + +<p>"I must be in Bayport to-night," gasped the woman. "I must go there to +see Fenton Hardy—the detective."</p> + +<p>Then she collapsed weakly, her eyes closed, and she was a dead weight +in Joe's arms. She had fainted.</p> + +<p>The Hardy boys looked at one another in astonishment.</p> + +<p>"She wants to see Dad!" exclaimed Frank incredulously.</p> + +<p>It was a strange coincidence that they, of all people, should have +rescued her when she was on her way to see their father.</p> + +<p>Fenton Hardy had many clients, some of whom came long distances to +consult him. He was one of the greatest private detectives in the +country and his fame was widespread. He had been for many years on the +New York force and had finally achieved his ambition of setting up an +agency of his own. He had moved to Bayport, on the Atlantic coast, with +his family and his success had been immediate. He had successfully +handled many difficult cases and his services were much in demand.</p> + +<p>Frank and Joe Hardy, his sons, were anxious to follow in their father's +footsteps, in spite of his objections and in spite of their mother's +desire that they prepare themselves for medicine and law respectively. +But the boys had a natural deductive bent and they had taken several +local cases on their own initiative, succeeding so well that Fenton +Hardy had finally withdrawn his objections and agreed that if, when +they were of age, they still desired to become private investigators, +he would not stand in their way.</p> + +<p>The Hardy boys were introduced in the first volume of this series +entitled, "The Hardy Boys: The Tower Treasure," wherein they handled +their first case of any consequence. A large quantity of bonds and +jewels had been stolen from an old mansion on the outskirts of Bayport +and after numerous adventures the lads traced the loot and ran the +criminal to earth. Other volumes of the series have recounted their +adventures in handling other cases that came their way, all of which +they successfully solved.</p> + +<p>In the volume immediately preceding the present book, entitled, "The +Hardy Boys: The Shore Road Mystery," the lads, as already mentioned, +rounded up a gang of automobile thieves who had stolen a number of cars +and trucks from points along the Shore Road above Barmet Bay. After +that, things had been quiet around Bayport and the boys were beginning +to think that mysteries were at a discount.</p> + +<p>"We'd better get her back to Bayport right away," said Joe, as he +looked down at the unconscious woman. "She may be dying."</p> + +<p>"Splash some water on her face. She's just fainted, I think."</p> + +<p>Joe rendered impromptu aid, but the woman was in a dead faint and he +could not revive her at all.</p> + +<p>In the meantime, the motorboat was heading back in the direction of the +city. Frank had "let her out" to the utmost and the speedy craft was +eating up the distance. He crouched tensely at the wheel, and sheets of +spray splashed over the bow.</p> + +<p>"I wonder what on earth she wants to see Dad about," he said to +himself. Then he chuckled. "Dad will have to thank us for saving one of +his clients."</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2"><span class="smcap">Miss Todd</span></p> + + +<p>Frank Hardy lost no time on the run back to Bayport. Instead of +proceeding directly to the boathouse, he docked the <i>Sleuth</i> at one +of the city wharves. There the lads were fortunate enough to find a +taxi. The woman was still unconscious when they arrived, so with the +assistance of the taxi driver they lifted her out of the boat and into +the car.</p> + +<p>Frank instructed the man to drive to the office of a doctor they knew +well, and there the woman received attention.</p> + +<p>"She has evidently been under a great strain," the doctor told them. +"The shock of the explosion and her struggle in the water were just the +finishing touches."</p> + +<p>Under his expert administrations the woman was soon revived +sufficiently to sit up. She looked about her.</p> + +<p>"What happened?" she asked weakly.</p> + +<p>"You are in good hands, madam," the doctor assured her. "Just be quiet +for a while and you will be all right."</p> + +<p>In a few minutes, the woman had recovered. First of all, she insisted +on thanking the boys for rescuing her.</p> + +<p>"If it hadn't been for these brave lads I would have been drowned. It +was foolish of me to jump off that yacht, but I've been very nervous +lately, and when I heard the explosion and saw all that smoke I lost my +head completely."</p> + +<p>"Well," said the doctor genially, "there's been no harm done. You were +on your way to Bayport, weren't you, and here you are."</p> + +<p>"Am I in Bayport now?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"You must take me to Fenton Hardy at once, please," said the woman, +sitting up. "I must see him."</p> + +<p>"There'll be no trouble about that. These boys are Fenton Hardy's sons."</p> + +<p>The woman gazed at the Hardy boys in surprise.</p> + +<p>"His sons!" she exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"Fenton Hardy is our father," stated Frank.</p> + +<p>The woman was evidently astonished.</p> + +<p>"Isn't that strange! To think that your father should be the very man I +was coming to see."</p> + +<p>"He's at home now," said Joe. "As soon as you're feeling well enough +we'll take you there."</p> + +<p>"That will be good of you. I came to Bayport for the sole purpose of +seeing your father."</p> + +<p>"Are you coming to visit us?" asked Joe.</p> + +<p>The woman shook her head.</p> + +<p>"No. I want to see your father on business. Important business. It is +private, so I'm afraid I can't tell you any more about it."</p> + +<p>The boys forbore to question her.</p> + +<p>"I suppose I should tell you my name. I am Miss Evangeline Todd."</p> + +<p>They bowed in acknowledgement.</p> + +<p>"Will you take me to your father now? I feel much better. I'm very +anxious to see him at once. There is no time to lose."</p> + +<p>Miss Todd seemed quite agitated, and although the lads felt that a few +minutes more or less would make no particular difference, they decided +that it would be best to humor her. Miss Todd got to her feet, and +although she was still physically weak, she evidently had a mind of her +own for she was determined to remain no longer in the doctor's office +when she was so near her goal.</p> + +<p>Accordingly, the Hardy boys helped her out of the office to the waiting +taxi.</p> + +<p>During the brief drive she repeatedly expressed her astonishment at +having been rescued by the Hardy boys "of all people."</p> + +<p>"I've often heard of you boys," she said. "You often help your father, +don't you?"</p> + +<p>"Whenever we can," laughed Frank.</p> + +<p>"Well, I hope you can help him now. I want to learn the truth about +poor Todham."</p> + +<p>The lads waited expectantly, but the elderly lady said no more about +the object of her call. She seemed somewhat eccentric, and muttered to +herself a great deal.</p> + +<p>"Poor Todham," she repeated, over and over again. "I do hope Mr. Hardy +can help me. It's all very strange."</p> + +<p>The car drew up at the door of the Hardy home and the boys helped Miss +Todd alight. They brought her into the house and their father met them +at the door, evidently surprised.</p> + +<p>"A client for you, Dad," explained Frank. "We picked her up just a +little while ago."</p> + +<p>He did not tell his father just how they had "picked up" the elderly +woman.</p> + +<p>"And is this Fenton Hardy?" said Miss Todd. She grasped the noted +detective by the hand. "I've come a long distance to see you. These +fine boys of yours saved my life."</p> + +<p>"You've been in the water!" exclaimed Mr. Hardy. He called to his wife. +"Laura, will you look after this lady and make her comfortable?"</p> + +<p>Miss Todd's clothing was not entirely dry, owing to her immersion in +the waters of Barmet Bay, and when Mrs. Hardy appeared she insisted on +taking the guest upstairs and providing her with a complete change of +garments. Miss Todd insisted that her business could not wait, even for +such an important detail as dry clothes, but the better counsel of Mrs. +Hardy prevailed.</p> + +<p>When Miss Todd came downstairs some time later she was still very weak +and nervous but in a more settled frame of mind.</p> + +<p>"If you'll come into my office," suggested Fenton Hardy, courteously, +"I'll be glad to hear your story."</p> + +<p>Miss Todd looked around.</p> + +<p>"I had intended to keep it private," she said; "but you've all been so +kind to me that I'm sure it will do no harm if you all know. That is, +if you would care to listen," she added, turning to Mrs. Hardy and the +boys.</p> + +<p>Both Frank and Joe were very curious to know the nature of the +mysterious affair that had brought Miss Todd to Bayport and it did not +require any persuasion for them to remain.</p> + +<p>Miss Todd sat down in an armchair, and after she was duly settled began +a long, rambling narrative.</p> + +<p>"It's about my brother," she said. "My twin brother, Todham. He's a +very clever man—a professor. Perhaps you've heard of him. Professor +Todham Todd, Ph.D. It all started when Todham and I went on that +railway journey to visit Cousin Albert. At the time I said that I had +a strange feeling that something was going to happen, and perhaps we +had better not go, but Todham said I was foolish, so we went. And I was +right. It turned out that I was right after all."</p> + +<p>"Yes?" said Mr. Hardy encouragingly, wondering to what all this was +leading.</p> + +<p>"I was quite right," declared Miss Todd emphatically. "Because +something <i>did</i> happen. There was a wreck. The train jumped off the +track. It was a terrible wreck. There were five people killed and it +was a blessing Todham and I weren't killed too. But we were hurt. We +were badly hurt. I've never felt the same since. My nerves have never +been right. As for Todham, he always had been a nervous sort of man, +and after that wreck he went all to pieces. The doctor said he would be +all right after a while, that all he needed was rest and quiet, and I +believed he was right. But we sued the railway for damages."</p> + +<p>"Did you win the suit?" asked Mr. Hardy.</p> + +<p>"It has not come to trial. The lawyers delayed everything. In the +meantime, poor Todham was acting strangely. You wouldn't think he was +the same man. He was very queer. I used to wonder if the railway wreck +had affected his mind. Instead of getting better, he became worse. Then +one night, just before the trial was to come off, he disappeared."</p> + +<p>"Disappeared!"</p> + +<p>"He walked out of the house one night and from that minute to this we +haven't seen hide nor hair of him," declared Evangeline Todd. "We have +heard of him, but he's like a will-o'-the-wisp. We have heard of him in +different places, but when we come to look for him, he's gone. He has +never written to us. There hasn't been any real trace of him. The shock +was too much for me, and I collapsed and I haven't been well since. Not +a bit well. My nerves have been completely shattered."</p> + +<p>"When did your brother disappear?" asked the detective.</p> + +<p>"Months ago. This happened four months back."</p> + +<p>Fenton Hardy frowned.</p> + +<p>"Four months ago! That makes it more difficult. If you had come to me +earlier I would have had a better chance of helping you."</p> + +<p>"Don't say you won't help me, Mr. Hardy," entreated the woman. "Please +don't say you won't take the case."</p> + +<p>"I didn't mean it that way," said the detective kindly. "I meant that +the chances of tracing your brother are not as good now as they would +have been four months ago. I'll do what I can, of course, but I'm +afraid it will be a hard task."</p> + +<p>"We searched for him everywhere, Mr. Hardy. I'm sure he is still alive, +for we've had reports of him from different places. But I have no idea +what can have happened to him."</p> + +<p>"It's just possible that he has had a mental breakdown," said the +detective. "You say he was acting strangely after the wreck. He may be +in a hospital somewhere, and unable to communicate with you."</p> + +<p>"I'm quite sure he didn't deliberately run away. Todham has always been +so quiet and studious and so anxious to give no trouble to any one. +Something dreadful must have happened to him. If it weren't for hearing +that he has been seen in these different places, I would believe that +he is dead. As it is, I'm sure he is still alive."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps we can find some trace of him," said Mr. Hardy. "I'll take the +case, Miss Todd, and, although I can't promise to find your brother, +you may be sure that I'll do the best I can."</p> + +<p>"Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Hardy. I knew you wouldn't refuse. I wish +now I had come to you in the first place, instead of wasting so much +precious time."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps we can recover the lost ground. With a bit of luck, we may be +able to pick up his trail."</p> + +<p>Miss Todd sank back in her chair.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I hope so. I hope so. I have been so worried." She clasped her +hands nervously. "Find him for me, Mr. Hardy, and I'll pay you well. I +must know what has become of Todham."</p> + +<p>Her face suddenly became pale. The strain of the narrative had been too +much for her. She relaxed limply.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Hardy hurried forward.</p> + +<p>"Get me a glass of water, Frank," she said quickly. "She has fainted."</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2"><span class="smcap">Concerning Todham Todd</span></p> + + +<p>It was quite evident that Miss Todd was in no condition to go to any of +the city hotels. She needed rest and quiet more than anything else, and +when she had been revived a few minutes later, Mrs. Hardy insisted that +she remain in the Hardy home for a few days as a guest. Her sympathy +had gone out to the distracted woman, and although at first Evangeline +Todd would not consider the proposal, being afraid of imposing on their +hospitality, Mr. Hardy insisted that she remain.</p> + +<p>"Your story interests me very much," he said. "I'll be very glad to +take the case, on one condition."</p> + +<p>"What condition is that?"</p> + +<p>"On condition that you accept our invitation to stay here for a while +until you are feeling better."</p> + +<p>So Evangeline Todd was prevailed upon to stay and Fenton Hardy at once +prepared to take up the trail of the missing professor. He had no +important cases in hand at the time, so he was able to spare a few days +for preliminary investigation work and he decided that his best plan +was to go directly to the college town where the Todds had their home.</p> + +<p>"Sometimes a professional, and a stranger, can pick up clues that +wouldn't fall in the way of a police detective who is known in the +town," he said. "I'll run up there and see what I can discover."</p> + +<p>Mr. Hardy was accustomed to being called out of town suddenly and the +family were used to his abrupt departures. The detective was a man who +acted quickly, once he had made a decision, and Miss Todd was surprised +to see him leaving immediately.</p> + +<p>"No use wasting any time," he explained cheerfully, having paused only +long enough to pack a bag with a few essentials. "I'll get busy at +once."</p> + +<p>Although Frank and Joe Hardy were curious to learn further details of +the latest mystery on which their father was working, and in which they +had taken a small part, Miss Todd had evidently suffered more from her +adventure in Barmet Bay than they had at first thought. She was obliged +to keep to her room over Sunday and the lads had no chance to talk to +her, as Mrs. Hardy decided that their guest should not be disturbed. +Wisely, Mrs. Hardy wanted to keep the woman's mind off the matter of +her brother's disappearance and she knew that if the boys besieged her +with questions her state of anxiety would be only rendered worse.</p> + +<p>On Monday, when the boys returned to school, they were met at the gate +by Chet Morton, heading a group of grinning chums. Chet, a plump, +jovial youth, equally fond of food and fun, held up a restraining hand.</p> + +<p>"We would fain talk with thee, noble youths," he said. "Humble varlets +though we are, we would crave your indulgence for a time."</p> + +<p>"You sound like Shakespeare or somebody," said Joe.</p> + +<p>"Probably somebody," Chet agreed. "Young masters, we have gathered here +to-day to do honor to two brave and bright young men whom we are proud +to call our chums. Perhaps," he went on, in the manner of an orator, +"in the years to come, when we are poor and unnoticed people, we may +be able to say to our grandchildren that once upon a time we went to +school with the Hardy boys, that we went swimming with them, and that +they often gave us rides in their motorboat. However, that is not +getting to the point—"</p> + +<p>"What's it all about?" asked Frank. "What's all this speech for?"</p> + +<p>"Patience. Patience. Our little committee has waited patiently for +your arrival and now we wish to show you our esteem and regard. It has +come to our notice that on Saturday, the fourteenth instant, you did +bravely, heroically, and nobly perform the humane act of hauling an +old lady out of the water when she had swallowed several gallons of +Barmet Bay and was in grave danger of drowning. As a slight token of +our appreciation we wish you to accept these little tokens—" here Chet +gestured to Biff Hooper, who grinned and stepped forward with two shiny +objects on an old cushion—"not so much for their intrinsic value, +which is considerable, but for the spirit in which they are meant."</p> + +<p>Chet took a deep breath.</p> + +<p>"I don't know whether that's all quite correct," he said, "but I +learned some of it from a book."</p> + +<p>Then, very gravely, he picked up the shiny objects, which proved to be +impromptu medals carved from the tops of tin biscuit boxes, dangling +from red ribbons, and pinned one on the chest of each of the Hardy boys.</p> + +<p>There were loud cheers and shrieks of laughter from the boys at this +mock ceremony, and the Hardy boys joined in the laugh as well. However, +behind all the nonsense, the lads realized that their chums were proud +of them. The tin medals were embarrassing, and the boys watched for +their first opportunity to take them off.</p> + +<p>"Seriously," said Chet, some time later when he was alone with the +brothers, "the fellows think you did some mighty smart work fishing +that lady out of the water. The captain of the boat told people about +it when the yacht docked."</p> + +<p>"We couldn't very well stand by and watch her drown," said Frank. "If +Biff and Tony could have got there first they'd have done the same."</p> + +<p>"Sure! But the point is, you chaps got there first and saved her life. +If you hadn't been there, Biff and Tony couldn't have done very much, +for their boats aren't fast enough. Where is the lady now? Did she give +you her name?"</p> + +<p>Frank and Joe then told Chet about Miss Evangeline Todd and about the +coincidence that her visit to Bayport had been with the object of +seeing Fenton Hardy. Chet was greatly interested when they told him +about her search for the missing professor.</p> + +<p>"A professor missing, eh? That's something new. If one of the +professor's students had disappeared there wouldn't be much mystery +about it. I know one student of this high school who would like to drop +out of sight for a while—until after these exams are over, at any +rate."</p> + +<p>"You're hopeless," laughed Frank, and just then the opening bell rang, +cutting off further conversation.</p> + +<p>When the boys returned home at noon they found that Miss Todd had +recovered sufficiently to come downstairs. She seemed in much better +spirits and the rest had evidently done her a great deal of good, +because she was not in the highly nervous state of the previous +Saturday.</p> + +<p>"It's such a relief to know that the case is in good hands," she said. +"If Fenton Hardy can't find poor Todham, I'm sure no one can. Though he +may turn up of his own accord," she added.</p> + +<p>"We'll hope for the best," said Mrs. Hardy quietly.</p> + +<p>"Dad didn't like to question you too much on Saturday," Frank remarked. +"He didn't want to bother you more than he could help."</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid I wasn't in any condition to tell him many details."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps if you would tell us anything you overlooked, we might be able +to help out a little, too."</p> + +<p>Miss Todd was thoughtful for a moment.</p> + +<p>"There were a few things about Todham that would identify him almost +anywhere," she said. "For instance, he was very careless about his +shoes."</p> + +<p>"His shoes?" echoed the boys.</p> + +<p>"He <i>would</i> not keep them laced. It was simply impossible to keep an +eye on that man, and if I didn't watch him he was just as likely as not +to go out to classes in the morning with his shoelaces dragging on the +ground, and he wouldn't notice them unless he tripped over them. He was +very absent-minded."</p> + +<p>"That's a pretty good clue to go on. What did your brother look like, +Miss Todd?"</p> + +<p>"He was tall and rather thin. His hair was white and he was +clean-shaven. His eyes and his teeth were very good. Even in spite of +his age and all the reading and studying, he never had to wear glasses. +Oh, yes—there's something else. He had an expression he often used, +about as near swearing as he ever went. 'By jing!' it was. Whenever +he was excited about anything or wanted to emphasize something he had +said, he would always exclaim 'by jing!' I remember that he forgot +himself in a lecture one day and said that. The dean spoke to him about +it."</p> + +<p>"'By jing!'" remarked Frank thoughtfully. "It isn't an expression one +hears every day."</p> + +<p>"It was the only expression I can remember that was quite +characteristic of Todham."</p> + +<p>Miss Todd had little of further value to tell them, and when the Hardy +boys were by themselves later on they discussed the peculiarities of +the missing professor.</p> + +<p>"He forgets to tie his shoelaces and he says 'by jing!'" observed Joe. +"It should be easy enough to pick him out with a description like that. +It's strange he hasn't turned up long ago."</p> + +<p>"Unless he met somebody who knew he was missing and who had heard of +those little habits, he wouldn't be noticed. And it's just about a +thousand chances to one that we would ever run across him."</p> + +<p>"Well, we can at least make a note of it and tell Dad when he comes +back. Chances are, he will never hear about those things, and Miss Todd +may forget to tell him. It might help him a lot."</p> + +<p>"I guess this is one mystery where we won't have much chance to help," +said Frank ruefully. "Still, we'll do what we can."</p> + +<p>But the Hardy boys were destined to take an even more active part in +the mystery of Todham Todd than Fenton Hardy himself.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2"><span class="smcap">Plans for a Trip</span></p> + + +<p>Vacation time came, as it always does, although the days dragged, and +when the last examination was written and the Hardy boys and their +chums faced the long summer holidays, the boys had more exciting +concerns than the affair of Todham Todd.</p> + +<p>Miss Todd had left the Hardy home, after profuse thanks for the +hospitality the family had shown her, and had returned to the college +town. Mr. Hardy, after spending a day or so there, had gone on to parts +unknown and it was assumed that he was following clues that he hoped +would lead to the discovery of the missing professor.</p> + +<p>"What are you going to do now?" asked Chet, on the first day of the +holidays, when a number of the boys were sitting in the barn back of +the Hardy home.</p> + +<p>"Joe and I were figuring on a motorboat trip," said Frank.</p> + +<p>"Good idea," Tony Prito remarked. "Where are you going?"</p> + +<p>Frank shrugged.</p> + +<p>"No place in particular. We hadn't come to that."</p> + +<p>"As long as you go <i>somewhere</i>, it's all right with you, eh?" suggested +Chet.</p> + +<p>"That's about the size of it."</p> + +<p>"I'd like to go on a motorboat trip myself," said Biff Hooper slowly. +"As a matter of fact, I know of a place to go, but I don't know whether +we can reach it in a boat."</p> + +<p>"Where's that?"</p> + +<p>"I was talking to an old sailor the other day in one of the villages +down the shore and he was telling me a story about some caves that +are said to be down on the main shore. We were talking about buried +treasure, and that's how he brought the matter up. He said that there +were old rumors of treasure in these caves."</p> + +<p>"Treasure!" exclaimed Chet, brightening up. "That's our meat!"</p> + +<p>"Of course, I'm not saying there is treasure in these caves. But the +old chap said he had heard the story and he thought there might be +something in it."</p> + +<p>"In the caves, you mean," said the irrepressible Chet.</p> + +<p>"Sure! These caves are out on the coast, south from the mouth of Barmet +Bay."</p> + +<p>"It wouldn't take us very long to go down and look the place over," +Frank remarked.</p> + +<p>"They're not easy to reach. I'm not sure that we can get to them by +motorboat. But I believe there's a road that runs down the coast in +that neighborhood and we might be able to get there by land."</p> + +<p>"We have the motorbikes," said Joe promptly.</p> + +<p>"I'll find out more about it from the old chap and let you know," Biff +promised.</p> + +<p>"Find out more about the treasure," advised Chet. "Find out if it is in +gold or silver and if we have to dig for it, and if there's enough to +divide up among the crowd of us."</p> + +<p>"So far as treasure is concerned, I don't hold much stock in these +stories usually," said Biff. "But this old chap said that a gang of +wreckers at one time lived in these caves. They had a pleasant little +habit of changing the lights on the buoys along the reefs and wrecking +ships. Then they would rob the vessels and store the loot in the caves."</p> + +<p>"Good night!" exclaimed Tony. "Regular pirates."</p> + +<p>"I'll say they were. Of course, all this was years ago. The gang was +wiped out eventually and some of the leaders were hanged, but this old +chap I was talking to said that very little of the loot was recovered. +Of course, it may have been sold or shipped away, but he believes a lot +of it is still hidden in the caves!"</p> + +<p>"Hasn't any one ever hunted for it?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes. But they've never found anything."</p> + +<p>"Why should we?" asked Chet.</p> + +<p>"Why shouldn't we? And what does it matter if we don't? We might have +some fun making the trip."</p> + +<p>"I think it's a good idea!" approved Frank Hardy. "We can take the +motorcycles, run down there and poke around, and then come back. Of +course I don't think we'll find any treasure, but it'll give us some +sort of an objective, anyway."</p> + +<p>"Suits me," declared Chet. "My motorbike is hereby enlisted. I can take +Biff along in the side car."</p> + +<p>"And we have our machines," Joe said. "Tony can ride with one of us."</p> + +<p>"We ought to have a mighty good trip," said Frank. "How long do you +think we should be away, Biff?"</p> + +<p>"It will take about a day and a half to reach that part of the coast, +for the roads aren't very good, and then it will take another day or so +finding these caves. If we want to do any exploring I guess we could +stick around for the rest of the summer and still have lots left to +do."</p> + +<p>"Well, we won't stay for the rest of the summer. But about a week or +ten days should give us a good outing."</p> + +<p>"That suits me," said Chet. "I have other things to do in the holidays +besides crawling around in caves."</p> + +<p>It was decided that the lads should inform their parents of the +projected trip and make ready immediately. They planned to leave +Bayport in two days, as they wanted a day in which to overhaul their +motorcycles and get everything in readiness. Tony Prito was dubious +about getting permission, as his father had been talking of putting him +to work in the wholesale fruit depot for a few weeks during the summer +season.</p> + +<p>When the Hardy boys went into the house to tell their mother about the +trip to the caves, they found that their father had just returned. He +was unpacking his bag as they entered the hall.</p> + +<p>"Hello, Dad!" they greeted him. "What luck?"</p> + +<p>Fenton Hardy shook hands with his sons and returned to the bag.</p> + +<p>"What kind of luck do you mean?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"In the Todd case? Did you find the professor?"</p> + +<p>"No," said the detective, "I didn't find the professor."</p> + +<p>"Didn't you get any trace of him at all?"</p> + +<p>"I found traces of him, all right. He's still alive, which is the main +thing I learned."</p> + +<p>"And yet you couldn't find him?" asked Joe.</p> + +<p>"I followed him through half a dozen towns and cities, but I must say +he is mighty elusive. He was always about three jumps ahead of me."</p> + +<p>"He knew you were looking for him?"</p> + +<p>"I don't think so. He wasn't running away from me. But he keeps on the +move and he jumps around from one place to another without any rhyme or +reason, so he was hard to follow. I finally lost track of him."</p> + +<p>"That's tough," said Frank. "Where did you lose the trail?"</p> + +<p>"At a little place called Claymore, about fifty miles south of here. He +had been seen there last week, but he went away and no one knew where I +could find him. So I gave up the search and came home."</p> + +<p>"Have you dropped the case?"</p> + +<p>Fenton Hardy laughed.</p> + +<p>"Did you ever hear of me dropping a case before it was cleared up in +one way or another?"</p> + +<p>"No," admitted Frank. "But I thought you may have considered it a waste +of time."</p> + +<p>"It was a waste of time to keep following him about and never catching +up with him. I decided to try another angle. Oh, we'll pick up Todham +Todd yet."</p> + +<p>"Joe and I have some information for you. But perhaps you know it +already. Miss Todd gave us a few facts about her brother's appearance—"</p> + +<p>"I have all that. I have a pretty good description of him, and I +managed to get hold of a photograph at the college."</p> + +<p>"Did you hear about his shoelaces?" asked Joe, excitedly.</p> + +<p>"His shoelaces?"</p> + +<p>"Miss Todd said her brother was mighty absent-minded and that quite +often he forgot to tie up his shoelaces."</p> + +<p>Mr. Hardy was interested.</p> + +<p>"I didn't hear that one," he said. "It might be valuable. I'll make a +note of it. A clue like that might mean a great deal in a case like +this."</p> + +<p>"And about 'by jing?'" asked Frank.</p> + +<p>"By jing?"</p> + +<p>"It's an expression he used. He never swears, but once in a while he +says 'by jing!' if he is excited."</p> + +<p>"That's something new, too. In all the information I picked up about +Todham Todd I didn't hear anything about that expression or about the +shoelaces, and they are two of the most important clues I could ask."</p> + +<p>The boys were gratified that they had gained this much information for +their father's benefit. They knew that although Fenton Hardy had given +up the direct search for the missing professor, he would never abandon +the case until there was a definite solution one way or the other.</p> + +<p>"Have you found why he disappeared from home?" asked Joe.</p> + +<p>"I imagine he simply lost his memory," said Mr. Hardy. "At the present +time, from what information I could pick up, he has no idea that his +real name is Todham Todd. His memory is completely gone and he isn't +able to remember anything of his past life. Probably if he met his +sister again or some old acquaintance, it might all come back to him. +He is wandering around, trying to find out who he is and where he comes +from."</p> + +<p>"Poor old chap!" said the boys sympathetically.</p> + +<p>"He evidently had some money on his person when he disappeared, because +he hasn't been in want, and the reason it was so hard to follow him +was because he didn't stay in any one town more than a day or so. Just +long enough to know that it wasn't his own town and that he could learn +nothing about himself there. Then he would go on to the next place. +But he'll turn up, I'm sure. I have a number of places being watched, +where he's likely to put in an appearance some time, and I'll be +notified at once."</p> + +<p>"In the meantime," promised Frank, "we'll keep our eyes peeled for him. +But we'll not be able to help much for a couple of weeks yet."</p> + +<p>"Why?"</p> + +<p>"We're going on a motorbike jaunt down the coast to look over some +caves."</p> + +<p>"Hidden treasure?" asked their father, his eyes twinkling.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps."</p> + +<p>"I hope you make a million," laughed Mr. Hardy. "I'll try to find +Todham Todd before you come back."</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2"><span class="smcap">The Missing Motorcycle</span></p> + + +<p>"I wish I were a boy," sighed Callie Shaw.</p> + +<p>Iola Morton looked up from her ice-cream soda.</p> + +<p>"Me, too."</p> + +<p>"It's tough luck that you're not," said Joe Hardy. "We'd like to have +you along on the trip with us."</p> + +<p>"Boys have all the luck. Girls have to stay at home."</p> + +<p>The Hardy boys, Chet Morton, and Biff Hooper were celebrating their +departure by treating Callie Shaw and Iola Morton—and incidentally, +themselves—to ice-cream at the Bon Ton Confectionery Shop. Iola, a +plump, dark girl, was Chet's sister, and fully as fun-loving as her +brother. Of all the girls at Bayport High she was the special favorite +of Joe, as Callie Shaw, brown-haired and brown-eyed, was above all +other girls in Frank's opinion.</p> + +<p>"This one is my treat," Joe announced. "Another soda won't hurt any +one."</p> + +<p>It was a warm afternoon and the others promptly accepted. Six tall, +frosted glasses of soda, pink and white and orange in color, were +placed before them and imbibed with many gurgles of satisfaction.</p> + +<p>"Well, sis," remarked Chet, "I don't know but that I'd trade places +with you."</p> + +<p>"Yes, you would!" said Iola ironically. "You wouldn't give up that trip +for a million dollars."</p> + +<p>"I've just been thinking that you're lucky to be staying in town. +You'll be able to have ice-cream sodas and we shan't."</p> + +<p>"That's true, too," said Joe reflectively. He was very fond of sodas, +and he had not considered the matter in this light before.</p> + +<p>"Yes, but think of all the fun you'll have. And if you find any +treasure in those caves you'll be able to eat ice-cream sodas for the +rest of your lives."</p> + +<p>"Our lives wouldn't last very long if we did nothing but eat sodas +after we came back," laughed Frank. "How about another?"</p> + +<p>The girls shook their heads. Chet groaned.</p> + +<p>"This is my fifth to-day," he said. "I <i>could</i> take another but I +wouldn't have any room left for supper. Guess we'd better quit."</p> + +<p>"We'd better," agreed Biff. "If you're sick to-morrow morning we'll +start without you."</p> + +<p>The thought of this possibility drove all desire for another ice-cream +soda from Chet Morton's mind and the boys and girls left the Bon Ton. +As they would not be seeing one another again before the start of the +trip, Callie and Iola said good-bye to Biff and the Hardy boys.</p> + +<p>"We'll miss you," Callie assured them. "The town won't seem the same +without you."</p> + +<p>"It won't be, either," grinned Chet. "It'll be a lot quieter when we +clear out."</p> + +<p>"Our house will be quieter, at any rate," Iola agreed. "It'll be a +relief when you're gone, Chet."</p> + +<p>"That's a sister for you! Frank, you and Joe are lucky. You have no +sisters."</p> + +<p>"I don't know about that," replied Frank. "If we had sisters like +Callie and Iola we wouldn't have any kick."</p> + +<p>Chet and his sister, in spite of all their good-natured banter, got +along very well together. So, with much laughter and good wishes, the +friends parted, and the Hardy boys went home to finish their packing.</p> + +<p>Next morning found the four boys bowling along a country road leading +out of Bayport, on the first stage of their journey to the caves on +the coast. Greatly to their disappointment, Tony Prito had been unable +to come with them, as his father needed him. Biff Hooper and Chet rode +together. Frank and Joe, of course, had each his own motorcycle.</p> + +<p>It was an ideal summer morning, cool and bright. The boys carried their +blankets and cooking utensils, but they had agreed it would be best not +to carry too many provisions, as food could be purchased along the way +as it was needed.</p> + +<p>"This won't be our first experience searching through caves," called +out Frank, who was in the lead of the little procession.</p> + +<p>"It will be old stuff to you chaps," answered Biff. "I sure wish I had +been with you when you were going through the caves below the Shore +Road."</p> + +<p>He referred to the experience of the Hardy boys when they were in +search of the automobiles that thieves had hidden in secret caves +beneath the cliffs along the Shore Road above Barmet Bay.</p> + +<p>"By the way," said Chet, "did you know that one of that gang of rascals +escaped from jail the other day?"</p> + +<p>This was news to the others. When the Hardy boys discovered the stolen +cars they also aided in the round-up of the gang of automobile thieves, +some of whom had been sentenced to long terms of imprisonment. Others, +who had been merely tools of the ring-leaders of the outfit, were given +lighter sentences in the local jail.</p> + +<p>"Who was that?" asked Joe.</p> + +<p>"Carl Schaum. He made a getaway the day before yesterday. The police +were keeping quiet about it because they thought they might catch him +again before the news leaked out. But he's clear away."</p> + +<p>"Carl Schaum!" exclaimed Frank. "He was one of the chaps who got off +lightly."</p> + +<p>"And to my mind he was one of the worst rascals of the lot," added Joe.</p> + +<p>"Well, he's at large now. They haven't been able to trace him. He's a +tough bird, all right."</p> + +<p>"Carl Schaum used to live around here, didn't he?" asked Biff.</p> + +<p>"Sure. He used to live just outside the city. He's been in and out of +plenty of scrapes. A real bad egg."</p> + +<p>"Oh, probably the police will pick him up again," Biff said. "He won't +get very far. It's a cinch he won't hang around Bayport."</p> + +<p>"Not if he knows what's good for him," remarked Frank.</p> + +<p>The road the boys had taken went south and then east toward the coast, +through a beautiful countryside. The boys had been on their way a +little over two hours, but already they were hot and dusty. Just at +that moment, Joe spied a flash of blue among the trees beyond an +inviting shady lane.</p> + +<p>"Looks like a lake down there," he said. "What say we investigate?"</p> + +<p>"I'm game," said Chet. "Maybe we can have a swim."</p> + +<p>As time was not pressing and the boys were traveling leisurely, in no +hurry to reach the caves, they at once fell in with the suggestion. +Frank headed down the lane and in a few minutes the lads were riding +beneath shady trees down toward the banks of a small lake that lay calm +and clear among the woods. There was a wide, sandy beach, and with +whoops of delight the boys at once brought their motorcycles to a stop, +parked them beneath the trees by the road, and raced gayly down through +the grass.</p> + +<p>It was one of the finest natural swimming places they had ever seen and +the boys lost no time flinging off their clothes and splashing out into +the cool water. For about half an hour they enjoyed themselves as only +boys can, swimming and diving, until at last, refreshed, they came up +onto the beach and donned their garments again.</p> + +<p>Their motorcycles had been parked just out of sight of the beach, +because the road ran past the lake, about a hundred yards distant. +However, the boys had given little thought to the safety of the +machines because the lake was in a secluded spot and there was no sign +of human habitation near by.</p> + +<p>"I'll race you back!" shouted Frank, as they began to dress.</p> + +<p>There was a mad scramble for clothes. Chet adroitly hurled one of +Biff's shoes into a thicket, thinking thereby to get a head start on +his chum, but Joe sat on Chet's trousers as he drew on his own socks, +and Chet hunted in vain for the essential garments, losing more time +than Biff did. All this byplay took time, and Frank, in the meanwhile, +was dressing hastily but calmly, and was ready before any of the +others. With a yell of triumph, he darted up the grassy slope.</p> + +<p>Joe was next. Shoelaces dragging, he set out in pursuit. Chet did not +even bother to put on his shoes but hastened after, his shirt open, and +hanging onto his trousers with one hand while he fastened his belt. +Biff, plunging about in the bush in search of the missing shoe, was +last.</p> + +<p>"First up!" shouted Frank. Then the others heard him give a sudden +exclamation of surprise.</p> + +<p>"What's the matter?" called Joe.</p> + +<p>He ran up in time to see Frank standing in the roadway, an expression +of consternation on his face.</p> + +<p>"The bikes!" he exclaimed. "There are only two here!"</p> + +<p>"What?" yelled Joe.</p> + +<p>"One of our bikes is missing! What do you know about that!"</p> + +<p>As Chet and Joe hastened up they saw that he was right. Where three +motorcycles had been parked beside the road, there were only two left.</p> + +<p>Frank's motorcycle was gone!</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2"><span class="smcap">Carl Schaum</span></p> + + +<p>Frank Hardy wasted no time.</p> + +<p>The motorcycle had been stolen. There was no doubt of that. That it +had been stolen within that past five minutes, he knew. When the boys +were coming out of the water he thought he had heard the clatter of +a machine, but at the time he had paid no attention to the sound, +thinking it came from the main road.</p> + +<p>"Come on!" he shouted. "We'll chase him."</p> + +<p>"Which way has he gone?" gasped Chet.</p> + +<p>Frank looked at the road. It was not a traveled thoroughfare and weeds +and grass were in the ruts. It was impossible to see any sign of the +tire tread.</p> + +<p>"Joe and I will go ahead," he decided. "Chet, you and Biff go on back +to the main road on your bike. If you don't get any trace of him, wait +for us."</p> + +<p>He sprang onto Joe's motorcycle and his brother leaped up behind. Biff +Hooper was just emerging from the bushes and Chet quickly told him +what had happened.</p> + +<p>In a moment the two machines were roaring off along the road in +opposite directions, Chet and Biff returning to the highway and the +Hardy boys going on down the country lane.</p> + +<p>Once past the lake, Joe and Frank found the going was rough. +Presumably, it was just a lane connecting with the highway, and there +was little traffic over it. The motorcycle bumped along, Frank letting +the machine out as much as he dared.</p> + +<p>They came to a dusty spot in the lane and Frank gave a cry of +exultation.</p> + +<p>"This is the way he went! There's the tire marks!"</p> + +<p>Clearly defined in the dust was the imprint of the tread. The boys +knew they were on the right track, but they knew that the thief was +undoubtedly proceeding as quickly as they were, if not faster.</p> + +<p>Could they overtake him?</p> + +<p>Coming to a more level stretch of road, Frank risked a greater speed +and the motorcycle leaped forward in a cloud of dust. There were many +curves and the high trees obscured a view of the road ahead so they had +no idea how close they were to the fugitive.</p> + +<p>Owing to the roar of their own machine they could not have heard the +clatter of the other motorcycle even if it had been only a short +distance ahead. They could only trust to their own speed and to the +chance that the thief had not obtained too much of a start.</p> + +<p>Suddenly, as they swerved around a bend in the road, Joe gave a cry of +delight.</p> + +<p>In the distance, on an open stretch, half hidden by a heavy cloud of +dust, a motorcycle was hurtling toward an expanse of paved highway that +lay like a white ribbon far beyond the trees.</p> + +<p>"That's him!" Joe shouted.</p> + +<p>But Frank had already seen the dark object ahead.</p> + +<p>He let the machine out to its fullest speed. He knew that if the +fugitive once gained the highway it would be impossible to overtake +him. It was now or never.</p> + +<p>But the country road was deceptive.</p> + +<p>Just a few yards away, he spied a culvert. It had been poorly +constructed and a bad bump was inevitable. It was suicidal to take it +at their present speed.</p> + +<p>He desperately tried to slacken pace, but the machine reached the rise +in the road in a moment, lurched over it, seemed to leap through the +air, and then hit the road again with a crash. There was a tremendous +jolt.</p> + +<p>Frank's grip was almost torn from the handlebars, but he held on +tightly. Joe had grasped him tightly around the waist and still +retained his seat.</p> + +<p>The motorcycle swerved, skidded wildly, and headed toward the ditch.</p> + +<p>But Frank had set himself for the shock of going over the culvert and +he acted almost instinctively.</p> + +<p>Had he been unprepared he would certainly have lost control of the +motorcycle and both he and Joe might have been killed. He swung the +hurtling machine back into mid-road again just when it seemed that it +was about to crash into the deep ditch. He did not slacken speed, for +that would have meant a dangerous skid.</p> + +<p>By skillful handling, he settled the machine on the smoothest part of +the road again and it roared on down the stretch.</p> + +<p>The fugitive, too, seemed to be having trouble. The motorcycle ahead +was lurching and bouncing in an alarming manner and its speed had +slackened. Frank's experienced eye saw that the thief had encountered +a rough and treacherous piece of road that ran for about half a mile +before it met the main highway.</p> + +<p>Suddenly they saw the machine swerve wildly and go completely over on +its side. The driver was thrown into the middle of the road.</p> + +<p>"He's done for!" Frank shouted.</p> + +<p>But his joy was short-lived. The thief had not given up yet. He +scrambled to his feet and returned to the motorcycle, righted it, and +leaped into the saddle. The machine, evidently undamaged, bounded +forward again.</p> + +<p>However, the accident had given the Hardy boys a chance to make up +ground and they had gained considerably. In a few moments they reached +the beginning of the rough section of the road and the fugitive was no +more than two hundred yards ahead.</p> + +<p>The two motorcycles lurched and bounded over the bumpy surface. Frank +saw that the thief was not a first-class driver. He seemed to be having +a great deal of trouble keeping the stolen machine on the road and did +not dare travel at high speed.</p> + +<p>As for himself, he saw that he would have to take chances. He shouted +to Joe, "Hang on!" and let the motorcycle out as much as he dared.</p> + +<p>It was a rough ride. More than once it seemed as though they would +crash, but they steadily gained on the fugitive.</p> + +<p>The man looked behind. He saw that he had no hope of reaching the +highway.</p> + +<p>The stolen motorcycle came to a stop. The rider leaped out into the +road and ran toward the ditch. Beyond it there was a fence and a high +bank of trees. Through the ditch and over the fence scrambled the +fugitive. He looked back again just as the Hardy boys drew up beside +the abandoned machine and then disappeared among the trees.</p> + +<p>The boys were at first inclined to follow, and Joe dashed toward the +ditch in pursuit. But Frank's better counsel prevailed.</p> + +<p>"Let him go," he said. "We'd never find him in that underbrush, and +he might just double back to the road again and clear out on the +motorcycle. We've got the machine back. That's the main thing."</p> + +<p>Reluctantly, Joe came back.</p> + +<p>"Yes, we've got the machine. But I'd like to lay my hands on that +crook."</p> + +<p>"Didn't you recognize him?"</p> + +<p>Joe shook his head.</p> + +<p>"I only caught a glimpse of his face but it seems to me I've seen him +before."</p> + +<p>"We've both seen him before."</p> + +<p>"Where?"</p> + +<p>"The Shore Road gang."</p> + +<p>"The auto thieves?"</p> + +<p>Frank nodded his head in assent.</p> + +<p>"Then," exclaimed Joe, "that must be Carl Schaum! All the others are in +jail."</p> + +<p>"That's who it is, all right. I recognized him the moment he looked +back."</p> + +<p>"I wish I had chased him!" declared Joe.</p> + +<p>"He's likely putting a lot of distance between himself and us just now. +I guess the reason he stole the motorcycle was to help him in his +getaway, for the police are looking for him since he escaped from jail."</p> + +<p>"If we had caught him we would have had to take him back to Bayport +anyway," Joe remarked philosophically. "It would have interrupted our +trip. Perhaps it's just as well."</p> + +<p>"He'll be picked up somewhere else. I'm glad he didn't get my +motorcycle. That would have upset the trip even worse."</p> + +<p>Frank examined the machine. It had been slightly damaged by the upset +on the rough road and there were a few dents and scrapes, but there +was nothing seriously wrong with it. He mounted the motorcycle and its +staccato roar soon filled the air.</p> + +<p>"Running as good as ever," he said, with satisfaction.</p> + +<p>"Good! Shall we go back now?"</p> + +<p>"We may as well. There's no use chasing Carl Schaum, and the others +will be wondering what has happened."</p> + +<p>The brothers rode back toward the swimming pool and then out to the +highway, where they found Chet and Biff waiting for them. Not having +found any trace of the machine on the highway the chums had waited +according to instructions. When they saw the brothers coming in view, +each on his own machine, they raised a cheer.</p> + +<p>"Good work!" shouted Chet. "Did you have to battle for it?"</p> + +<p>"No battle at all," returned Frank, bringing the motorcycle to a stop. +"An old friend of ours had just borrowed it for a little ride."</p> + +<p>Chet looked at him incredulously. Frank laughed at the expression on +his chum's face.</p> + +<p>"An old friend!" exclaimed Biff. "I didn't know you had any friends +around this part of the country."</p> + +<p>"He wasn't exactly a friend. An acquaintance, I should say. Carl Schaum +swiped the machine."</p> + +<p>Chet and Biff whistled simultaneously.</p> + +<p>"Schaum was the thief!" Biff exclaimed. "Are you sure?"</p> + +<p>"Where is he?" demanded Chet. "Did you tie him up?"</p> + +<p>"We didn't catch him," confessed Joe. "He left the bike in the road +when he saw we were gaining on him. Then he cleared out over the fence +and into the woods."</p> + +<p>"That was too bad!" exclaimed Chet.</p> + +<p>"Are you sure it was Carl Schaum?" asked Biff Hooper, for the second +time.</p> + +<p>"I got a good look at him," Frank said. "It was Carl Schaum, all right. +When we get to the next town we'll tell the police. If they know he's +around here at all they'll probably land him without much trouble."</p> + +<p>Chet went over to his motorcycle.</p> + +<p>"Well, the sooner we get to the next town, the better. We've lost quite +a bit of time already. What say we start on again?"</p> + +<p>The chums agreed that the discovery of the swimming hole had cost them +considerably more time than they had expected, so accordingly they +mounted their machines again and set out on the highway once more.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2"><span class="smcap">Strange Doings</span></p> + + +<p>The Hardy boys and their chums spent the night at a hotel in a small +village. They were up bright and early next morning, eager to reach +the end of their journey. Had it not been for the delay consequent on +the attempted theft of Frank's motorcycle, they might have reached the +neighborhood of the caves that evening, but, as it was, they had a two +hours' trip before them when they set out shortly after six o'clock.</p> + +<p>Their immediate destination was a fishing village by the name of +Glencove. It was a sleepy little place, quite picturesque but redolent +of fishy odors, a typical hamlet of the kind. The boys were aware that +Glencove was some distance north of the caves, but as they did not know +the precise location of the "Honeycomb Cliffs," as they were called, +they preferred to stop off at the village and get what information they +could.</p> + +<p>The general store, a ramshackle building where one could buy anything +from safety pins to grindstones, where one could mail a letter, put +through a telephone call, or obtain garage service, appeared to be the +most likely spot. Parking their machines by the wooden sidewalk, the +lads went into the store, where they found a venerable man with white +whiskers patiently scrutinizing his newspaper.</p> + +<p>"I guess we'd better stock up on a few supplies, eh, fellows?" Frank +suggested.</p> + +<p>This had been their plan. Instead of burdening their machines with +provisions all the way from Bayport, they had decided to get supplies +at the village nearest to the caves.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps we won't have to stock up very heavily," said Joe. "If the +caves aren't far away we may be able to drive up here when we run short +of grub."</p> + +<p>"That," said the hungry Chet, "would be terrible."</p> + +<p>Frank turned to the old gentleman, who had put aside his paper and +was regarding them through his thick-lensed spectacles with grave +curiosity, as though they were some new specimen of humanity entirely.</p> + +<p>"How far is it to the place they call Honeycomb Cliffs?" he asked.</p> + +<p>The old gentleman's eyes widened.</p> + +<p>"Honeycomb Cliffs!" he said, in a high, cracked voice. "Be ye goin' to +pass by there?"</p> + +<p>"We want to camp around there for a few days and we were figuring on +buying some supplies. If it's far away we'll buy all we need right now +and carry the stuff with us."</p> + +<p>The old man leaned farther over the counter.</p> + +<p>"Ye're agoin' to <i>camp</i> at Honeycomb Cliffs!" he exclaimed +incredulously.</p> + +<p>"Why, yes."</p> + +<p>"For three or four days!"</p> + +<p>"Perhaps longer."</p> + +<p>The old gentleman shook his head solemnly.</p> + +<p>"Ye're strange to these parts, ain't ye?"</p> + +<p>"This is the first time we've ever been down this way."</p> + +<p>"I thought so," returned the old man with a great air of satisfaction, +as though his judgment had been verified.</p> + +<p>"Well," said Frank, becoming a trifle impatient, "we'd still like to +know how much farther we have to go."</p> + +<p>"It's a matter of about ten mile by the road. Then ye'll have to walk a +ways."</p> + +<p>"Ten miles. Why, that isn't very far. We'll just buy enough food to +last us a day or so and then if we need more one of us can come back +here. There's no use packing along too much."</p> + +<p>"And ye say ye're goin' to camp there?" persisted the old man, as +though he could not quite grasp the fact.</p> + +<p>"Yes. What's wrong about that? Aren't there any places we can pitch a +tent?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, there's places ye can pitch a tent and I've no doubt but +there's fishermen's cottages that you could find a room at. But if I +was you I wouldn't do no campin' near Honeycomb Cliffs. That is," said +the old man, "unless ye stay away from the caves."</p> + +<p>"Why, that's what we came for," put in Biff. "We intend to explore the +caves!"</p> + +<p>The old man gave a perceptible gasp at this.</p> + +<p>"Explore 'em! Lads, ye're crazy."</p> + +<p>The old gentleman's attitude puzzled the boys extremely.</p> + +<p>"Is it against the law?" Chet inquired.</p> + +<p>"No, it ain't agin the law, but it's agin common sense."</p> + +<p>"Why?"</p> + +<p>"It just is—that's all," retorted the storekeeper, as though that +explained everything.</p> + +<p>"You don't mean to say it's dangerous!"</p> + +<p>"Maybe. Maybe," returned their informant mysteriously. "It may not be +dangerous, but it would be foolish. If ye'll take my advice ye'll stay +away from them caves."</p> + +<p>"Why?"</p> + +<p>"There's some queer things been goin' on down there lately. Folks tell +me the fishermen down that way are scared nigh to death."</p> + +<p>"What are they afraid of?" asked Biff.</p> + +<p>The old man shrugged eloquently.</p> + +<p>"That's just it. Nobody knows. But there's been queer lights seen down +around them caves. And shootin'."</p> + +<p>"Shooting!"</p> + +<p>"Guns goin' off," explained the storekeeper, as if they had failed to +understand the word. "Mighty queer doin's, they say. Two men a'ready +that tried to find out what was goin' on—they got shot at."</p> + +<p>Chet whistled softly.</p> + +<p>"This sounds good," he observed. "We may stay longer than we had +intended."</p> + +<p>"Ye may stay forever," growled the old man gloomily.</p> + +<p>Frank smiled at this thrust.</p> + +<p>"Has anybody any idea what's wrong?" he asked.</p> + +<p>The storekeeper leaned across the counter and lowered his voice, in the +manner of one imparting a deep secret.</p> + +<p>"They do say," he declared, "that there's smugglin' of liquor in them +parts."</p> + +<p>"I suppose that's only natural. There's a lot of it along the coast, +and the caves would make that an ideal spot."</p> + +<p>"Well, whether there is or there ain't, the caves ain't healthy for +strangers. If I was you lads, I'd stay away from there."</p> + +<p>"Well, we've planned this trip and I think we'll go through with it," +Frank said. "If you'll fix us up with some supplies, we'll be on our +way. We're not afraid of bootleggers."</p> + +<p>"Do as ye like," the old man returned, as though washing his hands of +any further responsibility. "But I'm warnin' ye. It ain't no place if +ye're lookin' for a quiet outing."</p> + +<p>"The one thing we're afraid of, is a <i>quiet</i> outing," Joe assured him. +"Excitement," he added slangily, "is our meat."</p> + +<p>"Ye'll get lots of it if ye go pokin' around them caves," the old +gentleman predicted. "Mebbe a lot more than ye bargain for."</p> + +<p>However, he was prevailed upon to sell the lads a quantity of +provisions for their trip, although he accompanied the transaction by +a running fire of dismal comments on the unlikelihood that they would +ever be seen alive again. When he saw that they were determined to go +to the caves, in spite of his admonitions, he wagged his head sadly and +mumbled a few caustic remarks on the stubborness of boys in general who +would never listen to their elders.</p> + +<p>The Hardy boys and their chums, far from being frightened at the +prospect of danger at Honeycomb Cliffs, were elated. They were disposed +to disregard much of what the old man had said—the perils were most +probably exaggerated in the re-telling—but there was no mistaking the +old man's sincerity and they knew that undoubtedly there was a mystery +of some kind concerning the neighborhood of the caves.</p> + +<p>"What that mystery is, we're going to find out," said Joe, as they +mounted their motorcycles again, duly laden with supplies. He expressed +the determination of all.</p> + +<p>"It looks a lot brighter," Chet agreed. "There's a chance of a bit of +excitement now."</p> + +<p>"Oh, probably there's nothing to it," scoffed Biff. "Somebody has seen +a tramp's campfire on the cliffs and heard some one shooting at a +rabbit, and started a big yarn out of it."</p> + +<p>"Well, we are going to have our own fun exploring those caves, and if +there's a mystery on foot, so much the better," said Joe.</p> + +<p>The boys followed the directions given them by the old storekeeper and +in due time left the coast road and turned down a rutty, tortuous lane +that ended on the open seashore, near a fisherman's cottage. The little +house was built at the base of a hill and the beach ended at this point +in towering cliffs. The lads could see a faint, winding path leading up +the side of the hill back of the cottage.</p> + +<p>"I know what they call this place," said Chet gravely.</p> + +<p>"I don't think it has a name," said Biff.</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, they call this place Fish-hook."</p> + +<p>"Fish-hook? Why?" asked Biff, neatly falling into the trap.</p> + +<p>"Because it's at the end of the line."</p> + +<p>With that, Chet brought his motorcycle to a stop. The Hardy boys also +stopped, joining Chet in his laughter at the foolish look on Biff's +face when he saw how he had been duped.</p> + +<p>The storekeeper had told them that the fisherman's cottage was the +last human habitation on the way to the caves and that they could very +likely get permission to leave their machines there for safe-keeping. +To reach the caves they had to climb the path up the hillside until +they reached the top of the cliffs, then proceed for a considerable +distance until they came to a deep ravine, where they could descend +to the shore. They would then find themselves on a beach whereby they +could reach the caves to right and to left. The cliffs themselves cut +off access to the caves by any other route than the ravines, several of +which were to be encountered in the three miles of steep coast, as at +the northern and southern extremities the cliffs were sheer to the deep +water and could not be skirted even at low tide.</p> + +<p>The boys had scarcely dismounted from their motorcycles when the door +of the cottage opened and a stocky, leathern-faced man of middle age +emerged. He was plainly a fisherman and he came over to them, a look of +surprise on his broad, good-natured countenance.</p> + +<p>"What can I do for you, my lads?" he inquired. "It ain't often I see +strangers here."</p> + +<p>"We want to know if we could leave our motorcycles here for +safe-keeping?" asked Frank.</p> + +<p>"Certainly. Most certainly, you can. There's a shed back of the house, +where you can put 'em. Is it just for an hour or so? Goin' up on the +cliffs?"</p> + +<p>"Perhaps for a few days. We were planning to go exploring among the +caves."</p> + +<p>The fisherman's expression changed instantly.</p> + +<p>"Explorin' the caves!" he exclaimed. "You'd best go back home. There's +strange doin's in the caves these days. It's no place for boys."</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2"><span class="smcap">The Storm</span></p> + + +<p>Chet Morton laughed.</p> + +<p>"We heard there were some queer things happening around here, but that +doesn't frighten us."</p> + +<p>"There's nothing to laugh at, young man," returned the fisherman +tartly. "I've lived here for twenty years and I'm no fool. The caves +ain't healthy just now."</p> + +<p>"Rum-runners, I suppose," said Frank.</p> + +<p>But the fisherman scorned this suggestion.</p> + +<p>"If it's rum-runners, they'd be bringin' their cargoes out to the road, +wouldn't they? Not much sense in 'em hidin' the liquor in the caves and +leavin' it there, is there?"</p> + +<p>"I wouldn't think so. But perhaps they bring it out to the road +quietly."</p> + +<p>"Nothin' of the sort. It's been investigated. There's been no queer +doin's on the road at all. All the queer doin's are right in the caves. +If it was rum-runners, they'd be bringin' the stuff in by boat, and +there ain't been any boats seen around here that can't be accounted +for."</p> + +<p>"Just what are the queer doings?"</p> + +<p>"Lights, mostly. And shootin'."</p> + +<p>"But has no person been seen?"</p> + +<p>"Not a livin' soul."</p> + +<p>"That's strange."</p> + +<p>"Strange ain't the word for it!" declared the fisherman. "It's +downright spooky. Like ghosts or somethin'."</p> + +<p>"Do you believe in ghosts?" asked Joe.</p> + +<p>"I don't. If I did believe in ghosts, though, I'd say there was ghosts +down in them caves lately and that's all I'd think about it. But not +believin' in ghosts, I don't know what to think."</p> + +<p>"Have you gone down to the caves yourself?"</p> + +<p>"I went down there a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't see anything +until just when I was comin' back that night. Then I saw a light away +down in one of the caves I'd been in just a couple of hours before. +Next I heard two or three shots, and then a yell."</p> + +<p>"A yell!"</p> + +<p>"The most awful screech I ever heard."</p> + +<p>"Well, that proves that there's <i>somebody</i> down there," remarked Biff.</p> + +<p>"Maybe it does and maybe it don't. I wouldn't say it was a human voice +I heard. More like an animal."</p> + +<p>"But an animal couldn't make a light."</p> + +<p>"And there ain't many human bein's could make that yell. So there you +are."</p> + +<p>"Yells or no yells, we're going to explore the caves," declared Frank, +with finality. "What say, fellows?"</p> + +<p>"I'll tell the world we are!" exclaimed Chet. "You couldn't drive me +away now with a squad of marines."</p> + +<p>The fisherman shrugged.</p> + +<p>"It's your funeral," he said. "I'm thinkin' you'll come away from there +a lot faster than you go in."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps," agreed Joe, with a grin. "And perhaps we'll find out just +who or what is causing all the disturbance. We'll go prepared for +anything that may happen to turn up, at any rate."</p> + +<p>"You'll need to," said the fisherman gloomily. "Don't say that I didn't +warn you. You're welcome to put your machines in the shed, and if you'd +like a bite to eat, I guess my wife can fix up a bit of a snack for +you."</p> + +<p>This hospitality was appreciated by the boys and they saw that the +fisherman's bark was worse than his bite, as the saying is, but they +politely declined, as they had eaten just a short time before. Chet, +who could—and would—eat at any time, was not very emphatic in his +refusal; he would willingly have accepted the invitation. But the +other lads were anxious to be going on.</p> + +<p>"It's very good of you," said Frank, "and I hope you don't think we're +rude in going ahead to the caves after your warning. But there are four +of us, you see, and we think we can look after ourselves pretty well. +So, if you'll just let us leave the motorcycles in the shed while we're +around here we won't bother you any further."</p> + +<p>"You're welcome to do that. And I suppose if you're bound to go on to +the caves, nothin' I can say will stop you."</p> + +<p>The fisherman led the way to the shed, where the motorcycles were +safely stored. The machines would be under cover in the event of rain, +and there was a stout padlock on the door that ensured their safety +against being stolen. The lads unloaded their supplies and each filled +his pack with provisions.</p> + +<p>"Have we got everything?" asked Frank finally. "Matches, flashlights, +revolver, bullets, bread, salt, coffee—"</p> + +<p>"Everything needed for an expedition to the South Pole," said Chet, +shifting his pack to a more comfortable position on his shoulders.</p> + +<p>A complete check-up showed that they had everything they needed; so, +after bidding good-bye to the fisherman, who drew them a rough map +showing the route they should follow in order to reach the caves, they +set out up the path just back of the cottage.</p> + +<p>"Nobody seems very encouraging about this trip," said Biff, as they +ascended the hillside.</p> + +<p>"What do you think <i>can</i> be the trouble down in the caves?" asked Joe.</p> + +<p>"Rum-runners, I'll bet! In spite of what the fisherman says, I can't +think of any other explanation," Frank replied. "They probably have +some way of getting the stuff out to the road without being seen. +Underground passages, or something of the sort."</p> + +<p>"It seems likely. The shots and the yells were just to frighten people +away."</p> + +<p>"Well, we should soon find out."</p> + +<p>Although the hillside path had not seemed very formidable from the +shore, the boys found that it was steeper than it looked, and it was +more than an hour before they finally reached the top of the cliffs. +Here a magnificent view awaited them. Far below, the fisherman's +cottage seemed to lie at their very feet, like a toy house. The ocean +lay like a flat blue floor, far to the east, north, and south, and back +of them was a great, barren expanse of tumbled rock, without sign of +path or road. Venturing close to the edge of the cliff, the lads saw +a sheer wall of rock, many feet in height, at the bottom of which the +waves were lapping.</p> + +<p>"No wonder we couldn't reach the caves by skirting the shore!" said +Frank. "The only way along the base of that cliff is by boat."</p> + +<p>"We'll have to go ahead and search for the ravine the fisherman told us +about," suggested Joe.</p> + +<p>Chet looked up at the sky.</p> + +<p>"Yes, and we can't afford to lose any time about it either. We're in +for a storm."</p> + +<p>Although the lads had noticed that the sun had gone behind a cloud, +they had not seen the heavy black cloud banks massing above them, so +intent had they been on their climb up the steep, winding path. Now, +when they looked up, they saw that a storm was indeed imminent. The +breeze bore to their ears a rumble of distant thunder.</p> + +<p>"It looks like a bad one," said Biff. "We'd better hurry."</p> + +<p>Without further ado, the boys hastened off along the faint trail that +led among the rocks. They could see no sign of the ravine, but judged +that it would be almost invisible until they came almost on it. Their +progress was slow, as it was difficult to make haste over the rocks and +boulders.</p> + +<p>The storm came up swiftly. Within ten minutes the clouds were banked +blackly in the sky above. A streak of livid lightning rent the gloom +and there was a peal of thunder.</p> + +<p>"We're out of luck if we can't find shelter before this storm breaks," +panted Chet. The air was insufferably close. A few scattered raindrops +warned the lads that they had no time to lose.</p> + +<p>They plodded on, mentally wishing that they had remained at the +fisherman's cottage but realizing that it was too late to turn back now.</p> + +<p>Another flash of lightning, a terrific thunder-clap, and the storm +broke.</p> + +<p>Rain began falling heavily. It streamed down from the black skies as +though the clouds had opened. The wind rose. Far below them the surf +boomed and the waves crashed against the base of the cliff. Rain poured +in a veritable deluge. The lads had neglected to provide themselves +with slickers, as they were already burdened by the weight of their +supplies, and they were soon drenched to the skin.</p> + +<p>They stumbled on, scarcely able to follow the faint path in the gloom. +Lightning flickered, thunder crashed constantly, the wind rose to a +howl. There was not the slightest vestige of shelter, not even a tree, +out on this rocky waste. Frank looked in vain for a boulder large +enough to offer some protection.</p> + +<p>They plunged forward into a streaming wall of rain.</p> + +<p>Frank was in the lead. Chet and Biff were next, and Joe brought up the +rear. They could scarcely see one another in the gathering gloom. On +and on they went, heads bent to the storm, and, to Chet especially, +time seemed to stand still in a gray world.</p> + +<p>Suddenly Frank looked behind, then came to a stop.</p> + +<p>"Where is Joe?" he shouted, above the clamor of the gale.</p> + +<p>The others looked back.</p> + +<p>Joe had vanished.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2"><span class="smcap">The Cave</span></p> + + +<p>The boys gazed at one another in surprise.</p> + +<p>"Where on earth did Joe disappear to?" exclaimed Biff Hooper.</p> + +<p>They peered into the gray oblivion of the storm, but the rain was +teeming down in such heavy torrents and the gloom was so intense that +it was impossible to see more than twenty yards away.</p> + +<p>"We'll have to go back," decided Frank quickly. "He probably sat down +to rest and got lost when he tried to catch up with us again."</p> + +<p>They retraced their steps over the rocks, keeping close together. They +shouted again and again, but in the roar of wind, rain, and thunder +they knew there was little chance that Joe would hear them.</p> + +<p>"I never thought to look back," said Chet. "I thought he was right +behind us."</p> + +<p>"Same here," declared Biff. "He might have dropped back five or ten +minutes ago and we didn't know it."</p> + +<p>The search seemed hopeless. It was late in the afternoon and already +getting dark. Once in a while they stopped and listened, hoping to hear +some faint cry from Joe, but there was nothing.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he fell down and hurt himself," suggested Frank, "He may be +lying behind some of these big rocks and we can't see him."</p> + +<p>The boys searched patiently.</p> + +<p>Joe Hardy was nowhere to be found.</p> + +<p>They did not dare scatter, for fear of losing one another, but they +hunted among the rocks, realizing the hopeless nature of their quest. +At last they halted, standing in a little group, with rain pouring down +on them.</p> + +<p>Frank expressed the fear they had all held for the past few minutes.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if he could have fallen over the cliff!"</p> + +<p>They had been going along within a few yards of the uneven edge of the +cliff and they realized that, in the rain and the dim light, it would +have been easy for Joe to have stumbled into the abyss. They turned +sick at the thought of the frightful plunge, ending in certain death, +had he tumbled over the verge.</p> + +<p>Suddenly, above the roar of the storm, they heard a faint cry.</p> + +<p>"Listen!" cried Frank.</p> + +<p>Breathlessly, they waited.</p> + +<p>Again came the cry.</p> + +<p>"Help! Help!"</p> + +<p>It was from almost at their feet.</p> + +<p>Frank ran quickly forward. At the very edge of the cliff, he stopped +and peered down.</p> + +<p>Over to one side, a few feet below the top of the sheer wall of rock, +he spied a dark figure.</p> + +<p>It was Joe!</p> + +<p>He seemed to be clinging directly to the side of the cliff.</p> + +<p>Hastily shouting to the others, Frank ran across the rocks until he +came to a place immediately above where he had seen his brother. He +flung himself flat and peered over into the dizzy depths.</p> + +<p>Just beneath, he could see Joe's white face. His brother was clinging +to a small bush growing out of the side of the cliff. Had the bush been +his only support, he would not have been able to maintain his hold, but +fortunately there was a ledge of rock, a few inches wide, in which he +had managed to implant his feet. Thus he had clung to the face of the +cliff.</p> + +<p>"Quick!" shouted Frank, to the others. He realized the need for haste. +"He's here!"</p> + +<p>"I can't hold on much longer!" called Joe, in a strained voice.</p> + +<p>"We'll get you out of this," Frank assured him. But his heart sank when +he saw that Joe was beyond his reach.</p> + +<p>Biff and Chet came running up, and Frank tersely explained the +situation to them.</p> + +<p>"There's only one thing to do," he said. "Both of you hang on to me +while I lower myself over."</p> + +<p>Biff peeped over the edge of the cliff.</p> + +<p>"You'll never make it," he said. "You'll both be killed."</p> + +<p>"We're not going to stand idle until he gets exhausted and lets go his +hold," declared Frank. "It's the only chance, and I'm going to take it."</p> + +<p>He flung himself down and began to edge forward until he was leaning +far over the verge. Biff and Chet seized his ankles and set themselves +by digging their heels against the rocks. Bit by bit, Frank lowered +himself, headfirst, over the side. His outstretched hands were but a +few inches away from Joe's wrists. Joe still clung to the bush that had +saved his life.</p> + +<p>Frank dared not look down, for he was hanging at a dizzy height. He +closed his eyes.</p> + +<p>"A little more," he called out.</p> + +<p>He swung lower and gripped Joe's wrists. He secured a tight hold. There +was no time to lose, as he knew it would take every ounce of strength +he possessed to drag his brother back to safety, and he was growing +weaker all the time.</p> + +<p>"Ready, Joe?"</p> + +<p>"All right," gasped Joe.</p> + +<p>"Haul away!"</p> + +<p>Chet and Biff began dragging Frank back. There was a double weight now, +for Joe relaxed his grip on the root to which he had been clinging and +was now dangling in space, supported only by Frank's firm grip on his +wrists. Frank had no idea that his brother weighed so much; the strain +was terrific.</p> + +<p>Gradually, however, he was drawn back to safety. For one horrible +moment he thought he was losing his hold on Joe's wrists, as their +locked hands reached the edge of the precipice. But Chet, leaning +forward, seized the back of Joe's shirt, clung to him while Biff +scrambled over, and together they hauled him up onto the rocks.</p> + +<p>For a moment, neither of the Hardy boys could say a word, they were so +exhausted by the ordeal. Above them the storm still raged, the rain +still poured from the black skies, the lightning still flickered, and +the thunder still boomed and rumbled.</p> + +<p>"Boy, that was a narrow squeak!" said Chet solemnly, at last.</p> + +<p>"Don't talk about it," said Joe, closing his eyes, as though to shut +out the memory of the sight. "I can still see the waves away down +beneath me. I was never so near death in my life."</p> + +<p>"We'll stick closer together after this. How did it happen?" Frank +asked.</p> + +<p>"I stopped to tie my shoelace. When I looked up again I couldn't see +you chaps at all, so I began to run to catch up. I didn't realize I +was so near the edge of the cliff. Then some of the rock must have +broken off under my feet, because everything gave way and I felt myself +falling."</p> + +<p>"You're mighty lucky you're here to tell us about it," said Biff.</p> + +<p>"I'll say I am! I just managed to grab that root growing out of the +side of the cliff and I hung there until I thought my arms would be +pulled out of their sockets. I thought I'd never be able to hold on +until you found me."</p> + +<p>"It was quite a while before we missed you."</p> + +<p>"At any rate, I <i>couldn't</i> have held on, but I managed to find that +ledge and got my feet on it. That rested me. I was certainly glad when +I heard you fellows shouting for me."</p> + +<p>Recovering somewhat from their grueling experience, Frank and Joe Hardy +got to their feet.</p> + +<p>"Let's run for it," suggested Chet. "We're drenched to the skin, as it +is, but I don't want to stay out in this storm any longer than I have +to."</p> + +<p>With one accord, the boys resumed their journey over the rocks. This +time no one lagged behind. For safety's sake they stayed close +together and well away from the verge of the cliff.</p> + +<p>In a short time Frank gave a cry of delight.</p> + +<p>"The ravine!" he yelled.</p> + +<p>Through the pouring rain, just a few yards ahead, they discerned a deep +cut in the rocks.</p> + +<p>They scrambled toward it. The ravine was deep and the slope was steep, +but they had been fortunate in reaching it just at a point where a path +led down among the rocks.</p> + +<p>Far below, they could see the beach and the breaking rollers.</p> + +<p>Slipping and stumbling, the boys made their way down the steep, winding +path in the down-pour. The storm was unabated. Its violence, on the +contrary, seemed to have increased. The rain came down in sheets.</p> + +<p>Halfway down the path, Joe gave a cry of excitement.</p> + +<p>"A cave!"</p> + +<p>He pointed down toward the base of the cliff, just visible from the +path.</p> + +<p>There, but a short distance from the breaking waves, was a dark hole in +the steep wall of rock.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2"><span class="smcap">Footsteps in the Night</span></p> + + +<p>With the goal in sight, the Hardy boys and their chums hastened down +the treacherous path, along the steep side of the ravine. The path +was slippery and little rivulets of water ran at their feet. Chet +Morton slipped and went sprawling in the mud, getting to his feet with +exclamations of disgust.</p> + +<p>"Oh, well," he said philosophically, "I can't be any wetter than I am +already."</p> + +<p>Frank consoled him.</p> + +<p>"When we get to that cave we'll light a fire and dry ourselves out a +bit."</p> + +<p>They at length reached the floor of the ravine where little streams +of water were coursing from the upper levels to the sea and splashing +across to the beach. It was only a few yards from there to the black +entrance of the cave, which was well above the reach of high tide.</p> + +<p>Frank led the way.</p> + +<p>He took a flashlight from his pack as the boys hastened into the dark +mouth of the cavern. They were in shelter, at any rate, and they could +look out at the streaming rain and feel thankful that they had a roof +over their heads, although that roof was a rocky one.</p> + +<p>Frank directed the beam of the flashlight into the gloomy interior and +in its gleam he saw that their shelter was no mere niche in the face of +the cliff, but a cave that led to dark and unknown depths.</p> + +<p>"Looks as if we can start our exploring right here and now," he said.</p> + +<p>"Explore my neck!" grumbled Chet. "Let's have a fire."</p> + +<p>"How about firewood?" inquired the practical Biff.</p> + +<p>This had not occurred to the others. They glanced at one another in +dismay.</p> + +<p>"That's right too," said Joe. "There's not much wood around these rocks +and it's all wet by now, anyway."</p> + +<p>"Nothing but driftwood," Frank observed disconsolately. "The rain has +drenched it." He glanced out, and along the shore he spied a few bits +of wood tossed up by the waves, but they were sodden and useless.</p> + +<p>"This is going to be fine," said Chet. "We'll have to shiver here all +night without a fire. A great beginning to our visit!"</p> + +<p>To tell the truth, the boys were feeling none too cheerful over the +prospect, for they were all cold, wet, and hungry and they had been +looking forward to dry clothes and a hot meal by a roaring fire. Now +it seemed that they were doomed to spend the night in the cheerless +shelter of a damp, cold cave, without the vestige of a blaze.</p> + +<p>"Thank goodness our blankets are dry, at any rate," Joe said +philosophically.</p> + +<p>Frank moved farther back into the cave, with the flashlight +illuminating the way. Suddenly he gave an exclamation of mingled +astonishment and delight.</p> + +<p>"Well! can you beat this, fellows?"</p> + +<p>"What have you found?"</p> + +<p>"Firewood."</p> + +<p>"Where?"</p> + +<p>The others came hastening over to Frank Hardy.</p> + +<p>"Look!" Frank cast the beam of the flashlight against the black wall +near by.</p> + +<p>Full in the center of the circle of radiance, they saw a neat pile of +wood. It had not been placed there by accident; that much was certain. +It had been stacked carefully by human hands.</p> + +<p>Frank stepped over and picked up one of the sticks.</p> + +<p>"Good dry driftwood. We don't have to worry about a fire now."</p> + +<p>"I wonder who on earth piled it in here?" remarked Biff.</p> + +<p>Chet shrugged.</p> + +<p>"Why worry about that? The main thing is that some thoughtful soul has +been kind enough to put it here, and we're the boys who are going to +use it. Where shall we light the fire, Frank?"</p> + +<p>"Right here, I guess. This is far enough back from the entrance so that +we won't have to worry about the rain beating in. It's certainly queer +how that wood comes to be here, though."</p> + +<p>"Probably the mysterious chaps who are doing all the yelling and +shooting," said Biff. "We'll be out of luck if this is <i>their</i> cave +we've stumbled on."</p> + +<p>"It's ours now. I don't see any 'No Trespassing' signs." Frank began +carrying wood over to the center of the cave. Then he set down the +flashlight, took out his pocketknife, and whittled at a particularly +dry stick until he had a small heap of shavings. Carefully stacking +a few of the smaller sticks over the shavings and the larger sticks +above, crosswise so that there were plenty of air spaces, he took +a match from his waterproof case and ignited it, putting it to the +shavings. They flared up brightly.</p> + +<p>Anxiously, the boys watched the little blaze. The flames caught the +small sticks, which snapped and crackled. Then, as the fire rose +higher, the heavier wood was ignited, and in a short time the boys had +a roaring fire. Never had a campfire been so welcome. Frank had been +afraid that lack of a draught in the cave might cause so much smoke +that they would be almost smothered, but evidently there was some +opening in the roof, some overhead passage that acted in the nature of +a chimney, for the smoke was carried off above.</p> + +<p>As the warmth of the fire penetrated the cave, the boys took off their +drenched clothes and spread them about the blaze, in the meantime +wrapping themselves in the heavy blankets they had brought with them. +Chet produced the frying pan, and the fragrant odor of sizzling bacon +soon permeated their refuge. He improvised a tripod from which was +suspended a tin pail, duly filled with rain water that coursed in a +gushing stream just beside the mouth of the cave, and in a short time +the coffee was boiling.</p> + +<p>The boys never enjoyed a meal more than they enjoyed their supper in +the cave. The driftwood blazed and crackled, casting a cheerful glow, +illuminating the rocky ceiling and walls of the underground chamber. +With crisp bacon, bread toasted brown before the fire, hot coffee and +jam, they ate ravenously, and at last sat back with deep sighs of +sheer content.</p> + +<p>"This old cave isn't so bad after all," said Chet, wrapping his blanket +around him like a cocoon and wriggling his toes toward the flames.</p> + +<p>The others glanced toward the entrance of the cavern.</p> + +<p>It was pitch dark outside, and still raining. They could hear the +constant beat of the down-pour, the incessant roar of the surf, the +splash of the waves, the moaning of the cold wind out in the blackness +of the night, and the cave seemed the most comfortable place in the +world.</p> + +<p>"We owe a vote of thanks to the chap who stacked this driftwood in +here," said Biff.</p> + +<p>"I'll tell the world!" declared Joe. "We'd have been shivering and +hungry yet if it hadn't been for him."</p> + +<p>"I wonder who he could have been," mused Frank.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps somebody who was down here searching for the smugglers or +bootleggers or whoever has been raising all the fuss around here," his +brother suggested.</p> + +<p>"He hasn't shown up yet," Chet remarked cheerfully. He looked out into +the storm and shivered. "Somehow, I have an idea he won't be along +to-night, either," he added, edging nearer the fire.</p> + +<p>"I guess we'd better have a good night's sleep and then start our +exploring to-morrow," Frank said. "We can start right on this cave, for +that matter. It seems to lead back for quite a distance."</p> + +<p>"Sleep sounds good to me." Biff yawned.</p> + +<p>Although part of the floor of the cave was rocky, much of it was sand, +which provided a fairly comfortable resting place. The boys were tired +after their long journey, so they wrapped themselves up in their +blankets and were soon drowsily chatting, while the fire died lower and +lower.</p> + +<p>At last only the embers glowed crimson in the darkness. Chet Morton was +already snoring. Soon, all were asleep.</p> + +<p>The fire was a scarlet eye in the blackness of the cave. Beyond the +entrance, rain still poured in a seemingly endless torrent and the surf +roared dully.</p> + +<p>An hour passed. Two hours.</p> + +<p>Joe, who had been sleeping soundly, was awakened. At first he did not +realize where he was, could not imagine why he was sleeping on the +ground, wrapped in a heavy blanket, and then it gradually came back to +him and he remembered about the cave.</p> + +<p>He was just about to turn over and go to sleep again, wondering vaguely +what had aroused him, when he heard a footstep.</p> + +<p>It came from close by.</p> + +<p>He listened, and then he heard it again. Some one was moving cautiously +about in the darkness.</p> + +<p>Joe raised himself on one elbow and peered into the gloom. But he could +see nothing. However, he reasoned that it was probably only one of his +chums.</p> + +<p>When he heard a rustle, he spoke.</p> + +<p>"Is that you, Frank?"</p> + +<p>The words rang out clearly in the silence of the cave.</p> + +<p>But the consequence was surprising. Instead of the reassuring voice of +his brother, Joe heard a muffled exclamation, quick footsteps as some +one ran across the floor of the cave, and then the crash of a fallen +rock.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2"><span class="smcap">A Disappearance</span></p> + + +<p>"Who is that?" demanded Joe Hardy, scrambling to his feet.</p> + +<p>There was no answer. He heard the sound of running footsteps gradually +growing fainter.</p> + +<p>"Hey, there!" he shouted, now thoroughly aroused. "Fellows! Wake up!"</p> + +<p>He stumbled about in the darkness, trying to find his flashlight and +his chums. Then he heard Chet's sleepy voice:</p> + +<p>"What's the matter? It isn't morning yet. Lemme sleep."</p> + +<p>"Wake up! There's some one prowling around here."</p> + +<p>"What's that?" called out Frank, from the darkness.</p> + +<p>"There was some one else in the cave just now. He woke me up."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps it was only Biff. Hey, Biff!"</p> + +<p>A deep sigh. Then Biff mumbled:</p> + +<p>"Whaddaya want?"</p> + +<p>"Wake up." Frank switched on his flashlight and he turned it on each +member of the startled group. "Everybody here?"</p> + +<p>"Sure!" replied Biff, sitting up in his blanket. "What's wrong?"</p> + +<p>"Joe says somebody was prowling around the cave."</p> + +<p>"It wasn't me. I've been sleeping like a log."</p> + +<p>"It wasn't me either," spoke up Chet.</p> + +<p>"I guess I was right, then," declared Joe. "There really <i>was</i> +somebody. I thought for a minute it might be one of you playing a trick +on the rest of us."</p> + +<p>"We're all accounted for," said Frank. He got up and tossed a stick of +wood on the embers of the fire. In a few minutes it began flaming up +brightly, casting a circle of illumination through the cave. "Tell us +about it, Joe."</p> + +<p>Joe thereupon told of hearing the mysterious footsteps in the cave, of +calling out and of hearing the exclamation, the crash of the rock, and +the running footsteps as the intruder fled.</p> + +<p>"Did he go out the front way?"</p> + +<p>Joe shook his head.</p> + +<p>"No. He seemed to go farther into the cave, toward the back."</p> + +<p>"Well, then," said Frank decisively, "we'll just go and look for him. +If he went that way, he's in the cave yet."</p> + +<p>"Aw, let's look for him in the morning," protested Chet, as he rubbed +his eyes. "I think Joe was dreaming."</p> + +<p>"It was no dream. I <i>heard</i> him walking around. It wasn't any of us, so +it must have been a burglar—or somebody."</p> + +<p>"What would a burglar come around here for?"</p> + +<p>"Perhaps it's the chap who piled up all that wood," said Frank. "Maybe +this is his cave and when he came in and heard Joe call out he got +frightened and ran."</p> + +<p>"That sounds more reasonable. Anyway, we'll take a look around for him. +He can't be far away."</p> + +<p>The boys hurriedly dressed. They were soon wide awake, excitement +having banished all desire for further sleep.</p> + +<p>"We were going to explore in here, anyway," said Frank, as he took his +flashlight and led the way toward the back of the cave.</p> + +<p>The boys confronted an arch in the rock, an opening that seemed to lead +into a tunnel. They approached it cautiously, and Frank often turned +the light on the floor to make sure that no pitfalls lay before them.</p> + +<p>Frank went into the tunnel first. In single file, the others followed.</p> + +<p>It was about fifteen feet in length and about six feet high. As the +floor was of solid rock, they were unable to find any foot-prints that +would serve to prove that the intruder had passed that way.</p> + +<p>The tunnel led to another cave.</p> + +<p>"Why, there's a regular chain of caves in here!" exclaimed Joe, as the +boys stepped out into a massive underground chamber.</p> + +<p>"Our cave was only the beginning," said Chet.</p> + +<p>In the glow of their flashlights they saw that the cave in which they +now stood had a number of dark openings in the walls. These were, +presumably, tunnels leading into further caves beyond.</p> + +<p>"There are a dozen different passages out of here. Our friend might +have taken any of them," said Frank.</p> + +<p>"We'll tackle the biggest," suggested Biff.</p> + +<p>"Good idea. If we don't get anywhere, we'll try the others."</p> + +<p>The largest tunnel was immediately ahead. Frank, accordingly, stepped +into the gloomy passage. The others followed.</p> + +<p>"When I was going to sleep to-night, I never thought I'd wake up and +take part in an exploring trip underground before morning," observed +Chet.</p> + +<p>Frank gave an exclamation.</p> + +<p>"Here's what we were looking for!" he cried.</p> + +<p>"What?"</p> + +<p>"A footprint."</p> + +<p>The others crowded around him.</p> + +<p>Clearly discernible in the radiance of Frank's flashlight, the lads +could see the imprint of a boot in a patch of wet sand on the floor of +the tunnel.</p> + +<p>"Looks like a fresh track, too," said Joe.</p> + +<p>"We're on the right trail. Let's keep moving."</p> + +<p>With increasing excitement, the chums pressed forward and in a few +moments Frank stepped out of the passage into another cave. This was +the largest cave of all, an enormous underground vault, and even the +flashlight beams failed to reveal the rocky walls and ceiling.</p> + +<p>The floor was rough and broken fragments of rock were strewn about.</p> + +<p>"Watch your step," warned Frank, as he made his way across the cave.</p> + +<p>The others had flashlights and the floor was well illuminated as the +boys slowly picked their way among the rocks. The far wall of the huge +cavern was still invisible.</p> + +<p>"This is a whopper!" said Joe, in an awed whisper.</p> + +<p>Frank stopped, with a murmur of annoyance.</p> + +<p>"What's the matter?" asked Chet.</p> + +<p>"My flashlight. It's on the blink."</p> + +<p>Vainly, Frank tried to coax a gleam from the refractory instrument. It +was no use. He put the light in his pocket.</p> + +<p>"I'll have to fix it to-morrow," he said. "It won't work any more +to-night by the looks of things."</p> + +<p>"Here's mine," offered Biff.</p> + +<p>But Frank declined.</p> + +<p>"No thanks. One of you chaps take the lead for a while. I can follow +easily enough."</p> + +<p>Joe took the lead, as Frank suggested, and the little party moved on +again.</p> + +<p>It was rough going. The floor of the cave became piled high with rocks, +evidently from cave-ins that had occurred in times past; in other parts +it was pitted with little gullies and holes. In trying to avoid these, +the chums gradually became separated.</p> + +<p>Frank stumbled along behind. He felt the loss of his flashlight, but +said nothing, relying on finding his way by the radiance provided by +the lights carried by the others.</p> + +<p>Soon, however, the three lights became scattered. Joe had gone to one +side to avoid a huge boulder; Chet had gone to the other side and +encountered a pit that prevented him from returning to Joe's trail; +Biff had tried to follow Chet and had blundered into a labyrinth of +rocks.</p> + +<p>Frank stood uncertainly for a moment, then called out.</p> + +<p>"We're getting separated. Wait for me."</p> + +<p>The walls of the great cave flung back the echoes time and again.</p> + +<p>He heard Joe shout:</p> + +<p>"Where are you?"</p> + +<p>Had it not been for the glow of Joe's light he would never have known +where the voice came from because the echoes confused him, and the +tones seemed to come from all parts of the cave.</p> + +<p>Frank realized that his own shouts would cause the same confusion to +the others.</p> + +<p>"Don't move around!" he called, "I'll head toward one of the lights."</p> + +<p>But evidently his order was misunderstood, for one of the lights began +to move erratically through the darkness.</p> + +<p>Frank went forward. He blundered against a rock and fell, bruising his +knees. He got to his feet and went on, still in the direction of the +nearest glow.</p> + +<p>He was confused by the moving lights. Had his own flashlight not failed +him this would not have happened.</p> + +<p>Suddenly, he stumbled.</p> + +<p>He lurched forward. His foot groped wildly for the firm rock, but there +was nothing to stop his plunge. He had fallen into a pit.</p> + +<p>Straight down through the blackness he hurtled, with a wild cry of +terror.</p> + +<p>The others heard that cry. They heard a far-off crash, and then the +clatter of falling rock.</p> + +<p>Joe was the first to shout.</p> + +<p>"Frank!" he called.</p> + +<p>There was no answer. The echoes rang back.</p> + +<p>Although the other boys shouted time and again there was no answer from +Frank Hardy. They searched frantically, casting the beams of their +lights here and there, but they found no trace of him.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2"><span class="smcap">Stolen Supplies</span></p> + + +<p>The other boys searched for nearly an hour, but Frank Hardy seemed to +have disappeared literally into the bowels of the earth.</p> + +<p>With only their flashlights to illuminate the huge cave, they found it +difficult to conduct the search with any degree of satisfaction. They +blundered here and there, not at all certain that they were anywhere +near the place where their companion had disappeared.</p> + +<p>They found several deep pits in the floor of the cave, natural crevices +and holes in the rock, but although they shouted at the top of their +lungs they heard no answering cry from below.</p> + +<p>"He must have fallen down one of these holes, that's certain," Joe +declared. "I'm sure we haven't missed any."</p> + +<p>"Why doesn't he call back then?" said Biff.</p> + +<p>In the glow of the flashlights the boys glanced at one another +anxiously. Joe expressed the thought that the others were afraid to put +into words.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he can't."</p> + +<p>"Do you think he may be dead?" asked Chet quietly.</p> + +<p>"We'll hope not," sighed Joe. "But when he doesn't answer, things don't +look any too bright. Any of these crevices may be hundreds of feet +deep, for all we know."</p> + +<p>"It will be a terrible end to our trip if anything like that has +happened."</p> + +<p>"Not much use waiting for morning," declared Biff. "This cave is just +as dark in the daytime as it is right now. I sure wish we had a few +more flashlights."</p> + +<p>"Or more powerful ones. We can't see very far down the crevices in the +rocks, with these lights."</p> + +<p>The boys talked in low tones. They were awed by the thought of what +might have happened to Frank Hardy. In their ears still rang that last +dreadful cry and they could still hear the crashing of rocks as their +companion hurtled into the depths. Even now his mangled body might be +lying in some subterranean pit from which it would be impossible to +recover it. Joe shuddered.</p> + +<p>They listened in vain for some faint cry. But there was nothing but the +echoes of their own voices.</p> + +<p>"We won't give up for a while yet," said Joe, with as much steadiness +of voice as he could muster. "We'll search around every pit and hole +we can find. I <i>can't</i> believe he was killed!"</p> + +<p>Keeping close together, the lads slowly crossed the floor of the cave. +When they reached an opening in the rocks they directed the beams of +their three flashlights into the shadowy depths, thus gaining more +radiance than had they been searching singly. Then they yelled and +shouted.</p> + +<p>There was no reply. The flashlights revealed only jagged walls of rock. +There was no sign of Frank.</p> + +<p>On to the next crevice. This, fortunately, was not deep, but although +the lights revealed the bottom and although they played the triple +beams along every inch of the floor of the subterranean ravine, there +was no sight of a crumpled figure.</p> + +<p>Patiently, they searched the cave, but at last they were forced to +admit that they were at a standstill.</p> + +<p>"Not much use going any farther just now," sighed Joe. "We need more +light." He sat down moodily on a rock and buried his face in his hands.</p> + +<p>"I wish we had never followed that fellow who was in the cave," said +Chet. "Chances are, it has cost Frank his life."</p> + +<p>"I'm not giving up hope yet," Joe declared. "There's a chance that he +might have been knocked unconscious by his fall, and if we can only +reach him in time we may be able to save him. But these flashlights +aren't much help. We're just groping around in the dark."</p> + +<p>"I have an idea," offered Biff.</p> + +<p>"What is it?"</p> + +<p>"Let's build a fire. It might light up the cave enough to show us what +we are doing."</p> + +<p>"How can we light a fire?" asked Chet. Then he looked up sharply. +"You're right, Biff. I forgot that we have lots of wood in the outside +cave."</p> + +<p>"That's not a bad stunt!" declared Joe hopefully. "With a roaring +bonfire in here we'll be able to light up the whole place and see what +we're about."</p> + +<p>"Let's get at it."</p> + +<p>Biff's plan seemed valuable, but before leaving the cave in search of +wood, the boys made a last attempt to locate their missing comrade, by +shouting loudly. However, as before, there was not the faintest reply.</p> + +<p>They made their way out into the next cave, and from there into the +outer cavern where they had originally taken refuge from the storm. +They were harassed by the thought that death might have overtaken their +missing companion, and they said scarcely a word as they went about +the business of gathering driftwood for the proposed bonfire.</p> + +<p>Each of them took an armful of the wood and they were just about to +return through the caves again when Joe noticed something that caused +him to drop his wood on the floor with a clatter.</p> + +<p>"What's wrong now?" asked Chet, in surprise.</p> + +<p>"That's funny," Joe returned. "I was sure we left our supplies right +near this woodpile."</p> + +<p>"So we did," Biff assured him.</p> + +<p>"They're not here now."</p> + +<p>"They must be. I piled them there myself, all except a few that I put +over by the other wall."</p> + +<p>"Come and see for yourself."</p> + +<p>Joe turned the beam of his flashlight on the place where Biff had +stacked the greater part of their supplies. A loaf of bread and a tin +of sardines lay on the rock, but that was all.</p> + +<p>Biff's astonishment was so great that he could scarcely speak for a +moment.</p> + +<p>Then he gasped:</p> + +<p>"They've been stolen!"</p> + +<p>"All of 'em?" demanded Chet, in alarm. The loss of their provisions +would be a serious matter to him.</p> + +<p>"Where did you put the rest of the stuff, Biff?" asked Joe.</p> + +<p>Biff turned his flashlight on the opposite wall. There the light +revealed a few bundles and tins, the rest of the supplies.</p> + +<p>"Well, they're safe, at any rate."</p> + +<p>"But where are the others? They <i>can't</i> be stolen. They were here when +we went to sleep."</p> + +<p>"Must have been stolen while we were in the other caves," declared Chet.</p> + +<p>"But who could have taken them?" exclaimed Joe.</p> + +<p>"The chap who woke us up. I'll bet he didn't go into the other caves at +all, or if he did he just hid himself until we passed. Then he came out +and stole our food."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps that's what he came for in the first place," suggested Biff.</p> + +<p>Solemnly, the lads looked from the loaf of bread and the tin of +sardines on the floor of the cave to the few things on the other side.</p> + +<p>"He sure didn't leave much. This means we'll have to go back to the +village," said Chet, a bit impatiently.</p> + +<p>"We can't take time to worry about that now," Joe reminded him. "We +have to keep up our search for Frank."</p> + +<p>"That's right," agreed Biff. "It's tough to lose our food; but we have +enough to last us another day, anyway, and it's more important to get +Frank back than our supplies."</p> + +<p>"Of course it is," agreed Chet soberly.</p> + +<p>The boys picked up their firewood again and, with Joe in the lead, went +into the second cave, then on into the cavern where their chum had +vanished. As they trudged on through the darkness, following the gleam +of the flashlights, Chet and Biff wondered vainly about the thief who +had disturbed them and robbed them. Joe's agonized thoughts circled +about his vanished brother.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2"><span class="smcap">Captain Royal</span></p> + + +<p>When the three boys reached the cave where they had last seen Frank +Hardy they piled the driftwood in a heap close by one of the pits in +the floor.</p> + +<p>They were surprised at the number of holes and crevices they had +discovered.</p> + +<p>"It's a wonder we weren't all killed," said Chet. "We were all prowling +around this cave without any idea of the danger."</p> + +<p>"It's a good place to stay out of," Joe remarked. "But first of all +we'll try to get Frank out of it too."</p> + +<p>He was trying to be hopeful, but it was difficult. The ominous silence +since his brother's disappearance had been none too encouraging.</p> + +<p>They lit the fire. In a short time, the flames flared high and a +flickering radiance illuminated the cave, revealing the damp ceiling +high above, the clammy walls in the distance, and the rough floor, +seamed and pitted with cracks and holes in the rock.</p> + +<p>Methodically, they resumed their search, investigating each of these +gigantic crevices. But in spite of all their shouts, in spite of the +fact that they were enabled to make a more thorough search now that the +cave was not as dark as it had been, in spite of the fact that Joe even +descended one of the shallower pits on the chance that Frank might be +lying unconscious at the bottom, their search was in vain.</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid it's no use," said Biff finally.</p> + +<p>"I hate to give up!" declared Joe. "And yet—we've done all we can."</p> + +<p>"Better have some sleep and try again to-morrow," Chet suggested. +"Frank is either unconscious or—or dead. Some of these pits seem +terribly deep."</p> + +<p>Joe realized that the advice was reasonable. They were all very tired +and in no condition to continue the search. As Chet said, if Frank were +alive or conscious, he would have shouted to them.</p> + +<p>"All right," agreed Joe. "We'll go back to the other cave. But I'm +afraid I'll never be able to sleep."</p> + +<p>"We'll have a rest, anyway. Then we'll come back. If we still can't +find him we'll go back to the village and get some men to help us with +ropes and big searchlights. We'll never go back to Bayport until we +find out what has happened to him."</p> + +<p>Disconsolately, the boys turned away.</p> + +<p>They were almost at the entrance of the second cave when they heard a +faint sound.</p> + +<p>Joe wheeled about.</p> + +<p>"What was that?"</p> + +<p>They listened. The sound was repeated. It was like a distant cry.</p> + +<p>"Somebody calling!" declared Biff excitedly.</p> + +<p>"It must be Frank!"</p> + +<p>The boys stood quite still and listened for a repetition of the call. +It came again, muffled and far away, but unmistakably a human voice.</p> + +<p>With one accord, they turned and ran back into the cave.</p> + +<p>"It's Frank!"</p> + +<p>They hurried across the treacherous floor in the direction of the +sound. It was clearer now.</p> + +<p>"Joe! Joe!"</p> + +<p>They recognized Frank's voice.</p> + +<p>The call came from a part of the cave that they had not searched +carefully. Joe shouted back excitedly:</p> + +<p>"We hear you, Frank! Call again, so we'll know where to find you!"</p> + +<p>Again came the faint shout. It guided them toward a pit that was almost +hidden from view by a huge boulder. It was one of the few pits that +they had overlooked.</p> + +<p>Evidently Frank had seen the reflection of their searchlights, for he +shouted weakly:</p> + +<p>"Right over here."</p> + +<p>At the edge of the pit, they looked down.</p> + +<p>There, just a blur in the gloom, they distinguished a figure. Frank was +standing up, leaning against the side of the rocky shaft, just a few +yards below.</p> + +<p>Chet had brought with him a length of stout rope and he quickly flung +one end of this down into the pit.</p> + +<p>"We'll have you out of there in no time. Boy, but it's good to hear +your voice again!" There was heartfelt relief in his tones.</p> + +<p>Frank explained that the sides of the pit were too steep to enable him +to make his way to the surface without assistance. However, with the +aid of the rope, and with Joe and his chums pulling lustily, he was +soon hauled to the top.</p> + +<hr class="chap"> + +<div class="figcenter"> + <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""> + <div class="caption"> + <p>HE WAS SOON HAULED TO THE TOP.</p> + </div> +</div> + +<hr class="chap"> + +<p>As he scrambled up out of the pit, the others noticed, in the glow of +the fire, that he had a nasty gash across his temple.</p> + +<p>"You're hurt!" said Joe, when the first exclamations of enthusiasm and +delight had died down.</p> + +<p>"I'm all right now," Frank assured them. "I'm a little dizzy yet, and +weak, but it isn't serious."</p> + +<p>"What happened?"</p> + +<p>"I fell down the pit, and I struck my head against the rocks. It must +have knocked me out for a few minutes but when I came to, I began to +shout."</p> + +<p>"A few minutes!" exclaimed Chet. "We've been hunting for you over an +hour."</p> + +<p>Frank looked incredulous.</p> + +<p>"An hour! Why, I thought I had been unconscious only a little while."</p> + +<p>The others then told him of the search they had made and of their +anxiety on his account. However, they were so relieved at seeing him +safe and sound again that they soon forgot the serious side of the +affair and Chet remarked that Frank had been lucky in having an hour's +sleep while the rest had been shouting their lungs out. They trooped +out of the cavern back toward their own cave, and Joe told his brother +about the missing supplies.</p> + +<p>"That's queer," said Frank. "Were they stolen while we were in the big +cave?"</p> + +<p>"It looks like that."</p> + +<p>"But the man who woke us up went into the big cave ahead of us."</p> + +<p>"He may have hidden and we might have passed him."</p> + +<p>"That's possible. Perhaps it wasn't a man at all. The thief might have +been an animal."</p> + +<p>The others had not considered this explanation.</p> + +<p>"No use crying over spilled milk now," declared Frank. "We'd just +better go back to sleep and hunt for our supplies in the morning."</p> + +<p>When morning came, a diligent search of the cave failed to reveal any +clues that would help the boys trace the thief, whether man or animal.</p> + +<p>"We're out of luck, that's all," concluded Frank finally. "Our friend +must have fooled us nicely. Perhaps he came into the cave to steal +supplies in the first place, then slipped past us in the darkness when +we went to look for him."</p> + +<p>"And helped himself," said Chet gloomily.</p> + +<p>"He left something, at any rate. We won't starve to-day, and if our +grub runs out we can go back to the village for more. We'll make the +best of it. Let's start exploring the shore-line. That's what we came +for."</p> + +<p>The matter of the stolen supplies was thus dismissed, although Chet +was very gloomy for some time as he thought of the food that had been +taken, notably a tin of strawberry jam, of which he was inordinately +fond.</p> + +<p>The storm was over, and from the cave they could see the sun shining +on the blue waters of the sea. They lost no time in eating breakfast +and then hastening down to the beach. Although they were dubious as to +the advisability of leaving their remaining supplies in the cave, they +reasoned that as it was impossible to take the provisions everywhere +with them, they would have to run the risk of further theft.</p> + +<p>Out on the beach, beneath the lowering black cliffs, they forgot the +unfortunate beginning of their quest in the delight of the keen, salty +air and the cool breeze from the sea. The sandy shore wound about the +face of a great bluff of black rock and when the lads had skirted this +precipice they were confronted by a dark opening at the base of the +cliff just a few yards away.</p> + +<p>"Another cave!" exclaimed Frank.</p> + +<p>Chet gave a cheer.</p> + +<p>"Let's investigate."</p> + +<p>They advanced on the cave, but when they were just in front of the +entrance they halted with exclamations of surprise.</p> + +<p>Tacked on a board stuck in the sand beside the cave-mouth was a +tattered fragment of paper. On it, in black letters scrawled with a +heavy pencil, they read:</p> + +<p class="ph3">NO TRESPASSING.</p> + + +<p>The boys looked at this sign in astonishment.</p> + +<p>"By order of the chief of police," murmured Chet, with a grin.</p> + +<p>"Looks as if somebody has been here before," Biff observed.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps somebody just put up the sign for a joke. Let's take a peep +inside."</p> + +<p>Frank advanced toward the cave.</p> + +<p>But at the entrance he paused. He peered into the gloomy beyond and +then turned back to his companions.</p> + +<p>"The sign isn't a joke," he said quietly. "Somebody lives here!"</p> + +<p>"<i>Lives</i> there!" ejaculated Chet incredulously.</p> + +<p>"Come and see for yourself."</p> + +<p>Curiously, the lads crowded into the entrance of the cave. They saw at +a glance that Frank was right. In the gloomy interior of the cave they +could see a crude table, a mattress with blankets, and on a ledge of +rock was an improvised cupboard consisting of an old soap box. That the +cave had only been recently tenanted they saw by the fact that the box +held some canned goods and some other provisions that had certainly not +been there long.</p> + +<p>"Well, I'll be switched!" declared Joe. "We have a neighbor."</p> + +<p>"We certainly have. And if I'm not mistaken, here he comes now."</p> + +<p>Frank was looking down the beach. The others turned.</p> + +<p>"What a queer duck he is!" exclaimed Biff.</p> + +<p>"I'll say he is!" ejaculated Chet Morton. "Where do they get 'em like +that?"</p> + +<p>Coming around a jutting promontory of rock was a queer old man, clad in +fisherman's garb, with a huge straw hat on his head. He had not seen +them as yet. He was singing, in a high-pitched voice, and even at that +distance they could make out the words:</p> + +<div class="poetry-container"> +<div class="poetry"> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="verse indent0">"I'm Captain Royal, of the King's Navee,</div> + <div class="verse indent0">And I want two lumps of sugar in my tea."</div> + </div> +</div> +</div> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2"><span class="smcap">The Old Sailor</span></p> + + +<p>Having concluded this verse, the strange old man elevated one arm above +his head and danced a couple of steps of a sailor's hornpipe. In the +middle of this he caught sight of the boys, and came to an abrupt stop.</p> + +<p>"Ahoy!" he shouted.</p> + +<p>"Ahoy!" cried Chet promptly.</p> + +<p>The man in the straw hat advanced.</p> + +<p>"When did you come ashore?"</p> + +<p>"Just this morning."</p> + +<p>The old man drew closer. He was an odd figure, in the flopping straw +hat, with oilskins much too big for him, and as he came up to the mouth +of the cave he looked closely at the lads, then smiled and extended his +hand.</p> + +<p>"I'm Captain Royal," he announced. "You should have saluted, but I +guess you didn't know."</p> + +<p>To make up for this breach of etiquette, the boys saluted, and this +appeared to gratify the old gentleman immensely.</p> + +<p>"You're landlubbers, eh?"</p> + +<p>"I suppose so," admitted Frank, with a smile.</p> + +<p>"Well, we can't all be sailors. It isn't often people come to see me."</p> + +<p>"Do you live here?" asked Joe, indicating the cave.</p> + +<p>"This is where I live when I'm ashore. I'm resting up between cruises +just now."</p> + +<p>The old man sat down on the sand and fanned himself with the straw hat, +for it was a warm morning and the sun was strong. The boys looked at +him curiously. In spite of his garb, he did not look like a sea-faring +man; his skin was tanned, it is true, but it was not the deep, mahogany +tan of one who has lived for years in many climes. His voice was +high-pitched and his expression was mild. But the boys were old enough +to know that one cannot always judge by appearances.</p> + +<p>"What are your names?" asked the old man.</p> + +<p>The lads introduced themselves.</p> + +<p>"Glad to meet you," returned Captain Royal. "It ain't often I have +visitors. I get used to being alone."</p> + +<p>"It's lonely enough here," agreed Frank.</p> + +<p>"It isn't bad. Not half as lonely as the time I got marooned in the +South Seas."</p> + +<p>The boys looked at him with new interest.</p> + +<p>"You were marooned?"</p> + +<p>"Aye. It was when I was in charge of a destroyer cruising the South +Seas a good many years ago. We landed for water on a little island that +you won't find on any of the maps. It was a hot day—very hot. Must +have been over a hundred degrees in the shade. So while my men were +loading the water on my boat I sat down in the shade of a cactus tree. +Before I knew it, I was asleep."</p> + +<p>"And they went away and left you?"</p> + +<p>"They did."</p> + +<p>"But you were the captain!"</p> + +<p>"I guess they thought I was in my cabin, and of course none of 'em +dared disturb me. When I woke up, the ship was gone."</p> + +<p>"Gosh!" exclaimed Biff.</p> + +<p>"Well, sir, I didn't know what to do. I was like this here fellow +Robinson Crusoe, that you read about. But I had to make the best of it, +so I fixed myself up a little house and I lived there for nearly six +months, all by myself."</p> + +<p>"Didn't the boat come back for you?"</p> + +<p>"They couldn't find the island again. It wasn't marked on the maps. +The engineer couldn't set a course back to the island. Anyway, the +quartermaster who took charge of the schooner after they found I was +gone, didn't want to find me, I guess. He wanted my job."</p> + +<p>"How did you find anything to eat when you were on the island?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, there was lots to eat. Cocoanuts and prunes and bananas and +grapefruit and figs and all sorts of fruit. There was plenty of +mud-turtles on the island, so I had mock turtle soup whenever I wanted +it. I tell you, I lived high. Once in a while I had my little troubles, +of course, and two or three times I had some mighty narrow escapes. +There was a rhinoceros came after me once."</p> + +<p>"A rhinoceros!"</p> + +<p>"Aye! He swam up to the island one day. I was just in for my morning +swim when I saw his big ears flapping and heard him give a roar. I tell +you, I was scared. He came surging through the waves and up on the +beach and he chased me clean up a pineapple tree. I had to stay there +for three days until he went away, and I had nothing but pineapples to +eat. I was never so sick of pineapples in my life. I've never been able +to eat one since."</p> + +<p>Frank glanced at his brother. He was beginning to suspect that Captain +Royal was having some fun at their expense. The old man rattled on.</p> + +<p>"The rhinoceros finally swam out to sea again and I was able to come +down. I lived on that island for half a year, hoping that my warship +would come back, but it never did. So I made myself a raft and loaded +it up with water and fruit and finally sailed away. It took me more +than a month of steady sailing before I finally reached land off the +coast of South America. By jing, I was glad when I saw the Andes +Mountains again. I landed at a port where there was a ship, and I'm +swizzled if it wasn't my own boat."</p> + +<p>"Your own boat!"</p> + +<p>"Yes sir. I could hardly believe my eyes. So I come on board, and they +were going to throw me off."</p> + +<p>"Why?" asked Chet, in surprise.</p> + +<p>"They didn't know me. You see, I hadn't been able to shave when I +was on the island, and I'd grown a beard. So nobody knew me and they +wouldn't believe me when I said I was their captain. But I told them to +lend me a pair of scissors and a razor and I took off that beard and +stepped out on deck, and by jing they all saluted me then, I can tell +you. I made the quartermaster walk the plank and we all sailed back to +San Francisco."</p> + +<p>"That was quite an adventure," said Frank politely.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I've had many things happen to me. I've been in a lot of battles, +too. Of course, I've retired from the navy now, for there isn't the +excitement nowadays."</p> + +<p>"Were you in the Spanish-American war?" asked Chet.</p> + +<p>"I was all through it from start to finish. I had a narrow escape +during that war. I took my ship out one night off the Philippines +to see if I could catch a Spanish warship that I'd heard was in the +neighborhood, and we sighted her just about midnight, not half a mile +away. So we pumped a couple of shots over her keel and she turned and +went steaming away to the north. Well, I gave chase, but the Spaniard +was fast and it was three hours before we came alongside. We were just +going to board the ship when the steward came up to me and said some +other boats were coming up. There was. Five of 'em. All Spanish."</p> + +<p>"What did you do?"</p> + +<p>"What could I do? I couldn't run away. I told my men to get on board +the Spaniard and I took all the sailors from that boat and made 'em +surrender and put 'em on my ship. So the other boats didn't dare fire +at my ship for fear of killing their own men and they didn't dare fire +at the boat I was on for fear of sinking their own ship. So we opened +fire on them and they didn't dare fire a shot back."</p> + +<p>"That was mighty clever."</p> + +<p>"Wasn't it? I sunk two of the Spaniards and the others surrendered and +I brought 'em back to Manila Bay. I was given a medal for that."</p> + +<p>Captain Royal looked very pleased with himself, and he dug into a +capacious pocket and produced a plug of tobacco, taking a huge bite.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I've had experiences," he said, wagging his head. "Are you going +to be around here long?"</p> + +<p>"Just a few days."</p> + +<p>"I'd invite you to come and live in my cave, only there ain't much +room."</p> + +<p>"We have a cave of our own, farther down the shore."</p> + +<p>"That's fine. I'll call and see you some time."</p> + +<p>"We'll be glad to have you do that," said Joe cordially.</p> + +<p>The old man got up and walked toward the entrance of his own cave.</p> + +<p>"Come on inside," he urged. "You'd better stay and have some dinner +with me. I was out fishing this morning and I caught quite a few fish. +As soon as they're ready, we'll sit down and eat."</p> + +<p>The boys accepted the invitation eagerly, and trooped into the cave of +Captain Royal. Chet looked around hungrily for the fish, but there was +none in sight. The old man invited them to sit down, and they squatted +in the sand, there being no chairs or boxes.</p> + +<p>"Are you the only person living around here, Captain Royal?" asked +Frank.</p> + +<p>"The only one. I thought I was the only person who knew about these +caves until I saw you lads here."</p> + +<p>"There was some one visited us last night—" began Frank. Then he +hesitated in surprise, for Captain Royal leaped to his feet, a look of +fear on his face.</p> + +<p>"What's that?" he exclaimed. "Some one visited you! Don't tell me +there's some one else around here!"</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2">"<span class="smcap">Go Away!</span>"</p> + + +<p>"Some one came into our cave last night and stole most of our +supplies," said Frank.</p> + +<p>"A man?"</p> + +<p>"We didn't see him, but it could scarcely have been an animal of any +kind, for he carried off a whole box of food."</p> + +<p>"You don't say!" exclaimed Captain Royal.</p> + +<p>"And we found a footprint too," added Joe.</p> + +<p>Captain Royal shook his head in amazement.</p> + +<p>"This is very strange. I had no idea there was any one else around this +part of the coast. You can see for yourself that it is hard to get +here, and if there were any one else around I would be sure to see him."</p> + +<p>"And you've seen no one?"</p> + +<p>"Not a living soul, besides yourselves. And he stole your supplies?"</p> + +<p>"Nearly all of them. He left us some canned beans, a loaf of bread, +some butter and some coffee; but that's about all."</p> + +<p>"Canned beans! It's a long time since I've had any canned beans. +Perhaps we could trade."</p> + +<p>"That's not a bad idea," said Chet. "There are other things we need."</p> + +<p>"I have some dried fish here," said the captain. "I have fish and a +case of eggs and some other things. Go get those beans and we'll trade."</p> + +<p>Chet hastened back to the other cave and returned in due time with the +cans of beans, which the captain accepted with considerable delight. In +exchange, the boys received some fish and two dozen eggs.</p> + +<p>"I got the eggs off a boat yesterday," explained Captain Royal, "and +I've been thinking ever since that it was foolish of me to buy a whole +case, because they mightn't keep. I'd rather have canned beans any day."</p> + +<p>When the exchange was effected, their host suddenly became silent +and sat for a long time looking gloomily at the sand. The boys were +wondering when the promised fish dinner was to put in its appearance. +Apparently, Captain Royal had forgotten all about his invitation. +Suddenly he looked up.</p> + +<p>"Well," he demanded curtly, "what are you hanging around for, boys?"</p> + +<p>They gazed at the man in surprise.</p> + +<p>"Why—you asked us to stay," stammered Frank.</p> + +<p>"Yes," returned the old man tartly, "but I didn't ask you to stay all +day."</p> + +<p>The boys were so astonished at this sudden change of front that for a +moment they thought the captain was joking. But they soon learned that +he was in earnest, for he got to his feet with a mutter.</p> + +<p>"Must I order you out?"</p> + +<p>"Why, what's the matter?" inquired Joe, "Have we offended you in any +way?"</p> + +<p>"Be off with you! Go away! Get out of here."</p> + +<p>The boys got to their feet, vastly surprised.</p> + +<p>"Go away!" repeated Captain Royal, advancing on them with a threatening +gesture. "Clear out. I prefer to be alone."</p> + +<p>"Why, certainly," said Frank. "We had no idea we were disturbing you, +Captain."</p> + +<p>"Don't argue. Get out. By jing, I've had enough people bothering me +lately and I'm not going to stand for it any longer. I thought when I +found this cave that people would leave me alone, and now I am annoyed +by a pack of meddlesome boys. Go away!"</p> + +<p>Without further ado, the lads retreated from the cave. Captain Royal +stood in the entrance, shaking his fist at them angrily.</p> + +<p>"Clear out of here!" he stormed. "Don't let me catch you around this +cave again or it will be the worse for you."</p> + +<p>Then he wheeled about abruptly and disappeared into the darkness of the +cave.</p> + +<p>The boys looked at one another in amazement.</p> + +<p>"Can you beat that!" exclaimed Chet.</p> + +<p>"What's wrong with the old coot, anyway?" demanded Biff. "Has he gone +crazy?"</p> + +<p>"I can't understand it," said Frank. "One minute he invites us to stay +for dinner, and in the next breath he orders us away."</p> + +<p>Joe tapped his head significantly.</p> + +<p>"I think he's a little bit off his head."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps it's the heat," volunteered Chet.</p> + +<p>"He is certainly a queer old codger," Biff declared. "I don't know what +to make of him."</p> + +<p>The boys went back down the beach toward their own cave. Fortunately, +before he started, Chet had had enough presence of mind to pick up the +provisions they had obtained from the old man, so the boys were so much +to the good, at any rate.</p> + +<p>"He's crazy," insisted Joe. "Those stories he told us were the wildest +yarns I ever heard in my life. I wonder if he thought we were simple +enough to believe them."</p> + +<p>"As if anybody didn't know that a rhinoceros couldn't swim the ocean!" +scoffed Chet.</p> + +<p>"And pineapples that grow on a tree!"</p> + +<p>"I don't think he's ever been a sailor at all," Frank declared. "His +naval terms were certainly mixed. He called his ship a destroyer and a +warship and a schooner and didn't seem to notice the difference. And he +said the quartermaster was in charge after he left the ship."</p> + +<p>"And everybody knows they don't make people walk the plank nowadays."</p> + +<p>"His stories were as full of holes as a sieve. But I don't know whether +he told them just for the fun of stuffing us or just because he is +clean crazy and doesn't know any better."</p> + +<p>The boys discussed Captain Royal and his eccentric behavior all the +way back to their cave, and agreed that if the old gentleman was not a +lunatic he was at least slightly unbalanced.</p> + +<p>"The very fact that he lives away off here all by himself proves it," +insisted Joe. "No man in his right mind would live in a cave down in +this lonely spot. I wonder if he was the man who came and stole our +supplies last night."</p> + +<p>Frank shook his head.</p> + +<p>"I thought of that and I took a look around his cave, but there was no +sign of any of our stuff. Besides, he seemed much surprised when we +told him there was some one else hanging around."</p> + +<p>"He might have been smart enough to act as though he were surprised. +Perhaps he had our provisions hidden away."</p> + +<p>"But why would he want to trade with us?"</p> + +<p>"Because he's crazy."</p> + +<p>The lads went back to their own cave and then went for a swim in the +surf, forgetting Captain Royal in their enjoyment of the stimulating +salt water. In spite of the generally rocky nature of the coast the +beach in front of their cave was sandy and sloped gently into the +water, providing an ideal bathing place.</p> + +<p>When the swim was over they prepared lunch from what limited food they +had on hand, and in the afternoon they went back down the shore again +to resume their tour of exploration.</p> + +<p>They did not see the captain again, although they passed his cave, +keeping at a respectful distance so as not to incur his wrath. Farther +down the shore they found a series of large caves, and some of these +they explored. However, they found nothing of interest, although they +spent the entire afternoon prowling about the caverns. At sundown they +returned, footsore and weary, to their own headquarters.</p> + +<p>After supper they sat about their campfire chatting, but Chet and Biff +were so tired that their heads soon began to nod and they decided to +retire for the night. Joe would have done likewise, but Frank asked him +to sit up a while longer.</p> + +<p>Biff and Chet were soon snoring, and not until then did Frank broach +the subject on his mind.</p> + +<p>"Did you notice an expression Captain Royal used several times when he +was talking to us?" he asked his brother.</p> + +<p>Joe reflected.</p> + +<p>"I can't say that I noticed anything in particular," he confessed.</p> + +<p>"Don't you remember that he said 'by jing' now and then?"</p> + +<p>Joe looked up, startled.</p> + +<p>"Now I remember! Yes, he did say that. And 'by jing' is the very +expression—"</p> + +<p>"The very expression Evangeline Todd said her missing brother used so +often!"</p> + +<p>"That's a fact!" exclaimed Joe. "And now that I come to think of it, I +remember his shoelaces."</p> + +<p>"They were untied."</p> + +<p>"And Todham Todd had a habit of going about with his shoelaces untied +too!"</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2"><span class="smcap">The Man on the Shore</span></p> + + +<p>The Hardy boys looked at one another solemnly in the glow of the +campfire.</p> + +<p>"Do you think Captain Royal and Todham Todd are one and the same man?" +asked Joe.</p> + +<p>"What do you think of it yourself?"</p> + +<p>"It certainly looks strange. But how <i>could</i> this queer old chap be +Todham Todd? How would the college professor get away down among these +caves, and what would be his idea in passing himself off as a sea +captain?"</p> + +<p>Frank was thoughtful.</p> + +<p>"Stranger things have happened. You remember that Evangeline Todd +suggested that her brother might have lost his memory. He was always +more or less eccentric, no doubt, and if he was suffering from amnesia +there is no telling where he might go or what he might do."</p> + +<p>"It's mighty strange if we have run across him in this place. Perhaps +it's just a coincidence that Captain Royal says 'by jing' once in +a while. As for having his shoelaces untied, he seems pretty sloppy +anyway, and that would be only natural."</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, there's every chance in the world that Captain Royal is +simply an eccentric old tar. I agree with you there. Just the same, we +can't afford to overlook the chance that he <i>might</i> be Todham Todd."</p> + +<p>"How are we going to find out?"</p> + +<p>"If we asked him, he would deny it, certainly. But perhaps if we could +talk to him and ask a few questions he might give himself away."</p> + +<p>"If he has lost his memory he would not remember anything to give away."</p> + +<p>"I hadn't thought of that," admitted Frank. "Still, my plan is worth +trying, don't you think?"</p> + +<p>"It certainly is. But do you think he'll talk to us at all, after what +happened to-day?"</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he's forgotten all about it by now. He might be as nice as pie +if we went back."</p> + +<p>"Yes, he seems a rather changeable old boy," laughed Joe. "And perhaps +if he isn't around we might find some clue in that cave of his."</p> + +<p>"Good idea. We'll make a try at it to-morrow."</p> + +<p>"Do you think we should tell Chet and Biff?" asked Joe.</p> + +<p>"I don't think so. Not just yet. After all, they don't know about the +Todd affair, and if we find out that our suspicions are all wrong +there'll be no harm done and they'll be none the wiser."</p> + +<p>"But how can we question him if they're with us?"</p> + +<p>"We'll make some excuse to get away by ourselves. Of course, we may be +disappointed. The more I think of it the more impossible it seems that +Todham Todd should actually be living here. But it is strange that he +hasn't been found before this if he is living in any town or city where +people would meet him and talk about him."</p> + +<p>"Dad said he was traced as far as Claymore and there the trail +vanished. Claymore isn't very far from this coast."</p> + +<p>"That's right. He may have wandered down to these caves."</p> + +<p>"How about the shooting and the mysterious lights we were warned about?"</p> + +<p>Frank laughed.</p> + +<p>"Oh, as to that," he said, "I think Captain Royal has just been having +a little fun at the expense of the people around here. Perhaps he is +trying to keep people from finding out too much about him."</p> + +<p>"Well, we'll find out all we can, anyway. He can't scare us."</p> + +<p>Having decided to investigate the eccentric old gentleman further, +the Hardy boys rolled themselves up in their blankets and went to +sleep. Frank hardly dared hope that his surmise was correct and that +in Captain Royal they had discovered the missing college professor, +but he was convinced that the old man was not a sailor, in spite of +his claims, and the circumstances of the exclamation "by jing" and the +untied shoelaces, slender as the clues were, led him to believe that +they were at least on a trail worth following.</p> + +<p>When the boys awakened next morning they found the sea hidden by a +dense fog. It was damp and cold and the weather put all idea of further +exploration of the coast out of their heads.</p> + +<p>"I'm not going to wander among the rocks in this fog," declared Chet +emphatically. "If it got worse we'd have a fine time finding our way +back here."</p> + +<p>"Looks to me like a good morning for fishing," said Biff.</p> + +<p>Chet greeted this suggestion with enthusiasm.</p> + +<p>"That's the brightest idea you've had in years. We brought lots of +tackle with us, thank goodness, and there's a high rock over there that +hangs over deep water. Perhaps we could catch a whale or so for lunch."</p> + +<p>Frank and Joe saw their opportunity. They encouraged their two chums to +go fishing. As for themselves, they said they would go down to Captain +Royal's cave and see if the old gentleman was in a better humor than he +had been the previous day.</p> + +<p>"You're welcome," said Chet. "I've had enough of that old lad's society +to last me the rest of my life. He'll probably set his dog on you, if +he has one."</p> + +<p>"I didn't see any dog there yesterday," grinned Joe.</p> + +<p>"Well, he'll likely have a dogfish then. You want to be careful. Better +come fishing with us."</p> + +<p>But the Hardy boys persisted in their determination to beard the lion +in his den again, as Frank put it, so Biff and Chet unpacked the +fishing tackle and made their plans for a morning's sport.</p> + +<p>After breakfast they set out for the high rock, Chet ironically asking +the Hardy boys to give his love to Captain Royal, and Frank and Joe +started off down the beach, delighted that they had escaped so easily.</p> + +<p>They proceeded along the beach. The fog hung low over the sea and it +was so dense that they could scarcely distinguish the outline of the +dark cliffs above.</p> + +<p>"Not much chance of catching Captain Royal away from home to-day, I'm +thinking," said Frank.</p> + +<p>"No, he's likely sitting in his cosy little cave beside a good fire. +Well, he may feel more like talking."</p> + +<p>There was no breeze blowing, and the sea lay calm and slatey beneath +the fog. It was a damp, clammy morning and the chill penetrated to +the bone. The boys felt rather guilty at having left Chet and Biff, +to set out on this expedition of their own, but as Frank had pointed +out it was, after all, private business. They well knew that if +their suspicions were incorrect, Chet would joke about the affair +unmercifully. It was better to keep it to themselves until they were +certain of their ground.</p> + +<p>They were just approaching the cliff that hid Captain Royal's cave from +view when Frank halted and peered through the fog at the base of the +rocks some distance ahead.</p> + +<p>"Do you see somebody lying there, Joe?"</p> + +<p>Joe looked in the direction he indicated.</p> + +<p>"Looks like an old log—no, it moved!"</p> + +<p>"Seems like a man sprawled on the sand."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps it's Captain Royal. Maybe he fell and hurt himself."</p> + +<p>The boys hastened across the rocks in the direction of the figure on +the shore.</p> + +<p>As they drew nearer they saw that it was indeed a man who lay sprawled +at the base of the rocks, apparently asleep. However, they soon saw +that it was not Captain Royal.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps somebody fell off the cliffs from above," ventured Joe, as +they hastened up to the recumbent figure.</p> + +<p>Frank looked up. The cliff loomed high above.</p> + +<p>"If he did, we can't help him now. He would be dead."</p> + +<p>They came up to the man sprawled on the sand. He was not dead. An empty +bottle lying by his side told the reason for his slumber.</p> + +<p>"He's drunk!"</p> + +<p>The man's face was turned away from them and the boys could not +distinguish his features. He was roughly dressed and his clothes were +wet with fog.</p> + +<p>Just then the fellow stirred restlessly in his drunken sleep. He slowly +turned his head.</p> + +<p>When the boys saw his face they gasped with surprise.</p> + +<p>"It's Carl Schaum!" exclaimed Frank.</p> + +<p>It was indeed the escaped automobile thief, the man who had stolen +Frank's motorcycle the day the boys left Bayport.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2"><span class="smcap">The Prisoner</span></p> + + +<p>Carl Schaum did not awaken. His slumber was too deep. He was quite +senseless from the effects of the liquor he had drunk.</p> + +<p>"This is luck!" exclaimed Frank. "I wonder how he got here!"</p> + +<p>"I suppose he's hiding down in these caves away from the police."</p> + +<p>Something beside the bottle near the slumbering man caught Frank's eye. +He bent forward and examined it.</p> + +<p>It was a small package containing several tins of meat, of the same +variety the Hardy boys and their chums had brought with them on their +expedition to the caves.</p> + +<p>"There's our thief!" Frank declared, with conviction. "It was Carl +Schaum who stole the provisions from our cave."</p> + +<p>There seemed little doubt that this was the case. The evidence of the +package of food was conclusive.</p> + +<p>"What shall we do with him?" asked Joe.</p> + +<p>Frank groped in his pocket and produced a length of stout cord.</p> + +<p>"We'll tie him up first. He's an escaped criminal and it's our duty to +turn him over to the police."</p> + +<p>"What if he puts up a fight?"</p> + +<p>"He's too drunk. Anyway, we should be more than a match for him."</p> + +<p>They looked at the man sprawled on the ground. He was snoring loudly, +quite oblivious of his danger. Quietly, the Hardy boys took up their +positions, one on each side of the fellow, and then with a quick +movement they turned him over on his back and pinned his arms behind +him.</p> + +<p>To their surprise, Carl Schaum did not struggle. He merely groaned in +his sleep.</p> + +<p>"He's dead drunk," said Frank. "We won't have any trouble with him."</p> + +<p>Quickly he flipped the cord about Carl Schaum's wrists, and they bound +the unconscious man. Still he did not awaken. When the boys were +satisfied that their captive was firmly trussed up they stood back to +await further developments.</p> + +<p>Carl Schaum snored on.</p> + +<p>"I guess we'd better wake him up," said Frank, with a mischievous grin.</p> + +<p>"It would take a cannon to waken him, by the looks of things."</p> + +<p>"Good cold water should do the trick."</p> + +<p>Frank went down to the shore, took off his hat and dipped it in the +sea. He hastened back, the hat half full of water, and dashed it in +Carl Schaum's face.</p> + +<p>There was a splutter. Then Joe, anxious to be in on the fun, filled his +hat and flung a copious supply of cold water at their captive.</p> + +<p>Carl Schaum blinked, groaned, spluttered again, and tried to sit up.</p> + +<p>"This will make us even for stealing my motorcycle," said Frank, as he +dashed more water into the fellow's face.</p> + +<p>"And this," said Joe, hastening up with another hatful.</p> + +<p>Carl Schaum was literally drenched. He opened his eyes, then gave +vent to a strangled yell. Frank managed to fling another hatful of +water into his face before the boys decided that their captive was +sufficiently awake.</p> + +<p>"Hey! What's this?" roared Schaum indignantly. He had just discovered +that his wrists were bound.</p> + +<p>"Just a little joke," said Frank.</p> + +<p>Water was streaming down the man's face. He was thoroughly aroused by +now.</p> + +<p>He was still too dazed to recognize the Hardy boys. As he sat on the +beach, with his wet hair down over his eyes, his clothes completely +soaked, he was a ridiculous object, and his expression of mingled +wrath and surprise made it difficult for the lads to restrain their +laughter.</p> + +<p>"Lemme go!" demanded Schaum, struggling to release his wrists, without +success.</p> + +<p>Frank shook his head.</p> + +<p>"Nothing doing. You're wanted back in Bayport, Schaum, and that is +where you're going."</p> + +<p>Schaum gasped.</p> + +<p>"Bayport!" he said, after a moment. "Where's that? I never heard of the +place."</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes you have. You escaped from the Bayport jail, Schaum, and +they'll be glad to see you back again."</p> + +<p>"You're crazy!" the rascal stormed. "I was never in any jail!"</p> + +<p>"How about the stolen automobiles on the Shore Road?"</p> + +<p>"And Gus Montrose and the others in the gang?"</p> + +<p>Carl Schaum saw that his bluff had failed. Then he looked more closely +at the brothers. He turned pale.</p> + +<p>"The Hardy boys!" he exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"At your service," returned Joe, with a bow.</p> + +<p>"You see, we know what we're talking about. Get up, Schaum."</p> + +<p>"What are you going to do with me?"</p> + +<p>"Get up!" repeated Frank. "We're going to take you out to the road and +see that you're turned over to the authorities."</p> + +<p>"Don't do that," whined Schaum. "Honest, I never had anything to do +with stealing them cars. Let me go."</p> + +<p>"You were in the gang, and if they've been punished, it isn't fair that +you should get off," insisted Frank. "You escaped from the jail and if +you are innocent you had nothing to fear. You'd better get up and come +with us."</p> + +<p>He prodded the prisoner firmly with the toe of his heavy tramping +shoe, and Schaum struggled to his feet. He made many whining pleas for +mercy, but the Hardy boys were determined that he should be sent back +to Bayport to answer for his participation in the Shore Road automobile +thefts.</p> + +<p>"I've reformed," sniveled Schaum. "I've gone straight ever since I got +out of jail."</p> + +<p>"Yes, you have!" laughed Frank. "How about stealing my motorcycle while +we were in swimming?"</p> + +<p>Schaum looked confused.</p> + +<p>"I didn't know it was your motorcycle."</p> + +<p>"It doesn't matter whose motorcycle it was. You meant to steal it. That +doesn't look as if you've reformed very much. No, you must come along +with us."</p> + +<p>Unwillingly, Carl Schaum stumbled along the beach with his two captors.</p> + +<p>Frank and Joe did not have a very clear idea of what they were to do +with Schaum, now that they had captured him. At first they thought of +keeping him in the cave, but Joe pointed out that he might get away +again and that it would mean too much trouble keeping guard over him.</p> + +<p>"And he'd eat too much," added Frank. "That's another little score we +have to settle with you, Schaum. You were in the cave the other night +and stole most of our provisions."</p> + +<p>"I was hungry," whined the prisoner. "I only meant to borrow a little +bit of food."</p> + +<p>"Borrowers don't come sneaking around when every one is asleep. Where +are our provisions now?"</p> + +<p>"They're in my own cave," said Schaum sullenly.</p> + +<p>"Where is that?"</p> + +<p>"Try to find it."</p> + +<p>"All right," returned Frank. "When you go back to Bayport you will +find yourself facing an extra charge of robbery. We'll lay a complaint +against you for stealing our provisions. You've already admitted that +you took them, so it will go hard with you."</p> + +<p>Schaum wilted at this threat.</p> + +<p>"Aw, don't tell on me," he begged. "Your grub is all right. It's in +the cave that you'll find not ten feet from where I was lying on the +beach. I got to drinking last night and I wandered out of the cave and +fell down."</p> + +<p>"I'm glad you've decided to be sensible," observed Frank. "We'll go to +the cave and get our food when we come back. We didn't know you had a +cave."</p> + +<p>"I came here just a little while before you boys came."</p> + +<p>"Did you bring your trunk?" asked Frank, with a grin. "Anything in your +cave you'd like to take back to jail with you?"</p> + +<p>Schaum shook his head.</p> + +<p>"No," he answered shortly. "Just a pair of blankets. You can have 'em."</p> + +<p>"They'll give you blankets in jail."</p> + +<p>The boys soon reached their own cave. There was no sign of Chet and +Biff, and they realized that the fishermen might be far off down the +shore by now, so they decided to take Carl Schaum out to the road +themselves.</p> + +<p>They clambered up the trail through the ravine until they reached the +top of the cliff, and then they made their way over the rocks and down +the hillside back to the fisherman's cottage. The fisherman was at +home, and when he saw the little procession coming down the path he +rushed out, anxious to learn what had happened. He was greatly excited +when he saw that the villainous-looking Carl Schaum was bound.</p> + +<p>"Have you cotched the man who was firin' off all the guns?" he asked.</p> + +<p>Frank shook his head.</p> + +<p>"I don't think this is he," he said, remembering that Schaum had +reached the caves only a short time in advance of their own arrival. +"But he's almost as bad."</p> + +<p>"What's he been doin'?"</p> + +<p>The Hardy boys explained why they had captured Carl Schaum, and when +the fisherman learned that they were going to take their captive out to +the main road he promptly volunteered the use of his car, an ancient +and decrepit flivver. The boys had been wondering how they would get +Schaum out to the road by motorcycle, and the fisherman's offer solved +this difficulty.</p> + +<p>Accordingly, they all wedged themselves into the ramshackle car and set +out for the main road, which they reached in due time. Frank and Joe +did not want to waste too much time with Schaum, and they decided to +wait in hope that some passing motorist would take the fellow in to the +nearest police station.</p> + +<p>In a short time a car came into sight and when it came near, Frank +stepped out into the road and signaled the driver to stop. The +automobile slowed down.</p> + +<p>The man at the wheel looked at them curiously.</p> + +<p>Then Frank gave an exclamation of delight.</p> + +<p>"Why, he's from Bayport!" he shouted to Joe. "It's Mr. Simms."</p> + +<p>At the same moment, the driver recognized Frank.</p> + +<p>"Hello there, Hardy!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing so far away +from home?"</p> + +<p>Frank and Joe knew Mr. Simms, having met him at the time of the solving +of the Shore Road mystery, because he was one of the automobile owners +who had suffered at the hands of the car thieves. The very car Mr. +Simms was driving just then had been recovered by the Hardy boys when +they had found the automobiles stolen by Gus Montrose, Carl Schaum and +the other members of the gang.</p> + +<p>"This is luck!" exclaimed Frank. "How would you like to take a +passenger back to Bayport with you?"</p> + +<p>"Do you want a ride?" asked Mr. Simms. "Hop in."</p> + +<p>"I'm not asking for myself. But our friend here is wanted back in +Bayport. Perhaps you could take him in."</p> + +<p>Mr. Simms looked doubtfully at Carl Schaum.</p> + +<p>"Well," he said slowly, "if he's a friend of yours, I suppose it's all +right—"</p> + +<p>He had noticed that Schaum's wrists were tied.</p> + +<p>Frank laughed.</p> + +<p>"I was just joking. This is one of the fellows who stole your car last +month. Carl Schaum—"</p> + +<p>"Oh! The thief that escaped, eh?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. We ran across him down along the shore, and we were anxious to +turn him over to the police again."</p> + +<p>"Put him in the car," said Simms grimly. "I'll put the rascal where he +belongs."</p> + +<p>Rejoiced at having the prisoner taken off their hands so readily, the +Hardy boys bundled Schaum into the rear seat of the automobile. They +apologized to Mr. Simms for troubling him, but the man assured them +that it was no trouble at all.</p> + +<p>"It's a pleasure," he said. "I'll see that he doesn't get away." He +glared at Carl Schaum. "So you're one of the scoundrels who stole my +car, are you? And you thought you were going to escape a term in jail! +You'll have to be mighty smart to do it then, for I'm going to break a +few speed records getting you back to Bayport. I'm going to enjoy this +trip."</p> + +<p>He waved good-bye to the Hardy boys.</p> + +<p>"I don't know how you caught him," he said; "but I'll tell the Bayport +police to give you the credit. I'm certainly glad I came along in time +to drive this guy back to jail, where he belongs."</p> + +<p>With that, he drove off and in a few minutes he was carrying out his +promise to break speed records on the way back to Bayport, while the +helpless prisoner in the back seat was jounced and bounced until his +teeth rattled.</p> + +<p>Frank and Joe grinned.</p> + +<p>"I guess Carl Schaum won't forget that ride for a while."</p> + +<p>"Serves the rogue right!" declared the fisherman.</p> + +<p>"Well, let's be getting back," said Frank. "The morning is almost gone +and we haven't called on Captain Royal yet."</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2"><span class="smcap">Clippings</span></p> + + +<p>Their friend, the fisherman, was greatly interested in the Hardy boys' +adventure with Carl Schaum and wanted to know all the details of the +affair. Frank and Joe told him why they had captured Schaum, and also +told him of the Shore Road automobile thefts, although they modestly +omitted any mention of their own part in bringing the car thieves to +justice.</p> + +<p>When they arrived back at the cottage the fisherman was anxious that +they go in and continue the chat, but the Hardy boys wanted to return +to the caves.</p> + +<p>"Some other time," they promised.</p> + +<p>"Well," said the fisherman reluctantly, "if you won't come in, I +suppose you won't; but you must come back and see me before you leave +these parts. You're smart lads, cotchin' that jailbird, and I'm sure +he's the fellow that's been performin' all the monkeyshines down around +Honeycomb Caves."</p> + +<p>Frank and Joe said nothing. It occurred to them that possibly the +fisher folk did not know of Captain Royal's presence in the vicinity +and they preferred to keep the secret to themselves.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said the man, wagging his head, "I guess he was the chap, all +right, even if you don't seem to think so."</p> + +<p>"He was a thief, at any rate," said Joe.</p> + +<p>"He stole your grub, you was sayin'. If you need more, you're welcome +to anything I've got here. It ain't much, but you're more'n welcome," +said their hospitable friend.</p> + +<p>The boys thanked him, but assured him that Carl Schaum had been forced +to divulge the hiding place of the provisions. With great glee they +told how they had frightened him into telling.</p> + +<p>"We're all set for a few days' stay now," said Frank. "I guess we won't +be bothered any more."</p> + +<p>The boys parted from the fisherman and ascended the path up the +hillside again. Up over the rocks, along the cliff edge until they came +to the ravine, down the steep slope, and after an arduous hour they +were again at their cave.</p> + +<p>Chet and Biff were nowhere to be seen, so the Hardy boys assumed that +they were still fishing.</p> + +<p>"When we tell them all the adventures we've had, they'll be as mad as +hops," laughed Frank.</p> + +<p>"We've sure covered a lot of territory since they last saw us."</p> + +<p>"And the day isn't over yet. We still have Captain Royal to attend to."</p> + +<p>It was still damp and foggy as they went on down the beach, and +although it was midday the mist hung so heavily over the sea that they +could see only a short distance ahead. It was almost as dark as at dusk.</p> + +<p>"I believe the fog is growing worse," remarked Frank.</p> + +<p>"It certainly seems worse since we've got down on the shore again."</p> + +<p>"I hope Chet and Biff don't get lost."</p> + +<p>"Not much danger of getting lost around here. It's pretty hard to get +far from the ocean, and once you're on the beach you just have to keep +walking until you find the caves."</p> + +<p>The boys came to the place where they had spied Carl Schaum in his +drunken slumber.</p> + +<p>"Let's see if he was telling us the truth about that cave of his," Joe +suggested. "We might as well make sure that our provisions are safe."</p> + +<p>"There's a cave here, all right. Look, I can see it over by those big +boulders."</p> + +<p>"So there is. Queer that we didn't notice it before. The rocks hide it +from view unless you stand right in front of it."</p> + +<p>"Trust Carl to pick a good hiding place. If he hadn't made the mistake +of getting drunk and wandering beyond his own front door, he might be +a free man yet."</p> + +<p>"It isn't the first time that liquor has landed a man in jail."</p> + +<p>The boys approached the entrance of the cave. It was, as Joe had +pointed out, almost invisible from the beach, unless one happened to +look up when standing directly in front of the opening, because a +number of huge boulders obscured it.</p> + +<p>Inside, they found unmistakable evidences of human habitation.</p> + +<p>"There are our provisions!" exclaimed Frank.</p> + +<p>He pointed to a box that stood beside a few blankets in a corner of the +little cave. It was filled with the food that Schaum had stolen from +them. Very little of it had been touched; the robber had been given no +time to dispose of his loot.</p> + +<p>"Well, I never expected to see <i>that</i> again," said Joe.</p> + +<p>"I guess it's safe enough where it is. We can pick it up on our way +back from Captain Royal's."</p> + +<p>"How about these blankets? Schaum said we could have them."</p> + +<p>Frank picked up one of the blankets. It was heavy and of excellent +quality.</p> + +<p>"I'll say he was mighty generous, letting us have good blankets like +these," he declared. "They seem brand new, too."</p> + +<p>"If they are, there must be a catch in it somewhere."</p> + +<p>"There is. Look!"</p> + +<p>Frank held out the blanket. Stamped into the fabric was the name, +"Hotel Bayport." The reason for Schaum's sudden burst of generosity was +now clear.</p> + +<p>"No wonder he didn't want to take them with him. He knew that if the +police laid eyes on those blankets he'd have another charge laid +against him. He must have stolen them from the hotel after he escaped +from jail."</p> + +<p>"I think he would take anything that wasn't nailed down," said Joe. +"Well, we can take the blankets back with us and return them to the +hotel, at any rate."</p> + +<p>"Sure. We'll leave 'em here with the grub until we're ready to go back +to our own cave."</p> + +<p>The boys found nothing else worthy of attention in Carl Schaum's crude +abode except a revolver hidden beneath a rock near the blankets. They +appropriated this, to turn over to the police when they should return +to Bayport.</p> + +<p>They departed, well satisfied with their visit.</p> + +<p>"Chet will give three cheers when he sees the grub again. I don't think +he was very cheerful about the thought of going on short rations until +we got new supplies," said Frank.</p> + +<p>"I wasn't very cheerful about it myself," Joe admitted. "It makes me +sore when I think of Schaum stealing all that stuff. Why, one man +couldn't eat it all in a month."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he intended to stay a month, or even longer, if he could get +away with it."</p> + +<p>"Well, he might have left us more than he did. I'm glad I was able to +douse some water in his face."</p> + +<p>The Hardy boys were soon in sight of Captain Royal's cave. The gloomy +opening was barely visible through the lowering mist.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if the old gentleman could be at home, Joe."</p> + +<p>"No sign of life around, anyway."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he's asleep."</p> + +<p>They made their way to the cave-mouth, cautiously. Still there was no +sign of the captain.</p> + +<p>"Better call him," suggested Frank.</p> + +<p>They halted.</p> + +<p>"Captain Royal!" shouted Joe.</p> + +<p>There was no answer.</p> + +<p>"I guess he's not at home."</p> + +<p>They called out Captain Royal's name again, but still there was no +reply, so they ventured close to the cave-mouth and peeped inside. The +place was deserted.</p> + +<p>"Shall we go in?" said Joe.</p> + +<p>"Sure. We'll take a look around."</p> + +<p>They stepped inside the cave. Captain Royal had evidently spent the +night there, for his bed was even untidier than it had been the +previous day.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he's gone fishing," said Frank.</p> + +<p>He was looking about the cave and suddenly his gaze fell on a small +cupboard, consisting of a box on a ledge of rock, in which he could see +a number of books. He gave a low whistle of surprise.</p> + +<p>"The worthy captain has a library," remarked Joe.</p> + +<p>"Let's see what his taste in reading matter is like."</p> + +<p>Frank went over to the improvised cupboard and picked up one of the +books. It fell open and a number of strips of paper fluttered to the +floor of the cave.</p> + +<p>Frank bent to pick up the papers. He looked at them curiously.</p> + +<p>"Newspaper clippings!"</p> + +<p>"We might get a clue about him from them," Joe suggested.</p> + +<p>In the dim light, Frank scrutinized one of the clippings. It was a +despatch from Boston, dated several months previous, and consisted of +an address on Egyptian civilization given by a world-famous traveler +who had spoken in that city.</p> + +<p>"This is uncommonly dull, if you ask me," said Frank at last, putting +the clipping aside and picking up another.</p> + +<p>"No mention of Todham Todd?"</p> + +<p>"Not that I can find."</p> + +<p>Joe took one of the other clippings and the boys perused them +diligently, seeking some mention of the missing college professor.</p> + +<p>All the clippings were devoted to various lectures that had been given +by various speakers in different parts of the country within recent +months.</p> + +<p>"Looks as if he was a lecturer, or had some interest in lectures, at +any rate," Joe commented.</p> + +<p>Patiently, they examined clipping after clipping, but in none of them +did they find any mention of Todham Todd. A further search of the +cupboard, however, revealed a veritable mass of papers, and the boys +settled down to a thorough study of them.</p> + +<p>"He's a queer kind of sailor, that's sure," declared Frank. "I never +heard of a sailor who collected clippings about lectures."</p> + +<p>The other papers were similar clippings, as well as typewritten +documents. When the boys examined these documents in the hope of +finding some clue to the former activities of Captain Royal, they found +that they were manuscripts of lectures on philosophy and other topics. +But still they found no mention of the name of Todham Todd.</p> + +<p>"Well, whether he's mentioned in these papers or not, I'm sure that +Captain Royal and Todham Todd are the same man," observed Joe. "No +sailor would ever carry all this stuff around with him."</p> + +<p>"It certainly looks peculiar," his brother agreed. "But there are some +more papers yet. We'll look through them all. If he is Todham Todd it's +hardly likely that he would carry clippings about other men's lectures +and none of his own."</p> + +<p>Sheet after sheet, they perused. There were lectures by visiting +authors, lectures by big-game hunters, lectures by Arctic explorers, +lectures by college professors, photographs of lecturers.</p> + +<p>"He is certainly interested in lecturing. Perhaps it's just a +coincidence. Crazy men will do crazy things. Perhaps Captain Royal +just has a sort of lunatic streak that way," said Joe finally, when it +seemed evident that none of the clippings or documents bore any mention +of Todham Todd.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you're right. I hate to admit it, though. I was sure we had +stumbled on a red-hot clue."</p> + +<p>Frank scrutinized the last of the clippings.</p> + +<p>"Nothing about him in this one either. I can't figure it out. Beyond +the fact that all these stories deal with lectures, there is no +connection between them. They're all by different men and all on +different subjects."</p> + +<p>At that moment Joe espied a small box close by. He opened it, and out +tumbled a second mass of clippings.</p> + +<p>"Gee, look at this!" he exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"More lectures?" questioned his brother, with a sigh.</p> + +<p>"Lectures? No!" shouted the younger Hardy boy. "It's a murder case! +Look, Frank!"</p> + +<p>"You're fooling!"</p> + +<p>But even as he spoke Frank Hardy scanned the sheet of newspaper his +brother held towards him. There, in glaring headlines, were the words</p> + +<p class="ph3">BARTON BIXBY SHOT DOWN<br> +Former Naval Officer Kills Old Friend<br> +With a Shotgun<br> +Police Follow Clues in Vain</p> + + +<p>There followed a long account of a killing that had taken place in +Richmond three weeks before. A certain Lieutenant Patwick had murdered +a former friend who had spoken ill of him at a club. Patwick had then +fled to parts unknown. The lieutenant was said to be of a nervous, +high-strung temperament.</p> + +<p>"Gosh! he may not be Todham Todd after all," remarked Frank. "He may be +this Lieutenant Patwick simply trying to conceal his true identity."</p> + +<p>"Or else gone crazy because of his crime," added Joe.</p> + +<p>There were several other clippings concerning the crime. Evidently the +perpetrator had outwitted both police and detectives.</p> + +<p>"We'll have to look into this," said Frank soberly.</p> + +<p>"You bet. For all we know—"</p> + +<p>Joe stopped speaking and thrust all the clippings behind him. A shadow +had darkened the mouth of the cave.</p> + +<p>"Who is in there?" an angry voice bellowed.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2"><span class="smcap">The Shotgun</span></p> + + +<p>So quietly had the man approached the cave-mouth that the Hardy boys +were taken completely by surprise. They wheeled about.</p> + +<p>There, in the entrance, stood Captain Royal.</p> + +<p>Evidently, it took him some time to become accustomed to the dim light +of the cave, for he was peering intently at the boys, but with no sign +of recognition on his face.</p> + +<p>"Who's that?" he shouted impatiently. "Answer me!"</p> + +<p>Frank gulped. Then, trying to achieve a confident tone of voice, he +said:</p> + +<p>"Why, hello, Captain. We just dropped in for a visit."</p> + +<p>But Captain Royal was not appeased.</p> + +<p>With a roar of wrath, he advanced into the cave.</p> + +<p>"I know you now!" he bellowed. "I know you. It's those boys who were +here yesterday. Don't deny it!"</p> + +<p>"Sure!" said Joe. "It's only us."</p> + +<p>The captain came closer.</p> + +<p>"What are you doing in my place?" he demanded. "Stealing, eh?"</p> + +<p>"We're not stealing," returned Frank indignantly.</p> + +<p>"Yes, you are!" Captain Royal was plainly angry. "You came here to +steal all my money and my jewels. I know it! You waited until I went +out and then you sneaked in here to rob me."</p> + +<p>"Now, Captain, be reasonable," pleaded Frank. "We just came here to +have a little talk with you. If we wanted to steal we would have +cleared out long ago."</p> + +<p>"You came to steal!" insisted the old man. "Don't tell me anything +different. Why can't you leave an old man alone? I've never done you +any harm."</p> + +<p>"Certainly not. We had no intention of disturbing you—"</p> + +<p>Just then Captain Royal caught sight of the mass of clippings and +papers. His face was suddenly distorted with fury.</p> + +<p>"My papers!" he shrieked. "You've been at my papers!"</p> + +<p>He made a sudden lunge toward the boys. So quickly did he rush at +them that neither Frank nor Joe had a chance to escape. Captain Royal +grasped each lad by the collar.</p> + +<p>"You've been at my papers! My precious papers! I knew you came here to +steal something!"</p> + +<p>He shook them roughly.</p> + +<p>"I'll teach you to come prowling around my cave!" he roared. "I will +teach you to look at my papers."</p> + +<p>The Hardy boys struggled to free themselves, but Captain Royal was +stronger than he looked, and he kept a tight grip on their collars. +Frank almost wriggled free, but the captain tightened his grasp. As for +Joe, he told his chums later that "the old lad shook me until my back +teeth rattled."</p> + +<p>The captain was raging and roaring almost incoherently in a terrible +outburst of wrath. There was now little doubt in the minds of the Hardy +boys that the man was a lunatic. What would happen to them at the hands +of this madman?</p> + +<p>At first they had not taken Captain Royal's outburst seriously, but now +Frank realized that they might be in genuine danger.</p> + +<p>He lashed out with his fists and dealt the captain a blow in the ribs +that brought a startled grunt. At the same time, Joe wriggled to one +side and tried to trip the old gentleman. But Captain Royal was alert +and wary. He would not let go, and although he lost his balance and +tumbled to the floor of the cave, he dragged the boys with him.</p> + +<p>"Break loose, Joe!" shouted Frank. "He means business."</p> + +<p>But this was more easily said than done.</p> + +<p>The trio sprawled on the floor of the cave, Frank and Joe fighting +desperately to get out of the clutches of their captor, but the old man +clung to their collars like grim death.</p> + +<p>"I'll teach you!" he panted. "I'll shoot both of you."</p> + +<p>His words sent a thrill of fear through the boys. They knew now that +they were dealing with a maniac and they realized that in his present +frame of mind, he was quite capable of carrying out the threat.</p> + +<p>Joe had fallen in such a way that his collar had become twisted, and +with Captain Royal still grasping it, he was almost choked. He could +not turn without increasing the throttling pressure, so he was quite +helpless. As for Frank, in spite of his struggles, he was unable to +break the captain's hold.</p> + +<p>"I have the better of you!" chuckled the old man fiendishly. "You can't +get away from me. Try to kill me, would you! I'm going to shoot you +both."</p> + +<p>He began to struggle to his feet.</p> + +<p>Captain Royal was eying something on the wall at the back of the cave. +Following the direction of his gaze, Frank saw something that terrified +him.</p> + +<p>It was a double-barreled shotgun!</p> + +<p>"I've got it loaded to the muzzle!" roared Captain Royal, as he +floundered about in his efforts to get to his feet without losing his +grip on the boys. "I've always kept it loaded just for prying thieves +that come to steal my papers."</p> + +<p>He stood up and lurched across the cave, dragging the boys with him. +His intention was clear. He meant to get the shotgun.</p> + +<p>The lads redoubled their efforts to escape. By a concerted effort, they +turned on him, striking at him with their fists. Frank heard a ripping, +tearing sound and then he was suddenly free. He staggered back, and the +captain was left holding a small fragment of his shirt in his hand.</p> + +<p>Frank thought quickly. He must reach the gun first. He leaped across +the cave.</p> + +<p>But Captain Royal was too quick for him. Flinging Joe to one side so +that he went stumbling and then sprawled in the sand, the captain +reached the shotgun at a bound.</p> + +<p>He was just reaching for it when Frank came at him from behind. Captain +Royal tried to fend the boy off, but Frank grappled with him and +dragged him away from the wall.</p> + +<p>"Get the gun, Joe!" he panted.</p> + +<p>Joe was just getting to his feet. Captain Royal whirled about. His +fist struck Frank against the side of the head, and it caught Frank +off balance. He was knocked off his feet. Captain Royal gave a yell of +triumph, and seized the shotgun.</p> + +<p>It had been resting on a rocky ledge. Frank was sprawled on the sand, +entirely at the man's mercy. Joe was equally helpless. In another +moment they expected to hear the explosive roar of the weapon.</p> + +<p>"Now, I'll teach you!" roared the captain, dancing about in fury. "I'm +going to shoot the pair of you."</p> + +<p>Frank had a sudden idea.</p> + +<p>"I'll keep him occupied, Joe," he said in a low voice. "Keep edging +back until you get to the cave-mouth."</p> + +<p>A daring plan had formed in his mind. It meant, as he thought, risking +his own life, but he was prepared to do this for the sake of his +younger brother.</p> + +<p>If he could but distract Captain Royal's attention by taunts and jeers, +even if it meant arousing the man to a pitch of murderous madness, Joe +might make good his escape.</p> + +<p>"You wouldn't have the nerve to shoot," he shouted.</p> + +<p>Captain Royal brandished the shotgun and glared at Frank.</p> + +<p>"I wouldn't have the nerve, hey? You think I haven't?"</p> + +<p>Joe was moving back, step by step, toward the opening.</p> + +<p>"No, you wouldn't shoot me," scoffed Frank. "I don't believe your old +gun is loaded anyway."</p> + +<p>Captain Royal had forgotten all about Joe by now.</p> + +<p>"Not loaded?" he screeched. "It's loaded to the muzzle, I tell you. +It's always loaded. You'll find out if it's loaded or not."</p> + +<p>Frank was preparing to spring to his feet.</p> + +<p>"Listen, Captain Royal," he said placatingly. "Let me go this time and +I promise I won't bother you again."</p> + +<p>But the captain shook his head.</p> + +<p>"You're a spy!" he screeched. "You're a spy! You were sent here to look +through all my papers. I'm an old sailor, I am, and in the navy we have +only one cure for spies."</p> + +<p>"And what's that?"</p> + +<p>"We shoot 'em." Captain Royal brandished the shotgun viciously. "We +shoot 'em when we can't make 'em walk the plank."</p> + +<p>"You haven't the nerve to shoot me. You wouldn't dare. You know you'd +be hanged."</p> + +<p>Frank glanced toward the mouth of the cave. Joe was almost safe by now.</p> + +<p>"I'm not afraid!" bragged Captain Royal. "They'd never catch me to hang +me. Death for the spies. I'll shoot both of you—"</p> + +<p>Only then did he become aware that Joe had disappeared. With a growl +of alarm, he swung about, just in time to see Joe vanishing beyond the +cave-mouth.</p> + +<p>"He's gone!" roared the captain. "Come back here, you young scoundrel! +Come back!"</p> + +<p>He ran across the cave. Frank seized the opportunity to leap to his +feet again. Captain Royal heard him and turned, raising the shotgun to +his shoulder.</p> + +<p>"You won't escape me!" he yelled.</p> + +<p>The shotgun was leveled directly at the boy. Frank thought that the +next moment would be his last. He could see Captain Royal's finger +tightening about the trigger.</p> + +<p>But there came an interruption from the mouth of the cave. Joe had +heard the uproar and had realized his brother's danger. He had not +fled. He had returned to the entrance, and there he gave vent to a +shrill, blood-curdling shriek.</p> + +<p>Captain Royal gave a shout of surprise.</p> + +<p>"Who's that?" he exclaimed.</p> + +<p>He whirled hastily about, but Joe had disappeared.</p> + +<p>"Who's there?" he roared.</p> + +<p>Joe, hidden beyond the rocks, shrieked again.</p> + +<p>"Just wait!" yelled the captain. "I'll come out there and fix you. I'll +fix you!"</p> + +<p>Frank, in the meantime, had been circling about the side of the cave, +trying to gain the entrance unobserved. His heart sank as Captain Royal +turned around just when he was about to make a dash for liberty.</p> + +<p>"So!" yelled Captain Royal. "You thought you could get away from me, +eh?"</p> + +<p>The shotgun was aimed directly at Frank.</p> + +<p>Captain Royal fired. There was a loud explosion.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2"><span class="smcap">Over the Cliff</span></p> + + +<p>To Frank Hardy's unbounded astonishment, the explosion was followed +by a white cloud that rose from the barrel of the shotgun. It was not +smoke, and although Captain Royal had aimed the gun directly at him, he +found that he was uninjured.</p> + +<p>The white cloud was flour!</p> + +<p>"A hit!" roared Captain Royal. "A hit! I've wounded him!"</p> + +<p>Frank wasted no further time.</p> + +<p>He raced toward the mouth of the cave and scrambled out onto the beach. +Behind him he could hear Captain Royal screeching wildly.</p> + +<p>Frank almost collided with Joe.</p> + +<p>His brother's face was white. He had heard the shot and was sure Frank +had been a victim of the maniac's wrath.</p> + +<p>"Are you all right, Frank?"</p> + +<p>"Sure. Come on—let's beat it out of here."</p> + +<p>They stumbled across the rocks toward a great heap of boulders that +offered shelter. Frank glanced back in time to see Captain Royal +emerge from the cave, still carrying the shotgun.</p> + +<p>"Did he miss you?" panted Joe.</p> + +<p>Frank chuckled.</p> + +<p>"If that gun had been loaded, my goose would have been cooked by now."</p> + +<p>"But I heard the shot."</p> + +<p>"It was loaded to the muzzle with flour. That's all. Just plain, +ordinary flour."</p> + +<p>They dropped down behind the boulders.</p> + +<p>When they peeped out again they could see Captain Royal at the mouth of +the cave, dancing with rage. Evidently he saw them, for he yelled:</p> + +<p>"You can't hide from me. I can see you."</p> + +<p>He raised the shotgun to his shoulder again and pressed the trigger. +Once more there was a shower of flour distributed in every direction.</p> + +<p>"Whether he's Todham Todd or Captain Royal, he's a lunatic," declared +Joe.</p> + +<p>"There's no question of that."</p> + +<p>The boys crouched behind the boulder and watched the antics of the +captain. He was yelling and shrieking like a wild Indian, waving the +shotgun on high. Both barrels had been discharged.</p> + +<p>"My ammunition is gone!" he roared. "My ammunition is gone!"</p> + +<p>He hurled the gun away from him. It fell with a clatter among the rocks.</p> + +<p>Hatless and coatless, he was a weird figure in the fog. He made no move +toward the Hardy boys, however, but contented himself with dancing +about at the mouth of the cave.</p> + +<p>"The battle is lost!" shrieked Captain Royal finally. "On to the +execution!"</p> + +<p>"What on earth does he mean?" said Joe.</p> + +<p>"Oh, he's crazy, that's all. He doesn't mean anything."</p> + +<p>"All is lost! My enemies are upon me! On to the execution! On to the +execution!"</p> + +<p>Captain Royal whirled about and ran down the beach through the lowering +mist.</p> + +<p>"Where is he going?"</p> + +<p>"Let's wait and watch him," advised Frank.</p> + +<p>They saw the queer old man running and stumbling among the rocks along +the shore. Then he turned to his right and began to clamber up among +the boulders until he came to a scarcely visible path that led up +toward the top of the cliff.</p> + +<p>From the boulders among which the Hardy boys were standing they could +scarcely see the man now, so they emerged and went down toward the +cave. Captain Royal, yelling at the top of his lungs, was climbing on +up the path.</p> + +<p>"What's his idea, anyway?"</p> + +<p>Frank shook his head.</p> + +<p>"He's certainly running amuck! I hope he doesn't fall and hurt himself."</p> + +<p>The path the captain had taken wound about in precarious fashion and at +one point crossed a ledge of rock that overhung the beach, immediately +over the rocks that sloped down into the deep water.</p> + +<p>Captain Royal stumbled and fell, but he got to his feet again and went +on.</p> + +<p>"If he ever slips when he comes to that ledge, he'll go over the +cliff!" Joe declared.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if we should follow him."</p> + +<p>At that moment, the Hardy boys saw two figures come into view from +beyond the rocks. At that distance and through the mist it was +impossible to distinguish their features, but as they drew closer the +Hardy boys saw that they were none other than Chet and Biff.</p> + +<p>"What's going on here?" shouted Chet, as they hastened up.</p> + +<p>"Lots of excitement," Frank replied. "Captain Royal has just had a +brainstorm."</p> + +<p>"What happened?"</p> + +<p>When their chums came near, the Hardy boys told them of their +adventures of the morning, how they had captured Carl Schaum, and how +Captain Royal had come upon them while they were in the cave.</p> + +<p>"And he shot at you?" cried Biff.</p> + +<p>"With his gun loaded with flour."</p> + +<p>"Flour?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"He must be crazy."</p> + +<p>"Absolutely."</p> + +<p>"Where is he going now?"</p> + +<p>Joe pointed to the captain, scrambling on up the path toward the cliff.</p> + +<p>"There he is. And if he doesn't watch out he's going to tumble off into +the sea."</p> + +<p>"I'll say he is," declared Chet. "We ought to go after him."</p> + +<p>In the distance, they could hear the wild shrieks of Captain Royal as +he went stumbling among the rocks. He was drawing nearer to the ledge, +and as the path at this point was extremely narrow, the boys could see +that he was indeed in danger.</p> + +<p>"Stop!" shouted Joe. "Stop, Captain!"</p> + +<p>But Captain Royal, if he heard at all, paid no attention to the +warning. He continued his ascent of the rocky path.</p> + +<p>"We'd better follow him up," said Frank. "He can't hurt us—we know +that—and he's sure to hurt himself if we don't get him down off those +rocks."</p> + +<p>With one accord, the boys hurried across the beach until they came to +the trail leading up the steep incline toward the top of the cliff. +Then, with Frank Hardy in the lead, they began the climb.</p> + +<p>Captain Royal turned and saw them. He stopped and shook his fist at +them.</p> + +<p>"Go back!" he shouted wildly. "Go back, I tell you!"</p> + +<p>"Come down!" called Frank. "Come down, Captain Royal, or you'll be +killed."</p> + +<p>"The battle is lost!" howled the madman. "My enemies are upon me! But +they'll never capture me alive!"</p> + +<p>He bent down and lifted a heavy stone, which he hurled down the path. +It came rolling and bouncing down the slope, gathering momentum every +second. It was headed directly for the Hardy boys and their chums.</p> + +<p>"Scatter!" shouted Joe.</p> + +<p>The boys had little protection. The path was so narrow that they could +go neither to right nor left for more than a few inches.</p> + +<p>On came the heavy stone.</p> + +<p>The boys crouched, listening to the crash and clatter of the great +missile as it bounded toward them. There was no use attempting to +escape. If they ran back down the path they could never hope to reach +the shore in time. The rock was plunging down the path at terrific +speed. It seemed that the deadly object would crash among them in +another moment.</p> + +<p>Frank closed his eyes. Just then the rock bounded high in the air, shot +forward in a wide arc, lit in the path just a few yards above the boys, +and struck a projecting stone. It flew off at a tangent, the impact +diverting it from its course so that it plunged wide of the boys who +were crouched in the path. A moment later there was a tremendous crash +as the heavy rock struck the beach.</p> + +<p>Captain Royal, on the cliff above, was yelling with glee.</p> + +<p>"You won't chase me now!" he shrieked. "That will teach you a lesson! +That will teach you something!"</p> + +<p>Frank scrambled to his feet. He was white with anger. The maniac's +action had endangered their lives.</p> + +<p>"We'll teach <i>you</i>!" he shouted. "Don't do a trick like that again. +Come down off those rocks before you fall and break your neck."</p> + +<p>"I won't come down."</p> + +<p>Captain Royal shook his fist at them again, wheeled about and then +continued his perilous climb. The boys hastened in pursuit. They knew +that the old man might turn and cast another rock down the path, but +they were determined to save him from the consequences of his own folly +if they could.</p> + +<p>The fog had left the rocks and the path slippery and treacherous. At +almost every step the boys stumbled. It was almost impossible to +maintain one's footing as the path grew steeper. As for Captain Royal, +he was no better off, and more than once he went sprawling on all +fours, only to pick himself up again and resume his hazardous progress.</p> + +<p>At last he reached the top of the cliff.</p> + +<p>The boys were still many yards from the summit. Captain Royal made no +attempt at caution as he ran along the narrow path. The rocks were +slippery under foot.</p> + +<p>"He'll go over, as sure as fate!" exclaimed Frank.</p> + +<p>Scarcely were the words out of his mouth when the boys saw Captain +Royal stumble. He lurched sideways, his arms thrashed the air as he +vainly grabbed for support, he gave a desperate yell. The boys gave a +simultaneous cry of terror as they saw the man plunge through the air, +over the side of the cliff, down toward the water far below!</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2"><span class="smcap">In Swirling Waters</span></p> + + +<p>The boys looked at one another in awe.</p> + +<p>Their ears still rang with Captain Royal's last dreadful cry as he went +hurtling over the cliff toward the watery depths.</p> + +<p>"He's gone!" gasped Chet. "I knew something like that would happen. He +slipped on the rocks."</p> + +<p>Frank, however, was already slipping and stumbling back down the path +toward the beach.</p> + +<p>"There's still a chance," he shouted to the others. "He may be alive +yet. If we hurry we may be able to get him out of the water before he +drowns. The tide's coming in, so he may be washed ashore."</p> + +<p>It was a slim chance, he knew. Captain Royal had fallen from a great +height and perhaps the impact of his collision with the water had +rendered him unconscious. From the path, the boys could not see where +the old man had struck the water, so they could not know if he had +come to the surface as yet.</p> + +<p>The boys scrambled down the path, almost risking their necks in the +pellmell descent. Rocks and pebbles went skittering before them as they +plunged toward the beach.</p> + +<p>All their resentment against Captain Royal because he had hurled the +rock at them and because he had threatened them, had vanished in their +concern for his safety. They realized that he was not responsible for +his actions and that his eccentricities were the fruits of a disordered +mind. They had done their best to save him from going over the cliff. +This was some consolation. But the very thought of such a horrible +death made them shudder.</p> + +<p>"He'll be battered to pieces on the rocks!" panted Joe.</p> + +<p>"If we get there in time we may be able to save him," returned Frank. +"Of course, it's ten chances to one that he was killed by the fall."</p> + +<p>They reached the rocks of the shore at last, Frank and Joe in front, +Chet and Biff stumbling breathlessly along behind. The boys raced down +the beach toward the base of the cliff from which Captain Royal had +fallen. It was invisible to them from where they were, but as they +skirted a ledge of rock they saw the steep wall of the precipice.</p> + +<p>It descended to a raging foam of angry waters, where the surf beat +among the black pinnacles of rock projecting from the sea at the base +of the cliff.</p> + +<p>"He hasn't a chance in the world," declared Chet, when he viewed the +gloomy scene.</p> + +<p>Fog hung over the shore, and through it loomed the black cliff and the +cruel rocks. They could see no sign of Captain Royal in the waves.</p> + +<p>However, the boys hastened on toward the base of the cliff, approaching +as near as they dared. Frank scanned the water in vain for a glimpse of +a bobbing figure being cast in toward the shore.</p> + +<p>"He wouldn't live ten seconds in that sea!" declared Biff, with +conviction.</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid you're right, Biff," replied Frank sadly. "I guess we'll +never see the poor old chap again."</p> + +<p>"Pretty tough," said Chet. "After all, he didn't know what he was +doing. He was just crazy. He should have been somewhere in a place +where his friends could look after him."</p> + +<p>"And now," put in Joe, "we'll probably never know if he was Todham Todd +or not."</p> + +<p>Chet looked up, interested.</p> + +<p>"What's that?" he asked.</p> + +<p>But before Joe could explain further, Frank gave a shout of excitement.</p> + +<p>"I see him! Look!"</p> + +<p>He pointed toward the black rocks at the base of the cliff. There, in +the midst of the tossing waves, they had a momentary glimpse of a limp +figure, an upturned face among the dark waters. There was no doubt that +this was Captain Royal, but whether he was alive or dead they could not +tell.</p> + +<p>A gigantic wave picked up the body and hurled it toward the dark rocks +again. Somehow, the limp form was thrown clear, otherwise it would +have been battered to pieces, and it tumbled into a quiet pool beyond +the jagged pinnacles. There the body lay, face upward, arms flung +helplessly out.</p> + +<p>"We've got to get him out of that," declared Frank, taking off his coat.</p> + +<p>"How can we?"</p> + +<p>"You'll be smashed to pieces against the rocks!" exclaimed Biff.</p> + +<p>"I'm going to risk it anyway."</p> + +<p>"You'd better wait for low tide."</p> + +<p>"Too late then."</p> + +<p>"Frank, don't be foolish!" cried Joe, in alarm. "You'll never be able +to make it."</p> + +<p>But Frank was obdurate.</p> + +<p>"I can reach him if I'm careful," he said. "Perhaps he isn't dead. He +may be only stunned and unconscious. If we leave him there he will be +killed."</p> + +<p>"But if he's dead already there's no sense in your risking your life."</p> + +<p>"But he may not be dead. I'm going to try it, anyway."</p> + +<p>Without another word, Frank handed his coat to Chet and then made his +way along the rocks at the base of the cliff. For a few yards his +progress was uneventful, but as he reached the deep water and the great +waves pounded against him he was obliged to exert all his strength to +breast the angry surf.</p> + +<p>Once he was knocked off his feet and the watchers had a glimpse of his +head and outflung arms in a smother of foam, then he disappeared from +sight. A moment later, however, they saw him emerge, dripping, beside a +rock that jutted out of the water and pull himself up to safety.</p> + +<p>He still had a perilous journey before he could reach the limp form at +the base of the rocky wall. He rested for a moment, with waves breaking +over him as he clung to the rock. Then the watching boys saw him slip +down into the water again and flounder on.</p> + +<p>"He'll be battered to pieces!" exclaimed Biff.</p> + +<p>"I wouldn't give a nickel for his chances, myself," said Chet.</p> + +<p>Joe shook his head.</p> + +<p>"He may get there all right, but if he tries to bring Captain Royal's +body back with him, he hasn't a Chinaman's chance."</p> + +<p>Frank was now but a few yards away from the shallow pool where the old +man lay. He vanished for a moment, emerged from the waves, staggered a +few paces, then a huge roller swept over him and sent him against the +side of the cliff. But he was evidently unhurt, for the others saw him +wave toward them. Then he plunged along the base of the wall, flattened +himself against the cliff as another wave rolled down upon him, and +then splashed into the little pool.</p> + +<p>"He made it!"</p> + +<p>"Yes. But can he get back?"</p> + +<p>Frank was bending over the body of Captain Royal. The other boys saw +him straighten up suddenly and wave to them. He shouted something but +the roar of the waves drowned his voice.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he's trying to tell us the captain is alive," suggested Joe.</p> + +<p>They saw Frank tugging at the limp form, trying to get a convenient +grip on Captain Royal's body.</p> + +<p>"He's too heavy for Frank. It's hard enough for one person to get back +through those waves alone, without dragging some one else along."</p> + +<p>But evidently Frank was going to try it.</p> + +<p>Going to the pool, his danger had been that a wave would pick him up +and dash him to pieces against the rocks. Returning, his danger was +that he would be unable to pit his strength against the force of the +waves at all, that he would become exhausted before he reached the open +shore again.</p> + +<p>He had hoisted Captain Royal's body up until the old man's arms were +over his shoulders, and he gripped the wrists over his chest. The body +was thus across his back.</p> + +<p>Head down, Frank plunged forward out of the sheltered pool, directly +into the waves.</p> + +<p>The first breaker smashed against him with terrific force. He lost his +balance, staggered and fell. The watchers groaned. They saw the two +figures in the foam, saw that Frank had lost his grip on Captain Royal.</p> + +<p>But Frank managed to get to his feet. Then he reached out and seized +the captain by the back of the shirt. He was not beaten yet.</p> + +<p>He dragged the unconscious form into the very heart of the raging +waves, where they surged against the sharp rocks. Each time a mighty +roller came toward them, its crest tipped with foam, he lowered his +head and set himself for the shock. So, inch by inch, he forged his way +forward until he was among the rocks.</p> + +<p>Here his danger was at its worst.</p> + +<p>The water was not deep but a misstep would have grave consequences for +if he once fell the waves would batter him against the rocks and his +chances of regaining a foothold would be slim.</p> + +<p>He rested a while in the shelter of the largest rock, waited until a +huge wave went by with a crashing roar, then, as the water receded, +plunged on again. Once he seemed to stagger, but he kept his balance, +somehow, and clung to another rock.</p> + +<p>Another wave came rolling in. Frank lowered his head and waited for it.</p> + +<p>Crash!</p> + +<p>It broke over him in a cloud of flying spray. He was completely hidden +for a moment, and the watchers on the beach were breathless with +suspense.</p> + +<p>Then, through the mist, they saw that he was still clinging to the rock.</p> + +<p>Frank was almost exhausted now. His burden, a dead weight, was very +heavy. The beach seemed very far away. There were more rocks to pass. +He rested for a short while, then plunged on.</p> + +<p>By a miracle, he kept his footing among the treacherous rocks, and by +good judgment he managed to get set in time to resist the shock of the +breaking waves. At last he felt the sand beneath his feet.</p> + +<p>He had only a short distance to go now, but his knees gave way beneath +him. He stumbled and fell. He lost his grip on the body of Captain +Royal. A great wave broke over them.</p> + +<p>But Joe and Chet and Biff were already wading toward them. In a moment, +Frank felt strong hands seizing him. Half-conscious, he was dragged out +of the water onto the sands.</p> + +<p>"Captain Royal!" he stammered. "Get him! He's all right!"</p> + +<p>"Chet is bringing him in," said Joe assuringly.</p> + +<p>"He's unconscious," gasped Frank, "but he's alive."</p> + +<p>Then he collapsed, gasping and exhausted, on the sand. Chet came up, +carrying the limp body of Captain Royal.</p> + +<p>"He's breathing!" declared Chet excitedly. "Frank saved him."</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2"><span class="smcap">Back to Bayport</span></p> + + +<p>Captain Royal was unconscious, but he was still breathing. There was a +bad cut on his head and it had bled profusely.</p> + +<p>"We'd better get him to a doctor right away!" said Joe.</p> + +<p>"I don't think he's been badly hurt." Chet began feeling the +unconscious man's ribs. "There are no bones broken, at any rate. He hit +his head against a rock, I guess."</p> + +<p>"The blow on the head knocked him cold," Biff remarked.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps he's got concussion of the brain."</p> + +<p>"In that case, he needs a doctor," Joe said.</p> + +<p>"How about Frank?"</p> + +<p>But Frank was already sitting up.</p> + +<p>"I'm all right," he told them. "I'm just about all in, but I'll be as +right as rain in a few minutes. Whew, those waves sure battered me +about, I'll tell the world!"</p> + +<p>"We never expected to see you come back alive," Chet told him.</p> + +<p>"It was pretty bad coming back," Frank admitted. "The captain is +heavier than he looks!"</p> + +<p>"He's still alive, at any rate."</p> + +<p>"Isn't he conscious yet?"</p> + +<p>"Not a bit of it. He's breathing, but he's still dead to the world, and +there's no sign that he's coming to."</p> + +<p>"Well, we've got to get him to a doctor, that's all," declared Frank +decisively.</p> + +<p>He got to his feet, exhausted though he was.</p> + +<p>"Do you mean that we'll carry him back to the road?" asked Joe.</p> + +<p>"We'll take him right back to Bayport. That's where the nearest +hospital is that we know anything about." Frank looked down at the +unconscious man. "He's in bad shape. If he were just stunned, he'd be +awake by now. Chances are, his skull is fractured. That's a bad cut."</p> + +<p>The boys looked down at the unconscious Captain Royal, sprawled limply +on the sand.</p> + +<p>"It's a long haul," demurred Biff.</p> + +<p>"We can't leave him here. We can't do anything for him ourselves, you +know that."</p> + +<p>"You're right." Biff bent over and grasped the unconscious man's feet. +"Give me a hand with him, some one."</p> + +<p>Chet and Joe helped him. They raised Captain Royal from the ground and +began carrying him up the beach. Frank went on ahead, still weak from +the effects of his grueling ordeal in rescuing the eccentric old man +from the sea.</p> + +<p>Captain Royal showed no signs of returning consciousness. He was a dead +weight as the boys carried him on past his own cave, past the place +where Carl Schaum had been hiding, past the boys' cave. There the lads +rested, before undertaking the hard climb up the path to the top of the +cliff.</p> + +<p>They tried all the first aid measures they had ever heard of, but +Captain Royal still remained unconscious. The cut on his head was not +bleeding any more; his breathing was heavy, and the lads saw that it +was no ordinary case of being rendered senseless by a blow on the head.</p> + +<p>"A doctor is the only thing," declared Frank. "His lungs are clear of +water, so he's all right in that respect. He must have struck his head +when he was washed in among those rocks."</p> + +<p>"Well, let's get busy then," said Biff, who was no laggard. "We had +better get him to the hospital as quickly as we can."</p> + +<p>They took turns carrying Captain Royal up the path that led to the top +of the cliff. It was an arduous climb, and it was late in the afternoon +before they finally reached the rocks above. Then they rested once more +before starting the journey to the fisherman's cottage.</p> + +<p>"Thank goodness, he has a car," said Joe. "He'll help us take him in to +the city. We would never be able to carry him on the motorcycles."</p> + +<p>"A queer end to our exploration trip," grunted Chet.</p> + +<p>Puffing and panting, they carried the unconscious man on over the rocks +until they came to the path leading down to the fisherman's cottage. +There they rested again.</p> + +<p>Finally, after a halting descent, they came to the cottage. Their +friend, the fisherman, was fortunately at home. Accompanied by his +wife, he came running out when the boys appeared in sight with their +burden.</p> + +<p>"First it's a prisoner and now it's a sick man!" he exclaimed, as he +drew near. "I declare, you chaps seem to scare up more excitement than +anybody that ever came to Honeycomb Caves."</p> + +<p>"This is an old man who was living in one of the caves," explained +Frank. "He fell off a cliff and hurt himself. Do you think you could +help us get him to a doctor?"</p> + +<p>The fisherman glanced inquiringly at his wife.</p> + +<p>"Go ahead, John," she said. "You wouldn't let the poor man die, would +you?"</p> + +<p>"I wondered if you'd mind bein' left alone."</p> + +<p>"Go on. I'm not a baby. Drive the poor fellow out to a doctor. It's +easy to be seen he needs attention."</p> + +<p>The fisherman quickly brought out his car and they carefully put +Captain Royal in the back seat. The boys brought out their motorcycles +and, with Biff riding in company of the fisherman, the little party set +out for the main road.</p> + +<p>"I don't know whether we can find a doctor at the village or not," said +the fisherman. "If we can't, there's nothing for it but to drive on +into Bayport."</p> + +<p>"We'll fix the expenses," Frank assured him.</p> + +<p>"That's all right. I don't want any money for my trouble. The poor +old chap seems to have got a terrible wallop on the head. How did it +happen?"</p> + +<p>"He fell off a cliff."</p> + +<p>"Did it have anything to do with the fellow you brought out this +morning?" asked the fisherman shrewdly.</p> + +<p>"No. Nothing to do with him."</p> + +<p>They reached the main road and drove on toward the village. There they +found that the one and only doctor had been called out on a case and +would not be back until the following morning.</p> + +<p>"Bayport it is, then," said Joe.</p> + +<p>It was plain that the fisherman did not relish the idea of the long +trip to Bayport. It was equally plain that he felt it his duty to +bring the unconscious man to a doctor. On the other hand, the chums +did not like the idea of using his battered car, not only because of +the trouble it would give the fisherman but because the car would not +go more than thirty or thirty-five miles an hour. The motorcycles were +invariably far ahead.</p> + +<p>The difficulty was soon solved, however. A heavy touring car pulled up +in front of the village general store and when the driver stepped out +the Hardy boys gave a cry of delight.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Jacobson!" exclaimed Frank.</p> + +<p>"Why, hello there, Frank Hardy!" said the man. "What brings you away +out here? Hello, Joe. And who have you with you? Chet and Biff, or I'm +a Dutchman. What's up now?"</p> + +<p>The man was a Bayport merchant, a close friend of Fenton Hardy.</p> + +<p>Swiftly, the boys explained the situation to him. Jacobson soon +realized the importance of the matter, and readily consented to take +Captain Royal to Bayport with him.</p> + +<p>"Absolutely!" he said. "It's no trouble to me. I was going to Bayport, +anyway, and it won't hurt if I put on a little extra speed. How about +you chaps?"</p> + +<p>"Joe and Chet and I have our motorcycles," said Frank. "Biff will go +with you, and look after the captain."</p> + +<p>"Righto! We'll make it in good time, I fancy."</p> + +<p>The Hardy boys and their chums thereupon thanked the fisherman for his +trouble. He seemed relieved that he was not called on to make the long +journey into Bayport.</p> + +<p>"Write and let me know how the old gentleman gets along," he requested +before he left the boys. "I hope he recovers all right."</p> + +<p>The boys promised that they would do so. Then the Hardy boys and Chet +mounted their motorcycles, Biff got into the automobile with Mr. +Jacobson to look after Captain Royal in the back seat, and they started +off.</p> + +<p>Frank and Joe often talked of that wild ride back to the city. +Jacobson's car was big and powerful and he wasted no time on the road. +They realized that the matter was urgent and that it was necessary for +Captain Royal to receive medical attention as soon as possible, so they +paid little attention to the speed laws. The big car roared along the +Shore Road, and the motorcycles clattered on behind.</p> + +<p>"We should be there by midnight, at this rate," grunted Joe, as they +sped around a curve.</p> + +<p>"We're going back a lot quicker than we left," replied his brother.</p> + +<p>At length they came within sight of the twinkling lights of Bayport. +The roar of the big automobile did not diminish. At breakneck speed +they clattered into the city limits.</p> + +<p>In the back seat of the car, Biff turned frequently to look at the +unconscious form beside him. To his relief, Captain Royal was still +breathing.</p> + +<p>"I think the old chap will pull through all right," he said to himself.</p> + +<p>Up a dark, quiet street sped the car, then came to a stop before +a massive stone house with a neat gilt plate beside the door. The +motorcycles roared up and the boys dismounted.</p> + +<p>"We'll take him in and let the doctor have a look at him," said Mr. +Jacobson. "If he is in bad shape, the doc will put him in his own +private hospital. He'll get the best of care here."</p> + +<p>Carefully, they carried Captain Royal up the steps. Their ring was +answered by a servant, and they took the old man into a waiting room. +The doctor, who had been in bed, soon came downstairs in pyjamas and +dressing gown.</p> + +<p>"An accident case, Doctor," explained Frank. "This old man fell off a +cliff into the sea and he's been unconscious for eight or nine hours."</p> + +<p>The doctor made a swift examination. His frown deepened as he inspected +the cut on Captain Royal's temple.</p> + +<p>"Queer!" he said. "It isn't a very bad cut, and there seems to be no +sign of a fracture. It looks like concussion of the brain, to me, but +he doesn't appear to have had a very hard blow."</p> + +<p>"The waves washed him up against the rocks," said Joe.</p> + +<p>The doctor shook his head.</p> + +<p>"He seems in a bad way. Eight hours, you said?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"I'll have to give him a more detailed examination. I'll admit him as a +patient to my own hospital if you people will be responsible for him."</p> + +<p>"That's all right, Doctor. Do what you can for him and send the bill to +us," said Frank promptly.</p> + +<p>The doctor rang a bell. An attendant appeared, wheeling a long, white +table. Captain Royal was placed upon it and wheeled away.</p> + +<p>"I'll let you know in the morning," promised the doctor. "Frankly, +I don't mind telling you he's in bad shape. He may never regain +consciousness again."</p> + +<p>The boys were sobered by the thought that Captain Royal, for all his +eccentricities, might be dying as a result of his wild dash over the +rocks. Slowly they filed out into the street, bade good-bye to Mr. +Jacobson and thanked him for his assistance, then went home. As Chet +Morton lived out in the country, the Hardy boys invited him to spend +the rest of the night with them. He accepted the invitation gladly, for +the prospect of a long trip out of the city had not appealed to him. +Biff Hooper, who lived near by, went to his own home.</p> + +<p>The house was in darkness when they arrived, so the Hardy boys and Chet +quietly parked their motorcycles, slipped up the back stairs and were +soon in bed. They were so tired after their adventures of the day that +in spite of the temptation to discuss matters, sleep soon overcame +them.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2"><span class="smcap">At the Hospital</span></p> + + +<p>Next morning, refreshed by their sleep, Frank, Joe and Chet were +downstairs early, but not earlier than Fenton Hardy, who was already +busy in his office clearing up some work before breakfast. He welcomed +them cheerily.</p> + +<p>"Back so soon!" he exclaimed. "I thought this trip would keep you away +at least a week. What's the matter? Did you get frightened by the sea +serpent?"</p> + +<p>"We didn't get frightened, Dad. We had to come back with a man who got +hurt."</p> + +<p>"Oh." Fenton Hardy's expression changed to one of concern. "Who is he?"</p> + +<p>"We think he's Todham Todd."</p> + +<p>"Todham Todd!" exclaimed the detective. "Are you sure?"</p> + +<p>"We're not sure. But we have an idea that's who he is. And he may be a +murderer too."</p> + +<p>Mr. Hardy motioned the three boys to chairs. "Sit down and tell me all +about it. A murderer! That sounds bad."</p> + +<p>With Frank as spokesman, and Chet and Joe prompting him once in a +while, they told Mr. Hardy about their meeting with Captain Royal, +about the eccentric behavior of the old man and of his actions +on finding the brothers looking over the clippings in the cave, +culminating in his fall from the cliff.</p> + +<p>"And he's at the private hospital now," concluded Frank.</p> + +<p>"Well," said Mr. Hardy, "we'll have breakfast now and then we can soon +settle the matter once and for all. Evangeline Todd is staying at the +summer hotel and we can ask her to come over to the hospital and have a +look at this Captain Royal."</p> + +<p>"Do you think he can be this Lieutenant Patwick, Dad?" asked Joe.</p> + +<p>"Possibly. If so, the crime may have turned his mind. Such things have +happened."</p> + +<p>"Well, if he's Patwick then we'll have cleared up something anyway," +remarked Frank.</p> + +<p>Breakfast was announced a few minutes later, and after the Hardy boys +had been warmly greeted by their mother they sat down to fruit, bacon +and eggs, toast and coffee and jam, to which they did full justice. +They were anxious, however, to call on Miss Todd.</p> + +<p>Mr. Hardy called up the private hospital and inquired about Captain +Royal. He came back, his face serious.</p> + +<p>"The old chap is still unconscious. The doctor seems to think he has +only a slim chance."</p> + +<p>"It will be tough if he turns out to be Todham Todd after all," said +Joe. "Too bad if we've found him, only to have him die."</p> + +<p>"Everything may turn out all right," said Mr. Hardy. "Of course he may +not be Todham Todd. You have only your suspicions to go on, although I +must say it's very strange that the old man should have had all those +lecture clippings in the cave. I've been thinking that Todham Todd may +have lost his memory and forgotten his identity. He may have had a dim +recollection of once having been a lecturer of some kind so he took to +collecting all the newspaper stories he could, in an effort to awaken +his memory again."</p> + +<p>"I'll bet you're right!" exclaimed Chet. "That sounds mighty reasonable +to me."</p> + +<p>"It's just a theory. Still, it may be true. We'll call on Miss Todd."</p> + +<p>They left the house and went on down to the hotel at which Miss +Evangeline Todd was staying. She had just concluded her breakfast when +they arrived.</p> + +<p>"Have you any news?" she asked quickly, when she recognized her +visitors.</p> + +<p>"We have news, of a sort," admitted Fenton Hardy.</p> + +<p>"Tell me. What is it? Has Todham been found? Is he well?" Miss Todd +sank back in a chair and fanned herself with a magazine. "Don't keep me +in suspense."</p> + +<p>"We have found a man who may or may not be your brother."</p> + +<p>"Where is he?" demanded Miss Todd, getting up quickly. "Take me to him +at once?"</p> + +<p>Mr. Hardy laid a restraining hand upon her arm.</p> + +<p>"Don't count on this too much, Miss Todd," he advised. "This man may +not be your brother at all. As a matter of fact, we have nothing +definite to go on, but we'd like to have you come with us and identify +him if you can."</p> + +<p>"Identify him? Is he dead?"</p> + +<p>"No. But he's in a local hospital."</p> + +<p>"Todham in a hospital? Where? I must go to him at once."</p> + +<p>"Now, as I've already said, we're not at all certain that this man is +your brother. If you will come with us we will show you this man and +you will be able to see for yourself if he is your brother or not."</p> + +<p>"Just a minute, until I put on my hat. I'll go with you right away. My +goodness, if it's really Todham—"</p> + +<p>Talking to herself in her excitement, Miss Todd bustled away upstairs +and returned in a few minutes, her hat awry.</p> + +<p>"Hurry!" she said. "Where is the hospital? We'll take a taxi and get +there more quickly."</p> + +<p>Fenton Hardy smiled sympathetically. Miss Todd was tremendously +agitated at the prospect of again seeing her long-lost brother. The +hospital was less than three blocks away, so they did not hail a taxi +after all, but walked the short distance, and in a little while they +found themselves in the doctor's waiting room.</p> + +<p>A uniformed nurse entered.</p> + +<p>"You want to see the patient called Captain Royal?"</p> + +<p>"If you please."</p> + +<p>"The doctor is with him now, but he says you may go up. I will show you +to his room."</p> + +<p>"Captain Royal!" exclaimed Evangeline Todd. "That isn't his name! I +thought you said he might be my brother."</p> + +<p>"That is the name he has been using," explained Frank. "How is he this +morning, nurse?"</p> + +<p>"There isn't much change in his condition. The doctor says it is a +strange case. But, I'm afraid—"</p> + +<p>"Isn't he going to live?" asked Miss Todd sharply.</p> + +<p>Fenton Hardy soothed her anxiety.</p> + +<p>"Now, Miss Todd, try to calm yourself. We must be very quiet, you know. +This man is very, very sick."</p> + +<p>The lady heeded his advice. During the rest of their journey down the +long corridor she talked only in whispers. At length they reached the +door of a private room. The nurse knocked. The boys heard the doctor's +voice, saying, "Come!"</p> + +<p>The nurse held open the door and they entered a spacious private room, +spotlessly clean and well-lighted. Lying on the bed was Captain Royal, +with a white bandage around his head.</p> + +<p>Evangeline Todd looked at the man wildly, then rushed to the bedside.</p> + +<p>"My brother!" she cried. "It's my brother, Todham!"</p> + +<p>She leaned over the unconscious figure.</p> + +<p>"Speak to me, Todham! Speak to me! Don't you recognize me? It's you're +sister. I've hunted everywhere for you, and now I've found you at last."</p> + +<p>Then, overcome with emotion, she sank beside the bed and burst into +tears.</p> + +<p>"It's the missing professor, after all!" exclaimed Chet, in awe.</p> + +<p>The Hardy boys, while they had expected that Evangeline Todd would +identify Captain Royal as her brother, were electrified with delight.</p> + +<p>"We were right!" said Frank, "He was Todham Todd all along."</p> + +<p>Mr. Hardy and the doctor tried to calm the weeping woman, who was +almost hysterical with relief, now that her long search was ended.</p> + +<p>"It's Todham!" she said, over and over again. "It's my brother. I would +know him anywhere."</p> + +<p>But the man in the bed knew nothing of what was going on. His eyes were +closed. His face was white and calm. Had it not been for an occasional +slight twitching of the nostrils one might have thought that he was +dead.</p> + +<p>The doctor, who knew nothing of the reason for Miss Todd's outburst, +was astonished, but in a few words Fenton Hardy explained the situation +to him. He shook his head sadly.</p> + +<p>"And this is where she has found her brother, at last?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. He has been missing for months."</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid," said the doctor, "that she has found him only to lose +him."</p> + +<p>"Is it that serious?"</p> + +<p>"It's concussion of the brain, and there seem to have been +complications. He has only a slim chance to live."</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV</h2> +</div> + +<p class="ph2"><span class="smcap">The Last of Captain Royal</span></p> + + +<p>Todham Todd hovered between life and death for almost two weeks. For +days he lay unconscious, knowing nothing of the efforts that were being +made to save him. He had the best of care, and the doctor gave him +every attention, but admitted that the case was one in which he could +do little.</p> + +<p>"We simply have to wait," he told the Hardy boys and Miss Todd. "He may +be restored to consciousness at any moment. On the other hand, he may +die just as quickly. He has a good constitution, so we may at least +hope for the best."</p> + +<p>They were anxious days. Every morning, the Hardy boys called at the +hospital to inquire about the strange patient, and every morning the +answer was the same.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Todd's condition is unchanged."</p> + +<p>One morning Fenton Hardy came to his sons with a newspaper in his hand. +He was smiling broadly.</p> + +<p>"I think the mystery is explained," he said. "Read this."</p> + +<p>In the newspaper was an account of the capture of Lieutenant Patwick. +The man had been shot down on the seacoast by detectives. Thinking he +was going to die, he had admitted the murder of Barton Bixby. He also +spoke of hiding in a cave with a strange old man, a lunatic.</p> + +<p>"Todham Todd," murmured Frank.</p> + +<p>"That makes everything as clear as day," added Joe.</p> + +<p>"He must have left his clippings with Captain Royal," said Mr. Hardy. +"Murderers usually like to read all that is printed about their crimes."</p> + +<p>The boys told Evangeline Todd the entire story of their meeting with +Captain Royal, although in deference to the good lady's feelings they +refrained from mentioning the fight in the cave or the incident of the +shotgun. How Todham Todd had found his way down to the coast and what +had prompted him to call himself Captain Royal and take up his hermit +existence in the cave, were mysteries.</p> + +<p>"If he recovers, he may remember nothing about that phase," the doctor +had said. "You may use your own judgment whether to tell him of it or +not."</p> + +<p>"We shan't tell him," declared Evangeline Todd decisively. "Let him +take up the threads of his old life anew."</p> + +<p>Then her face clouded.</p> + +<p>"That is—if he recovers," she added, with a catch in her voice.</p> + +<p>There came a morning when the nurse in charge saw the eyelids of the +sick man flutter, and then he spoke.</p> + +<p>"Where am I?" he asked, in a puzzled tone.</p> + +<p>"You are quite safe," the nurse told him. "You have met with an +accident. You are in the hospital."</p> + +<p>"Ah, yes," he said. "I remember now. There was a railroad accident. +Something must have struck me on the head. I can remember a sudden +blow, and that is all."</p> + +<p>"You have been unconscious for a long time, Captain. You must be quiet."</p> + +<p>"Captain?" he said. "I'm not a captain. My name is Todd. My name is +Todham Todd. I'm a professor at the university."</p> + +<p>The doctor was called. He questioned the patient carefully and it +was soon evident that Todham Todd had recovered his memory with the +exception of the time following the first accident that had resulted +in amnesia. From that time, everything was a blank. He knew nothing of +his wanderings, knew nothing of what had happened in the caves, knew +nothing of the accident that had restored his memory again.</p> + +<p>"He will live," the doctor told Evangeline Todd a short time later. +"His memory is completely restored. Unless complications set in, he +should be able to leave the hospital within a few days."</p> + +<p>The doctor's prediction was correct.</p> + +<p>Todham Todd, completely restored in memory, was able to leave the +hospital before the week was out. The reunion between the man and his +sister was an affectionate one. The professor had not the slightest +inkling of all the strange events that had transpired from the time of +the first accident until he woke up in the hospital at Bayport. He was +deeply puzzled when he learned where he was, but the doctor covered up +his bewilderment by explaining that his case had been so unusual that +he had been brought there for special treatment when the doctors of his +home city had failed to bring him back to consciousness.</p> + +<p>He was introduced to the Hardy boys by Miss Todd, who was pathetically +grateful to the lads for restoring her brother to her, safe and sound +again. But there was no sign of recognition. Seeing the boys struck no +responsive chord in Professor Todd's memory. He knew nothing of the +days when he had played at being Captain Royal. To all intents and +purposes, he was seeing the Hardy boys for the first time.</p> + +<p>They were content to let it remain at that and were careful to say +nothing that might indicate they had known him previously. And when +Todham Todd finally left the hospital and went to the hotel where his +sister was staying, to rest there a few days before going back home, +the Hardy boys were his firm friends.</p> + +<p>"We must never let him know," said Evangeline Todd to the boys that +evening.</p> + +<p>"You may rely on us, Miss Todd," they assured her.</p> + +<p>"I can't tell you how grateful I am," she said. "If you boys had not +been shrewd enough to think that Captain Royal might be Todham Todd +after all, things might not have turned out as they have. You might +not have concerned yourselves with him any more, and he might still be +living that wretched life in the caves. I want to reward your father +and yourselves for finding him."</p> + +<p>But Fenton Hardy had already expressed himself on the subject of the +reward.</p> + +<p>"I want nothing," he said. "You have already paid any expenses I +incurred in trying to trace Mr. Todd. As for finding him, the credit +belongs to the boys."</p> + +<p>But the Hardy boys were insistent in their refusal.</p> + +<p>"We're only too glad that we helped find him," they told Miss Todd. "We +couldn't accept a reward for what we did. In a way, it was chance that +threw him in our path."</p> + +<p>Although Miss Todd pleaded with them to alter their decision, they were +firm.</p> + +<p>"Our greatest reward is in seeing your brother with you again, with his +memory restored," declared Frank. "We want nothing more than that."</p> + +<p>But Miss Todd expressed her appreciation in tangible form before she +left Bayport. She invited the Hardy boys and some of their chums, +Chet Morton, Biff Hooper, Phil Cohen, Tony Prito, Jack Dodd and Jerry +Gilroy, to a banquet at the hotel, and there the lads sat down to +a "spread" the like of which they had not seen before. There was +everything dear to the heart of a boy, from fried chicken, fluffy +mashed potatoes and sweet pickles, to ice-cream and five different +kinds of pie.</p> + +<p>Professor Todham Todd, white-haired, kindly-faced, looking quite +different from the wild-eyed Captain Royal of Honeycomb Caves, presided +at the banquet and made a little speech in which he thanked them all +for their interest in his welfare and their kindness to him. Although +he had no idea of the real part the Hardy boys and their chums had +played in his recovery, he had taken a genuine liking to them and it is +probable that he enjoyed the banquet as much as any one.</p> + +<p>When the lads had eaten of chicken and ice-cream until they could eat +no more, Miss Todd stood up and said she had an announcement to make.</p> + +<p>"You all know something of the circumstances under which we have +gathered here to-night. You all know the debt of gratitude I owe to the +Hardy boys, in particular, and to Chet Morton and Biff Hooper. So if +they will stand up, I have something for them."</p> + +<p>Blushing, the four lads got to their feet.</p> + +<p>"All I can say," continued Miss Todd, "is that my brother and I thank +you very, very much."</p> + +<p>Todham Todd looked a bit bewildered, but he smiled quite as though +he knew what it was all about. It was probable that the good man was +mildly puzzled until the end of his life as to the reason for the +presentations.</p> + +<p>For Miss Todd thereupon handed Frank and Joe an order for a handsome +motion picture camera, something they had long wished to own. To Chet +and Biff she gave each a gold watch and chain.</p> + +<p>"Speech! Speech!" shouted the other boys, as the recipients of the +gifts stammered their thanks.</p> + +<p>After considerable pressure, Frank was at last prevailed upon to say a +few words.</p> + +<p>"I'm not a very good orator," he said.</p> + +<p>"You're a better detective," shouted one of the lads at the table.</p> + +<p>"I'm not a very good orator," he repeated, "but I certainly want to +thank Miss Todd very much indeed, although we don't deserve such a +beautiful present. I'm sure we're going to have a lot of fun with it. +But we're mighty glad Professor Todd is better and—I guess that's all."</p> + +<p>There were loud cheers for this effort, and Frank sat down blushing.</p> + +<p>"Speech from Chet Morton!"</p> + +<p>"Say, listen—" protested the bashful Chet.</p> + +<p>But he was shoved to his feet.</p> + +<p>"Speech! Chet Morton's going to make a speech!"</p> + +<p>"Gosh, I can't say anything except that I thank Miss Todd very much and +I'm glad Professor Todd is well again and—and I wonder if there's to +be a second helping of ice-cream."</p> + +<p>There was.</p> + + +<p class="ph3">THE END</p> + +<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75310 ***</div> +</body> +</html> + diff --git a/75310-h/images/cover.jpg b/75310-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0cf0068 --- /dev/null +++ b/75310-h/images/cover.jpg diff --git a/75310-h/images/illus.jpg b/75310-h/images/illus.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..906ce46 --- /dev/null +++ b/75310-h/images/illus.jpg diff --git a/75310-h/images/illusc.jpg b/75310-h/images/illusc.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..832f545 --- /dev/null +++ b/75310-h/images/illusc.jpg diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. 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