"Well, what about him? Where is he?"
"We don"t know; we can"t find him. Did you hear him cry out?"
"Yes; and we came as quickly as we could. He must be in the lodge."
"No," said Pod, firmly; "he isn"t. We"ve searched it from top to bottom."
"Well, you searched too hurriedly then. Come, Tom; let"s see if we can find the meaning of all this."
"Surely; he"s bound to be here. Let"s go into the bas.e.m.e.nt first."
"All right. Are the lights on below, Hoki?"
"Yes, sirs; all on," was the j.a.p"s reply. "We find them on when we return to lodge."
"You found them on?" Chot exclaimed.
"Yes, sirs."
"Shows, then, that Bert went below. Come on, Tom. You other fellows can come or not, as you chose."
"No, no," said Hoki, with a shudder. "I not care to go-I know-I know!
You go, sirs; Hoki stay behind."
The boys exchanged glances. The j.a.p was visibly frightened, and it occurred to Chot and Tom that perhaps he knew more about Winnsocket Lodge than he cared to tell.
"I"ll go with you," said Pod.
"Well, you stay with Hoki, Fleet," said Chot, winking significantly, and the fleshy lad nodded. He knew that wink; it meant, "And watch him, too."
It was as Hoki had said; the lights were all on in the bas.e.m.e.nt. They were controlled by a little b.u.t.ton at the head of the bas.e.m.e.nt stairs, and Bert, if he had rushed suddenly below, could easily have turned it.
Either this was what had happened, or it had been turned on by other parties before Bert entered the lodge.
The boys could not prevent a creepy sensation from possessing them, as they moved slowly down the stairs into the big cellar. A breath of cool air met their nostrils as they reached the foot of the steps and glanced about them.
"Bert-oh, Bert!" Chot called. His voice echoed and re-echoed through the place, but there was no response.
"That strange," said Tom.
They explored the cellar from one end to the other, but no trace of their missing chum was found. They searched diligently for a secret door, though where it could possibly have led had they found it, they could not imagine.
"Well, there"s no use staying down here any longer," said Chot. "Bert has disappeared, that"s all, and, very likely, of his own free will."
"I don"t know about that," said Pod, with a dubious shake of the head.
"Well, I don"t see what could have happened to him," said Tom.
"There"s no way to tell what has happened unless we can first decide just why he cried out, then dashed so hurriedly inside," said Chot. "He was excited-that we know-and the most natural surmise is that he heard someone rummaging about the bas.e.m.e.nt."
They returned to the first floor of the lodge, and found Fleet and Hoki eagerly awaiting them. From the expression on Fleet"s face they knew that nothing unusual had happened while they were below.
The top story was then gone over, with the same result. Either through his own volition or by some means which the Comrades were unable at present to fathom, Bert Creighton had mysteriously disappeared.
"I knew you wouldn"t find him," said Fleet. "He"s just gone-that"s all-vanished into thin air. I don"t know what we"ll ever say to his folks."
"Oh, shut up with that sort of chatter," said Chot, severely. "You make me tired! Nothing serious has happened to Bert."
"Then where is he?" demanded Fleet, his voice quivering with suppressed excitement.
"That"s what we"ll have to find out. We can"t do it in a minute; we"ve no Sherlock Holmes among us. This much I know, though: No matter how unnatural this may seem, it has happened in a perfectly natural manner, and we"ll find a way to solve it."
"Well, you"ve more confidence in your solving abilities than I have,"
said Fleet.
"You"re scared-that"s what"s the matter with you."
"I"m not!"
"Oh, very well; deny it, if you want, but we"ll draw our own conclusions, just the same."
Fleet subsided at this, and the boys seated themselves on the verandah to await lunch which Hoki said he would prepare at once.
The mystery of the lodge did not interfere with their appet.i.tes, and they continued to discuss Bert"s disappearance as they ate. They tried to make some connection between the noises in the night, Mr. Lawrence"s departure in the motor-boat, and the disappearance of their chum, but, try as they might, they could form no plausible connection.
They decided to leave the lodge no more until the mystery was solved, so they hung around all the afternoon, half-expecting Bert to make his appearance and explain away the things that perplexed them. But supper-time came, and no Bert.
At six they ate again, Hoki preparing a meal fit for a king. They were living off the fat of the land, so to speak, and had Bert been with them, they would have been perfectly happy.
After dinner they sat on the verandah and watched it grow dark-not without a feeling of dread, though, it must be admitted. All sorts of things might happen in the lodge under cover of darkness. They knew not what to be prepared for, but something seemed to tell them that above all places, the bas.e.m.e.nt was the one spot to keep their eyes on.
"Hoki," said Chot, suddenly, when the j.a.p had finished the kitchen work and joined them on the verandah, "are there any guns about the place?"
"Oh, yes, sirs; as many as six, sirs. Would you have them delivered?"
"Where are they kept?"
"In my master"s private chamber, if you please, sirs."
"Then lead the way to them, Hoki. Come, Tom! The rest of you stay here till we return."
They followed the j.a.p into the lodge, and, true to his word, Hoki found a case containing six revolvers in Mr. Lawrence"s apartment.
The boys appropriated them all, loading them carefully, and placed an extra supply of cartridges in their pockets. Tom and Chot took two revolvers each, dividing the other two with Fleet and Pod, together with cartridges and orders to keep the weapons handy for instant use.
The revolvers gave the boys a certain feeling of security that had been absent before, and they were just settling comfortably down on the verandah when they were startled by a voice from the river. Somewhere between Winnsocket Lodge and the island to the south a man or boy was in deep trouble. They could tell that from the mournful tones which reached them.
"Help, help!" said the voice. "Come quick! Help, help!"