"I don"t get this," he panted, hurrying along. "Skunks aren"t dangerous."
"That skunk smell is synthetic. It"s a new system they have of warning miners of danger.
With noisy drills the men can"t hear alarm bells. And with an individual light to work by, they might not notice the main ones being turned off and on."
"So they blow a skunk odor in. And n.o.body would miss that! Great Scott! Why didn"t I think of that!"" Joe scrambled madly down the pa.s.sage. "I wonder what they"re warning the men about."
Even as he spoke, they heard a dull thud somewhere back of them. Blasting! If Frank had not realized the significance of the artificial odor, they might have run right into death.
Even now they were not clear of the deadly peril. Another explosion might come at any moment, tumbling rocks and earth upon them.
"Quick!" gasped Frank.
They raced back toward the door that would lead them to safety. The tunnel narrowed.
Their flashlights shone on the two rocks that shielded the hidden door. Frank pulled on them.
They swung out, and the hinges creaked 193 dismally. Anxiously the boys rushed into the tiny pa.s.sage beyond. In another moment they would be in the safety of the underground laboratory.
They had closed the laboratory door behind them when they had left. But they had not been able to lock it for the padlock was on the inside. Frank thrust himself against the door.
"If we can only get out of Grable"s office without being seen------"
Then he uttered a cry of alarm. The door did not respond to his thrust. Frank pushed on it again. The barrier was rigid and unyielding.
"Jenkins must have locked it since we left!"
Gasping for breath, perspiration streaming down their faces, the Hardy boys leaned against the locked entrance. But they could not budge it.
"What"11 we do?" cried Joe.
Frank tried to think. In a moment he became less excited. "I believe the blasting is over.
We"ll go back and get out the other way."
As they went through the tunnel again, it seemed different. The skunk odor was less p.r.o.nounced, but the slight draft the boys had felt before was gone.
"Something is the matter!" said Joe.
He soon learned what it was. The blasting evidently had taken place near the entrance to the tunnel which led to Grable"s laboratory. Now that opening was completely blocked!
And the air was choked with dirt and smoke.
194 "Frank! "We"re trapped!" Joe cried, hurrying back out of the smoke and dust-filled area.
Frank followed. "Everybody has gone out of the mines," he said grimly. "And Grable and Jenkins have locked all their doors and gone. n.o.body knows we"re here, so there"ll be no search."
"My head is swimming now." Joe coughed.
"I feel dizzy myself," said Frank. "Oh, Joe, we mustn"t mustn"t go to sleep!" go to sleep!"
"Do you suppose some poison gas was released ^y ^y fbe blast!" Joe was gasping now. fbe blast!" Joe was gasping now.
"I"v ufrv2 so," replied Frank groggily.
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE HIDE-OUT.
"WE must get through, that door!" gasped Frank. "It"s our only chance!"
He thrust his shoulder against the barrier. The door shook. The ancient hinges creaked.
But it did not yield.
Joe stumbled forward. "" The rock!""
Together the boys picked up the top stone of the ones piled against the outer doorway, and heaved it. The barrier to Grable"s place seemed to give a little. Encouraged, the boys drew back, flinging the stone again and again. There was a sharp snap, followed by a clatter of broken metal.
"Once again!" gasped Frank.
This time the door crashed heavily inward. The impact had shattered the old padlock.
The boys rushed into the inner room and slammed the door shut behind them. Even in that musty chamber the air seemed fresh by comparison with the air in the tunnel they had just left. They sat down a few minutes until they felt better.
"Our robes and torch handles!" said Frank, dismayed.
"" They "re just outside,"" replied Joe, recalling that they had laid them down there the first time they had tried the door.
Quickly he retrieved them. Then, grasping the hooded gowns and torches, he and Frank scrambled up the stairs to Grable"s secret laboratory. They went on up the next flight into the office above.
All the lights were out. Frank tried the office door. It was locked. Joe peered outside.
The place seemed to be deserted.
"The coast is clear. Shall we make a run for it?"
"I think we ought to go right over to Wort-man"s and find out what"s doing there."
Frank pulled open the door. Instantly the raucous clang of the burglar alarm resounded noisily, raising bra.s.sy echoes from every part of the property. The Hardy boys sprang through the doorway, slammed the door behind them, and ran. They were not five yards from the office before they saw lights flashing in the Grable cottage and heard shouts.
Frank led the way, heading straight for the open fields. Once in the darkness there they felt safe from pursuit, but they ran until they were sure no one from the Grable place could see them. When they looked back, they noticed lights flashing here and there. Apparently the burglar alarm had aroused the whole establishment.
"I wish we could find Dad,""panted Frank. "There"s so much to tell him."
197 They stopped at the Trumper farmhouse to inquire for a message. The woman told them their father had telephoned, saying he and Mr. Cartwright were on their way to Wortman"s cottage.
"Maybe he"s there now," said Joe excitedly. "Come on, Frank."
As the boys made their way through the meadow, which they had to cross on their way to the Wortman place, it was strange to think of the mine workings lying far beneath them.
Apparently the villagers did not suspect that the long-forgotten tunnels were in use again.
Wortman and his gang had been clever in covering up their tracks, so that neither the mine operations nor the hiding of the stolen goods had aroused a hint of suspicion in the neighborhood.
"" To think that we "ve been living right across the way from that place and never realized what was going on!" whispered Joe, as they climbed the fence and reached the mysterious cottage.
The place was in darkness and seemed deserted. Then they saw a flash of light. It gleamed once. Then there was a pause and two quick flashes.
"A signal of some kind," Frank said quietly. "We"d better sneak up carefully or we"re likely to run into another trap."
Frank"s caution was well-founded. They kept to the shelter of the low bushes along the fence, and halted just before they reached the 198 yard. As they did so, they heard a door open. A man stepped out of the cottage.
A moment later a shadowy figure emerged from a clump of trees near the end of the lane. He was followed by another.
"That you, Jim?" said the man in front of the cottage door.
The Hardy boys recognized his voice. Hal Wortman!
"Yes, Charlie is with me," returned the hooded figure.
"Good," said Wortman. "I was hoping you"d see the signal."
"Anything gone wrong?" asked the second hooded figure.
"" Plenty,"" growled Wortman. "" Come inside and get your robes. I have an errand for you.""
He opened the door. The three went into the cottage.
The moment the door closed, the Hardy boys crept forward. They were sure they had not been observed. But hardly had they emerged from the shelter of the hedge than two figures rose quietly out of the darkness and sprang upon them. Frank felt a heavy jolt as he was thrown to the ground. His impulsive cry was stifled by a hand clapped over his mouth.
"Well," muttered a familiar voice, "I"ve got one of them!"
It was the voice of Fenton Hardy!
"And I have the other," hissed Detective Cartwright. "Let"s have a look at them."
199 The boys were hauled to their feet. Frank had a wild impulse to roar with laughter when he saw his father"s face peering at him in the gloom. But he knew enough not to do so.
"Why, it"s-I thought you you had left," exclaimed Fenton Hardy in astonishment. He released had left," exclaimed Fenton Hardy in astonishment. He released his son and turned to Cartwright. "Let them go!" he whispered.
In low tones Frank told of the brothers" recent findings. He held up the robe and the torch handle, telling of Grable"s mention of two o"clock.
"Something is going to happen sooner," said his father. "Get into that robe-quickly," he snapped. "Do each of you have one? Good! Now get back here in the shadows, and when those men come out again, do what I tell you. I collected a lot of damaging evidence this afternoon. ""
Hastily the Hardy boys scrambled into the robes, drew the hoods down over their heads.
Frank thought he understood his father"s plan. The boys hardly had disguised themselves before the cottage door opened. Wortman and two men came out, carrying their hooded cloaks.
"Now remember," their leader was saying, "the rest of the men aren"t to come here tonight under any circ.u.mstances. It"s your job to go to the cliff and warn them."
"Where"s the truck?" asked the one who had been addressed as Jim a few minutes earlier.
"It"s hidden by the lilac hedge on old lady 200 Trumper"s property. Now remember, when you go to the cliff, give the signal with the torches as I"ve told you. That will warn the others to stay away. But don"t wave the torches from side to side, because they"ll take that as a signal to come on."
"We need some kerosene on these rags," said the other man, removing the cloth-wrapped rod from the handle.
"" Give them to me. There"s a drum of kerosene at the back of the house. And put those robes on. I want to be sure you "re goin" to wear "em right."
Wortman disappeared around the corner of the house with them. Jim and Charlie stood waiting in the yard. Before they had a chance to put on the black cloaks, the Hardy boys saw their father and Cartwright steal out from the darkness of the hedge. They moved swiftly but noiselessly, almost invisible in the gloom. They stole up behind the unsuspecting figures.
One of the men turned suddenly. But in the same instant Fenton Hardy and Cartwright sprang. The others were overpowered and silenced with gags before they could utter a cry.
The two detectives dragged the struggling prisoners back into the darkness of the hedge. At the same time Fenton Hardy whispered urgently to his sons: "" You boys take their places! I "11 keep watch here until you bring the others. There are more 201 of the flickering torch gang in "Wortman"s cellar!"
Grasping the torch handles, Frank and Joa sprang from the hedge and hurried toward the front of the cottage. In the long robes, their faces hidden by the hoods, they could not be distinguished from the pair who had been there a moment before.
They were just in time. Hal Wortman emerged from behind the building.
"Here you are," he said, and thrust the kerosene-soaked rags into the torch handles.
"You look all right. Take off those robes now and be on your way. And come back here when you"ve warned off the others."
Silently, Joe and Frank turned and walked off. But they had gone scarcely ten feet before Wortman called out: "Here! Wait a minute!"
Apparently his suspicions had been aroused when the boys had failed to take off the cloaks.
"Something queer about this," he muttered. "You aren"t-----"
He never finished, because Fenton Hardy leaped swiftly from the hedge. Wortman went down, bowled over by the sudden impact of the detective"s rush. He uttered a gurgling cry.
Frank and Joe hurried off. They removed the c.u.mbersome robes, and raced down the path across the field to Mrs. Trumper"s place.
The truck was where Wortman had said it 202 would be, hidden by the lilac hedge. They, jumped into it. Frank took the driver"s seat.
The engine roared. He swung the wheel, and the vehicle shot out into the lane. It bounced wildly along the rutted road until it reached the highway. It swerved out onto the concrete.
"I hope Dad and Cartwright can capture that crew,"" said Joe. "" Maybe we "11 be lucky enough to round up all the rest of them."
Frank swung the truck down the road past Grable"s. Where was that man now? The machine sped toward the new road project. The Hardy boys were trembling with excitement.
In five brief minutes the tables had been turned. Wortman and two of his aides had been captured. By this tune Fenton Hardy probably had others under arrest.