"It"s going to be hard to take care of things at windward without him," the captain said, then shifted the conversation to another subject.
Frank gripped Joe"s arm. At windward! His younger brother nodded.
The boys got up and walked out to the stern of the boat. When they were alone, Frank whispered, "Did you have the same thought I did? That it was strange for a nautical man to say "at "at windward?" windward?"
"I sure did," Joe replied. "If he had meant a direction, the captain would have said "to windward." "
"Right. Windward must be a place!"
The Daisy K Daisy K reached port just before suppertime. As Frank and Joe walked along the reached port just before suppertime. As Frank and Joe walked along the water front with their day"s catch of fish, they questioned sailors from other boats about Windward. No one had heard of it. Finally they headed for the hotel, deciding to have supper with the family before going to Chet"s.
The boys, still in their disguises, turned their mackerel over to a startled bellhop and asked him to deliver them to the hotel chef. Then, learning from the desk clerk that Radley was back, they went at once to his room. The detective grinned at their 161 disguise. While they were removing the make-up, he said: "I flew all over the coast for about five hours, but I couldn"t spot any activity that would indicate smuggling operations. I did see several deserted sections along the sh.o.r.es of some of the islands that would make good hideaways. Guess we"ll have to investigate all of them."
"Ever hear of a place called Windward?" Frank inquired.
"No," Radley replied. "What about it?"
The older boy repeated the conversation that he and Joe had overheard on the Daisy Daisy K. Radley nodded thoughtfully, then remarked: Radley nodded thoughtfully, then remarked: "Let"s go down to the Skippers Club. I know some of the old seafaring men who stay there. Maybe one of them will be able to help us out."
After supper with Mrs. Hardy and Aunt Gertrude, the three went to the old salt-box building near the water front, where many of the old-timers played cribbage, chess, and billiards in between spinning sea yarns about the good old days. Sam Radley was hailed by several of the captains. He quizzed some of them about Windward. The name meant nothing to the first half dozen he spoke to, but finally a grizzled man of the sea looked up from a game of solitaire.
"Sure, I know the place. Windward was our old-timers" name fer the windside o" Venus Island," he 162 said. "The lee side"s green and right purty. Folks live there. But Windward-it"s rocky and barren. Broken up by stretches o" pine woods here and there."
Radley thanked the old salt and the three left the club. Outside, Frank remarked, "That sounds like an ideal spot for smuggling operations!"
"Yes," Radley replied.
"Let"s check on it right away," Joe proposed. "Maybe we can round up some of the fellows to help us."
"As a matter of fact," said Frank, "Biff Hooper and Tony Prito were going out to Chet"s tonight. Let"s put all three of them to work on the case."
Radley was game and said he was eager to go along. They stopped at a drugstore with a couple of phone booths. Joe called Chet to explain their plan to take the Sleuth Sleuth out to out to Venus Island for a reconnoitering expedition.
"Sounds like a dangerous job," said Chet, "but I"ll come and bring Tony and Biff. I expect them here any minute."
"Meet us at our boathouse," Joe directed. "And make it as soon as you can."
Frank, meanwhile, had called the hotel from the other phone booth to apprise his mother of their plans. Next, he put in a call to Chief Collig, telling him of their new lead and asking if Ragu could be held for a day or two longer, without visitors if possible, while they tracked down the lead.
163 "Don"t worry about that," the chief replied. "He"s refused to see anyone, even an attorney! He"s made no attempt to raise the bail money, either. Frank, that fellow is plenty scared of someone!"
"And," Frank said, "my guess would be it"s Captain Flont!" Pleased with the news about Ragu, he said good-by and hung up. Then he headed for the boathouse with Radley and Joe. A quick look around showed that repairs were well under way and that the Sleuth Sleuth could could be returned to its berth before long.
Presently Chet"s jalopy rattled up the street and pulled to a stop. Lanky, good-natured Biff Hooper swung his long legs over the side, and Tony PritG followed. Chet squeezed himself out of the driver"s seat and joined the group.
They all walked to the Sleuth Sleuth and went aboard. It was just past midnight as Frank took and went aboard. It was just past midnight as Frank took them across Barmet Bay, out through the inlet, and into the swells of the ocean beyond. They talked over their program.
"When we get to Windward, we"ll cruise around and find out what we can," Frank said.
"If we don"t learn anything, then Joe and Radley and I will go ash.o.r.e to investigate."
Tony, who owned a boat of his own, would be left in charge of the Sleuth. Sleuth.
Two hours later the forbidding rocky slopes of Windward were etched in black against the moonlit sky. The motor of the Sleuth Sleuth was throttled down was throttled down 164 and a search of the waters began. They found no boats anch.o.r.ed and none were visible in any of the many inlets among the rocks.
At three fifteen, Radley and the Hardys decided to go ash.o.r.e. They donned their swimming trunks and slid over the side without a sound.
Treading water beside the boat, Frank said to the boys in the Sleuth, Sleuth, "You fellows "You fellows cruise back and forth, keeping your eyes open for anything that might be stirring. We"ll swim out again just at daybreak and meet you."
Chet, Tony, and Biff wished them luck, then started off. They cruised around for an hour without seeing another boat or sighting anything suspicious. Finally, as the first streak of light appeared in the east, Tony moved the Sleuth Sleuth to the spot where they had left the to the spot where they had left the swimmers.
After what seemed like a long wait, Tony said, "Fellows, I"m worried. Frank and Joe and Radley are overdue."
The three in the boat gazed across the water but could not see anyone along the sh.o.r.e or in the water that lay between the Sleuth Sleuth and the rocky beach. Tony moved the boat a little and the rocky beach. Tony moved the boat a little closer and got out the binoculars. There was not a sign of anyone on the rocks.
"I"ll-I"ll bet the smugglers got "em!" Chet said nervously. "What"ll we do now?"
"Give "em fifteen minutes," Tony advised, "and then storm that island!"
CHAPTER XXI.
Forbidding Island.
frank, Joe, and Radley had swum easily to the narrow, rocky beach on the windward side of Venus Island. The water was chilly, but their brisk strokes had kept them from feeling the cold.
A jagged cliff that rose abruptly about twenty feet back from the sh.o.r.e was clearly outlined in the moonlight. The swimmers, sure now that no guard was on watch on the beach, walked out of the surf and brushed the water from their bodies. In the warm night air they gazed around the desolate beach but could see no evidence of anyone having been there recently.
"But we couldn"t be sure of finding any definite clues on the sh.o.r.e here," Frank mused.
"Footprints or signs of beaching a boat could have been washed out by the waves."
They climbed a trail that wound up the face of the cliff and turned their attention to a woods of 165.
166 wind-swept pines, which came to within a hundred feet of the cliff"s edge. The three sleuths peered ahead intently. Frank, first to spy a light among the trees, said: "I wonder if that light is coming from a house in there? I thought this place was uninhabited."
"Let"s find out," Joe urged.
They found a path that wound in and out among the trees and followed it until Joe held up his hand in warning.
"I think I hear voices!"
He and the others paused to listen. Not far from them several men were talking, part of the time in English, part in a foreign tongue the trio had come to recognize as a dialect of India.
The Hardys and Radley settled down behind a clump of bushes, trying to fathom the conversation which went on for some time. The voices carried clearly on the night air, and the listeners were provoked at not being able to translate the alien words. Presently, however, the sleuths were electrified upon hearing: "Cap"s late. I hope he didn"t run into trouble. A motorboat was cruising around here a while ago. Better go take a look."
There was no oral response to the command, but a blond man began to walk toward the sleuths, who dodged out of his sight just in time. After he had gone a short distance, they followed silently, hoping 167 the Sleuth Sleuth was now far enough from the island not to be noticed. was now far enough from the island not to be noticed.
"If that fellow has a boat hidden nearby and tries to set out for the Sleuth," Sleuth," Joe Joe whispered tensely, "we"ll jump him!"
"You bet!" Frank replied.
The man paused briefly at the edge of the cliff, then gingerly made his way down the trail to the beach. Radley and the Hardys crept to the brink and peered below. They did not see the Sleuth, Sleuth, but a surprise awaited them. A large motor dory, its engine off, was being but a surprise awaited them. A large motor dory, its engine off, was being propelled by oars toward the beach. As they watched, it glided to a stop just beyond the rocky sh.o.r.e. The watchers could see two men in the dory, but the figures were not close enough to be identified.
"Say, Frank," Joe whispered, "that sure looks like the same dory that met the Daisy K Daisy K the night of the moonlight ride."
The blond man on the stony sh.o.r.e gave a low whistle. Almost instantly Radley and the boys became aware of tramping feet and a few moments later a dozen dark-skinned men, carrying trousers and shoes, came down the trail, pa.s.sing just a few feet from the intruders.
They were followed by a second light-haired man. When they reached the beach, this man pointed to the dory and immediately the dark-skinned men splashed through the waves toward it.
168 "Smuggled Indians!" Joe said in a hoa.r.s.e whisper. "Let"s try to stop them!"
Radley gripped the boy"s arm. "That would only mean our capture. They outnumber us almost six to one!"
Joe calmed down as the aliens climbed aboard and the oars dipped into the surf. The dory was some distance from sh.o.r.e before the engine was started up.
As the two islanders came up the path and moved off among the trees, Frank suddenly gripped Joe"s arm.
"Those men are obviously guards here," he said. "Do you suppose they"re the two we watched being transferred from the Daisy K Daisy K to the motor dory?" to the motor dory?"
Suddenly Joe sprang into action, and without a sound set off on a run among the trees after the blond men.
"Come on!" he called in a hoa.r.s.e whisper. "Let"s collar them."
Frank and Radley tried to stop Joe, because they felt there might be more than two in the island gang. If the Hardys and Radley were captured, any chance of further spying was out of the question!
Frank and the operative hurried after Joe, but within a few seconds, sounds of a struggle reached their ears.
"This means trouble," Frank whispered grimly.
Silently they rushed along the path and a few minutes later spotted the two guards and their prisoner approaching a group of small buildings set deep in a 169 grove and almost hidden from view. One of the men kicked open the door of the nearest building and Joe was thrust into a lighted room.
"We"ve got to free him!" Frank said. "I "I don"t care about the risk. This gang will stop at don"t care about the risk. This gang will stop at nothing!"
Radley restrained him. "Hold it, Frank," he said sternly. "Brute force isn"t the answer.
Look what just happened to Joe. The thing to do is to outwit these men."
"You"re right, of course," Frank replied. "Tell you what," he said, noticing that the sky was lightening. "Tony, Chet, and Biff will be waiting offsh.o.r.e. Suppose you swim out to the Sleuth and try to follow the dory with the aliens in it. See where it goes. Then bring help back and try to follow the dory with the aliens in it. See where it goes. Then bring help back here. In the meantime, I"ll try to think up a way to free Joe and maybe pick up more evidence."
His companion nodded and left at once. Frank waited until he heard the familiar roar of the Sleuth"s Sleuth"s engine as it took off at high speed, before he started his own work. Moving engine as it took off at high speed, before he started his own work. Moving swiftly and cautiously, he edged in close to Joe"s prison.
Through a closed window in the side of the cabin, he saw, to his dismay, that his brother had been bound to a chair. A coil of rope and a knife lay on a nearby table.
As he watched helplessly, the two middle-aged guards began cuffing Joe"s face.
Quickly Frank moved to another window which was open. He heard one of the guards say: 170 "This kid just won"t talk. Put the gag back in."
"You can"t convince me," the other man said as he replaced the gag, "that he came to Windward to swim all by himself in the middle of the night. He"s a spy. We ought to check the area to see if there are any pals of his lurking around."
Frank ducked around the corner just in time. For, at that moment, the door of the cabin burst open and the two men rushed out. Frank, desperately realizing he must conceal himself, dodged behind a tree.
One of the guards announced he would circle the cabin. Frank held his breath, but the man pa.s.sed without noticing him. The other zigzagged through the woods between the house and the beach, looking for trespa.s.sers, but shortly returned to report there was no evidence of other intruders.
The two men re-entered the house, but took up positions in such a way that Frank could not possibly move in on them without being seen.
A few minutes later one of the guards said, "Keep an eye on our prisoner while I eat breakfast. I"ll spell you later, after I"ve talked to Cap. I"ve got a hunch about this kid!"
Frank wondered what he meant, then smiled triumphantly. This was his chance to free Joe!
He ducked into hiding again as the guard came out, closed the door carefully behind him, and walked toward one of the other buildings. Frank waited until the man had entered the cabin, which 171 stood about a hundred yards away, then quietly moved to the door of Joe"s prison and slowly turned the k.n.o.b. The door was unlocked!
Picking up a piece of shale from the path, Frank flipped it at a windowpane. As the piece of rock crashed through, Joe"s guard whirled away from the boy"s side and dashed to the window. At the same time, Frank flattened himself against the door, his hand on the k.n.o.b. As the guard gingerly leaned out the shattered window, Frank eased open the door and silently entered the room, his bare feet making no sound.
Joe was so relieved to see Frank he might have given his brother"s presence away if he had not been gagged. With lightning speed, Frank whipped the gag from Joe"s mouth with one hand, and with the other hand grabbed the knife from the table and slashed at the rope which bound Joe"s hands together.
This was barely accomplished when the man at the window pulled his head in and started to turn around. Before he could see what was going on behind him, Frank gripped the man around the throat, stuffed the gag in his mouth, and caught one of his arms in a judo hold. Frank threw him to the floor, and Joe, now free, bound the guard with the rope that had seconds before secured him.
Their prisoner glared at the brothers as they consulted in low tones. "I sure messed this deal up," Joe remarked ruefully. "Thanks for turning the tables."
172 Frank grinned understandingly and said they must hurry or both of them might be caught. "I"ll keep a lookout in this room while you investigate the rest of the cabin," he said.
Joe picked up a flashlight from the table in order to explore the dark rooms beyond.
Frank posted himself at the door. In twenty seconds Joe was back at his brother"s side.
"There are two more rooms in this building," Joe reported. "One"s locked and-what do you know?-in the other there are five carrier pigeons in cages!"
Frank was excited at this news. "That clinches it. We"ve come to the right place. Let"s go see if we can find out if Cap is who I think he is."
The boys checked the bonds on their prisoner, then rolled him under one of the bunks which lined two walls, and left the cabin. As they approached the building which the other guard had entered, Frank pointed out a high radio aerial that rose from the roof. "That"s a powerful set," he said.
They peered cautiously in a window, and noted that it must be the building where the guards and aliens ate their meals. At one end was an old-fashioned cooking stove. Two long dining tables, capable of seating a large number of people, filled the other side of the big room.
Seated at a smaller table which stood against the far wall was the guard. In front of him was a shortwave sending and receiving radio. Over it, he was sending the startling announcement: Joe sent the man sprawling away from the short-wave radio.
174 "We"ve captured a spy. From your description, I think it"s one of those Hardy boys!"
Frank and Joe gulped. The news was out! But no more must be sent!
Joe sprang through the doorway and threw himself at the man, knocking him away from the instrument and clipping him soundly on the jaw. The man sprawled on the floor, unconscious.
With the signal b.u.t.ton released, the sending set was cut off. Frank, who had followed his brother into the room, instantly turned on the receiver. The cold, hard voice of Captain Flont was saying: "I think we"re being followed! But I can"t afford any trouble! I"m going to open fire!"