"That"s no help, though," Joe added glumly. "We still can"t prove Ike and Tad were the ones who attacked us."
In a few moments the Seagull was skimming towards Cabin Island. As they approached the boathouse, Joe suddenly pointed. "Frank!" he cried out. "Do you see what I see?"
"Yes! The ghost!"
The mysterious white-robed figure was halfway up to the cabin. It was proceeding stealthily through the bushes and pines that grew thickly on the incline. As Mr Jefferson stared ahead startled, Joe grasped the camera to which the telescopic lens was still attached.
"I"m going to sake another shot of that fellow."
His brother restrained him. "Wait! You"ll only get his back. Let"s sneak up close to him and see if we can get a face view."
"Good idea," Mr Jefferson said approvingly. "You boys go ahead. I"ll wait in the boat."
A moment later the Hardys braked the craft and tied it to a tree alongside the boathouse. Silently they hurried up the wooded slope until they were a snort distance behind the ghostlike figure.
A sudden idea struck Frank. He took out his police whistle and showed it to his brother. "Maybe this"ll help us nab him," he whispered.
Joe nodded. "Got you." Cautiously the two advanced towards the prowler, who had now stopped and was peering out at the cabin from behind a tree. When the boys were a couple of yards away they paused also. Frank gave a signal, and as Joe raised the camera, blew a shrill blast on the whistle.
The "ghost" whirled about, and Joe snapped the picture. Frank blew several more blasts in rapid succession, and the robed figure bolted across the slope. At the same instant, Chet and Biff burst from the cabin and looked around wildly.
"Catch him!" Frank cried as he and Joe broke into a run.
All four boys bounded after the ghostly form, who darted nimbly in and out of the trees like a frightened deer. Dusk was beginning to fall and it was not long before the boys lost sight of the white robe against the snow.
They paused for breath, straining their eyes to pierce the gathering gloom. Then Frank barely made out the fleeing figure at the bottom of the hill. The pursuers plunged downwards, but by the time they reached the spot, the "ghost" had vanished. There was not a sign of him on the ice.
Doggedly the boys continued to search along the sh.o.r.eline, but had no luck. At last Joe said glumly, "No use going any farther. It"s too dark to see."
Frank agreed. "We"d better get back and pick up Mr Jefferson."
On the way to the boathouse, the Hardys told Biff and Chet of the accident to the Seagull, deliberately caused by the Hawk.
Biff knotted his fists angrily. "I"d sure like to give those two guys a good stiff wallop."
"Of course we don"t know for sure that they were Ike and Tad," Joe pointed out.
"Who else?" Chet groaned. "Some relaxing vacation this is!"
The young sleuths reached the Seagull and found Mr Jefferson waiting anxiously for news. "Afraid the "ghost" escaped again, sir," Frank said regretfully, helping the old gentleman from the boat.
As the group walked slowly up the hill, Mr Jefferson shook his head, plainly disturbed. "Something very sinister is happening here. I certainly want to find out who is responsible, and what his motive is, but I do not want you boys getting into danger on my account."
"We"ll keep on our guard," Joe a.s.sured him. "But we"re all determined to see this mystery through."
"You can bet on that!" Biff declared stoutly.
Inside the cabin, Chet added logs to the fire as Joe eagerly took the picture from the self-developing camera. "Now we"ll get a look at our ghost," he said.
The others crowded around and Joe held up the photograph of a young, dark-skinned man with startled eyes.
"Seems to be the same as the one in the first picture I took," Joe observed.
"At least we"ll recognize his features if we spot him again," Frank said.
Mr Jefferson sank down on the sofa and sighed wearily. "I give up. This mystery is too much for me."
Frank urged him to rest for a while. The elderly man, smiling wanly, stretched out.
"You"d better plan to stay overnight, Mr Jefferson," Joe advised.
"I"d like to. I haven"t spent a night on Cabin Island in years."
Meanwhile, Chet had gone into the kitchen and in a short time announced that supper was ready.
Everyone did full justice to the hearty meal of fried chicken and hot biscuits. Afterward Frank offered their host the use of his sleeping bag.
"Thanks a lot, but I don"t like to put you out."
"I insist, Mr Jefferson," Frank said. "We fellows will take turns standing guard tonight, anyhow, so only three of us will be sleeping at a time."
A nervous look crossed Chet"s face. "And I can guess why! You"re expecting another visit from that ghost!"
Biff could not resist needling his chunky pal. "Just think, Chet. You might even have the honour of nabbing him."
"Oh swell! I can hardly wait!" Chet rolled his eyes dramatically and the others laughed.
"Or," Joe remarked, growing serious, "Hanleigh may return for the notebook, if he"s the person who lost it."
When Mr Jefferson had retired, Frank said, "Let"s try to decipher the message!"
The boys sat down with pencils and paper. The Hardys told their friends more about solving subst.i.tution ciphers, and they all worked diligently for nearly two hours.
Finally Joe declared, "This code is a tough one. I"ve tried a number of combinations, but so far no luck."
Biff stretched and yawned. "My brain won"t work any more. Let"s get some sleep."
Joe offered to take the first watch, and Frank the second.
"I"ll put in for last!" Chet requested wearily. Everyone laughed, and the plump boy protested. "Well, I"ve been doing all the hard work in the kitchen!"
Biff grinned. "Okay. I"m third."
"We"d better be ready for action," Frank advised. "Don"t get undressed."
But hours later when Biff finished his watch, the place was still quiet. He awakened Chet, who wandered drowsily into the living-room. Yawning, he stared into the steadily burning fire.
"I have to keep alert!" he told himself with determination.
Chet began to pace around the room, trying to shake off his sleepiness. At last, when night was beginning to lift in the east, he sat down in a big soft chair near the fireplace.
The cabin"s stillness and the warmth from the crackling logs was lulling. Chet"s lids grew heavy, his head dropped, and he dozed.
Suddenly a loud bang jolted him awake. For a moment he was speechless, then a yell of fright burst from his lips. Before his chair hulked a dark figure!
CHAPTER XIV.
Chimney-top Discovery As Chet shouted, the intruder streaked across the cabin and out the door, which was swinging wide open.
"Help! Fellows!" Chet bounced out of his chair, heart thumping with excitement, and dashed wildly in pursuit. But by the time he reached the doorway, the figure was already disappearing into the woods.
"What"s up?" cried Frank as he burst into the room. Joe and Biff were close at his heels.
"Somebody was in here!" Chet said, shivering as the wind whipped into the cabin. "I drowsed off, and when I woke up, the guy was standing right in front of me! He ran down the hill!"
"It may be a ruse to get us out of the house," Frank said. He and Joe hastily pulled on their parkas and boots. "Chet, you and Biff stay on guard - he may try to circle back!"
Rushing outside, the Hardys quickly spotted the intruder"s tracks - clear bootprints in the thin layer of fresh snow that had fallen during the night. They followed the trail down the wooded slope.
"He headed across the ice!" Joe exclaimed as they reached the sh.o.r.e. Pressing forward, the Hardy boys strained their eyes to peer through the grey dawn mist, but it was not light enough for them to see the fugitive. "His tracks lead towards the mainland," Frank observed. "Come on!"
As the young sleuths crossed the frozen cove, they found that the snowy prints were more widely s.p.a.ced.
"Oh, oh," said Joe. "He started running here."
When the brothers reached the mainland, breathing heavily, they exchanged looks of disappointment. The trail ended at a place where tyre prints showed a car had been parked.
"That fellow didn"t waste any time!" Frank exclaimed in chagrin. "He must have had a big lead on us, or we"d have heard the motor."
"I guess we may as well go back," Joe said.
The two trudged across the ice. The sun was rising as they hiked up the slope to the cabin. Inside, a fire was blazing and Chet, Biff, and Mr Jefferson sat in front of it drinking hot cocoa.
"No luck," Joe said, and reported what they had found.
"Fellows, I"m sorry I let you down," Chet said sheepishly. "I dozed off and never knew the guy was in here until the door banged against the wall. He must have left it unlatched and the wind blew it open."
"That"s okay, Chet," said Frank. "What did he look like?"
"I was too scared to notice, except that he was big. Besides, he was facing the fireplace. I don"t think it was the ghost, though," Chet added, "because he didn"t have on white."
"Could have been Hanleigh," Frank remarked.
"It must have been," Chet admitted.
"He still is interested in the fireplace," Frank observed.
"But why?" Mr Jefferson asked. "I built this place. Nothing"s in the fireplace."
Frank hesitated, unwilling to raise the old gentleman"s hopes. "That remains to be seen. Is there a chisel here?"
"Yes," Chet replied, "in the toolbox in the kitchen." He hastened out and returned at once with the tool.
Despite the heat, Frank stepped close to the fireplace with the chisel and pried at the stones, hoping to find one that moved. Meanwhile, Joe brought a ladder from the kitchen and climbed up to test the chimney rocks which Frank could not reach.
"No use," Joe finally admitted. "They"re cemented in tight."
Frank agreed. "If there is a loose stone, it might be outside. Let"s take a look!"
Chet cooked breakfast while the other boys were gone. The wind was blowing hard as the trio carried the ladder around the end of the cabin to the chimney.
"Let"s check the bottom first," Frank said. This time Joe used the chisel as they poked and pushed at each of the large stones.
Biff shook his head. "No luck there."
"I"ll go up on the roof and examine the chimney," Joe said.
Biff and Frank lifted the ladder and placed it beside the chimney. The legs sank into the snow and slid on the ice beneath, so that the boys had to brace the ladder with their feet to keep it from falling.
"You two"ll have to be my anchor men," Joe said.
He put the chisel into his pocket, and as Biff and Frank leaned their weight against the ladder, he climbed to the roof. Joe crawled onto the edge and stood up gingerly. The heat from the fire below had melted the surrounding snow and the wet shingles were slippery. made his way around the chimney, testing each stone patiently with his chisel, but none was loose.
As he rested a moment Joe noticed a fragment of yellow material caught between two stones just inside chimney top.
Squinting against the smoke, Joe reached in and worked the material loose. With watering eyes, he stuffed it into his pocket and turned his face away. After a few moments his vision cleared and he could see the entire island below-blanketed in white.
Suddenly his glance was caught by a dark patch ringed by tall rocks on the brow of the cliff. As he stared hard at it, the wind suddenly cut sharp across his face and showered him with snow from the roof.
Half-blinded, he felt his way around the chimney to the ladder.
"Be careful!" Frank called, but the wind whipped the words away. The next moment Joe slipped and he with a cry. Instinctively he grabbed for a rung and caught it. The ladder skidded at the jolt and the boys below struggled to hold it steady. Shakily Joe climbed down.
"Thanks," he gasped, reaching the ground.
Buffeted by the wind, the three boys made their way into the cabin.
"Any luck?" Mr Jefferson asked as they took off their parkas.
"I found this inside the chimney," said Joe, and took the piece of yellow material from his pocket.
"It"s a piece of a tape measure!" Frank exclaimed. "See, it"s marked one inch."