The boys walked to the rim and looked down at the jumble of ice-coated crags which jutted out, hiding the sheer wall below. Biff shivered. "One slip and goodbye, Charlie!"
"Maybe we"d better forget about it," Chet said hopefully.
"No," Frank answered. "If Johnny Jefferson can get down there, so can we. But we need our climbing boots and flashlights."
"I"ll go back and get them," Chet volunteered quickly, and started towards the cabin.
"Hurry!" Frank called after him. "It"ll be dark soon."
"It"s dark in here already," Chet muttered as he entered the woods. He ploughed along the trail the boys had made earlier, wishing he had not come alone. The white woods was eerie and the pines moaned and tossed in the wind, showering him with snow.
Once Chet put up an arm to protect his face and stumbled off the trail into a clump of brush. He fought clear, found the path again, and went on.
Suddenly the wind stopped. Startled by the silence, Chet paused.
Why did he feel he was not alone?
As he stood, breathing heavily, he heard a low moan behind him. It rose into a weird cry and trailed off into silence.
Chet"s lips opened and closed, but he made no sound. With effort he forced himself to look back. Was there something tall and white standing against a snowy bush? As he strained to see, the thing vanished among the trees. With a hoa.r.s.e cry Chet plunged down the trail and did not stop until he was in the cabin. Gasping, he locked the door and leaned against it.
"Can"t be sure I saw anything," he had to admit, a little ashamed. "But I heard that weird cry, I know."
The thought of his companions waiting on the cold cliff top forced Chet to gather up the boots and flashlights and go out again. By the time he came to the end of the woods, he was red-faced from running.
"Over here!" Frank called, and Chet hastened along the cliff top to where his friends were waiting.
"Fellows," he burst out, "there"s another ghost here! I saw it in the woods!"
Joe grinned and took the equipment from his plump friend. "Great joke, Chet, but we"ve heard it before."
"I"m not kidding! It gave a terrible-"
"We"ve no time to waste," Frank broke in, hanging a flashlight on his belt. "Get your gear on." Grumbling, Chet obeyed.
"We think this is the best place to start down," Frank told him.
He walked to a crevice in the cliff edge about six feet deep, and lowered himself to the bottom. From there he stepped on to a flat icy ledge, digging in hard. Beyond it stood another jutting stone. Frank moved ahead, and, one by one, the others followed him on rough footholds across the cliff: Occasionally they stopped and examined the rocky wall for an opening, but saw none. Once Chet glanced towards the inlet and froze at the sight of the drop.
"Don"t look down!" Joe shouted.
Frank, making his way along a ledge, stopped to look back at his companions. Just behind him was a narrow opening between the cliff and a slab of rock which angled out from it. About twenty feet above, Frank could see the circle of stones.
"This may be the cave!" he thought, and signalled to the others.
As they stood in a line on the ledge, he indicated the opening and gestured for silence. Then Frank led the way into a dark pa.s.sage which opened into a rock chamber, dimly lit by a pile of glowing embers.
"n.o.body here!" exclaimed Joe, his voice sounding hollow.
Against one wall was a stack of cans, food boxes; and pots. Nearby lay a sleeping bag, a box of tumbled clothes, and an unlit paraffin lamp.
"This is the hideout, all right," Frank said. "We"ll settle down and wait for Johnny."
"It might take a long time," Biff remarked.
"I doubt it," said Frank. "With a storm coming up he"s probably heading for here right now."
For a while the boys sat in silence, then suddenly they tensed. A footstep in the pa.s.sage!
As they scrambled to their feet, Biff stumbled over the lantern. It turned over and clattered across the stone floor. Instantly the footsteps in the pa.s.sage stopped, then hurried away.
"After him!" Frank cried out. "Johnny!" he called. "Come back! We"re friends!"
As the boys emerged from the pa.s.sage they were met by roaring wind and swirling snow. Frank shouted again, but the words were lost. Daylight was nearly gone. The boys peered back across the cliff, but there was no sign of anyone.
Anxiously the Hardys looked upwards. Had the boy tried to climb to the crags above the cave mouth?
"No one there!" said Joe.
"Don"t see him here or anywhere!" shouted Biff.
With sinking hearts the four looked around the cliff, each with the same unspoken fear.
Chet suggested, "Maybe he"s hiding behind a rock."
"Let"s hope so," Frank thought grimly, then said aloud, "No one could survive a storm on this cliff. If Johnny"s hurt or hiding, we must find him."
It was decided that Joe and Biff would examine the cliff from above. Frank and Chet clambered down towards the ledge. Now and then they stopped and shouted, and looked for a figure among the crags.
But Johnny was not in sight nor did he reply.
When they reached the jutting rocks at the ledge, the boys lay down and peered over the edge. With a gasp Frank pointed. Something white lay among the jagged rocks at the base of the cliff.
"A wreck!" Chet said. "An ice-yacht!"
"And there"s somebody in it!" exclaimed Frank.
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Crash "SOMEBODY"s hurt!" said Frank. "Come on! Let"s get Joe and Biff."
He and Chet climbed to the top of the cliff, where their companions were waiting.
"Any sign of Johnny?" Joe asked anxiously.
Frank shook his head and breathlessly told about the wrecked ice-yacht.
"We"ll find the nearest spot we can to climb down," said Joe.
Frank took the lead. The foursome, their flashlights turned on, plodded through the deepening dusk and wind-whipped snow. Finally Frank stopped at the far end of the cliff, where the terrain sloped more gently. "I think we can make it here."
The descent seemed interminable, since the boys had to wind their way round boulders, high drifts, and in and out of thickly growing pines. At last they reached the sh.o.r.e and stepped onto the ice. Facing into the screaming wind, they headed towards the wrecked boat.
As the boys drew near the scene, Joe shone his beam on the tilted hull and yelled, "It"s the Hawk!"
"Who"s the man?" Biff called as the others rushed up.
"Hanleigh!" Frank exclaimed with surprise.
As the Hardys and their friends carefully freed the man, he regained consciousness. Groaning loudly, he clutched his right leg. It did not appear broken, so the Hardys helped him to his feet. Hanleigh took a few steps, then insisted he was in too much pain to walk.
"I think it"s just a wrenched muscle," Frank muttered to Joe. "But give me a hand and we"ll carry him."
Making a chair of their hands, Frank and Joe transported their heavy burden to the cabin, where they settled him on the sofa. Hanleigh grimaced with pain as Biff pulled off his boot. "I know my leg is broken," he complained bitterly. "And I nearly froze to death out there!"
"You had no qualms about leaving Joe to freeze in the snow this afternoon," Frank said.
Hanleigh"s only response was a prolonged groan.
"Why"d you take the Hawk out in this storm?" Joe asked. "You must have been desperate to pay us another visit! And in a stolen boat at that."
"I only borrowed that old boat," Hanleigh growled.
"We know that isn"t true," Frank retorted.
Hanleigh raised his head to glare at the boys. "Cut it out!" he snarled. "Can"t you see I"m in terrible pain?
You"d better get me to a doctor fast!"
"That"s out of the question," Frank said, "until the storm lets up."
The boys exchanged uneasy glances. They realized that the violence of the storm also made it impossible to search for Johnny Jefferson.
"Hanleigh," Joe said sharply, "it"s high time you levelled with us. Have you seen Johnny Jefferson on this island?"
"I don"t know what you"re talking about."
Frank described the boy. "Now what about it? Have you seen him?"
"No," barked Hanleigh. "I"ve seen n.o.body, but-" He broke off and looked uneasy.
"But ghosts?" Joe asked with a grin.
"You think it"s funny? You"ll find out!"
"We"ve already caught the spook in the attic," said Biff. "It was the wind blowing over a lemonade bottle."
At the look of astonishment on Hanleigh"s face, the boys laughed. "Let me alone!" he burst out. "I don"t want to talk."
He would say no more, but ate greedily of the hearty supper which Chet prepared. He maintained a stubborn silence, refusing to answer further questions put to him by the young sleuths.
The Hardys learned nothing from him about his interest in the fireplace or his meetings with Yussef. The boys noticed, however, that his eyes travelled frequently to the chimney.
Finally the injured man fell into a deep sleep. "At least he can"t escape," Joe remarked. "Too bad we can"t get some information out of him."
"There"s one thing we can do," Frank said in a low tone. "Break that code."
The boys hurried into the kitchen, and Joe closed the door. They settled down at the table with pencil and paper, the notebook turned open to the page bearing the cryptic letters. Soon all four became oblivious to the storm"s increasing fury as they concentrated on the task.
Suddenly Frank exclaimed, "I think the first and second words are "Cabin Island"!"
"How can you tell?" Chet asked.
"The number of letters are the same," Frank pointed to the HJOSW and SHRJWN of the code.
"Look. The words cabin and island both contain A, I, and N. So, the letter J stands for A, S for I, and W is N."
"Terrific!" Joe exclaimed. "Then, H is C, O is B, R equals L, and N stands for D."
"Let"s try to find the key," said Frank. "I"ll set up the alphabet." The others watched intently as he wrote: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ.
JOHN S R W H.
"John Sparewell!" Joe burst out. "But what does H stand for?"
"Houseman, maybe," Frank replied. "Try that. There"s a comma in the cipher," he added. "It may stand for R."
"John Paul Sparewell, Houseman," Joe read. "That"s the key. Now subst.i.tute those letters for the ones in the code."
Frank printed rapidly and held up the result: HJOSW SHRJWN HLSEWPA RPAO.
CABIN ISLAND CHIMNEY LEFT.
A,EWO WSWP APPO LSUL.
FRONT NINE FEET HIGH.
"We"ve got it!" Joe shouted exultantly.
"But," said Biff, "we"ve gone over all the chimney stones."
"Remember, there"s an inner lining," Frank pointed out. "As soon as the fire dies down, we"ll check."