“Go easy,” one was saying. “You never know who’s likely to be prowling around here these nights.”
“Too many police been nosing around these parts to suit me.”
“We’ve got to take those chances.”
The boys emerged into a clearing on the slope just in time to see the two men disappearing into the heavy wood on the opposite side. The clearing lay wide and deserted in the bright moonlight.
“They’re up to some mischief,” said Frank. “We’ll have to be careful they don’t see us.”
“I wonder what those long poles are for!”
“They’re not fishing poles. Too short and straight for that.”
“Well, we’ll soon find out. I think we’re on the trail of something big.”
“I’m sure of it.”
The boys sped across the clearing and went on down the trail through the dark wood beyond. They were drawing closer to a brook now and they could plainly hear the lapping of the water against the rocks in the distance. In this vicinity there were several brooks flowing down into Barmet Bay.
Frank suddenly came to a stop.
“Look!” he said.
The boys peered through the gloom.
Beyond the branches of the trees they saw a glimmer of light. It disappeared, then shone again, steadily.
X
The Great Discovery
“I’ll bet that light’s a signal light,” whispered Joe Hardy to his brother.
The boys watched the yellow gleam among the trees. Then, slowly, the light began to move. It swung to and fro, as though it was being carried by someone, and finally vanished.
Frank led the way down the path. In a few minutes they heard a snapping of twigs that indicated that the two men were not far ahead. The path dipped sharply, down a rocky slope, sparsely covered with underbrush. Then the brook came into view.
They could see the pair clearly now. One of the men was carrying a lantern; the other bore the long poles and the bag. Drawn up on the side of the brook, below the rocks and just above its mouth, the boys distinguished a small boat.
They crouched in the shelter of the bushes, and watched as the man who carried the lantern put the light down and strode over to a clump of trees from which he presently emerged, carrying a pair of oars. He dumped them into the boat with a clatter, which aroused the wrath of his companion.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he demanded fiercely. “Want to rouse up everybody from here to Bayport?”
“I forgot,” the other answered apologetically.
“Don’t forget again.”
“There’s nobody around, anyway.”
“Don’t be too sure.”
He fitted the oars in the rowlocks quietly, and the pair pushed the boat out into the brook.
“What shall we do?” whispered Joe. “Tackle them?”
“Wait a minute.”
Hardly were the words out of Frank’s mouth before he heard a rustling in the bushes almost immediately behind him. He looked around, startled, and saw a shadowy figure flit among the bushes, then another and another. He was so astonished that he almost cried out. Where had these newcomers appeared from? Who were they?
The Hardy boys pressed close to the ground as the three figures passed so close by them that they could almost have reached out and touched them. Not a word was said. The three men made their way silently past, in the direction of the brook.
“All right,” said one of the men at the boat. “I guess we can start out now.”
At that instant, the three newcomers sprang out from the depth of the brush.
There was a wild yell from the man bent over the boat.
“Come on, boys!” shouted one of the attackers. “We got ’em!”
Trembling with excitement, the Hardy boys looked on. They saw the three men close in. One of the fellows at the boat made a dash for liberty but he was tripped up and flung heavily into the brook. The other fought back, but he was quickly overpowered. The struggle was sharp but brief, and in a few minutes the two men were prisoners and were taken out into the moonlight.
“You came once too often, Jed,” said one of their captors. “We’ve been watchin’ for you.”
“You ain’t got anythin’ on us,” said Jed.
“Oh, yes we have! Caught you red-handed. Any of your pals around?”
“Just the two of us.”
“Boat, lantern and everything, eh? You were too sharp for us most of the time, Jed, but we were bound to catch you sooner or later.”
Greatly puzzled by this dialogue, wondering who the newcomers were and wondering why Jed and his companion had thus been captured, the Hardy boys rose slightly from their hiding place to get a better view of proceedings.
Just then they heard a heavy footstep in the bushes immediately behind them.
They dropped again to the earth, but it was too late. They had been seen.
“Who’s there?” growled a husky voice, and someone came plunging in through the bushes toward them.
Frank got to his feet and scrambled wildly for safety. Joe did likewise. The man behind them gave a loud shout.
“Here’s some more of ’em!” he called.
Joe tripped over a root and went sprawling. In the darkness it was almost impossible to see a clear way to safety. Frank paused to help his brother to his feet, and their pursuer was upon them. He seized Frank by the coat collar.
One of the other men came crashing through the underbrush.
“I’ve caught ’em!” announced their captor. “Two more.”
The newcomer emerged from a thicket and pounced on Joe.
“Good work!” he said exultantly.
The Hardy boys were hauled roughly out of the bushes and down into the moonlight, where the two captives were being held.
“Caught ’em hiding right in the bushes,” said the man who had discovered them, tightening his grip on Frank’s collar.
“Boys, eh?” said the leader, coming forward and peering closely at them. “Since when have you had boys helping you, Jed?”
The prisoner called Jed looked at the Hardy boys suspiciously.
“I never saw ’em in my life before,” he growled.
“What are they doing here, then?”
“How should I know?” asked Jed. “I tell you I don’t know
