“He probably discovered these caves in the first place, and saw how they could be used for concealing stolen goods. Perhaps this place was used by smugglers long ago.”
“Probably. They are natural caves, and it’s easily seen that they’ve been used for a long time. Some of the tunnels look as if they’d been blasted out to widen them. We’re certainly lucky to have found their hiding place, for we’d never have found it unless we’d been brought here.”
“From their talk, they evidently drive the cars to Atlantic City from here.”
“Must have a secret road of some kind, or they’d never get through.”
“Montrose spoke of coming through a gully.”
“There is a gully near the Dodd farm. Now that I come to think of it, I believe there is an abandoned road through it. The place has been overgrown with brush for the past five years, though.”
“Perhaps they cleared it out.”
“The road used to lead out to one of the private, right-of-way roads in the back township. Since the Shore Road was extended, it’s never been used. I’ll bet that’s what they’re doing—using that old road and bringing the cars out the back way. The police haven’t been watching the private roads at all.”
“It’s a smart scheme. Well, it won’t last much longer.”
Suddenly, a voice rang out, clear and sharp:
“I’ll get the lantern. It’s right here.”
Startled, the boys wheeled about. The voice seemed to be right beside them. Instantly, they realized that it was only a trick of the echoes, and that the voice came from the passage leading into the cave.
Someone was approaching. They could hear his heavy boots clumping on the rocky floor.
“Quick! The tunnel!” whispered Frank.
He sped across the cave toward the opening in the wall. But they had moved farther away from their hiding place than they imagined. By the time the brothers reached the passage, they heard a cry of alarm behind them.
“Who’s that?”
They scrambled into the tunnel.
Another shout, footsteps across the floor, and then the lantern cast its beam directly on the entrance of the passage. It was a powerful light and the boys knew they had been seen.
The man in the cave began shouting for help:
“Gus! Sam! Come here! Quick!”
His voice echoed from the walls.
The Hardy boys heard a faint shout from outside the cave.
“What’s the matter?”
“Someone in here. Hurry up!”
The uproar out in the cave grew in volume as other members of the gang joined their comrade. There was a hasty gabble of voices.
“There was someone in the cave when I came back for the light,” shouted the man who had discovered the boys. “They beat it into that tunnel. I just saw them.”
“Sam, go around and watch the other side!” ordered someone sharply. “That tunnel goes out into the big cave.”
The thieves were evidently unaware of the cave-in that had blocked the passage. Frank and Joe retreated beyond the first bend. They were trapped. The barricade cut off their flight, and they knew they were facing certain capture.
“The guns!” snapped Frank.
He drew his revolver from his pocket and fired into the darkness, around the corner.
There was a shout of alarm.
“Get back! Get back, Gus! They’ve got guns!”
Then followed a wild scrambling, as the man who had pursued them into the tunnel hustled back to safety.
Frank pressed himself against the rocky wall, in case any of the gang should enter and open fire on them. But the thieves had been frightened by his shot.
“That’ll hold them for a while!”
“How long?” Joe reminded him. “They have us trapped, Frank. We can’t go back. They’ll starve us out.”
“We won’t give up without a fight.”
There was a tremendous uproar out in the cave. The men were talking loudly and their voices were intensified by the tumultuous echoes of the place.
“Follow them in!” someone shouted. But Gus snarled:
“We can’t. They’re armed.”
“Well,” said Frank quietly, “we have enough bullets to keep them back for a while, at any rate.”
“They’ll get us, in the long run.”
“I suppose so.”
Then the Hardy boys heard the voice of the man called Sam. He came into the cave, shouting:
“They can’t get out! There’s been a cave-in and the tunnel is jammed up with rock.”
“Good!” exclaimed Gus exultantly. “Here! Hand me that light.”
There was a moment of silence. Then the powerful lantern was evidently turned toward the mouth of the tunnel, for the light gleamed on the walls. As they were just around the bend in the passage, the boys could not be seen, but the glaring light was reflected from the rocks.
“They’re out of sight,” muttered someone. “Try a shot!”
Instantly, there was an explosion, as a revolver roared. The echoes were deafening in that confined space.
Something whizzed past Frank’s head and smacked against the rock.
The bullet, aimed for the rock wall, had ricochetted across the bend and had missed him by a hairbreadth.
This was too close for comfort. The revolver crashed again, and there was a cry from Joe.
“Are you hurt?” asked Frank anxiously.
“No. But the bullet glanced off the rocks. I think it went through my sleeve. It sure was close.”
Their voices had been heard by the men in the cave.
“That’s got ’em scared!” yelled Gus.
The boys retreated out of range of the glancing bullets.
“We’re up against it,” Frank admitted. “If we stay here they’ll starve us out. If we try to rush them, we’ll get shot.”
“I guess we’ll have to surrender.”
“Looks as if there’s nothing else for it. We’ll give ourselves up and take our chances on escape. The way things are, we’re liable to be shot.”
He edged back toward the bend in the passage. There was a lull in the firing.
“We give up!” he shouted.
A yell of triumph followed.
“Now you’re talkin’ sense!” shouted Gus. “Throw your gun out here.”
Frank hurled his revolver around the corner and it clattered on the rocks. Someone crawled into the passage and retrieved it.
“Now come out with your hands up.”
Bitter though their defeat was, the Hardy boys had to acknowledge that the odds were against them. With their arms in the
