“Probably well hidden,” said Frank. “There were a lot of bushes growing close down to the water’s edge, I noticed. They’d have some sort of a hiding place fixed up.”
“But where did all those men come from?”
“That’s what we’re going to find out. There must be some connection between this cove and the house on the cliff. I’m going ashore.”
“Somebody’s got to stay with the motorboat,” said Tony. “I’m not afraid to go in there, and if it comes to a dare, I will go, although I don’t want to be killed. But we can’t leave the boat here, that’s certain.”
“I’ll tell you what to do,” said Frank. “Let Joe and me go ashore. Then we’ll try to follow those men in the boat and see where they go. If we let them slip out of our hands now we may lose them altogether.”
“And shall I wait?”
“No. You go back to Bayport and get help—lots of it.”
“The police?”
“The federal men. Tell them we’re on the track of the smugglers. If Joe and I discover anything we’ll wait here at the entrance to the cove and put the police on the right track when they get here.”
“Good!” said Tony. “I’ll put you ashore right away.”
“Don’t go too close or you’ll wreck the boat. Joe, I guess you and I will have to swim ashore. Then we’ll go around into the cove and find out all we can.”
Tony edged the boat in as close to the gloomy shore as he could, and then, with a whispered farewell, the Hardy boys slipped over the side into the water. They were only a few yards from the rocks and after a short swim they emerged, dripping, on the mainland. They looked back. They could see the dim shape of the motorboat as it turned away and then they could hear its dull chugging as Tony Prito turned the craft back in the direction of Bayport.
“Now!” whispered Frank. “Now for the smugglers!”
XVI
The Secret Passage
It was very dark.
“I wish we had a light,” whispered Joe.
“I have a flashlight in my pocket. But we can’t use it now. Those men may be still around.”
“Wouldn’t the water spoil it?”
“No; I have it in a waterproof case. We can feel our way around these rocks until we get into the cove.”
Cautiously, the boys made their way along the treacherous rocks. Once Joe lost his footing and slipped into the water with a splash. Instantly both boys remained motionless, fearing the sound had attracted the attention of the men in the cove. But there was not a sound.
Joe was ankle-deep in water, but he clambered up on the rocks again and they continued their journey.
They had landed at a point some twenty-five yards away from the entrance to the cove, but the rocks were so treacherous and the journey was so difficult that the distance seemed much longer.
“It must be Snackley and his gang, all right,” whispered Frank, as they went on through the night. “Didn’t you hear one of those men use a Chinese name?”
“He said something about Li Chang’s share.”
“Li Chang is probably the fellow who brings the dope to the coast. They bring the stuff into this cove by motorboat and rowboat and it is distributed from here. Dad said Snackley was smuggling dope.”
“It must have been Snackley who ordered us away from here. He seemed like a leader of some kind.”
“Five thousand dollars reward if we lay our hands on him!”
They had now reached the place where the seemingly solid coast line was broken by the indentation of the cove. They had feared that the cliff might be too steep at this point, but they found that it sloped gradually to the water and that there was a narrow ledge on which they could walk, one behind the other.
Here, they realized, the dangerous part of the adventure began.
It was very lonely in the shadow of the steep cliffs, and the loneliness was intensified by the distant moaning of the surf and the beat and wash of the waves against the reefs. Far in the distance they could see the reflection of the lights of Bayport through the mist and once or twice they could hear the murmur of Tony’s motorboat as it sped away down the bay.
“I hope they bring back lights and guns with them,” muttered Frank.
“Who?”
“The police.”
“Don’t worry. If they get word that Snackley is cornered they’ll send out a squad of militia.”
The boys rounded the point and began to make their way directly along the shore of the cove. Dense thickets and bushes grew right to the water’s edge and the boys were afraid of making too much noise, as they realized that the two men they had heard talking in the boat might be close by—perhaps even waiting to pounce upon them in the darkness.
Their hearts beat quickly with the knowledge of the risk they were running, but neither lad thought of turning back. They were not thinking of the smugglers alone—they were thinking of their father.
When they reached the first of the thickets they paused. They knew that the crackling of the branches would betray their whereabouts if there was anyone within hearing distance. For a while they did not know just what to do. Then Frank began to lower himself from the rock on which he was standing into the water.
“If it isn’t too deep we can wade around,” he whispered.
The water, fortunately, was shallow, and did not come up to his knees. He signaled to Joe to follow, and Joe accordingly slipped quietly down into the water beside him.
Then, without a word and moving as slowly as possible, Frank went on, wading through the water, close to the outstretched branches that overhung the shore.
It seemed as though they were wading at the bottom of a deep pit, for the high walls of rock ranged all about them and after they had penetrated into the cove some little distance the entrance
