Elroy Jefferson was indignant.
“Why, I never heard the like!” he said testily. “He had no authority to order you away. None whatever. In fact, he had no right to be on the island himself. The whole place belongs to me.”
“He had no right to order us away, then?”
“No right at all. The island is mine. Mr. Hanleigh, it seems, is anxious to buy it, but he hasn’t bought it yet and he won’t buy it, as long as the matter is in my hands. He came to me a few weeks ago and offered me five thousand dollars for the place.”
“That is a large sum for an island, isn’t it?” said Frank.
“More than the place is worth. He came back this morning and raised his offer. Wanted to give me eight thousand dollars if I would sell. But I won’t sell. I won’t sell him the island at any price, and I told him so. You see, when my wife and son were alive they loved to go there in winter and summer, so Cabin Island has certain associations for me that cannot be estimated in terms of money. They are dead now, and I cannot bear to part with the place. The cabin was erected for the use of my family, and my wife and boy used to go there and watch the workmen building it. So I’m not at all inclined to turn the place over to strangers.”
“I see, sir,” remarked Frank sympathetically.
“I’m sorry if Mr. Hanleigh drove you away. He had no right to do that.”
“Of course, we had no right there, in the first place,” ventured Joe.
“Just as much right as Hanleigh. Now, boys, I have no objection to letting you visit the island from time to time, if the place appeals to you, providing you don’t disturb things.”
“We would be very careful.”
“I’m sure of that. Any time you want to visit Cabin Island, go right ahead. And if Mr. Hanleigh is there and has anything to say about it you can tell him he has no authority and no right to be on the property. I can’t imagine why he was prowling around there at all.”
“We were thinking of having an outing during the Christmas holidays,” said Frank. “Our big difficulty was in finding a good camping place. Why couldn’t we stay on Cabin Island, Mr. Jefferson? We could have our outing there, and at the same time we could look after your property.”
Elroy Jefferson nodded agreeably.
“An outing, eh? Just you two boys?”
“We have two or three of our chums along with us.”
“That would be fine. I envy you. A winter outing. I think Cabin Island would be ideal for that. And, if Mr. Hanleigh is busying himself ordering people away from there, I imagine it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have someone on the ground to look after things. You have my permission, boys. Go ahead, and have your outing at Cabin Island.”
“That’s mighty good of you, Mr. Jefferson!” exclaimed Frank impulsively, and Joe echoed:
“You bet!”
“Not at all. I know you can be depended on to leave things as you find them. I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll put the whole matter in your charge and I’ll turn over the keys of the cabin to you. I think you’ll find it a very comfortable place.”
That was how the Hardy boys and their chums received permission to hold their winter outing on Cabin Island.
VI
Preparations
When the Hardy boys returned home after their visit to Elroy Jefferson they hastened to tell their father about the munificent reward the antique dealer had given them for recovering his automobile. Then came the momentous matter of securing permission for the vacation outing.
Fenton Hardy listened with a smile.
“So you want to leave us during the Christmas holidays,” he said. “You don’t mind missing Christmas dinner, with the turkey and the pudding and the nuts and raisins and candy. You don’t mind going without your presents this Christmas. You’d rather go camping.”
“Would we have to miss our presents?” asked Joe anxiously.
“Well, you know that Christmas presents are usually given out on Christmas morning in this house. If you’re not here—”
“Couldn’t we get them before we go away?”
Mr. Hardy laughed. “You want presents and outing both, I see. Well, I suppose it can be arranged. I have no objections to letting you go camping, seeing Mr. Jefferson has been good enough to allow you the use of Cabin Island. If you take proper equipment with you, plenty of food and blankets, you should be comfortable enough. As a matter of fact,” he murmured, “I wouldn’t mind going with you myself.”
“Will you come, Dad?” shouted Frank.
“I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to get away. Go ahead with your outing—if your mother agrees.”
Mrs. Hardy, it appeared, had no objections, although at first she was reluctant in view of the fact that the boys would be absent from the family circle over Christmas Day. “It won’t seem like Christmas without my lads,” she said.
Aunt Gertrude, of course, insisted on contributing her “two cents’ worth,” as Joe expressed it.
“Camping in the winter time!” she sniffed. “I never heard the like of it. They’ll freeze to death.”
“We’ll be just as comfortable as if we were in town, Aunt Gertrude,” said Frank. “The cabin is well built and warm, and we’ll have plenty of heavy blankets with us.”
“You’ll need ’em. As for being comfortable, I’ll warrant you’ll be glad to come humping back home where everything is nice and cosy. You’ll find a big change, my fine young men, when you get away down in that rickety shack, with the wind blowing through the chinks and the snow drifting in on the floor. If you stay there longer than one night, it will be a big surprise to me.”
“Of course,” put in Joe, “if you think you will miss us so very much—if you really think it would spoil your Christmas not to have us here, why we won’t go.”
Aunt
