'Possibly,' Frank replied. 'And if Chet and Biff are prisoners here, the men don't want us to find out! They'll do everything to keep us away.'
Joe whistled. 'If that's true, we must find them.
I'm scared about what may have happened to them.'
'Maybe we'll pick up some clues tonight,' Frank said. 'It's almost suppertime. Let's go back and watch Sutton's place.'
When the boys returned to the group of shacks, they saw some of the men drifting in from
work, and others tending cooking fires.
Behind Sutton's shanty was a deserted shack. Frank and Joe slipped inside and settled
themselves by a broken window. Although they stayed at their post an hour, they saw no sign
of activity.
'Sutton's probably eating somewhere else,'
Frank said. 'Let's find Alf and come back later.'
As the boys stepped outside they heard a lively tune from a harmonica. Following the sound of
the music, they found Alf playing for a small group of rough-looking men, seated around a fire.
When Alf finished the song, he introduced the boys and the laborers by first names. The men
looked the Hardys over and nodded.
'The stew's done,' a big red-faced man said, taking the lid from a large kettle. 'Pitch in!'
As the men began to serve themselves on tin plates, Frank and Joe reached into their bags and
took out the food they had brought. They unpacked a pound of frankfurters, rolls, two cans of
beans, and apples.
'Help yourselves,' Frank invited cordially. 'Looks good, boys,' said the red-faced man, whose name was Lou. 'Most of us are hungry enough to eat two suppers.'
By the time the last crumb had disappeared, the men had warmed up to Frank and Joe and
willingly answered their seemingly casual questions about Shantytown. None of the men,
however, knew what the fights were about, nor had they seen two strange boys.
'We'll keep our eyes open for 'em,' Lou volunteered. He took some driftwood from a bushel basket beside him, and threw two pieces on the fire. Then he tossed a piece of dark cloth after it. 'What's that?'
Frank asked sharply. He grabbed a long stick and hooked the cloth from the blaze. 'It's just some junk I picked up,' Lou answered.
Frank dropped it to the ground and the brothers eagerly examined the piece.
'It's a sleeve from Chet's gorilla outfit!' Joe whispered excitedly.
'I thought it looked familiar,' Frank said. To Lou he said, 'It's part of a costume. Where did you find this?'
'Behind Sutton's shack,' the man replied. 'Is it important?' Alf asked the boys. 'It definitely links our missing friends with Shantytown,' Frank replied, as he put the sleeve in his burlap bag.
'Come on, Joe! Let's go back to Sutton's place.'
After thanking the men for their hospitality, the boys hurried off into the darkness.
'Be careful,' Alf called after them. 'Yell if you need help.'
The Hardys found the shanty dark and padlocked. They circled it cautiously, but there was no
one around. Joe knocked on the door. 'Chet! Biff!' Frank called. Not a sound from inside. Again Joe pounded and both boys called repeatedly.
'It's no use,' Joe said finally. 'If they are inside, they're probably bound and gagged.'
'Look for an opening between the boards,' Frank instructed. The boys pulled out pencil flashlights and examined the side of the shack. 'I've found a knothole,' said Joe. 'And here's a chink. I'll shine my light in while you look through the hole.'
Joe watched the slender beam shift around the dark room. 'Empty,' he declared, disappointed.
'Let's look for more of Chet's or Biff's belongings.' They searched the sand around the shanty, but found nothing.
'Let's hide in the deserted shack again,' Frank suggested. 'If Sutton comes back with any of his pals, we may overhear something important.'
Patiently the young detectives waited and watched, but their quarry did not return. Frank
consulted his watch. 'It's almost midnight. Maybe-'
'Sh!' Joe interrupted. 'Listen!' They heard footsteps and saw a dark figure approaching Sutton's shanty.
The stranger knocked several times. Finally a neighbor opened his door. 'You lookin' for
Sutton?' he asked. 'Yes,' replied the unknown caller. 'All I know is he went off in a car with a dark-haired fellow. I heard Sutton say he wouldn't come back tonight.'
Without a word the caller disappeared into the darkness. The door to the shack slammed shut.
'That's that,' Frank said in disappointment. 'Let's go back to town and report to headquarters.'
'You bet. Frank, do you suppose Chet and Biff were here but have been taken away?' 'It's a good guess.'
The boys covered the mile of beach to their boat, quickly pulled off the improvised camouflage, and launched her. Frank headed down the coast toward Bayport and the Hardy boathouse.
When the boys had debarked, they donned their street clothes again. Carrying their burlap
bags, they emerged from the boathouse and mounted their motorcycles. It was well past
midnight.
When the Hardys reached police headquarters, they were amazed to see Chief Collig in his
office. He looked tired and somewhat dejected.
'I've been working night and day on the bank robbery case and the mystery of your friends,' he said.
'I'm afraid that the boys have been kidnaped.'
'That's what we fear,' Frank said. He showed the gorilla head mask and sleeve of Chet's costume and told of the boys' run-in with Sutton.
'I'll send men out there to make a thorough search,' Collig said.
'We'll go with them!' Joe volunteered eagerly.
'We'd better not,' Frank countered. 'Once the men at Shantytown see us with the police, we won't be able to work under cover there.'
Regretfully, Joe agreed.
Chief Collig rose, strode around the desk, and clapped each of the young sleuths on the
shoulder.
'Thanks, boys! You've brought in the first two leads I've had on this case,' he said. 'If we find Chet and Biff, I'll call you at once.'
Frank and Joe hurried home through the silent streets. When they let themselves into the
house, they saw a light in Fenton Hardy's upstairs study. Frank knocked.
'Come in,' called the detective. When his sons entered, he pushed aside some papers on his desk. 'What did you find out today?'
He leaned back in his big leather chair and listened carefully as his sons gave an account of their day's progress.
When it was finished, their father said, 'If Collig doesn't find Chet and Biff in Shantytown tonight, and they were kidnaped, their parents should receive ransom notes soon.'
'Perhaps they will come tomorrow,' Frank suggested. He turned to his father. 'Do you think Chet and Biff's disappearance could have anything to do with the bank robbery?' 'It's possible.'
'In that case, maybe you'd let us give you a hand on the bank robbery case, Dad.'
'As a matter of fact,' the detective replied, 'if Collig hadn't offered you the Shantytown problem, I would have asked your help on this one.' Frank and Joe looked perplexed. 'But the bank robbery hadn't happened then!' Joe protested.
Mr. Hardy smiled briefly. 'For some time I have been working secretly to round up a certain ring of bank robbers who operate on a national scale.'
'I see,' said Frank. 'And they committed the Bayport holdup?'
'I believe so. It looks like their work. I've learned that the gang is broken up into a number of teams,'
