muscular fellow, whose shock of white-blond hair gleamed in the sunshine.
'Jerry,' Joe hissed, 'I've seen those guys before! They were in Mr. French's shop when we picked up our costumes!' He added in a whisper, 'The blond one must be Fritz Stark. He looks just like Ben, except for the different-colored hair.'
Jerry gripped Joe's arm. 'He's standing up! He'll see us!'
But Fritz Stark pointed straight ahead of him and called out to the man at the wheel, 'Nick, take her to the hidden inlet!'
The boys crouched tensely, watching the two men cruise slowly past them. When at last the
dark-brown
craft was out of sight, the boys took in deep breaths of relief. But the result was disastrous to Jerry.
'Kerchoo! Kerchoo!' The sounds echoed off the bluffs behind them and carried far over the water.
'Oh, golly, I'm sorry,' Jerry whispered. 'I'm allergic to pine.'
'Sh! Keep down,' Joe warned. 'Maybe they heard you, and maybe they didn't.'
With hearts pounding, the boys waited. The gentle put-putting sound of the motorboat grew
louder and faster, rising in crescendo to an angry roar.
'We're in for it,' Joe groaned.
In another moment the prow of the brown boat knifed back into view. This time the men
aboard scanned the shoreline suspiciously!
The boys clutched the pine branches in front of them. But it was no use. The Napoli's hull was clearly visible to their pursuers.
'There they are!' Fritz Stark shouted. 'In that boat!'
As the bandits' craft swerved sharply and ran straight up on the concealed boys, Joe whispered,
'Run for it, Jerry!'
The thick-growing brush, which had helped to conceal them, now became an obstacle to their
flight.
Seizing the pithy branches, Joe pulled and squirmed until he could feel solid ground. But when he jumped up and walked, the thick growth clawed at his legs.
Thump! The robbers' boat crashed into the Napoli. Then the brush began to shake as the men
fought their way toward the boys. 'Grab them!' Stark yelled.
Jerry caught up to Joe and for an instant the boys hesitated. All around rose the gray, rocky
bluffs. Just in front of them, however, was a narrow ravine which Joe had noticed earlier.
'Come on! I think we can make it!' Joe urged.
The boys scrambled madly uphill, their pursuers only yards behind! Hand over hand, they
clambered upward. Once Jerry stumbled and Joe paused to help him regain his balance. The
short, muscular Stark was now gaining rapidly.
Joe uprooted a small prickly bush and fired it back. The bush hit Stark in the face. He cried out in anger, but kept staggering upward. In a moment he made a leap for Joe's ankles!
'I've got you!' he cried as the boy slid backward on his stomach.
'Keep going, Jerry!' Joe shouted before turning to grapple with his antagonist.
At the same time the second man skirted them both, and disappeared over the top of the
ravine, pursuing Jerry.
Though Joe fought savagely, Stark's weight finally won out and soon the boy's arms were
pinned behind him and bound together with a belt.
Then Jerry appeared at the top of the ravine, his arms held securely by Stark's henchman. 'Get down there!' his captor ordered roughly.
While he and the boy descended, Stark eyed Joe with an unpleasant smile.
'Hey, Nick,' the blond man called, 'look who's here!'
The henchman grinned as he recognized Joe. 'One of the real Hardy boys!'
'What'll we do with him and his friend?'
'Load 'em in the boat. We'll take 'em to the cave.'
'We haven't much time,' Nick warned him.
'Don't worry,' Stark said in a hard voice. 'We're going to make quick work of 'em!'
CHAPTER XIX
Rocky Prison
FEAR showed in Jerry's eyes and his face paled. Joe stoically hid his emotions at Stark's ominous threat.
The same thought raced wildly through the boys' minds. What would these men do to them?
While the two men forced Joe and Jerry into the brown boat, Frank was sending the Sleuth full
speed toward Bayport harbor. Looking behind him, he frowned, puzzled.
'Where's the Napoli, Tony?' he asked. 'Can you see it?'
Tony turned his head for a look. 'No,' he answered.
'They shouldn't be so far behind us,' Frank said.
From time to time he glanced back uneasily, and as they sped across the bay toward the Coast
Guard station, he spoke up worriedly, 'The Napoli isn't that much slower than the Sleuth, Maybe the boat had motor trouble.'
'Don't think so,' Tony said, tight-lipped. 'Just had her checked.'
Frank throttled down his engine as the Sleuth slid in beside the pier. Making a line fast to a pile, he leaped onto the ladder and climbed up.
'Take it easy, Tony. I'll get help,' he said, and sprinted along the wharf to the Coast Guard headquarters.
'I have a fellow in my boat with an injured ankle,' he told Lieutenant Parker breathlessly.
A few moments later four Coast Guardmen, two with a stretcher between them, were running
with Frank to the end of the pier. Expertly, the rescue team carried Tony up the ladder and laid him on the stretcher.
'Okay, Tony?' Frank inquired.
'Sure,' came the plucky reply. 'You'd better forget me, Frank, and think about Joe and Jerry.
Something
must have happened to them!'
'We must get Tony to a doctor,' Frank told Lieutenant Parker, as both hurried along beside the stretcher.
'Our men will take him,' the young officer said. 'We have an emergency vehicle ready at all times. But what was he talking about, Frank? Is something else wrong?'
'I'll tell you in a minute,' the boy replied.
'We might need a cutter and some men soon. May I use your phone?'
Frank went into the Coast Guard station and called police headquarters.
'Chief Collig?' he began urgently. 'This is Frank Hardy. I'm at the Coast Guard pier. Just got back from Hermit Island. We've found the jackets the bank robbers were wearing. I have two of
them. Joe ought to be here with the others any minute.'
'What!' Collig cried in amazement. 'Stay there. I'll be right down,' he said.
After hanging up, Frank dashed out of the station and ran to the end of the pier again.
Frowning, he scanned the waters of the bay. He could not see the Napoli, and he returned to
the station.
'Our men have taken Tony to a doctor,' Lieutenant Parker told him. 'Have you found some new clue to the bank robbers or your missing chums, Frank? If there's going to be trouble, we
want to help.'
Frank quickly gave details and ended with, 'I'm worried about Joe and Jerry.'
'What do you think happened to them?'
'I don't know. There was one member of the gang on the island when Tony and I left. Maybe more of them
