The Deserted Yacht Part 16

Madge held her breath as he picked up the wrapped package. What would he do to Enid and her father when the deception was discovered?

The Indian cut the strings and the paper fell away. A cry of rage escaped him.

"Tricked!" he exclaimed, his face convulsed with anger and hatred. "Ah, you shall pay for this!"

"It's a mistake!" Enid cried. "I had the drum when I left The Flora tonight. Don't hold me responsible for something I didn't do!"

The men paid not the slightest attention to her excuses. They moved to the other end of the room and conversed in a tongue which Madge had never heard before, but from the vehemence with which they spoke, she guessed that they were plotting a cruel punishment for Enid and her father.

"Oh, this is dreadful!" she thought. "I can't bear it to stay here and do nothing. Why doesn't Rex come?"

Abruptly the three natives left the room above and a minute later, Madge heard them moving about on the second floor.

"They've gone up there for something," she told herself. "If I don't save Enid and Mr. Burnett now, I'll lose my chance. I can't wait for Rex. He may not get here until it is too late!"

With a courage born of desperation, she quietly opened the door and slipped into the room. At sight of her Enid stifled a scream. Madge held up a warning hand, and with a hasty glance directed toward the stairs leading to the second floor, s.n.a.t.c.hed up a knife lying upon the table.

Enid was nearest her and with several sharp thrusts with the blade, she had cut Enid's bonds and set her free.

She turned to aid Mr. Burnett. Just at that moment, she heard footsteps on the stairs.

"Go!" Mr. Burnett whispered tensely. "It's your only chance!"

Madge wheeled about but already escape was cut off. The door was blocked by the three natives.

CHAPTER XV Rescue

At sight of the three men, Enid uttered a piercing scream. Madge made a wild break for the cellar door but half way across the room she was clutched roughly by the shoulder and flung backwards with such force that she fell to the floor.

"So you thought you would meddle, eh?"

She started to retort but the words froze on her lips. Distinctly, she had heard footsteps on the porch! It was too much to hope that rescue was at hand.

Then the door was flung wide and two young men with drawn revolvers stepped into the room. Close behind were several policemen.

"Rex!" Enid cried joyfully.

"Jack French!" Madge exclaimed.

She had no time to wonder how he came to be there, for in the next few minutes, everything was confusion. Undaunted by the odds against them, the three kidnappers dashed out the light. Furniture crashed to the floor and an occasional bullet flew. Through it all the girls clung tightly together and huddled in a corner.

The kidnappers put up a desperate but losing battle and soon were subdued. Someone lighted a lantern. Madge was relieved to see that no one was seriously injured. The police lined the kidnappers up and took them away under close guard.

At the first opportunity, Enid had gone to her father's side, cutting the ropes which bound him.

"Tell us everything," she urged. "Who are these dreadful men and why did they want the Zudi Drum?"

"There are a number of things to be explained," her father replied with a smile, "but first, I owe your friends my deepest thanks for their timely arrival."

Mr. Burnett knew Madge and Rex but Jack French was a stranger. Madge introduced him and he gravely shook the ranger's hand.

"Jack must tell us how he came to be here at the psychological moment,"

Madge declared, "but first, you must relate your experiences, Mr.

Burnett."

"There's not so much to tell," he responded. "I bought the Zudi Drum in India of an antique dealer. I suppose the fellow resorted to questionable means in obtaining it but at the time I thought him reliable. At any rate, the first intimation I had of trouble was when I received a threatening note, warning me to give up the drum or suffer the consequence."

"You didn't tell me that," Enid observed.

"No, I didn't wish to alarm you. If the men had come to me in a straightforward way and asked for the drum, I would have given it to them, but instead, they tried to force me. I placed the Zudi Drum in the safe at home."

"The house was entered," Enid informed, "but they didn't get the drum."

"I suspected they would ransack the place. They tried to force me to tell where I had hidden the trophy, but I refused. Then when all else failed, they tricked my daughter into coming here."

"I walked straight into the trap," Enid admitted. "Madge tried to keep me from it but I wouldn't listen. And it wasn't my fault that I didn't bring the drum. I can't imagine what became of it."

Madge explained the subst.i.tution she and Rex had made, and likewise told of her visit to the jeweler.

"You had the situation sized up correctly," Mr. Burnett praised. "The kidnappers are Zudi worshipers, and are the last of a tribe that for years has been thought no longer to exist. As I understand it, the drum was formerly used for ceremonial dances and the like. Then it was stolen, or so these men claimed. The order is characterized by a particular symbol which appears on the drum and also on pins they wear."

"It was the jade pin that gave me my first clue," Madge declared.

"How did the natives trace the drum to you, Mr. Burnett?" Rex asked.

"I don't know that, but they were willing to cross an ocean to find me.

Perhaps after all, I should turn the drum over to them."

"You'll not be able to do it for a good many years," Jack French observed. "Unless there's some slip, they'll all get stiff sentences in the pen. The sect should be broken up."

"After all you've gone through, I think you deserve to keep the drum,"

Rex added.

Madge was curious to know how Jack and Rex had met and the former obligingly told the story.

"After I received your telegram, Madge, I hopped a train and came as fast as it would carry me. I arrived at Cheltham Bay and learned that The Flora was still anch.o.r.ed in the harbor. I went down to the wharf, thinking I'd hire a boat to take me out there."

"Then he ran into me," Rex interrupted. "I had my amphibian tuned up and was watching the yacht to see when you girls started away in the motor boat. He asked me how he could get out there and I suspiciously demanded his name and his business. As soon as I learned he was a friend of yours, Madge, I invited him to join the festivities."

"I guess I arrived too late to be of much service," the ranger said regretfully.

"Not much you didn't!" Rex protested. "If you hadn't been along, I doubt if we'd have found this place. When we landed at the beach and were puzzled which way to go, he picked up Madge's trail like a blood hound."

"A blind man could have followed it," Jack declared modestly.