The Mystery Of Cabin Island Part 6

He grabbed a chair, stood on it, and pushed the trap door open. "I'll need a boost," he said.

Biff gave him a lift. Frank scrambled into the dark opening, then disappeared. His footsteps made the boards creak ominously above Joe and Biff. The wailing noise came again with a kind of taunting quality.

"Owoooooo-oo!"

"Hey, what's going on?" Joe called out.

There was no response.

CHAPTER IX.

Warning by Code JOE broke out in gooseflesh as the wailing abruptly ceased. The attic floor creaked again and Frank looked down through the opening into the kitchen. "I've captured the ghost!"

"No kidding. Show me," Biff said.

"Here!" Frank replied. He handed down an empty lemonade bottle.

"What do you mean?" Joe asked as Frank swung himself through the open trap door and dropped to the floor.

"Listen," Frank said.

He held the neck of the bottle to his lips and blew hard. The others heard a low, thin version of the doleful sound that had terrified Chet.

"Where did you find this?" Biff asked.

"The bottle was being used to plug a hole in the roof," Frank explained. "When the wind blew across it in a certain way - it hooted!"

Joe laughed. "I wonder if Hanleigh heard that sound and that's why he said the place has spooks!"

Frank took a piece of wood from the box beside the stove. "This'll do to plug the opening," he said. With a boost from Joe, he went into the attic again. After plugging the hole, he lowered himself onto Joe's shoulders and closed the trap door before jumping down.

The three returned to the north bedroom. Biff pulled Chet from his coc.o.o.n of blankets. "Here's your wailing ghost," he said, handing the lemonade bottle to his friend. Then he explained how the wind had produced the noise.

Chet placed the bottle on the floor and gave the others a scornful look. "Maybe this is what we heard,"

he said, "but it's not what I saw running through the woods in a white sheet!"

"Now that you're awake, Chet, why don't you take your turn standing guard?" Joe suggested.

"Oh, all right!" Chet grumbled, crawling from bed. When he reached the living room, he called out, "Hey, everybody! Come here! Our patient is waking up!"

The three rushed to the sofa. "W-where am I?" the stranger asked, blinking his eyes and staring in bewilderment at the boys' faces hovering above him.

Joe took a match and lighted the paraffin lamps, then sat on the floor beside the sofa.

"Easy," he cautioned. "You had a close call!"

"The sudden storm!" the man muttered. "The wind and the snow - I couldn't see - "

"We know," Joe said soothingly. "But you're safe now, and the storm is over." The boys realized for the first time that the wind had stilled.

"How do you feel?" Frank asked.

"I'm all right," the man insisted, as he started to rise.

"Be careful!" Chet warned, but the stranger chuckled and sat upright. They noticed that the man's eyes were bright blue, and had a merry twinkle.

"You may be injured," Frank said. "Please lie down. We can take you to see a doctor."

"I don't need any doctor!" the red-haired man declared cheerfully. "I feel a little sore and I must have b.u.mped my head, but that'll do no damage!" He moved his arms and legs. "See? I'm okay."

"Who are you?" Frank inquired again.

"My name is Mack Malone. Call me Mack."

The boys introduced themselves and the man's face crinkled into a big grin. "So you're the Hardys!" he said to Frank and Joe. "I came out to give you a message."

"Who sent you?" Joe asked excitedly.

"Your father," Mack replied. "You see, I often do errands for the Bayport police. Fenton Hardy asked me to bring his sons a message. I drove my car to the mainland road across the cove from here and walked over on the ice."

"Didn't you realize the danger?" Joe asked.

"The storm hit suddenly. For a while I nearly gave up. But then I thought I'd finally reached Cabin Island.

The ground was so slippery I couldn't get out of the way of that falling tree."

"Lucky we found you," said Joe. "What was the message-?"

Mack Malone chuckled. "It's a funny one-doesn't seem worth the trouble we've all been through! Well, here it is: 'The alley cat is after the mice, but feed him well!'"

"Very strange!" Joe commented.

"I'll say!" Frank agreed.

"Boy! It's a riddle to me!" Chet declared, then added, "It's almost daylight, and you Hardys will probably puzzle your brains over that message anyway. How about some breakfast?"

"Good idea!" Biff agreed.

The boys dressed and a short time later Mack Malone joined them for a hearty meal of fried eggs, bacon, and toast. When they had finished, the man stood up and said, "Well, fellows, the sun is rising. I'd better be on my way."

"We'd be happy to take you to Bayport for a checkup," Frank reminded him.

"No, thanks. I'm fit as a fiddle, except for a few bruises," the redhaired man a.s.sured him. "I'll stroll over to my car and be home in no time!"

"Watch your step crossing the ice," Joe cautioned.

"You bet your boots I will!" Malone gave a wry laugh and added, "One accident is enough - and besides, I'd sure hate to spend New Year's Day on crutches!"

"Thank you for bringing the message," Frank said as their visitor left the cabin. Malone responded with a parting wave.

When he was out of sight, Biff turned to the Hardys. "What about that double-talk?" he questioned. "Do you really believe your father would send a man to tell you some nonsense about cats and mice?"

"Somebody's pulling your leg!" Chet put in.

"No, it's on the level," Frank a.s.sured them. "Joe and I were pretending we didn't understand while Mack was here. Dad sent the message in code because he wanted it to be kept secret for his own reasons."

"Then what does it mean?" Chet asked impatiently.

"That someone is out to get Frank and me - we're the 'mice,'" Joe explained. "We're to play along with the person - he's the 'cat'and trap him. In other words, 'feed' him and avoid being 'eaten' by him!"

"Fine!" declared Biff. "But who is this cat? How will you find out?"

"We already know," Frank said.

"You do!" Chet exclaimed.

"Dad frequently uses the phrase about the cat in secret communications to us," Joe explained. "The clue is in the adjective. Here, it's 'alley cat'-the second syllable, 'ley,' could stand for the 'leigh' in Hanleigh!"

"Wow!" Chet was wide-eyed. "So Hanleigh is out to get you!"

"How does your dad know?" Biff asked.

Joe shrugged. "He must suspect the fellow is after something in the cabin or on the island."

"Hanleigh's a rough customer," Frank said grimly. "That's probably why Dad used code. He was afraid Hanleigh might intercept Mack and force the message from him."

Chet groaned. "Maybe we ought to pack up and go home while we can!"

"We can't leave," Frank insisted. "If Hanleigh is trying to steal something from Mr Jefferson, we must stop him."

"But aren't you supposed to keep looking for Johnny?" Biff asked. "And he doesn't seem to be on Cabin Island. So what do you do next?"

"First, I'd like. to search more thoroughly," Frank replied, "to make sure Johnny hasn't come here since yesterday."

The boys donned their outdoor clothes and spread out over the whole island. Each examined a separate area, searching among bushes, trees, and rocks. Then they combed the entire sh.o.r.eline. When they finally rejoined each other, none had any clues to report.

After they returned to the cabin, Chet asked, "Now what?"

"We could investigate the mainland near here, and inquire if anyone has seen Johnny," Frank proposed.

"But I'm wary of leaving the place unguarded, especially after getting Dad's message," Joe said with a look of concern.

"We can use my binoculars from the mainland," Chet reminded him, "to keep an eye on the island while we're away."

"Good idea!" Joe exclaimed. "And I'll bring the camera Dad gave us. Maybe we'll get some good photos with the telescopic lens."

Frank remarked, "Our going away might lure Hanleigh here, and that may be what Dad wants."

"Let's have lunch before going off on this wildgoose chase," Chet urged. "I'll make some sandwiches."

"Good and thick, please," Biff begged. "All that tramping around has really given me an appet.i.te!"

"Same here," said Joe.

The boys ate quickly, then set off in the Seagull. The strong wind of the previous evening had blown most of the snow to the land, so the ice-yacht tacked across the surface at a fast clip.

Looking back at the island, Chet remarked, "It's sure a pretty place."

Tall pines looked like white pyramids, and bare branches were coated with ice which glittered in rainbow colours.

On the mainland directly opposite, the four boys spotted a shack built of sun-bleached boards. Smoke was drifting upward from its rickety stove-pipe chimney.

Frank slackened sail and let the Seagull drift to a complete stop.

"Let's talk to the person who lives here," he suggested, putting down the brake.

A bearded man came out and called, "What can I do for you?"

"We're looking for a boy who is missing from his home in Bayport," Joe replied. "His name is Johnny Jefferson. He's fifteen, and big for his age."

The shack owner shook his head. "I haven't seen a soul as long as I've been here this winter. Say, have you asked Pete Hagen? He lives in a fishing hut just about a mile down sh.o.r.e."

Frank thanked the man and sailed the Seagull in that direction. The boys found Hagan fishing through the ice just beyond his home. He had seen no boy of Johnny's description.

As the four companions glided away, Joe said, "This is discouraging. Only thing we can do is cruise up and down the coast."

Frank worked skilfully to keep the vessel close to sh.o.r.e while Biff scanned the woods with his binoculars. "No one's in there," he reported.

"Let's hike up that hill," Joe finally suggested, pointing to a section where pine trees grew down to the sh.o.r.eline of the inlet. "From the top we can see Cabin Island and keep an eye on it."

Frank brought the Seagull in and braked it. The boys strapped on snowshoes and made their way up the densely wooded slope. At the top, they found themselves in the back yard of a weathered log cabin which perched on the edge of the precipice.

"Wonder who lives here," Biff said.

"No one, from the looks of it," Frank replied. "But let's go see."

The four approached the cabin. It was small and crudely built, with large c.h.i.n.ks between the logs. The place had a desolate appearance.

The boys knocked several tunes at the door, then Joe went to look through a window. "I think the place has been abandoned," he reported. "There's not much furniture, and everything is covered with dust."

"Let's go in!" Chet urged. "My feet hurt and I'm freezing!"