The Secret Of The Lost Tunnel Part 15

"It's upside down," Frank remarked.

161 "Now I see it!" Chet bubbled. "I must have iaken this when I backed into the wellhole.

Look, there's the guy who was spying on me!" He pointed to a thick ma.s.s of foliage.

"You're right," Frank agreed. "There are a man's back and shoulders, and part of his legs."

"Another half-man," Chet moaned.

"Say!" Joe's eyes lit up. "I wonder if this i the same man we got a picture of in Bayport?"

"We'll find out," Chet said, pulling the duplicate of the stolen print from his pocket.

"The legs seem to match," Joe observed. "Now we know he has long legs and high, square shoulders."

"If I'd only got his face!" Chet groaned.

"Don't worry," Frank said encouragingly. "We have two strikes on Bush now. Next time you'll get his face."

As Chet put all his pictures into the envelope, Joe went across the street to buy some atom crackers. He returned in a few minutes with a bagful.

"Let me see "em," Chet begged.

"No siree," Joe said, shoving the bag into his pocket.

Upon reaching the house, Chet related his experience in town to the general. The officer laughed heartily at the story of the atom crackers but frowned 162 upon hearing that Bush definitely was around.

"Our enemies are closing in on us," he remarked. "We must be alert for an attack."

The words were hardly out of his mouth when Claude burst excitedly into the house. He had gone over to his own home after dinner. A caller there had mentioned that a farmer friend of his had two boarders, one of them named Dr. Bush.

"We'll go right out there," Frank said. "Come along, fellows!"

"Carry on all your maneuvering from the rear," General Smith ordered as they rushed out. He could not accompany the boys because he was waiting for a telephone call from Washington.

The boys' enthusiasm lasted exactly fifteen minutes-the length of time it took to reach the farmhouse and meet the boarders. Dr. Bush was found to be quite lame, and admitted he had taken the t.i.tle of doctor while selling patent medicines at county fairs. A disgruntled customer had thrown the "doctor" off his barker's stand and injured him. The other boarder was a mild-mannered farm hand.

Disappointed that their trip had been fruitless, the boys drove toward Centerville. Frank was at the wheel. For some strange reason he decided to take the longer route which pa.s.sed the old Beaure-gard Smith plantation. Soon they were approach163 ing the overgrown lane which led into the property.

"Now I can get a good night's sleep," diet yawned. "No more sleuthing until tomorrow."

"Don't be too sure," Frank said, slowing down. "I saw a light flash in there! Let's see what's going on."

As he pulled to the side of the road, Chet grunted and announced he would guard the car while the Hardys went to investigate.

"Sure, and fall asleep and be kidnaped." Joe said. "You'd better come along."

Chet reluctantly agreed and brought up the rear as the boys, unlighted flashlights in hand, walked silently and cautiously toward the spot where Frank had seen the light. The clear, star-studded sky made it easy for the boys to find their way. When they reached the front of the ruined mansion, Chet flopped down on a granite steppingstone. No light was visible, but there were m.u.f.fled sounds.

"Somebody's digging!" Joe whispered. "Let's get 'em!"

"We'd better wait here awhile," Frank advised. "n.o.body can see us, and we may be able to pick up some useful information."

The boys strained their ears. A thud sounded emptily in the distance. Then another.

Suddenly Chet. sneezed. The thuds stopped.

164 "Quick! Move to another place!" Frank ordered. "They've spotted us!"

As he grabbed Chet by the arm and pulled him from his perch on the steppingstone, a flash winked in the distance and the eerie whine of a ricocheting bullet shattered the stillness.

"I'm shot!" Chet cried out.

Apprehension gripped the boys. Had their friend been badly wounded? Forgetting all other problems, they carried Chet to a safe distance and laid him on the ground. Frank, using his body to shield the beam of the flashlight, bent low to examine the wound. A splinter of stone protruded from the boy's leg.

"Thank goodness it's no worse," he said hoa.r.s.ely. "A piece of the steppingstone hit you, Chet, not the bullet. I'm going to pull it out."

Chet gritted his teeth as Frank pressed the wound on both sides until the blood oozed out, then bandaged it with a clean handkerchief.

In the meantime, Joe had put his ear to the ground. Receding footsteps told him there were at least two enemies. Then dull thuds made it evident they had gone back to their work.

When Chet had been taken care of, Joe said to Frank: "Come on! Let's find that guy who shot him!"

"Right! Stay here till we get back, Chet."

165 "But they're armed!" Chet argued. "You haven't got a chance against them!"

"We'll be careful," Frank promised, "but we must must find out what they're doing." find out what they're doing."

With that, the brothers slipped into the darkness, taking a circuitous route toward the spot from which the rifle flash had come.

CHAPTER XXI.

Charred Papers.

"listen!"

Frank grabbed Joe's arm, and the boys stood stock-still. Work was going on in a pit among the ruins of the plantation owner's study.

"Sure I scared 'em off," one of the men said brag-gingly. "Prcuy brave 'lil they heard my gun."

"Good thing we got these stones blasted out before they came," another said.

Baby Face! And another of the boys' kidnapers!

Frank whispered to Joe that they ought to get the police at once. Joe was afraid the men would find something valuable and leave before the police arrived. As the brothers debated the best move to make against the armed crooks, Baby Face exclaimed: "I hit something! Gimme your strong light."

In a moment a glow sprang up not more than twenty feet from the Hardy boys. Frank and Joe crouched low to avoid detection, all the while observing the bizarre scene before them.

The two men, their backs toward the boys, were stooping down in a hole dug along an inside cellar wall of the house.

Their talk now was excited. "It's a safe, Hank!" said Baby Face.

"Jumping cow!" Joe whispered to his brother. "If they've found the gold, we're out of luck!"

The boys backed away and held a hurried consultation. It was decided they had better try to stop the crooks from opening the safe rather than go for the police.

"But how?" Frank pondered.

"I've got it!" Joe said softly. "The atom crackers!"

Frank immediately grasped his brother's idea. "We'll scare 'em off! Careful, Joe. If they see the match light, we're sunk."

The younger boy pulled the bag of atom crackers from his pocket and crouched at the very base of the wall so that the light of his match could not be seen by the men.

When the fuse on the little red ball sputtered, 168 Joe hurled it in the direction of Baby Face and his companion. It landed silently in a soft mound of earth ten feet from where they were standing.

One second, two seconds, then- wham! wham!

A deafening report burst into the night. The diggers jumped and cursed, as Joe lit the deafening report burst into the night. The diggers jumped and cursed, as Joe lit the second cracker.

"Sh-shoot back at 'em, Baby Face!"

Joe lobbed the cracker. Baby Face reached for his rifle. As he did, a second explosion burst at his heels. His hand never touched the gun!

"Somebody's wingin' grenades!" he cried out. "We'd better scram!"

As if to help the men on their way, a third atom cracker burst behind them, filling the night with a thousand reverberations. It was the boys' intention to follow and try to nab at least one of the men, but both started shooting over their shoulders as they fled.

Frank and Joe stopped running. Regretfully tney watched the erratic course of the men's flashlights as the two fled to the road, scrambled into an automobile, and roared off into the country, "Let's get our car!" Joe urged.

Frank reminded his brother of the distance to their automobile and the fact that Chet was alone, his leg injured.

169 "I'd say we ought to have a look at that safe before Baby Face decides to return with reinforcements."

"You're right," Joe agreed.

Before investigating the pit, the Hardys reported to Chet, who was in a near-panic because of the shooting. Relieved to see his friends safe, the boy declared he could limp with little pain and insisted upon going to the pit and watching.

"This sure is an old safe," Frank declared, as he climbed down into the hole and examined the large, rusted object with its old-fashioned dial.

Excitedly the boys looked around for tools the crooks might have left so they could open the safe, but found nothing but two spades, which were of no help.

"Tell you what," Chet spoke up. "You fellows stay here. I'll go tell General Smith what happened. He'll probably want to come out here."

"Good idea," Frank said. "You stay home and take care of that leg."

Chet did not reply, but he was planning to do that very thing. His leg was swelling and ached badly. When he reached the car, Chet gave a couple of blasts on the horn to let the Hardys know he had reached it safely, then drove off.

Frank and Joe figured that the general would arrive by eleven o'clock, but hour after hour went 170 by and he did not come. Had Chet been waylaid?

Finally the boys could stand the suspense no longer. Both started for the road. Reaching it, they turned toward Centerville. At this moment a car came along. Ducking behind some bushes, they let it go past without hailing the driver. There must be no more mishaps tonight!

"It's our car," Frank whispered. "But I couldn't see who was in it."

"I couldn't, either," his brother said. "Look, it's turning into the lane!"

The boys followed on a run. The condition of the overgrown road was so bad that the car had to crawl along, with the result the brothers easily caught up to it. General Smith was at the wheel. No one was with him. When he stopped, Frank opened the door.

"We were worried about you, sir," he said. "Is Chet all right?"

"Yes. But he reached home with an empty gas tank. What a time I had getting some at this hour of the night! Well, let's get to work. I understand we may solve the mystery."

In the back of the car were a crowbar, sledge hammer, file, and blowtorch which General Smith had borrowed from the garageman who had sold him the gasoline. The boys lugged them to the pit, 171 and pointed out the safe, which had been craftily concealed in the wall of the house.

"It's not going to be easy to open this," the officer said, as he stood in front of it. "And the noise may attract attention."

The general ordered Frank to stand guard, while he and Joe worked. Fifteen minutes later, the brothers exchanged places. The blowtorch had failed to make a hole, but Frank thought they might crack through the hot iron.

"Will you hold this chisel at the edge of the dial. General Smith, while I swing the sledge hammer?" he asked.

The brigadier held the chisel unflinchingly while Frank, his sure eye and st.u.r.dy arms guiding the heavy tool, hit one crashing blow after another. The steel dial gave way grudgingly, but finally, with a mighty stroke, Frank knocked it off the rusty safe.

With a little prying, the bolt came loose and Franfc pulled on the door. It creaked open.

He half expected a cascade of gold to tumble into his hands, but instead only a bundle of charred papers greeted his eyes!

After recovering from his disappointment Frank investigated the safe further.

"Here's a book," he said, reaching far back into 172 the safe. He opened the book and flipped its pages. "A diary!" he exclaimed.

"It's scorched," General Smith said. "Probably from the heat of the fire which destroyed this building."

Frank hastily read the entries in the old book which recorded the daily happenings on the plantation. When it mentioned the advance of the enemy army, the entries became terse.

Some day's events were listed in only a sentence or two. Finally, the last entry in the old diary said simply: "Despairing, have taken cannon b.a.l.l.s to tunnel. Sent message to Smith."

Frank whistled. "What a clue! Joe, come herel" he cried out.

"First an a.r.s.enal. Now a tunnel," General Smith said. "This is getting more baffling as we go along."

"The a.r.s.enal might be a tunnel," Joe reasoned, when the notation was read to him.