"Dixon, Franklin W - Hardy Boys 014 - The Hidden Harbor Mystery (original)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dixon Franklin W)

"I wonder what he meant by saying that old Mr. Blackstone was a scoundrel?" queried Joe.
"And I should like to know what he was doing in our stateroom," Frank remarked.
Mr. Hardy told them that he would return to Bayport by express late in the afternoon. If the boys should not get back from Rocky Inlet in time to catch the same train they could come later that evening. He bade them goodbye and hastened down the street.
The lads lost no time in calling a taxi and ordering the driver to take them to the life-saving station. On the way to Rocky Inlet they discussed every angle of the strange case in which they had become involved so unexpectedly.
"If we can't prove this Rand fellow guilty," Frank pointed out, "it may be mighty serious for us. If we're brought into court and old Mr. Blackstone swears we robbed him we won't have an easy time clearing ourselves. Naturally it will be his word against ours, and he can make it look pretty bad. Even if we are acquitted there will always be a certain amount of suspicion directed against us."
"We're going to locate that money and find out who stole it!" Joe declared grimly.
"Maybe there wasn't any six thousand dollars in the first place," suggested Chet. "We had only Blackstone's word for that."
Frank whistled at this new suggestion.
"That's an idea. But why should Blackstone tell us he had a big sum of money in his possession if he didn't?"
"It might have been a frame-up in the hope that our parents would put up the funds rather than have us arrested. I've heard of that trick before."
"Sounds a little bit far-fetched," observed Frank. "It isn't improbable, though."
They soon reached the beach, where a lonely little building stood on the rocky and desolate shore. A few boats were drawn up on the beach, and on one of the upturned craft sat an old fisherman mending a net.
The boys told the driver to wait for them, and walked up to the life-saving station. At first their knocks went unanswered, and the boys began to wonder if the place were deserted. After a lengthy delay, however, they heard sounds of activity within, and the door was opened slowly by a thick-set, red-faced man who peered at them through the opening.
"'What do you want?" he asked roughly.
"We should like to see Mr. Rand," replied Frank. "Is he well enough to have visitors?"
The man frowned.
"I don't know who you're talking about," he said in a surly voice.
"We saw in the paper that Mr. Ruel Rand, one of the survivors of the Resolute wreck, had been brought here," explained Joe. "We'd like to see him."
"Don't know anything about him," grunted the attendant. "Beat it!"
"Was he taken to Croston?" asked Frank.
"I don't know. What do you think this is anyhow? An information bureau?"
With these words the red-faced man slammed the door rudely in their faces, while the boys exchanged glances of consternation.
"Mighty queer, this," said Frank. "That fellow was hiding something. I'll bet he had orders to keep still if anyone should come here looking for Ruel Rand."
"What shall we do about it?" asked Chet. Joe shrugged. "'What can we do? We may as well go back to Croston."
"All right," agreed Frank. "But we're coming back. If Mr. Ruel Rand thinks he can fool us that easily, he is mistaken," he added with determination.
About nine o'clock that evening a car made its way down the Rocky Inlet road, the headlights cutting a bright swath through the darkness. While it was yet out of sight of the life-saving station the machine was brought to a stop, the lights were switched off, and three figures scrambled out.


CHAPTER VI

RAND'S ESCAPE


"BRRR! It's cold!" muttered Chet, shivering, for a chill wind was sweeping in from the ocean. "I wish we hadn't come to this life-saving station."
"You've always wanted to be along on our adventures," Frank reminded him. "Don't start grouching now."
"Oh, I'm not grouching," replied the fat boy hastily. "I'm having a grand time. No harm in making a remark about the weather, is there?"
"Not so much chatter," cautioned Joe. "That watchman may be banging around and we'll get chased out of here if he should catch us."
Quietly the three lads walked down the road toward the life-saving station, and in a few minutes came in sight of the building, vague and shadowy in the night. With the exception of one dimly-lighted window, the place was in darkness. The whine of the wind, mingled with the steady crash and roar of the waves on the beach, accentuated the desolate and sinister atmosphere of the lonely spot.
"I hardly think Rand is here," said Chet. "Why should anyone want to stay in such a forsaken place?"
"It's because of the watchman's attitude this afternoon that I think the fellow is here," answered Frank. "That guard was too secretive to suit me. If Rand wasn't there we would have been told so outright."
"Something in that, I guess," Chet agreed. The boys crept closer to the building, trying to peer through the single lighted window, but the shade was tightly drawn. It was useless to attempt listening for sounds of movements or voices within the house, because the howl of the wind and the roar of the surf drowned everything.
With surprising suddenness a beam of light swept out of the darkness, shone for a moment on the house, then vanished. Startled, the boys wheeled about, for the illumination had come from the direction of the winding road. Presently they heard the noise of an automobile engine, and through the gloom could dimly see a car pull up to a stop. The driver had cut oft the headlights as soon as the machine had come around the curve.
Breathlessly the lads crouched at the side of the building. Someone was getting out of the car. Then a dark figure came down the slope, picking its way carefully along the path. It drew closer, passed within a few yards of the boys, ascended the steps, and went up to the door.
Frank peered around the side of the house, and saw the visitor knock sharply. A moment later the door opened and the newcomer was clearly revealed in the light that streamed out. Frank uttered a gasp of surprise.
The mysterious caller was a woman! She stepped into the building, and the door closed behind her.
"Looks as if we've stumbled on to something mighty strange," said Frank quietly, as he stepped back to the others. "Why should a woman be calling here at this hour of night?'.'
"A woman!" exclaimed Joe and Chet. In the darkness they had been unable to see the stranger other than as a vague, dark form.
"Yes, a woman."
The boys did not have to speculate long as to the reason for the lady's visit. Almost immediately the entrance to the place opened again and she stepped out, followed by a tall man. He wore a long overcoat, with the collar turned up around his neck and a hat drawn low over his eyes. His face was in the light for a moment, so Frank could see him clearly.
The man was Ruel Rand!