“But why all the trouble on your face. I thought you wanted them to come.”
“But they’re coming in the plane.”
“Thought you fixed it so they couldn’t. What did you do to it?”
“Took the brushes out of the motor.”
“I’m afraid you’re not so smart as I thought,” Gordon grinned. “We’ve got several pairs of extra brushes along.”
“I might have known it. Still, if they’re going to hunt you up, there’s no harm done.”
“Not to the motor,” Gordon grinned.
“You think they’ll hunt till they find you?”
“Sure they will, but if you want them to find me why don’t you get outside and let them see you?”
“You don’t think I’m fool enough to do that I hope.”
“Well, you see, I don’t know a thing about it, the whole thing seems a bit foolish to me. Here you kidnap me and then say you want them to find me. What is it, a ransom game?”
“Never mind what it is. I want you to do just as I say. Do you understand?”
“Well, I’ve been pretty gentle so far, haven’t I?”
“Because you had to be.”
“What is it you want me to do?”
“Wait till I take another look outside and perhaps I’ll tell you.”
“Suit yourself,” Gordon said as the Jap disappeared.
As before he was gone but a minute and when he returned it was with the news that they were flying in circles.
“That’s to make a thorough job of it,” Gordon told him.
“They won’t see this hut unless they fly directly over it.”
“Then let’s hope that’s what they’ll do.”
“It’s some machine you’ve got,” the Jap declared a moment later.
“You said something,” Gordon assured him.
“I suppose those brass cylinders I stole the other day are some new kind of a battery.”
“You suppose just exactly right. They are.”
“Did you invent them?”
“No.”
“Did the man you call Rogers?”
“No.”
“Who did then?”
“Couple of friends of ours back in Maine.”
“Boys?”
“About our age.”
“They must be smart.”
“They are.”
“It must seem strange to be in a plane and not have it make any noise.”
“It does till you get used to it.”
“What are you fellows here for?” He abruptly changed the subject.
“I can’t tell you that, not just now.”
“You mean you won’t?”
“That’s about the size of it.”
“I’ll find out later.”
“Which is on the knees of the gods,” Gordon grinned. “But, I say, you’ve got that cord tied mighty tight.”
“Does it hurt?”
“It’s beginning to feel mighty uncomfortable.”
“If I take it off will you give me your word of honor to do exactly as I order?”
Gordon hesitated a moment, then he shook his head. “Reckon not. I guess I can stand it a bit longer.”
Again the Jap went outside and this time he was gone longer than on the previous occasions. “They’re going to hit about right in about two more turns, I think,” he announced when he came back.
“Suits me,” Gordon said.
“You lie down on the ground close to the side there,” the Jap ordered.
“What’s the idea?”
“Never mind the idea. You do as I tell you, and when they come in here you keep perfectly still.”
“You want them to think I’m dead?”
“No. I don’t want them to know you’re here.”
“But they’ll see me.”
“I shall cover you up with a blanket.”
“And suppose I don’t keep still?”
“In that case you’ll wish you had. If you do as you’re told I promise that you’ll not be hurt.”
“How about my brother?”
“He won’t either, unless he does something very foolish.”
“And Rogers?”
For a moment the Jap did not answer.
“How about Rogers?” Gordon again asked.
“I make no promise in regard to him.”
“Then I think I’ll stay right here.”
“And I think you won’t. Come, they’ll be here soon. Get down there before I have to hurt you. You can’t help yourself you know and please don’t make me resort to harsh means. It’s so useless and unnecessary.”
For a moment Gordon pondered the situation and was not long in coming to the conclusion that the other was right. He was completely in his power and might as well do as he ordered before he was hurt as afterward.
“You win again,” he said shrugging his shoulders. “But I warn you not to hurt Rogers.”
“I hope it won’t be necessary,” the Jap said drily.
CHAPTER IX
SOLVING A MYSTERY
“You follow me and don’t make any noise if you can help it,” Rogers said as he started to push his way through the dense growth.
“I’m right behind you,” Bill told him.
It was hard work and they were obliged to literally force their way foot by foot so dense were the bushes. But, after what seemed a long time, Rogers gave a grunt of relief and, as Bill crept up, he saw that they had reached the hut.
“Regular Indian tepee,” he whispered with his lips close to Rogers’ ear.
“Guess we’re on the back side,” Rogers whispered back. “Listen.”
For several minutes they listened with their heads close to the poles.
“Hear anything?” Rogers whispered.
“There’s someone in there,” Bill told him. “I’ve heard him move twice.”
“I thought I did, but I wasn’t sure. Follow me now and keep your gun handy.”
Careful not to make the slightest noise they stole around the hut until they reached the path close to the doorway. Then they again stopped and listened. Yes, there was no doubt but that the hut was occupied.
“Keep your gun in your hand but hold it behind you,” Rogers whispered as he stepped into the path and advanced through the open doorway.
It was rather dark inside as there was no window and at first he did not see the figure sitting on a box near the side directly opposite the door.
“I’ve got you covered and shall shoot if you make the least move,” came a stern voice and as their eyes became accustomed to the faint light they saw the speaker and that what he said was true. “Drop your guns and raise your hands.”
Both obeyed.
“Now come over to the center of the room. That’s right.”
“What’s the idea?” Rogers asked, a slight smile on his lips.
“You’ll know in a minute. What’s your name?”
“Rogers.”
“You lie.”
“Perhaps in that case you’ll tell me what it is,” Rogers suggested.
“I will. Your name is Doctor Horn.”
“What makes you think that?”
“I know it. You live in Honolulu.”
“Pardon me, but you’ve made a mistake. I never was in Honolulu till the other day.”
“Of course you’d say that.”
“Because it’s the truth.”
“And you probably never heard of a Japanese named Ito Yoshihito.”
“You’re right, I never did. Who is he?”
“I am he.”
“Well, I can’t deny that.”
“Because you know it’s true. Now back out, both of you, outside where there is more light.”
They backed out keeping their hands well above their heads and thoroughly convinced that they were in the hands of a crazy man.
“Now stop,” the Jap ordered as soon as they were in the open where the sun struck down in the pathway. “Now look at that hand,” he shouted holding out his left hand while the right kept a firm grip on the gun. “Is there any sign of leprosy there? Tell me, is there?”
“Why, not that I can see,” Rogers assured him. “Of course I’m not a doctor as I told you but——”
“But less than three months ago you declared that I was a leper and ordered me deported to this island.”
“You’re crazy, man. I never——”
“Don’t lie to me,” the Jap interrupted. “I know what you did and why.”
“Now see here,” Rogers began, as a thought struck him. “Let’s get this straight.”
“Oh, it’s straight enough,” the Jap declared, but Rogers went on as though he had not spoken.
“You say that a doctor examined you and pronounced you a leper?”
“That is so.”
“I don’t dispute it,” Rogers told him. “But it was not I. Probably it was someone who happens to resemble me and you’ve taken me for him. Now take a good look at me. No two men are exactly alike.”
For a full minute the Jap looked fixedly at Rogers and Bill, watching with intense interest, fancied that a look of doubt followed by one of incredulity swept over his face. Then, suddenly, he dropped the gun and turned his back on them.
“Well?” Rogers asked after a moment had passed.
“You are right,” the Jap declared, turning his face toward them. “You are not the man.”
“You are sure of it?”
“I am sure of it. He has a slight scar on the side of his face. Except for that you look exactly like him.”
“Then it’s indeed fortunate for me that he has the scar,” Rogers smiled.
“It is,” the Jap agreed. “But I owe you the most humble apology.”
“No. It was a mistake and a natural one. But I do wish you would tell us all about it. But first, we are looking for the third member of our party. Have you seen him?”
“He is in there and safe.”
“But I didn’t——”
“No, you didn’t see him because he’s covered up. Gordon,” he called.
But Gordon had been able to catch most of the conversation and now appeared in the doorway. “I thought it would be all right to come out,” he smiled looking at his late captor.
“Certainly,” the Jap cried, as he sprang to untie his hands. “And anything I can do to atone for——”
“That’s all right, old man,” Gordon declared. “I heard most of what you said and I don’t believe that, under the circumstances, I would have been as patient as you have been. Shake.”
Five minutes later they were all inside the hut and Ito was telling his story.
“A little more than three months ago,” he began, “I was a happy man. I had worked my way through the University of California and was settled in a business which was paying good money. But I had a partner who proved to be a bad man. We had the agency of the Buick car and were selling many and making big money. But he was mad that he had to divide with me and wanted it all. But I never suspected him of treachery until one day I spattered some acid on my hand and it made a number of sores. I showed him and he seemed very sympathetic. But a few days later a man came into the store and said he was Doctor Horn from the health department. He looked at my hand and said I was a leper and——well——what could I do?
“I told him what had happened to my hand but he claimed that I was telling a lie and that it was a clear case of leprosy. I had no one to whom I could go and he didn’t give me time if I had. That very afternoon I was on a boat bound for Molokai.”
“But the authorities here,” Rogers said, “they must have known that it wasn’t leprosy.”
“Of course, but I suppose they were bribed. You see I was taken to one of the smaller houses in the colony and I don’t believe the real authority knew that I was there. I was closely guarded by a real leper and I believe the idea was to impart the disease to me as soon as possible.”
“What a fiendish scheme,” Bill declared.
“Worse than that,” Gordon added.
“But I managed to escape,” the Jap continued, “and for more than two months I have been hunted. But they never found me and, pray God, they never shall.”
“Amen,” Rogers said under his breath.
“Well, the other day, I saw your plane and then I saw you and you can, perhaps, imagine my feelings when I thought I recognized you as the man who had sent me here.”
“I don’t know whether I can or not,” Gordon told him.
“Only a few weeks ago I was a prosperous business man and now look at me,” and the Jap glanced down at the rags which covered his body.
“It does seem as though you had had rather more than your share of trouble lately,” Rogers sympathized. “But we’re going to help you.”
“You mean it?”
“Certainly.”
“After the way I acted?”
“But we don’t blame you a bit for that,” Bill assured him and they all saw the big tears as they gathered in his eyes.
“Now, it seems to me that the best plan is to take you back to Honolulu and report the affair to the proper authorities as soon as possible,” Rogers told them.
“But——”
“Will the plane carry all four of us?” Rogers interrupted, turning to Bill.
“We’ve never had four in her but he’s not very heavy and I think we can do it. The only trouble will be in getting into the air. You see, there’s no place smooth enough to get a running start and we’ll have to depend on the elevator and——well, we can try it. If it’ll lift us it will.”
“And if it won’t it won’t,” Gordon added.
“In which case one of us will have to stay behind,” Rogers told them.
“Let’s hope it won’t be necessary,” Gordon said.
“Well, the sooner we find out the better,” Rogers declared as he got up from his box. “We’ll get back to camp and get dinner and then start.”
“Perhaps and maybe,” Gordon added. “How about trying to make her lift us right now?”
“It’s too rough around here,” Bill told him.
“Then you and Steve take the plane back and we’ll walk and here’s betting we get there first,” Gordon proposed.
He and the Jap started off at a fast run but the plane passed them before they had covered half the distance, and Bill had a fire going by the time they arrived.
“Now for it,” Rogers said as they finished cleaning up after the meal.
“Just a minute till I put in some new cells,” Bill called. “I reckon we’ll need all the power we can get.”
It was a tight squeeze in the back seat for Rogers and the Jap but they managed it and Bill started the motor. Notch by notch he pushed over the lever and faster and faster the propeller whirled.
“I’ve only got one more notch,” he told Gordon who was watching the instrument board.
“And she hasn’t budged,” Gordon replied. “Well, give her the juice and let’s know the worst.”
Bill pushed the lever over to the last notch but, although the plane gave a lurch, it failed to rise. “Nothing doing,” he said as he slowed the motor and finally brought it to a stop. “There’s just a few pounds too many in her,” he told them.
“Which means that I’m going to stay behind,” Rogers said as he started to climb out.
“Just a minute,” Gordon told him. Then, turning to Bill, he said: “If I get out and you get her off the ground and then start the other propeller, I believe I can jump on and she’ll go. What do you think?”
“I think there’d be about one chance in a million,” Bill told him.
“Make it two and let’s try it.”
“All right, I guess there’s no particular danger only you want to be quick when the time comes.”
“I’ll be quick,” Gordon promised as he climbed over the side of the cockpit.
The plane was resting on a slight elevation or knoll about thirty feet wide but the ground was very uneven especially right in front. As soon as Gordon was out Bill once more started the elevator and when he reached the next to the last notch the plane quivered and slowly left the ground.
“Hold her now,” Gordon cried when the wheels were about a foot from the ground. “Now start the other motor and I’ll hold her as long as I can and then I’ll jump.”
Bill did as ordered and the speed of the forward propeller increased until the plane began to move in spite of Gordon’s efforts to hold it.
“I’m coming,” he yelled as he gave a spring.
The plane gave a sudden side lurch and one of the wings brushed the ground, but the wheels did not touch the earth and the wing was not damaged. Another minute and Gordon had climbed over the side of the cockpit and the Albatross was twenty feet in the air.
“I told you,” Gordon exulted.
“But no one but you would have thought of it,” Rogers declared.
“And I don’t think anyone else but he would have tried it even if he had thought of it,” the Jap added.
“You’ll give him a swelled head,” Bill called back.
“He deserves it,” Rogers declared. “I thought sure I was doomed to stay behind and I didn’t want to a little bit and I don’t mean maybe.”
“She seems to be riding all right,” Gordon told than as the plane passed out over the ocean.
“Oh, she’d carry twice this load once she got going,” Bill declared. “And I imagine she’d have taken off all right if it had been smooth enough.”
“I’ll bet,” Gordon added.
“A wonderful machine and it seems so strange not to hear a racket,” the Jap said. “I’ve been up two or three times and I was nearly made deaf by the noise.”
“Yes, it’s some different,” Rogers told him.
They were now flying smoothly at an elevation of about two thousand feet but there was a haze in the air and they were unable to see but a short distance.
“Don’t get lost, Bill,” Rogers said.
“I don’t think I will,” Bill told him. “But it isn’t very clear up here.”
“Sure you’re going in the right direction?” Gordon asked. “Seems to me we’re heading too far to the south.”
“I think you’re right,” Bill agreed giving the wheel a slight turn. “I can’t use the compass as I don’t know the exact direction.”
“Oh, well, it’s only about thirty miles to the end of the island and I guess we can hit it all right,” Gordon told him.
“But the air is a mighty big place,” Rogers added.
“Seems to me we ought to be getting somewhere pretty soon,” Bill declared ten minutes later. “We’ve been in the air twenty-five minutes and we’ve been making about sixty most of the time.”
“I see it,” Gordon cried, pointing off to his right.
“That’s a bank of clouds,” Bill told him.
“Bank of clouds your eye. I tell you that’s land,” Gordon insisted.
Bill had turned the plane a bit to the right as soon as Gordon had announced land and a few minutes later they saw that he had been right.
“You win as usual,” Bill laughed.
“You mean I’ve got good eyes,” Gordon laughed back. “That’s one thing I am good at,” he chuckled.
“I could mention one other thing,” Rogers told him.
“And I can add a third,” the Jap declared.
“My, but I’m getting all puffed up,” Gordon laughed. “Pretty soon I’ll be thinking I’m some pumpkins.”
“It’s a good thing you made me change the direction when you did,” Bill told his brother. “If we had kept on the way we were going I believe we’d have missed it.”
“Maybe,” Gordon agreed.
By this time they were over the land and Bill slowed down the speed as they knew the city was only a short distance away.
“Going to land where we did the other time?” Gordon asked.
“Guess that’s as good a place as any if I can find it,” Bill answered.
“Then you want to go a bit more to the left.”
“Right again.”
They could now see the city only a few miles ahead and a few minutes later the plane settled to the ground in the same place they had picked before.
CHAPTER X
THE JAP’S RETURN
Several people had seen the Albatross before it reached the ground and, as on the former occasion, a crowd soon collected about them. This was very annoying to the boys as both were anxious to accompany Rogers and their new friend and see that justice was done him. But to leave the plane unguarded with that crowd about was out of the question.
“I’ll stay and watch it,” Gordon volunteered.
“Wait a minute,” Rogers told him. “Here comes a policeman. Perhaps we can make a dicker with him.”
In this they were successful and for five dollars the officer agreed to stay by the plane and guaranteed that it would be safe. However, to be on the safe side, Bill took the cells and stuck them in his pocket.
“No use in taking a chance,” he whispered to Gordon. “That fellow looks honest but you never can tell.”
“Better to be careful than sorry,” Gordon whispered back.
“Now, then,” Rogers told the Jap as soon as they were away from the crowd, “I think we’d better go straight to the police station and tell our story to the head man. What do you say?”
“I agree with you,” the Jap told him.
“You know where it is?”
“Sure. We can get a car right here that’ll take us to within a block of it. There comes one now. Come on.”
They boarded the trolley and a half hour later were asking for the chief in one of the finest police stations the boys had ever seen. They were obliged to wait a few minutes but soon they were ushered into an inner office where a tall man of middle age sat at a desk facing the door. His complexion was very dark and they at once took him for a native, although he spoke perfect English as he addressed them.
“And what can I do for you?” he asked pleasantly.
It had been agreed that Rogers should act as spokesman and he replied:
“My name is Rogers and I am a member of The United States Secret Service but, at the present time, I am on a vacation. These two boys are William and Gordon Hunniwell, also of the States and this man is a resident of your city.”
The boys noticed that when Rogers mentioned The United States Secret Service the officer became all attention and quickly arose and offered his hand to them in turn.
“Anything that I can do for you will be a great pleasure,” he declared motioning for them to sit down.
“Thanks,” Rogers said. “Chief,” he continued as soon as he was seated. “We have a strange story to tell and one not easily believed,” and went on to tell what the Jap had told them.
The officer listened without saying a word until he had finished. Then he said: “That doctor’s name is Horn if I understood you correctly.”
“That’s right,” Rogers told him.
“Well, I’ve heard of him although I do not know him, and he does not possess a very savory reputation. He’s been mixed up in more than one affair that I don’t believe would bear the full light of day, although he has never been arrested. One moment and I’ll see if I can get him on the wire.”
He hunted in a phone book for a moment and then, picking up the instrument, gave a number. There was a moment’s wait, then:
“Is this Doctor Horn? Good, lucky for me I caught you in. This is the Chief of Police speaking. I want you to run around to the station for a minute. What’s that? Well, that’s too bad, but I’m afraid it’ll have to wait. You’ll be right round? Good. Be sure you don’t forget.”
He hung up the receiver with a smile. “He’ll be here in a few minutes. His office is only three blocks away,” he told them.
“You aren’t afraid he’ll try to beat it?” Rogers asked.
“Not a bit,” the chief smiled. “He knows that a request to come here is an order and that if he didn’t come he’d be arrested within an hour. He’ll come. And I suggest that you wait in this other room,” he said getting up and opening a door directly back of his chair. “I’ll leave the door open a bit and you can hear what is said. Doctor Horn is, I suspect, a very smart man and a very slippery one, and if he saw you here he would undoubtedly deny any knowledge of the case, and I’m afraid that you would have pretty hard work proving that he did what you say he did. But I hope to be able to make him give himself away.”
They followed him into the little room which was hardly more than a closet but it contained four chairs and the chief hoped they would be comfortable, and returned to his office leaving the door open a few inches.
A few minutes later they heard the door open and the chief’s voice as he greeted his visitor.
“Ah, good afternoon, doctor. I trust I have not too greatly inconvenienced you.”
“It’s all right,” a deep bass voice replied.
“That’s good. Sit down and I’ll not keep you any longer than is necessary. What I want to ask you is whether or not you’ve had any experience with leprosy?”
“Why, yes, a little. We don’t have many cases as you probably know,” the man replied, in what seemed to the listeners, a relieved tone.
“That’s true, thanks to you doctors. Now then, you know the disease when you see it, I suppose?”
“Certainly, it’s unmistakable.”
“So I’ve been told. Now did you ever send a patient to Molokai?”
“Only once, about three years ago.”
“Not since then?”
“No.”
“You are sure?”
“Quite.”
“Please be very sure your memory doesn’t fail you,” the chief cautioned him, “because I have a very good reason to know that you sent a man there not much more than three months ago.”
“Who says I did?”
“Never mind that. The fact is that you did.”
“I did not.”
“Think carefully.”
“You don’t suppose I’d forget a thing like that, do you?”
“It hardly seems likely, and yet——”
“I tell you I did not. It’s been all of three years since I sent a patient there.”
“I tell you frankly, doctor, that you had better come clean. It’ll go much easier with you.”
“But, chief, I can’t say I did when I didn’t.”
Rogers and the boys had noticed that the Jap was having hard work to control himself as he listened to the conversation. Rogers, who sat close beside him, had laid his hand on his arm as if to reassure him, but the restraint was not enough for, as the doctor made the last denial, he leaped to his feet and, before they could restrain him, he had darted through the doorway.
“You lie,” he shouted as he sprang into the room and confronted the astonished doctor.
But the latter displayed nothing but a natural astonishment.
“You sent me to Molokai three months ago and you know it,” the Jap cried shaking his fist at the doctor who was now regarding him with an amused smile on his face.
“I’m afraid, my friend, you will have some trouble in proving that,” he declared.
“You deny it?” the Jap shouted.
“I most certainly do,” the doctor replied calmly. “To the best of my knowledge I never saw you before.”
Rogers and the boys had followed the Jap into the room and now Rogers whispered: “I’m afraid he can’t prove it.”
“Looks that way to me,” Bill whispered back.
“How about it?” the chief asked the Jap, “Can you prove what you say?”
“I——I——” the Jap hesitated and Horn interrupted.
“He can’t prove it and he knows he can’t for the very good reason that it’s not true. I believe blackmail is his game. If there’s nothing else, chief, I’d like to go now. As I told you I have a very important appointment.”
“All right, you can go, but before you leave, just let me give you a word of advice. From what I’ve heard of you you’ve been sailing pretty close to the wind on more than one occasion and my advice is that you be a bit more careful. I don’t mind telling you that in my opinion you’re guilty of what this man accuses you, but I’m afraid he can’t prove it.”
“Any time you can pin anything on me you’re welcome,” the doctor almost shouted but his face was very red and they all saw that he was frightened.
“All right,” the chief told him, “If I get the chance I’ll do it and don’t you forget it.”
“I won’t,” the doctor promised as he turned and left the room.
“I guess I wasn’t as smart as I thought I was,” the chief declared as the door slammed shut. “I thought I could pin it on him but I didn’t. He’s a slick one, he is. Of course I believe what you say and there’s no doubt in my mind that he did just what our friend says he did, but unfortunately he doesn’t seem to be in a position to prove it and that’s what counts in this business.”
“It seems to me,” Rogers said, “that his only chance now is with that partner of his, although I realize it’s a pretty slim one at that. All he has to do is to say that he knows nothing about it and that’s probably what he will do.”
“How about the men who took him there?” Bill asked.
“Do you know who they were?” the chief asked turning to the Jap.
“I——I’m afraid not. You see it was at night and I didn’t get a good look at them,” he stammered.
“But surely he can prove that he was received there,” Gordon suggested.
“I’m not so sure about that,” the chief told them. “According to what he says I doubt very much if the regular authorities ever knew he was on the island.”
“I’m pretty sure they did not,” the Jap agreed.
“Well, chief, what would you advise him to do?” Rogers asked.
“What kind of a man is this partner of yours?” the chief asked turning to the Jap.
“He’s an American and I always thought he was a good fellow and square until he did this to me.”
“But what’s his temperament? Is he quick tempered or hard to get along with?”
“I never thought he was.”
“Well, if you want my advice, I’d go and walk into the place without giving him any warning and see how he takes it. He’ll most likely want to know where you’ve been and say how he’s tried to find you and all that sort of thing. If he does I’d pretend that I didn’t suspect him at all. Then I’d take the first chance that offers to get rid of him, either buy him out or sell out to him. But the most important thing just at present is that you don’t want to lose your share of the business. How does it strike you?” he asked turning to Rogers.
“I believe the plan is the best one under the circumstances. If you can’t prove anything against that doctor I doubt if you can against him. I’d follow out that plan.”
“But won’t the doctor call him up and tell him that he’s come back?” Gordon asked.
“Not if he’s as smart as I think he is,” the chief told him. “You see, a call can be traced and if we could prove that he did that we’d have a strong point in our favor. Of course he may not think of that but I believe he’ll be sharp enough not to do it.”
“Maybe he’ll go around there himself,” Gordon suggested.
“Just a minute and we’ll be in a position to know if he does.”
The chief pushed a button on his desk and a man in plain clothes entered.
“Jerry, did you see that fellow that went out of here a few minutes ago?” the chief asked.
“You mean that fellow you sent for?”
“That’s the one.”
“Sure I saw him.”
“Just a minute. What’s the address of your place?” he asked the Jap and, on being told, turned again to the other. “Go around there and watch if he shows up. If he does try to find out what he says to the man in charge. You probably can’t do it but there’s just a chance.”
Then he called the chief operator of the telephone company and gave orders that he be notified at once if any one called 1538, which the Jap had told him was the number of their phone, and gave the information that someone was back.
“There, we’ve laid the trap but I doubt if he springs it,” he smiled.
“I agree with you,” Rogers said as he got up from his chair.
They left a few minutes later and stopped for a moment on the pavement outside the station.
“Would you like us to go with you?” Rogers asked.
“I think it would be better for me to go alone, don’t you?” the Jap replied.
“Frankly, yes,” Rogers told him. “But, of course, we’ll be very glad to go if you want us too.”
“No, I think I’d better go alone. I have no fear as I can take care of myself now that I shall be on my guard.”
“I’ll tell the world you can,” Gordon grinned.
“Boys, I think we’d better spend the night here. What do you say? We can put the plane in some garage and take in a movie to-night. Frankly, I’d like to know how he comes out before we go back.”
“No, no,” the Jap insisted. “You’ve done too much already. Don’t you bother any more.”
“Of course we’re going to stay,” Bill declared.
“A movie to-night suits me down to the ground,” Gordon added.
“Is there a hotel anywhere near where we left the plane?” Rogers asked.
“The Byscaine is only a couple of squares away,” the Jap told him.
“Good. Now you come there at ten o’clock to-night and we’ll have a little talk. And now, if I were you, I’d get over to the place and see the partner as soon as possible.”
“I can never repay you for what you have done for me,” the Jap told them as he shook their hands.
“Forget it,” Gordon told him.
“Hope he comes through all right,” Bill said as the Jap disappeared around a corner.
“He will,” Gordon assured him.
They caught a car a few minutes later and returned to the place where they had left the plane to find everything all right and a half hour later the plane was locked in the big garage of the Byscaine Hotel and they were enjoying the luxury of a hot bath. After supper they took in a movie and by half past nine were back at the hotel waiting for their friend.
The Jap came shortly before ten and they knew at once that things had gone well with him.
“He did just as the chief said he would,” he told them as soon as they were seated in one of the bedrooms. “Wanted to know where I’d been and told how worried he’d been and how hard he’d tried to find me. Of course he was very much astonished and very indignant when I told him what had happened to me, but I know he was lying all the time.”
“I called the chief a few minutes before you came,” Rogers told him, “and he reported that the doctor had neither phoned nor been around there. I guess that chief knows what he’s talking about most of the time.”
“I reckon he knows his callouses,” Gordon told them.
“And you think that doctor is one of them, eh?” Rogers laughed.
“Well, a callous is a hard spot and, believe me, that baby is a hard one.”
“And then some,” Bill added.
They chatted together for an hour and then the Jap left after repeating again and again his gratitude for what they had done and making them promise that they would see him again before they left for the States.
“Funny he never asked us what we were doing on that island,” Bill mused as they were getting ready for bed.
“He asked me before you fellows met him,” Gordon told them.
“Did you tell him?” Bill asked.
“Of course I didn’t,” Gordon replied, “He was an enemy then.”
“I suppose he thought we would tell him if we wanted him to know,” Rogers told them.
“Well, that’s that,” Gordon said as he jumped into bed.
CHAPTER XI
THE ALBATROSS FLIES ON ONE CELL
It was just after nine o’clock the following morning when the Albatross settled to the ground close by the camp.
“Here’s hoping that no one has rifled the grub,” Gordon said as he leaped to the ground.
“We’ve had enough interruption for a while and that’s a fact,” Bill told him as he hurried to the spot where they had cached their provisions. “Guess everything’s all right,” he announced a moment later after a hasty examination.
“That’s good news,” Rogers smiled. “Are we going to take the rest of the day off or are we going to get busy?”
“The rest of the day? Where do you get that stuff? The day is young yet,” Gordon told him. “Of course we’re going to get busy. What do you think we’re here for?”
“How about the tide?” Bill asked as he glanced at his watch.
“Must be about half way out,” Rogers told him.
“Then we’ll have several hours,” Bill said. “Think it’s safe for all three of us to go?”
“Lightning never strikes twice in the same place,” Gordon told him.
“Meaning you think it’s all right to leave things to look out for themselves?”
“I’d say so. I don’t believe anyone comes along here once in a dog’s age. But don’t forget to hide the cells.”
“Why not take the plane and land it on the beach where we want to start in and then we can keep an eye on it,” Rogers suggested.
“That’s using the old bean,” Gordon told him. “And we won’t have to walk so far either.”
“Which sure appeals to you,” Bill laughed. “But I do think it’s an excellent plan.”
So a moment later they were again in the air and soon dropped over the cliffs at the point where the fissure was located. There was plenty of space between the rocks and the water to land and, as the tide was still going out, they felt safe in leaving the plane.
“I’d like to take another look up this ravine before we do anything else,” Rogers said as soon as they were ready to start on the search. “From the map I don’t think it’s likely that the place is there but I’d like to look again just the same.”
“Suits me,” Gordon told him.
“And I suppose we’re as likely to find it one place as another. A map as old as that one isn’t likely to be very accurate,” Bill added as they started off up the narrow defile.
“There’s the rock that came pretty near putting me out of business,” Gordon told Bill a few minutes later as he stopped and pointed to the stone which had fallen from the top of the cliff and had so narrowly escaped him.
“It would have done just that if it had hit you,” Bill shuddered.
They spent nearly two hours hunting both sides of the ravine but found nothing and at last Rogers advised going back and starting over again on the cliff facing the ocean. “It isn’t in here that’s certain,” he declared as he mopped his face.
“Well, we didn’t expect it was,” Gordon told him, “so we don’t need to be disappointed.”
“You sound as though you didn’t expect to find it at all,” Bill told him as they started back.
“Don’t you believe it,” Gordon retorted. “I didn’t mean that at all. Of course we’re going to find it. Have we ever fallen down on anything we’ve undertaken?”
“But there’s got to be a first time,” Rogers reminded him.
“I know, but this isn’t going to be it,” Gordon insisted.
“Got a hunch?” Bill laughed.
“Maybe,” Gordon replied, returning the laugh.
By this time they had reached the entrance to the ravine and for a moment they paused looking both ways to make sure no one was in sight.
“Did you take the cells out?” Gordon asked Bill.
“I sure did,” Bill assured him. “Don’t catch me leaving them anywhere in it.”
“Then let’s go.”
They walked slowly along the foot of the cliff keeping their eyes on the almost perpendicular walls that they might miss no single chance. About a quarter of a mile from where they had left the plane was a sharp break in the cliff and as soon as they rounded it they were out of sight of the Albatross, a circumstance which made them all a bit uneasy. But no one mentioned it, and they had proceeded nearly another half mile when Bill, who was a few feet ahead of the others, suddenly stopped and pointed to a spot on the wall about ten feet from the ground.
“What do you make of it?” he asked.
“Looks as though it might be a stone set in the face of the cliff,” Gordon told him.
“That’s what I thought.”
“Where do you mean?” Rogers asked taking a step nearer the cliff.
“Right over your head,” Bill told him. “Don’t you see it?”
“You mean where that crack is?” Rogers again asked pointing.
“That’s it.”
“Well, all I’ve got to say is that you must have mighty sharp eyes to notice it,” Rogers told them. “Of course I see it now but I never would have noticed it.”
“What made me notice it is that it’s a different kind of stone from the rest of the cliff,” Bill told him.
“I believe you’re right,” Rogers agreed. “It does seem to be a bit darker in color, but the difference is so slight that not one in a hundred would have noticed it.”
“Oh, Bill’s got sharp eyes all right,” Gordon told him.
“I’ll say he has,” Rogers agreed.
“Listen, now,” Bill said as he picked up a stone about the size of his fist. “I’m going to hit the wall just beyond that crack and then I’m going to hit the other side of it and I want you to note if there’s any difference in the sounds. Well, how about it?” he asked after he had made the experiment.
“There was a difference,” Gordon declared and Rogers agreed with him.
“I thought so myself,” Bill told them. “But let’s try it again.”
They tried the experiment several times and they were all thoroughly convinced that the stone did not form an integral part of the cliff.
“That stone has been put there sure as you’re born,” Bill declared.
“And it must have been put there for a reason,” Gordon added.
“I believe you’re right on both counts,” Rogers told them.
“And it looks to me as though we were at the end of our search,” Gordon said.
“Don’t be too sure of that,” Bill cautioned him. “There’s lots of room for a slip yet.”
“Oh, I’m not counting any chickens before they’re hatched,” Gordon grinned. “But it looks hopeful, as the old maid said when a man tipped his hat to her.”
“Well, the next question is how are we going to find out,” Bill said.
“And rather a hard question at that,” Rogers added.
“If that stone was set in there the fellow that did it sure did one mighty fine job,” Gordon declared. “Look how fine the crack is all around it except on that one side. Why, it must have taken him a long time to get it just the right shape.”
“No doubt about that,” Rogers told him, “But remember, he was hiding something very valuable and, according to his own account, he had lots of time on his hands.”
“Well, it isn’t getting us anywhere standing here talking about it,” Bill told them.
“Action is what we want,” Gordon added.
“Get up on my shoulders and hit it with a rock again,” Bill said as he took his stand close to the wall.
“There’s a hollow place behind it,” Gordon assured them a moment later.
“Seems pretty solid, doesn’t it?” Rogers asked.
“Sure does. But a crowbar might do the trick.”
“A drill and a stick of dynamite would be better,” Bill said as Gordon jumped to the ground.
“Neither of which we’ve got,” Gordon declared.
“But I reckon we can get both in Honolulu,” Rogers told him.
“Well, there’s lots of time for that,” Bill said. “Let’s look around first and see if we can find anything nearer.”
“You don’t expect to find a crowbar lying around loose, do you?” Gordon laughed.
“Hardly that,” Bill told him, “but we might find a pointed stone which we could use. You see, it might not take much of a tug to get it out.”
“It won’t do any harm to try at any rate,” Rogers said as he began looking around.
But it seemed that all the available stones were of the wrong shape until, after a search lasting all of an hour, Bill found one that he thought might answer. He was some distance from the others when he picked it up and shouted:
“Here’s one.”
The stone was about a foot and a half long and a couple inches wide, and an inch thick except at one end where it tapered to what was almost a knife-like edge.
“It’s got to come out mighty easy for that thing to do it,” Gordon declared as he took the stone in his hand.
“I know it, but we can try it,” Bill retorted.
“Sure we can,” Gordon agreed handing the stone to Rogers. “Hand it to me when I get up on Bill’s shoulders,” he told him. “All right,” he said a moment later, “let’s have it.”
“Work it easy, now,” Bill cautioned.
It was an awkward place from which to work as he had to reach above his head, but he soon had the edge of the stone in the crack and began to pry.
Snap.
“I told you so,” Gordon said as he jumped to the ground. “That thing snapped as soon as I put the least pressure on it.”
“The stone didn’t move any before your crowbar broke, did it?” Rogers asked.
“Not a move,” Gordon told him.
“Well, I guess we’ll have to get the proper tools before we can accomplish anything,” Bill said.
“Anyhow it’s about time for dinner,” Gordon reminded him.
“That tummy of yours,” Bill laughed.
“Well, it’s most two o’clock, and——great guns, look at the tide.”
So intent had they been on their occupation that they had completely forgotten all about the tide and now they were astounded to see that the water at points was almost at the bottom of the cliff.
“We’ve got to hustle if we want to get around the point without having to swim,” Bill shouted as he started off on a run.
“We’re not going to do it without getting our feet wet,” Gordon told him as he fell in at his side.
“We’ll be lucky if that’s all we get wet,” Rogers added close behind them.
“Suppose the plane’s all right?” Gordon panted when they were about half way to the point.
“I’m not so sure,” Bill told him. “But it won’t be long if it stays where it is, that’s certain.”
“We’re going to get wet all right,” Gordon declared a moment later as they came near the point and he could see the surf breaking on the rocks.
“Well, it won’t be the first time,” Bill puffed. “The only thing I’m worrying about is whether or not the water has reached the plane.”
“We’ll know in a minute,” Rogers told him.
“It’s a good thing there isn’t much wind,” Gordon said as they reached the point and started to wade.
They rounded the point without getting into the water above their knees, and Bill gave a sharp cry as he saw the plane about a quarter of a mile down the beach.
“The water has got it all right and we’ve got to make it in nothing flat if we’re going to save it,” he yelled as he increased his speed.
There was need of haste for the water had not only reached the plane but had gone so far beyond it that every wave, as it rolled in, was rocking it violently. There were, they knew, a number of rather large rocks near where they had left it and the great danger was that it would come down on one of them and be damaged. They could see that the surf was washing nearly to the foot of the cliffs. Indeed, there was only a narrow strip of beach left where they were at the moment and opposite the plane the cliff came down nearer the ocean.
“Gee, but this tide sure does come in fast when it gets started,” Gordon panted running close behind Bill.
“Seems that way,” Bill flung back.
“We may have to pull her up in the ravine.”
“Not a chance.”
“Guess you’re right. I reckon the water comes up too far.”
The plane was swishing about in a foot or more of water when they reached it and they lost no time in getting a hold on it and pushing it toward the cliff.
“Think we can make it from here?” Gordon asked when the plane was only a few feet from the cliff.
“Guess so. Jump in and we’ll make a stab at it,” Bill told them.
The plane was now situated so that the water reached it only when the surf rolled in and then it was not deep enough to move it. In a minute they were all in their seats and Bill was slipping one of the cells in its place in the motor which ran the elevator. But when, he felt in his other pocket for the other cell he caught his breath.
“’Smatter?” Gordon asked.
“I’ve lost one of the cells,” Bill told him.
“You can’t have,” Gordon insisted.
“Perhaps I couldn’t but I did. It must have slipped out that time I tripped and fell just after we rounded the point.”
“Slip it in the other motor and we’ll see if we can take off the regular way,” Gordon advised.
“Impossible,” Bill told him. “Too many rocks in the way.”
“What’ll we do then?”
“I was thinking that perhaps we could put the cell in that motor and jockey down to the path in front of the camp and then we could pull her out.”
“Better make it snappy then,” Rogers spoke for the first time. “We’ll have to run through some water as it is, I’m afraid.”
By the time he had finished speaking Bill had changed the cell and a moment later pushed over the switch. As he had said there were too many rocks of large size along the beach in that particular locality to enable him to run fast enough to allow of a hop off, but by running slowly he believed he could steer by them. He turned the wheel as the plane started and it swung out toward the ocean and almost at once was in a foot or more of water.
“Why didn’t you turn the other way?” Gordon shouted.
“Wasn’t room,” Bill retorted.
“Look out or you’ll swamp her.”
“I’m doing the best I can.”
“Don’t I know it?” Gordon cried.
The plane was now headed the other way and moving slowly toward the cliffs. Then, without warning it gave a sudden lurch and they could feel the wheels settle down as the plane came to a sudden stop.
“Struck a hole,” Gordon announced.
“How’d you guess it?” Bill smiled as he began speeding up the motor.
Faster and faster whirled the propeller, but the plane did not move even when he had the switch on the next to the last notch.
“I’m afraid to give her the last notch,” Bill said.
“How come?” Gordon asked.
“It’s likely to strain her,” Bill told him. “There must be a rock or something in front of one of the wheels, maybe both.”
“I’ll see,” Gordon told him as he leaped over the side of the cockpit. “I’ll say there is,” he announced a moment later after a hasty examination. “And it’s too big to move, must weigh a ton.”
“If we get out do you think we can push her back?” Rogers asked.
“Just a minute till I see what’s behind,” Gordon told him. “It’s in a pretty deep hole but maybe we can do it,” he told them.
Rogers and Bill were out by the time he had finished speaking, the latter having shut off the power when Gordon got out. But, light as was the plane in comparison with other planes, it was too heavy for them to move under the circumstances.
“She’s wedged in there for keeps, I’m afraid,” Bill panted, shaking his head.
“Let’s put the cell in the other motor and see if she’ll go up straight,” Gordon suggested.
“Won’t do any harm to try,” Bill agreed as they climbed back.
“I was afraid it wouldn’t work,” Rogers said a few minutes later, after Bill had turned all the power into the elevator.
“Maybe if you and I get out she’ll do it,” Gordon proposed.
“It’s worth a try,” Rogers agreed.
“Wait a minute till I slow her down a bit,” Bill ordered.
Thus lightened the plane gave a lurch when Bill pushed the switch to the last notch and the next instant it shot up into the air, and reached an altitude of nearly a hundred feet before he could get the motor slowed down.
“That did the trick,” Gordon declared, looking up at the plane.
“Sure did,” Rogers agreed.
“But look,” Gordon cried, “the wind’s taking him out.”
“And pretty fast, too,” Rogers agreed.
So intent had they been with the problem of getting the plane out of the hole none of them had noticed that the wind had strengthened and was blowing directly off shore.
“He’s still going up.”
“Wonder what his idea is.”
“Maybe he thinks he will strike an ocean breeze if he goes up far enough.”
As each in turn expressed an opinion the plane was rapidly mounting and soon it was up so high that it looked hardly larger than a small bird. Then, suddenly, Gordon gave a gasp.
“I believe he’s falling.”
“Nonsense,” Rogers told him.
“I tell you he is,” Gordon insisted, and Rogers could no longer deny it.
Down plunged the plane, gaining speed rapidly, and Gordon groaned in anguish while Rogers placed his arm about his shoulders in an effort to comfort him.
“What could have——”
But he never finished the sentence. The plane was only a few rods from the surface of the water when they saw that the forward propeller was revolving and just before the plane touched the water it had gained enough headway to arrest its downward plunge and in another minute the danger was passed and the Albatross swept over their heads with Bill leaning over the side of the cockpit waving his hand at them.
“Do you know what he did?” Gordon gasped.
“Started the propeller by the force of the air,” Rogers answered him.
“Not a bit of it. You can’t start an electric motor that way.”
“Gee, that’s so. I never thought of that, but you don’t mean——”
“But that’s just what he did. He changed that cell to the other motor while the plane was falling and, thank God, he got away with it.”
“Who’d have thought of it but he?”
“And who else would have had the nerve to try it if he had?”
“Who indeed?” Rogers echoed. “But, I say, we’ve got to beat it and beat it quick.”
“I’ll say so,” Gordon agreed as they started on a run through the water which was now well above their knees.
The plane was circling around overhead and, as they looked up, they saw that Bill was motioning to them to hurry.
“I’m afraid he’s going to have trouble in landing,” Rogers panted as they hurried along side by side.
“Probably that’s what he is trying to tell us,” Jack replied.
The water by this time was touching the foot of the cliffs every time a roller ran up the beach and they knew there was one place just before they reached the path where it would be much deeper and they also knew that the depth was increasing every minute.
“We may have to swim,” Gordon said.
“Guess it won’t be that deep,” Rogers replied.
And he was right, for although the water reached well above their waists, they were able to keep their feet, and a moment later were running up the pathway toward the camp. As they reached the place Bill flew by scarcely ten feet over their heads making as little speed as was possible to keep the plane in the air.
“Going to hit just beyond the camp,” he shouted. “Stand by to help put on the brakes.”
“Give us time to get set,” Gordon shouted back and Bill waved his band to tell them that he understood.
“He’ll hit right about here,” Gordon told Rogers indicating the place. “And we want to stand right here,” he continued taking his position about twenty feet from the landing spot. “He won’t be going very fast and it’s up to us to catch hold of the plane and stop it before it hits those rocks, and it’s going to be some job.”
“We’ll have to catch hold of the tips of the wings,” Rogers said.
“I reckon.”
“Think we can reach them?”
“Come to think of it I doubt it. We could reach them perhaps but there’s nothing to get a grip on. No, we’ll have to let them go over us and grab hold of the sides of the cockpit.”
“That’s my idea. Here he comes.”
The plane was only a short distance away and they could see that Bill had shut off the motor and that the propeller had nearly stopped. Then the plane struck the ground and they ducked. A moment later and the plane rolled between them and they grabbed for the sides of the cockpit. Fortunately they both got a good hold and, although they were swept from their feet, their weight helped and the plane came to a stop just six inches from a large rock.