Mildred A. Wirt

“ As Dan dropped an empty pop bottle overboard, he noticed a mahogany motorboat almost directly opposite the island.
The craft had pulled up along shore, its motor idle. The boy was unable to see the occupants or to obtain a clear view of the boat itself, for it lay half-hidden in a clump of bushes.
“That boat looks a little like Mr. Manheim’s,” he remarked, calling Brad’s attention to it. “Wonder what it’s doing over there? No one appears to be fishing.”
Holding the sailboat to its course, the two Cubs kept watch of the idle motorboat. ”

“ Dan took up the account. “After beaching the boat, we dashed back into the bushes to get out of the rain. When we returned to the beach, our boat was gone.”
“Oh, Dan,” Mr. Hatfield sighed. “How many times have I warned the Cubs always to pull a boat beyond reach of the waves?”
“But we did, sir! Someone deliberately set the dinghy loose.”
Mr. Hatfield braced himself as the launch swung sharply around a buoy which marked a river shoal.
“Your boat was set loose?” he demanded. “Are you sure, Dan?”
“Well, we found a man’s footprint in the sand. That boat couldn’t have broken away by itself.” ”

“ To win the meet the Cubs of Den 2 knew that Dan must defeat Ross for first place. But in the freestyle relay event, the Den 1 swimmer had put on a spectacular burst of speed to capture the event. The prospects looked discouraging.
[187]
“Just swim your own race, Dan,” Mr. Holloway advised as the boy went to the starting line.
The swimmers crouched above their lanes awaiting the signal. Sensing that the race would be a close one, the audience rose to its feet.
Mr. Hatfield’s revolver cracked and the swimmers were off.
Almost together Ross and Dan struck the water in flat, fast racing dives. ”

“ One by one, the Cubs and their parents began to arrive for the meeting. Mr. Hatfield started it off with a little talk. First he told the boys how proud he was that Den 2 had won the swimming meet and the silver trophy which now graced a table in the Cave.
Next the Cub leader paid tribute to Dan for his coolness in the face of danger. Finally he spoke of the Cub ideals and the honor of the organization.
“A real Cub always is square,” he emphasized, smiling across the room at Jacques. “Crooked people are unfair, even to themselves. So the Cub follows the law of God and man. ”

“ The caretaker’s voice was hard and unfriendly as he demanded:
“What d’you think you’re doing here?”
“Why, we’re playing ‘follow the trail’,” Brad said as the other Cubs were too abashed to reply.
“You were spying on the house!”
“Spying?” Brad asked innocently. “Why, what is there to see?”
“Nothing. Not a thing,” Jabowski retorted, made uncomfortable by the manner in which the boy had turned the accusation. “I just don’t like kids swarming over the place. See?”
“Mr. Manheim gave us permission to camp on the island.” ”

“ Brad asked. Seated on the edge of the raft, his dangling feet beat a steady tattoo in the water.
“That remains to be seen,” Mr. Hatfield replied. “There are several factors to be considered.”
He did not amplify the statement, for just then Midge’s father called from shore to warn that lunch would be ready in twenty minutes.
With a shout of pleasure, the Cubs scrambled for the beach. Dan and Brad dived from the raft, racing each other in.
“No fooling, you get faster every day,” Brad praised his companion. “If you don’t take Ross for a cleaning in our next swimming meet, I’ll miss my guess.” ”

“ A moment later, a blindman led by a seeing-eye dog, groped his way into the warehouse.
“Good morning, Joe,” the watchman greeted him. “How’s business today?”
“Lousy,” the blindman complained. “I’ve sold only four packages of pencils all morning. The sun’s so hot it’s wilting me. Mind if I chin for a few minutes while I cool off?”
“Glad to have you,” Hank said, guiding the man to a seat on a box. “Boys, meet Joe Matt, a friend of mine.”
The Cubs gave their own names. Feeling sorry for the man, Brad then bought a package of pencils for a quarter. ”

“ Brad and the other Den 2 teammates swarmed about Dan, clapping him on his dripping shoulders.
“Dan, you did it!” Red Suell congratulated him. “Now the matches are even! If we win the third meet, that silver cup is in the bag.”
“IF is right,” Dan laughed. “Don’t forget, this victory was a fluke.”
From Mr. Hatfield, the Cubs learned that only the good sportsmanship of the Den 1 teammates had been responsible for their success. Ross himself had made no mention of his failure to touch the wall, and his error had gone unnoticed by officials. ”

“ Holloway warned us a storm might blow up,” Dan added, kicking disgustedly at the wet sand. “We’d have been more alert if we hadn’t been so interested in that raft and motorboat.”
“Mr. Holloway just had his boat repaired too. Now if it sinks or rams into something, we have no one to blame except ourselves.”
Dan’s gaze had focused upon a man’s large footprint visible in the sand.
[81]
“Say! Maybe we do have someone else to blame besides ourselves!” he cried. “Look at that!”
Brad stared at the footprint which plainly had been made since the Cubs had pulled their boat up on shore. ”

“ Since the weekend when the Cubs had camped on the island, Dan had not seen Mr. Manheim or the caretaker, Jabowski. He and Brad had reported to Mr. Hatfield their discovery of the old tunnel leading under the hotel. However, the Cub leader had not considered it advisable to take the matter up.
“It’s useless to speculate on what may have happened there,” he told the disappointed boys. “To impress Mr. Manheim or the police, we need evidence. Without it, we’ll be wise to let matters rest as they are.” ”

“ Dan insisted. “I’ve messed things up for fair. Mr. Hatfield’s being mighty decent about it, but I can see he’s bothered. And the Scouts will blame us for cutting them out of their camp site.”
“Who wants this old island anyhow? We’ve had plenty of trouble since we came here.”
“All caused by our own wild imagination, as Manheim puts it! Brad, Jacques was hiding the truth from the police! I’m sure of it. He’s completely under the thumb of that uncle of his.” ”

“ So intent were the Cubs on watching the boat and raft, that they paid scant heed to the low cumulus clouds which had gathered close to the horizon.
Black underneath and hard-edged, they were moving up fast from the leeward!
The Cubs, however, were elated because a stiffening breeze rapidly bore them toward Skeleton Island. Now they could discern two men aboard the motorboat. Though they could not see the face of the man on the raft, they were convinced he was Jabowski.
“What do you figure they’re doing?” Dan speculated. “And who are those men that have Mr. Manheim’s speedboat?” ”

“ Honest, Dan, I didn’t take a thing. And none of the Cubs from Den 1 were with me.”
“I believe you, Ross,” Dan assured him. “But someone has been in here while we were on the beach. I sensed it the instant I came in.”
“Anything else missing?”
“Not that I’ve noticed. Mr. Hatfield never allows us to keep anything of great value here because we can’t lock up the cave.” ”

“ Midge exclaimed, staring at a confusion of prints in the sand. “Doesn’t this look as if a scuffle took place, Mr. Hatfield?”
“It does,” agreed the Cub leader, praising Midge for his observation. “Either Jacques stumbled or was given a hard shove. One can see plainly where he fell down.”
The trail of footprints led the Cubs on to a paved road paralleling the river front. There it abruptly ended.
“Well, we’ve lost them,” Mr. Hatfield said, gazing up and down the deserted highway.
“And now we’ll never know who Jacques was or where he came from,” Dan said. ”

“ Despite the shouts of Mr. Holloway and the Cubs, the boat did not slacken speed. Soon it was nearly out of sight, still running without lights.
“Those men should be arrested!” Midge declared. “They struck us on purpose!”
Dan had noticed that his feet were resting in an inch of water.
“Say, we’ve sprung a leak!” he cried, scrambling for a bailing can which was kept under the seat. “Now we are in a jam!”
[6]
The latest emergency caused Mr. Holloway to divert his attention from the motorboat. Anxiously, he examined the jagged hole in the mahogany over-lap through which a trickle of water oozed. ”

“ But you remember, the boat was showing no lights, and coming from the general direction of the docks.”
“That’s true,” Midge admitted, impressed. “All the same, Manheim isn’t the type of man to get mixed up in a fur theft. In the first place, he has plenty of money.”
“We may have been mistaken about it being the Manheim boat,” Dan argued.
“In any case, this story about the fur theft is interesting,” Brad said, rereading it. “It looks to me as if the river pirates are getting pretty bold when they can pull off a robbery practically under the eyes of the watchman.” ”

“ The Cubs ate their fill and then listened as Mr. Hatfield outlined plans for the morning.
“I’ll take Dan, Brad and Chips with me to Webster City to pick up a few supplies,” the Cub leader said. “Also to attend to an important errand. Mr. Suell has planned a hike for those who remain behind.”
“I’d rather go to Webster City,” said Mack, who suspected that he was being excluded from an important mission.
“Me too,” chimed in Midge. “Can’t we all go?”
“Not this time,” Mr. Hatfield turned them down. “We’ll make a full report when we get back.” ”

“ Ross retorted. “For crying out loud, what’s eating you anyhow? You’ve done nothing but crab since we left the dock.”
“You’d crab too if your boss gave orders to have a barbecue on eight hours notice! But that’s Manheim for you. Always doing things in the grand manner—only someone else has to do the work!”
Not much impressed by the caretaker’s complaints, the Cubs eagerly turned their faces toward Skeleton Island. Huge fires burned on the beach and they could hear the music of an eight-piece band. ”

“ Hank discussed the theft at length and then began to tell other tales of the waterfront which kept the Cubs enthralled. Brad, Dan, and Midge presently found themselves drawn into the conversation. They told of their Cave on the hillside and the exciting treasure hunt which had led to the discovery of Jacques lying on the beach.
“Jacques?” the blindman interposed. “Is that his name? Must be one of those foreigners.”
“French, we think,” Midge revealed, failing to notice the look of intent interest in the blindman’s otherwise mask-like face. “He’s not much to talk.” ”

“ Holloway had promised to take Brad, Dan and Midge for a sail. Four o’clock, the hour appointed for their meeting at the Yacht Club dock, came and went. Finally, Mr. Holloway telephoned from his office to say that he had been held up and would be unable to make the excursion.
“There’s no reason why you boys can’t take the boat by yourselves,” he urged. “You’re both experienced at handling the tiller, and good swimmers. Go ahead! Only don’t go too far from the Yacht Club. A storm could kick up before dusk.” ”

“ I can’t understand those tanks—”
“What tanks, Dan?”
“Why there were four of them on the underside of the raft.”
“Tanks? You’re sure?”
“I certainly am. They were long and flat and made of metal. Tim was wedged between them, his trousers snagged on a nail.”
“Maybe they were gasoline tanks.”
“They looked like it. But why would the raft need so many? These tanks would hold fifteen or twenty gallons each.”
“Another thing, the gas tank that feeds the motor is on the top side of the raft,” Brad said thoughtfully. “It does seem queer. You told Mr. Hatfield?”
“I aim to. He was too busy working on Tim.” ”

“ Brad said, edging away. “He might have taken a chunk out of Dan.”
“Rudy isn’t vicious,” the blindman denied. “Now and then he takes a dislike to someone. Usually he won’t attack unless he’s annoyed.”
“That’s encouraging,” Dan said with a wry grin. “Believe me, in the future I’ll take pains not to annoy him.”
Without apologizing for the incident, the blindman took the dog and went off down the wharf. For a long while, the Cubs could hear his cane tapping on the planks. ”

“ Dan said as the final event of the meet was called. “We’d have to make a complete sweep, and we’ll be lucky to capture one place.”
[54]
“It sure looks bad for Den 2,” Brad agreed. “But get in there and fight, boy! Ross acts a bit winded. He may not hold out.”
In the 50-yard free style, the Cubs were required to swim two lengths of the pool. Before the start of the race, an official reminded the boys that they must remain in their lanes and touch the wall at the turn or be disqualified.
At the crack of the gun Ross and Dan were off to a fast start, followed by the field of slower swimmers. ”

“ Eddie replied, lowering the cab window. “Everything set?”
“The shipment’s in, settin’ out on Dock 23 covered with canvas. All we gotta do is distract the watchman while the sawing goes on.”
[194]
As he spoke, the blindman removed his dark glasses. His eyes as they coldly appraised Dan looked perfectly normal. With a shock the boy realized that Joe Matt never had been blind.
“He’s been a spotter for the gang of river pirates!” Dan thought. “All the time he’s kept watch of shipments to learn when valuable ones go through! Hank foolishly told him everything!” ”