Madge asked a great many questions and in turn related her experience with the boatman. She was a trifle disappointed when the matter was passed off lightly.
“So many longshore-men and waterfront derelicts are like that,” Enid told her. “You can’t trust some of them out of your sight. It’s a wonder he didn’t run off with your suitcase.”
The girls maintained a faithful watch but no ships passed near the yacht. They were about to despair when Madge noticed a black and red amphibian taxiing toward shore.
“Oh, I hope the pilot sees our signal!” she exclaimed. “He’s not looking this way.”
Frantically, they waved their hands to attract his attention. They feared they had failed, for the plane maintained its course. Then suddenly it swerved and the pilot returned their greeting.
“Why, it’s Rex Stewart!” Enid cried, observing the amphibian’s wing markings. “And he’s coming this way.”
Madge did not inquire as to the identity of the young man mentioned, but from the poppy color which swiftly mounted Enid’s cheeks, she surmised that he was a very special friend.
Rex Stewart had known and admired Enid for many years. He was the son of a prominent, ultra-conservative Cheltham Bay lawyer but had inherited none of his father’s staid viewpoints. It was the private opinion of the Stewart family that he was too reckless, and far too interested in aviation for his own good. Rex liked fast horses and speedy motorboats; he owned his own amphibian and was an excellent pilot. He made friends easily and kept them. And, rather to the surprise of everyone, he stood high in the sophomore class of Ardmore College.
The plane continued toward the yacht, slackening its speed as it approached. While still far enough away to be in no danger of crashing the propeller or wings against the side of the ship, Rex idled the engine, allowing the plane to drift.
“Anything wrong?” he called out.
Trying to make themselves heard above the roar of the engine, Madge and Enid finally succeeded in conveying the idea that they wished to be taken ashore.
“I don’t see how he’ll ever get us aboard,” Enid said despairingly. “I’ll tell him to go on in and send a boat back after us.”
She shouted the message across the water, but Rex was unwilling to leave. Deliberately, taking every precaution, he edged the amphibian in close to the yacht. Anxiously the girls watched him maneuver. The bay was unusually quiet and Rex maintained perfect control, yet they realized that the slightest miscalculation of distance or an unexpected roll of the yacht might result in a crumpled wing.
As he succeeded in making contact, the girls hastily lowered themselves into the front cockpit. Madge obtained only a fleeting impression of the young pilot’s face, for it was half-masked with goggles and helmet. He was not handsome but his eyes were friendly and there was a quality about him that was most likable.
“You shouldn’t have risked your plane to take us off,” Enid protested after she had introduced Madge.
“I knew what I was about,” Rex returned, smiling broadly. “Sit tight now and we’ll run in to the beach.”
He opened the throttle and the amphibian skimmed lightly over the water. In a few minutes they drew near the shore where a flagman signaled them in. Rex beached the plane and aided the girls in alighting.
“Now tell me what’s wrong,” he commanded.
Enid poured out her story with Madge adding additional details. Rex listened in amazement, and when they had finished promptly agreed that the wisest thing was to notify the authorities without delay.
“It doesn’t sound like an ordinary case of kidnapping to me,” he declared, and then as Enid’s face grew even more distressed, he added quickly: “Don’t worry. The police will find your father.”
“If it’s a case of money, I can arrange with Father’s banker,” Enid returned earnestly. “I’ll give any amount they say—anything to secure his release.”
“Don’t do anything rash,” Rex advised. “Better let the police deal with those men. You know how your father is too, Enid. He’d never give in an inch.”
“No, I realize Father would never allow himself to be ransomed if he could help it. That’s what may make it so hard. He’ll defy those men and refuse to communicate with me. They may do terrible things to him.”
“Don’t think about it,” Rex admonished, taking her arm and steering her toward the roadside. “I’ll go with you to the police.”
He helped the girls into a taxicab and during the ride to the police headquarters, did his best to cheer Enid. She leaned her head back against the cushion and scarcely spoke.
“You really believe the police can find him?” she murmured once.
“Why, of course,” Rex assured her heartily, but over her head he shot Madge a glance which told her that he considered the situation more serious than his words indicated.
At the police station, the girls were asked a great many questions but Rex made everything easy for them. He knew several policemen and it was largely due to his efforts that one of the best detectives on the force, a man by the name of Randall, was assigned the case.
They all drove to the beach in a police car and Rex made two trips to the yacht in his amphibian. Randall and another detective who accompanied him, were conducted to Mr. Burnett’s stateroom which the girls had left undisturbed. The two men looked about but at the end of their investigation admitted they had found no new clues.
“It may have been an inside job,” Randall said to Enid. “How many men does your father employ?”
“Three sailors and a cook. He does his own piloting.”
“And you say that last night when the kidnapping occurred, you and your father were alone.”
“Why, yes, Father had given our employees forty-eight hours shore leave.”
“Wasn’t that rather unusual?”
“No, we frequently stay here alone,” Enid declared. “All of the men but one live at Cheltham Bay and whenever we anchor Father usually gives them a day or so off duty.”
The detective digested this information in silence. He conferred with his companion and then questioned Enid again.
“Did your father keep large sums of money or valuables aboard?”
“Not to my knowledge. He was always afraid of being robbed.”
“Have you heard him express any such fear recently, Miss Burnett?”
“N-o.” Enid hesitated and then went on: “But I will say he hasn’t acted exactly like himself the past month.”
“In what way do you mean?”
“Well, for one thing he purchased a revolver. He seemed to be afraid of something. I can’t say what it was. He always laughed when I asked questions.”
“H-m,” the detective meditated. “And where did he keep the revolver?”
“It was in the desk.”
“It’s not there now,” Randall informed. “You heard no shots fired, Miss Burnett?”
“Oh, no. Only the struggle as I told you.”
“It’s possible your father recognized his assailants and in self-protection they were forced to kidnap him,” Randall suggested thoughtfully. “Their real motive may have been robbery.”
“Then why didn’t they take Mr. Burnett’s pocketbook?” Madge asked pointedly.
“They may have overlooked it.”
Madge made no reply although she took scant stock in such a theory. It seemed to her that the detectives were conducting only a routine investigation, that their interest in the case was only perfunctory. And Mr. Randall’s next words deepened this impression.
“There’s no need to worry, Miss Burnett. We’ll find your father but it may take time. If it’s a case of kidnapping for ransom, you’re sure to hear within a few days at most. In the meantime, we’ll do all we can, and keep in close touch with you.”
Rex carried the detectives back to the mainland after they had completed their investigation and then returned to The Flora. He found Enid sadly in need of someone to cheer her.
“I don’t know h
ow I’ll stand it,” she declared unhappily. “I’ll go crazy just sitting and waiting. If only I could do something!”
Rex and Madge exchanged quick, significant glances. They had both been disappointed at the outcome of the police investigation. They realized far better than did Enid, that it might be a long wait indeed before word was received from Mr. Burnett.
“We will do something,” Madge said quietly, slipping her arm protectively about her friend’s shoulders. “I don’t know how, but someway we’ll manage to trace your father! And when we find him I think the police will learn that it isn’t a case of ordinary kidnapping!”
CHAPTER VI
A Midnight Visitor
Rex soon took leave of the girls, saying that he intended to return to the police station for another talk with the authorities, and then go in search of the Burnett motor boat which had been cut loose from The Flora.
“I can’t thank you enough for all the trouble you’re taking,” Enid told him gratefully.
“Don’t thank me until I really help you,” he returned. “I probably won’t find the boat for those men may have stolen it instead of cutting it adrift.”
After Rex had gone there was little for the girls to do. Madge thought it best that they leave Mr. Burnett’s room untouched lest the police wish to examine it again and Enid had no desire to put the cabin to rights. She paced nervously up and down deck, avoiding that section of the yacht. Madge begged her to lie down for a few hours and she reluctantly went to her own cabin. After a time she fell into a troubled sleep and did not awaken until her chum shook her gently.
“Wake up, Enid. Rex is here and he’s found the motor boat.”
Enid hastily straightened her rumpled hair and hurried out upon deck. Rex already had come aboard after tying up the recovered boat.
“Where did you find it?” Enid questioned eagerly.
“Out near Culver’s Island. I figured that if it had been left to drift, the current would carry it that way. I cruised around in my amphibian until I sighted it and then notified the Coast Guard. By the time I had gone home for my own motor boat they had recovered it, so I merely towed it out here.”
“Did you examine it, for possible clues?” Madge inquired.
“Yes, I looked it over. If those kidnappers used the boat they were smart enough not to leave any thing behind that would identify them. However, it’s my guess they made their get-away in their own boat and merely cut this one adrift as an additional precaution against being followed.”
“I don’t see how they figured I could follow them when I was tied hand and foot and locked in that stifling closet,” Enid said bitterly, “and to know that Father is in their power! They may mistreat him!”
“Not if they are after a large ransom,” Rex suggested, in an effort to cheer her. “You may be sure of that.”
“The police said probably we would receive some communication within twenty-four hours,” Enid declared, more hopefully. “I wonder how much they’ll want?”
Rex met Madge’s eyes and he read the thought that had flashed through her mind. She had begun to wonder if a communication ever would be received. From the first, it had seemed unlikely to her that the kidnapping had been committed for the sole purpose of securing ransom. She felt there might be a more sinister motive behind the crime.
Before the conversation could be resumed, the sound of a boat grating against the side of the yacht, drew the trio to the railing. Unobserved by them, a craft had made fast to the yacht, and now they saw they were to entertain representatives of the press. The reporters swarmed aboard without waiting for an invitation, bombarding the girls with terse questions. A photographer insisted upon taking their pictures. Likewise, he photographed the yacht and Mr. Burnett’s cabin. Only the arrival of a second boat, containing Mr. Randall and two other detectives, brought the ordeal to an end.
“Have you learned anything new?” Enid inquired hopefully of Mr. Randall, after the reporters had gone.
“We’re making progress,” he informed. “Your father’s description has been broadcast over the radio and the police teletypes. I’ve brought some pictures from the Rogues Gallery that I want you to try to identify.”
For the next fifteen minutes Enid studied photographs of noted criminals known to have records for kidnapping, but as each was presented to her, she only shook her head.
“I’m afraid I can’t be of much help. You see, I caught such a fleeting glance of the two men.”
After the detective had returned to shore somewhat disappointed at her failure to identify any of the photographs, Rex said that he too must leave.
“Surely, you girls aren’t intending to stay here alone tonight?” he inquired.
Enid and Madge had made no plans but now that they considered it, they were reluctant to leave the yacht. Rex suggested that his mother would be pleased to have them stay at the Stewart home, but the girls felt they could not accept.
“We might possibly get word from Father during the night,” Enid explained, “and anyway, the cook and our sailors will be coming back early in the morning. I must be here to tell them what has happened.”
“I wish you had asked for a police guard,” Rex returned with a troubled frown. “I don’t like the idea of you staying here alone.”
“We’re not cut off from the mainland now that we have the motor boat,” Madge pointed out. “Honestly, we’re not a bit afraid.”
In the end they persuaded him to their way of thinking, but as he left, he announced that he intended to keep watch of the yacht during the early part of the night.
As it grew dusk, Madge prepared supper. Enid tried to help but could not keep her mind on what she was doing. After wiping the dishes, they wrapped themselves in steamer rugs and sat out on deck. For a long time they watched the twinkling shore lights. Once they heard the drone of an airplane overhead and imagined that it might be Rex.
In spite of their declaration to the contrary, the girls were not entirely easy in their minds. The very quiet of the yacht was disturbing. The night had closed in dark and threatening; black shadows lurked everywhere.
At ten o’clock they decided to turn in. Enid was so tired and worn out that she dropped asleep almost at once. Madge rolled and tossed for the better part of an hour. At last, she too dozed off.
She had no way of knowing how long she slept, but suddenly she found herself sitting upright in bed. What had awakened her? She glanced at her companion. Enid was sleeping peacefully.
After a moment, she sank back against the pillows, but scarcely had her eyes closed than she was startled by a peculiar sound. A boat was scraping against the side of the yacht!
Cold shivers ran over her body and she resisted the temptation to burrow down beneath the blankets.
“Enid, wake up!” she whispered, shaking her chum roughly by the arm.
Enid stirred and as she was shaken again, opened her eyes.
“What’s the matter?” she murmured drowsily.
“Hush!” Madge warned in an undertone. There was no need to say more for by this time Enid had fully awakened.
Both girls listened intently. Footsteps could be heard plainly on the deck. Someone had boarded the boat!
“Perhaps it’s one of the sailors,” Enid whispered, but her voice quavered.
“We must see!” Madge returned. “Come on!”
Enid gripped her hand and tried to hold her back. “Oh, I’m afraid!”
“Then I’ll go alone.”
But Enid would not stay behind. As Madge quietly slipped out of bed, she was close beside her. Clinging together, they crept to the door and listened. They could hear the footsteps more distinctly now.
Madge opened the cabin door a crack and peered out. At first she saw nothing, then as her eyes became more accustomed to the dark, she beheld the figure of a man. She saw him pause, look searchingly about and then swiftly enter Mr. Burnett’s cabin.
For an instant she was too startled to move. Then she whispered into her ch
um’s ear.
“Now is our chance! We must steal out there and lock him in!”
CHAPTER VII
A Motor Boat Chase
Madge quietly opened the door and moved stealthily toward Mr. Burnett’s cabin. Enid, terrified at the thought of remaining behind, followed.
They stole softly along the deck, every muscle tensed for the unexpected. Madge stepped over a coil of rope in her path and too late turned to warn her chum. Enid failed to see it. She stumbled and fell flat on the deck, letting out a sharp exclamation.
Before she could regain her feet, a figure darted from Mr. Burnett’s cabin. He went over the railing like a flash and was lost to view.
“Oh, we mustn’t let him get away!” Madge cried.
She jerked Enid to her feet and they reached the railing just in time to see a motor boat speed away from the yacht.
“Enid, can you run your father’s motor boat?” she demanded.
“Yes, but—”
“Then come on! Our only chance of tracing your father is to follow this man!”
Rex had filled the tank of the motor boat that afternoon, but it required several minutes before Enid had the engine going. Madge cast off and they moved away from the yacht.
“To the right!” she directed. “I saw him head that way.”
Enid swung the wheel and they made for the open water. The boat rapidly gathered speed until the sea split from under her prow in huge waves.
“Can you see him, Madge?”
“Dead ahead. He has the engine muffled.”
“Then we’ll lose him if we’re not careful.”
“Can’t you go faster?”
Enid shook her head.
For a few minutes longer they kept the boat in sight but it was increasingly apparent that they were running a losing race. The man they were following knew the channels and his boat was fast. Soon he was swallowed by the night.
The Girl Detective Megapack: 25 Classic Mystery Novels for Girls Page 250
