Undercover Work

COMMANDER WILSON'S gruff order to leave caused the four boys to stare at him in wonderment.

" But, Commander, " Joe protested, " you-"

" Don't 'Commander' me! " the man said, rising to his feet and shaking his fist at the boys. " I want to be left alone! That's why I'm a hermit."

Frank shook his head. " No use arguing, fellows, " he murmured. " Come on."

They strode away across the sand, with Chet muttering about the loss of a good meal.

" That old sailor's a real lulu, " Biff said, disgruntled. He glanced at Frank. " What'll we do now? "

" First thing is to get some food."

" And where is the food? " Biff asked sarcastically.

" Maybe we can grow mushrooms in the cave, " Joe quipped.

Chet trailed behind. The headphones were clamped to his ears, and once more he swung his metal detector back and forth over the sand.

" If you have strength enough, " Frank told Biff, " we can climb up the ravine, cross the cliffs, and go back down to Johnny the fisherman's place. Maybe he'll give us chow, or else we can drive back to Rockaway for more supplies."

" Bright prospects! " Biff grumbled. " I thought I could do some fishing today. It's great after a storm." Then suddenly Biff recalled that his fishing gear had been stolen with the rucksacks. " Doggone it! " he exclaimed. " That burns me up! I'll bet that Commander Wilson took our stuff and stashed it out of sight! "

" I doubt it, " Frank said. He turned and called to Chet, who was now a hundred paces behind. " Come on, hurry up! "

Chet waved and nodded, but still continued to swing his detector. Then he gave an excited bellow.

" Sounds like the mating call of a walrus, " Biff commented.

" He may have discovered another weapon, " Joe said as they hastened back to their stout pal.

" Hey, fellows, there must be a whole arsenal underneath here, " Chet said. " You should have heard the terrific noise in my ears."

All four boys dropped to their hands and knees and dug like fox terriers in a bone yard. Biff was first to reach something solid. He tugged and yanked, finally coming up with a rucksack!

" Look! " Biff cried out. " It's mine! " He brushed the wet sand from the knapsack, opened it quickly, and pulled out his collapsible fishing gear.

The other three quickly recovered their supplies, a little damp, but none the worse for their burial in sand.

Chet unscrewed the lid of his canteen and took a long swallow of water. " I told you this metal detector would pay off, " he said.

Biff grinned. " I could kiss you, Chet, for finding my tackle."

Chet stepped backward in mock horror. " Please, please, not here, " he said, and the others roared with laughter.

As their own cave was not far from the spot, the boys hastened back and broke out the rations. A fire was quickly started and Chet presided over the skillet filled with crisp bacon. " Phooey on the commander, " Chet said smugly.

" Which reminds me, " Frank put in, " I'm not finished with that old codger yet."

" What more could you learn from him? " Joe asked. " He's as nutty as a fruitcake."

" Maybe he is, maybe he isn't, " Frank replied. " In either case, I'd like to study him a little closer and ask some more questions."

Joe looked thoughtful as he spooned a portion of scrambled eggs into his mess kit. " Do you think he might have seen Cadmus Quill or some other mysterious prowlers around here? "

As Frank broke off a piece of crusty bread from a long loaf, he said that was exactly his idea.

" Well, you fellows go about your sleuthing, " Biff said. " I'm going fishing."

" Where? " asked Chet.

" From the top of the cliff, " Biff replied. " I can heave my line a mile out from that point. Maybe I'll catch something big where the water's deep."

" I'm with you, " Chet said. He turned to the Hardys and added, " If you fellows run into trouble with Wilson, just call us."

During the rest of the meal, the boys talked about the thief who had buried their supplies in the sand.

" If he didn't keep them for his own use, what was the point of stealing 'em? " Biff mused.

" To get us away from here, " Joe said promptly. " Somebody doesn't want us around."

" Like Commander Wilson, " Biff said. " What do you think, Frank? "

The young sleuth shrugged. " There might be one man or two-maybe a whole gang operating around here. But we'll find out sooner or later."

" You'd better find out sooner, " Chet declared, " else we'll be starving again."

" If you mean somebody's going to steal our supplies a second time, " Joe said, " you're mistaken." He told of having seen a small crevice fifty yards away at the base of the ravine. " We'll hide our stuff there until you two get back with the whale you're going to catch."

When the fire had been put out and their camping place policed up, the four adventurers hid their rucksacks and parted.

Frank glanced over his shoulder to see Chet and Biff trudging up the ravine, as he and Joe trotted toward Wilson's cave. They saw the old sailor standing in front of his cave, sketching something in the sand with a slender stick. When he saw them approach, he quickly rubbed the sole of his boot over the sand and hailed the brothers. " Hello there! Have you come to visit me? "

Frank and Joe exchanged glances, and walked up to the man. " Why, yes, " said Frank. " Do you remember us, Frank and Joe Hardy? "

" Of course I do. Where did you go after I invited you to breakfast? "

" Why, we came–" Frank began.

" Didn't see hide nor hair of you. Thought you went back to Bayhill, or Portside, or wherever you came from. Where are your two friends? "

" They went fishing, " Joe replied.

" Where? "

" To the top of the cliffs."

" Dangerous. Mighty dangerous. I hope they come back all right, " Wilson said.

He shook his head, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked in circles before his cave.

" Commander Wilson, " Frank began slowly, " have you seen any people prowling around Honeycomb Caves? "

Wilson stopped short and looked Frank squarely in the eyes. " I'm alone. A hermit. That's what I am. I haven't seen anybody. Nobody comes near me. They think I'm queer."

Joe described both Todd and Quill. " Have you seen anyone resembling them? " he persisted.

" No. But come to think of it, there was a fellow-"

The Hardys looked alertly at the old sailor. Had he seen one of the missing men?

" Yes, go on, " Frank encouraged. " What did he look like? "

" The first one you mentioned."

" Todd? "

" Yes. I once knew a fellow like that. He was second mate on my cruiser in the Philippines."

Joe turned aside and made a wry face as the man continued:

" Come to think of it, his name was Todd. Yes, it was, " the commander went on. " He shipwrecked me deliberately and I had to climb a pineapple tree until the natives stopped beating their drums and went home."

Joe leaned close to Frank and said in a low voice, " He's off again. What'll we do now? "

As Commander Wilson rambled on, Frank edged closer to the mouth of the cave and glanced inside. He gave an involuntary start as he saw something he had not noticed before. But before he could whisper to Joe, Wilson wheeled about. " A man's cave is his castle, " he said tartly.

Frank tried to manage a grin. " Well, I guess we'd better be going, Commander, " he said. " Those fellows must have caught a fish by now."

Without saying a word, the old salt went into his cave. The Hardys continued down the beach again. When they had gone a dozen yards, Frank seized Joe's arm and pulled him behind a large rock.

" What's the matter, Frank? "

" Joe, I saw a cap in Wilson's cave-the same foreign style that was dropped by the fellow at the radar site! "

" Do you think there's some connection? "

Frank suggested that they hide and watch the old fellow's cave. " You notice he got mighty excited when I looked into his quarters."

" I'll bet he's got something in there he doesn't want us to see, " he said, peering over the rock. Suddenly he hissed, " Watch it! Here he comes! "

The two boys crouched low. Joe poked his head around the boulder for a quick look. " Frank, he's going down the beach the other way-probably to look in our cave."

" Now's our chance to explore his, " Frank said. " Is he out of sight yet? "

" Yes."

Frank and Joe scrambled out of their hiding place and dashed into Wilson's cave.

" Boy, is it ever deep! " Joe exclaimed. " It goes way back! "

" And look here, " Frank said, picking up the cap from the floor. " This could be more than a coincidence."

" Wow! He's got an arsenal, too! " whispered Joe. He pointed to a shotgun lying on a rock ledge.

" So that's where the mysterious shooting came from, " Frank guessed. " And how about this? "

He picked up a dog-eared notebook from beside the gun and leafed it.

" It's a code book! Let's take it to the light so we can study it."

The boys had been well schooled in cryptography by their father. Eagerly the two moved nearer the mouth of the cave.

All at once the interior darkened and Commander Wilson stood at the entrance! " Spies! You're all spies! " he boomed. " Give me that book, you-you young pirates! "

As Frank and Joe stood tongue-tied, Wilson lunged toward the stone ledge.

" Look out! " Joe cried out. " He's going for the shotgun! "