"Not much use going after them. They're probably all out in the cave where the cars are kept," remarked Joe.
"We'll just have to watch our chance."
"Let's take a look around here," remarked Frank, after a minute of silence.
"We'll have to be careful. They may come back and catch us," answered his brother.
"We'll watch out for that."
With caution the boys began to look around them.
"Look!" cried Frank in a low tone.
He bent down and from the rocky floor picked up a big bunch of keys.
"Auto keys," came from Joe.
"Yes, and all different. I suppose they have all the keys necessary to unlock any car."
"More than likely."
Near the keys they found a dark coat and a cap.
"I guess the keys dropped out of that coat," remarked Frank.
"Looks like it." Joe's gaze traveled to a spot back of the coat. "Look, a wig!" he exclaimed.
"That shows they go out disguised."
"It sure does. Say, we're getting to the bottom of this mystery!"
"I hope so."
The boys explored the underground chamber, but found nothing of further interest.
"So we were right, after all," Frank said. "Gus Montrose is mixed up with the auto thieves."
"He probably discovered these caves in the first place, and saw how they could be used for concealing stolen goods. Perhaps this place was used by smugglers long ago."
"Probably. They are natural caves, and it's easily seen that they've been used for a long time. Some of the tunnels look as if they'd been blasted out to widen them. We're certainly lucky to have found their hiding place, for we'd never have found it unless we'd been brought here."
"From their talk, they evidently drive the cars to Atlantic City from here."
"Must have a secret road of some kind, or they'd never get through."
"Montrose spoke of coming through a gully."
"There is a gully near the Dodd farm. Now that I come to think of it, I believe there is an abandoned road through it. The place has been overgrown with brush for the past five years, though."
"Perhaps they cleared it out."
"The road used to lead out to one of the private, right-of-way roads in the back township. Since the Shore Road was extended, it's never been used. I'll bet that's what they're doing—using that old road and bringing the cars out the back way. The police haven't been watching the private roads at all."
"It's a smart scheme. Well, it won't last much longer."
Suddenly, a voice rang out, clear and sharp:
"I'll get the lantern. It's right here."
Startled, the boys wheeled about. The voice seemed to be right beside them. Instantly, they realized that it was only a trick of the echoes, and that the voice came from the passage leading into the cave.
Some one was approaching. They could hear his heavy boots clumping on the rocky floor.
"Quick! The tunnel!" whispered Frank.
He sped across the cave toward the opening in the wall. But they had moved farther away from their hiding place than they imagined. By the time the brothers reached the passage, they heard a cry of alarm behind them.
"Who's that?"
They scrambled into the tunnel.
Another shout, footsteps across the floor, and then the lantern cast its beam directly on the entrance of the passage. It was a powerful light and the boys knew they had been seen.
The man in the cave began shouting for help:
"Gus! Sam! Come here! Quick!"
His voice echoed from the walls.
The Hardy boys heard a faint shout from outside the cave.
"What's the matter?"
"Some one in here. Hurry up!"
The uproar out in the cave grew in volume as other members of the gang joined their comrade. There was a hasty gabble of voices.
"There was some one in the cave when I came back for the light," shouted the man who had discovered the boys. "They beat it into that tunnel. I just saw them."
"Sam, go around and watch the other side!" ordered some one sharply. "That tunnel goes out into the big cave."
The thieves were evidently unaware of the cave-in that had blocked the passage. Frank and Joe retreated beyond the first bend. They were trapped. The barricade cut off their flight, and they knew they were facing certain capture.
"The guns!" snapped Frank.
He drew his revolver from his pocket and fired into the darkness, around the corner.
There was a shout of alarm.
"Get back! Get back, Gus! They've got guns!"
Then followed a wild scrambling, as the man who had pursued them into the tunnel hustled back to safety.
Frank pressed himself against the rocky wall, in case any of the gang should enter and open fire on them. But the thieves had been frightened by his shot.
"That'll hold them for a while!"
"How long?" Joe reminded him. "They have us trapped, Frank. We can't go back. They'll starve us out."
"We won't give up without a fight."
There was a tremendous uproar out in the cave. The men were talking loudly and their voices were intensified by the tumultuous echoes of the place.
"Follow them in!" some one shouted. But Gus snarled:
"We can't. They're armed."
"Well," said Frank quietly, "we have enough bullets to keep them back for a while, at any rate."
"They'll get us, in the long run."
"I suppose so."
Then the Hardy boys heard the voice of the man called Sam. He came into the cave, shouting:
"They can't get out! There's been a cave-in and the tunnel is jammed up with rock."
"Good!" exclaimed Gus exultantly. "Here! Hand me that light."
There was a moment of silence. Then the powerful lantern was evidently turned toward the mouth of the tunnel, for the light gleamed on the walls. As they were just around the bend in the passage, the boys could not be seen, but the glaring light was reflected from the rocks.
"They're out of sight," muttered some one. "Try a shot!"
Instantly, there was an explosion, as a revolver roared. The echoes were deafening in that confined space.
Something whizzed past Frank's head and smacked against the rock.
The bullet, aimed for the rock wall, had ricochetted across the bend and had missed him by a hairbreadth.
This was too close for comfort. The revolver crashed again, and there was a cry from Joe.
"Are you hurt?" asked Frank anxiously.
"No. But the bullet glanced off the rocks. I think it went through my sleeve. It sure was close."
Their voices had been heard by the men in the cave.
"That's got 'em scared!" yelled Gus.
The boys retreated out of range of the glancing bullets.
"We're up against it," Frank admitted. "If we stay here they'll starve us out. If we try to rush them, we'll get shot."
"I guess we'll have to surrender."
"Looks as if there's nothing else for it. We'll give ourselves up and take our chances on escape. The way things are, we're liable to be shot."
He edged back toward the bend in the passage. There was a lull in the firing.
"We give up!" he shouted.
A yell of triumph followed.
"Now you're talkin' sense!" shouted Gus. "Throw your gun out here."
Frank hurled his revolver around the corner and it clattered on the rocks. Some one crawled into the passage and retrieved it.
"Now come out with your hands up."
Bitter though their defeat was, the Hardy boys had to acknowledge that the odds were against them. With their arms in the air, they came around the corner, into the glare of the big lamp. Step by step, they advanced until, at the junction of cave and tunnel, they were seized by their captors.
Tables Turned
The dazzling glare of the big lamp was turned full in the faces of the Hardy boys.
They heard a gasp of astonishment.
"Why, it's a couple of kids!" exclaimed one of the men.
"Couple of kids!" rasped Gus Montrose, in astonishment. "Do you know who we've got here?"
"Who?"
"Them Hardy boys. The pair that followed me yesterday."
"What?"
"It's them. The very same spyin' pair of brats." A rough hand seized Frank's shoulder and swung him around. "I'd know them anywhere. Fenton Hardy's kids."
The name of Fenton Hardy made a distinct impression on the gang. There were mutterings of anger and fear.
"The detective's boys, eh?" growled one. "What are you doin' here, boys?"
"That's for you to find out," replied Frank shortly.
"Is that so? Well, you've got no business here. You know that, don't you?"
"Your own business here doesn't seem any too lawful."
"Never mind about us. You come spyin' around here and you've got to expect to take the consequences. What'll we do with 'em, Gus?"
"They're not goin' out of here, that's certain. We're not goin' to let them go back home and tell what they've seen."
"Or what they heard. How long were you two boys hidin' in that tunnel?"
"You can try to find that out, too," retorted Frank.
"Smart, ain't you?" snarled Montrose. "You won't be so smart when we get through with you. Anybody got a rope?"
"Here's some," said a man in the background.
"Give it here, then. We'll tie these brats up and keep 'em until we figure out what to do with 'em."
"You let us alone," said Frank.
"You have no right to make us prisoners," added Joe.
"We'll take the right."
"You are mighty high-handed."
"Rats! You'll be lucky if you don't get worse," growled one of the auto thieves.
"We ought to throw 'em into the bay," added another.
"Yes, with a few big stones in each pocket to hold 'em down," came the response from a third.
"Shut up, you all talk too much," commanded Montrose. "Where is that rope you spoke of?"
He snatched a length of heavy cord from the man who handed it to him. Frank was turned roughly around and his arms thrust behind his back. In a moment his wrists were firmly tied. Joe received the same treatment. The boys were bound and helpless.
"Put 'em over in the corner," ordered Montrose.
The boys were pushed and jostled across the rocky floor and were made to sit down against the wall at the back of the cave. The big lamp was turned on them all this time and they could see the faces of none of their captors.
"This is a fine mess!" grumbled one of the men. "It ruins the whole game."
Montrose turned on him.
"We were going to clear out to-morrow anyway, weren't we?" he said. "We'll just have to work a little quicker, that's all. Instead of sending one car out to-night and the rest to-morrow night, we'll get busy and drive 'em all out right now."
"What about these kids?"
"Leave 'em here."
"They'll starve," said one man dubiously.
"What of that?" demanded Gus Montrose. "They'd have had us all landed in jail if they could."
"Well—I don't hold—"
"They brought it on themselves. Who'll ever find 'em here, anyway?"
"I'd rather take 'em out to the railway and dump 'em into an empty box car. They might be five hundred miles away before anybody found 'em. That would give us plenty of time to scatter."
Murmurs of approval from the other men greeted this plan.
"Do as you like," growled Montrose. "I figger we ought to clear out and leave 'em here."
Suddenly the big lamp, which one of the gang was holding, dimmed and went out.
"What's the matter now? Turn on that light, Joe."
"It's gone out."
"D'you think we're blind? Of course it's out. Turn it on."
"The lamp's gone dead, I think. There's somethin' wrong with it. It won't light again." They could hear the man tinkering at the lamp. "No use," he said at last.
The cave was in pitch blackness. One of the men struck a match, and it cast a faint illumination.
"There's candles around here somewhere, ain't there?" asked Gus Montrose.
"Whole box of 'em around if I can find them."
The man with the match moved off into another part of the cave. He fumbled around for a while, then announced with a grunt of satisfaction:
"Here they are." He lit one of the candles, brought it over and stood it on a box.
"Light some more," ordered Gus.
The man did as he was told. In a few moments half a dozen candles provided a fair amount of light in the gloom of the cave.
"That's better."
Just then there was a shout from the passage leading into the main cave. Gus Montrose wheeled about.
"Who's that?"
The men crouched tensely.
"I don't know," whispered one. "We're all here but Dan."
In a moment footsteps could be heard in the passage. Then a voice:
"Hey—come out and help me. My car got stuck!"
"It's Dan," said Montrose, in a tone of relief.
A man entered the cave. He stopped short, in surprise.
"For the love of Pete!" he exclaimed. "What's this? Prayer meetin'?"
"The lamp went out," explained Gus. "We caught a couple of kids spyin' on us."
The newcomer whistled.
"Spies, eh? Where are they?"
"We got 'em tied up. In the corner, there."
Dan, who was evidently the man who had driven the roadster down from the Shore Road, came over and regarded the Hardy boys.
"This don't look so good," he said. "What are we goin' to do?"
"We'll attend to 'em," growled Montrose. "Your job is to drive that car in to Clancy's place. The rest of us are bringin' the other cars in to-night."
"Clearin' out a day earlier, eh?"
"That's the idea."
"Well, you'll have to come out and help me get my car out of the mud or none of us will get away."
"You're bogged?"
"Up to the hubs. There's been so much rain that the gully road is now knee-deep in mud."
"All right. We'll come and get you out. How many men do you want?"
"It'll take the whole crowd of us."
"No, it won't. We're not goin' to leave these kids here alone. Joe, here, can stay and watch 'em."
"They're tied, ain't they?"
"What of it? I'm not trustin' to no ropes. Somebody's got to stay and keep an eye on them."
"I'll stay," grumbled the man addressed as Joe.
"I don't care who stays," snapped Dan. "If you don't come out and help drag that car out of the mud it'll be in so deep we'll never get it out. Come on."
The men trooped out of the cave. Joe, who was left behind, sat down on a box and regarded the lads balefully. However, he said nothing. Gus came back through the passage.
"You might as well be loadin' some of those boxes into the other cars, while we're away," he said. "Take a look in every little while and see that those kids are still tied up."
The man grumbled assent, and followed Gus back down the passage.
The Hardy boys were left alone in the light of the flickering candles ranged about the gloomy cave.
"Well, we've lost out, I guess," remarked Frank bitterly. "If we ever do get back to Bayport it won't be until the auto thieves have all cleared out of here with the cars."
"It doesn't look very bright," sighed Joe.
Suddenly, Frank sat up.
"Say!" he exclaimed. "Did they take your revolver?"
"No. I guess they didn't know I had one."
"They took mine and missed yours. You still have it?"
"Right in my pocket."
"Good!"
"What good is it when I can't get at it?"
"If you can, we have only this chap Joe to deal with." The flame of the candle caught Frank's eye. He had an inspiration. "If only I could just get these ropes off my wrists!" he said.
Frank edged over toward the candle. Then, with his back to the flame, he lowered his arms until the cord that bound his wrists was within an inch of the wick.
A candle does not throw out much heat, but that little flame seared Frank's wrists and he had to clench his teeth to keep from crying out with the pain.
He could hold the rope in the flame for a few moments only, and then he withdrew it. When the scorching pain had somewhat subsided, he tried again. The flame licked at the heavy cord, weakening it strand by strand.
"Look out, Frank," warned Joe.
Frank scrambled back to the corner.
He was just in time. Heavy footsteps in the passage announced the approach of their guard, who came to the entrance, looked at them sullenly for a moment, then turned away again. He went back to the outer cave.
Hardly had he disappeared when Frank was back at the candle. He thrust the rope into the flame again.
When he could stand the burning heat no longer he withdrew and tried to break his bonds by sheer force. But, although the ropes had been weakened, they refused to break. He returned to the flame again, and on the next attempt he was successful. So many strands had been burned through that the cords snapped, and his hands were free.
Quickly, Frank went over to his brother. First of all, he took the revolver from Joe's pocket and put it on the rock beside him, in readiness. Then he knelt down and tugged at the strong ropes that bound Joe's wrists so tightly.
The knots were stubborn, but he finally undid them. The ropes fell apart and Joe was free.
"Now!" gritted Frank, picking up the revolver. "We'll go and attend to our friend in the cave."
"Hadn't we better wait here for him? There may be some one with him."
"I guess you're right. We'll take him by surprise the next time he comes back."
Frank went over to the side of the tunnel that led out into the main cave.
"Bring those ropes with you, Joe. Take the other side."
Joe picked up the cords that had bound his own wrists, and took up his position at the other side of the entrance. There the boys waited.
In a short time they heard heavy footsteps in the tunnel. Their guard was returning.
Frank gripped the revolver. The lads pressed themselves against the wall. The footsteps drew closer. Then a dark figure emerged from the opening.
Frank stepped swiftly out behind the rascal and pressed the revolver against his back.
"Hands up!" he ordered sharply.
Their victim gave a cry of fright. He had been startled almost out of his wits. His hands shot up.
"Stand where you are!"
Frank still pressed the muzzle of the revolver against their erstwhile captor while Joe searched the man for weapons and found a small automatic in the fellow's hip pocket. This he took.
"Put your hands behind your back!" ordered Frank.
Their prisoner obeyed.
Quickly, Joe tied the man's wrists.
"Go over and sit on that box!"
Muttering and grumbling with rage, the fellow did so. Joe hunted around until he found another length of rope, and with this he bound the man's feet.
"I guess you'll be all right here until the others come back," Frank told the captive.
"If ever I get free of these ropes—"
"Keep quiet," ordered Frank, brandishing the revolver menacingly. Their prisoner was silenced abruptly.
"Blow out the candles, Joe. He might think of the same idea."
The candles were blown out. The boys were in complete darkness.
"Hey!" roared their prisoner. "You're not goin' to leave me here alone in the dark, are you?"
"Exactly. Where's our flashlight, Joe?"
"I have it here. It was in my pocket." Joe turned on the light. In its glow they saw their prisoner, bound hand and foot, sitting disconsolately on the box.
"Fine. We'll go now."
They left the cave, unmindful of the appeals of the auto thief, and made their way down a passage that led into the outer cavern where the stolen cars were stored. The light showed them a large opening that they had not seen when they were in the place on the first occasion.
"I guess this is the way they drive the cars out," remarked Frank. "We'll go out the way we came in. We won't be so likely to meet the others."
The boys hastened down the far passage. They hurried past their roadster, on through the tunnel. At last they saw a gleam of light ahead, shining faintly in the distance.
At the Farmhouse
In a few moments, the Hardy boys had emerged from the passage and stood in a heavy clump of bushes that obscured the entrance to the tunnel in the bluff. Brushing aside the trees, they stepped out onto the beach.
The light they had seen was from a ship, steaming into Bayport Harbor, and in the distance they could see a dim yellow haze—the lights of the city.
Above them towered the rocky bluff. Farther down the beach they saw the break in the cliffs where the gully ran back toward the Shore Road.
"We can't go that way," Frank decided quickly. "The thieves are up in the gully helping get that car out of the mud."
Joe looked up at the steep cliff.
"We certainly can't climb up here."
"We can go out the way we came in. The roadster came down the beach, you remember. We may find the trail back."
The storm had spent its force and a fine drizzle of rain was now falling. The boys went back down the beach, the flashlight illuminating the way.
By the smoothness of the beach they knew that this was the route the car had followed on the way in. Later on they came to an open stretch of sand. Beyond that lay rocks.
There was a break in the cliff, and by the flashlight, the boys picked out an automobile track in a patch of sand, leading toward low bushes that masked the entrance to a gully.
"This is the place we're looking for," said Frank. "I'll bet the roadster came down through here."
He pushed aside the wet bushes. In the damp grass, the track was still plainly visible. The gully was dank with undergrowth, but there were evidences of a wide trail.
"We're getting there, anyway. From the direction, this ought to take us up to the Shore Road."
"What shall we do then?" asked Joe. "Walk to Bayport?"
"We shouldn't have to. There are farms along the road. We ought to be able to telephone to town."
"To the police?"
"Sure! Police and state troopers. We can't round up this gang by ourselves, and we haven't any too much time to get help, as it is."
"Well, we at least know where they can trace the stolen cars. That's one consolation."
"You mean Clancy?"
"In Atlantic City. The police ought to be able to catch him without any trouble."
The boys struggled on up the gully, along the trail that led through the wet woods toward the Shore Road. The underbrush had been cleared away for the passage of the stolen cars, and they found no difficulty following this strange road.
Finally, Frank gave a cry of delight.
"We're at the road!"
He emerged from the bushes, raced across a grassy stretch, and scrambled up onto the highway. It was, indeed, the Shore Road at last.
The boys looked about them. Some distance away they saw a gleam of light.
"A farmhouse! We'll try it."
They hurried down the road, and at length the flashlight revealed the entrance to a lane. Splashing through the water-filled ruts, the boys made their way between the crooked fences toward the dim mass of farm buildings.
"This place seems sort of familiar," remarked Joe.
"I was thinking the same thing."
"I know now! It's the Dodd farm!"
Joe was right. When the boys entered the barnyard, in spite of the fact that darkness obscured their surroundings, they knew from the size and position of the buildings that they had reached the Dodd place.
"This makes it easier. They have a telephone," said Frank.
"And that light in the window shows that some one is up."
They hurried to the door of the farmhouse and knocked. In a little while the door was flung open and Jack Dodd confronted them.
"Who's there?" he asked, peering out into the darkness. Then he exclaimed with astonishment: "The Hardy boys! What on earth are you doing here at this hour? Come in!"
Frank and Joe entered. They were wet and bedraggled, and Jack Dodd looked at them curiously.
"I was working late at my studies," he explained. "What happened? Did your car get stalled?"
"We've found the auto thieves—and the stolen cars!" Frank told him quickly.
"They're not far from here, either. We want to use your telephone," added Joe.
"The auto thieves!" gasped Jack incredulously. "You've found them?"
"The whole gang. And if we move fast we'll be able to land the outfit," answered Frank.
Jack quickly realized the situation. There was no time to be lost. He led the way into a hallway and pointed to the telephone.
"There you are!"
As it was a rural telephone line, he had to explain to the Hardy boys the proper number of rings necessary to arouse Central.
It took Frank some little time to get Central, as calls at that hour were infrequent out the Shore Road. The boys waited impatiently, but at last a sleepy voice answered the ring, and Frank hurriedly demanded the Bayport police headquarters.
He was soon in touch with the desk sergeant. He outlined the situation quickly.
"The gang were all up in the gully hauling a car out of the mud when we left. They'll be clearing out as soon as they discover their man in the cave, so you'll have to hurry," said Frank.
"I'll put every man available on it right away," the sergeant promised. "I'll call up Chief Collig at his house and tell him, too."
"Fine! Will you notify the state troopers? It's outside the city limits, you know."
"I'll call them up."
"You'll need a strong force of men, for this crowd are armed, and they'll have a hundred hiding places in the woods and along that beach. We'll keep a watch on the gully roads until you get here, and we'll wait for you."
"Good work! Are you sure it's the gang we've been after?"
"Certain. We found most of the stolen cars."
The sergeant was astonished.
"Found 'em? Where?"
"We'll tell you all about it later. In the meantime, get as many men out here as you can."
The sergeant disconnected abruptly. Frank had a mental picture of the activity that would follow in Bayport police circles on receipt of the news.
Jack Dodd was eagerly waiting for information.
"You mean to say you've actually found the thieves!" he exclaimed joyfully. "Then that means Dad and I will be cleared!"
"I hope so," Frank told his chum.
Briefly, the Hardy lads explained how they had hidden in the locker of the roadster, how the car had been driven away by one of the thieves, how they had overheard the conversation of the gang in the cave, how they had been captured and how they had escaped.
The Dodd household had been aroused, and Mr. Dodd came hurrying downstairs, half dressed. When he learned what had happened he hustled into the rest of his clothes and produced an ancient rifle from the back shed.
"I want to be in on this," he said grimly. "Those thieves have caused us more trouble than enough, and I'd like to get some of my own back."
Jack snatched up a flashlight.
"We'd better go out and watch the gully roads," Frank said.
"I know the road they drive out!" exclaimed Jack. "It's just a little below the end of our lane. There's an abandoned road that used to lead back to that old right of way, but I don't see how they reach it, for there's a fence to cross."
"Probably they take down the bars and drive through the field," said Mr. Dodd. "Now that you mention it, I always did think part of that fence looked pretty rickety."
They left the house and hurried down the lane toward the main road.
"We'd better split up," Frank suggested. "I have a revolver—it's Joe's, by the way—and Mr. Dodd has a rifle. Jack has a flashlight and so has Joe. Two of us can watch the first gully."
"You and Joe know the place where you came out onto the Shore Road," said Jack. "You'd better watch there. Dad and I will take the upper gully."
"Good! We'll just keep watch until the police arrive."
They separated at the end of the lane. Frank and Joe hurried off down the road, while the Dodds went in the opposite direction. When the boys reached the gully that led down to the beach they settled down to wait.
Because they were impatient and because they realized that the gang would doubtless scatter to points of safety as soon as their escape was discovered, it seemed to them that the police were a long time in coming. In reality it was not long, because the desk sergeant had lost no time in sending out the alarm.
The roar of approaching motorcycles and the drone of a speeding motor car were the first intimations of the arrival of the police and the state troopers. Even before the machines came into view their clamor could be heard.
Then dazzling headlights flashed over the rise. Frank ran out into the road, waving the flashlight, and in a few moments the first motorcycle skidded to a stop.
"Where are they?" shouted a trooper.
"There are two ways in. We have two men watching the other gully. If you'll put some of your men up there on guard, we can take you down to the beach from here."
The other motorcycles came up, and finally an automobile which was crowded with police officers. Everybody talked at once. The first trooper, however, quickly took charge of the impending raid, and in decisive tones he gave his orders.
"Johnson, take three policemen and go on up to the other gully. These lads say you'll find a farmer and his son on guard. They have a flashlight, so you can't miss them. Watch that gully and grab any one who comes out."
One of the troopers got back onto his motorcycle. All but three of the policemen scrambled out of their car. The motorcycle leaped forward with a roar, and the automobile followed close behind.
"All right," said the trooper. "We'll leave one man here to watch the road in case any of them slip through our fingers. The rest of us will go on down this gully."
"Callahan, stay on duty here," ordered the sergeant in charge of the police officers.
Callahan, a burly policeman, saluted. His face, revealed for a moment in the glare of a flashlight, showed that he did not relish the assignment, evidently preferring to go where there was promise of some excitement.
"All right, boys. Lead the way!"
Frank and Joe went across the grass beside the road and plunged into the undergrowth at the entrance of the gully. Their hearts were pounding with excitement. The moment of success was at hand.
Behind them trooped nine stalwart officers, heavily armed.
Down the sloping gully they went. The trooper in charge fell in step beside Frank and the boy explained the situation that lay ahead.
"Two openings to the caves, eh?" said the trooper. "Well, we have them cornered. That is, if the birds haven't flown."
They came to the beach. Their boots clattered on the rocks as the men hurried forward.
At length the bushes that concealed the entrance to the first tunnel were in sight.
The Round-Up
"This is the place!" Frank Hardy excitedly told the officer in charge of the party. "The tunnel is right behind those bushes."
"Mighty well hidden," the trooper commented. "Do you think you can find the other opening?"
"It's farther down the beach."
"I think I could find it," volunteered Joe.
"Take three of these men and watch that part of the beach, at any rate." The trooper detailed three men to accompany Joe. "I'll wait until I see your flashlight signal," he said. "When you find the place where they drive the cars out, turn the light on and off. Then wait for my whistle."
Joe and the men with him hurried on down the beach. The others waited in silence near the entrance to the tunnel.
Eventually they saw the blinking light that plainly told them that the outer passage was guarded.
"Fine," said the trooper. He raised the whistle to his lips. "All ready, men?"
"All set," answered one of the constables, in a low voice.
The shrill blast of the whistle sounded through the night. With one accord, the men leaped forward, plunged into the bushes, and crowded into the tunnel. Their flashlights made the dark passage as bright as day.
As they entered they could hear a confused uproar ahead. The roar of an automobile, the sound magnified tenfold in the subterranean passages, crashed out. There were shouts, cries of warning and alarm.
"We've got them trapped!" shouted the trooper.
They stumbled down the rocky passage. A man came blundering around a corner, right into the arms of the foremost officer. He was seized, there was a gleam of metal, a click, and the auto thief was handcuffed before he fully realized what had happened.
"One!" counted the sergeant. "Now for the others!"
They passed the Hardy boys' roadster and caught a glimpse of a man fleeing before them into the main cave. The trooper drew his revolver and sent a shot over the fellow's head.
The man came to an abrupt stop and raised his arms. He surrendered without a fight.
"Two!" yelled the sergeant gleefully, pouncing on his prisoner. Another pair of handcuffs was produced, the chain was slipped through the chain of the other thief's shackles, and the pair were swiftly manacled together.
The officers plunged on into the main cave.
In the glare of the flashlights they saw the truck and one of the pleasure cars standing by the wall. The two other cars that had been in the cave had disappeared. No men were in sight.
The raiding party heard the roar of a racing engine, a grinding of brakes, and a confusion of shouts.
"They're getting out!" Frank Hardy shouted. He pointed to the huge opening in the wall, through which the car had disappeared.
With the police at his heels, he headed down the passage. It was wider than the one through which they had entered, and the rocky floor gave way to earth, in which ruts were clearly visible.
Ahead of them they heard a shot, then more yells.
"Joe and his men are on the job," Frank reflected.
He was right. They reached the mouth of the passage, and there they came upon a large touring car. Two men were standing up in the front seat, arms upraised, and in the glare of the headlights they could see Joe and the three officers pointing their weapons at the pair.
The round-up was soon over. One of the policemen scrambled into the automobile and clapped handcuffs on the two men. The trooper, standing on the running board, turned a flashlight upon them.
The surly features of Gus Montrose were revealed. The other man was his companion, Sam.
"All out!" snapped the officer, urging the crestfallen thieves out of the car.
They stepped out sullenly.
"Well, here's four of 'em, anyway!" declared the trooper. He turned to Frank. "Do you think there are any more?"
"There's still another. He was the chap who got stuck in the mud up in the gully. Perhaps he's up there yet, if the Dodds haven't caught him on the way out."
The trooper despatched two of his men up the gully road at once, to see if they could locate the other member of the gang.
"Well, Montrose," he said, turning to the former hired man, "so we've landed you at last."
Gus looked down at the handcuffs.
"I'd have been clear away if it wasn't for them brats of boys!" he said viciously.
"They were a little too smart for you and your gang."
The four auto thieves were herded together and an officer with drawn revolver was put on guard.
"I guess we'll go back into the cave and see what we can find," decided the trooper.
Leaving the prisoners under guard, he and some of his men, together with the Hardy boys, went back into the main cavern, where the officers inspected the remaining cars and the loot that they found stored there. The sergeant rubbed his hands gleefully.
"Everything's here," he said. "At least, everything we need to make an airtight case against that gang. And we'll recover the rest of the stuff without much trouble, I imagine."
He turned to Joe Hardy.
"You said you learned where they were sending the cars?" he inquired.
"They spoke of a man named Clancy in Atlantic City. They drove the stolen cars out through the gully, across the Shore Road onto one of those old private roads, and then down the coast."
"That's all we want to know. We'll wire the Atlantic City police as soon as we get back to headquarters."
"We might as well bring back as much of this stuff as we can," said the trooper. "Make a triumphal procession of it."
Some of the loot they found already loaded into the small truck, in preparation for the get-away, and in a short time they had cleared the cave and the passage of the other packing boxes. One of the officers was assigned to the wheel of the truck and another was detailed to drive the other car. Frank and Joe announced their intention of driving their own roadster back to Bayport.
Before long, the little cavalcade was in readiness to start.
In the lead was the touring car, with four sullen and defeated auto thieves huddled in the back seat, a trooper and a constable in front.
Next came the truck, loaded with stolen goods. It was followed by the other pleasure car, with the sergeant and the other officers sitting at their ease. Behind it came the roadster, with the Hardy boys.
The foremost car followed the gully road without difficulty. The headlights illuminated the way clearly, and the automobiles lumbered up toward the Shore Road. They had no trouble in the muddy section where Dan had come to grief, for the thieves had covered the spot with branches and the cars crossed without becoming stalled.
The road led through the woods and finally ended in a seemingly impenetrable screen of trees.
Gus Montrose jeered.
"Try and get through there!" he said.
Puzzled, the driver got out and advanced toward the heavy thickets. It seemed impossible to go any farther, and yet the tire marks of other cars were visible right up to the undergrowth. He gave one of the trees a kick, and it fell back. The secret was revealed. A cunningly contrived platform held the trees in place, and it swung back, in the manner of a gate. When a car passed through, it was drawn shut again and gave the appearance of an unbroken mass of foliage.
This explained why the secret road had never been discovered and why the thieves were able to drive their cars out through the gully without great risk of detection. The loose trees formed a perfect screen.
At last the Shore Road was in sight. The foremost car lumbered up onto the highway. In its headlights a strange group stood revealed.
There, in front of a fine sedan, stood Mr. Dodd, rifle in hand, confronting the remaining auto thief. With him were Jack Dodd and the officer who had been despatched to their assistance.
The thief, presumably the man called Dan, was sitting disconsolately on the bumper of the car, handcuffs about his wrists.
"We got him!" shouted Jack, in excitement, as the cars lumbered out of the bush. "Held him up just as he came out onto the road."
"Fine work!" applauded the sergeant, scrambling out. "This just about cleans up the gang—all except Clancy."
Dan looked up sharply.
"How do you know about Clancy?"
"Never mind. We know all about him. And he'll be behind the bars with the rest of you before long, if I'm not mistaken."
The trooper who had been in charge of the round-up came up at this juncture.
"Another, eh?" he said cheerfully. "Well, the little procession is growing. Better join the parade, boys."
He assigned one of the men to replace Dan at the wheel of the stolen car.
"We'll let you be a passenger, for a change," he said, motioning the thief to the back seat. "Guest of honor."
From Dan's expression, as he took his seat, he did not appreciate the compliment.
"You'd better come to town with us for the finish," called Frank to the Dodds.
"I wouldn't miss it for a farm," Jack said, as he scrambled into the roadster with them.
So, with police, auto thieves, troopers, the Dodds and the Hardy boys duly seated in the various cars, the procession started for Bayport. One of the officers drove back the police car, with the motorcycles securely lashed in place on the running boards, and one piled in the back seat.
In the Hardy boys' roadster, jubilation prevailed. Jack Dodd was loud in his praises of the work the lads had done, and beneath it all was the undercurrent of intense relief because he knew the capture of the gang would clear himself and his father from suspicion.
"That's the best part of it, for us," said Joe Hardy, when their chum mentioned this.
The Mystery Solved
The capture and subsequent trial of the automobile thieves provided Bayport with one of its biggest sensations in many a day. Although some of the gang stubbornly insisted on their innocence, the evidence against them was so complete that the state had no trouble in securing prosecutions against them all, and they were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment in the state penitentiary.
The man, Clancy, was arrested in Atlantic City and was convicted with the rest of the gang, on charges of receiving and disposing of stolen property. The Bayport police notified Atlantic City detectives, and Clancy's arrest was accomplished within an hour after the other members of the gang were lodged in the cells.
Gus Montrose was questioned by detectives shortly after the triumphant procession reached the city. This was done at the request of Mr. Dodd, who was anxious that he and Jack should be cleared of all suspicion in connection with the thefts as quickly as possible.
Montrose saw that the game was up. He admitted that his former employer knew nothing of the stolen cars.
"It was while I was working for Mr. Dodd that I found the caves in the bluffs," he confessed. "I used to go down to the beach a lot to fish, and one day I found the opening into the tunnel and explored the big cave. I thought at the time that it would be a good place to hide stolen goods. Then one day I met Sam. He had just been released from the pen and we got to talking together and he said he thought there would be good money to be picked up stealin' cars."
"Where did you pick up the rest of the crowd?"
"Sam's friends, mostly. When I told Sam about the caves in the bluffs, he said it was just what we needed and he asked me if there was any roads in. I said there wasn't, but we could make roads in and out through the gullies, and cover 'em up. Then I told him about the old private road through to the back townships. He come with me and we looked the place over and he said it was just right. He wrote to some of his friends and they come on here and we started to work."
"That was when you quit your job at the Dodd place?"
"I didn't want to quit, for I figgered people wouldn't be so likely to think I was mixed up with the car stealin' if I kept on workin', but it took up so much of my time that Mr. Dodd let me go."
"Who did the actual car stealing?"
"The rest of the fellows. My job was to keep my eyes open for good chances. People would see me goin' along the Shore Road and think nothin' of it, but if any of the other boys went out, somebody might see 'em and think it queer, because they was strangers. Mostly I stayed down on the beach fishin', and kept watchin' the road for places people parked their cars. Then I'd signal to Dan or one of the others and they'd come and drive the car away."
"Fishing!" exclaimed Jack Dodd. "I'll bet that's how my rod disappeared."
"I took it, after your father fired me," Montrose admitted.
"How did it come to get into the car found behind Dodd's barn?" one of the detectives demanded.
"That was a car Dan had stolen; but the owner chased him in another car and he couldn't get down the gully without bein' seen. Dan had picked me up and I had the rod with me. He drove the car up behind the barn and hid it there and we got back to the cave on foot. I left the rod in the car."
"Well, that explains everything," the detective remarked. He turned to Mr. Dodd. "There shouldn't be any difficulty withdrawing the charges against you and your son."
"It takes a big load off my mind," declared the farmer. "It was a terrible worry to have that hangin' over our heads when we knew we were innocent."
"You must admit that the circumstances looked bad. We only did what we thought was our duty."
"I suppose so. Well, if the charges are withdrawn we won't say anything more about it."
Withdrawal of the charges was a formality that was soon executed.
In the week following, both Mr. Dodd and Jack were congratulated by scores of people on having been cleared of all suspicion in connection with the Shore Road mystery. The bail money was returned to Mr. Hardy and the boys.
Frank and Joe Hardy were the real heroes of the case. Their good work in discovering the hiding place of the auto thieves and in notifying the police in time to capture the gang, earned them praise from all quarters. The Bayport newspaper gave much space to the affair and the story of the lads' adventures in the cave provided thrilling reading.
"Some detectives, Frank and Joe!" commented Biff.
"Headliners—right on the front page," came from Chet.
"Well, they deserve it, don't they?" put in another high school student.
"They certainly do," answered Chet.
"And to think Jack Dodd and his dad are cleared," went on Biff. "That's the best yet."
"Jack's smiling like a basket of chips," said Tony. "Mouth all on a broad grin."
So the talk ran on among the boys.
The girls were equally enthusiastic.
"Oh, I think Frank and Joe are too wonderful for anything," remarked Callie Shaw, who had always been looked on with favor by Frank.
"I never thought Joe could be so brave," breathed Iola Morton.
"They are sure a pair of heroes," said Paula Robinson.
"I really think they ought to be in a book," added Tessie, her twin.
Even the Applegates, for whom the Hardy boys had solved the mystery of the tower treasure, had their word of commendation.
"As brave as the knights of old," said Miss Adelia.
"If I had my say, I'd print a stamp in their honor," said Hurd Applegate, who was an expert on stamp collecting.
The new roadster became famous in Bayport as the car that had lured the auto thieves to their downfall. Motorists in general were able to breathe easier when they learned that the gang had been rounded up. A little to their embarrassment and much to their delight, at a banquet of the Automobile Club, Frank and Joe were the guests of honor.
"I am sure," said the president of the club, in a speech, "that the automobile owners of the city are grateful to these two boys for the courage and ingenuity they displayed in running down the gang when even the organized police had failed. They ran grave risks, for they were dealing with desperate and experienced criminals. If the hiding place had not been discovered, it seems likely that the thefts might have continued for some time and it is certain that none of the cars would have been recovered. As it is, all the automobiles have been located and returned to their owners, as well as all the stolen goods. As you all know, various rewards were offered by this association and by a number of the car owners, and to these rewards the Hardy boys are justly entitled. I have great pleasure, then, in presenting them with the sum of fifteen hundred dollars, comprising the three separate rewards of five hundred dollars each."
Amid cheers, two checks for $750 were presented to Frank and Joe.
Mr. Hardy, who was present at the banquet, beamed with pleasure. But when he returned home with the lads he invited them into his study and closed the door.
Wondering what was coming, the boys faced their father.
"I think you've had enough congratulations for one week," he said to his sons. "Don't let it turn your heads."
"We won't, Dad," they promised.
"It was a good idea, hiding in that locker," their father remarked. "It was a good idea and it worked out very well. There was only one thing wrong with it."
"What was that?" asked Frank.
"It was too dangerous."
"Too dangerous?"
"You took too many chances, dealing with a gang like that. Don't try anything like that again or I may have to hunt up my old shaving strop."
But Fenton Hardy smiled indulgently as he spoke.
"He wasn't real mad," whispered Joe, as he and his brother left their father. "He was only a little bit provoked."
"Well, it really was dangerous—hiding in that locker," admitted Frank. "Those thieves might have caught us like rats in a trap."
"I wonder if we'll have any more such thrilling adventures," mused Joe.
Additional thrilling adventures were still in store for the brothers, and what some of them were will be related in another volume, to be entitled, "The Hardy Boys: The Secret of the Caves."
In that volume we shall meet all our old friends again and learn how a peculiar accident led up to a most unlooked-for climax.
The reception Frank and Joe received at the Automobile Club was tame in comparison to the way they were greeted by their chums.
"The biggest little detectives in the world," was the way Chet expressed himself.
"They can't be beat!" came from Tony Prito.
"But it's nothing to what I expect them to do in the future," was Biff Hooper's comment.
THE END
MYSTERY STORIES FOR BOYS
By FRANKLIN W. DIXON
THE HARDY BOYS: THE TOWER TREASURETHE HARDY BOYS: THE HOUSE ON THE CLIFFTHE HARDY BOYS: THE SECRET OF THE OLD MILLTHE HARDY BOYS: THE MISSING CHUMSTHE HARDY BOYS: HUNTING FOR HIDDEN GOLDTHE HARDY BOYS: THE SHORE ROAD MYSTERY
(Other Volumes in Preparation)
GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK