Penny saw then that one of the men had left the boat and was walking
along shore. He seemed not in the least disturbed by the great tree and
for the first time it dawned upon her that it served a definite purpose.
"Lift 'er up, Gus," called the man at the wheel of the boat.
His companion disappeared into the bushes. Several minutes elapsed and
then Penny heard a creaking sound as if ropes were moving on a pulley.
"The tree!" whispered Jerry, his eyes flashing. "It's lifting!"
Very slowly, an inch at a time, the great tree raised from the water, its
huge roots serving as a hinge. When it was high enough, the motor boat
passed beneath the dripping branches and waited on the other side.
Slowly, the tree was lowered into place once more.
"Clever, mighty clever," Jerry muttered. "Anyone searching for the
hide-out would never think of looking beyond this fallen tree. To all
purposes nature put it here."
"Nature probably did," Penny added. "But our dishonorable friends adapted
it to their own use."
Through the window Penny saw the man called Gus reboard the boat.
Once more the cruiser went on up the narrow stream, making slow but
steady progress. Long shadows had settled over the water. Soon it became
dark.
Then a short distance ahead, Jerry and Penny observed a light. As the
boat drifted up to a wharf, a man could be seen standing there with a
glowing lantern. They were unable to see his face, and quickly dodged
back from the cabin window to avoid being noticed.
"Everything all right, Aaron?" the man at the wheel asked, jumping
ashore. He looped a coil of rope about one of the dock posts.
"Aaron!" whispered Penny, gripping Jerry's hand.
"It must be Aaron Dietz, Kippenberg's former business associate. So he's
the ringleader in this business!"
They listened, trying to hear the man's reply to the question which had
been asked.
"Yeah, everything's all right," he responded gruffly.
"You don't sound any too cheerful about it."
"Atherwald still won't talk. Keeps insisting he doesn't know where the
gold is hidden. What bothers me, I am beginning to think we made a
mistake. He may be telling the truth."
"Say, this is a fine time to be finding it out!"
"Oh, keep your shirt on, Gus. You and Jake will get your pay anyhow. And
even if Atherwald doesn't know the hiding place we'll make Kippenberg
come through."
"You'll have to find him first," the other retorted. "If you ask my
opinion, you've made a mess of the whole affair."
"No one asked your opinion! We'll make Atherwald tell tonight or else--"
The man with the lantern started away from the dock but paused before he
had taken many steps.
"Get those supplies up to the shack," he ordered. "Then I want to talk
with you both."
"All right," was the reply, "but we have to get the cabin door open
first. Flora locked it and lost the key."
"I didn't," the girl protested shrilly. "Don't you try to blame me."
Jerry and Penny knew that their situation now was a precarious one. If
they were found in the cabin they would be taken prisoners and the
exclusive story which they hoped to write never would be theirs.
"We've trapped ourselves in this cubby-hole," the reporter muttered. "All
my doing, too."
"We can hide in the closet, Jerry. The men may not think to search
there."
Noiselessly, they opened the door and slipped into the tiny room. The air
was hot and stuffy, the space too narrow for comfort.
Jerry and Penny did not have long to wait before there came a loud crash
against the cabin door. The two seamen were trying to break through the
flimsy panel.
"Bring a light, Flora," called one of the men.
Penny and Jerry flattened themselves against the closet wall, waiting.
A panel splintered on the outside cabin door, and a heavy tramping of
feet told them that the men had entered the room.
"No one in here, Gus."
"It's just as we thought. Flora locked the door and lied out of it."
"I didn't! I didn't!" cried the girl. "Someone else must have done it
while I was at the store. The door was unlocked when I went away."
"There's no one here now."
"I--I thought I heard voices while we were coming down the river."
"In this cabin?"
"Yes, just a low murmur."
"You imagined it," the man told her. "But I'll take a look in the closet
to be sure."
He walked across the cabin toward the hiding place. Penny and Jerry
braced themselves for the moment when the door would be flung open. They
had trapped themselves and now faced almost certain capture.
CHAPTER
23
_AT THE HIDE-OUT_
Before the man could pull open the closet door, a booming voice called
impatiently from shore:
"Say, are you coming? We have plenty of work ahead of us tonight."
Distracted from his purpose, the searcher turned aside without glancing
into the closet. With his companion and the girl, he left the cabin.
Penny and Jerry waited at least five minutes. When all was silent above,
they stole from their hiding place. From the window they assured
themselves that the wharf was deserted.
"What do we do now, start after the police?" Penny questioned.
"Let's make certain Atherwald is here first. We can't afford to be
wrong."
A path led through the timber. As they followed it, Jerry and Penny saw a
moving lantern some distance ahead. They kept it in sight until the three
men and Flora disappeared into a cabin.
Stealing on through the darkness, Penny and Jerry crept to the screen
door. Peering in, they saw a barren room containing a table, a cook stove
and double-deck bunks.
"Get supper on, Flora," one of the men ordered curtly.
"Am I to cook anything for the prisoner?" she asked in a whining voice.
"Not unless he decides to talk. I'll find out if he's changed his mind."
The man who had been called Aaron crossed the cabin to an adjoining room.
He unlocked the door which had been fastened with a padlock, and went
inside.
"Atherwald must be in there," whispered Penny.
With one accord, she and Jerry tiptoed across the sagging porch and
posted themselves under a high window. Glancing up they saw it contained
no glass, but had narrow iron bars in keeping with a prison chamber.
Jerry lifted Penny up so that she could peep into the room. By the light
of the oil lantern she saw a haggard young man sitting on the bed.
Despite a stubble of beard and unkempt hair, she instantly recognized him
as the missing bridegroom. She made another observation, one which
shocked her. The man's wrists were handcuffed.
"It's Grant Atherwald," she told Jerry as he lowered her to the ground.
"They've treated him shamefully."
Jerry held up his hand as a signal for silence. In the room above the men
were speaking and he wished to hear every word.
"Well, Atherwald, have you changed your mind? How about a little supper
tonight?"
"How can I tell you something I don't know?" the bridegroom retorted
wearily. "Kippenberg never confided any of his secrets to me."
"You know where his gold is hidden!"
"I don't think he ever had any!"
"Oh, yes, he did. When the government passed a law that it was illegal to
keep gold, Kippenberg decided to defy it. He had over half his fortune
converted into gold which he expected to re-convert into currency at a
great profit to himself. His plans went amiss when government men listed
him for investigation."
"You seem to know all about his private affairs," Grant Atherwald said
sarcastically. "Strange that you haven't learned the hiding place of the
gold--if there ever was any!"
"It will do you no good to pretend, Atherwald! Either you tell the hiding
place, or we'll bring your bride here to keep you company!"
"You wouldn't dare touch her, you fiend!"
"No? Well, unless you decide to talk, she'll share your fate, and I
promise you it won't be a pretty one. Now I'll leave you to think it
over."
The door closed with a bang.
"We'll have to get the police here right away," Jerry advised Penny in a
whisper. "No telling what those scoundrels may try to do to Atherwald. We
haven't a moment to waste."
"It would take us hours to bring help here," reasoned Penny. "And if we
try to use the motorboat the gang will be warned and flee while we're on
our way down the river."
"That's so, but we have to do something. Any ideas?"
"Yes, I have one," Penny answered soberly. "It may sound pretty crazy.
Still, I really believe it would work!"
Hurriedly, she outlined what she had in mind. Jerry listened
incredulously, but as the girl explained and elaborated certain details
of her plan, his doubts began to clear away.
"It's dangerous," he protested. "And if your hunch about the pool is
wrong, we will be in a fix."
"Of course, but we'll have to take a chance in order to save Atherwald."
"If everything went exactly according to plan it might work!"
"Let's try it, Jerry. Lift me up so I can attract Atherwald's attention."
The reporter did as she requested. Penny tapped lightly on the iron bars
with her signet ring. She saw Grant Atherwald start and turn his head.
Penny repeated the signal.
The man arose from the bed and stumbled toward the window.
"Who is it?" he whispered hoarsely.
"A friend."
"Can you get me out of here?"
"We're going to try. You are handcuffed?"
"Yes, and my captor keeps the key in his pocket. The room outside is
always guarded. Did you bring an implement to saw through the bars?"
"No, we have another scheme in mind. But you must do exactly as we tell
you."
"Yes, yes!" the bridegroom whispered eagerly, his pale cheeks flooding
with color.
"Listen closely," Penny instructed. "When your captor comes back tell him
you have decided to talk."
"I know nothing about the cache of gold," the man protested.
"Tell your captor that the hiding place is on the Kippenberg estate."
"That would only involve Sylvia and Mrs. Kippenberg. I'll do nothing to
get them into trouble."
"You'll have to obey instructions or no one can help you," Penny said
severely. "Would you prefer that those cruel men carry out their threat?
They'll spirit Sylvia away and try to force the truth from her."
"I'll do as you say."
"Then tell your captor that the gold is hidden in a specially constructed
vault lying beneath the lily pool." Penny had resolved to act upon her
hunch that there was a trapdoor on the bottom of the pool. Now as she
issued instructions she wished that she might have found some way of
examining the pool to see if she were right. However, she had to take a
chance on there being a vault beneath the pool.
Atherwald protested mildly. "He would never believe such a fantastic
story."
"It is not as fantastic as it sounds," replied Penny. "You must convince
him that it is true."
"I will try."
"Make the men understand that to get the gold they must drain the pool
and raise a trapdoor in the cement bottom. Ask to be taken with the men
when they go there tonight and demand that you be given your freedom as
soon as the gold is found."
"They will never let me go alive. An identification from me would send
them all to prison for life."
"Do you know the men?"
"The ringleader is Aaron Dietz. At one time he was employed by Mr.
Kippenberg."
"Just as I thought."
"The other two call themselves Gus and Jake. I don't know their last
names. Then there is a girl who seems to be a sister to Gus."
"How did they get you here?"
"On the day of the wedding I was handed a note just as I reached the
estate. It requested me to come at once to the garden. While I waited
there, two ruffians sprang upon me from behind. Before I could cry out
they dragged me to their boat at the river's edge. I was handcuffed,
blindfolded and brought to this cabin."
The slamming of an outside door warned Penny that she was wasting
precious time in talk.
"You understand your instructions?" she whispered hurriedly.
"Yes."
"Then goodbye. With luck we'll have you free in a few hours."
"With luck is right," Jerry muttered as Penny slid to the ground.
Aaron Dietz stood on the front porch staring out into the night. Seeing
him there, Penny and Jerry circled widely before attempting to return to
the river. Satisfied that they had not been observed, they boarded the
boat and descended to the cabin.
For possibly an hour they sat in the dark, waiting anxiously.
"Looks as if my little plan didn't work," Penny remarked. "I might have
known it would be too simple."
Jerry had risen to his feet. He went to the window and listened.
"Hear anything?" Penny whispered hopefully.
"Sounds like someone coming down the path. We ought to get into our
cubby-hole."
They tiptoed to the closet and closed the door.
Within a few minutes they heard a confusion of voices and the shuffle of
feet as men boarded the cruiser. Penny wondered if the group included
Grant Atherwald and was greatly relieved when she heard him speak.
"I don't see why you think I would double-cross you," he said distinctly.
"I am considering my own welfare. You promised that if the gold is found
you'll give me my freedom."
"Sure, you'll get it. But if you're lying about the hiding place--"
The words were drowned out by the roar of the motor boat engine. Penny
and Jerry felt the floor beneath them quiver and then gently roll. The
cruiser was under way.
"We're heading for the Kippenberg estate!" Penny whispered. "Oh,
everything is starting out beautifully!"
"I only hope it ends the same way," said Jerry morosely. "I only hope it
does."
CHAPTER
24
_SECRET OF THE LILY POOL_
The moon rode high in the heavens as the cabin cruiser let go its anchor
in a cove off the Kippenberg estate. Penny who had been dozing for the
past hour in her self-imposed prison started up in alarm as Jerry nudged
her in the ribs.
"Wake up," he whispered. "We're here."
"At the estate?"
"I think so."
On the deck above their heads they could hear the men talking together.
"You'll come along with us, Atherwald," Aaron Dietz said. "Flora, you
stay here and guard the boat. If you see anyone watching or acting
suspiciously, blow the whistle two short blasts."
"I don't want to stay here alone," the girl whimpered. "I'm afraid."
"You'll do as I say," the man ordered harshly. "Get started, Gus. It's
two o'clock now. We won't have many hours before daylight."
In making her plans Penny had not once considered that the men might
leave a guard on the cruiser. With the girl posted as a lookout they were
still prisoners in the cabin.
"We have to get out of here now or never," she whispered. "What shall we
do about Flora?"
"We'll rush her and take a chance on the whistle."
They slipped out of their hiding place and crawled noiselessly up the
steep stairway. Pausing there, they watched the shadowy figure of the
girl in the bow of the boat. She was quite alone, for her companions had
disappeared into the woods.
"Now!" commanded Jerry in a whisper.
With a quick rush he and Penny were across the deck. They approached
Flora from behind and were upon her before she could turn her head. Jerry
grasped her arms while Penny clapped a hand over her mouth to prevent a
scream. Although the girl fought fiercely, she was no match for two
persons.
Stripping off her sash, Penny gave it to Jerry to use as a gag. They
bound the girl's wrists and ankles, then carried her down into the cabin.
"I hate to leave her like that," said Penny as they went back on deck.
"Don't waste your sympathy," replied Jerry. "She doesn't deserve it.
Anyway, we'll soon set her free. We must bring the police now."
"The nearest house with a telephone is about a half mile away."
"It won't take us long to cover the distance," Jerry said, helping her
down from the boat.
"You go alone," urged Penny. "I'll stay here and keep watch."
"I don't like to leave you."
"Go on." Penny gave him a little push. "And hurry!"
After Jerry had reluctantly left, she plunged into the trees, carefully
picking her way along the path which led to the lily pool. A short
distance brought her to the clearing. Halting, she saw the three men and
Grant Atherwald silhouetted in the bright moonlight. The latter was still
handcuffed, guarded by Aaron Dietz who allowed his companions to do the
hard labor.
Gus and Jake had broken open the door of the stone tower. The soft purr
of a motor told Penny that they had started draining the pool. She
wondered what the men would do when they discovered that the tank
contained a very live alligator.
"It ought to put a crimp in their work," she chuckled. "Mr. Kippenberg
couldn't have chosen a more effective guard for his gold."
But gradually as the pool drained lower and lower, it struck Penny as odd
that the men did not notice the alligator. Belatedly, it occurred to her
that the Kippenberg gardener had probably succeeded in getting rid of the
monster since her visit to the garden earlier in the day.
"Something like that _would_ happen," she thought. "Oh, well, even so
Jerry ought to get here with the police in ample time."
Only the waning of the moon gave indication of how swiftly the night was
passing. Penny became alarmed as she observed how fast the pool emptied.
Jerry would not have as long as she had anticipated. But surely, he would
bring help before it was too late.
Presently, one of the men shut off the motor in the stone tower, saying
with quiet jubilance:
"There, she's empty!"
He jumped down into the tank, and almost at once uttered a cry of
discovery.
"Here it is, just as he said! The ring to the trap! Give us some help,
Gus."
With Aaron Dietz and the bewildered bridegroom watching from above, the
two men raised the heavy block of cement. Penny drew closer for she did
not wish to miss anything. She stood in the shadow of a tree scarcely
fifteen yards from where the men worked.
"A stairway leads down into an underground vault!" Jake cried exultantly.
"We've found the hiding place of the gold."
"Toss me your flashlight, Aaron," called Gus. "We'll soon have all of the
treasure out of here."
The next ten minutes brought a confused whirl of impressions. Penny's
thoughts were in turmoil. Why didn't Jerry come with the police? As soon
as the men carried the burden of gold to the boat they would discover
Flora, bound and gagged. Then they would suspect that a trap had been
laid. Oh, why didn't Jerry hurry?
Gus and Jake had descended into the underground vault. As the light
reappeared, Penny was dumbfounded to see that the men were empty handed.
"Nothing down there," Gus reported in disgust. "Nothing!"
"Then we've been tricked!" Aaron Dietz turned furiously upon his
prisoner. "You'll pay for this!"
"I thought the gold was here," answered Grant Atherwald.
"Lock him up in the vault and start the water running," advised Jake
harshly. "It's a good way to be rid of him."
The suggestion appealed to Aaron Dietz. At a nod from him, Atherwald was
seized and dragged down into the pool. He was shoved into the vault, but
before the two men could lower the heavy cement block into place, a
signal from Dietz arrested their action.
"Wait!"
In her anxiety over Grant Atherwald, Penny had moved closer to the pool.
Without realizing that she was exposing herself, she stood so that her
shadow fell clearly across the open space. Before she comprehended her
danger, Dietz hurled himself upon her, seizing her roughly by the arms.
Penny struggled to free herself but could not. The man's grip was like
steel.
"So you were spying!" he exclaimed harshly.
"I--I was just watching," Penny stammered. "Don't you remember me? I am
the girl who pulled you out of the river when your car went over the
drawbridge."
The man looked closely at her, and for an instant she dared hope that he
would recall her with gratitude. But his face hardened again and he said
unfeelingly:
"You know entirely too much, my little girl. This is one story you will
never write for your father's paper. Your curiosity has proven your
undoing. You share the fate of your very good friend."
With a sinking heart Penny realized by the man's words that he knew her
to be the daughter of a newspaper publisher, and that he had guessed her
part in the trick played upon him.
"Down you go!" Dietz said harshly.
As he dragged her toward the pool, Penny screamed at the top of her
lungs. A hand was clapped over her mouth. She bit it savagely, but her
efforts to free herself were of no avail.
The men shoved her headlong down the stone stairway into the pit.
"Now scream as much as you like," Aaron Dietz hurled after her. "No one
will hear you."
The heavy stone slab dropped into place.
Penny picked herself up from the steps. Terror gripped her, and with a
sob she called frantically:
"Mr. Atherwald! Mr. Atherwald!"
"Here at the bottom of the steps," he answered with a groan.
"Are you hurt?"
"Only bruised. But my hands are still in cuffs."
Penny limped down the stairway and helped the man to his feet.
"We're done for now," he said. "No one will ever look for us down in this
vault. And our cries will never be heard."
"Don't give up," Penny murmured encouragingly. "We may be able to lift
the stone. Come let's try."
Mounting the stairs, they applied their shoulders to the massive door,
but their best efforts did not raise it an inch.
"Listen!" cried Atherwald suddenly.
They both could hear the sound of water running into the empty pool.
"In an hour's time no one will ever guess that a hidden vault lies
beneath the tank!" Atherwald groaned. "We're doomed!"
"If we can hear the water splashing above us, our voices might carry!"
Penny reasoned. "Let's cry out for help. Now, together!"
They shouted over and over until their voices failed them. Then,
completely discouraged, they sagged down on the stairway to rest.
"Nothing went as I planned," Penny said dismally. "I really thought the
gold was hidden in this vault. If the men had found it, they would have
spent hours removing the loot to their boat. Jerry would have come with
the police and everything would have been all right."
Grant Atherwald was not listening to the girl's words. He struggled to
his feet, pressing his ear against the trapdoor.
"The water has stopped running!"
"Are you sure?" Penny sprang up and stood beside him, listening.
"Yes, and I hear voices!"
With one accord, they shouted for help. Could it be imagination or did
they hear an answering cry? As they repeated their frantic call, there
was a scraping on the stone above their heads.
"Stand away," ordered a muffled voice.
Before Penny and the bridegroom could obey, the great door lifted. A
deluge of water poured in, its force nearly washing them from the steps.
But in another moment the passage was clear and they stumbled up through
the rectangular opening.
Jerry grasped Penny's hand, helping her out of the vault. One of the
blue-coated policemen aided Atherwald, unfastening the handcuffs which
held him a prisoner.
"You're all right, Penny?" the reporter asked anxiously.
"I--I feel like a drowned rat," she laughed, shaking water out of her
hair. Then, with a quick change of mood she asked: "Did you get Aaron
Dietz and his men?"
"No," Jerry answered in disgust. "When we crossed the river five minutes
ago, the cruiser was still there. No sign of anyone around. I brought the
police here, and now I suppose they've made their get-away."
"Oh, Jerry, we can't let them escape! Send the police--"
"Now don't get worked up," the reporter soothed. "A squad started back
just as soon as we found out what had happened here."
"Dietz and his men must have seen the police crossing the river,"
speculated Penny. "They may have hidden in the bushes, biding their time.
By now they've slipped away in their boat."
"I'm afraid of it," Jerry admitted. "I traveled as fast as I could."
As one of the policemen lifted Penny out of the pool, a noise which
sounded like the back-firing of an automobile, broke the stillness of the
night. It was followed by a volley of similar sounds.
"Gunfire!" exclaimed Penny.
The policemen started at a run through the woods toward the place where
the white cruiser had last been seen. Penny hesitated, and then took the
opposite direction, coming out of the woods at a point directly opposite
the drawbridge.
Gazing far up the river she could see the white cruiser, flashes of fire
coming from the cabin window as the desperadoes exchanged shots with the
police, who were concealed in the woods.
"That boat will try to run for it in another minute," Penny thought. "If
only the drawbridge were down!"