THE MAN ON THE SHORE
The Hardy boys looked at one another solemnly in the glow of the
campfire.
"Do you think Captain Royal and Todham Todd are one and the same man?"
asked Joe.
"What do you think of it yourself?"
"It certainly looks strange. But how _could_ this queer old chap be
Todham Todd? How would the college professor get away down among these
caves, and what would be his idea in passing himself off as a sea
captain?"
Frank was thoughtful.
"Stranger things have happened. You remember that Evangeline Todd
suggested that her brother might have lost his memory. He was always
more or less eccentric, no doubt, and if he was suffering from amnesia
there is no telling where he might go or what he might do."
"It's mighty strange if we have run across him in this place. Perhaps
it's just a coincidence that Captain Royal says 'by jing' once in
a while. As for having his shoelaces untied, he seems pretty sloppy
anyway, and that would be only natural."
"Oh, yes, there's every chance in the world that Captain Royal is
simply an eccentric old tar. I agree with you there. Just the same, we
can't afford to overlook the chance that he _might_ be Todham Todd."
"How are we going to find out?"
"If we asked him, he would deny it, certainly. But perhaps if we could
talk to him and ask a few questions he might give himself away."
"If he has lost his memory he would not remember anything to give away."
"I hadn't thought of that," admitted Frank. "Still, my plan is worth
trying, don't you think?"
"It certainly is. But do you think he'll talk to us at all, after what
happened to-day?"
"Perhaps he's forgotten all about it by now. He might be as nice as pie
if we went back."
"Yes, he seems a rather changeable old boy," laughed Joe. "And perhaps
if he isn't around we might find some clue in that cave of his."
"Good idea. We'll make a try at it to-morrow."
"Do you think we should tell Chet and Biff?" asked Joe.
"I don't think so. Not just yet. After all, they don't know about the
Todd affair, and if we find out that our suspicions are all wrong
there'll be no harm done and they'll be none the wiser."
"But how can we question him if they're with us?"
"We'll make some excuse to get away by ourselves. Of course, we may be
disappointed. The more I think of it the more impossible it seems that
Todham Todd should actually be living here. But it is strange that he
hasn't been found before this if he is living in any town or city where
people would meet him and talk about him."
"Dad said he was traced as far as Claymore and there the trail
vanished. Claymore isn't very far from this coast."
"That's right. He may have wandered down to these caves."
"How about the shooting and the mysterious lights we were warned about?"
Frank laughed.
"Oh, as to that," he said, "I think Captain Royal has just been having
a little fun at the expense of the people around here. Perhaps he is
trying to keep people from finding out too much about him."
"Well, we'll find out all we can, anyway. He can't scare us."
Having decided to investigate the eccentric old gentleman further,
the Hardy boys rolled themselves up in their blankets and went to
sleep. Frank hardly dared hope that his surmise was correct and that
in Captain Royal they had discovered the missing college professor,
but he was convinced that the old man was not a sailor, in spite of
his claims, and the circumstances of the exclamation "by jing" and the
untied shoelaces, slender as the clues were, led him to believe that
they were at least on a trail worth following.
When the boys awakened next morning they found the sea hidden by a
dense fog. It was damp and cold and the weather put all idea of further
exploration of the coast out of their heads.
"I'm not going to wander among the rocks in this fog," declared Chet
emphatically. "If it got worse we'd have a fine time finding our way
back here."
"Looks to me like a good morning for fishing," said Biff.
Chet greeted this suggestion with enthusiasm.
"That's the brightest idea you've had in years. We brought lots of
tackle with us, thank goodness, and there's a high rock over there that
hangs over deep water. Perhaps we could catch a whale or so for lunch."
Frank and Joe saw their opportunity. They encouraged their two chums to
go fishing. As for themselves, they said they would go down to Captain
Royal's cave and see if the old gentleman was in a better humor than he
had been the previous day.
"You're welcome," said Chet. "I've had enough of that old lad's society
to last me the rest of my life. He'll probably set his dog on you, if
he has one."
"I didn't see any dog there yesterday," grinned Joe.
"Well, he'll likely have a dogfish then. You want to be careful. Better
come fishing with us."
But the Hardy boys persisted in their determination to beard the lion
in his den again, as Frank put it, so Biff and Chet unpacked the
fishing tackle and made their plans for a morning's sport.
After breakfast they set out for the high rock, Chet ironically asking
the Hardy boys to give his love to Captain Royal, and Frank and Joe
started off down the beach, delighted that they had escaped so easily.
They proceeded along the beach. The fog hung low over the sea and it
was so dense that they could scarcely distinguish the outline of the
dark cliffs above.
"Not much chance of catching Captain Royal away from home to-day, I'm
thinking," said Frank.
"No, he's likely sitting in his cosy little cave beside a good fire.
Well, he may feel more like talking."
There was no breeze blowing, and the sea lay calm and slatey beneath
the fog. It was a damp, clammy morning and the chill penetrated to
the bone. The boys felt rather guilty at having left Chet and Biff,
to set out on this expedition of their own, but as Frank had pointed
out it was, after all, private business. They well knew that if
their suspicions were incorrect, Chet would joke about the affair
unmercifully. It was better to keep it to themselves until they were
certain of their ground.
They were just approaching the cliff that hid Captain Royal's cave from
view when Frank halted and peered through the fog at the base of the
rocks some distance ahead.
"Do you see somebody lying there, Joe?"
Joe looked in the direction he indicated.
"Looks like an old log--no, it moved!"
"Seems like a man sprawled on the sand."
"Perhaps it's Captain Royal. Maybe he fell and hurt himself."
The boys hastened across the rocks in the direction of the figure on
the shore.
As they drew nearer they saw that it was indeed a man who lay sprawled
at the base of the rocks, apparently asleep. However, they soon saw
that it was not Captain Royal.
"Perhaps somebody fell off the cliffs from above," ventured Joe, as
they hastened up to the recumbent figure.
Frank looked up. The cliff loomed high above.
"If he did, we can't help him now. He would be dead."
They came up to the man sprawled on the sand. He was not dead. An empty
bottle lying by his side told the reason for his slumber.
"He's drunk!"
The man's face was turned away from them and the boys could not
distinguish his features. He was roughly dressed and his clothes were
wet with fog.
Just then the fellow stirred restlessly in his drunken sleep. He slowly
turned his head.
When the boys saw his face they gasped with surprise.
"It's Carl Schaum!" exclaimed Frank.
It was indeed the escaped automobile thief, the man who had stolen
Frank's motorcycle the day the boys left Bayport.