A Puzzling Case
Both girls could plainly see where the motor boat had been tied. Only a
stub end of rope remained.
“Those kidnappers must have cut it loose last night when they carried
Father off!” Enid cried. “Now how are we to get ashore?”
“We might swim,” Madge suggested seriously, measuring with her eye the
distance to the wharf. “I think I could make it.”
“Well, I couldn’t, and anyway, I have a better idea.”
Enid brought out a distress flag which had been stored away and hung it
where it would be seen by a passing ship. While they awaited rescue,
Madge prepared food from the generous assortment of tin goods she found
in the kitchen. Enid was induced to eat. The food seemed to revive her
and she declared it was the most delicious she had ever tasted. The color
gradually flooded back into her cheeks.
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 signalled 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 employes 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 how 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 protectingly
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!”