027-The Secret Of Skull Mountain by Franklin W. Dixon

Author:Franklin W. Dixon [Dixon, Franklin W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-08-07T14:26:55+00:00

CHAPTER XIII

Cast Adrift

As frank swung the Sleuth away from the boat landing in pursuit of Sweeper's speeding craft, he felt a sudden premonition of danger.

He glanced over his shoulder at the boathouse> half tempted to turn back and ask Joe to join him, but his brother had disappeared.

Frank shook off the feeling with a little laugh.

"I must be getting jittery," he told himself sardonically.

He guided the Sleuth skillfully across Barmet Bay, skirting ships and smaller craft and holding the boat to as fast a speed as he dared in order to cut down the distance between him and Sweeper.

The thin man's speedboat headed out to sea-and behind it, at a distance calculated not to arouse suspicion, the Sleuth followed.

The two boats held this position for a half hour.

109

110 The Secret of Skull Mountain Then Frank saw Sweeper's craft curve toward Merriam Island.

He twisted the wheel of the Sleuth, and the trim speedboat described a wide, foamy arc as it followed suit.

Directly ahead, the boy saw Barmet lighthouse, a tall, white tower which warned ships away from jagged reefs and shoals. Stretching away from its base was barren, rock-bound Merriam Island.

Sweeper slowed his boat, and cautiously circled the island.

"Wonder what he's going there for?" Frank mused.

He waited until the craft disappeared behind a jutting finger of rocks, then cut the motor of the Sleuth and let the boat drift toward a tiny dock extending from a narrow, sandy beach.

Frank leaped out as the speedboat swung alongside the dock, and secured it to the landing. He looked at the lighthouse, but there was no sign of activity in the tower.

"Guess the keeper's asleep," he muttered.

The boy's conjecture was correct. During the day, except in foggy weather, the lighthouse tower itself served as a warning to incoming and outgoing ships. But at night the keeper stood watch, training his eyes on the waters illuminated by the slowly revolving navigation light. The old man's vigil had saved many a ship from the reefs.

Cast Adrift 111

Keeping to the shore, Frank clambered over sharp rocks and ran along short stretches of narrow beach to the spot where he had seen Sweeper's boat disappear.

Soon he came to a cove and saw the craft rocking gently a short distance from land.

Sweeper was pacing the beach, smoking a cigarette and staring frequently out to sea.

"He must be waiting for someone," Frank told himself.

He stretchea out on a boulder, washed smooth by the sea, and watched the man. A low shelf of rocks in front of the boulder prevented him from being seen.

Minutes ticked by. Then an hour. Frank saw that Sweeper was becoming impatient, then angry. He paced the sand with short, jerky steps, stopping from time to time to glare at the sea.

Finally, he squared his shoulders, flicked a cigarette into the water, then rolled up his trousers and waded quickly toward the boat.

At that instant, the sound of a launch came clearly over the water.

Sweeper stopped and shaded his eyes with his hand. Frank also looked. The boat was heading directly toward the beach.

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