100-The Secret of the Island Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon

Author:Franklin W. Dixon [Dixon, Franklin W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-08-07T15:13:35+00:00

Chapter 9

Marooned!

For two or three long seconds, Joe froze in place, afraid that if he kept moving he would cause the rope to fray even faster. Below, the upturned pick pointed toward him like an arrow aimed at his heart.

"Hey, Joe!" shouted Chet. "Why'd you stop climbing?"

Joe snapped out of his horrified trance. "Give me a hand!" he shouted. "The rope's about to break!"

"What are you - ?" Chet knelt down and his eyes fell on the fraying thread. "Uh-oh! You are in trouble!"

Chet grabbed Joe's wrist. At that moment, the thread snapped and suddenly Chet was supporting all of Joe's weight with his one hand. Chet quickly grabbed Joe's other wrist and gripped it tightly-but Joe was far too heavy for him to pull out.

"He-e-e-e-elp!" Chet shouted. "Somebody grab me before he pulls me in!"

Frank dived to the rescue, throwing his muscular bulk on top of Chet to prevent him from sliding after Joe. "He reached over the top of Chet's head and grabbed one of Joe's wrists. Together Frank and Chet pulled Joe to the edge of the pit, where he could grab hold of the ground and pull himself up the rest of the way.

"Good work, Chet," Joe gasped as he crawled back onto the ground. "You saved my life. You, too, Frank." .

Frank stared over the edge of the pit and gave a low whistle. "I see what your problem was," he said to his brother. "Somebody's pick was waiting down there to skewer you."

"I don't understand how this could have happened," said Damien. "That rope was sturdy enough to last for months."

Joe pulled the broken end of the rope out of the pit. "I'm not convinced this was an accident," he said.

"What are you talking about?" asked Frank.

"Look at these marks on the rope," Joe said, pointing. "It looks like somebody's cut it about halfway through. Only half of it looks frayed."

"I see what you mean," Frank said, nodding. "Somebody cut the rope, then the weight of everybody climbing on it finished the job. By the time you got to the top, it was ready to snap."

"You got it," said Joe. "And since the cut was on the underside of the rope, nobody noticed it until it was too late." Joe's eyes narrowed and a look of anger passed over his face. "All of which means that somebody tried to kill me."

"Not just you," Frank countered. "Chet and I were just ahead of you on that rope."

"But who could have done it?" asked Chet. "Who would have had a chance?"

"I don't know," said Frank. "Did you see anyone near the rope, Professor?"

"No," Damien replied, "but I was down at the beach much of the time, making sure that our cement dam was holding properly."

"Jack Kruger was near the rope," said Joe. "He was hauling the buckets up and down. He had plenty of opportunity to cut it."

The muscular workman stared at Joe. "Are you accusing me of cutting that rope?" he asked in his deep, rumbling voice.

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