Sam Lee's hiding place

"What are we to do with this prize package?" asked Joe, motioning toward the unconscious Louie Fong.

"That's another problem. When I saw him on the doorstep I just grabbed him. If we can only manage to keep him prisoner somewhere and force him to tell us something about his dealings with Orrin North we'll be making progress."

"I know something about his dealings with North,'' said Joe. "I talked to Sam Lee.''

"What did he say?" asked Frank eagerly.

Joe then told him of his interview with the old Chinaman and of Sam Lee's story that Orrin North and Louie Fong were leagued in a smuggling enterprise.

"That checks exactly with what I learned!" Frank exclaimed, and he told Joe of his adventures in the laundry, of his fall through the trap-door and his discovery of the passage leading into the adjacent building.

"We've stumbled on an important secret, no doubt of that," declared Joe. "We can't let Louie Fong out of our hands. But where are we to keep him!"

"You said Sam Lee has a hideout up the river," exclaimed Frank in excitement. "There's the very place. We can take him there, tie him up and leave Sam Lee to watch him for us."

"Good idea! I never thought of that. His friends won't find him there in a hurry, I'll be bound."

"But first of all there's something I want to do."

"What is it?"

"I'd like to know more about the stranger who was spying on Orrin North in the secret room," said Frank.

"Why, he'll be miles away by now."

"He may be. But not his footprints."

"I see what you mean. You want to check up on any tracks he may have left around the door."

In case Louie Fong should recover consciousness the boys resurrected an old pair of handcuffs-souvenirs of one of their previous cases -and clapped them on the wrists of the unconscious prisoner.

Frank took tape and paper with him, slipped out of the garage and retraced his steps down the alley. He passed the laundry. There was no sign of life. He went on to the apparently deserted store beyond. No one was in sight. The windows were boarded up, and to all appearances no human being had entered the building in months. Of course Frank knew otherwise.

He went around to the side of the store, examined the earth beneath the windows, and at last he found what he sought. Two footprints, clear and distinct in the sand.

Frank knelt down and quickly took measurements of the telltale marks. He jotted them down and hurriedly left the scene. Not five minutes had elapsed before he returned to the garage.

"Where are those other figures, Joel" he asked.

"The measurements of the other footprints? Why, they're up in our room. But we don't need them. I can remember them. You don't mean to say you think they're the same?"

"I'm sure of it," and Frank recited the measurements he had just taken.

"Why, they're exactly the same!"

The boys stared at each other in profound amazement.

"Then," said Frank, "that man who left the footprints under the window–"

"Was the same man who spied on Orrin North today."

"And the same man who spied on Louie Fong and Orrin North at the garage."

"I wonder," observed Joe, "if the first Sidney Pebbles is still mixed up in this affair."

"Well, we won't get anywhere by wondering about it," declared his brother. "Our problem right now is to get Louie Fong up to Sam Lee's hideout and see that he's put under guard."

He jumped into the driver's seat, while Joe clambered in at the other side. Louie Fong, still unconscious and handcuffed, was wedged between them. Frank ran the car out of the garage.

"Where now?"

"The boathouse."

Sam Lee's hiding place was on the Willow River. According to Joe's description of the place Frank knew that it would be possible to motor within a few miles of the place, but that meant a long walk with their prisoner. He did not relish the prospect of dragging Louie Fong through several miles of bush country when the place could be reached directly by water.

The Hardy boys owned a motorboat which they called The Sleuth. It had been purchased out of prize money they had earned for solving one of the mysteries they had tackled. The craft would be useful at this time.

When they reached the boathouse they saw a familiar figure tinkering at the engine of a motorboat near the dock. It was the Napoli, owned by Tony Prito, an Italian-American lad who was one of their chums. As their car came to a stop Tony looked up and saw them.

"Hi!" he shouted and stepped out of his craft. "Where have you two been all week?"

He came toward them. As he passed one of the boathouses he looked inside and called out:

"Here they are, Chet. Come along."

Chet Morton emerged at a bound.

"Well! Well!" he said, grinning. "If it isn't our old pals, the Hardy boys. Where’ve you been all summer? Spending your holidays in Europe or somewhere?"

Tony Prito laughed.

"Chet was just saying that you fellows have been up to something."

"I'll say they have," grumbled Chet. "Got me started on a swell mystery and just when I was giving them some real help they left me out in the cold. Then they started going around with a swell looking girl and began giving all their old friends the air."

Suddenly he spied Louie Fong in the car.

"Great suffering hoptoads!" he yelped. "What have you got there? A mummy?"

Tony Prito's eyes bulged.

"Is it real?" he squeaked.

"Of course it's real," said Frank, getting out of the car. "Come on, Chet. You’ve been complaining that we've been freezing you out of this mystery. You're in it now. You too, Tony."

"Good!" exclaimed Tony, beaming with pleasure. "I like mysteries."

"Say!" muttered Chet, staring at the unconscious Chinaman. "That looks mighty like Louie Fong."

"It is Louie Fong," said Joe.

Chet gulped.

"I don't know as I care for this mystery as much as I thought I would," he said. "That man is a bad actor, by all accounts. What have you done to him? Is he dead or chloroformed?"

"Neither," returned Frank. "He's knocked out, that's all, and he's likely to come to at any minute.''

"In that case," said Chet, "I'll be seeing you at Sunday School the day after tomorrow."

He began to walk away, but Frank collared his chum.

"You want to be involved in mysteries," he reminded Chet firmly. "You're in one now. Help us get Louie into our boat."

"My boat's all ready," said Tony Prito. "Use mine. Where are you going?"

"Up the Willow River."

"Load him in, then, and come along."

Tony went on ahead and scrambled into the Napoli while the boys followed, carrying Louie Fong. They dumped him into the boat. Tony took the wheel and Chet cast off. The engine throbbed and in a few moments the swift craft was speeding out into Barmet Bay.

Their journey across the bay and up the Willow River was uneventful. Louie Fong still remained unconscious. Chet and Tony were wildly curious as to how the Chinaman had fallen into the hands of the Hardy boys and as to the reasons for his abduction. When Frank and Joe told them some of their adventures they were more than astonished at the maze of intrigue and crime in which Orrin North and Louie Fong were involved.

''This is big stuff!'' exclaimed Chet seriously. "Boy, I'm glad that rascal is unconscious. And handcuffed, too. If he woke up he'd start raising ructions."

"He's pretty harmless right now," said Frank. "And once we get to Sam Lee's place I think he'll be in safe keeping until we have time to attend to Orrin North."

They found Sam Lee's hiding place without difficulty, following the directions the old Chinaman had given Joe. The place was on a branch of the river and so cleverly concealed that they would never have suspected its presence if they had not known where to look.

They found Sam Lee sitting in the doorway of an old shack in the bush beside the creek.

''Ah!" he said when he saw Joe. " You come soon."

Then, when he spied the limp figure of Louie Fong, he drew back with an exclamation of alarm.

"What has happened?" he asked tensely. "Did I kill him?"

"I thought so," laughed Frank. "It was you who knocked him on the head in the laundry."

Sam Lee nodded.

"He insulted me. I struck him when he tried to choke me. He fell down. I took him over to the trap-door and dropped him into the cellar."

"He isn't dead," Joe assured him. "But we thought he might as well be kept under guard. That's why we brought him here."

Sam Lee shook his head doubtfully.

"You are brave boys," he said, "to kidnap so big a criminal as Louie Fong."

"It didn't take much bravery," said Frank. "He hasn't recovered from that wallop yet. He woke up a couple of times but caved in again. We put handcuffs on him, so he's harmless even if he does wake up."

"Louie Fong is never harmless," said Sam Lee. "He is always dangerous. Like a rattlesnake."

It was easily seen, however, that the old Chinaman was pleased at Louie Fong's capture,

They brought the prisoner into the shack. He muttered uneasily as they carried him, and Chet jumped nervously to one side.

"Look out!" he exclaimed. "He's waking up now."

Louie Fong's eyes opened. He stared about him, then narrowed his eyes suddenly as he realized that he was in an unfamiliar place and in strange hands. For the moment, however, he said nothing.

The boys put him on Sam Lee's cot, where he sat for a moment, shaking his head. Then he moved his arms and discovered that his wrists were handcuffed. With a wild yell he sprang to his feet, his evil face distorted with fury.

"Let me go!" he screeched. "What place you bling me? Let me go!"

He broke into a wild tirade of threats. He would kill them, he said, unless they set him free. He flung himself about the tiny cabin, kicking at the walls, trying to get at his captors. Frank and Tony Prito seized him and shoved him back onto the cot.

"Close that door, Chet!" snapped Frank.

"I was just going to," gasped Chet.

As a matter of fact, he was halfway through the doorway at the time. Chet had intended making a quiet departure, but he meekly closed the door and returned.

Louie Fong raved. He was furious with anger. His inky eyes were fixed on Sam Lee and he rasped out a torrent of threats in Chinese. Sam Lee turned pale.

"Don't worry," said Frank. "He'll quiet down when he sees it's of no use."

He spoke to Louie Fong.

"Look here!" he said. "We've learned a few things about you and North. We're going to break up this smuggling racket of yours. In the meantime, you're going to stay here. By the time we're ready to let you go back to Bayport you'll find that the game is up.''

But, as Sam Lee had said, Louie Fong was always dangerous. The Chinaman's eyes glinted. He crouched on the cot, his hands behind his back. He appeared to be listening intently.

"You and Orrin North tricked my father," Frank continued. "We're going to get word to him and see that he learns the facts of the case."

"What's that?" asked Tony Prito suddenly.

Chet Morton jumped convulsively. Sam Lee turned and gazed at the door.

Tap... tap... tap.

There was a strange rapping going on. Louie Fong's face was transformed by a malicious grin.

"Someone at the door," whispered Joe.

CHAPTER XXIII

CHAN

The strange tapping continued.

"Open it a bit and see who is there, Chet," said Prank.

"Maybe if we stay quiet he'll go away," Chet whispered.

Frank shook his head. In fear and trembling, then, Chet approached the door, and opened it a mere trifle. Suddenly Louie Fong spoke.

"Chan!" he said softly.

No sooner had he uttered the word than there was a frenzied snarl. A heavy body launched itself at the door. Chet was hurled on his back by the impact, and a gaunt gray form leaped over him.

It was Chan, the ferocious wolfhound of Louie Fong!

Instantly the shack was in confusion. The beast sprang straight at Frank. At the same moment Louie Fong rose from the cot with a wild yell. A quick wrench and the handcuffs clattered to the floor. All the time he had been sitting on the cot the wily Oriental had been working his wrists free of the rusty shackles.

Frank dodged as the dog leaped at him and the brute crashed against the wall. Sam Lee uttered a cry of despair. Tony Prito snatched up a stick and hurled it at Chan. Joe plunged at Louie Fong.

But Chan guarded his master. The huge dog whirled about and faced the group, fangs bared, eyes glaring. It snapped and snarled, threatening all within reach. Louie Fong deftly evaded Joe's rush and leaped toward the open door. One spring, and he vanished.

"After him!" yelled Frank, bounding outside.

He was brought up short as Chan, with a snarl of fury, raced ahead of him, wheeled and forced him back into the cabin. The animal growled menacingly, as he covered his master's retreat.

The boys were in a panic. Louie Fong had escaped and they were powerless to give pursuit. Moreover, they knew well the gravity of their danger once the Chinaman was at large again.

Tony Prito grabbed up the stick again. He flung it at the dog. The weapon missed its mark and flew over the animal's head but Chan yelped and backed away. A moment later, with a final howl, he fled into the bushes.

Sam Lee was gibbering with fear and excitement. The escape of his old enemy had left him in a pitiable state. Chet was beyond speech.

Frank and Joe rushed out of the shack. They heard a crashing in the bushes.

"After him!" shouted Frank. "He went this way."

They plunged into the undergrowth, Tony Prito close on their heels. They followed the direction of the sounds and a moment later came within sight of the dog. The great gray shape flashed in the bushes, then vanished again. Somewhere ahead was Louie Fong.

Joe circled around toward the creek, suspecting that Louie Fong might make his way to the boat. Tony Prito made a wide detour in the opposite direction. Chet, his first qualms having passed, hustled out of the shack and made himself very busy by tripping over bushes, plunging aimlessly here and there, shouting wildly, and carefully covering all the ground that the others had already searched.

They did not recapture Louie Fong. The bush was too dense and the Chinaman was too shrewd. After half an hour of vain search the boys were forced to admit defeat. Louie Fong and the wolfhound had escaped.

They returned to the shack, where Sam Lee was waiting for them anxiously.

"He was too quick for us, Sam. He made a clean getaway. He's probably heading back to Bayport by now."

The old man looked frightened.

"I am lost," he said simply. "Louie Fong will surely kill me now."

"You're in no danger," they assured him. "We'll look after you."

Sam Lee did not share their confidence, for he could not forget the terrible threats Louie Fong had hurled at him in the cabin.

"I can stay here no longer. He knows my hiding place."

"Yes, I guess you'll have to move away from here," Joe agreed. "I'm sorry, Sam Lee. It was our fault. We shouldn't have brought Louie Fong here."

"You are not to blame," said the old man gently. "If all had gone well it was the best thing to do. Who could have foreseen that the dog would trail him here?"

"And who could have known that the villain was getting rid of those handcuffs all the time you were talking to him?" spoke up Chet.

"We didn't put them on tightly enough. He managed to squeeze his hands through them all right."

"Now we're all in a fix," muttered Chet. "I wonder if my aunt up in Vermont would let me go and visit her on her farm for a few weeks. I could catch the night train. Louie Fong would never chase me all the way to Vermont, would he?"

The others laughed. Chet was obviously frightened within an inch of his life.

"You might as well stay in Bayport," said Joe. "You wouldn't be any safer from Louie Fong if you went to the North Pole."

"I hope I have a nice funeral," groaned Chet comically. "To think of a promising lad like me being cut off in his prime. I wonder which of us will go first."

"I don't think he even saw you," scoffed Tony Prito. "He doesn't know you exist. You certainly weren't much in evidence during that rumpus in the shack."

"I thought I'd be more valuable if I sat down quietly and figured out a plan," replied Chet weakly, "but everything moved so fast I didn't have time."

"Well, you'd better think up a plan right now," said Frank. "What are we going to do with Sam Lee? We'll have to hide him in some safe place, that's certain."

"You've come to the right shop for an idea," answered Chet. "I know the very place. Safe as a church."

''Where?'' they asked.

"Your boathouse."

"That's a real idea," applauded Joe. "I wonder why we didn't think of hiding Tom Wat there."

"Tom Wat!" exclaimed Chet. "What has Tom Wat got to do with this? Is he mixed up in it, too?"

Frank had almost given the secret of Tom Wat away. The boys had not told their chums the real identity of the pretty girl who had aroused Chet's curiosity.

"Never mind," he said hastily. "That's a good suggestion about the boathouse. It's close to our home so we can look in often and see that Sam Lee is comfortable. How about it, Sam Lee?"

"You may hide me wherever you wish," returned the old Chinaman mournfully. "It will be of no use. I am doomed. Louie Fong will find me out."

"I think we'll fix Louie Fong before he has a chance to do anything," said Joe cheerfully. "Let's get going. If we stick around here too long he may round up some of his friends and come back."

"I never thought of that," muttered Chet, and made a running hop-step-and-jump toward the motorboat.

They abandoned the shack at once and went down to the Napoli. Within a short time the speedy craft was racing down the river and heading toward the open bay.

It was dark when they crossed Barmet Bay and reached the boathouse, so they were able to smuggle Sam Lee into the building without being seen by anyone. The old Chinaman was grateful but he seemed to feel that the precautions were useless. Louie Fong, he said, would surely find his hiding place.

They made the old man as comfortable as they could. Tony Prito ran to his house nearby and came back with a supply of food from the kitchen. There were a few blankets that the boys had used on a camping trip and with these they improvised a bed.

"We'll drop in and see you before long," said Frank.

"And in case anything happens," said Chet, as he removed an object from the boat and put it on the floor beside Sam Lee, "just sound the alarm."

The object was the boat's klaxon.

Sam Lee smiled.

"You are very thoughtful," he said. "I am not afraid. What must come will come."

The boys left him. Near the Hardy home, Chet Morton and Tony Prito left the others, after Frank and Joe had promised to get in touch with them if they should happen to need their help.

"And don't forget that, either," instructed Chet. "I've been in this mystery at the start and in the middle and I don't want to miss the finish, if there is going to be any finish.''

"The finish would come quickly enough if we could only get in touch with Dad," said Frank. "I can't understand why he should stay away so long."

"I have a hunch," remarked Joe, "that some of Orrin North's crowd are doing their best to keep him out of town."

"Whatever the reason is, he isn't here so we must carry on alone," decided Frank.

They said goodbye to their chums and went into the house. The moment they entered the door they were aware that something had gone wrong. Upstairs they could hear the voice of Aunt Gertrude. She was highly excited-raving, in fact.

"Call the police! Call the police, Nurse!"

The boys rushed up the stairs. On the landing they encountered Nurse Cody, whose face was as white as the proverbial sheet.

"Get him out of here!" Aunt Gertrude was clamoring. "We'll all be murdered in our beds. Get that man out of this house. Lock him up! Call the police before he gets away."

"What's wrong, Mrs. Cody?"

Their first thought was that Louie Fong had invaded the house in search of them.

The nurse could scarcely speak. She gulped with terror.

"A-a man!" she gasped at last.

"A man? Where?" demanded Frank.

"I-I locked him up!" stammered the frightened woman.

"Get him out of the house this instant," wailed Aunt Gertrude.

The boys heard a violent pounding from the vicinity of a closet at the end of the hall.

"In there!" gasped Nurse Cody, as she pointed to the place where bedding was stored. In her hand she clutched a key.

Frank took the key and strode toward the door.

"Don't let him out!" shrieked the nurse. "He'll murder us all."

"It's a Chinaman I'' screamed Aunt Gertrude from her room.

"A Chinaman!" exclaimed Joe.

As the boys advanced toward the closet door, the pounding became more violent than ever. There was certainly someone locked in there.

Was the prisoner Louie Fong?

CHAPTER XXIV