"That's right," added Frank. "It's pretty dangerous so close to the cliff."
"You leave it to me," came from their schoolmate. '' I know how to handle this boat.''
It was true, Tony did know how to handle the motorboat; yet several times they came perilously close to the rocks over which the waves were dashing. In fact, once there came a slight bump followed by a grating sound which made the hearts of all the boys leap into their mouths.
"Narrow squeak, that," admitted Tony. "I guess I'd better keep out a little farther, after all."
"I certainly should," answered Frank.
Although they cruised around for more than an hour, they saw not the slightest sign of life either about the base of the cliff or on the Polucca place, which, keeping well out from shore as they did, they could plainly distinguish. As the gloom deepened they felt that it was almost useless to continue, but Frank decided that they should wait a while longer.
"These fellows aren't likely to move around much in daylight. Night is the time for their operations," he pointed out. "We'll hang around for a while longer."
Twilight deepened into darkness and the lights of Bayport could be seen as a yellow haze through the mist at the distant extremity of the bay. The cliff was but a dark smudge in the night and the waves broke against the rocks with a lonely sound.
Suddenly, through the darkness, they heard a muffled sound. Their own boat was running along quietly and they listened.
"Another boat," remarked Tony, in a whisper.
It was, indeed, another motorboat, and it was near the base of the cliff. At last they could distinguish a faint light, and toward this light they began to move slowly.
They were tense with excitement. Everything might depend on the events of the next few minutes.
When they had gone in toward the cliff as far as they dared, creeping up from the west, they could make out the gloomy outline of the other motorboat, which was making its way slowly out of the very face of the cliff itself.
At first they could not imagine how the craft had got in so close nor where it was coming from. They crept up closer, at imminent danger of discovery, and at imminent danger of being washed ashore on the rocks. Then, finally, they heard the other boat slow down, heard the faint clatter of oars, then voices.
After that, with an abrupt roar that startled them, the other motorboat suddenly plunged on out into the bay. They could hear it thrashing on its way out toward sea at an ever-increasing rate of speed.
"Where is it going!" said Tony, in amazement.
Frank cautioned for silence.
"There's a rowboat around here," he whispered. "Lay low."
They waited in silence and at last they heard the rattle of oars again.
This time the sound was closer.
The rowboat was drawing near.
Fortunately the wind was from the sea and it blew the sounds toward them, at the same time keeping the men in the boat from hearing the muffled murmur of their own craft.
The rattle of oars continued and at last the boys could see the dim shape of the boat through the gloom. Finally they could distinguish the words of the dark figures in the craft. At a sign from Frank Tony cut off the engine for the time being.
But they could not make out complete sentences. The wind would whisk toward them a fragment of speech and then the rest of the words would be drowned.
"-Three hundred pounds-" they heard a harsh voice saying, and then the rest of the sentence was lost.
A dull murmur of voices. Finally, "I don't know. It's risky–"
The wind died for a moment and then through the gloom the boys saw that the rowboat was heading directly in toward the face of the cliff. It was not many yards away and as it passed by they heard the harsh voice again.
"Li Chang's share-" he was saying.
"No, we mustn't forget that," they heard a gruff voice reply.
"I hope they get away all right."
"What are you worrying about? Of course they'll get away."
"We've been watched, you know."
"It's all your imagination. Nobody was there."
"Those boys at the house–"
"Just kids. If they come nosing around again we'll knock one of 'em on the head."
"I don't like this rough stuff. It's dangerous."
"We've got to do it or we'll end up in the pen. You can't be white-livered in this game. What's the matter with you tonight? You're nervous."
"I'm worried. I've got a hunch that we'd better clear out of here."
"Clear out!" replied the other contemptuously. "Are you crazy? Why, this place is as safe as a church. We can make a big clean-up before they know we're in this part of the country at all."
"Well, maybe you're right," said the first man doubtfully. "But still–"
His voice died away as the boat went on into the cove.
The boys could hear the rattle of oars and then a dull swishing of bushes, a muttered voice, and then silence fell.
The boys looked at one another through the gloom.
"Smugglers!" exclaimed Frank.
"Sounds mighty like it," replied Tony, "What do you think we should do?"
"Follow them."
"Sure," Joe agreed. "Follow them right into the cove–"
But Tony denied, though as he spoke he started up the engine again.
"Count me out," he said. "I don't like that talk about being knocked on the head. I may be foolish, but I'm not that foolish."
"There are three of us."
''And we don't know how many more of them. And they're grown men. I don't want to be trapped in that cove. Besides, the motorboat makes too much noise. They'd hear us coming and then we'd be done for."
This phase of the matter had not occurred to the Hardy boys, but they saw that it was reasonable. In the darkness it would be risky entering the narrow passage to the cove and then, as Tony said, it was probable that their approach would be heard.
"I hate to let them get away when we've got such a clue as this," said Frank. "There's no doubt they are smugglers. The men in that motorboat probably are going out to a ship for a cargo of smuggled goods, or else they have delivered a cargo and are on their way back."
"But where on earth did the motorboat come from!" exclaimed Joe. "There wasn't any boat in the cove when we were in there."
''Probably well hidden," said Frank. “There were a lot of bushes growing close down to the water's edge, I noticed. They'd have some sort of a hiding place fixed up."
"But where did all those men come from?"
"That's what we're going to find out. There must be some connection between this cove and the house on the cliff. I'm going ashore."
"Somebody's got to stay with the motorboat," said Tony. "I'm not afraid to go in there, and if it comes to a dare, I will go, although I don't want to be killed. But we can't leave the boat here, that's certain."
"I'll tell you what to do,'' said Frank. «' Let Joe and me go ashore. Then we'll try to follow those men in the boat and see where they go. If we let them slip out of our hands now we may lose them altogether."
"And shall I wait!"
"No. You go back to Bayport and get help - lots of it."
"The police?"
"The federal men. Tell them we're on the track of the smugglers. If Joe and I discover anything we'll wait here at the entrance to the cove and put the police on the right track when they get here."
"Good!" said Tony. "I'll put you ashore right away."
"Don't go too close or you'll wreck the boat. Joe, I guess you and I will have to swim ashore. Then we'll go around into the cove and find out all we can."
Tony edged the boat in as close to the gloomy shore as he could, and then, with a whispered farewell, the Hardy boys slipped over the side into the water. They were only a few yards from the rocks and after a short swim they emerged, dripping, on the mainland. They looked back. They could see the dim shape of the motorboat as it turned away and then they could hear its dull chugging as Tony Prito turned the craft back in the direction of Bayport.
"Now!" whispered Frank. "Now for the smugglers!"
CHAPTER XVI
The Secret Passage
It was very dark.
"I wish we had a light," whispered Joe.
"I have a flashlight in my pocket. But we won't use it now. Those men may be still around."
"Wouldn't the water spoil it?"
"No; I have it in a waterproof case. We can feel our way around these rocks until we get into the cove."
Cautiously, the boys made their way along the treacherous rocks. Once Joe lost his footing and slipped into the water with a splash. Instantly both boys remained motionless, fearing the sound had attracted the attention of the men in the cove. But there was not a sound.
Joe was ankle-deep in water, but he clambered up on the rocks again and they continued their journey.
They had landed at a point some twenty-five yards away from the entrance to the cove, but the rocks were so treacherous and the journey was so difficult that the distance seemed much longer.
"It must be Snackley and his gang, all right," whispered Frank, as they went on through the night. "Didn't you hear one of those men use a Chinese name?"
"He said something about Li Chang's share."
"Li Chang is probably the fellow who brings the dope to the coast. They bring the stuff into this cove by motorboat and rowboat and it is distributed from here. Dad said Snackley was smuggling dope."
"It must have been Snackley who ordered us away from here. He seemed like a leader of some kind."
"Five thousand dollars reward if we lay our hands on him!"
They had now reached the place where the seemingly solid coast line was broken by the indentation of the cove. They had feared that the cliff might be too steep at this point, but they found that it sloped gradually to the water and that there was a narrow ledge on which they could walk, one behind the other.
Here, they realized, the dangerous part of the adventure began.
It was very lonely in the shadow of the steep cliffs, and the loneliness was intensified by the distant moaning of the surf and the beat of wash of the waves against the reefs. Far in the distance they could see the reflection of the lights of Bayport through the mist and once or twice they could hear the murmur of Tony's motorboat as it sped away down the bay.
"I hope they bring back lights and guns with them," muttered Frank.
"Who?"
"The police."
"Don't worry. If they get word that Snack-ley is cornered they'll send out a squad of military."
The boys rounded the point and began to make their way directly along the shore of the cove. Dense thickets and bushes grew right to the water's edge and the boys were afraid of making too much noise, as they realized that the two men they had heard talking in the boat might be close by-perhaps even waiting to pounce upon them in the darkness.
Their hearts beat quickly with the knowledge of the risk they were running, but neither lad thought of turning back. They were not thinking of the smugglers alone-they were thinking of their father.
When they reached the first of the thickets they paused. They knew that the crackling of the branches would betray their whereabouts if there was any one within hearing distance. For a while they did not know just what to do.
Then Frank began to lower himself from the rock on which he was standing into the water.
"If it isn't too deep we can wade around," he whispered.
The water, fortunately, was shallow, and did not come up to his knees. He signaled to Joe to follow, and Joe accordingly slipped quietly down into the water beside him.
Then, without a word and moving as slowly as possible, Frank went on, wading through the water, close to the outstretched branches that overhung the shore.
It seemed as though they were wading at the bottom of a deep pit, for the high walls of rock ranged all about them and after they had penetrated into the cove some little distance the entrance was lost to view, being hidden by an angle of the cliffs. When they looked up they could see the gloomy greyness of the night sky above.
The cove was still in deep silence, so finally Frank concluded that the men who had entered the place in the boat had retired to some secret hiding place. In as much as they could not hope to discover anything without a light, he withdrew the flashlight from its case, and then switched it on.
The yellow beam of light revealed the pallid leaves of the bushes by the shore and the naked walls of rock above. But although Frank turned the flashlight in every direction about the cove there was no sign of the rowboat in which the two men had arrived.
It had vanished utterly.
Although the lads were prepared for the disappearance of the smugglers, they were not prepared for the disappearance of the rowboat. But they searched for it in vain. The light revealed nothing of the craft.
"I wonder where they hid it!" whispered Frank.
They began a systematic search of the bushes around the cove, remaining as quiet as possible, but although they made almost a tour of the place it was soon evident that the boat had not been beached under cover of any of the thickets.
"It must be hidden in a cave of some kind," Frank decided at last. "And that's where the smugglers are."
Once again they began a search of the bushes.
They were still wading in the water and their feet were now very cold, but they searched patiently and carefully, brushing aside the branches, peering into the bushes, but it seemed they were to find nothing but the uncompromising rocks and moss beyond.
At last, however, as they were approaching a part of the cove which they had not visited before, Frank, who was in the lead, stumbled suddenly forward. His groping feet had failed to encounter bottom and he had lost his balance.
With great presence of mind, he kept the searchlight high in the air. He had stepped into a deep hole, and although he was up to his neck in water he kept his arm raised, keeping the flashlight free of the wetness.
"Here! Take the light," he gasped, in a low whisper.
Joe leaned over and grasped the flashlight.
"Deep water here," muttered Frank, as he tried to scramble back into the shallows.
But the hole into which he had fallen was a sudden drop and it was necessary for Joe to grasp his brother's outstretched hand before he could regain the shallow water. At length, soaked to the skin, Frank again stood beside his brother.
"Good thing it wasn't any deeper," he remarked.
"The bottom is pretty level around here. It's funny there should be a deep hole like that."
Frank gave a sudden exclamation.
"I know how that came to be there," he whispered. "That's a channel! See how close it is to the shore. The water shouldn't be so deep right there."
"Why should it be a channel?"
"To let that motorboat get into shore to the rowboat. They'd run aground otherwise. Give me the light. I'll bet we've found where that boat was hidden."
He played the flashlight on the surface of the water and then they could see clearly that the bottom of the cove was broken by a deep channel at that point, several feet in width, leading directly toward a clump of bushes at the shore.
Keeping well to the side of the channel and in the shallow water, the Hardy boys made their way over to the bushes.
Then, when the beam of the flashlight was cast on the dense cover of branches, the mystery was clear.
Beyond the bushes was a dark opening in the rock.
"A cave!" exclaimed Frank, in a suppressed tone.
It was so cleverly concealed that it could not have been seen in the clear light of the day except at close quarters. The glare of the flashlight, however, cast the dark opening into prominence behind the screen of leaves.
This, then, was the explanation of the boat's disappearance. There was a channel in the cove enabling the smugglers to row the boat directly into this cave in the rock. This also probably explained the presence of the motorboat.
"They went in here," said Joe.
"We'll explore it."
Having gone so far, there was no going back. The boys were fully determined to keep on the track of the smugglers. They did not know what lay behind the darkness of that silent and mysterious opening in the rock. But they meant to find out, no matter what the risks.
Cautiously, they advanced into the bushes, which gave way protestingly before them. The branches whipped their faces. The water was still shallow, for there was a narrow ledge along the side of the channel and, moreover, it was now low tide.
At last the bushes closed behind them. The Hardy boys were standing in the entrance to a secret passage, pressed close against the rocky wall of the cave.
CHAPTER XVII
The Chamber in the Cliff
Frank switched on the flashlight.
The beam illuminated the depths of the dark passage. Far ahead of the brothers they glimpsed a grey shape just above the surface of the glistening water.
For a moment they were startled, then they recognized that the grey shape was nothing more than the rowboat that had passed by them in the darkness outside the cove. It had been drawn up close to a natural wharf hewn out of the solid rock. It swayed to and fro with the motion of the water.
The boys made their way forward along the ledge, which was wide enough for one person to walk on, until at last the ledge widened out and proved to be a path leading to the wharf.
There was not a sound in the passage but the drip-drip of water from the gloomy walls.
The Hardy boys stole quietly forward along the wharf, passed the boat, and then looked about them.
Frank played the beam of the flashlight all about the place until at last the glare revealed a dark opening immediately ahead.
It was a crude arch in the rock and beyond it he could see a steep flight of wooden steps.
His heart was pounding with excitement. There was no doubt now that they had discovered the smugglers' secret.
"We've found it," he whispered to Joe. "We've found the passage. This must be directly underneath the house on the cliff."
"We'll have to go quietly."
The light cast strange shadows through the gloomy passage in the rocks. Water dripped from the walls. Water dripped from their clothing. They tiptoed quietly forward beneath the archway until they reached the flight of steps.
Then, quietly, almost stealthily, they began to ascend.
The place was in a deathlike silence. It was as if they were in a tomb. So quiet was the strange stairway in the cliff that the boys could hardly believe that men had been there but a short while before.
Step by step they ascended the stairs, and at last Frank's flashlight showed that they were approaching a door. It was set directly in a frame in the wall of rock at which the stairs ended. The passageway curved above them in a rocky ceiling.
They stood on the steps outside the door.
Should they enter?
They did not know what lay beyond. They might be entering the very haunt of the smugglers. In fact, this was most probable. And in that event they would not have a chance of escape.
For a while they remained there, not knowing whether to retreat or go on.
Then Frank stepped forward. He pressed his ear against the door and listened intently.
There was not a sound.
He peered around the sides of the door to see if he could catch a glimpse of light. There was only darkness. At length he decided that there was no one immediately beyond the door and he made up his mind to go ahead.
He whispered his decision to Joe, who nodded.
"I'm with you."
The door was opened by a latch, and Frank tried it cautiously. At first it was obstinate.
Then, with an abrupt clatter that echoed from wall to wall and seemed to the ears of the boys to create a hideous and deafening uproar, the latch snapped and the door swung open.
They did not immediately cross the threshold. Perhaps their approach had been heard. Perhaps the smugglers lay in wait for them beyond. So they remained there in silence for, several minutes, listening for the slightest sound.
However, it became apparent that the dark chamber was empty, so Frank switched on the flashlight.
The vivid beam cut the darkness and revealed a gloomy cave in the very center of the cliff, hewn out of the rock. It had been a natural cave, just as the tunnel in the cliff had been a natural passageway, but the roof had been bolstered up by great beams and the sides had been chipped away while the floor had been leveled. It was a secret chamber in the heart of the rock.
The light revealed the fact that this chamber was used as a storeroom, for there were huge boxes, bales and packages distributed about the floor and piled against the walls.
"Smuggled goods!" exclaimed Frank.
His suspicions seemed verified by the fact that the majority of the boxes bore labels of foreign countries. Chinese characters were scribbled across them in practically every case.
Seeing that the chamber was unoccupied, the boys stepped through the doorway and looked about them. The flashlight illuminated the murky corners of the cave.
"This must be where they store all the stuff," Joe said, as he inspected one of the boxes.
"There must be another opening that leads to the top of the cliff. They probably bring the stuff up to the house and then dispose of it from there."
"You'd think they would keep it at the Polucca place instead of down here."
"Probably they are afraid the house might be raided at some time or another. That's why they keep the goods hidden in this place. It would be mighty hard for any one to find it here."
"But how do they get the stuff out of here? There's no doorway that I can see."
The light of the flashlight played upon the walls.
No doorway, no opening of any kind, was revealed.
"That's strange,'' said Frank. "There must be some way out."
They began to move about the chamber. Across some of the bales of goods had been thrown rich bolts of silk, while valuable tapestries were also lying carelessly on the floor. In one corner were three or four boxes piled on top of one another. Frank accidentally knocked the flashlight against one of these and it gave forth a hollow sound.
"It's empty," he said.
An idea struck him that perhaps these boxes had been piled up to conceal some passage leading out of the secret chamber. He mentioned his suspicion to Joe.
"But how could they pile the boxes up there after they went out?" his brother questioned.
"This gang are smart enough for anything. Let's move these boxes away."
He seized the topmost box. It was very light and he removed it from the top of the pile without difficulty.
"I thought so!" exclaimed Frank, with satisfaction.
For the light revealed the top of a door which had meant to been hidden from view.
The boys lost no time in moving the rest of the boxes, and the entire door was soon in sight. Then the boys discovered how it was possible for the boxes to be piled up in such a position in spite of the fact that the smugglers had left the chamber and closed the door behind them.
Attached to the bottom of the door was a small wooden platform that projected out some distance over the floor of the cave and on this platform the boxes had been piled.
"They are kept there all the time, as a blind," he said. "Whenever any one leaves the cave and closes the door the boxes swing in with the platform and it looks as though they were piled up on the floor."
The ingenuity of the contrivance won their reluctant admiration.
"What shall we do!" asked Joe, looking through the doorway into the darkness beyond. "Go ahead?"
"We've come this far, and there's no sense in turning back. Let's go."
Frank stepped on into the passage beyond. He had hardly switched on the flashlight, revealing a crude flight of stairs that led from the rocky landing, before he stiffened and laid a warning hand on his brother's arm.
"Voices!" he whispered.
They listened.
They heard a man's voice in the distance. They could not distinguish what he was saying, for he was still too far away, but gradually the tones grew louder. Then, to their alarm, they heard footsteps.
Hastily, they retreated into the secret chamber.
"Quick! The door," snapped Frank.
They closed the door quietly.
''Now the boxes. If they come in here they'll notice that the boxes have been moved. Quick."
Swiftly the Hardy boys began to pile the empty boxes back on the platform that projected from the bottom of the door. They worked as quietly as possible and as they worked they heard the footsteps on the stairs drawing closer and closer.
Finally, the topmost box was in place.
"Out the other door."
They sped across the floor of the chamber toward the door that led to the stairs they had just recently ascended, but hardly had they reached it before they heard a rattle at the latch of the door on the opposite side of the cave.
"We haven't time," whispered Frank. "Hide."
The beam of the flashlight revealed a number of boxes close by the door. Over these boxes had been thrown a heavy bolt of silk, the folds of which hung down to the floor. They scrambled swiftly in behind the boxes, pressing themselves close against the wall. They did not have more than time to hide themselves and switch out the light before they heard the other door open.
"There's a package of dope in that shipment that came in last night," they heard a husky voice saying. "We'll bring it upstairs, for Burke says he can get rid of it for us right away. No use leaving it down here."
"Eight," they heard some one else reply. "Anything else to go up?"
"No. We won't start moving the rest of this until the end of the week. It's too dangerous. Let Burke take out the shipment he has, along with this dope, and then we'll lay low for a few days. I'm getting a bit nervous." "What does the big boss think about it?" "That's his idea too. Here-wait till I switch on that light."
There was a click, and suddenly the chamber was flooded with light. The cave had been wired for electricity.
The Hardy boys crouched in their hiding place. Their hearts were pounding madly, "Would they be discovered? Footsteps slowly approached the boxes behind which they were concealed!
CHAPTER XVIII
A Startling Discovery
The Hardy boys were tense with a realization of their peril.
The strong electric light that hung from the center of the ceiling cast such a vivid illumination that they were sure they would be seen, particularly when they found that the boxes behind which they were hidden were spaced some distance apart. But for the folds of silk that hung down over the opening they would certainly have been seen.
"Here's some of that special silk," they heard the first man say. "Perhaps I'd better bring it up too. Burke was saying he could handle some more silk."
"We're done for!" thought Frank. "If he ever comes close enough to pick up that silk he'll see us, sure."
But the other man objected.
"What's the use? You won't get any more thanks for carrying all that stuff upstairs, even if Burke does take it. And if he doesn't, you'll just have to cart it all the way down again. My motto in this gang is to do just what Snack-ley tells me and no more."
"I guess you're right. We'll just bring up the dope."
To the relief of the boys the man turned away and went back to the other side of the chamber. They could hear a rustling sound. Then came the words: