Part 11 (1/2)

Sam said from across the cellar, ”Belongs to anyone can get it, I say. Finders, keepers!”

”In any case,” Evans said, ”I'm going to make sure it doesn't fall into the hands of your Major Karnes or any other thief!”

”How?” Jupiter said.

”By fooling him, I hope - and we don't have much time. I expect he's taking so long because he's tying up the boys and making his own plans. But he'll be here in the cellar soon, he'll be armed, and he won't be alone. He'll expect to see Jupiter but not Sam, so you stay hidden under those stairs, Sam. I'll admit to him that I've found the treasure and that it's in the storeroom. He'll be so eager, he and his cohorts, that he'll take me right into the storeroom to make me show them where it is, and he'll forget all about Jupiter. So the moment we're all in the storeroom, you come out fast, Sam, and you and Jupiter slam the storeroom door and lock it with a padlock on the outside.”

As Evans went into the storeroom to find a padlock, Jupiter objected, ”But you'll be trapped in there with them!”

”I have my gun,” Mr.

Evans said, coming out with a large lock and handing it to Sam, ”and I think I can guarantee to capture them.

They'll be so surprised when the door closes that they'll run to try to open it - people always react that way.

I'll get the drop on them, and I'll hold them until you two free Bob and Pete and bring the police.”

”Jumpin' catfish,” Salty Sam whispered across the cellar, ”here they come!”

”Stand a little behind me, Jupiter!” Evans said. ”Sam, if my plan doesn't work, be ready to jump them! All right, here we go.”

Evans positioned himself in the centre of the main cellar just as the wall began to slide open. When it was fully open, Karnes and Carl strode into the cellar with their pistols in front of them. They saw Joshua Evans and Jupiter immediately.

”So, the third boy detective and Mr. Joshua Evans himself,” the little major said with a laugh. ”I should have known you'd be behind those junior snoops in the boathouse, Evans. All right, let's stop playing games. Hand over the goods right now!”

Mr. Evans shrugged. ”Okay, Karnes, you win. Leave these kids out of it. What you want is in the storeroom in a cabinet on the rear wall.”

Carl bolstered his gun as he ran towards the storeroom door.

”Carl!” Karnes snapped. The man stopped, and Karnes waved his pistol towards Joshua Evans. ”You go first, Evans. Go ahead, move!”

Evans walked into the storeroom with Major Karnes and Carl close behind him.

Kames never took his eyes off Evans' broad back, as if he were sure Evans was going to try to pull some trick. As they vanished into the storeroom Carl pushed ahead in his eagerness to reach the cabinet on the far wall.

Jupiter was totally forgotten, as Evans had predicted. Sam scrambled out from under the stairs. Quickly he and Jupe pushed the heavy storeroom door closed, and Sam snapped the ma.s.sive old padlock shut!

There was a long moment of silence, and then shouts of rage and the sound of running feet on the other side of the door. The doork.n.o.b was turned, rattled, pulled on! Then Joshua Evans' cool voice spoke on the other side.

”I've got you both covered. Put those guns down easy. Nice and easy. Now turn around. Okay, Jupiter, go get the police.”

”On our way!” Jupiter cried.

He could hear Joshua Evans chuckle softly inside the storeroom and could almost see him grinning at the furious Major Karnes and Carl.

Chapter 20.

The Criminals Captured TIED HAND AND FOOT, Pete and Bob sat against the van in the dim boathouse.

Hubert guarded them like some great, nervous dog. He held a torch in his shaky hand.

”You don't give me no trouble, you know? Boss says I got to not let you get away, so don't you try nothing!”

But Hubert was much too nervous to stand over them for long. He padded over to the water and shone his light under the dock as if hoping to see Major Karnes. Then he padded back to warn the boys again not to give him trouble, and went on to the doors of the boathouse to look outside for any danger that might be sneaking up on him.

He was down at the end of the boathouse dock when a soft hissing seemed to come from Bob's jacket pocket.

”Records,” Pete whispered. ”It's your walkie-talkie. You left it on. Can you reach it to push transmit?”

Bob squirmed as silently as possible and managed to get his bound hands to the outside of his jacket pocket. After a few tries he pressed the right b.u.t.ton through the cloth. He spoke aloud.

”You've got us tied up good in this boathouse, Hubert. You don't have to worry about us getting loose.”

Then Bob found the receive b.u.t.ton through the cloth and pressed it. Jupiter's voice came very low.

”I understand. Listen carefully. Tell Hubert that Karnes wants to talk to him. He knows Karnes has one of our walkie-talkies, so he should come and listen. I'll handle the rest.”

Pete called, ”Hubert!”

The giant looked up. ”You ain't supposed to talk.”

”Okay,” Bob said, ”but Major Karnes told us to tell you he wants to talk to you.”

”Talk?” The mammoth man looked around to see where the major was in the boathouse.

”On our walkie-talkie,” Pete said. ”You know, those little hand radios? The major took one of ours, remember?”

”Radio? Oh, yeah, I remember. The boss, he's talking on one of them?”

”Sure,” Bob said. ”Come and listen.”

Hubert came slowly towards them, suspicious of a trick but too scared of Karnes to risk not doing what the major said.

Suddenly the walkie-talkie boomed out, ”Hubert, you dolt, when I say I want to talk to you, I mean it!”

Bob and Pete would have jumped a metre into the air if they hadn't been tied up.

It was an exact duplicate of the major's voice, to the last quirk. No matter how often they had seen and heard Jupiter's skill at acting and mimicking, they were always startled by their friend's amazing ability to duplicate almost any voice. Hubert went pale, staring at Bob's pocket as if it were the major himself.

”Y-y-yes, boss.”

”Stop stammering, you idiot! Now listen to me. Make sure those two boys are tied up, take their walkie-talkie away, then come on through the tunnel and join us! And I mean right away, you fool!”

Hubert nodded rapidly to Bob's pocket. ”Sure, boss. Right now. I'm coming.”