Part 14 (1/2)
”Extraction,” replied ”the nificant ehter followed this quip, the levity of which caused Hal to feelup”
”Well,” said the latter, producing a small leather-back notebook from one of his pockets; ”here is the secret of et that?” Cub demanded
”I found it”
”Where--not here?”
”Yes, on this island It's a diary ofwith the tie hazers”
”Does it give any hint where he is now, Hal?” inquired Mr Perry
”I don't think so,” replied the boy with the notebook ”I ran h it hurriedly, but didn't have time to read it all If you'll sit down and listen, I'll read it to you froreeable to this proposition, they seated thean as follows:
”First, I'll begin by telling you where I found this book I'll take you back to the spot after I've finished reading Before I found this book, I discovered a sign, or notice, written on a piece of paper and pinned to the trunk of a tree about four feet froround On that paper ritten with lead pencil these words under date of last Friday:
”'I Alvin Baker, a student at Edwards College, hereby name this island Friday island, because I was marooned here alone, like Robinson Crusoe, on Friday, June 9, 1922'”
”I'd like to make the acquaintance of that boy,” said Mr Perry warination and a sense of huan to look about me for some trace of the person who had pinned the notice on the tree,” Hal continued ”I was standing in an open space about thirty feet in diae of that space There are a few sround there is covered with long coarse grass The first thing that attracted an to look about rass was trampled down over a considerable area I exa so found this notebook in the grass It didn't takeafter that to reach the conclusion that Cousin Alvin had been attacked by sole lost this notebook out of his pocket”
”It was probably the four ugly lookingashore when he sent his last distress e to us,” Cub inferred
”I wonder why he didn't tell us the truth,” Bud put in ”Why didn't he tell us he was being hazed by soe boys?”
”He explains that in his diary,” Hal replied ”Now listen and I'll read the first entry”
Hal's injunction being er attention, he read as follows:
”Friday, June 9, 1922 Last night while I alking through the grove of trees near the cae, I was attacked and overpowered by several sopho over my head and carried me to a motor-boat moored a short distance away They tried to conceal their identity, but I recognized the voices of Jerry Kerry and Buck Hards bound and eyes bandaged, in the cabin for several hours, during which I could feel the boat constantly on theI was carried ashore on this island My hands were untied, and then I could hear e from my eyes and with my pocket-knife cut the rope arounddistinctly, so I had to wait for break of day before doing anything An hour later I discovered near the landing place a considerable layout of supplies and equipnized as my own property Then I recalled that one ofinto one of my pockets just before they took me ashore and I put my hand into that pocket and drew out an envelope that I knew I had not put there In the envelope I found a typewritten note, which read as follows:
”'Alvin Baker, you have succeeded during all of your fresh every atte” of boys at Edwards s the trick in a ht to convince you that such a boast is the freshest of freshman folly We raided your roo outfit, and have added thereto necessary equip an aerial This we leave with you in order that you h the atmosphere Meanwhile, youthe first college fresh Now, put up your aerial and send out a e for help Radio is your only hope nobody ever stops at this island and it is inal of distress you may devise If you are too proud to admit defeat and refuse to send out a broadcast for help, you must remain here teeks, at the end of which tiain after dark, bound and blindfolded, and taken back to the mainland and released The identity of the persons responsible for your defeat you will never be able to discover Enough canned food has been left with you to keep body and soul together a week
At the end of that time, if you have failed to effect your own rescue by radio,also a tent, a few ca tackle Youas your boast'
”I decided to defeat those fellows, if possible, by getting away fro an admission that I had been marooned by sophomore hazers So I pitched the tent and then constructed an aerial out of es of distress, saying that I had been marooned by river thieves who had stolen my boat But soon I found that there was someone 'in the air' as determined to defeat this purpose It is now 11 pm, and he seems to have been successful in his attempts to make it appear that I am a faker
nobody has offered to come to my rescue”
Saturday's entry in the diary opened as follows:
”Last night, between 2 and 3 aht noise outside near the tent I stole cautiously to the entrance and peered out It was a bright ht and in front of the tent I saothe camp with much curiosity or evil intent, perhaps both Evidently they saatching them, for they suddenly turned and fled I followed theet into a power boat andto pay theave me no answer Probably they were river thieves and the boat they had was stolen”
CHAPTER XIV