The Hunniwell boys and the platinum mystery
account of their friend, Steve.
“He’ll be worried sick if we don’t get back to-night,” Bill told them.
They finally made their escape but not until they had promised to return
within the next few days.
“Well, we got out of that better than I expected,” Bill declared as soon
as the plane was headed back toward Molokai.
“I do hate that hero stuff,” Gordon said.
“But if you will do such things you must expect to be thanked, you
know.”
“I suppose so.”
“She’s a pretty girl.”
“Is she?”
“And she’s as nice as she is pretty.”
“Think so?”
“Don’t you?”
“Haven’t thought much about it.”
“Then take it from me.”
“I’ll do that.”
“Funny she didn’t ask us what we’re doing on that island,” Bill said a
few minutes later.
“I thought of that. And her folks didn’t seem inquisitive either.”
“Guess, maybe, we didn’t give them time.”
“Wouldn’t wonder. They’ll probably want to know when we see them again.”
“Some home they’ve got.”
“Some is right.”
“They seemed like nice people.”
“Sure did.”
By this time it was pretty dark but they were not afraid of losing their
way as they knew Rogers would have a big fire going to guide them. And a
few minutes later Gordon announced that he could see it.
“Got her home all right?” Rogers asked as they jumped out.
“Safe and sound,” Gordon told him. “How about supper?”
“All ready.”
“Lead me to it.”
CHAPTER XIV
THE SECRET OF THE HOLE
“Well, I wonder what will happen to interrupt our work to-day.”
Bill was frying flap-jacks and Rogers had gone to the brook for water
while Gordon was making the coffee. It was Gordon who made the remark.
“It won’t take us long to find out what’s what if we don’t get stopped
again,” Bill told him as he flipped a cake in the pan.
“Honest injun, Bill, do you have the least idea that we’re going to find
anything?”
“How do I know, I——”
“I didn’t ask you what you know. I asked what you think.”
“One think’s as good as another, I guess,” Bill laughed. “Wait till we
get that rock out and I’ll tell you.”
“That’ll be mighty kind.”
“What do you think about it?”
“I think it’s a pretty long shot.”
“You don’t think we’ll find any platinum?”
“Not a bit.”
“Well, we’ve had a pretty good time anyhow.”
“And met a pretty girl.”
“Rather.”
It was after seven o’clock, but on account of the tide they had slept
later than usual and were in no hurry. But breakfast was ready when
Rogers returned with the water, and they took their time eating.
“Suppose we don’t find the platinum in that hole,” Gordon suggested,
“Are we going to hunt any more?”
“I don’t think it would be much use,” Rogers told him. “To my way of
thinking that’s the place all right. Of course whether or not there’s
anything there is another thing again. But just the same, between you
and me we’re going to find it and we’re going to find it right there.”
“Hope you won’t be disappointed,” Bill told him.
“Well, it won’t be the first time if I am, and it probably won’t be the
last.”
“What time is it?” Gordon asked.
“Why don’t you look at your watch,” Bill asked him. “You’re always
asking the time with a watch right in your pocket.”
“Just habit, I reckon,” Gordon told him. “What time is it?”
“Half past eight,” Bill told him.
“Thanks, you’re a minute and a half slow.”
“Well, use your own watch after this,” Bill laughed.
“And we’ve got to wait another hour,” Gordon groaned. “Hang that old
tide.”
“Better read another chapter in your book,” Rogers suggested.
“I believe I will.”
“What a calm,” Bill laughed as Gordon settled down with his book.
Finally the time came to start and they once more got their tools
together and set off.
“Probably we’ll see a ship on fire or a whale with a sore toe,” Gordon
declared just before they reached the shore.
“That last would be a sight worth seeing,” Rogers told him.
“Well, it’s going to take something unusual to stop me this time and I
don’t mean maybe.”
“That goes for me too,” Bill added.
The tide was out just far enough to allow them to walk along the foot of
the cliffs without getting their feet wet. They were all anxious to know
what they would find in the hole and so hurried as fast as their legs
would take them without actually running.
“The hole’s still there,” Rogers announced as soon as they had reached
the place.
“It’s a wonder,” Gordon told him.
It took them but a few minutes to place the charge and fix the fuse.
“Directions say this fuse burns a foot in two minutes,” Bill told them.
“Suppose we make it about four feet long. That’ll give us plenty of time
don’t you think?”
“Sure it will,” Gordon told him.
So Bill cut the fuse and a moment later lighted the end. He waited until
he was sure it was burning and then started after the others who were
already some distance away. They ran along the edge of the water until
they had covered a distance of some two hundred yards.
“Guess we’ll be safe enough here,” Rogers said as he sat down on a rock.
Gordon had his watch out and was watching the time. “Four minutes,” he
announced.
“And four to go,” Bill added.
“Three minutes.”
“And five gone.”
“Only one left.”
“Ten seconds. Wonder what has——”
But then the explosion came and they saw the rock fly from the face of
the cliff and land in the water at least twenty feet away.
“That part was a success anyhow,” Bill declared as they started back.
“Yep, it came out all right,” Gordon agreed.
As they approached the spot they could see that there was a hole in the
cliff about two feet in diameter but they could not tell how far back it
extended even when they stood directly beneath it.
“Give me a leg up and I’ll take a look,” Gordon suggested.
A moment later he was on Bill’s shoulders peering into the hole while
Bill and Rogers held their breath waiting for the word which would tell
them of success or failure. But it seemed a long time before Gordon
spoke.
“Just as I thought,” he finally told them as he jumped to the sand.
“You mean there’s nothing there?” Rogers asked and his voice trembled as
he put the question.
“Not a thing,” Gordon told him.
“How deep is it?” Bill asked.
“About two feet.”
“But it doesn’t seem possible,” Rogers told them. “That rock was fixed
in there by someone and why did he do it if it wasn’t to hide
something?”
“That’s a mighty hard question to answer,” Bill told him. “It doesn’t
seem reasonable.”
“Want to take a look?” Gordon asked Bill.
“I’d like to if you think you can hold me.”
“Sure I can. Hop to it.”
A moment later he jumped off Gordon’s shoulders and confirmed his
announcement.
“It’s as bare as Old Mother Hubbard’s cupboard,” he declared. “Get on my
shoulders and take a look,” he ordered Rogers.
“Guess I’m too heavy,” Rogers objected.
“Nonsense. Help him, Gordon.”
It took some time and a couple of spills but finally he stood on the
firm shoulders and saw for himself that the hole was indeed empty.
“Well, it’s a great disappointment,” he said as he stood on the sand
again. “I was dead certain that we’d find it there.”
“We aren’t greatly disappointed,” Bill told him. “You see, we didn’t
really expect to find it.”
“You didn’t?”
“Not really.”
“Well, it’s some consolation to know that you’re not disappointed,”
Rogers said slowly. “But all the same, I don’t understand it.”
“Don’t understand what?” Bill asked him.
“Two things. First I don’t understand why you didn’t expect to find the
platinum in that hole and then I don’t understand why it isn’t there.”
“Of course we can’t answer the last but, you see, it was so long ago
and——”
“But what if it was? Platinum doesn’t spoil.”
“I know that, but it evidently disappears,” Bill smiled.
“But it’s funny,” Rogers told them. “As I said before, someone went to a
lot of trouble to make that hole and to fix that rock there, and why did
he do it? If he put the platinum there and someone else found it and
took it away, why did he go to all the trouble to put the rock back?”
“We’ll probably never know the answer,” Gordon told him as he began
picking up the tools they had brought with them. “Guess we might’s well
be getting back.”
“It isn’t time for dinner yet,” Bill reminded him.
“Are we all agreed that it would be a waste of time to hunt any more?”
Rogers asked.
“What do you think?”
“I think it would be. I’m sure that that is the place where the stuff
was hidden.”
“I agree with you on both counts,” Bill told him, and Gordon nodded his
head in consent.
“Then there’s nothing to do but pack up and start back home,” Rogers
told them.
“That’s about all, I guess,” Bill agreed, “Except that we’ve got to make
a call in Honolulu.”
“You mean on that girl?”
“On her parents. We promised we would,” Bill told him.
“Of course you won’t see the girl,” Gordon grinned.
“Of course not,” Rogers laughed.
Although he was trying his best not to let them know how bitterly
disappointed he was, both the boys knew that the failure to find the
platinum had been a hard blow to him. They knew that he was far from
being a rich man and had expected much from the venture. But all the way
back to camp he kept up a lively conversation and tried to appear in
good spirits. But they could see that it was forced and wished they
could do something to make it easier for him.
It was after ten o’clock when they reached camp and they at once set to
work packing up for their departure, although they had decided not to
start until after dinner.
“We might as well have dinner early,” Gordon suggested as he finished
rolling his tent.
“I was expecting something of the sort,” Bill told him.
“Well, we don’t want to get over there just at supper time, do we?”
“Sure not. Start the fire going and I’ll get busy even if it isn’t
eleven o’clock yet,” Bill laughed. “What’ll it be, canned lobster or
corned beef?”
“Lobster for me,” Gordon told him, and Rogers voted the same way.
Dinner was rather a quiet meal. In fact there seemed to be little to
say. The boys longed to console their friend but hesitated to do so as
they knew he was trying to keep his disappointment from them and would
feel all the worse to know that he was not succeeding. So the subject of
the platinum was not mentioned while they were eating. Although no one
had said anything in particular about it as if by mutual consent they
hurried to clean up as soon as the meal was finished and, shortly after
one o’clock, were ready for the hop.
“Honestly, boys, I think you had better leave me here and stop for me on
your way back,” Rogers told them when all was ready.
“Nothing doing,” Bill told him. “You’re going with us or we don’t go at
all.”
“That final?” he asked.
“That’s final,” Gordon assured him.
“Then I’ll go of course, but I hate to be a wet blanket at a party and
you may have suspected that I’m not feeling exactly what you’d call
jovial.”
“Who’d a thunk it?” Gordon laughed. “Honest injun, Steve, as a crape
hanger you’d make a good end man. You couldn’t be a wet blanket if you
tried.”
“But I’d counted a lot on this thing and——”
“Don’t we know it?” Bill interrupted. “But we’ve done our best, you
know, and——”
“And failed,” Rogers finished the sentence for him. “And now the chapter
is closed and we’ll not say anything more about it. We’ve had a good
time and I wouldn’t have missed this trip with you boys for a farm and
so I’m mighty glad we came and——and that’s all there is to it.”
It was exactly half past one when the Albatross rose in the air and the
plane carried a crew which was, so far as outward appearances went, in a
joyous mood. Not a breath of air disturbed the ocean beneath them as
they swept out over its broad expanse and headed for Honolulu.