The Mummy Case (9 page)

The illegal weapons were gone!

“The gang escaped with the weapons!” Palos said grimly. “We'll have to resume the search.”

“Why not go to the Beacon, Colonel?” Joe asked. “Even if we don't find the rebels there, they may have left a clue.”

Palos nodded. “You may be right. It's worth a try. ”

They drove to the lighthouse, but found only some clothes left behind in the gang's hurried departure. Secret Service agents combed through their belongings, but came up with nothing.

“No luck,” Palos said in disgust. “We might as well head back for Loma.”

The colonel dropped Mr. Hardy and the boys at the American Embassy, where they reported to Mr. Compton and told him about their futile search.

“We're back where we started,” Fenton Hardy admitted.

“Where do we go from here?” the ambassador asked anxiously. “We have to find the gang and the arms before they seize the government!”

An idea struck Frank. “We know the weapons came to Rubassa by way of Milbin Island. Suppose Joe and I go over there tomorrow and see if we can pick up the trail?”

The two men looked at one another, then nodded. “Be careful,” Mr. Hardy warned. “You can enter Milbin with your United States passports. However, a dictator runs the island and you'll be kept under surveillance by his secret police.”

“Understood,” Joe said. “We won't tangle with those guys.”

Dusk was falling. The Hardys had dinner and spent the night at the embassy. Early next morning after a quick breakfast, Frank and Joe went to the Rubassa marina. Renting a sleek powerboat, they chugged out into the harbor, passed between two tall rocks standing like sentinels at its mouth, and reached the open sea.

Frank was at the controls while his brother pored over a map spread out on the bow.

“If we turn south,” Joe announced, “and go along the Rubassa coast for five miles, we'll reach a point where it's a short run across the water to Cedura, the capital of Milbin. I suggest we take that route.”

Frank nodded. Then he laughed. “You know, I feel a lot better as a pilot than I did as a plumber.”

Joe made a face. “You're right. We were closer to drowning in Reggie's kitchen than we are out here!”

They putt-putted along the coast, noticing that huge rocks were a hazard in the shallow water.

“If we hit one of those,” Frank said as he skillfully maneuvered around them, “we'll go straight to the bottom. ”

Suddenly they spotted another powerboat ahead. It moved away from the shore and sailed between the rocks toward the open sea.

“Look out,” Joe cautioned. “They're cutting straight across our bow. We're on a collision course!

“Don't worry,” Frank responded. “They don't seem to be watching, but I am. We won't hit them. Say, somebody's moved to the stern and is looking at us!”

The figure was holding fast to the flagpole and stared at the Hardys who were coming up rapidly. Both parties recognized each other at the same time.

“Well, if it isn't Norma Jones!” Frank cried out in amazement.

“It's the Hardys!” Norma exclaimed. “Which means a coast guard cutter might be right behind them! We'd better get out of here.”

By now Frank and Joe had a clear view of the other boat. They recognized Michael Linos, Reggie Watson, and the rest of the gang. A number of big crates were piled near the stern.

“Those must be the illegal arms!” Joe declared. “They're trying to run them back to Milbin! We've got to head them off!”

While Frank kept on course toward the gang, Joe went to the ship-to-shore radio and sent a message to the Rubassa Coast Guard. He was told a cutter would be on the scene as soon as possible.

“How soon will that be?” the boy inquired urgently.

“I don't know,” came the reply. “It's patrolling further south. I'll order it into your area at once.”

Meanwhile, the rebels headed straight out from Rubassa in a desperate attempt to outrace the Hardys to Milbin Island. But Frank was too quick for Norma Jones and the gang. Revving up the motor, he made his powerboat skim over the surface of the Mediterranean at top speed. He zoomed in a wide arc that threw spray high in the air and managed to get between the other boat and the open sea.

“Is this such a good idea?” Joe questioned his brother. “There are a lot more of them than of us.”

“What else can we do?” Frank asked tensely.

Joe shrugged. He began to rummage in a locker and found a couple of signal flags. Quickly he ran to the stern of their boat and held them high in the air for the expected coast guard cutter to see.

Norma Jones had watched him closely. She called to her associates and her voice drifted back to the Hardys. “We're not going to make it! They're too fast for us and they're signaling the coast guard, just as I thought. Let's turn back before the cutter catches us.”

Linos spun the wheel of his powerboat, which made a sharp curve as he reversed direction. Then the gang headed back toward Rubassa. The Hardys followed. Both boats roared along a winding course between the rocks, while Frank swiftly narrowed the distance between them.

Desperately the rebels attacked one of the crates with hammers, ripped the boards off, and withdrew rifles that were quickly handed around. They ran to the stern, lifted the guns, and took aim at the boys!

“Frank, stop the boat!” Joe shouted. “They're shooting at us!”

“Too late!” Frank yelled back. “We'll be on top of them in a minute. Duck!”

They could hear the sound of rifles clicking. Then the members of the gang lowered their weapons.

“I thought these guns were loaded!” one of them bellowed.

“The ammo's in the lowest crate,” Reggie shouted. “Get it out.”

As he spoke, Linos swerved around a gigantic rock. The next moment he ran directly into a small rock barely protruding above the surface! It smashed a hole in the gang's boat, which started to ship water at an alarming rate. Amid the cries and curses of the rebels, it began to sink!

Frank, meanwhile, had managed to slow down. Cautiously he rounded a bigger rock when his engine conked out.

“Oh, no!” he cried in dismay. He tried starting it again, but had no luck.

“I'll take a look and see if I can fix it,” Joe suggested. While he busied himself in the engine compartment, Frank watched the rebels swim ashore and clamber up on the beach. They paused momentarily, gasping for breath, then disappeared into the woods.

“I think I found the trouble,” Joe called. “The vibration shook loose a wire. Now try starting the engine again.”

Frank did, and the small inboard motor raced to life. “Get a fix on where that boat sank,” he called to his brother. “I'll follow the gang to shore.”

Joe made a notation for the coast guard so they could retrieve the sunken vessel and its cargo. “What do you plan to do? he asked his brother. ”The rebels are long gone.“

“I know. But we're near the foot of Beacon Mountain. They might have gone up to the lighthouse, to change clothes.”

“It's worth a try,” Joe agreed as Frank maneuvered the powerboat ashore. The boys jumped out and pulled it onto the sand, then they entered the woods and climbed up to the plateau where the lighthouse stood. Stealthily they circled around to where they could move in, using the greenery for cover.

When they arrived at the same place where they had eavesdropped before, they peered through the window. The gang was inside, dripping wet!

Linos paced up and down in agitation. “We lost our guns because of those nosy kids!” he fumed. “And we might even lose our lives, not to mention the rebellion! C‘mon! Let's get out of this place. Too many people know where to find us.”

“What are we going to do?” one of the men asked.

“We'll have to lie low for a while, then try to get new weapons. The revolution will be postponed, but it'll take place as soon as we recover. I had a new deal in the works already, so things are not as bad as they seem.”

“What kind of deal?”

“I can't discuss it now,” Linos insisted.
“We'd better go upstairs and change our clothes and get out of here!

Everyone agreed and raced to the top room.

“Frank, we'll have to do something!” Joe exclaimed in an undertone.

“I'll go up after them and lock them in!” Frank hissed. “Just keep your fingers crossed that the key's still in the lock. You wait here in case something goes wrong, okay?

“Okay. ”

As quietly as possible, Frank ran into the lighthouse and tiptoed up the stairs. The key was still there! With an inaudible sigh of relief, the boy slammed the door shut and turned the key in the lock!

A confused babble of voices broke out in the room. A chair went over backward as the duped gang members rushed to the entrance. Someone tried to open the door and shouted, “It's locked!” while heavy fists pounded on the wood.

Frank ran outside and rejoined Joe. “Let's run down the mountain and flag the coast guard cutter that's coming our way,” he suggested.

As the boys hurried past the lighthouse, they saw Linos glaring down at them through the barred window. The gang members were standing around him.

“The Hardys!” the rebel leader rasped. “They followed us here!”

Frank and Joe paid no attention to him. Instead, they rushed to the shore as fast as their feet would carry them. A coast guard cutter lay in the deep water beyond the rocks, and a launch was drawn up on the sand beside their rented boat.

“Boy, are we glad to see you!” Frank panted when he spotted the skipper.

“We received your message,” the man replied. “When we saw your boat, we came ashore to look for you.”

Frank and Joe quickly explained what had happened, and the skipper ordered an armed company of his men to land. He led them up Beacon Mountain, guided by Frank and Joe. As they reached the lighthouse, they could see the gang trying to force the bars on the window.

“That won't do you any good!” the skipper shouted. “Come out with your hands up!”

A file of sailors entered the building and mounted the stairs. One of them unlocked the door and the rebels had no choice but to come out one by one.

Linos was furious. “Hardys, I'll get even with you someday!” he snarled.

“Don't hold your breath!” Joe advised him.

Reggie Watson was the last person to emerge from the room. “That's it, sir,” a sailor reported to the skipper.

The Hardys were startled. “Are you sure?” Frank queried.

“Quite sure,” the sailor replied. “Why?”

“Because Norma Jones isn't here! She must have escaped!”

“There's no point in hunting for her in these woods,” the skipper decided. “She could be anywhere by now.”

The boys had to agree. They accompanied the officers and their prisoners back to shore, then took their boat to Loma while the coast guard cutter chugged off with the rebels.

When Frank and Joe reached the marina, they turned in the rented craft and rode in a taxi to the American Embassy, where they found the ambassador, Colonel Palos, and their father discussing the latest events.

“You already know?” Frank asked in surprise.

“The coast guard phoned us,” Mr. Hardy said with a smile. “You boys have done excellent work. The capture of Linos and his gang means that Rubassa is now safe from dictatorship.”

The ambassador nodded in agreement. “American Intelligence has known for a long time that if the Rubassa rebellion failed, the supporters of democracy on Milbin Island would be encouraged to remove their dictator from power. We hope this will happen soon.”

“Meanwhile, my case is finished,” Mr. Hardy added. “Frank and Joe, you'd better rejoin your freighter. The
Admiral Halsey reaches
Cyprus tomorrow noon. Ambassador Compton will make arrangements for you to fly to Nicosia before it docks.”

“But Dad, we haven't found Norma Jones yet,” Frank objected.

“We will be looking for her,” Colonel Palos assured him. “I have taken too much of your time already and wouldn't think of keeping you here now that the rebels are caught.”

The following morning, he escorted the Hardy boys to the Rubassa airport, where they boarded a turbojet to Cyprus. They reached the Nicosia dock just as the freighter was being tied up.

“I wonder if our mummy missed us,” Joe said with a grin as they climbed the gangplank.

Frank chuckled. “Let's ask Chet and Biff!”

Their friends met them at the end of the steps.

“Welcome back!” Chet cried. “The pharaoh hasn't stirred while you were gone. We took good care of him.”

“Thanks, Chet,” Frank said. “We appreciate that.”

“How'd you make out on Rubassa?” Biffinquired. “Did the ambassador want you to find a crook for him?”

“No, he wanted us to prevent a revolution,” Joe replied.

Chet's eyes popped out. “A what? Don't tell me you guys finished off a whole rebel army!”

“No,” Frank assured him. “There were only six of them. But with a good supply of weapons, they could have taken over that small island.”

“And guess where they got the money to buy the guns,” Joe put in. “From the sale of the pharaoh statuettes they stole from the Egyptian Museum in New York!”

Quickly the brothers filled their friends in on the latest events. Chet and Biff were impressed and proud of the young detectives and congratulated them over and over.