The Deserted Yacht Part 4

The plane continued toward the yacht, slackening its speed as it approached. While still far enough away to be in no danger of cras.h.i.+ng the propeller or wings against the side of the s.h.i.+p, Rex idled the engine, allowing the plane to drift.

"Anything wrong?" he called out.

Trying to make themselves heard above the roar of the engine, Madge and Enid finally succeeded in conveying the idea that they wished to be taken ash.o.r.e.

"I don't see how he'll ever get us aboard," Enid said despairingly. "I'll tell him to go on in and send a boat back after us."

She shouted the message across the water, but Rex was unwilling to leave.

Deliberately, taking every precaution, he edged the amphibian in close to the yacht. Anxiously the girls watched him maneuver. The bay was unusually quiet and Rex maintained perfect control, yet they realized that the slightest miscalculation of distance or an unexpected roll of the yacht might result in a crumpled wing.

As he succeeded in making contact, the girls hastily lowered themselves into the front c.o.c.kpit. Madge obtained only a fleeting impression of the young pilot's face, for it was half-masked with goggles and helmet. He was not handsome but his eyes were friendly and there was a quality about him that was most likable.

"You shouldn't have risked your plane to take us off," Enid protested after she had introduced Madge.

"I knew what I was about," Rex returned, smiling broadly. "Sit tight now and we'll run in to the beach."

He opened the throttle and the amphibian skimmed lightly over the water.

In a few minutes they drew near the sh.o.r.e where a flagman signalled them in. Rex beached the plane and aided the girls in alighting.

"Now tell me what's wrong," he commanded.

Enid poured out her story with Madge adding additional details. Rex listened in amazement, and when they had finished promptly agreed that the wisest thing was to notify the authorities without delay.

"It doesn't sound like an ordinary case of kidnapping to me," he declared, and then as Enid's face grew even more distressed, he added quickly: "Don't worry. The police will find your father."

"If it's a case of money, I can arrange with Father's banker," Enid returned earnestly. "I'll give any amount they say-anything to secure his release."

"Don't do anything rash," Rex advised. "Better let the police deal with those men. You know how your father is too, Enid. He'd never give in an inch."

"No, I realize Father would never allow himself to be ransomed if he could help it. That's what may make it so hard. He'll defy those men and refuse to communicate with me. They may do terrible things to him."

"Don't think about it," Rex admonished, taking her arm and steering her toward the roadside. "I'll go with you to the police."

He helped the girls into a taxicab and during the ride to the police headquarters, did his best to cheer Enid. She leaned her head back against the cus.h.i.+on and scarcely spoke.

"You really believe the police can find him?" she murmured once.

"Why, of course," Rex a.s.sured her heartily, but over her head he shot Madge a glance which told her that he considered the situation more serious than his words indicated.

At the police station, the girls were asked a great many questions but Rex made everything easy for them. He knew several policemen and it was largely due to his efforts that one of the best detectives on the force, a man by the name of Randall, was a.s.signed the case.

They all drove to the beach in a police car and Rex made two trips to the yacht in his amphibian. Randall and another detective who accompanied him, were conducted to Mr. Burnett's stateroom which the girls had left undisturbed. The two men looked about but at the end of their investigation admitted they had found no new clues.

"It may have been an inside job," Randall said to Enid. "How many men does your father employ?"

"Three sailors and a cook. He does his own piloting."

"And you say that last night when the kidnapping occurred, you and your father were alone."

"Why, yes, Father had given our employes forty-eight hours sh.o.r.e leave."

"Wasn't that rather unusual?"

"No, we frequently stay here alone," Enid declared. "All of the men but one live at Cheltham Bay and whenever we anchor Father usually gives them a day or so off duty."

The detective digested this information in silence. He conferred with his companion and then questioned Enid again.

"Did your father keep large sums of money or valuables aboard?"

"Not to my knowledge. He was always afraid of being robbed."

"Have you heard him express any such fear recently, Miss Burnett?"

"N-o." Enid hesitated and then went on: "But I will say he hasn't acted exactly like himself the past month."

"In what way do you mean?"

"Well, for one thing he purchased a revolver. He seemed to be afraid of something. I can't say what it was. He always laughed when I asked questions."

"H-m," the detective meditated. "And where did he keep the revolver?"

"It was in the desk."

"It's not there now," Randall informed. "You heard no shots fired, Miss Burnett?"

"Oh, no. Only the struggle as I told you."

"It's possible your father recognized his a.s.sailants and in self-protection they were forced to kidnap him," Randall suggested thoughtfully. "Their real motive may have been robbery."

"Then why didn't they take Mr. Burnett's pocketbook?" Madge asked pointedly.

"They may have overlooked it."

Madge made no reply although she took scant stock in such a theory. It seemed to her that the detectives were conducting only a routine investigation, that their interest in the case was only perfunctory. And Mr. Randall's next words deepened this impression.

"There's no need to worry, Miss Burnett. We'll find your father but it may take time. If it's a case of kidnapping for ransom, you're sure to hear within a few days at most. In the meantime, we'll do all we can, and keep in close touch with you."

Rex carried the detectives back to the mainland after they had completed their investigation and then returned to The Flora. He found Enid sadly in need of someone to cheer her.

"I don't know how I'll stand it," she declared unhappily. "I'll go crazy just sitting and waiting. If only I could do something!"

Rex and Madge exchanged quick, significant glances. They had both been disappointed at the outcome of the police investigation. They realized far better than did Enid, that it might be a long wait indeed before word was received from Mr. Burnett.

"We will do something," Madge said quietly, slipping her arm protectingly about her friend's shoulders. "I don't know how, but someway we'll manage to trace your father! And when we find him I think the police will learn that it isn't a case of ordinary kidnapping!"

CHAPTER VI A Midnight Visitor