Latest / Hardy Boys: The Shore Road Mystery / 19 - Hardy Boys The Shore Road Mystery by Franklin W Dixon

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19 - Hardy Boys The Shore Road Mystery by Franklin W Dixon · Hardy Boys: The Shore Road Mystery

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Captured. Tensely, the hardy boys crouched in the tunnel as
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: they heard the voice of the dog's former hired man.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: It's a dirty night out, he was saying. You're welcome
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: to the trip. Dan, still raining pouring. I'm soaked to
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  Speaker 1: the skin, grumbled Montrose. It's no fun plowing down through
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: that gully. Well, you won't have much more to do
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  Speaker 1: to night, said one of the men, placatingly. We landed
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: a fine roadster while you were out, the one I
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: was telling you about the same seems funny about that
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  Speaker 1: car being parked on the shore road three nights in
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  Speaker 1: a row. I saw there the other evening and passed
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  Speaker 1: it up. Then last night I got in and would
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  Speaker 1: have driven it away, only I couldn't get it started.
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  Speaker 1: Different kind of car than any I've ever been in.
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  Speaker 1: I went out and found Sam and we were going
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  Speaker 1: back when we ran right into the car turning around
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  Speaker 1: in a lane. Didn't see who was in it, did you? No?
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  Speaker 1: The headlights shone right in our eyes. Seemed like a
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  Speaker 1: couple of young fellas. If they'd been a little slower,
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  Speaker 1: we'd have had the car. Well we haven't. Now they'll
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  Speaker 1: wish they wasn't so smart leaving it out in the
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  Speaker 1: rain that way, Nice wet walk they'll have if they
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  Speaker 1: live in Bayport, laughed Gus Montrose. Shortly, I know who
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  Speaker 1: I wish owned it? Your little friends, those brats of
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  Speaker 1: hardy boys returned. Gus followed me for about three blocks
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  Speaker 1: to day when I went uptown to meet Sam. What
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  Speaker 1: was the big idea? Nah? They kid themselves that they
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: were a couple of amateur detectives, rasped Montrose. Just because
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: they've been lucky in a couple of cases. They think
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  Speaker 1: they gotta go spine on everybody. What made him spy
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  Speaker 1: on you? How should I know? I guess DoD must
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: have put them up to it. No figure, you're mixed
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  Speaker 1: up with these missing cars? Do they? Oh? Could they?
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  Speaker 1: Nobody has anything on me, bragged Gus. But I told
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  Speaker 1: them a few things. Anyway. I told them to lay
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  Speaker 1: off followin me or they'd get something They wasn't lookin
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  Speaker 1: for what they say, They backed down, got scared and
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: beat it. That's the way to talk to them. Approof
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  Speaker 1: the man called Dan, scare the daylights out of him.
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  Speaker 1: Speak in a daylight. It'll be daylight before you reach
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  Speaker 1: Atlantic City, with that car. If you don't hurry up,
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  Speaker 1: all right, all right, I'll start movin. Dan growled. You
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  Speaker 1: might as well take some of that junk we got
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  Speaker 1: from the importing company truck and ask Clancy to sell
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  Speaker 1: it for us. And don't you forget to collect the
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  Speaker 1: money from him for the last car we turned over
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  Speaker 1: to him. I won't forget. Some of you guys had
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  Speaker 1: better come along and load a couple of those boxes
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  Speaker 1: for me. There was a heavy tramping of feet that
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  Speaker 1: indicated the men were leaving the cave. The hardy boys
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: could hear their receding footsteps and the diminishing voices. Finally,
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  Speaker 1: the cave was in silence. Frank peeped out of the tunnel.
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: They've gone, he whispered, are you going? In questioned Joe.
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  Speaker 1: Sure there's no one around. He stepped out onto the
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  Speaker 1: rocky floor, with Joe at his heels. The cave was
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  Speaker 1: not as large as the one in which the cars
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: were stored, but from the boxes scattered around, and from
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  Speaker 1: a litter of empty cigarette packages, burnt matches, old clothes
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  Speaker 1: and other things lying about, it was clearly the meeting
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  Speaker 1: place of the gang. Well, we've found the auto thieves.
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  Speaker 1: All right, the next thing is to trap them. We
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  Speaker 1: can't do it alone, that's certain, said Joe. I think
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  Speaker 1: we ought to get out of here as quickly as
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  Speaker 1: we can. There's probably only one opening to this place,
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  Speaker 1: answered Frank, flashing the light about the walls. It fell
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  Speaker 1: on a dark opening through which the thieves had departed.
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  Speaker 1: There was no other passage apparent beyond the one through
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  Speaker 1: which the boys had entered. Not much use going after them.
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  Speaker 1: They're probably all out in the cave where the cars
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  Speaker 1: are kept, remarked Joe. We'll just have to watch our chance.
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  Speaker 1: Let's take a look around here, remarked Frank, after a
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  Speaker 1: minute of silence. We'll have to be careful. They may
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  Speaker 1: come back and catch us, answered his brother. We'll watch
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  Speaker 1: out for that. With caution. The boys began to look
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  Speaker 1: around them. Look, cried Frank in a low tone. He
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  Speaker 1: bent down, and, from the rocky floor picked up a
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  Speaker 1: big bunch of keys. Auto keys came from Joe. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: and all different. I suppose they have all the keys
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  Speaker 1: necessary to unlock any car. More than likely. Near the keys,
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  Speaker 1: they found a dark coat and a cap. I guess
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  Speaker 1: the keys dropped out of that coat. Remarked, Frank, looks
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  Speaker 1: like it. Joe's gaze traveled to a spot back of
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  Speaker 1: the coat. Look a wig, he exclaimed, That shows they
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  Speaker 1: go out disguised. It sure does say we're getting to
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  Speaker 1: the bottom of this mystery, I hope. So the boys
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  Speaker 1: explored the underground chamber but found nothing of further interest.
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  Speaker 1: So we were right after all, Frank said, Gus mount
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  Speaker 1: Rose is mixed up with the auto thieves. He probably
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  Speaker 1: discovered these caves in the first place and saw how
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  Speaker 1: they could be used for concealing stolen goods. Perhaps a
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: this place was used by smugglers long ago. Probably they
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: are natural caves, and it's easily seen that they've been
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  Speaker 1: used for a long time. Some of the tunnels look
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  Speaker 1: as if they've been blasted out to widen them. We're
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  Speaker 1: certainly lucky to have found their hiding place, for we'd
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  Speaker 1: never have found it unless we've been brought here. From
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  Speaker 1: their talk. They evidently drive the cars to Atlantic City
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  Speaker 1: from here. Must have a secret road of some kind,
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  Speaker 1: or they'd never get through. Montrose spoke of coming through
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  Speaker 1: a gully. There is a gully near the dog farm.
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  Speaker 1: Now that I come to think of it, I believe
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  Speaker 1: there is an abandoned road through it. The place has
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  Speaker 1: been overgrown with brush for the past five years, though
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  Speaker 1: perhaps they cleared it out. The road used to lead
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  Speaker 1: out to one of the private right of way roads
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  Speaker 1: in the back township. Since the shore road was extended,
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  Speaker 1: it's never been used. I'll bet that's what they're doing,
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  Speaker 1: using that old road and bringing the cars out the
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  Speaker 1: back way. The police haven't been watching the private roads
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  Speaker 1: at all. It's a smart scheme. Well, it won't last
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  Speaker 1: much longer. Suddenly a voice rang out, clear and sharp.
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  Speaker 1: I'll get the lantern, it's right here. Startled the boys
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  Speaker 1: wheeled about. The voice seemed to be right beside them.
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  Speaker 1: Instantly they realized that it was only a trick of
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  Speaker 1: the echoes, and that the voice came from the passage
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  Speaker 1: leading into the cave. Some one was approaching. They could
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  Speaker 1: hear his heavy boots clumping on the rocky floor. Quick
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  Speaker 1: the tunnel, whispered Frank. He sped across the cave toward
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  Speaker 1: the opening in the wall, but they had moved farther
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  Speaker 1: away from their hiding place than they imagined. By the
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  Speaker 1: time the brothers reached the passage, they heard a cry
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  Speaker 1: of alarm behind them, Who's that? They scrambled into the tunnel.
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  Speaker 1: Another shout, footsteps across the floor, and then the lantern
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  Speaker 1: cast its beam directly on the entrance of the passage.
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  Speaker 1: It was a powerful light, and the boys knew they
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  Speaker 1: had been seen. The men in the cave began shouting
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  Speaker 1: for help. Gus, Sam, come here quick, his voice echoed
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  Speaker 1: from the walls. The hardy boys heard a faint shout
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  Speaker 1: from outside the cave. What's the matter? Someone in here?
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  Speaker 1: Hurry up. The uproar out in the cave grew in
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  Speaker 1: volume as other members of the gang joined their comrade.
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  Speaker 1: There was a hasty gabble of voices. There was someone
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  Speaker 1: in the cave. When I came back for the light,
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  Speaker 1: shouted the man who had discovered the boys. They beat
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  Speaker 1: it into the tunnel. I just saw them. Sam go
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  Speaker 1: around and watch the other side, ordered someone sharply. That
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  Speaker 1: tongue goes out into the big cave. The thieves were
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  Speaker 1: evidently unaware of the cave in that had blocked the passage.
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  Speaker 1: Frank and Joe retreated beyond the first bend. They were trapped.
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  Speaker 1: The barricade cut off their flight, and they knew they
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  Speaker 1: were facing certain capture. The guns snapped Frank. He drew
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  Speaker 1: his revolver from his pocket and fired into the darkness
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  Speaker 1: around the corner. There was a shout of alarm, get back,
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  Speaker 1: get back, Gus. They've got guns. Then followed a wild
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  Speaker 1: scrambling as the man who had pursued them into the
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  Speaker 1: tunnel hustled back to safety. Frank pressed himself against the
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  Speaker 1: rocky wall in case any of the gang should enter
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  Speaker 1: and open fire on them. But the thieves have been
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  Speaker 1: frightened by his shot. That'll hold him for a while.
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  Speaker 1: How long, Joe reminded him. They have us trapped, Frank,
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  Speaker 1: we can't go back. They'll starve us out. We won't
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  Speaker 1: give up without a fight. There was a tremendous uproar
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  Speaker 1: out in the cave. The men talked loudly, and their
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  Speaker 1: voices were intensified by the tumultuous echoes of the place.
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  Speaker 1: Follow them in, someone shouted, but Gus snarled, we can't.
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  Speaker 1: They're armed, well, said Frank quietly. We have enough bullets
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  Speaker 1: to keep them back for a while. At any rate,
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  Speaker 1: they'll get us in the long run, I suppose. So.
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  Speaker 1: Then the hardy boys heard the voice of the man
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  Speaker 1: called Sam. He came into the cave shouting. They can't
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  Speaker 1: get out. There's been a cave in and the tunnel
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  Speaker 1: is jammed up with rock. Good, exclaimed Gufs exultantly. Here
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  Speaker 1: hand me that light. There was a moment of silence.
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  Speaker 1: Then the powerful lantern was evidently turned toward the mouth
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  Speaker 1: of the tunnel, for the light gleamed on the walls.
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  Speaker 1: As they were just around the bend in the passage.
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  Speaker 1: The boys could not be seen, but the glaring light
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  Speaker 1: was reflected from the rocks. They're out of sight, muttered,
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  Speaker 1: someone try a shot. Instantly, there was an explosion. As
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  Speaker 1: the revolver roared, the echoes were deafening in that confined space.
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  Speaker 1: Something whizzed past Frank's head and smacked against the rock.
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  Speaker 1: The bullet, aimed for the rock wall had ricocheted across
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  Speaker 1: the bend and had missed him by a hair breadth.
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  Speaker 1: This was too close for comfort. The revolver crashed again,
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  Speaker 1: and there was a cry from Joe. Are you hurt,
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  Speaker 1: asked Frank anxiously. No, but the bullet glanced off the rocks.
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  Speaker 1: I think it went through my sleeve. It sure was close.
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  Speaker 1: Their voices had been heard by the men in the cave.
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  Speaker 1: That's God, I'm scared, yelled Gus. The boys retreated out
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  Speaker 1: of range of the glancing bullets. We're up against it,
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  Speaker 1: Frank admitted. If we stay here, they'll starve us out.
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: If we try to rush them, we'll get shot. I
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: guess we'll have to surrender. Looks as if there's nothing
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  Speaker 1: else for it. We'll give ourselves up and take our
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: chances on escape. The way things are, we're liable to
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  Speaker 1: be shot. He edged back toward the bend in the passage.
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  Speaker 1: There was a lull in the firing. We give up,
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: he shouted. A yell of triumph followed. Now you're talkin sense,
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: shouted Gus. Turw your gun out here. Frank hurled his
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  Speaker 1: revolver around the corner, and it clattered on the rocks.
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  Speaker 1: Some one crawled into the passage and retrieved it. Now
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  Speaker 1: come out with your hands up. Bitter though their defeat was,
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  Speaker 1: the hardy boys had to acknowledge that the odds were
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  Speaker 1: against them. With their arms in the air, they came
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  Speaker 1: around the corner into the glare of the big lamp.
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  Speaker 1: Step by step they advanced until at the junction of
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: cave and tunnel they were seized by their captors. End
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: of Chapter nineteen