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24 - Hardy Boys The Mystery of Cabin Island by Franklin W Dixon · Hardy Boys: The Mystery of Cabin Island

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Chapter twenty four, The Discovery. Do you think we'll find it?
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Frank asked Joe Hardy. I shouldn't be surprised if there
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: is anything hidden in that chimney. The banging up it
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: got just now should reveal it. They peered into the fireplace.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: It was choked with rubbish. Better clear some of this away,
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: They began moving away the stones and rocks that blocked
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: the entrance. Chet and Biff, after watching the Hardy boys
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: for a few moments from the kitchen, came over to help.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: They forgot their fears in the eagerness of the search. Once,
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: while moving away a large stone, Frank dislodged some others
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: that came down with a rush. He jumped back just
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: in time. This business isn't safe, yet, muttered Chet dubiously. However,
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: the boys went on with the work and soon cleared
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: out the fireplace with no further mishap. Frank entered the
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: opening and peered up clear daylight ahead. He called the
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: chimney having collapsed. He could see the white snow swirling
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: just a few yards above. He switched on his flashlight
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: and examined the interior. Then he gave an exclamation of satisfaction.
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: It's all cracked and broken, he reported, I'm going up.
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: Be careful, advised Biff nervously, but Frank was already scrambling
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: up into the fireplace. The others waited. They jumped apprehensively
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: when his struggling feet kicked loose some more stones that
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: came plunging down into the rest of the debris. For
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: a while, there was silence. Suddenly there was a muffled
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: shout from the chimney. I have it, yelled Frank in excitement.
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: It's here. The others heard him struggling for a moment.
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: Then came a further shower of stones and mortar. Got it,
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: shouted Frank triumphantly. Then he came scrambling down into the
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: fireplace again. His hands and face were black with soot,
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: his clothes were ruined, but he bore in his hands
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: an object that brought shouts of delight from the boys.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: The rosewood box, declared Joe. Frank nodded, Elroy Jefferson's stamp collection.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: The others crowded around him. Frank held the box up.
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: It was a beautiful object, and although it had been
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: hidden in the chimney for many years, its rosewood surface
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: was almost as lustrous as on the day it was
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: first concealed. Great excitement prevailed. The mystery of the chimney
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: had been solved. The boys all talked at once, all
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: clamored that the box be opened. Frank undid the catch.
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: They looked inside. There, neatly arranged on sheets were the
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: rare stamps that had been Elroy Jefferson's pride, the stamps
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: that were worth a fortune. Hurrah, shouted Biff Chet and
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: Joe did a dance of joy. Frank closed the lid
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: of the Rosewood box. I found it right at the
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: place mentioned in the cipher, he said. We didn't discover
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: it before because the box had been hidden in a
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: hollow right in the middle of one of the stones,
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: and it had been mortared up when they were building
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: the chimney. The shaking up the chimney got a little
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: while ago had broken the mortar and dislodged the stone.
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: When I turned the flashlight on it, I could plainly
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: see the hollow, and I knew something was hidden there.
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: I dusted away the mortar, pried the stone up a little,
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: and there was the box. A harsh voice interrupted him,
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: What's that you found it? Give it here. That box
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: is mine. Hanley was standing in the kitchen doorway. His
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: face was livid with rage. It belongs to Elroy Jefferson,
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: returned Frank, and we are going to return it to him.
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: Hanley tried to hobble over toward them, but his ankle
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: gave him such pain that he abandoned the attempt and
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: clung to the wall for support. I tell you it's mine,
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: he screamed. You have no right to take it. My
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: uncle left that box to me in his will. He
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: left it to you on condition that you return it
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: to mister Jefferson from whom he stole it. Snapped Frank,
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: you haven't a chance to claim it, Hanley. We have
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: the box and we intend to give it back to
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: its owner. Hanley glared at them, then he shrugged. If
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: only this ankle of mine was better, I'd show you,
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: he rasped. It's downright robbery, that's what it is. I'll
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: take this matter into the courts and make you give
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: it up to me. Frank laughed. You won't go into
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: any court over this affair, Hanley. You know it would
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: be the worse for you. We saw the letter you
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: got from the lawyers telling you that the box must
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: be returned to mister Jefferson. Wait until we tell our story.
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: You'll be lucky if you aren't arrested. You never intended
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: to live up to those instructions at all. This threat
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: frightened Hanley. His face was pale. I did, he whined,
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: I meant to give it back to mister Jefferson. Let
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: me have the box, boys, and I'll see that he
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: gets it. No chance. The box is a lot safer
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: with us than it is with you. We found it
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: and we're going to give it back. You'd better sit down, Hanley,
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: and tell us all about it. Hanley hesitated. Then he
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: hobbled over to one of the beds and sat down.
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: I guess the game is up, he admitted, heavily. Tell
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: us what you know about this affair, and we'll let
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: the whole business drop as far as you are concerned.
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: Frank promised. If you don't tell us, we'll simply let
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: the police take action. And you know what that will mean,
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: he added significantly. Well, said Hanley, at last, I suppose
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: there is nothing else for me to do with any
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: luck at all. I might have had that box and
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: I would have been miles away. By this time. How
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: did it get here in the first place? Hanley began
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: his story. My uncle, John Sparewell, he said, was a
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: servant in the home of Elroy Jefferson for many years.
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: He was in financial difficulties at one time, and when
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: he learned about the valuable stamp collection, he thought that
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: if he stole it and sold it, he might be
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: able to realize enough money to pay off his debts.
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: He knew that the collection was kept in a small
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: safe in the house, so he watched his chance. He
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: was highly trusted by mister Jefferson, so it was not
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: long before he had the opportunity he was waiting for.
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: The safe was left unlocked one afternoon, so my uncle
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: slipped into the study, took the box, put on his
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: hat and coat, and left the house and never went back,
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: said Joe. He never returned. He had laid his plans
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: very carefully, and he knew he might have to wait
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: until the hue and cry died down before he would
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: be able to dispose of the stamps. So he fled
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: to a little village down on the seacoast, and he
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: stayed in hiding there for several months. He learned that
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: the police were looking for him, And then he found
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: that a full description of the stamps had been circulated
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: and that he would certainly be arrested if he ever
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: tried to get rid of them to any recognized dealer.
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: As a matter of fact, when he left the village
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: where he had been hiding and went to New York,
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: he narrowly escaped being arrested, merely because he went to
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: one of the dealers in that city and asked him
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: what the stamps would be worth. The dealer became suspicious
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: and notified the police, But my uncle saw his danger
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: in time and cleared out. And he never sold the stamps.
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: He couldn't. It was too dangerous. He made up his
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: mind to return them to Elroy Jefferson, So he took
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: the Rosewood box and came back to Why didn't he
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: return them, asked Frank In surprise, mister Jefferson was away.
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: He had gone to Europe on one of his periodical
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: collecting trips. Then my uncle was afraid he might be
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: recognized around Bayport, and he knew that if he were
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: arrested and the stamps found on him, no one would
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: believe that he had meant to give them back. So
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: He determined to hide them until he would have a
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: chance to see mister Jefferson. At this time, Cabin Island
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: had been purchased and the cabin was being built. One day,
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: my uncle was prowling about the Jefferson place, wondering if
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: he could steal into the house and return the box
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: without being seen. When Missus Jefferson saw him. He did
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: not know if he had been recognized, but he went away.
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: A little while later he saw her leave the house
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: with the gardener, and he saw them looking for him.
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: He became frightened, and he hired a boat and went
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: out into the bay, But evidently they traced him. For
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: in a little while. While Missus Jefferson and the gardener
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: set out in their own boat, Hanley looked gloomily at
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: the floor. My uncle was afraid that they would turn
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: him over to the police if they caught him with
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: the rosewood box. He wanted to talk to Elroy Jefferson
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: and have the charge against him withdrawn, so he decided
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: to flee. But the only place he could think of
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: just then was Cabin Island, so he went there in
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: the boat. The cabin was just being built at this time.
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: As I said, and the fireplace and chimney had not
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: been finished. The Masons had the chimney just about half completed.
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: As it was a Sunday, the island was deserted that day.
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: Fearing that he might be trapped on the island with
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: the box in his possession, he hid it in a
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: hollow of one of the stones and covered it over
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: with mortar, intending to come back for it later. Then
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: he got away from the island before Missus Jefferson overtook him.
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: Didn't he go back later? Chet Hanley nodded. He went
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: back next day, but the Masons were back at work
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: completing the chimney. He did not have a chance to
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: get near the place. He remained hidden on the island
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: all day until they went home that night. Then he
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: went up to the cabin to recover the box. He
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: found that more stones had been placed over the stone
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: where he had hidden the box. They had been securely
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: mortared the box was sealed up. In spite of all
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: he could do, he could not get the box again.
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: He came back to the island several times that week,
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: but he had no success. Every day the Masons did
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: more work on the chimney, and every day, his chances
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: grew less, so he left Bayport and went to a
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: little village in Maine, where he lived for a number
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: of years. He did not try to get in touch
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: with Elroy Jefferson again. Then, about five years ago, he
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: determined to make another effort to recover the box box,
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: and he came back, making several trips to the island,
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: But although he tried to get at the box from
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: inside the chimney, he failed. When he died, the box
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: had not been recovered. Although my uncle had repented bitterly
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: of his foolish crime. In his will, he left his
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: property to me, and he also left a sealed letter
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: containing the confession I have just told you, and he
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: asked you to recover the box. Yes, but I wanted
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: it for myself. I had become acquainted with a man
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: who said he could dispose of it for me. He
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: offered me fifty thousand dollars for the collection. Fifty thousand dollars,
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: exclaimed the boys. It's worth even more than that, for
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: many of the stamps have increased in value since the
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: year they disappeared. I don't suppose Elroy Jefferson would sell
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: it at any price. My uncle was dead. I was
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: the only person who knew were the stamps hidden, so
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: I made up my mind to get them for myself.
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: I came to the island, but I soon saw that
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: the only way I could get at the box would
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: be to wreck the chimney. I went to Elroy Jefferson
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: and made him an offer for the cabin. I did
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: not have the eight thousand dollars I offered him, but
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: I thought that if he accepted, I could give him
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: a small cash payment, occupy the island long enough to
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: get possession of the stamps, and then I would clear out.
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: But he wouldn't sell, So then I determined to get
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: the stamps by hook or by crook. Mostly crook interrupted
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: chet Hanley flashed him a glance of hatred. You boys
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: spoiled my game. We were almost ready to give up,
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: Frank told him, if you hadn't been so persistent, we
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: might have left the island and you might have got
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: the stamps. After all, I was afraid you would find
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: them first, said Hanley, when I lost that notebook. I
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: was afraid you would solve the cipher and get the
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: box before I had a chance. Well, I took a
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: long chance, and I lost. That's the whole story. Now
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: what are you going to do? He glared at them defiantly.
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: First of all, Frank decided, we are going to wait
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: until this storm dies down. Then we are going to
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: take you back to Bayport. Not to the police, shouted
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: Hanley in terror. No, not to the police, I imagine,
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: mister Jefferson. We'll be content with getting the stamps back.
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: We promised not to turn you over to the police
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: if you confessed, and we'll keep our promise. But you
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: must get out of Bayport. I never want to see
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: the place again, groaned Hanley. We are going to explain
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: the whole affair to mister Jefferson and return the stamps
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: to him. It will be a return for his kindness
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: in letting us have the island for our outing. I
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: guess our outing is finished, remarked Chet regretfully, with a
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: glance at the ruined roof. We didn't have many more
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: days to stay anyway, consoled Frank. And I'd rather get
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: to the bottom of a mystery like this than have
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: all the outings in the world. That's right, agreed his brother.
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: End of chapter twenty four