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

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Chapter twenty one, A cry for help. When the hardy
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: boys and their chums awakened that morning, they found that
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: the storm of the night before had increased in fury
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: to such an extent that the mainland was no longer visible.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: The island was completely isolated. As far as the eye
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: could reach. The boys could see nothing but swirling sheets
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: of snow. Looks as if we'll have to stay indoors today,
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: said Frank, as he lit the fire a nuisance. Chet grumbled.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: I thought we could go out in the ice boat
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: this morning. We'd probably get lost out in that storm.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: It certainly is blowing up a fine blizzard, bef remarked
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: Joe looked out the window. I wonder how our boats
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: are faring, he said. With a wind like that, they're
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: liable to be damaged. I was thinking of that, Frank replied.
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: After breakfast, we had better go down and see that
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: they're all right. The meal over, the boys die on
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: their outdoor clothes and set out from the cabin. The
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: snow had drifted over the path, and they were obliged
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  Speaker 1: to break a new trail down the slope toward the
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: little cove in which the iceboats were left. What a
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: dirty day, exclaimed Chet. I think we're just as well
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  Speaker 1: off indoors in weather like this, I should say so,
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: agreed the others. They found that the iceboats were withering
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: the gale. Well. No damage had been done, but the
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: boys took all possible precautions in making the boats secure.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: While they were doing this, Joe gazed out into the storm.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: I must be dreaming, he said at last, Why, asked Frank.
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: It hardly seems possible, but I'm sure I saw an
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  Speaker 1: iceboat go speeding past out in the bay. It was
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: just a shadow in the snow. What would an iceboat
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  Speaker 1: be doing out here on a day like this, scoffed Chet.
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: You certainly must have been dreaming. The boys gazed out
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: into the blinding wall of snow. They saw nothing, and
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: they were just about to turn away, branding Joe's statement
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: as a false alarm, when they heard a loud crash.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: What's that? The noise came from somewhere out in the storm,
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: but it was so loud that the lads knew it
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: had been caused by something not far from shore. There
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: is something out there, cried Joe. If it was an
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  Speaker 1: ice boat, it must have been wrecked. Frank declared, I
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: guess we had better investigate. They went on down the
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: shore a short distance, still gazing out into the driving snow,
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: but there was no solution to the mystery. They could
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: see nothing, and they heard nothing but the howl of
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: the wind. Frank turned up his coat collar. I don't
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: care to venture very far away from the island, he said. Doubtfully.
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: It would be mighty easy to get lost out there.
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: I wonder what caused that crash. They were just about
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: to give up the search when they heard a faint cry, help, Help.
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: It was a man's voice that settles it, declared Frank.
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: There has been an accident out there, and someone is hurt.
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  Speaker 1: They'll freeze to death if we leave him out there.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: We'll get him. Listen again, fellows, and see where the
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: sound is coming from. The cry was repeated. They judged
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: that the man, whoever he was, was out in the blizzard,
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: almost immediately in front of the place where they were
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  Speaker 1: now standing. Let's go, said Frank. He took the lead,
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: left the island and plunged out into the snowy waste.
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: The others followed. Once beyond the shelter of the island,
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: they caught the full force of the wind. It came
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  Speaker 1: howling down on them, flinging snow about them in clouds.
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: They could scarcely see one another, so furious was the blizzard. Oop,
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: we're coming, shouted Frank. In a few moments they could
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: see a dark mass ahead. Ice boat grunted. Joe, I
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: told you so. All smashed up. The iceboat lay on
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  Speaker 1: its side, its mast broken in two, its sails torn
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: to ribbons, its understructure smashed. It had evidently been going
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  Speaker 1: at a good rate of speed and had overturned when
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: it swung too far over in the wind. They could
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  Speaker 1: see the figure of a man pinned beneath the wreckage. Hastily,
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  Speaker 1: the boys knelt down to extricate the victim. When Frank
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: saw who the man was, he gave a shout of surprise. Hanley,
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: get me out of here, snarled Hanley, my leg is broken.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: The lads wasted no time in dragging their enemy from
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: beneath the wreckage of the ice boat. He was groaning
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: with pain. I can't walk, he moaned. You'll have to
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  Speaker 1: carry me. My leg is broken. The boys raised Handley
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  Speaker 1: on their shoulders. There was no use trying to save
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: the ice boat. It was wrecked beyond all chance of repair.
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: How did you come to be out here on a
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  Speaker 1: day like this, demanded Frank as they started the journey
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  Speaker 1: back to Cabin Island. Hanley made no reply. He was
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: moaning with pain. His right leg hung limply, but Frank's
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: practiced eye saw at a glance that it was not broken.
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: Sprained his ankle, most likely, he said to Joe. Lucky
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  Speaker 1: I wasn't killed, groaned Hanley. I was going at terrific
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  Speaker 1: speed and I couldn't get the boat stopped. I tried
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  Speaker 1: to lower sail in the wind turned the whole boat
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  Speaker 1: over on top of me. Anybody who goes ice boating
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  Speaker 1: in a storm like this deserves whatever happens to him,
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: observed Chet unsympathetically. Hanley was a heavy man, and by
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  Speaker 1: the time the boys reached the island they were forced
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: to stop and rest. Then, puffing from their labors, they
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: raised the injured man to their shoulders again and began
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: to climb up the slope. I'm glad you heard me, shouting,
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: muttered Hanley. I would have frozen to death out there.
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  Speaker 1: A lucky chance for you that we heard you at all,
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  Speaker 1: Joe said, if we had been up in the cabin,
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: we would never have heard a whisper. Rank nudged his brother.
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  Speaker 1: Lucky for us too, he said, now we'll be able
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  Speaker 1: to make him talk. At last they reached the cabin.
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: They put Handley on one of the beds, and then
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  Speaker 1: Frank examined the injured leg. As he had suspected, it
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  Speaker 1: was not broken, although the ankle was badly sprained. Having
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: bathed it and put liniment and a bandage on the
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: injured limb, Frank looked down at Hanley. You're all right,
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: don't make such a fuss. It's only a sprain. Looky,
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: it wasn't worse my I'm glad you boys heard me calling.
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: Pretty nice to have friends near at hand, isn't it,
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: said Frank. Now that you're here, Hanley, I think you'd
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: better tell us why you were snooping around the island
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: in the first place. I wasn't coming to the island,
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: returned Hanley, lamely. As if we'll believe that now, boys,
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: said Hanley placatingly, Lat's forget all our little differences and
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: let bygones be bygones. You have saved my life, and
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: I'm very good grateful to you. I didn't mean you
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: any harm. Why were you coming here today? Insisted Frank,
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: I'll tell you after what happened the other day. I
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: worried a lot. I was afraid you lads might think
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: I was up to something crooked, and I wanted to
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: make things square with you. So I decided to come
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  Speaker 1: here and make friends with you, and then I was
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: going to look for that pocket book I lost. Was
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: that the only reason? Absolutely, the only reason. What interests
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: you here so much? Asked Joe. I'm interested in the
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: island because I want to buy it. There's no other
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: reason beyond that. Why did you steal our supplies? Then? Now, boys,
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: said Hanley, what's the use of going into all that.
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: I didn't take your supplies. I had nothing to do
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  Speaker 1: with it. I don't see why you should accuse me
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: of a thing like that, bluff, said Frank. Nothing but bluff.
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: Your pocket book story is a fairy tale. Well, mister Hanley,
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: you're in a bad fix. You know you won't be
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  Speaker 1: able to get back to town unless we take you there.
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: And I'm warning you that unless you tell us the
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  Speaker 1: reason for your visits here, we intend to bring you
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  Speaker 1: in and turn you over to the police on a
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  Speaker 1: charge of trespass. Hanley's eyes narrowed. You wouldn't do that,
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: wouldn't we You'd better tell us what you know. I
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: don't know anything. You're just persecuting me. I merely came
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  Speaker 1: out here to make friends with you this morning, and
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: you won't give me a chance. We know you too well.
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  Speaker 1: What's it to be, mister Hanley? Are you going to
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  Speaker 1: talk or are you going to jail? The victim groaned miserably.
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: I don't see why you try to make everything so
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  Speaker 1: unpleasant for me, he complained. You have me at your
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  Speaker 1: mercy and you're just taking an unfair advantage. He rubbed
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: his sprained ankle tenderly. I'm tired. I want to go
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  Speaker 1: to sleep. Perhaps after you've had a sleep you'll think
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: better of it. Hanley shrugged. He removed his coat, folded
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  Speaker 1: it very carefully, and placed it under his head. Do
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: you want a pillow, ash chet, hang your coat up
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: on the wall, Frank suggested, No, No, I'm quite all right,
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: returned Hanley hastily. I'm quite comfortable as i am. I
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: wish you boys would leave me alone. I want to sleep.
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: He placed his head on the folded coat. The boys
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: moved away. We can't pump him, whispered Frank. Better leave
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: him alone for a while. With a great deal of
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: moaning and muttering, Hanley composed himself for slumber. In a
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  Speaker 1: short while. His heavy breathing told the boys that he
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  Speaker 1: was asleep. End of chapter twenty one.