CHAPTER XXI
Trouble in the Dark
Miss johnson's bonds had been tied hastily. With little effort she was able to remove them. Then quickly she unfastened the ropes which bound the Hardys. The boys dashed to the secret panel and endeavored to open it.
"It's no use," the woman told them. "I've tried and tried."
"And there's no other way to get out of this room?" Frank asked her.
The nurse said there was not a window or door in the place. She had searched in vain.
"But fresh air gets in here somehow."
"I've concluded it comes through the ceiling. But, as you see, that's very high and there's no way to get up to it. I shouted until I was hoarse. This room is soundproof."
Frank and Joe were annoyed with themselves for being trapped. Their only hope of escape now was that their father would be able to figure out the way to open the secret panel.
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174 The Secret Panel
"But maybe Jeff and Griff will take the magnet away with them!" Joe cried out.
The boys looked and looked for a means of escape, but they could find none. Finally they sat down on the floor to talk over the situation.
"Please tell us everything that happened to you after you left our house," Joe said to the nurse.
Before Miss Johnson could begin her story, the patient on the cot groaned again, and tried to get out of bed. The woman rushed to his side and held him down. She asked Frank to dissolve a tablet in a glass of water on the table and give it to the patient. In a few moments he became quiet.
"This boy is dreadfully ill," Miss Johnson said. "He should be in a hospital. Oh, those wicked people, to keep him here."
"Do you know who he is?" Frank inquired.
"I believe his name is Lenny Stryker," the nurse answered. "I don't know how he got mixed up with those men. I judge from their conversation his being shot was an accident. They're afraid to let him go for fear he'll notify the police."
"Do the men come here often?" Frank asked.
The nurse revealed that someone came once every day to bring food and anything else needed for Lenny. No one had ever stayed very long until the night before. Then the tall one called Jeff had posted himself in the room.
"I was sure something was going to happen," she stated. "That was why I had my eye on the secret
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panel when it began to open. Oh, how I wish you had not gotten yourselves into this trouble!"
Frank and Joe tried to reassure the woman. They mentioned having sent their friend Chet Morton to bring Mr. Hardy.
"Your father is a great detective," Miss Johnson conceded, "but maybe your friend never reached him."
Frank and Joe jumped. They had not thought of this possibility. Miss Johnson went on to say she had overheard the men talking about posting guards on the grounds. The Hardys' spirits sank.
"Probably Chet is a prisoner himself somewhere," Frank said, worried.
"That would account for Dad not getting here," Joe added. Then, as a worse thought struck him, he cried out, "Gee, maybe Dad's a prisoner too!"
As the hours dragged by, their fears increased. Also their hunger. They wondered if anyone would bring food. There seemed little likelihood of this now, because the crooks no doubt would make their escape while they had the chance.
"They've taken everything of value out of this room, anyway," the nurse said presently.
"What were they?" Frank asked.
"Mostly ornaments; beautiful things."
"Did anyone come besides the two men who were here today?"
"Oh, yes," Miss Johnson replied. "The man they call the Boss."
176 The Secret Panel
The nurse described him as a tall, slender, middle-aged man with long, thin fingers.
"His fingers almost haunt me," the woman said. "He used them the way you imagine a ghost would."
Frank and Joe were excited by her information. They thought at once of their father's theory that a clever, inventive person was opening the museum doors by some unusual method.
"What else did the men say?" Joe asked the nurse eagerly.
"They talked very little," Miss Johnson answered. "But one thing I did hear them say: they planned to take their loot away by boat, as that was the only safe method."
"By boat!" both boys exclaimed.
They knew the harbor police were constantly on the lookout for suspicious boats. There had been no report of any thieves prowling about the bay. What sort of craft did the Boss have, and where had he gone in it?
"I'll bet I know what kind of boat he used," said Frank suddenly. "One of those little underwater craft Mr. Dwyer makes."
Joe agreed, and thought the crook probably was far away by this time. More hours dragged by.
Miss Johnson told how she had been captured after leaving the Hardy home. Someone on the street, who seemingly was only going to pass her, took hold of the woman's arm. She had screamed, then suddenly a handkerchief had been held against
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her face. Some strong-smelling drug on it had made her faint. When the nurse regained consciousness she was in an automobile, and a few minutes later was brought into the mysterious room.
"I have no idea where I am," she said.
Frank and Joe told her. Miss Johnson had never heard of the Mead house, and was intrigued to learn that the owner had installed doors and windows without visible hardware. The boys refrained from speaking of the museum robberies or any other angle of the mystery, because Lenny Stryker was stirring again.
Suddenly the patient leaped from his cot. Wild-eyed, the boy tried to run around the room. Miss Johnson and the Hardys caught hold of him, but he fought them off like a tiger.
A moment later the light went out. Lenny became quiet at once, and for several seconds there was absolute silence. Then came an indistinct, grating noise. The Hardys were sure the secret panel was opening!
Quickly they made their way toward the noise and Frank whipped out his flashlight. But before he could snap it on, Lenny started off again and knocked it to the floor. Screaming and waving his arms, the delirious young man made it impossible for the others to get to the secret panel.