CHAPTER XXVI

PLANNING TO ESCAPE

"Can't be!" came from Bart. "What in the world would they do that for?"

"Don't know," admitted Ned. "But you can see for yourself. The door's locked."

"Maybe the catch slipped by mistake when the captain went out," suggested Frank. "Give him a call, or pound on the wall to attract attention."

"Let me give the door another try," Bart said. "No use making a false alarm. Maybe it's only stuck."

But it was too evident that the portal was locked. The knob turned freely, but the bolt was shot and effectually made the boys prisoners.

"Shall I pound on the door?" asked Bart.

"Let's see if there isn't another way out," suggested Ned.

They looked all around the room. It was about ten feet square, and, aside from the table, chairs and lamp contained no furniture or furnishings.

"There isn't even a window," said Frank.

"What's that up there?" inquired Fenn, pointing to some sort of an opening near the ceiling.

Bart climbed up on the table and investigated.

"It's a window," he said, "but it's not more than a foot square, and has bars to it. More for ventilation than anything else I guess. It's just above the waterline, for I can hear the river and the noise of the propeller."

"It must be a mistake," said Frank. "Go ahead, Bart, and make a racket like a base drum. We've got to get out of here, dress and get ashore somehow."

Thereupon Bart pounded with both fists on the door, while the boys aided him by yelling. They kept it up for several minutes but there was no response.

"Maybe the machinery makes so much noise they can't hear us," remarked Ned. "Let's all pound together. Use the chair and save our fists."

They raised a thundering din by knocking the chairs against the walls of the room and the door.

"Surely someone must hear that," said Bart, as he stopped to rest his arm. Evidently someone did, for in the silence that followed a voice asked:

"What do you want?"

"We want to get out," called Bart. "We're locked in."

"Well boys, I'm very sorry," went on the voice, which they recognized as that of Captain Needham's "but I can't let you out."

"You can't let us out?" demanded Ned. "What right have you got to keep us here, prisoners."

"Oh, I wouldn't think of calling you prisoners," the captain said in a gentle tone from the other side of the door.

"What else is it?" Bart asked indignantly.

"Well, you're only detained for a little while, that's all. I can't explain now, but it will be all right in a few days. I wish I could tell you, but I can't. I'm bound to secrecy. If you will only be patient I'm sure it will be all right inside of a week."

"Do you mean to say you're going to keep us here a week?" inquired Fenn.

"Well, I'm afraid I'll have to, you know. You'll be well taken care of. Plenty to eat, but I'm sorry I can't give you any better clothes than those you have on. You can't run away in them, and you might if you had your own."

"You'll be sorry for this!" threatened Bart. "When we do get out you'll be arrested. You can't do this sort of thing in this country!"

"But I have done it," the captain replied, and the boys thought they heard him laughing. "Now don't get excited. We'll treat you well."

"We don't want to be treated well!" fired back Frank. "We want our rights! We demand that you release us at once!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't do it, boys. The best I can do is to send word to your folks that you are safe, but unavoidably detained," and this time the boys were sure the man was laughing.

"We'll break this door down if you don't let us out!" shouted Ned, and he banged a chair against the portal.

"I guess you'll have your own troubles doing that," the captain replied. "Go ahead and try. Now I'm going to treat you good. There's another room opening off from the one where you are. It has bunks in it, a wash basin, running water and a few other conveniences. Just imagine you're on a steamer, taking a trip for a few days, and it will soon be over."

There was a clicking sound, and a part of the wall, the boys would never have taken for a door, slid back and showed a small room adjoining the one they were in. It had four bunks and a little washroom, but there was no opening from it save the same kind of a ventilator that was in the first apartment.

"Breakfast will be served to you here in the morning," the captain called and then the boys could hear him going away.

For a little while the chums were too surprised at the sudden turn of affairs to be able to make any remarks. Then Bart exclaimed:

"Well, of all the high-handed, piratical proceedings this is the limit. It's just like a dime novel, or a five-cent library plot."

"Only not half so funny," spoke Ned. "The folks will be very much worried about us."

"Maybe the captain will keep his word and send them a message," ventured Bart.

"If he says we're unavoidably detained that will make them almost as much worried as if they didn't hear from us," added Frank. "Boys, we've got to get out of here."

"How?" asked Bart, with something like despair in his voice.

He might well ask how. Clad in garments which they could hardly venture out in, with no shoes, and without so much as a penknife to cut their way free, their case seemed hopeless. Their only weapons were the spoons which had been furnished with their meal. There were no knives or forks.

"We've got to do it," Bart decided.

Silence fell upon them. They could feel the boat vibrate with the speed of the engine. They were still being carried up stream.

"What's it all about?" asked Fenn. "That's what gets me! I can't understand it!"

"I think I have a sort of clew," said Frank.

"What is it?"

"It hinges on the same thing that has been a mystery from the first."

"You mean the King of Paprica?" asked Ned.

"That's it. At first I thought those men were crazy. Now I begin to think differently."

"But what is their object, and why do they want to make prisoners of us? What have we done?"

"I think we have Sandy Merton to thank for our being locked up," went on Frank. "You see the captain arranged this after Sandy saw us and ran back to tell Mr. Needham. Sandy has been on our trail. You remember he was in the canoe. Then he was on guard there, near where those men had their hut. You can depend on it there's a deep mystery here, and, in some way, whether we know it or not, we're mixed up in it."

"Do you think these men on the boat are, also?"

"Of course. They're acting for some one, and they don't want us to get away to give an alarm. That's as much as I can understand now. If any of you can get at the bottom of it say so."

But no one could.

"It's getting cold in here," remarked Bart. "I'm going to crawl in the bunk. These overalls are rather thin."

He got into one of the narrow beds and the others followed his example. The light from the lamp in the other room illuminated the apartment dimly. The boys talked the situation over from all sides coming to no conclusion.

"But what are we going to do?" asked Ned.

"Let's wait until morning," suggested Bart. "We'll be rested then, and can think better. We'll have a look around the place and maybe we can make a break."

"Let's make a break when they open the door to give us breakfast," suggested Ned.

"That might be a good plan," came from Bart. "The morning will do. We can't accomplish anything to-night, so there's no use fretting."

In spite of their unpleasant position the boys finally fell asleep and slumbered soundly. Bart was the first to awaken and he hardly knew where he was. A glance around soon brought to his mind what had happened. He hurried into the other room. As he reached it he gave a cry that brought his companions in on the run.

"What is it?" asked Ned.

Bart pointed to the table. The dishes had all been removed while they slept and the lamp was gone. A dim light came in through the ventilators.

"They were here in the night!" cried Bart.

"What's queer about that?" asked Frank.

"This," spoke Bart. "They didn't come in through the door, as the chairs are in front of it just as we left them, and the door opens inwardly."

"Well?" asked Fenn.

"They didn't come in through the window, for there isn't any."

"How did they get in then?" asked Fenn.

"There must be some secret way that we don't know about. We must find it. That's how we can escape."

"Perhaps it's around the ventilators," suggested Frank.

"We'll take a look," spoke Bart.

They soon found that the one in the bunk room would not admit the body of a child, to say nothing to that of a man. The one in the room where they had eaten was similar. As Bart, standing on the table, was examining it closely, he motioned to his companions to make no noise.