The Hooded Hawk Mystery (16 page)

Frank's jump was a bit trickier than Joe's, because he had to thrust back on the pole to keep it from hitting the fence and sounding the alarm.

The boys knew the hardest part of their job lay ahead. Through the scrubby bushes and trees they could see several crudely constructed huts. Near one of them stood a handsome, pensive-looking youth about eighteen years old. He was holding a hooded goshawk. From the color of his skin and his characteristic features the Hardys were sure he was an Indian.

Some distance from the youth were several dark-skinned men. They were no doubt some of the smuggled Indians.

In the shelter of the trees, the Hardys crawled toward Tava. When they were close enough to talk to him without revealing themselves to the others, Frank called in a whisper:

“Tava!”

As the young man turned and stared, Frank smiled and went on quickly, “We are Frank and Joe Hardy, American friends sent here by your cousin Bhagnav.”

The youth moved slowly toward the boys and asked in a low voice, “Why does Bhagnav send you here?”

“To rescue you from your kidnappers.”

“But I was not kidnapped,” Tava explained. “Evil men are after me, and my friends are protecting me.”

“That's not true,” Frank insisted. “Your father has already paid a fabulous ransom in rubies for your return, but these people continue to hold you and demand more payment.”

Tava still did not seem to be convinced. Finally Frank said:

“Your cousin and your friend Rahmud Ghapur are very much worried. Mr. Bhagnav has engaged my father and brother and me to search for you. Mr. Ghapur told us of the time when he saved you in the cheetah hunt. He's afraid that you're in much greater danger now.”

The boy's eyes widened in surprise. He whispered the name Ghapur several times. Then he replied:

“If Rahmud Ghapur and my cousin sent you, then I will go with you.”

“Act as if you were just strolling around and follow us,” Frank directed.

The Hardys crawled away. The Indian followed slowly, laughing and talking to the goshawk all the while. When the three were well out of sight of the buildings, and close to the fence, Joe said:

“I'm afraid you'll have to leave the goshawk here for now. When your abductors learn of your disappearance, they'll start a search. We may become separated. If this happens, take our car and meet us at the Bayport Hotel. My mother and aunt are staying there. Ask for Mrs. Hardy.” He added detailed directions about the location of their hidden car and directions for reaching the hotel.

Tava regretfully fastened his goshawk's leash to a tree, picked up the pole, and gracefully vaulted the fence. He moved off quickly into the shadows of the trees beyond. Joe, pole in hand, was getting set to make his jump when Frank heard someone running.

“Jump, Joe!” Frank whispered tensely. The next second, a lariat slapped over his shoulders and he was pulled back.

As he hit the ground, Frank caught a glimpse of his brother halfway up in his leap. But suddenly Joe was snatched violently in mid-air. Frank, his heart sinking, knew Joe had been lassoed, too.

A half-dozen fiery-eyed men gripped both boys roughly and dragged them toward one of the buildings. They were thrust through the doorway into a well-furnished room, and confronted by two young Indians who resembled each other strongly. One, however, had a scar on his chin.

“The Hardy boys!” Nanab gloated. “A fine catch indeed.”

“What were you trying to accomplish here?” Bangalore demanded.

Joe tried to act casual as he replied, “We came to get details of your smuggling and kidnapping plot. But I don't suppose we'll find that out now.”

Nanab smiled and said, “Why not? We're proud of what we've done. We've fooled your authorities for a long time. Except for you two young snoops, everything has run smoothly. But since you are our prisoners, we can tell you the full story, then arrange a convenient accident for you.”

Bangalore nodded agreement and Nanab began his revelation. “Captain Flont and his crew used the
Daisy K
to smuggle aliens into Bayport.”

So Ragu had been lying all the time!

“Captain Flont,” Bangalore went on, “is a clever man and will not betray us.”

Despite the gravity of the situation, the Hardys could hardly keep from smiling. It was plain that the two ringleaders were not aware of any of the arrests that had been made. Frank's message sent by the pigeon must have arrived. Now, if the boys could only keep the men talking long enough, their father and the police would have time to get there.

“We started making plans two years ago when my brother Bangalore came to America,” Nanab went on. “We spread word to dissatisfied citizens of our country that legal entry into the United States was impossible. However, by paying us a large fee they could be brought in surreptitiously and protected by us.”

“How could you protect them?” Frank asked.

“We got them jobs and arranged for their social activities,” Nanab explained.

“The kidnapping was my idea,” Bangalore declared. “Both rackets were worked with Windward as the relay station. The property was bought cheap by our American friends John Cullen and Arthur Daly. They fed and housed the aliens who came in on a special American-Far East freighter, the
Red Delta.
It made an unscheduled stop outside a port in India to pick up the men, and another a few miles from Windward to discharge them onto a dory.”

“And who is the Mr. L who was going to squeal?” Frank asked.

Bangalore and Nanab bristled at this. Then Nanab remarked, “Mr. Louis is a friend of Captain Flont's. He owns the dory.”

“How did you get the ransom to this country?” Frank asked. “Not by the
Red Delta,
too?”

“Oh, no,” Nanab answered. “The ransom rubies were picked up in India, flown by private plane to Europe, and brought to America on an ocean liner which passed in the vicinity of Windward. To avoid customs, small pouches containing the stones were thrown off into Louis's dory by a ship's officer who is one of our group.

“Unfortunately, Louis kept too many of the second shipment for himself. When we exposed him, he threatened to squeal. That is why we are holding him a prisoner here.”

“You leased Mr. Smith's hunting lodge under the name of Sutter,” Frank accused Bangalore.

Bangalore nodded. “I wanted to impress young Nayyar and make him comfortable. When you boys discovered the place, we left it, telling him that this was to avoid the evil men who were after him. He readily agreed to the move.”

“You were staying at the lodge, too?” Joe asked.

“Oh, yes,” Bangalore leered. “I was the one who knocked out your fat friend. One of the guards did the same to you,” he said, looking at Frank. “When you found out too much, Nanab quit his job in Washington and came up here.”

“And you, Nanab, destroyed the letter Mr. Ghapur sent us, but why did you let the falcon be shipped to us?” Frank queried.

Nanab smiled with self-satisfaction. “I was in charge of sending it. I could have destroyed the bird, too, but Ghapur would have realized I was responsible if you never received it. So I let it go through, then commissioned Ragu to steal it. He failed! He is a fool!”

“You also threw the bomb into our house and stole the falcon,” said Joe. “But who set our boathouse on fire and jammed the
Sleuth's
gas gauge?”

“I did,” Bangalore admitted. “And now that you know the whole story, we will carry out our original plan.”

He clapped his hands and several men stepped into the room. In their hands were sturdy raw-hide whips!

“You're going to flog us first?” Frank shouted. An evil smirk on his face, Bangalore said, “We usually plan a quick death with a sleeping potion for our enemies. But because you boys have caused us a great deal of trouble, Nanab and I have decided we will not make it so painless. Before you are put to sleep, we will use these whips and watch you squirm!”

“You're a bunch of sadists!” Joe cried out in protest.

“You won't get away with this!” Frank added.

Bangalore raised his hand, looked at the boys with a sinister smile, and said, “Flog them!”

 

 

 

 

FRANK and Joe were seized by four guards, while two others raised their whips. But the boys did not flinch.

Instead, Frank leaned toward Joe. “Here we go again!” he whispered.

A knowing smile crossed Joe's face. Frank's statement was their secret signal for action. Before the whips could descend, the Hardys, using a jujitsu twist, flung their would-be floggers to the floor and tore the whips from the men's hands. The guards shrank back as the boys raised the whips.

Bangalore's jaw dropped. “How did you do that?” he asked, amazed, then added, “I like your courage. My men are skilled in wrestling, but you took them by surprise. It will entertain me to have you demonstrate your skill. Perhaps it can save you a flogging—or maybe even your lives.”

Frank and Joe knew that Indians are great lovers of the sport of wrestling. If they could prolong a match, their father might arrive in time to rescue them.

“We accept,” Frank said. “But let's not decide our fate on a single fall. That's not sporting. We'll make it two out of three.”

Bangalore laughed raucously. “You are prisoners, yet you make the terms!”

Nanab spoke up. “Let our men punish them in the manner they suggest,” he said. “We'll teach them that Indians are the greatest wrestlers.”

“Two out of three falls it is!” Bangalore conceded. “We will go outside,” he said, leading the way.

As Frank and Joe laid aside the whips, the smugglers selected two lithe, smooth-muscled guards. In a crouched position they moved forward quickly, hands outstretched. But Frank and Joe were ready. Playing for time, they moved carefully, darting in, and then leaping back in an effort to catch their adversaries off balance.

Joe was first to find an opening. Seizing his opponent's left wrist, he spun him around, and pulling with all his strength, sent the man flying over his shoulder. The guard landed on his back, groaning as Joe leaped on him and applied a pinning hold that in a moment gave Joe his first fall.

Frank's foe cast his eyes on his defeated partner for a fraction of a second. With the speed of a stooping falcon, Frank charged, catching his adversary in a leg trip. The man hit the ground hard but jumped up quickly. Before he recovered, Frank caught him in a headlock that sent both sprawling in the dirt. There was a flurry of dust as the two fought savagely for the advantage.

Suddenly the guard's powerful legs closed about Frank's stomach in a crushing scissors grip. Frank tried in vain to break the tightening hold. As the guard pressed Frank's shoulders nearer and nearer the ground, it appeared that the boy would lose his first fall.

Then the guard shifted his hold slightly to make the pin. Frank, in spite of his weakened condition, saw his advantage and using all his strength he twisted free. Before his surprised opponent could recover, he spun around and seized the guard in a powerful cradle hold and drove him into the ground for a fall.

“Ready for the second fall?” Frank asked, breathing deeply.

The beaten man looked toward Bangalore and jabbered imploringly. The ringleader scowled and replied in their native tongue. Then, while the boys were resting, the Indian leader called forward two more guards.

The Hardys were to have new opponents for each fall! They realized it would be senseless to object.

When time was called, they approached their new rivals, and from the start it was apparent that the Hardys had the upper hand through their knowledge of the ancient Japanese art of jujitsu. In the midst of the second fall, a guard ran up, shouting:

“Tava! He is gone! I cannot find him anywhere!”

For a moment everyone froze. Then Bangalore screamed, “This is a trick! And you Hardys are responsible. You must die at once. Nanab, the potion!”

Guards swarmed around Frank and Joe, pinning the boys' arms back, so that they would be unable to resist. Nanab passed one of the poison pellets to his brother. He and Bangalore took up positions before the Hardys, forced their heads back, and pried open their jaws.

With all eyes on the scene, it came as a shock when a voice commanded, “Hands up!”

Fenton Hardy stood at the edge of the clearing. With him were Mr. Delhi, Ghapur, and Radley and several police officers. As everyone turned, a State Police captain announced:

“You're all under arrest!”

The ringleaders and their guards were quickly seized and handcuffed. Then the officers went to round up the smuggled Indians.

Mr. Hardy ran up to his sons. “Are you all right?”

“Yes,” Frank assured him. “And we rescued Tava. He's on his way to the hotel.”

“Wonderful!” cried Mr. Delhi and Ghapur.

A search of the premises was instituted at once. Under the floorboards in Bangalore's bedroom they found the cache of rubies.

“Amazing!” Ghapur commented.

“Enough evidence for a conviction on the kidnapping charge!” Mr. Hardy declared.

After the police left with the prisoners, the Hardys picked up Tava's goshawk and with their friends hurried to Bayport. When they reached the hotel, Tava was in the Hardy suite with Mrs. Hardy and Aunt Gertrude. Hugs, handshakes, and bowing followed with fervor and profusion. During the happy celebration Mr. Delhi and Rahmud Ghapur expressed their relief at finding Tava healthy and unharmed.