“Of course; what else is it? They have carried their plot into effect, but they did it differently than I expected. Bill Berry’s going away was only a blind, and it fooled us. This new man, of course, is in the game. He came along as soon as Bill left, so no one else would be hired for the place.”
“Do you think they got Mr. Hardack away by a false message?” asked Ned.
“Of course they did. It was all in the game. Noddy is helping them.”
“If I ever get hold of him I’ll make him wish he’d never had a hand in it,” and Ned spoke so sincerely that his companions knew he would keep his word. They thought of Jessica out alone with the bully, who, possibly had purposely disabled the engine to keep her from getting back to the lighthouse.
“Oh, if we could only do something,” exclaimed Ned.
“We’ve got to!” cried Jerry. “We can’t let the ship be wrecked by them changing the light.”
“But how we going to stop ’em?” asked Ned.
“We must try and get loose,” Jerry replied. “They tied us in such a hurry maybe some of the knots will slip. That’s our only plan. There’s no use calling for help. It’s just as Bill said, no one would hear us. Try and work your hands free.”
They all tried but to little purpose. The ropes were firmly tied. Strain as they did they could not loosen the fastenings, and at last they had to stop, as the cords cut into their flesh.
“Well, they certainly got us into a trap!” exclaimed Jerry as, once more, he tugged at his bonds.