"So am I. We've simply got to get out of here. If we can get word to the Chicago police they may be able to find him before it's too late!"
The boys were silent. The news that Fenton Hardy had been captured and that he was in the hands of a merciless gang cast a cloud of gloom over them all. They realized only too well their own helplessness in the situation.
"I'm going to try to smash the lock on this pair of handcuffs," Joe whispered finally. "It seemed rusty to me, when they put them on."
"We tried that with ours," whispered Chet. "It wasn't any use."
"I may have better luck."
"Wait until you're sure the gang are asleep," whispered Biff. "They might hear you."
The boys lapsed into silence. The darkness of the cave was impenetrable. Near the entrance they could see a faint glow of pink from the embers of the fire in the outer cavern, but that was all. They could not even see one another.
The fact that they were chained together made it impossible for them to rest comfortably. The gangsters had not even provided them with a blanket.
"We've been chained in here every night since they caught us," Chet whispered. "We've had to sleep on the bare rock."
Finally the silence was broken by the sound of steel against rock. Joe was trying to break the lock of his handcuffs. The effort was difficult, because his hands were cuffed behind him. But, as he had said, the handcuffs were rusty and of an antiquated type. Against the hard rock he could feel them gradually giving way.