Missing
No word came from Chet Morton or Biff Hooper the following day. Although the parents of the chums tried to allay their fears by assuming that the lads had not stopped off at Hawk Cove after all or had neglected to write, as is the way of boys the world over, when three days passed without further news, the situation became serious.
"They were wrecked in that storm, I know it!" declared Iola Morton, with conviction, when the Hardy boys called at the farmhouse on the third day. "Mother is almost frantic and daddy doesn't know what to do. It isn't like Chet to make us wait this long for some word of where he is, particularly when he knew we'd be anxious."
"The Hoopers are terribly worried about Biff," Joe put in. "We went over there last night to see if they had heard anything. Mr. Hooper had telephoned to nearly all the fishing villages up the coast, but none of them had seen anything of the boat."
Iola turned pale.
"They hadn't seen the boat at all?"
Frank shook his head.
"Either the boys were wrecked or they were swept out to sea," said the girl. She turned away and dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. She was on the verge of breaking down. "Oh, can't something be done to find trace of them?"
"It's time we were getting busy," Frank agreed. "I think we'd better organize a searching party."
"With the motorboats?" asked Joe.