The door was protected by a stout padlock, but Hanleigh picked up a heavy iron bar that stood against the side of the building and attacked the lock. He smashed it with a single blow, opened the door, and went inside. He brought out the ice-boat and unfurled its sails.
There was snow on the ice, but the craft moved across the surface under the impetus of a strong wind. Hanleigh sat at the tiller. Within a few moments the boat was scudding down the bay. Hanleigh chuckled to himself as he thought of the way in which he had outwitted Ike Nash and Tad Carson.
The ice-boat sped on down the bay into the driving snow. The storm was increasing in fury. The wind hurtled the craft along at terrific speed. Hanleigh, although he had no experience in managing the boat, got along very well, and within a short time he saw the dark mass of Cabin Island looming out of the storm.
“A good day for it!” he chuckled. “I won’t let those boys on the island make a monkey out of me as they did the last time.”
CHAPTER XXI
A Cry for Help
When the Hardy boys and their chums awakened that morning they found that the storm of the night before had increased in fury to such an extent that the mainland was no longer visible.
The island was completely isolated. As far as the eye could reach, the boys could see nothing but swirling sheets of snow.
“Looks as if we’ll have to stay indoors to-day,” said Frank, as he lit the fire.
“A nuisance!” Chet grumbled. “I thought we could go out in the ice-boat this morning.”
“We’d probably get lost out in that storm. It certainly is blowing up a fine blizzard!” Biff remarked.