“And I don’t see why Hanleigh should be here at all. He hasn’t bought the island yet. According to Mr. Jefferson, he has no business here.”
“We’ll run around the island once, and see what’s what.”
The Hardy boys did not have long to wait. Circling the end of the island, they came to a sheltered nook where they decided to land.
“We can leave the boats here and go up toward the cabin on foot,” decided Frank. “If there is anybody here, we’ll have a better chance of taking them by surprise.”
They put in to the little bay and then waited until Chet and Biff, in the other boat, came up.
“What’s the matter?” asked Chet, when their craft came to rest. “Who owns that other boat?”
“That’s what we want to find out. We figured it would be best to lie low until we find what’s going on around here,” Frank told him.
“Good idea,” approved Biff.
“That boat belongs to Tad Carson and Ike Nash. I thought the best plan would be to land here on the quiet and then go up to the cabin. They have no right here, and I’d like to know what they’re up to.”
The boys alighted from the boats. There was a sloping hillside before them, leading to a clump of evergreens. The snow was unbroken.