He hurled the gun away from him. It fell with a clatter among the rocks.
Hatless and coatless, he was a weird figure in the fog. He made no move toward the Hardy boys, however, but contented himself with dancing about at the mouth of the cave.
"The battle is lost!" shrieked Captain Royal finally. "On to the execution!"
"What on earth does he mean?" said Joe.
"Oh, he's crazy, that's all. He doesn't mean anything."
"All is lost! My enemies are upon me! On to the execution! On to the execution!"
Captain Royal whirled about and ran down the beach through the lowering mist.
"Where is he going?"
"Let's wait and watch him," advised Frank.
They saw the queer old man running and stumbling among the rocks along the shore. Then he turned to his right and began to clamber up among the boulders until he came to a scarcely visible path that led up toward the top of the cliff.