"How could I, when I was sound asleep?"
"Well," Will went on, "while you were having that fine sleep, some one came to the cabin and carried off Bert Calkins!"
"What are you talking about?" demanded George.
"Look in his bunk and see!" advised Sandy.
"How was it ever done?" demanded George.
"I'm not asking how it was done," Will returned. "What I want to know is: Why was it done? What object could any one have in carrying away that kid? I wouldn't believe he was gone if I didn't see the empty bunk."
"It's something connected with that code message!" Sandy suggested.
"I've got it!" replied Will. "The man took the message away before he knew whether he could read it or not. When he found he couldn't read it, he came back to get Bert to read it for him."
"But Bert is in no condition to be kept prisoner," George insisted. "He won't give the information the man seeks, and the man will probably mistreat him because he can't! What we've got to do is to get a move on and find the boy before he is starved or beaten to death."
"That's just what we've got to do!" agreed Will. "We've got to drop everything until we find that boy!"